Hip Hop's Political Prowess: Beyond Mere Rhetoric

HiphoPolitico will dedicate the next few features to a DENSE topic- hip hop's capacity as a political force and vehicle for social change. Hip Hop Caucus's (HHC) nine member office has leveraged star hip hop power to engage America's youth and communicate oft overlooked needs of urban communities. Lennox Yearwood, HHC's executive director explains:

We are giving voice to those who are outside of institutions, folks who are not in college, who didn’t graduate high school; we are able to tap people at the barber shop, on the block and in the beauty salon. We allow their perspective so that voice doesn’t get lost in the discourse.

Leave it up to Politico ( HiphoPolitico's older and wiser brother) to jumpstart our reflection with an article that proves hip hop's political power transcends beyond mere rhetoric. Stay tuned for more on the following:

• the agenda, work and reach of HHC

• how hip hop's effectiveness as a mobilizer and messenger complemented Obama's campaign

• the contradiction between hip hop's progressive agenda and misogynistic and violent images present in commercial hip hop

• The perplexing reality that most politically conscious hip hop artists are not popular enough to cater to mainstream audiences. As much as I like T.I.'s music I can think of several artists off the top of my head that are more appropriate choices.