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Labtekwon is worth discovering if you dont know and worth reconsidering if you slept. SOUL POWER ACTIVATE.

December 6th, 2008 tHe blAcK nErD cOnVenTioN featuring performances by: W. Felton Bassey Ikpi Jamma Wun Komplex E The Poet Emcee Labtekwon Untill Then... Bomani Armah Ya Ya Lyrical Leviathan aka Slick Vic Producer Set by: Jon Laine Hosted By: Droopy The Broke Baller 10$ enjoy an intelligent night of beats, rhymes

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hit me up wit yo contact so i can keep u up to date. lab

this is a project i did in college.

Lab

The purpose of this project is to provide an authentic academic paradigm for one of, if not the newest and most influential global cultural phenomenon of the last fifty years; Hip Hop. In this research process data has been gathered to prove that Hip Hop culture is a derivative of cultural patterns of Traditional African culture and the culture of the Diasporas. This study will also seek to demonstrate that patterns of traditional African culture surface in the cultural patterns of the contemporary descendants of African peoples, regardless of environment or conditions. Due to the commercialization and industrialization of Hip Hop culture and the tremendous amount of revenue the entertainment, fashion and advertising industries generate from the cultural form of Hip Hop, it is very important that the original cultural form be preserved not only in practice, but also in theory and form. This project will provide definition to the concept of Hip Hop culture and traditional African culture.

 In this written segment of this research project the following topics will be discussed; a summary analysis of Traditional African culture and the culture of the Diasporas, the origin and dynamics of Hip Hop culture. this written component of this study will conclude with a rationale of methodology , a brief data summary and future research topics.

Traditional African Culture

          The following section will analyze the theory of Traditional African culture or what can be considered Black Culture. To proceed on a path where a parallel can be drawn between traditional African culture and Hip Hop culture, a definition of Traditional African culture must be provided as well as a definition of Hip Hop culture. Due to the greater legacy of Traditional African culture in terms of Human history and the progenitor status of Traditional African Culture as it relates to Hip Hop culture, this project will begin by providing substance to the term Traditional African culture. There are some fundamental aspects that are attributed to what can be called Traditional African culture. Some of these very basic traits of Traditional African culture can be considered in determining a cultural pattern that might be found in contemporary cultures. The following aspects will be examined in this section of the study; the connection between spirituality and intellect, interchangeable cultural and social components that serve multiple purposes, art for the sake of aesthetic and propaganda, Edutainment- entertainment and education combined, ethos and aesthetic are interdependent, maximization of minimal resources and spirituality. An analysis of the concept of Sankofa in context to survival and liberation will be provided to further provide depth to the aspects of Traditional African Culture and the cultures of the Diasporas. The nature of oppression is very important to analyze when any reasonable study is conducted involving African peoples especially in the Diasporas. It is this writers perception that traditional African culture surfaces in cultural patterns of those populations that are the contemporary descendants of African peoples, regardless of environment or conditions.

          The connection between spirituality and intellect is very crucial as well as consistent with the ethos of Traditional African culture throughout contemporary history, as well as antiquities. It is representative of what many modern Black scientists and psychologist call integration of the left and right hemispheres (The Science of Melanin by T. Owens Moore) or Holistic Living (Afrikaan Holistic Health, by Llalia Afrika and The Isis Papers by Frances Cress Welsing).  One of the most ancient forms of the concept of uniting mind and spirit is found in the pantheon of Kemetic Gods. Maat and Thoth were deities in the Kemetic or so called Egyptian pantheon, and they were depicted as husband and wife. Thoth being the male was the inventor of spoken and written language, Lord of books, mighty in knowledge and divine speech, inventor of astronomy, geometry, and medicine, measurer of the Earth and counter of the stars, keeper and recorder of all knowledge. Maat portrayed as the woman, represents the ideals of law order and truth, the name Maat translates: that which is straight. Together with Thoth, Maat was responsible for charting the daily course of the sun God Ra. Maat was also responsible for the judgment of the dead that occurred in the Hall of Maat. By weighing the heart of the deceased against the Feather of Maat, it would be determined if the deceased would enjoy an after life with Ausar or so called Osiris or suffer the torment of being devoured by Ammutt, one of the guardians of the after world. If the heart of the deceased struck a balance with the Feather of Maat, then the deceased would be blessed with a joyous afterlife, if the heart did not balance then the deceased would be punished and tormented for eternity. What is most relevant about the deities called Thoth and Maat is the fact that their vocations are brought together in marriage as well as in the act of charting the daily course of the Sun God Ra. Thoth is clearly a representation of intellect and education, based on the fact that he invented language, astronomy, geometry, and medicine. While Thoths wife Maat, is a clear representation of morality and spirituality, as she is the final determinant in the quest for eternal life. The fact these two deities are married is no coincidence; it further proves that it has been the ethos of ancient Black culture to combine spirituality and intellect. The example of Maat and Thoth are probably the oldest and most obvious examples of this merging of principles.

          In traditional West African culture, interchangeable cultural and social components that serve multiple purposes and art for the sake of aesthetic and propaganda are manifest in the practice of ancestral worship. The recognition of ancestors as spiritual entities that guide the community, involves an intimate knowledge of the lives of family members and leaders that have died in the recent or ancient past and the belief that these individuals are the spiritual forces that guide the people. In many situations this knowledge regarding the lives of deceased leaders or family members, and the ability to describe the lives and exploits of the deceased in detail, is valued to the point of being a specialized vocation. It must be made clear that this process of documenting a peoples history through stories and allegory is in fact the oldest form of record keeping to man. The nature of how these histories are documented is noteworthy due to the fact that the history is performed through artistic mediums such as storytelling and ritual. Even in the context of visual art or dance, the story is told through the use of imagery and symbols, imagery and symbolism that explain past events. This use of imagery and symbolism is in fact an art form that is bound to the guidelines of tradition that require that the stories be told in a very specific manner. Many times in West African cultures, this specialized vocation is known as the Griot, which will be further discussed in another section of this study. The Griot must recall the lives of past kings and great warriors, while shaman and high priest communicate with the ancestors for guidance. The aforementioned vocations integrate music, dance, and art in the form of ritual.  The key factor here is that these are professions of high esteem and a mainstay in West African culture based on the knowledge of the past and the connection to the spirits of ancestors. The artistic performance nature of these further vocations demonstrates the combination of education and entertainment.

           In the more ancient context, the synthesis of aesthetic and propaganda and the nature of aesthetic and ethos being interdependent can be seen during the rule of the Kemetic Pharaoh Piankhi. During the 25^th dynasty of Kemet or so-called Egypt, the Black Pharaoh Piankhi reinstated the oracles of Amen Ra to motivate the Kemetic armies to fight the Assyrians in battle. This move was successful because the people recognized the historical significance of the cult of Amen in relation to the great dynasties of Kemet under indigenous rule. This also proved effective because Piankhi was able to rekindle a renaissance in the cult of Amen and a ferocious pride and nationalism in the people, because they were worshipping the deities of their forefathers; hence, the knowledge of the past enabled a greater affinity to a particular spiritual or religious practice that connected spiritualism to nationalism. The aesthetical value of the Oracles of Amen Ra, were used as propaganda on a national scale.  The end result of this combination of religious aesthetic and political propaganda, led to a course of action that was based on knowledge of the past and a responsibility to God, which is one of the staples of traditional African culture.

           The maximization of minimal resources has been demonstrated in the very nature of African civilization and culture from antiquities to the present with countless examples that could be sited. One of, if not the best examples of this can be seen in the irrigation of the Nile river for the purpose of agriculture. Most people would consider the feat of designing and building of the pyramids as the most prolific achievement of Kemetic peoples. However, the measure of a Pharaoh was based on his ability to sustain the people, which gave credence to the undertaking of the building of the great artifices known as the pyramids in tribute to Pharaohs. It is difficult for the layman in the modern context to understand the scientific and engineering genius required to create complex systems of irrigation canals that span thousands of miles to provide sustenance to many people. Without the presence of what we know as modern technology in the forms of computerized machinery, conventional electrical networks and mass transportation, the dynastic civilizations of Kemet were very successful in achieving a marvel in design and function, clearly demonstrating the maximization of minimal resources.

Traditional African cultural patterns

and

The American experience

 The Adinkra symbol of Sankofa means return and get it or what some have  further interpreted to mean "We must go back and reclaim our past so we can move forward; so we understand why and how we came to be who we are today." This traditional African concept of going back into time is manifest very clearly in early American Black culture, despite the brutal and sadistic nature of the American experience of chattel slavery. Chattel slavery created a system of oppression designed to sever African slaves from the legacy of their original cultures. The intention was to prevent any memory of the African way of life that existed before Maafa; the mass genocide and enslavement inflicted by Europeans during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade. The context for Sankofa in early American Black culture is very relevant in context to the modern American culture of Hip Hop. The struggle towards survival and liberation in early America provides an excellent model to compare to the social and economic conditions that provided a catalyst to Hip Hop culture. It is this writers perception that Traditional African culture surfaces in cultural patterns of the contemporary descendants of African peoples, regardless of environment or conditions.  The oppression of African culture in America must be included in any thorough analysis of Traditional African culture and its connection to Hip Hop culture. The following section will examine the social conditions of early America and the writings of the19th century Black activist David Walker.

The Black experience in Early Post-Colonial America through the 19^th century up until the Civil War, dealt with an element of struggle that has been unparalleled in American history, if not world history. The reality of slavery presents itself as the most inhuman brutal treatment of Human beings one could imagine. Black people were considered as objects, which could be owned, bought, and sold. This perspective was justified by considering Black people animals or sub-Human Beings that were stuck in evolution, similar to apes or gorillas. This attitude was supported by bogus scientific data, falsification of history and manipulation of the Bible. During this period, there was the legalized practice of beating, raping, maiming, humiliating, and murdering of Human Beings, Human Beings who are phenotypically dominant, Black people. Slavery represented oppression not only of the physical body, but it also sought to beat, rape, maim, and murder the mind and spirit as well. This was most easily achieved through the process known as seasoning.

Seasoning was a process that began from the time Africans were captured and taken to the castles off of the coast of West Africa and continued when the Africans were brought to the western Hemisphere to plantations. Seasoning, more specifically, was the process of deprogramming the Black Africans from seeking to exercise any of their original culture, language or religion by implementing self hate and doubt in the hearts and minds of the African slaves. This process was executed through physical force and propaganda. Some of the most prolific propaganda of white racism would find its' origins in Christianity or what 19^th century writer Gerald Massey, would call Christolatry.  Many times Black slaves would be taught that God had made Black people to be slaves because of the curse of Ham (Genesis 9:20- 27). The bible says that Ham had seen his father Noah drunk and nude. Ham went and told his two older brothers Japeth and Shem that their father was drunk and nude. Shem and Japeth held a robe behind there back, walked in backwards into Noahs tent, turned their heads so they wouldnt see his nakedness and covered Noahs body with a robe. Later Noah became sober and cursed Hams son Canaan to be a slave of Japeth and Shems descendants. This story was used as one of the most crucial pillars in the justification of slavery on a moral and spiritual level in America. Through the assumption that Ham was Black and his brothers were white, and the Bible said that Hams son Canaan was cursed to be the slave of Japeth and Shem, white people felt it was their duty to be the masters of Black people. Based on very warped hermeneutics, white racist believed by the authority of Christ and God (the Bible), they were obligated to own, buy, sell, rape, murder, maim, and humiliate Black people. Upon any level of respectable research, these assumptions are found to be ridiculous and far from justifiable on any level: morally, scientifically, or intellectually. Never the less, the larger society determined that there was enough evidence to prove that Blacks were not Human Beings; in fact, early American legislation stated Blacks were only 3/5^th of a Human Being. Based on these issues, there was great injustice and inequality suffered by Blacks during the period of slavery and even beyond into the 20^th century. These conditions made it necessary for Black people to cry out against the brutality and savagery committed against them in the American culture of Chattel slavery and Apartheid. The irony may lie in the fact that many times the call to freedom was traced back to the same book that many white people used to justify the enslavement of Black people. Through manipulation of Biblical text, many white people professed that it was a divine duty given to the white race to civilize the black savage with violence and religion (The White Mans  Burden, described by Rudyard Kipling).  Never the less, the Black church still played a major role in the quest for liberation and freedom in the Black community throughout all American History. This is perhaps one of the most vital and noteworthy synthesis of those aforementioned aspects of Traditional African culture, the ability to use what was created as a weapon to bring destruction and turn it into a tool to bring forth life. The following section will provide examples of how this method of reversing the negative into the positive through the Church has existed from the beginning of the American experience.      

          The founder of the African Masonic Lodge, Prince Hall, was a Black Methodist minister that fought in the Revolutionary war as a Patriot. One of the boldest pre- Civil War anti slavery conspiracies was organized in part by Denmark Vesey, through the vehicle of The African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, North Carolina. Later the slave revolt led by Nat Turner would also be based on the church and the divine ordination that Black people should fight for their freedom.  There are many other examples of the Black Church acting as an organization of freedom and liberation for Black peoples in America, what is most important is the connection with the writings of David Walker. Many times, if Blacks were given any education, the Bible would be the vehicle to acquire the valuable skills of reading and writing.  Quite often, abolitionist such as Quakers, Evangelical Presbyterians, Methodist, Baptist and other more conservative Humanist sects of Christianity in early America, would feel that everyone should be given the chance to get to know Gods word, the Bible, and they fought very hard to insure they would be able to spread the Gospel, even to the lowly Negroes. This process required African slaves to be trained in the area of literacy, so they could read the Bible. What was not expected was the fact that Black people read the Bible and saw a different picture from the one that was given to them by the white society. They saw evidence that there was a God that set captives free, and a God that would fight for the oppressed, which had no ally on Earth. They read stories about Moses leading his people to a promised land, a people that were slaves to a powerful and cruel Pharaoh in a foreign land. They read stories about how God named Black people as being the seeds of not only Ham, but Cush, Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia, the great Black kingdoms of Biblical times. Upon a deeper and even closer inspection, Black people started to learn that in truth, they were the chosen people of God. They soon realized that a God with so much Love, beauty, strength, and wisdom could never let someone be so wicked and cruel to any of Gods creatures. Eventually many Black intellectuals and students of theology began to question the authenticity of the white racist version of Christianity. Rather than indict the Bible, God, or Christ, they soon started to see that the Bible had been misused for wicked deeds. For this reason, there exists a dichotomy between the racist misuse of the Bible as a tool for oppression, versus the interpretation of the bible by Black people as a guide for liberation, education and freedom from an oppressive system.

          David Walker was a member of the Massachusetts General Colored Association, as well as the African Masonic Lodge in Boston, and the May Street Black Methodist Church, all of which placed Walker in a network of anti-slavery activist such as Walker Lewis, John Hilton, the Baptist minister Thomas Paul, and William Guion Nell. In this Black community of early 19^th century New England the seeds were laid for what would serve as a prophecy of American history for nearly 2 centuries.  In the Appeal, David Walker covers more subject matter than just Biblical reference; David Walker achieves setting forth a paradigm of Black Nationalism, Economics, morality, repatriation, Black Theology and a new sense of Pro-Black propaganda. The combination of these elements is very relevant to the elements previously referred to as Traditional African culture. Walker offered what may be considered a prophecy of the Civil War:

The fact is, the labour of slaves comes so cheap to the avaricious usurpers, and is (as they think) of such great utility to the country where it exists, that those who are actuated by sordid avarice only, overlook the evils, which will as sure as the Lord lives, follow after the good. In fact, they are so happy to keep in ignorance and degradation, and to receive homage and the labour of the slaves, they forget that God rules in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of Earth, having his ears continually open to the cries, tears, and groans of oppressed people; and being a just and holy Being will at one appear fully in behalf of the oppressed, yet the Lord our God will bring other destructions upon them-for not infrequently will he cause them to rise up against another, to be split and divided, and to oppress each other, sometimes to open hostilities with sword in hand.  (David Walkers Appeal, Preamble)

What makes Walkers writing so powerful is the fact that he balanced an extensive knowledge on the conditions of society, a working knowledge of history, and the synthesis of spirituality and religion to create meaning for his intellectual substance. In the above excerpt, Walker describes the economic reality of slavery providing a cheap labor force for its advocates, the moral contradiction of oppressing a people and thinking God will not hear the cries of those people, and the prophetic claim that soon these whites would oppress each other and even fight with sword in hand. Walker helped to create a paradigm for Black Nationalism by writing in the very title of his work: To the COLOURED CITIZENS of the World, but in particular, and very expressly, to those of THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The foresight of unifying the plight of Black people in America with those Black people around the world would be later echoed by countless Black activists in the 20^th century, from Marcus Garvey to Malcolm X.  However, what is perhaps is the most powerful motivational tool in the quest for Black freedom and liberation is the ability to stir the souls of Black people. This stirring of souls was also demonstrated in the example of Piankhi and the restoration of the oracles of Amen Ra. By synthesizing so many relevant issues in the Black community into issues of not only societal relevance,  but spiritual relevance, Walker demonstrates a cultural pattern that existed in Traditional African culture for countless millennia, despite the fact the all the societal conditions early American culture were created to prevent that connection from being made.

           David Walker was able to speak simultaneously to the elite, educated class of free Blacks and the mass of Black slaves spread through out the South. This ability to combine the educational function, with the act of uplifting the spirits of a people, has remained the core of Black liberation in not only American history, but it is the substance of Black liberation in ancient history, as well as contemporary history. Further demonstrating the thread of the ancient ethos of Black culture, Walker makes reference to the very nature of ancient African civilization and higher culture we discuss in this study. In Article II of the Appeal, the section entitled: Our Wretchedness in Consequence of Ignorance Walker states:

When we take a retrospective view of the arts and sciencesthe wise legislatorsthe Pyramids, and other magnificent buildingsthe turning of the channel of the river Nile, by the sons of Africa or of Ham, among whom learning originated, and was carried thence into Greece, where it was improved upon and refined.  Thence among the Romans, and all over the then enlightened parts of the world, and it has been enlightening the dark and benighted minds of men from then, down to this day.  I say, when I view retrospectively, the renown of that once mighty people, the children of our great progenitor I am indeed cheered.  Yea further, when I view that mighty son of Africa, Hannibal, one of the greatest generals of antiquity, who defeated and cut off so many thousands of the white Romans or murderers, and who carried his victorious arms, to the very gate of Rome, and I give it as my candid opinion, that had Carthage been well united and barbarous city by storm.  But they were dis-united, as the coloured people are now, in the United States of America, the reason our natural enemies are enabled to keep their feet on our throats.

Walker effectively connects the fact that Black people have a vibrant history of higher culture and achievement, to the theory that Black people were in bondage, in part to a lack of Black unity. This usage of historical knowledge and spiritual wisdom is essential in understanding the ethos of traditional African culture.  Walker professed an obligation to God Almighty for Black people to fight for freedom. As previously mentioned, this is similar to the function of the reinstatement of the Oracles of Amen Ra by Piankhi during the 25^th dynasty of Kemet. It must be stated that these types of positive ideas worked not only to create a new sense of pride in both contexts, it also worked to destroy the mindset of inferiority that can prevent a course of positive action.  This is in fact the true essence of Hip Hop culture, to achieve a sense of self that is defined by positive substance and free will rather than force and the perceptions of outsiders.

These tools of intellect and spirituality have resurfaced in the movements of the Noble Drew Ali, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Mohammed, Martin Luther King, and Allah (Clarence 13x, founder of the Nation of Gods and Earths) in the 20^th century.  By using the Bible as a tool for building the pride and confidence of Black people, writers such as Walker functioned as prophets and Intellectuals, vocations that instilled the potential of dignity, divinity, humanity, and intellect in all Black people, which can be considered the true nature of the vocation of the Hip Hop Emcee.  It is very relevant to state that the roles of prophet and intellectual were not considered attainable by Black men and women in a racist white society; yet they were absolutely necessary in the struggle for Black liberation; because they combined the mind and the spirit, the main targets of attack by the racist machine.

The Origin of Hip Hop

Hip Hop  was officially born on November 12^th 1974 in The Bronx Borough of New York City. The term Hip Hop was intially used to describe youth parties in the Bronx during the early seventies. However the term Hip Hop would eventually define  a culture that was born out of very unique circumstances, aesthetically and in ethos.

By 1970 Black urban America was at a critical turning point due to the effects of the Civil rights movement of the sixites. A new sense of Black pride was prevalent in Black popular culture. However, due to legislation that made housing discrimination illegal, many Black middle class families chose to leave the Black communities that previously were the only option for Blacks regardless of economic status, this phenomena is known as Black Flight. The pending effect of this Middle class portion of the Black population leaving the black community had longterm as well as short term effects on the black community. The economic base suffered greatly as many Black businesses left with the migration of the Black middle class to the newly integrated  surburban  communities. The result left a community that struggled with unemployment, crime, a deficient tax base, and a population that did not own there living abodes. New York City was no different to the aforemetioned model of urban Black America.

     In 1970 the per captia income of New York City  was $5269 a year, by 1975 that figure inched up to $7375 a year. However, between 1970 and 1975 the unemployment rate in New York City jumped from 4.8% in 1970 to 10.6% in 1975.  The Black community suffered the effects of this unemployment trend in a very serious way. With increased arsony, due to slum lords that rather collect on insurance policies,  instead of struggling to collect rent from poor people with no money . These intense conditions of poverty also proved to be a additional motivation for gang warfare between the groups of disenfrachised youth struggling to survive in an urban wasteland.

During this turmulutous time of the early seventies something very unique occurred in the Bronx Borough of New York City. Black music always was always a salve in the Black community for the woes of not only urban life but rural life as well.  However the elements for what would become the global phenomena of Hip Hop culture was born in the Black and Latino Ghetto of New York City. In 1973 the earliest form of Hip Hop culture was the result in part to the efforts of Jamaican immigrant Kool Herc. Kool Herc laid down a large corner stone to the musical foundation of the culture of what is known as Hip Hop. Kool Herc brought a style of music that was popular in Jamaica at the time, Kool Herc would chant improvised rhymes and Beat poems over Dub records from Jamaica. At the time, Reggae was not popularized in Black Amercian culture. so to better cater to the youth of the West Bronx of the Early seventies, Kool Herc applied this style of rhyme and beat poetry to the instrumental and drum breaks of the popular Rhythm and Blues records of the time. Kool Herc further helped evolve the Hip Hop culture by extending these instrumental and drum sections of phonograph records by using two copies of the phonograph records and repeating the desired segment of music by repeating the instrumental sections of the phonograph records between two phonographs with the use of an audio mixer. By doing this, Kool Herc turned the vocation of the Deejay into a new form of a musician that uttilized a form of technology, the manipulation of prerecorded music to create a new form of music, very similar to the artistic mediums of collage and mosaic.

Eventually this use of the phonograph or the turntable as an instrument and the oratory performance of poetry or rhyme began to evolve into a very unique art form in the Bronx Borough of New York City. The original form of of beat poetry or rap was somewhat simplistic and relied on short rhymes, that were intended to keep the atmosphere of the party at its peak. In the beginning the rhymes used in the African American tradition of signifying and the dozens were reintroduced into this new performance phenomena. Eventually it began to evolve into a more original  intricate form. Kool Herc was responsible for the evolution of what is known as the Hip Hop Deejay, the cornerstone of Hip Hop culture.

During the same time in 1974, a young man from the Bronx by the name of Kahyan Aasim (a.k.a. Afrika Bambaataa)  and D.J. Grandmaster Flash (considered the inventor of scratching and cutting,) were heavily influenced by the new musical aesthetic that was introduced by Kool Herc.  What is crucial in understanding the true nature of the origin of Hip Hop culture is recognizing the contribution of  Kahyan Aasim or more popularly as he is known; Afrika Bambaataa.

Afrika Bambaataa was a former gang leader of the New York street gang, The Black Spades.  Bambaataa had since become a community activist that organized parties in the Bronx for the youth. Bambaataa recognized the legacy of African culture and the potential of this new form of expression which was born in the very community that he had formerly been a gang member in. Bambaataa decided to channel this new cultural form into something that would offer youth an outlet for positive expression, rather than the self destructive nature of street gangs. On November 12^th, 1973, Bambaataa formed an organization called the Zulu Nation. The original Zulu Nation was essentially a collective of DJs, Emcees (what some call rappers), B-Boys (dancers who would perform acrobatic and contortion oriented dance moves to the instrumental breaks played by Hip Hop Deejays) and graffiti artists. The advent of the Zulu Nation in 1973 added the dimension of cultural awareness and social consciousness to the new culture that would become Hip Hop. A year later to the date of the birth of The Zulu Nation, on November 12^th, 1974 Hip Hop was officially born. Hip Hop was a cultural form that was created by those that were disenfranchised from mainstream American culture. Hip Hop became a cultural form that was defined by ; its style of music,  its connection between spirituality and intellect, interchangeable cultural and social components that serve multiple purposes, art for the sake of aesthetic and propaganda, Edutainment- entertainment and education combined, ethos and aesthetic are interdependent, maximization of minimal resources and spirituality. These elements were in fact derivative of Traditional African culture despite the harsh conditions of poverty and desolation.  It is important to recognize that the Zulu Nation was based on community development and the positive organization of youth in the community. The ethical standard of the Zulu Nation and the original form of Hip Hop culture had great emphasis on originality and authenticity. Plagiarism was and still is considered one of the lowest acts that could be committed in Hip Hop culture. The appreciation of this code made it possible to measure skill in all of the art forms of Hip Hop culture, in terms of originality and authenticity rather than popular appeal. The name  Zulu Nation was named such by no mere random chance, the connection between the ancient cultures of Africa was critical in the earliest stages in the development of the true aesthetic of Hip Hop culture. To this day, Zulu Nation represents the foremost and oldest organization in Hip Hop culture. The Zulu Nation is still based on principles that emphasize Knowledge, Wisdom and Understanding, Freedom, Justice and Equality for all Human Beings.  .

The pillars of Hip Hop Culture

(The following section will briefly examine the 5 pillars of Hip Hop culture; The Deejay, The Emcee, The B Boy. The Graffiti Artist  and Knowledge.)

deejays

In the previous section, the origin of Hip Hop culture was discussed. In that discussion, the contribution of the first Hip Hop deejay, Kool Herc, was examined. As previously mentioned, the Hip Hop Deejay would extend the instrumental and drum breaks of phonograph records, through the use of two turntables. This form of creating new musical compositions is critical to the identity of Hip Hop music and culture.To provide additional information regarding the artform of the Hip Hop Deejay is very important in understanding the nature of Hip Hop culture. Some key factors that are necessary to understand about the Hip Hop deejay is the fact the the Deejay is crucial for the technological aspect of Hip Hop culture. Deejays have to be responsible for the audio equiptment needed to have a party. The turntable is in essence the drum or the heartbeat Hip Hop culture. This requires the Hip Hop Deejay to have a working knowledge of audio equiptment and basic principles of electricity. Due to the nature of having to put together a sound system that could fill the outdoor envrionment of a block party, this knowledge is fundamental for the Hip Hop Deejay. Another major aspect of the vocation of the Hip Hop Deejay is an extensive knowledge of music from a wide range of genres and artists. A Hip Hop Deejay is measured not only for his or her skill using the turntable, but the ability to tap into the most obscure moments of a record to find a beat noone has ever thought to use. This process is often  referred to as Digging in the crates. Because most Hip Hop Deejays would store their record libraries in plastic milk crates, the term has become indicitve of the true nature of the Hip Hop Deejay. In the earliest forms of Hip Hop music, the deejay was a composer, as well as producer of Hip Hop music bound by the same code of originality and skill.

Emcees

The art of emceeing is based on the delivery of lyrics and a form of beat poetry. The lyrics are usually in rhyme format and are chanted in a melodic fashion over rhythms. Emceeing is the typical voice of Hip Hop culture. The art of emceeing is based on a code of ethics that is representative of the ethos of Hip Hop culture. The first code of conduct is based on originality. The act of "biting" or plagiarism is considered the cardinal sin in the culture of Hip Hop. The pretense of creativity and originality is one of the major cornerstones of Hip Hop culture. It is worthy of mention that the act of "biting" is only placed in the context of the culture itself, in other words if something is imitated or copied from someone or something outside of the culture it is acceptable. Another major aspect of the subculture of Emcees is the highly regarded skill of improvisation known as "freestyling". Freestyling is considered to be a fundamental skill in the criteria of what makes an individual a true Emcee. It must be stated that the legitimacy of a Hip Hop Emcee is contingent upon the ability to perform "freestyle" poetry at any given time.   The third criteria of a Hip Hop emcee is versatility. In short, this is the ability to cover  various subject matter as well as utilizing many different cadences, lyrical patterns and delivery styles. Finally what some people consider the basic pretense of Hip Hop culture, which is termed "keeping it real". This concept is credence to the ethos of Hip Hop that places high value on authenticity and truth. Within the context of keeping it real an Emcee must describe experiences from his or her own life or tell stories from the third party perspective based on some degree of reality. It is considered unacceptable to speak about acts of crime or violence unless one has experienced these type of phenomena first hand. The The idea of "keeping it real" is a foundation to the idea that the Emcee is the accepted voice of Hip Hop culture. One particular irony in context to the concept of keeping it real is shown when an Emcee uses subject matter describing Super Human powers or fantasy type story lines. In these situations there is no violation of the keeping it real ethos. Which in fact are very similar to the relationship between Maat and Thot (the truth and the word.)

B boys

The art of the B Boy is the dance component of the Hip Hop. This artform is clearly derivative of the ancient art of African Panther dances and the practice of Capoeira in the Western Hemisphere. B Boys, Bronx Boys or Breakdancers would perforim acrobatic and contortion styles of dance to the instrumental and drum breaks played by Hip Hop Deejays. This artform is bound to the same ethics of originality and authenticity. This particular form of Hip Hop culture historically is one of the most competitive, as well as commercialized aspects of Hip Hop culture. the B Boy Crew, the Shaka Zulu Kings were the first to join Zulu Nation in 1973, demonstrating the legacy of the B Boy from the beginning of Hip Hop culture.

Graffiti  artists

   The graffiti artist is the visual component in the aestheic of Hip Hop culture. Through the use of aerosol paint, Graffiti artist created large murals that not only expressed artistic technique, but offered a self stylized interpretation of social commentary. Because this aspect of Hip Hop culture was in fact illegal, this area of Hip Hop culture is perhaps the most codified of all. Many times the artist would create elaborate murals for the sake of competition amongst the community of graffiti artists, rather than seek mass approval for their work.

Knowledge

When discussing the final pillar of Hip Hop culture, Knowledge, the theology of the 5% or more properly; The Poor Righteous Teacher, must be examined. The vocation of the Poor Righteous Teacher must be examined as it was the most relevant ideology to the genesis of Hip Hop culture. Through the Zulu Nation this ideology held an impact on language, ethos, aesthetic and the function of Hip Hop Culture. Notably this ideology was designed to bring a new sense of identity to the disenfranchised Black youth in Harlem during the mid sixties by former Lieutenant of the Fruit of Islam at the Nation of Islam Mosque 7, Clarence 13x. This ideology is in fact a modern version of what the Black activist David Walker detailed in his literary work David Walkers Appeal from the 19^th century. The Poor Righteous Teacher has a duty seek Knowledge, Wisdom , Understanding, Freedom, Justice, Equality, righteousness, the knowledge of himself and  The Science of Life and Everything in it Love, Peace, happiness, for all the Human families of the planet Earth. These aforementioned 12 jewels are the prescribed duties of a civilized person. There is really no way to confuse the substance of these duties with something other than what Walker appealed to in the Black community. In fact, the aforementioned 12 jewels are considered the true essence of civilization and higher culture. There are however, a few factors that demonstrate a clear evolution from the perspective of men such as David Walker and the contemporary theology of the Poor Righteous Teacher. The theology of the Poor Righteous Teacher states that the Black man is in fact God; furthermore, the theology of the Poor Righteous Teacher states that unless one has knowledge of self, then that individual is mentally dead or dumb, deaf, and blind. This theology of the so called 5%er is derivative of the traditional African synthesis of the knowledge of history and spirituality. Based on the principle that the Black man is God and knowledge of self or God is a necessity for the mind to be alive, the recognition of knowledge and spirituality are inseparable.  This creates a situation where the concept of God is no longer external and the knowledge of the past is mandatory to prevent from being dumb, deaf, and blind. It is also crucial to understand that within the prescribed duties of a Poor Righteous Teacher, he or she must teach: Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Freedom, Justice, Equality, Love, Peace, Happiness, Civilization, The Science of Life and all the things in it, to all the Human families of the planet Earth. From this frame of reference, the emphasis is placed on the Poor Righteous Teachers ability to obtain the aforementioned jewels and then to pass them on to others. This duty of the Poor Righteous Teacher works to eliminate elitism or exclusivity that often leads to the oppression of peoples that are different from Human in-groups.  In reality, these jewels are the elements that empower a community to achieve liberation, and equality with other communities. However, the connection between Knowledge and the responsibility to God while being God is the latest development in the struggle for Black liberation. This being God is in fact the birthright of Black people.

A major point of discussion in the progression from revolutionary/freedom fighter to Poor Righteous Teacher is the recognition of ones birthright. In many case, Black people believe the destiny given to them from birth is one of degradation, despair, servility, and suffering. This negative perception of self in the Black community, coincides with the ideology of Whiteness as Property described by Cheryl L. Harris. In Harris writings the idea of whiteness as property suggest that by being white has privileges that allow white people to have a higher standing in society, with more rights and greater access to resources. This theory automatically casts non-whites as unequal proletariats that stake no claim to the ownership of whiteness or the privileges associated with it, therefore mistreatment and abuse should be accepted by non-whites because thats all they deserve. This concept of whiteness as property validated the injustice that was passed as legislation from the beginning of the American Republic to present. Whiteness as property validated legislation such as the Jim Crow laws after slavery, which included segregation and violence with no repercussion. The concepts of whiteness as property also lead to the marginal science of Taxonomy credited to Linnaeus. Taxonomy was the process by which all animals, vegetation and mineral was categorized into various groupings and classifications. In this process of taxonomy, white people were considered modern man and the Black man was considered an ape like creature, that had somehow got stuck in evolution before reaching the highest level of development. The preponderance of scientific and legislative efforts to protect and further confirm this idea of whiteness as property or more appropriately; white supremacy still linger in many catacombs of American society. There is a paradigm that contrasts the theory of Whiteness as Property; this theory is found in the theology of the Poor Righteous Teacher. In the theology of the Poor Righteous Teacher, Blackness is property that holds Supreme substance. This means the property of Blackness is ordained by the Supreme authority, The Creator, God.  In the Knowledge Degree of the Student Enrollment from the 120 (the 120 Degrees are the basic lessons of the Poor Righteous Teacher), it states:

1. Who is the Original Man?

The original Man is the Asiatic Black Man, The Maker, The Owner, The Cream of the planet Earth, Father of Civilization, God of the Universe.

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This degree offers a frame of reference that not only counters the ideology of whiteness as property, but it also creates a paradigm for Blackness as Property.  With a new frame of reference of Blackness as property that transcends the negative perception of self, The Poor Righteous Teacher lays a foundation to rebuild the Black communities based on knowledge of self and a Divine responsibility to self, which in purpose is the true nature of Hip Hop culture.

                       In reality, the work of men such as David Walker laid the foundation for a generation born 20 years after the Civil Rights movement would be realized. The critical difference is that the Poor Righteous Teacher is responsible for utilizing the resources that were not available to the masses of Black people during the lifetime of David Walker. It is very easy to imagine that if Walker were to travel through time and see many of his prophecies realized, there would be a new standard for what his Appeal might seek to do. In a world where racism uses its victims as tools for oppression, there is no longer the same threat of an outsider coming into Black communities to rape beat and murder, in the modern scenario, Black people do this most often to themselves. For this reason the concept of merging the intellectual and spiritual selves is even more necessary. When the moral obligation of being a manifestation of God in the flesh and the intellectual vocation of a scientist are combined, the role of the Black activist takes greater meaning when functioning in the Black Community. It is the Poor Righteous Teachers duty to develop solutions to problems in the community.

In the 17^th degree of the Lost Found Muslim Lesson 2 it states:

What is the meaning of civilization?

One having Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding, Culture and Refinement and is not a savage in the pursuit of happiness.

This degree defines civilization by a definition that is based on mental and spiritual properties rather than material properties, such as buildings, telephones, or cars. The following degree further develops this ethos of Knowledge and Responsibility. The 18^th degree states:

18. What is the duty of a civilized person?

To teach the uncivilized people who are savages, civilization righteousness, the knowledge of himself and the science of everything in life, Love, Peace and Happiness.

By eliminating the typical Western philosophy of individuality and adapting the status of God, the Poor Righteous Teacher takes on the responsibility of a nurturer and a life giver in his or her community. This way of thinking is further defined in the 19^th degree, which states:

19. If a civilized person does not perform his duty, what must be done?

If a civilized person does not perform his duty which is teaching civilization to others, he must be punished with a severe punishment: Ezekiel, Chapter 3:18 And when I say unto the wicked thou shall surely die, and thou gives him nor warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked ways to save his own life, that same wicked man shall die in his own iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand. St. Luke, Chapter 12:47 And that servant which knew his Lords will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.         

Ultimately this degree does show and prove that the perspectives of men such David Walker still exist today in various forms even after the aesthetic of culture has changed, the ethos remains the same. The obligation of the Poor Righteous Teacher takes the same Biblical reference made by the Black church through out American history, and puts it in context to real action. The duty of a Poor Righteous Teacher will not allow him to stand by while someone is in need. This attitude is a direct manifestation of the Brothers Keeper philosophy or the Each One Teach One philosophy, the school of thought that says we must Love one another as much as we Love ourselves. This philosophy is universal as it applies to other cultures as well, such as Taoism or Zen. These Asian philosophies believe in the principle of Balance, Harmony, and reciprocity. However, in the case of the Poor Righteous Teacher it is found in the same biblical reference used by David Walker, Nat Turner, and Denmark Vesey, where one has a responsibility to God to perform his or her duties as an example of God.

Ultimately, the evolution of the Black activist into the early form of Hip Hop culture is very important in 2004. Black communities need teachers to educate their youth, and that is what the action of a Poor Righteous Teacher and the true culture of Hip Hop is designated to do.