Hip Hop Cointelpro?
I was over at alternet and ran across This Article on Hip Hop and the police. While much of the article was on point regarding the police surveliance of Hip Hop artists (I'm not surprised), what got me was the idea that Hip Hop is unders surveliance much like Dr. King and Malcolm X, the Black Panter Party, US or other Black organizations.
quote:
ome see motives that are even more nefarious. Cedric Muhammad, publisher of the webzine BlackElectorate.com and former manager of the hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, ran a series linking police harassment of rappers to the infamous COINTELPRO programs of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Muhammad recently wrote a public letter to the Miami Herald, suggesting that reporters should shift the focus of attention beyond police harassment and racial profiling, "properly placing it where it belongs – at the federal level."
The feds already have used antiterrorism strategies to crack down on domestic street gangs, and some officials have even linked such gangs to terrorism. Muhammad writes that linking gangsta rappers to genuine gangsters allows a COINTELPRO-like program to continue under the guise of homeland security, thus preempting the potential for a militant mass movement of black people.
There is no doubt in my mind that COINTELPRO exists in black communities, but Hip Hop artists of today, with very few exceptions are anywhere near the caliber of a Malcolm X or Huey Newton. COINTELPRO was made to prevent the rise of a Black messiah, The only place where most Hip Hop artists are leading black youth, are to jewelry stores, car dealerships, the local Mall and music stores and consumer debt. I don't care how talented Tupac or Biggie Smalls were, they were no Malcom X's. Period. This goes back to a yet to be posted write up I am doing on the Hip Hop summit. Hip Hop may be the voice of a generation of black folks, but It isn't political. Many political blacks may listen to hip hop, but most of us who are intelligent only view Hip Hop (or we shoudl specify Rap music) as entertainment and seek mental stimulation elsewhere. I'll end this with two quotes:
"It's bigger than Hip Hop" -Dead Prez
"it won't teach you how to raise a child or treat your wife"- Tribe Called Quest.
(17 years of informed commentary)
1 comment:
On : 7/13/2004 6:11:56 AM dsekou (www) said:
a black journalist named gil nobel did an interview way back in the late 70s- early 80s era with an admitted fbi informant named darthard perry .
perry , a very articulate fellow was going public and revealing that he was an informant for cointelpro and some of the things that he had done in an effort to save himself after a falling out with his bosses in the fbi left him facing a prison stretch and possible death behind bars ..apparently he knew too much . (seems that "snitches get stitches" from their bosses as well as from those they inform on .)
he said he was sent to infiltrate several groups in california including the watts writers workshop and the black panthers .
he said on fbi orders , he burned down the building that housed the watts writers workshop , an act which caused him great personal pain because he said that he had previously , as part of his cover , helped build the performing stage in the building with his own hands.
he said he was once ordered to strike up a romantic affair with a certain woman he found rather repugnant looking , in order to get closer to her brother , a ranking member of the black panther party
one thing in particular that he mentioned was that the fbi had agents who as part of their jobs , studied carefully and paid very close attention to black music .
these agents he said , could name practically any piece of black music that you played for them , tell you what album it was on who were the performers on it , what the lyrics were ,what year it came out , what the song and album themes were , and the personal history of the artists performing on it .
black music was viewed as a subversive art form that had to be carefully monitored , dissectedand understood, in order to gain insight into not only the minds and activities of the artists who were seen as subversives , but also to serve as a window into the minds and activities of the black community... our enemies ALWAYS study us carefully ...in other words, Tarzan know that the drums "talk"
On : 7/13/2004 9:25:27 AM sondjata (www) said:
I don't doubt that FBI or others are keeping an eye on black music. History has shown that one of the first things done by europeans to blacks in America was to abolish the drum as a means of communication and organization. Definitely in terms of the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power movements the use of music was defintey a part of the "movement.' However and maybe I'm just pessimistic, but Hip Hop, since the passing of the "conscious" heyday seems to have little organizing potential outside of debt creation and certain anti-social behavior. That's not to say that certain artists such as Paris, Dead Prez, The Coup among others are not putting out hardcore anti-system work, but by and large they are neutered by "mainstream" Hip Hop. I'll put it like this, The day Hip Hop artsits and fans have a HIP HOP political summit that does not involve any concerts and who's agenda is full of detailed economic plans including the formation of corporate entities to create AND distribute music as well as ownership in broaedcast media. Then I'll believe that current "mainstream" Hip Hop artists are truly targets of a COINTELPRO.
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