UPDATE! Mos Def: Hip-Hop Artist, Actor, Converse Designer to Speak Today
Mos Def will be at Buffalo State College TODAY! to take part in a public discussion with campus and community members regarding hip hop's impact on the lives of individuals, particularly youth.
Billed as a message to young people pertaining to their role in community development, something tells us that this is going to be a push to join, not divide, along pop culture lines.
Def is described as introspective, insightful, and socially aware. He's starred in several movies, has won awards from the NAACP and he has written many songs about his native home, Brooklyn, NY. Some of his lyrics here.
One thing is for sure, Def has got the attention of a huge body of fans. It will be more than interesting to see what he does with it as a vehicle for heading his admirers in a direction he thinks will suit them best.
Def will be joined by Bakari Kitwana, director of Rap Sessions: Community Dialogues on Hip-Hop, and co-founder of the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention. Kitwana is also the author of The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture. Both Def and Kitwana are known for their attention to contemporary race-related issues and the influence of media.
According to Tamara H. Horstman-Riphahn, M.Ed. Executive Assistant to the Dean, School of Education, Def was in the area in February, when he spoke in Rochester. Horstman-Riphahn also said that Kitwana has become a close acquaintence of Ronald S. Rochon, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Education at Buffalo State, through Kitwana's involvement with students across the country.
Sponsorship for this forum has been provided by the Auxiliary Services Grant Allocation Committee, University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education, African American Students Organization, Black Active Minds, Student Life Office, and United Students Government.
Friday, May 2
Buffalo State College
3PM, Bulger Communication Center North
Free and open to the public
From the release: This dialogue will focus on the importance of community strength, individual responsibility, and collective respect within social and political activism.
Former executive editor of The Source, Kitwana has been acknowledged as an expert on hip-hop politics by the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor and other leading news outlets. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Savoy, The Nation, Village Voice, Black Book and other publications. Kitwana writes "Do the Knowledge," a column on hip-hop and youth culture for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and is a consultant on hip-hop for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He's been a visiting scholar in the political science department at Kent State University and has lectured on hip-hop at colleges and universities across the country for the last decade, including Harvard University, Columbia University and Stanford University. His new book Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes and the New Reality of Race in America (Basic Books, June 2005) is about race and hip-hop culture. Kitwana holds Masters Degrees in English and Education from the University of Rochester.
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Comment Options
flyguy
To a large extent I think hip hop has contributed negatively to the overall culture by glamifying the gang, drug, and violence lifestyle. Actually let me rephrase I think cvertain types of hip hop do this and others do not. It bothers me when I see gangsta hip hop artists say they arent promoting the lifestyle and just saying it like it is. Well if alot of money, power, and hot women are part of that lifestyle then sign me up!!! Having a sense of how the hip hop culture actually influences people who arent making the g's, those less off I see a very negative influence. I think its created a fairly rude self centered culture and has led indirectly to the deaths of 10's of thousands of people and the destruction of many of our cities from those who buy into that lifestyle. Now does hip hop influence everyone in the same way? heck no it doesnt but I do know for those who may not have the greatest family structure or direction the "lifestyle" seems appealing. What sort of messages are we sending children wh havent lived the lfestyle yet byut are being exposed to it in music videos and lyrics at home? What are we creating? The gang banger life is portrayed as fun and cool and powerful, a big load of testosterone, big bad dogs, and violence. Certainly doesnt promote neighborly friendship. The gangsta life is no way to get peace, real respectable success, and stability into ones life!
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fishwhisperer
um... flyguy... have you ever listened to a mos def song? or read any lyrics? did you cut and paste your little diatribe there? in many ways, hip hop and urban culture DOES promote "neighborly friendship," though i suppose that culture could appear scary and threatening to an outsider who is only familiar with stereotypes.
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fishwhisperer
um... flyguy... have you ever listened to a mos def song? or read any lyrics? did you cut and paste your little diatribe there? in many ways, hip hop and urban culture DOES promote "neighborly friendship," though i suppose that culture could appear scary and threatening to an outsider who is only familiar with stereotypes.
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Quaker
The "gangsta" life was around well before hip hop. That variety of rap, of which Mos Def has almost nothing to do with, is simply reflecting a reality urban life. The only people who get wrapped up in it without understanding what its about are kids in the suburbs. If you grow up in the poorer neighborhoods, these rappers don't tell you anything you don't know. We have much bigger problems to deal with than your diatribe. Listen to Mos Def and see what you think then.
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MikeJW
Mos Def is in no way "gangsta". I'm a big fan of his lyrics, Def Poetry Jam on HBO and his acting. Flyguy did you know Mos Def has acted on Broadway? oh the horror a gangsta rapper on Broadway...lol
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flyguy
I was not pinpointing mos def. I was making a larger statement. Nothing in my ststement said anything about Mos Def in particular.
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iamBuffalosfuture
ha ha mos def is for white kids, trust me 95% of his fans are white, and although he's one of the "blame whitey types" his message is overall positive. But gangsta rap does have an effect on inner city youth, you'd be a fool to think otherwise. I'Il accept that the gansta lifestyle was aroud b4 gansta rap, but g-r nutured and glorified the lifestyle to point where its an accepted part of the culture.
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flyguy
I was not pinpointing mos def. I was making a larger statement. Nothing in my ststement said anything about Mos Def in particular. In addition I clearly stated "I think certain types of hip hop do this and others do not" in refering to good and bad influences.
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flyguy
If what iamBuffalosfuture said about the content having hints of "blame whitey" in it then I am offended. Do we have a double standard in this Country?
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MikeJW
iambuffalosfuture must have taken a poll of every single one of Mos Def's fans to get that info. Excellent work!(sarcasm) Whats wrong with appealing to mass audiences?
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iamBuffalosfuture
i have a very good idea of what people are listening to and who likes what, as i am college aged, talk to alot of music fans and am one myself. sorry i know what i know, go ahead and try to refute the demographics of mos def's fanbase. there is nothing wrong w. appealing to mass fanbases, im never one to criticize an artist for "selling out" by advancing their music in a diff. direction. And as evidence of Mos Def's blame whitey tactics, he rallied support for the Jena 6 thugs. Im too lazy to pull examples from his lyrics but feel free to look them up.
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reflip
"ha ha mos def is for white kids, trust me 95% of his fans are white"
Truly insightful. Thanks for sharing.
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iamBuffalosfuture
i think it is
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buffalostan
I think that he got this engagement only becasue he is black.
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buffalostan
I think that he got this engagement only becasue he is black.
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buffalostan
I think that he got this engagement only becasue he is black.
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GDC
I like Mos Def and I'm Italian, so what,
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bfloBR
personally, i am a big fan of mos def and am, as iambuffalosfuture points out, white. despite the gross generalization of his statements, he may be onto something; just check out #69 on stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/17/69-mos-def/
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carl
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/2008/02/17/69-mos-def/
"He is everything that white people dream about: authentic (”he’s from Brooklyn!”), funny (”he was on Chapelle show!”), artistic (have you heard “Black on Both Sides?”), an actor (”he’s in the new Gondry film!”) and not white (”I don’t see race”).
He has done an amazing job of being in big budget movies (The Italian Job) and having one of his songs become a white person wedding staple (Ms. Fat Booty) but still retaining authenticity and credibility.
If you find yourself in a social situation where you are asked to list your favorite actor or artist, you should always say Mos Def. This way you can name someone that everyone has heard of and you don’t look like you are trying to one up anybody. The only possible negative consequence is some white people might think “I wish I had said that first.”"
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bhorvath
What happened to his effort (band) "The Black Jack Johnson", that stuff rocked, but they never cut an album.
This stream of comments is, by the way, really really embarrasing for Buffalo, what happened to the censor tool?
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MiesvanderDoh
haha I read that stuffwhitepeoplelike a while back, saw it in rolling stone not much later. pretty hilarious I think it is very narrow minded to characterize his fanbase. One city is not an accurate representation for the nation, first of all. Second of all, most people I know listen to/like mos def, black and white. they did some black jack johnson stuff on the new danger.
I saw spike lee about 4 years ago at daemen. When one of the comments made was there were no rapper actors making positive moves, mos def was spike lee's enthusiastic rebuttal. I had to work today, and I have to work tomorrow so I will miss this lecture, however it is something I would very much like to see.
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buffaloed
UPDATE: The event was postponed until tomorrow. He was stuck in NYC.
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Arete
Mos Def to appear at Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College, at 3pm, Friday May 2nd
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Blueprint
Hip-Hop has done more positive things in this country than many of you realize. Just look at what it has done for race relations...Take in a concert once in a while -- Notice the diverse crowd. To inner-city youth these artists are seen as entrepreneurs, individuals that made something of their lives. It inspires hope to those that have to deal with poverty on a daily basis. Many of the artists give BACK to their communities. Take Ludacris as an example. He's responsible for a non-profit orgnanization designed to help young people achieve their dreams. These guys invest heavily into their communties.
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buffgayguy
I like Mos Def...and I am white and gay, so what again?
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