In response to the numerous essays and articles circulating about the lack of depth and insight of CNN’s recent series ‘Black in America‘ I will say this again and again. I grow tired of these types of articles as well meaning and insightful as they are…If we don’t like what CNN did, in the age of You Tube, camcorders, reality shows and independent film festivals in every city-DO YOUR OWN.. It doesn’t have to be a big production. Hell, forget Black in America, kick off your own series called “Black in your hometown” or “Black in your neighborhood.” Do a series called Black in Oakland, Black in Detroit.. Black in Compton or whatever. After you put this together, you can gather everyone to a local church and show a short film highlighting the heroes and sheroes from your town. Highlight the people, places and perspectives CNN overlooked. Get your own host, your own guests, break down your own analysis. There are all sorts of shining examples of this.We can start with local d-boys and gangstas who woke up and got tired of not seeing CNN or the local news give a fair shot to their ilk. They got tired of local media not showing gangstas in their way that they felt was just…so what did they do? They started making their own damn DVDs. Go to any barbershop in ‘any hood’ throughout the US and you can get all sorts of upfront and close DVDs detailing the exploits of local cats from the hood and their underground world…Can we say Smack DVDs? Can we say Stop Snitching DVDs? Can we say Real Gangsters DVD? The list is long.We can sit here and pass judgement and moan and groan about their content or lack thereof all day, but one thing I will say, is that those young brothers walking around with gold teeth and sagging pants found a way to communicate to the rest of the world their points of view. And like it or not they been successful. Don’t believe me? Ask why BET, The History Channel and National Geographic all have shows focusing on gangs and gang life? Why do you think shows like American Gangster are so popular? Don’t get it twisted, these corporations saw the success young cats from the hood were having with the sale of those dvds and decided to tap into that market. You better ask somebody and take a cue.Now considering that CNN was most likely hitting the Black middle class with their recent series, that means we are talking about church goers, the civil rights crowd, the young urban professional class, Bill Cosby fans etc. Many of these folks have money and resources.

Instead of complaining, why don’t we have people pooling resources to do their own “Black in America” series? Instead of putting on another expensive Jack and Jill type awards dinner where everyone dresses to the nines, why not take that money and pay some young film students to make us look good by putting together a film or series about us? Why not pay them to at least do some editing for us? What’s the hold up? What example are we setting for the rest of the world that in 2008 we are still complaining about CNN and not doing our own series? Can’t somebody do a series and interview people like Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Minister Farrakhan along with their local pastor and do a series called “Black in the American Church?” can we have all these people on the same show without the over the top, distracting, racist analysis of a Fox News? Can’t somebody hit up entrepreneurs like Earl Graves, Dick Parsons, along with local businessmen and women and do a series called Blacks in the Business World? The possibilities are endless. I say no more essays and more direct action..And finally for those who think I’m just writing, think again. I’m already doing my own series.. I went out and brought my first camera a few months ago, way before CNN announced their series. I started documenting my own stories.I along with many others were following on the heels of activists like Malik Raheem who felt like the real story of New Orleans and the Katrina disaster wasn’t being told, so he and folks from his Common Groundorganization, got some cameras and documented the 200 plus viligante killings that took place in the aftermath.The name of the film whicjh they gave away for free was called “Welcome to New Orleans” That was our CNN.We are following in the footsteps small films like Audio Rebellion put together by Fred Hampton Jr, Minister of Information JR and their POCC organization that focused on revolutionaries in our community.They showed what happens when the community gets upset with elected officials and documented Congressman Bobby Rush being confronted by Chicago’s southside residents. They are now working on parts two and three.We are following the efforts put together by those on the Luv 4 Self network and filmmaker Opio Oskoni who were annoyed with rap star Flava Flav and what they saw as his ‘bafoonish’ TV show and decided to do a show film called Turn Off Channel Zero to counter the negative images. It was well recieved and shown all over the country.Professor Griff from Public Enemy was the main feature.We are following the lead of Hip Hop pioneer Popmaster Fabel who was tired of Hip-Hop’s history incorrectly being told so he went out, got a camera and started documented all sorts of early history around the gangs that proceeded Hip Hop.Five years later he has finished up this incredible film called “Apache Line from Gangs to Hip Hop.”Many of us are following the lead of then up and coming film makers like Byron Hurt who got tired of misogyny in Hip Hop and decided to do his own film addressing the issue called “Beyond Beats and Rhymes.”We are following the lead of people like Raquel Cepeda who was upset with brothers wearing diamonds purchased from that sleaze bags like Jacob the Jeweler, so she got together with some rap artists, boarded a plane to Sierra Leone and did her own film “Bling: A Planet Rock.”How about a Letter to the President that documented the intersection between Hip-Hop and politics put together by film makers QD3 and Thomas Gibson? I can go on and on citing examples.Hell, I can take it way back and bring up Public Enemy‘s PETV series before there was a such thing as DVDs. Here they had people like Sista Souljah delivering news and views for Black people. Or even better, let’s take this back to the days following the LA Uprisings after the Rodney King beatings in 1992 and the film “Straight from the Streets” put together by Keith O’Derek. That was our CNN where he documented the historic gang truces that took place.Time for us to step it up and do our own thing and stop expecting CNN, Fox News and anyone else who routinely exploits us to suddenly do right by us. Like I said before, why worry about CNN…

I was

born a few years after the birth of the Rock Steady Crew. That makes me too

young to remember the “good ol’ days,” but old enough to remember some fine

moments. As I grew older and Hip-Hop started to suck, I gravitated toward the

purer aspects of the culture [i.e. Rock Steady Crew] and became an avid

attendee at the annual anniversary.

 

Then a

few years back something happened. I remember it was Nas’ remix for “Where Are

They Now?” that began the downward spiral for me. I remember listening to both

of those two hour remixes and asking myself, “Das Efx? What are you doing now?” I thought a more

appropriate remix would’ve included verses from these retired emcees on what they

really are doing now. Do they have

healthcare? How about 401K?

 

What does

a retired MC do if they only had one hit during an era of being quietly pimped

by record labels and artist management? I started to view the Rock Steady Crew

Anniversary as a haven for these artists to beat their chests about how

different Hip-Hop is these days and how many people think “Hip-Hop is Dead” but

they’re wrong, because it lives in annual festivals where one song from the

‘80s gets you a spot on stage. That was my frame of mind for the past three

years. I still showed up every year to roll my eyes though, and would announce

“this was my last year attending.”

 

So the

Rock Steady Crew turned 31 this year. I figured, okay why not show up. That and

I had to cover it (laugh out loud). I headed into Brick City, NJ

with an open mind. The air was humid, the clouds were teasing us, and the sun

was playing peek-a-boo. Crazy Legs – the legendary

face and President of the Rock Steady Crew – makes his way through the crowd to speak to everyone he can.

 

These

pint-sized Japanese girls called the G3 Crew got on stage. They were clad in

neon camouflage with t-shirts sporting their G3 name. Imagine being the best

dancer you could ever be. Add in Ciara’s matrix, whatever it is that Chris

Brown does, and then the best of b-boys and b-girls. These girls still danced

better than that. When they came off the stage, one of them was in tears she

was so happy. Their manager was crying. It was really emotional. Even grown ass

men about to rap were teary eyed. The next generation had just hopped off the

stage. Then the

rain came. Oh good. It wasn’t rain rain; it was hurricane rain. Rappers still

performed, dancers still danced. Even fans played around in the mud. It was

like Woodstock.

Then the rain stopped. Go figure. The A.O.K. [All Out Kings] collective came

on, led by Fresh Daily, who was run over by a car earlier this year and has a

leg full of metal. “I’m walking at least,” he tells me, “but I’m in pain

because of the rain.” He was animated on stage like the bionic man. I began to question my

devotion to Hip-Hop. Had that been me, I would’ve been knee-deep in A Different World marathon on my couch.

Back to the lecture at hand.

 

There was

some hustle and bustle in the backstage area. Who walks in? Ice-T and Coco. I sit down and chat with Ice-T for a minute. He

tells me he heard “Crazy Legs was having a show in Jersey,”

so he had to come support. After a few minutes, I am asked to stand to the side

because a few Newark

cops want their picture taken with Ice-T. Oh the irony. A bunch of the Rock

Steady Crew stood around Ice-T for a photo. Then one of the members said

“Freeze needs to be in this shot,” and removes his jacket bearing an airbrushed

picture of the late crew member Frosty Freeze who died earlier this year, and

holds up the jacket for the shot. It was a sentimental moment.

 

A piece

of the show was dedicated to a female MC cipher spun by DJ Chela. Sara Kana,

Mala Reignz – who won a past Beat Melee on here for her song “BX Til I Die” –

Miss Nana, Patty Dukes, and Miss Rap Supreme winner Rece Steele all took shots

on the mic. Bahamadia showed up later on to perform, which was like whoa!

 

Let me

just acknowledge that Skyzoo, The Arsonists, and Akrobatik sounded like they

really did their thing, as did the Rock Steady Crew with Tony Touch, but I

didn’t get to see them since I was approaching heat exhaustion and had to sit

in a tent with a fan. I’m getting old, what do you want me to do? I’m sorry!I got my

second wind right around the time KRS-One walked in. Wow. He’s tall. Maybe he’s

actually very short in reality, but it was KRS-One, so he looked 8’4. I think

he is legitimately tall though. The Supreme Teacher looks like he’s been

working out more than just his mind lately. He was suffering from an ear infection, but listened very intently to every word I said and looked me dead

in the eyes throughout our whole conversation. It was intimidating, but

fascinating nonetheless. Just as we are getting into a good convo, in walks Fat Joe. “I had to come see my idol perform!” he shouts and runs to KRS-One and

gives him a man-hug. He asks KRS-One for permission to “warm up the mic” before

he gets on. Permission granted. KRS is like sure! Ever so giddy, Joe proceeds to map

out his short set list while KRS continues our convo. I hear Fat Joe in the

background saying, “Let’s take ‘New York’

out…this is Jersey.” Say what you want about

Fat Joe, but that man is a bigger rap fan than most, as I’ve learned from this

experience. Keep in mind none of the performers were paid either.New Jersey native El Da Sensei comes out and

performs some tracks from the now defunct Artifacts. As he’s about to finish,

Tame-One [the other half of the duo] comes out to perform. The EOW [End of the

Weak] hosts make El Da Sensei come back and they say something about how there

is no beef at Rock Steady Crew. Tame-One did NOT look happy, especially since he

had zero solo time and now he was forced into a peace treaty with his estranged

rapping partner. It was about as peaceful as it could be for two MCs standing

on opposite sides of the stage. S.O.U.L. Purpose performed with frontman Mazzi.

I heart him.

So surprise guest Fat Joe gets on stage much to the audience’s surprise. He delivers a

number of songs including the infamous “Lean Back” before going through a

series of Big Pun tracks and dedication to other rappers we’ve lost along the

way.

A side note – Buckshot was supposed to come and perform. Instead, the whole

Bootcamp Clik shows up without him. That was weird.

It was

time for KRS-One. From BDP to his solo work, KRS-One was golden on that stage. Fat

Joe stood in the background completely in awe. It was a monumental moment for

everyone, young and old. In speaking with KRS earlier, I asked if the young

heads have respect for the Hip-Hop of days past. He said they didn’t have to…it

was a whole different Hip-Hop that they were listening to. But at that moment,

everyone was listening to the same song…and it was a beautiful one.

Since

Buckshot was missing in action and there was time to fill, KRS-One started a

cipher. A pass the mic session starring the likes of himself, Fat Joe, Funky

Child from Lords of the Underground, Craig G, Hakim from Channel Live [yup they

did “Mad Izm”], Steele from Smif-n-Wessun, Black Ice, the Artifacts, and DJ

Premier and Marley Marl posted up on stage with the Rockteady Crew. I felt a

lump in my throat. I realized what a dummy I had been for comparing the Hip-Hop

of the present to that of the past. We can “Crank Dat” 364 days of the year

[well I never “Crank Dat” but still], but there is at least one day a year

where we can return to where it all started, and that day was today.

Rock

Steady Crew, I’ll see you next year.

 

Hip-Hop’s influence on the world as we know it is

undeniable. From its humble beginnings in Bronx

back in the ‘70s, Hip-Hop’s culture has spread to forms of media including

books, television, movies, and now video games.

 

Major corporations are wising up and cashing in on the art

form to both phenomenal and lukewarm results. From Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style to the more recent Def Jam: Icon, Hip-Hop games are becoming more of a mainstay in the

culture we all know and love.

 

The genre has inspired more games than some care to admit

(or can remember). The trend really took off in the early ‘90s with games like Kris Kross: Make My Video and Rap Jam Volume One. While neither of these games was particularly successful, they did get rap artists’ foot in the door and made game developers realize what a gold mine they could potentially be sitting on.  

 

Infiltrating the Game

 

The video game industry is mostly dominated by white males.

Hip-Hop games inject some much-needed diversity into the industry while making

games more accessible to people that may have wanted do play, but didn’t

because of games that didn’t appeal to them. The market of Hip-Hop lovers is

huge; this is why it isn’t that surprising that it has found its niche in an

industry that generates $18 billion yearly.

 

Even games that don’t necessarily feature a storyline

revolving around Hip-Hop or an artist still have ample inspiration from them.

Take Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition for example. The game features a soundtrack with numerous well-known rappers, urban locales, and an almost endless supply of add-ons for each player’s personal whip.

The Grand Theft Auto

series really began making use of DJs’ talents in their first 3D version of the

game, Grand Theft Auto III. The culture is practically the lifeblood of the series, which is evident from your interactions on the streets between different characters to the music you choose to listen to during a mission. Let’s not even talk about the NBA Live or Madden series’ soundtracks.

 

Marketing Your Brand

 

Video games are a medium that have a very wide-reaching

influence in terms of consumers. What better way for rap artists to make money

than for them to inject their being into a game? Say what you want about 50 Cent: Bulletproof (I know I did), but 50 really flexed his marketing muscle here. He promoted his artists, his drink, and his clothing line throughout the game.

Def Jam did the same thing by introducing lesser-known

artists onto their soundtracks through their games and littering their

Create-A-Character modes with Def Jam brand clothing. Hustling has always been

a trademark of the culture, and it certainly shines through here.

Def Jam: Vendetta

Def Jam: Fight For NY

Def Jam: Icon

The Bad and the Ugly

 

While it’s definitely refreshing to see people on the screen

that represent rap’s primary demographic, many games that were spawned out of

the culture tend to perpetuate a negative stereotype of African-Americans. A

good majority of Hip-Hop games involve the protagonist or supporting characters

committing crimes or conforming to an unfair mold that African-Americans have

been placed into for years.

 

Despite the fact that it was quite possibly the most

successful entry into the series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas further stereotyped what African-Americans are known for: robbery, drugs and murder. While you can’t expect developers to create games about Black men going to college, the fact that African-Americans are portrayed so badly is disinheriting.

Just like with any other sub-genre of gaming, Hip-Hip games

have has their share of titles that could be used as the proverbial “weed

plate” – Shaq-Fu is the first title that comes to mind. Everyone knows about Shaq’s affinity of rap music, as well as his disability to make a competent song. That trend continued over to his video game. Riddled with a poor storyline and even worse controls, Shaq-Fu is often cited as the worst video games of all time.

While there are plenty of horrible games on the market,

that’s an accomplishment that you shouldn’t exactly be proud of. If Shaq really

wants to know “how his a** tastes,” he should take a look back at this game.

 

Long Time Comin’

 

While many rap games have come and gone, there are possibly

more over the horizon. With future titles like 50 Cent II: Blood On The Sand (bet you didn’t see that one coming) on the way, we at least know the market for such games is still there. The question is whether or not developers will use and market Hip-Hop in a more creative manner than just sticking to the norm.

Games like Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure and the Jet Set Radio series are both great examples of this. While Hip-Hop has some mainstream appeal, it has a long way to go in terms of quality and content to get more notoriety in the video-game industry.

 

Five Hip-Hop Games to

Check For

 

This list is in no particular order, but these titles are

definitely worth checking out if you want to get up to speed with Hip-Hop’s

latest and greatest offerings.

 

Def Jam: Fight for NY (PS2, GC, Xbox, PSP)

 

This game is Hip-Hop fighters’ Heaven. Critically acclaimed producers AKI got together with Def Jam to create this brainchild. With over 30 Hip-Hop personalities to choose from, few games came close to embodying the lifestyle like this game did.

 

Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style (PS)

 

Based off of the controversial Thrill Kill engine, the Wu was one of the first collectives to massively market their brand. While the game paled in comparison to other fighters that were out during the time, the Wu-Tang Clan was the first rap group to have their own game, let alone their own Playstation controller.

PaRappa the Rapper (PS)

 

While this may be one of the more lighthearted entrants,

it’s still noteworthy. Combining timed button presses with Hip-Hop lyrics,

PaRappa was one of the very first rhythm video games of its kind. The game

garnered enough of a following to spawn its own PSP port, sequel and anime

series overseas. 

Grand Theft Auto: San

Andreas (PS2, X Box, PC)

 

This is the behemoth of the list. San Andreas was the

highest-selling entrant in the GTA series, and with good reason. With a level

of customization rarely seen in video games, SA let gamers roam freely throughout the city while completing the games numerous missions. While it had a great amount of controversy behind it, this West Coast influenced game successful paid homage to one of the most notable eras in Hip-Hop.

 

Jet Set Radio (DC)

 

JSR was one of the first games to introduce one of the art

forms of Hip-Hop: graffiti tagging. It was also one of the first entirely

cel-shaded video games. Dropping back in 2000 on Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast,

JSR let gamers explore various stages on rollerblades, tagging any and

everything in their path. While sales for the game was relatively low, it’s

typically regarded as a cult classic. It also received a Game Boy Advance port

and an Xbox sequel.

 

I’m sure you heard of the saying “daddy’s little girl,” that

is the common phrase used to express the connection that most fathers and

daughters share. For this National Black Family Month, what better way to

celebrate then to discuss the importance of this special bond?

 

Little girls are important. They’re future wives and

mothers – two very important roles in every family. Many women look to their

fathers as the guide to how they should be treated by men.

 

Fathers can help build your confidence, often tell you

you’re beautiful and give you the mind set that you are a princess. Simple phrases

and signs of affection can ultimately make a difference in a budding girl’s

life.

 

As a young woman, I can attest to how important it is to

have a father in your life. Since I was a little girl, my father had a great occupation

out of the country, which kept him far from our family. I was usually the first

one crying – it was always rough to see my dad go off, because I knew that I

wouldn’t see him from quite some time. I know it was hard for him as well, but

at the same time, this is what he needed to do to take care of his family.

 

Through his actions, he taught me the proper necessities,

which included courage and believing in all my dreams. As I’ve grown into a

woman, I see many of the great qualities he has, manifesting inside of me. I do

not know what it feels like not to have a father, but there are way too many

women that do.

 

We got a chance to talk to award-winning television

journalist Ed Gordon, the host of the nationally syndicated show Our World with Black Enterprise. We

spoke about his important project, the release of his new book, and the

importance of the father-daughter relationship.

 

AllHipHop.com: Tell us about this new project your working

on, Daddy’s Promise.

 

Ed Gordon: It’s a national initiative that celebrates the

special relationship between and the importance of the father-daughter

relationship. It really stems from an article I did which appeared in Essence Magazine. I wrote about the

relationship that I have with my daughter Taylor, and the response I received

from the article was really overwhelming. So much so, that I wanted to do

something else, so we created this initiative. 

 

AllHipHip.com: Can you explain the type of responses you received

from the article?

 

Ed Gordon: Well, I knew that Essence was like the bible for Black women, so I knew that it would

be seen by many people. The amount and various people that came up to me and

said “oh my god I saw the article and it really touched me or it reminded me of

the relationship that I have with my father.”

 

One woman, when Taylor and I were out shopping for a dress, literally

ran across the floor screaming. She said, “I read your article and often I read

articles in magazines and I wonder if people are talking about stories that may

not be true, it’s so good to see you guys.” So once I saw that kind of response,

I felt that I needed to do a little bit more.

 

AllHipHip.com: You recently launched a national outreach

campaign at the100 Black Men of America’s annual Conference. Can you tell us

about that?

 

Ed Gordon: Yes, that’s where we made the official

announcement in the sense of the event that we held. We had a panel which included

Judge Glenda Hatchett, whose father passed away, but she had a fantastic

relationship with him and she constantly talks about the difference he made in

her life. Will Downing was on the panel, he wrote a song a couple of years ago

that appeared on his album Emotions, it’s

called “Beautiful to Me.”

It was dedicated to his daughter, and he’s allowing us to use it as our theme

song.

 

Roland Martin, a CNN journalist, and George Curry, also a journalist,

were the four panelists. We had a very candid discussion with the audience

about this relationship, about the Black family and what we have to do. It was

a wonderful kick off for us.

 

AllHipHop.com: Now what is the exact plan of Daddy’s

Promise?

 

Ed Gordon: Well we have a number of plans in terms of what

we hope to do with our partner 100 Black Men, our sponsors the Ford Motor

Company and Bounty; we are going to be doing great things through media

projects and events. The first thing I must say, we really need to awaken

people of the importance of this relationship.

 

AllHipHop.com: Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama

also mentioned something about the Black fathers…

 

Ed Gordon: Yes, on Father’s Day, it’s truly something that

needs to be addressed in our community. We hear about fathers who aren’t there,

who aren’t doing the right thing… this father-daughter relationship is a touchy

situation. I always knew there were a lot of men out there doing the right

thing, but it never got attention. We are never shown those images and they never

were saluted. So we’ll deal with those that aren’t and we want to salute those are,

and that’s the first thing.

 

AllHipHip.com: I’m really close to my father as well, and I

do notice different things in some women that do not have their fathers around.

What are some things that you have noticed or things that some people have told

you about?

 

Ed Gordon: Sometimes you see women who haven’t had

relationships with their fathers having difficulty in dealing with men, and

they may have a chip on their shoulder with men in general. Many women, and

many accomplished women who’ve gone on to have wonderful careers and doing well

in college, have said to me, “You know I feel a void in my life because I did

not have a male presence. I don’t know if this is how a man should treat me

because I have nothing to see and compare it to.”

 

You hear this all the time, whether its a single mother

living in the projects with three kids or more accomplished ones who have a

great professional career, but a poor private life because she made bad choices

with men. A lot of that stems from the idea that daddy wasn’t around, so we have

to understand the importance of being in these young ladies’ lives. One of the

things that we are going to try and do, for many of the young ladies that do

not have fathers in their lives, is partner them up with men that have great

relationships with their daughters.

 

AllHipHip.com: That is a beautiful thing! Can you tell us

about the website that you launched with this initiative?

 

Ed Gordon: It’s www.daddyspromise.com.

On the website we have a national photo album of 300 or more photos, its fun to

see the beautiful pictures that people are submitting. We have celebrities

including Beyoncé and Solange Knowles with [their] father, and a beautiful

picture of Ludacris and his daughter. Its one of those things, this is a

personal way to say to people, “Hey you know we’re out here, and here are the

Black men we’re getting ready to stand up to the world.”

 

AllHipHip.com: You also have a book coming out titled Daddy’s Promise; can you talk a little

bit about that?

 

Ed Gordon: Yes, were shooting for Father’s Day of ‘09, that’s

when we hope that this book will be out. I’m in the midst of doing interviews

for it right now, we hope that by then everything would have been in full swing

for a year. In the book I’ll be talking to a number of Hip-Hop artists in terms

of this whole question of misogynistic lyrics or images, how that’s affecting,

where we draw the line and what we have to start doing.

 

AllHipHip.com: I know that I may be thinking far ahead into

the future, but do you think this might be the beginning of something that

could potentially include mothers and sons?

 

Ed Gordon: Right now this is my avenue, fathers and

daughters. If someone else comes up with that I would certainly love to be in

their corner to help and assist them in anyway.

 

AllHipHip.com: Finally, can you tell us one thing that you

try to tell your daughter, one thing you try to instill in her?

 

Ed Gordon: You know, the one thing that I’m trying to make

her understand is that you get your confidence from you! You don’t get it from

anybody else, and you see this lot in girls. Often I think women, no matter how

accomplished, need that signal that a man has to validate you and “ok” things

for you, no matter who you are.

But I try to tell her, “As accomplished,

successful, smart and right on as you believe you are, if you believe, all of

those things will occur – and you don’t need a man, or anyone else for that

matter, to get you there. Daddy and mommy are trying to give you the tools, but at

the end of the day it’s up to you.” I don’t have lack of much self

confidence – I’m hoping that I can instill a little bit of that in her, and then

she’ll be able to find her way and know herself as a person.