Salute Hip-Hop Kids
A love and appreciation letter to hip-hop…
Think about when Hip Hop began. 80’s babies, kinda talking to you. “What is that mess y’all doing in the basement”?
“That ain’t music, you’re not even singing! You’re just talking, IT’LL NEVER LAST!” Now we know where the format of hip hop music stands in sales, influence and in creating billionaires, across all color lines.
With all that said, lets recognize what just happened, on the largest, commercial stage. Rap dudes, from Compton, Long Beach and Detroit, with a girl from the Bronx headlined the 12 mins of the halftime show. Not as the “add some youth”, special guests, but the entire show formatted to the hip hop culture. The format has its warts and has always been a culture from the streets, which offered a wide spectrum of people involved.
You have model students and grimey others, who now were in the front of the line in this culture; so it isn’t a rose colored glasses view, this moment IS A MOMENT. We’re watching superheroes of our culture, who have faced or are facing all kinds of business and personal hurdles; the same as any other genre. But THIS RIGHT HERE… THIS RIGHT HERE….is validity. It’s inclusion. It’s recognition that they now understand that while under the breath of some, that faint disgust or disapproval doesn’t shake this moment at all. It’s been built on people thinking it didn’t belong. Some won’t get the magnitude but this pride isn’t lost on many.
As we throw up the “W” in celebration of those to touch that spotlight first… Hip-Hop walked into work proudly. They had no choice but to feel you on the biggest stage. Salute Hip-Hop kids. Use this pride and inspiration in all of your next moves.
Best,
WiLD’s Orlando Davis
