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Stealing from other people is an American tradition as old as the Constitution. Among America's first counts include its theft of land from native tenants, its theft of people through systematic slavery, and its theft of ideas to accommodate a lack of national history. These historical offenses, of course, became habit and have made way to more recent accusations of cultural theft. In the 20th century, for example, mainstream pop culture has made a practice of shoplifting black music traditions for its own profit and enjoyment. First, white America "borrowed" jazz. Then it "borrowed" the blues, then rock and roll, funk, and most recently, Hip Hop. It is this final ill-gotten gain that interests me most: Hip Hop. Why? Because Hip Hop is my culture. It is the foundation on which my frame of reference is built. Born a few years before me, Hip Hop has not only shaped my worldview, but has sculpted the era in which I live. One might say that instead of a double helix, I have two turntables and a microphone spinning DNA throughout my body. Hip Hop is more than just a part of my life; Hip Hop is me. Yet, my complexion is as pale as your garden-variety Caucasian. While my skin tone does not exclude me from participating in Hip Hop, it does call my motives into question. Do I speak with Marshall Mathers' accent out of a desire to be “down” with Viacom's version of pop culture? Or am I one of those disenfranchised “wanna-be’s”, merrily following contemporary hipsters? Is there any possibility that I approach Hip Hop with passion and genuine interest? Can a white person save Hip Hop? The answer to the last question is, of course, no. This is not because I am white or that I lack Hip Hop credentials, such as rhyming, spinning, or dancing. It’s also not because Hip Hop does not need saving, because it does. The answer is because no single person can save it. Instead, if Hip Hop is to be saved, every human being who cares about the culture must do it. We (all of us who have an interest) need to take Hip Hop back, and reclaim it from the mass-marketing mailboxes of Middle America. To understand Hip Hop's current crisis, we must first trace a bit of its history. Human beings have an established record of coming together to express their joy through rhythmic movement. In the early or mid-1970s, Hip Hop emerged as the latest in a long line of music sensations. Hip Hop was born in the Eastern United States as both a social and urban experience. Its parents were of African descent, black city dwellers. Among early hip hoppers were a mix of harsh poverty and middle class prosperity. People of varied economic backgrounds mixed casually because crack cocaine was still a decade or so away from carving out the economic chasm that currently exists in America's inner cities. Urban life was far from prosperous, but in the 1970s it had not yet bottomed out either.
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