{"id":989,"date":"2010-07-21T21:51:25","date_gmt":"2010-07-21T20:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mpdspace.com\/blog\/?p=989"},"modified":"2011-10-30T00:06:31","modified_gmt":"2011-10-29T23:06:31","slug":"dead-prez-positive-conscious-hip-hop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mpdspace.com\/blog\/political\/dead-prez-positive-conscious-hip-hop\/","title":{"rendered":"Dead Prez\u2026 Positive, Conscious Hip Hop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Social philosophy… Conscious hip hop <\/span><\/h2>\n

Dead Prez is a Great example of Conscious hip hop.\u00a0This kind of hip hop represents a transition from the kind of hip hop that <\/span>Represents life as being a party, with content centred around, worshiping the “in the <\/span>Club”, Alcohol, drugs, money, Im gangster mentality to more progressive Social philosophy. This\u00a0social philosophy or social Conscious is one that gets the audience to think about their place and <\/span>Role in society getting the audience consider wider social issues and possibilities, breaking the im gangster mentality. personally Dead Prez played a pivotal role in my personal development, breaking the im gangster Image, discovering a more positive empowering self image… Its all about\u00a0Conscious hip hop<\/span><\/p>\n

Positive Hip hop<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

When it comes to woman and relationship, Dead prezz doesn\u2019t follow the format that\u00a0You find in popour rap\/ hip hop music were woman\/ young teens seen as sex <\/span>Objects and bitchs, an image which is heavily promoted in the mass media. An <\/span>Image that is damaging, not only to girls\/teens in their formative year and <\/span>Beyond but damaging to society.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conscious Hip Pop <\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/span>The attitude and values promoted in the main <\/span>Stream media or damaging to the \u00a0Psychological\u00a0development of young man and women alike. Why… because for one the music distorts young peoples self image and moral code, and inhibits the formation mutual\u00a0respectful relationships between the sexes, because young men begin to see woman as bitches and hoes to be used, at will.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Socialy and Politicaly Conscious<\/span><\/a><\/span> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

So groups like dead prez are a well needed breathe of fresh air. All in all as a social and political<\/a> group who have been around for many years and who have gone though many transformations creatively and politically. <\/span>Some of their early work may be consider offensive, in saying that their work should be consider intellectually against the back\u00a0 drop of their social and environmental <\/a>developmentally years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conscious meaningful Rap\/ Hip Hop<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n

In recent years I have gone though many changes and learnt many things, the\u00a0Lyric\u2019s in this peace by dead pez mirrors much or my own journey. I also used these <\/span>Lyrics in my early bird toastmaster\u2019s ice breaker. <\/span><\/p>\n

Way of\u00a0 life Dead\u00a0Prez…\u00a0Lyrics<\/span><\/h3>\n

1 \u00a0 \u00a0What you know about the running, the stretching<\/span>
\n2 \u00a0 \u00a0The katas, the weapons<\/span>
\n3 \u00a0 \u00a0The path, the journey<\/span>
\n4 \u00a0 \u00a0The jewels, the learning<\/span>
\n5 \u00a0 \u00a0The fear, the focus<\/span>
\n6 \u00a0 \u00a0The aches, the pains<\/span>
\n7 \u00a0 \u00a0The contact sparring’, the breaks, the sprains<\/span>
\n8 \u00a0 \u00a0The trials and errors, the ranks, and belts<\/span>
\n9 \u00a0 \u00a0The spiritual growth, the science of breath<\/span>
\n10 \u00a0The tests, the techniques<\/span>
\n11 \u00a0The forms, the stances<\/span>
\n12 \u00a0The flow, the rhythm, the internal answers<\/span>
\n13 \u00a0The herbs, the healing, the quiet meditation<\/span>
\n14 \u00a0The truths reveal through daily dedication<\/span>
\n15 \u00a0The love for the art, the sweat on your shirt<\/span>
\n16 \u00a0The mind, the body, and the spirit at work<\/span>
\n17 \u00a0The feelings of failure, the hope’s to succeed<\/span>
\n18 \u00a0The battles of questions like “Should I smoke weed?”<\/span>
\n19 \u00a0The water, the thirst<\/span>
\n20 \u00a0The cleansing, the blessings<\/span>
\n21 \u00a0The flash of insights, the teachings, the lessons<\/span>
\n22 \u00a0The grappling and locking, trapping and boxing<\/span>
\n23 \u00a0The training and slacking<\/span>
\n24 \u00a0The starting and stopping<\/span>
\n25 \u00a0And staying’ committed, when your homies ain’t with it<\/span>
\n26 \u00a0The hours or practice after the class is finished<\/span>
\n27 \u00a0The cause of your ignorance, flaws in your discipline<\/span>
\n28 \u00a0Broken laws of nutrition, and poor conditioning<\/span>
\n29 \u00a0The vitamins and supplements<\/span>
\n30 \u00a0Salves and ointments<\/span>
\n31 \u00a0The kinships, pull joints in doctor appointments<\/span>
\n32 \u00a0The dues, the pads, the wraps, the gloves<\/span>
\n33 \u00a0The mouthpiece you left home, the taste of your own blood<\/span>
\n34 \u00a0The hunger, the blocks<\/span>
\n35 \u00a0The punches, the squats<\/span>
\n36 \u00a0The crunches, the example you set for the youngsters<\/span>
\n37 \u00a0The will, the skills, to kill or to heal<\/span>
\n38 \u00a0The separation between what’s fake and what’s real<\/span>
\n39 \u00a0The laws of physics, the class “comradely”<\/span>
\n40 \u00a0The vows of humility, the bow, the courtesy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to the words, not just to the Beat<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Good music\u00a0 has a\u00a0message, <\/span>This message\u00a0\u00a0is \u00a0needed on the streets, In <\/span>Alkebulan<\/a><\/span> <\/a>(Africa) music was more then just the Beat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lines 1&2;…<\/span><\/strong> What you know about the running, the stretching The katas, the weapons… Relates to me, the discipline found in physical fitness, martial art qi gong and Yoga, etc, which is the bed rock, the foundations to build a conquering and persitant attitude.<\/p>\n

Lines 3&4…<\/strong><\/span> The path, the journey, The jewels, the learning… I relate this to the personal commitment the continual learning and rewards found in a well structured discipline. I would sum it up as a Philosophy of Personal development<\/a><\/p>\n

Lines 5, 6 &7<\/span><\/strong>… The fear, the focus, The aches, The pains, The contact sparring’, the breaks, the sprains…\u00a0 These lines represent to me, the essence of personal development as in overcoming personal limitations, growing stronger and stronger, pushing forward, When you at first feel weak, this is the persistence needed to attain your dreams an success and climb the mounting of success, in any pursuit.<\/p>\n

Lines 8..<\/strong> <\/span>The trial and error, the ranks, and belts…\u00a0 I see this as finding your way being bold and courageous, developing a plan and Working it, refining and discovering the rewards. To put it in one, this is the drive for Knowledge and\u00a0the Persistence to implement the Knowledge.<\/p>\n

Lines 9<\/span><\/strong>… The spiritual growth, the science of breath Life is very much a spiritual journey and all pursuits in life lead to further Spiritual growth and enlightenment, the lessons in life are ultimately about the Personal and Spiritual Knowledge,\u00a0Experience of self.<\/p>\n

Lines 9<\/span><\/strong>… Science of breath <\/a>The knowledge and application of special breathing tecnics such as found in yoga, qi gong etc is known as the science of breath Once understood the science of breath is a tool that shines a light into the inner\u00a0world\u00a0of the mind and your being. This consciousness experiences leads to a greater mastery and understanding of the mind, body and spirit.<\/p>\n

Lines 10, 11, 12<\/span><\/strong>… The tests, The techniques, The forms, the stances, The flow, the rhythm, the internal answers, The Skill that is gained through repetition and discipline, the knowledge which is understood through experience and application.<\/p>\n

Lines 13<\/span><\/strong>… The herbs, the healing, the quiet meditation… I interpret these lines as the holistic life style. A holistic self style requires a conscious and proactive attitude in the area of health and the environment. The aim of a holistic life style is to work in harmony with mind, body and spirit.<\/p>\n

Lines 14…<\/strong> <\/span>The truths reveal through daily dedication…\u00a0 What more needs to be said, you need to labour to discover the fruits. Far too many people give up on their goal ambitions and dreams, before they really get started.<\/p>\n

One of the universal laws of nature<\/span><\/strong> is that thing come in to being in seasons and stages. Just like a farmer you must have vision of the harvest before the harvest, what must be understood is that there is work that has to be done in between the vision and the harvest, this is where daily dedication comes in.<\/p>\n

Lines 15, 16 & 17…<\/strong> <\/span>The love for the art, the sweat on your shirt,The mind, the body, and the spirit at work, \u00a0The feelings of failure, the hope to succeed… Readers of mpd space.com by now would have gathered that I am dedicated to yoga, qi gong\u00a0, juggling and martial arts, I am passionate about these disciplines Because, there are and have been tools that can be used on multiply level to aid Personal growth and as said above, the truths are reveal through daily Dedication.<\/p>\n

Lines 18<\/span><\/strong>… The battles of questions like “Should I smoke weed?” This is a complex and dynamic one, which over stretches the scope of this Article<\/p>\n

Lines 19 to 22<\/span><\/strong>… \u00a0The water, the thirst, \u00a0The cleansing, the blessings,\u00a0The flash of insights, the teachings, the lessons… I relate these Lines to spiritual discipline of fasting and the Inner learning\u2019s which take place in the process, The grappling and locking, trapping and boxing… Ok I am going to use a quote to explain a quote….<\/p>\n

“Civilize the mind, make the body\u00a0savage”- Chairman Mao<\/strong><\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n

In my experience the best physical training or work Out is, when you test your metal against another man, one that is as or more Determined to win. This is when you have to pull on your latent inner resources.<\/p>\n

Lines 23\u00a0 to 25…<\/span><\/strong> The training and slacking,\u00a0The starting and stopping\u00a0\u00a0And staying’ committed, when your homies ain’t with it… These lines explain to me that commitment is about Persistence. Persistence has no end it knows no condition, its you against the world.<\/p>\n

Line 26…<\/span><\/strong> The hours or practice after the class is finished… this brings home the truth that success is many times the result of the extra effort outside the formal setting, there\u2019s a saying \u201cwhat you practice in private you get priased for in public\u201d<\/p>\n

27\u00a0 to 28… <\/strong><\/span>The cause of your ignorance, flaws in your discipline Broken laws of nutrition, and poor conditioning… No more needs to be said,\u201d We do not rise to the level of our expectations, We Fall to the level of our training and conditioning”<\/p>\n

I’m jumping to line 36…<\/span><\/strong> Which is… The example you set for the youngsters<\/p>\n

For me line 36 is the most important “the example you set for the youngsters” as individuals we in a inter connected system it is right that we be not good role models but great role models for the younger\u2019s and the next generation.<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n

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