Do You Remember the Time....

Its Saturday. I couldn't find anything to watch, so I search for documentaries on Netflix. Now, I'm watching a documentary called, "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme." This documentary won many awards such as the Urban World Film Festival Award, L.A. Independent Film Festival Award, and the Kodak Maverick Award. It features some folks you might know, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and freestylers such as Supernatural and Juice.

This film took me back to a time when I truly loved hip-hop. It took me back to a time when I had mixes of underground rap on lime green transparent audio tapes. It brought back memories of watching my uncle practicing his skills on the turn tables. The drama of hooking it up. Oh, and the woopins for messin up my moms records.

It took me back to a time when I would walk to the park with my uncles and this huge boom box that had a record player at the bottom. We thought we were cool but sounds pretty ridiculous in retrospect, LOL! and learning to break dance on cardboard boxes. This film took me back to a time when I ran home from school to watch "Yo, MTV Raps." -Driving my family crazy doing the "Ed Lova" in public.

I remember writing down the lyrics to this song and memorizing them:



I remember my B-girl days at "The World Beat Center" in San Diego, rockin' Cross Colors and it was all about the boxers!
I remember Friday Cyphers at school. And the first and last time I choked. (Salamz to Liquid Sunshine-My whole crew took Shahada, Mashallah.)

This is the wonderful energy behind art. It touches and inspires individuals in so many ways. Art can take its admirer to feel its beauty, its pain, its experiences, the anger of social injustice. The artist has gained a form of freedom by releasing what was once carefully cradled within and sharing it with those who will love it and protect it just as the artist does or crush it without regard. An artist is by definition is unique in style, presentation, and many times message. It is this passion that the audience feeds off of. Example:


X Clan... Everyone has an opinion, but truth be told in the mezcla of information, X Clan forced me to research my "blackness"~Africa~ my first glimpse of Islam. I always tell my children "Take what is good, and leave the rest." (of course if it is within the guidelines of your deen).


Many times you sit and listen to a CD and it's awful- Ask yourself WHY, awful. It lacks passion, energy, and sometimes a complete thought. I have heard some songs that sound like the recitation of the alphabets over a random beat. We all know that some of the best artist are on the underground which allows them to stay true to themselves and not true to the dollar. This film gave opportunity for me to reflect on my relationship with hip hop, how hip hop influenced my journey to Islam, and it brought back some really good memories.

HA! HA! HA! HA!







~This is not a share story