“Could you riddle me this—you pay for the Range but take the Isuzu?/

You do if the music you coppin’ is doo-doo/

I got a bridge out in Brooklyn to sell to you/

‘Cuz ya’ll cool with being bamboozled/”

—Marco Polo & Torae (Feat. Saukrates & S-Roc), “Crashing Down,” Double Barrel, 2009.

“We’re trapped, and moving round in circles, like it’s chap stick/

And that’s the same encircled way of thinking that we chat with/”

—Lupe Fiasco Feat. Matthew Santos, “Shining Down,” Lazers, 2009.  

To say much of what makes Hip-Hop headlines nowadays is distressing should constitute an understatement. Tales of stabbings, suicides, homicides, petty beefs, murder convictions, and other unremarkable incidents press out daily Hip-Hop news briefs. Rappers and their fans seem to care less about misrepresenting a culture that gave life to a generation, that redefined the worth of a people, that added a new note to musical history. In the name of keepin’ it real, foolishness goes unchallenged.

More pernicious, I think, are the news sites that present these stories ad infinitum, refusing to hold accountable those artists whose behaviors reflect poorly not only on other artists but the Hip-Hop community at-large. In a sense, the rappers are giving a free pass, giving more exposure, and granted more access to exhibit their lack of home training.

But rappers are hardly the culprits. Behind every one of them, are a set of corporations upon which they depend—for survival, publicity, recognition, etc. It’s worth noting that many of these corporations, which today take such great interest in Hip-Hop music, once derided it as uncouth and unfit—music-wise. Many of them only recently began to see the commercial value in Hip-Hop and, right on cue, set up shop in our communities to expunge as much revenue as possible from this multibillion dollar venture.

As such, surprise should be out last reaction when they disrespect and degrade our artists. Corresponding incidents are abundant, such as Cleveland Rapper Kid Cudi being tasered, earlier this year, reportedly for wearing Nike sneakers at a Reebok event, and DJ legend Jazzy Jeff being kicked offstage, earlier this month, for playing Hip-Hop music at a club gig.

Another sobering reminder of corporate America’s abusive relationship with Hip-Hop was highlighted when Detroit MC Invincible’s latest video single, “Ropes,” was accepted then rejected by MTV’s standards department. Why?

“Suicidal Undertones”

Any true Hip-Hop fan is aware of Invincible’s pedigree. She’s no lightweight. Very few Hip-Hop artists can manifest the ingenious degrees of wordplay and linguistic dexterity she so effortlessly wields. No doubt. Her debut classic, ShapeShifters, released last year, put to bed all cynics. In fact, none other than NY’s own Hip-Hop Queen, Jean Grae, described her in these elegant terms: “Invincible is a problem, always has been. Wonderfully humble, a humanitarian, an amazing and caring person just in general. All that and she’ll rip your mic to shreds and then set it on fire. …

She’s a true lyricist.”

Apparently, MTV thinks Jean Grae is wrong. Or maybe MTV simply sees Invincible—and her message—in accurate light—“a problem.”

“Ropes” is a song featured on ShapeShifters, but just now getting the light of day it long deserved. In true Invincible fashion, it confronts the crisis of mental health and its effects on the younger generation—head-on. No holds are barred. In March 2009, mtvU, the “College Music, Activism, Shows and Activities On Campus” channel, accepted Ropes to be shown on its network. Soon after, however, Invincible was contacted, notified that it was rejected because, “Unfortunately the Standards Department decided on passing on the video, citing how its suicidal undertones would be problematic on the channel it was accepted for.”

Invincible responded to the ice-melting logic of MTV in her special way. Speaking into a camera outside MTV’s headquarters, she said the following:

Now, in my eyes, what I see [as] problematic, is that nobody wants to talk about this issue of mental health in our community. I mean, I’ve been affected by it, my family [has been affected by it], even some of my favorite Hip-Hop artists [as well]. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for people our age in this country. So, everybody knows somebody that’s been affected by it, even if it’s secondhand. Now, on that note, everybody knows it exists, but nobody wants to touch it with a ten-foot pole. So, I wrote this song to open up the conversation; I made this video to open up this dialogue…. How are we ever going to solve this issue, if no one wants to talk about it?

Her minute-long homily would serve as the intro for “Ropes.”

If MTV’s “activism” channel refused to accept a single by an activist who is actively campaigning against the tragic consequences of mental health neglect in the college-age community, how much less interested are other mainstream networks like MTV2, VH1, and BET likely to be?

It’s hard to imagine that MTV has ever rejected a video for its “violent undertones,” or its “misogynistic undertones,” or its “materialistic undertones,” or its “homophobic undertones.” In truth, one need not imagine, for it’s never happened.

More appalling, of course, is that if “Ropes” was written and performed by a commercial artist, say a 50 cent, Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, Drake, Young Jeezy or T..I., MTV’s response, and consequently the public’s, would have been quite different. I can already see the Grammy nods, the media blitzkrieg, the speaking events, lined-up to celebrate Hip-Hop’s interest in an issue so afflictive of the younger demographic. After all, suicide is ranked the third leading cause of death among those 15-24 years old.

Better yet, this incident is further proof of a seismic shift in Hip-Hop consciousness within the last decade. It bespeaks of a generation engineered to respond more favorably to sneaker commercials than notions of agency, media literacy, and critical citizenship. MTV’s response is a microcosm of the terrible disaster media consolidation has wrought on Hip-Hop.

In Ropes Feat. Tiombe Lockhart, Invincible makes it personal, recounting an incident that almost ended her life:

“At seven, tied a plastic bag over my head/ Like, ‘What’s the point but getting older and dead?’/ So innocent, searching for missing links/ Surrounded by the carcasses of instruments/ Of dreams departed hardened by the sentiments/ Out of tune and sharpened by the artists/.”

I’m wondering if those were the lines that screamed “suicidal undertones” at the clearance agents. Or perhaps it was these:

“I heard the barrels cry, wishing they could spare ya lives/ Was feeling paralyzed, but no I wasn’t scared to die/ Feared not livin’ to the fullest, so i pulled it/ All or nothing/ Now somebody wanna call my bluff when/ I tried to flinch/ Told them that the suicide attempt was cause I’d rather die/ Than live and ride the bench/.”

Of course, they never cared to listen on. If they did, they might have found out that, unlike some other artists, Invincible is never one to state the problems without providing viable solutions:

“To all the unfazed and numb, hope that you hear/ What I’ve spoken is clear/ So you stop repressing, choking the tears/ We all walk the line between insanity and sanity/ And hope and despair/ Hope and despair/.”

I believe it would do MTV—not just mtvU—good to reconsider Invincible’s offer. The least they can do is explain, in more coherent terms, why they oppose exploring this crisis of mental health. I’m sure their P.R. department can do a better job.

Tolu Olorunda is a cultural critic and a Columnist for BlackCommentator.com. He can be reached at To***********@***il.com.

KangaROOS first launched in 1979 by American inventor and jogging enthusiast, Robert Gamm.

The sneakers were designed with joggers in mind, having built in pockets that could carry anything from keys to money.

KangaROOS flourished in the 80s, catering to everyone from children to NBA and NFL players.

Eventually the brand fizzled out in the U.S., but continued exporting to Europe.

ROOS Classic Vintage by KangaROOS

KangaROOS is now celebrating their 30th year with a strong comeback, selling in 60 countries worldwide.

The designs are classic and simple, fitting right in with today’s retro sneaker trend.

KangaROOS signature ROOS Classic Vintage sneaker is available in multiple colors, and runs for just $60.00 – so you can get your old school fix at a great price!

ROOS Classic Vintage by KangaROOS </P>

ROOS Classic Vintage by KangaROOS

ROOS Sky Walker Mid by KangaROOS

Here’s a message to the Iranian Youth…Hip Hop is with you. We understand that what is going on in Iran is not about what America wants. We understand that this is not about the dictates of those who have a particular foreign policy agenda to push that at the end of the day may be calling for Iran to be destabilized.

Hip Hop is with you above and beyond a rap song, a dope video or meaningless swagger. Hip Hop is with you beyond a slogan or a shout out. Hip Hop is with you beyond the ignorance of some of our artists who wanna brag about having ‘Arab Money’.  Hip Hop is with you by honoring the 5th Element-Knowledge. Hip Hop is with you in solidarity and hoping to uplift our collective humanity.

We understand that what we’re seeing in Iran is a student movement, a women’s movement and other reform movements that have been simmering in Iran for some time. We can trace some of this back to 1999 when we here in the US were watching our own Presidential elections between George Bush and Al Gore which was tossed into dissarray  while students in Tehran University were out in the streets of Iran getting killed and student organizers were being snatched off the streets never to be seen again.  A few years ago I met students who had been jailed and beaten up by the Iranian government for protesting. They had a lot of heart. They were at a conference on censorship in Beirut in spite of knowing that their speaking out could get them serious trouble again.

What were seeing our people who feel that there should be more personal freedoms, where women don’t have to cover up, be searched and beaten on the streets. What we’re seeing are folks who want to have more then just state run press.  Part of the fights that students were dealing with in ‘99 was the shutting down of a newspaper.  Most of us don’t even blink an eye when our own newspapers and radio stations are hijacked.  What we’re seeing don’t want to adhere to long standing traditions and they’re challenging long standing traditions which has been inspired by the Western education and understanding that many have received outside the country and from understanding the world is much smaller place.

Before CNN started talking about Iran, many of us ignored or didn’t even know about the student & woman’s movements in Iran. We spent more time focused on the drama between 50 Cent & Rick Ross.From this day forward we’ve got to do better…

Sadly most of us never pay attention to foreign affairs unless it shows up on CNN.  Hence when there were no lights cameras and action and Iranians were demanding certain changes most of us were concerning ourselves with 50 Cent vs. Rick Ross. Most of us were talking about Chris Brown vs. Rihanna. Do folks know any of the movement leaders?  Do we know the name of any of the student organizations?  Do any of know about the jail time that many have endured to speak out? Is this really about them backing the opposition candidate Mir Hussein Moussavi or is about stepping to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei? How many of us know the role the president plays in relationship between the Supreme leader?

Let’s use this opportunity to embrace Hip Hop’s 5th element and do the knowledge.  Part of that knowledge means for us to start listening closely and resist framing the story so it fits our own limited parameters. When we say things like most of the people marching are middle-class what exactly does that mean? Is it the same thing as middle class here in the US? Are the people marching Muslim or Christian? Are they westernized or traditional? Is Iran a modernized country or does it fall into a stereotype where it’s underdeveloped with folks riding camels through a desert?  Folks better think again and note that in many regards we here in the US may actually be behind.

I said this in my last essay-Are the Protests in Iran Real or a CIA backed Exercise? this is much bigger than the two leaders. They happen to be stepping stones and stops along the way to something much larger and much more deeply felt.  How about this folks… if we’re gonna wear Green in solidarity with the Iranian people and their struggle, how about stepping our personal game up? If we’re gonna wear Green and say we want change how about committing ourselves to stay up on foreign news long after CNN stops covering this? How about making Iran, Darfur, Congo and Haiti which just experienced a horrific blood bath two days ago between funeral marchers and UN Peacekeepers, be a topics we tweet about and comment on via Facebook? Can we make a promise amongst ourselves to educate ourselves each day on a variety of foreign issues?

If we can’t do this at the very least take down our Green avatars and stop bullshitting ourselves and disrespecting the people who are out on those streets not just in Iran but all over the world really risking getting their heads cracked. There’s no excuse for Iranian people to know more about President Obama’s policies then we do and they live in Iran. If we’re gonna wear Green, let’s not do this part time. Let’s not be casual trendy observers. This struggle in Iran is not going to be over and neatly wrap up at a particular time and date like a television show. It’s gonna be on going. 

If we’re gonna wear Green to show solidarity, how about taking it a step further & educating ourselves on US Foreign policy-For example, what’s the real motivation behind Senator John McCain and the GOP in condemning Iranian leaders? Is it really to support the student & women’s movement or to merely use them?

If we want change in Iran let that change be right here at home. If we want to wear Green lets take a closer look at the rhetoric being pushed by our Republican minority in the Senate and in Congress.  President Obama is taking a measured tone saying let’s not become the topic at hand  be seen as meddlers while Senator John McCain and others are basically saying ‘F### that.. We gonna jump right on in there and start smashing because they have an agenda that they’re trying to push that has very little to do with the student movements’. The GOP will use those movements and temporary align themselves, but it’s not about making sure students a free from any oppression. Are they helping, hurting or leading us in another direction?It’s

especially around the issue of foreign policy

If we’re wearing Green, we need to be asking ourselves what’s’ up with our own government and its foreign policy-not just in Iran but throughout the entire Middle East. Maybe if more of us wearing Green committed ourselves to do the knowledge, Iran wouldn’t be in this predicament because we would be electing leaders who have a deeper, more holistic approach toward the Middle East -starting with us not green lighting everything Israel does. Yes, folks at the end of the day let’s deal with the 800 pound gorilla in the room much of what we are seeing is connected to US/ Israeli foreign policy…

That’s a few things to ponder…

 -Davey D-

PS..As I’m writing this I’m watching TV and noting that the big networks are claiming they can’t cover the events in Tehran because of a news media blackout imposed by the Iranian government…Its  kind of funny hearing this, because  we seem to always have our own  media blackout here in the US. Of course those blackouts are  imposed by the news directors and owners of these big networks-but let’s not digress.  My question is what happened to all those expensive spy satellites that are supposed to be able to see the head of pin from thousands of miles away? What’s up with Google Earth? There’s no excuse for us not to be able to see whats going on? Why aren’t we using all this technology we brag about having?

  Below is a video that my homie Paradise of X-Clan tunred me onto it’s by Weapons X