ILL BREAKS CREW

We’ve all seen it before: the top 5 emcees and producers lists. We’ve all debated it before: the top 5 graffiti artists and breakers lists. We’ve all thought some lists – and list-makers – were wack if their lists weren’t the same as ours. The thing is, that many times, the ones we favour aren’t the most skilled and the ones we think are skilled aren’t the most favoured. What people like are just opinions and if they don’t agree with ours, it doesn’t mean that they’re a hater. What if we could say, “just cuz I don’t like that music, doesn’t mean that I can’t like that person”? What if there was room for more definitions of hip-hop than our own individual ones? What if there is room for both Ringtone Rappers and Gangsta Rappers for both to be hip-hop? I’m not saying that I have the answers, I’m just asking the questions, hoping for more unity. It’s cuz, in my humble opinion, the hip-hop nation has enough problems without us trying to beef over who’s wack and who’s ill. What do you think?

I started wondering about all this after seeing the video above where Joe Ski Love talks about his hit, “Pee Wee’s Dance”. Props to D-Nice for creating this dope video series and thanks to my man, Brotha SouL, for putting me on to it and this discussion topic.

For me, currently, I didn’t listen to hip-hop back then. I started with Kool Moe Dee and the Fat Boys and then really got into it with Wu-Tang and the Pharcyde. However, the more I read about hip-hop history and catch up with the older music, I wish that hip-hop today was more like it was. I mean, I think that many artists in all the four elements are better than the artists back then in terms of skill, but there seems to be something about the early days that makes me feel it set a true standard.

Maybe the picture above was meant as a joke or a spoof or a diss, and I don’t normally like portraits of Jesus, but I think that there is something here: it reminds me that everybody needs Jesus. Everyone needs to know that there is a Father who loves them. Everyone needs to know that God forgives them. Everyone needs to know that there is a better way to live life than the way that they are living it out now. Biggie said, “mo’ money, mo’ problems”. Sure, I can see that. But the opposite isn’t true, is it? No money, no problems? That don’t work either. From those that simply like hip-hop to those that “live hip-hop”, we all need to realize that things like skrilla, shoes (for your feet and your whips), sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. isn’t going to give things like love, joy, inner peace, freedom, salvation, transformation, and a relationship with God like Jesus does. Many more of us in the hip-hop culture and community needs Jesus. (It doesn’t mean that he need to stop “being hip-hop”. We just need to be a better version of it.) Some of us need him a little and some of us need him a lot. Some of us know it and some of us don’t (but it’s still true). That’s why, out of his love, God is gonna do what he do. For us, and for you. That’s why ILL BREAKS CREW hopes to be people who walk a life of faith together. That’s why we also hope that you will join us in this journey, in person if you can and through the web if you can’t.

Hip-hop is almost 40 years old. I’m surprised that in all this time, that there isn’t more of a relationship between hip-hop and the church. It seems like there are only a few handfuls of people that have bridged the gap. I wish there were more. I hope to help in this.

I mean, check out the videos below. Hip-hop is being used by car companies and kids shows. And I don’t think that it’s just in marketing. There’s gotta be an understanding that hip-hop is now weaved its place in pop culture. It’s now a part of everyday life. And people are living it out and living it out without God.

It wasn’t too long ago and rock & roll was rejected by the church and nowadays, you can hardly find one whose services don’t have drums or guitar or [in a Chuck D. voice] bass. I hope that we don’t take as long with hip-hop. There are too many souls at stake. Do I think that we need to accept and adopt everything about hip-hop? No. With every culture – and sub-culture – there are good things and bad things. We can keep the good things, but in getting rid of the bad things, we don’t have to lose the people with it.

God made a bridge to us through Jesus Christ. God gives that same bridge to those in the hip-hop community as well. I hope that more of us can help them see that bridge and cross it.

“We all get older, but we don’t all get grown” – Shad

We’ve had the party rap era, the gangsta rap era, the bling-bling era. We’ve had the time of thugs, hustlers, and pimps. What’s the next season going to be? I used to hope that it would be a spiritual one. Hip-hop has its influences from all different religions (e.g. Wu-Tang, Guru, Kanye, Lauryn Hill, Nas). I used to hope that the popular theme for a minute would be chasing after God. I still think that it would be dope, but now I also have another idea. I wish that the older folks would make songs about being or becoming an adult. We all know that the pioneers are older. If hip-hop started in 1973, they’re even 37 years older now! However, some of the not-so-old-school cats are grown men now too. Ice Cube has kids. Timbaland and Jay-Z are grown now, probably not living the party-life like they used to. Snoop has a show on TV about his family life. The lyrics don’t have to be about how to make mortgage payments, put away retirement funds, or picking a family mini-van. (Although if there was a song about that, it’d probably be this one.) But why can’t we have more songs about responsibility, respecting our spouses, revering our elders, and raising our kids right? (For example, check out a song in the music player near the top of the page on the right called by Illtripp called “Percussions and Bomb Threats”.) My hope is that this would actually better our society and help our youth expect and prepare for life, both in growing and maturing.