The U.S. Senate just passed a bill on July 29, 2021, designating August 11, 2021, as “Hip Hop Celebration Day”, designating August 2021 as “Hip Hop Recognition Month”, and designating November 2021 as “Hip Hop History Month”.
There are lots of activities gearing up for Hip-Hop’s big 50th birthday in 2023. There’s no denying it’s influence on music, fashion, cinema and culture. From Dapper Dan finally being given his flowers to many of us having taken witness to so-called mainstream brands adopting the vernacular of the streets into their advertising campaigns. Graffiti is now a staple at art exhibits and yes, you guessed it - Madison Ave found ways to co-opt that as well. This is great news, and we’re happy to report it - however, I can’t help but wonder if amongst all of the hoopla and hurrah, are we potentially losing something? There’s such beauty in the telling of the story of hip-hop. We at Hip Hop Scriptures have been doing that for EIGHT YEARS this month. Let’s use this new recognition by the Senate to go back to our roots…that of COMMUNITY. Kool Herc’s infamous party literally started in his local community center.
PEACE to the hip hop Gods and Godesses.
