NT-3138

Title slate: The Eleventh Hour #138, Politics of Rap
Rec. 3/2/89

Grants from charitable organizations announced and overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.

Show opens with a music video clip, "Africa", from black hip hop group out of Brooklyn, New York, Stetasonic.

Host Lipsyte cuts to a live scene of a crowd of mostly young black people. A Black rapper (probably KRS-ONE)standing above the crowd with a megaphone encouraging the crowd to end the violence being committed among themselves. Rapper chants, "stop the violence" as crowd answers back.

Crowd and cameraman outside the Apollo Theater, marquis reads: BB King Mar 3 8.12 Midnight, The Whispers Mar 9

James Mtume from funk group of same name talks to unseen reporter from MTV:
Interview Inserted:
Mtume: Violence is just a result of a deeper ill that we have, especially in the youth of black America. We have a cultural problem that needs to be addressed. There's disenfranchisement in terms of we got to fit over 50% dropout rate. We have an unemployment rate like that's astronomical. We have some very serious problems that we have address, we have to address. What I think is very good about this is that it's an act of self determination. The rappers coming together to make a statement and try to correct an ill.

Rapper Lawrence "Kris" Parker, AKA KRS-ONE, speaking with unseen MTV interviewer about what he calls "self destruction". He talks about the fact that the rap music is not causing the violence - it's "brothers" robbing and stealing from one another.

Comments from various Rappers continues. Rap artist MC Delight talks with unseen interviewer about the lack of respect for one another and lack of moral fiber.

Clip from "Stop the Violence" music video

Frank Lomax, Vice President of the Urban League speaking to a group and states that the leading cause of death in young Black males ages 16-34 is murder.

Close up rapper Daddy-O speaking into mic to unseen audience Insert:
We as adult, black Americans have gone. Because we are not role models in our home. We are not heroes, and we need to become heroes. The heroes in most black neighborhoods, especially in inner city neighborhoods, become the drug dealers.

Rapper Chuck D speaks into mic:

Insert: Black America's brainwashed. And in order to turn that brainwashing around, we as adults have to all take up our responsibility and communicate the right ideas.

Back in the studio, Host Robert Lipsyte introduces rap artist Kris Parker

Insert Interview:
Robert Lipsyte:
I'm joined by Kris Parker, also known as Krs-One, of Boogie Down productions. Kris was one of the founders of the Stop the Violence movement. That's very powerful stuff, Kris, and yet, how can you do what the institutions of the community, the schools, the police, the churches have been unable to do?

Krs-One:
Well, basically, you have to ask yourself the question, who do kids respect the most? And there is no and when I say kid, that's anyone who's under some sort of authority, there's 30 year old kids, there's 20 year old kids, anyone- no one respects authority. And when you give a statement or demand like, don't do this, this is bad, the ids turn away from it and go somewhere else. The object of rap music and artists that give positive messages is to come to our audience on a level two level basis, it's like I'm the guy right next door to your house. I'm not the guy talking down to you or up to or up at you. It's like on a level thing. It's like, Oh, that's Kris. You know, it's more that/ So then you go into a face to kids respect fads more than they do laws. And if a record is a hit, that becomes the new fad. And that's what's followed.

Robert Lipsyte :
Do you think rap is becoming that powerful that it's going to have that kind of effect on people? Well, Kris said this,

Krs-One :
right? Any form of communication, it's like that- any form. Rap is another happy medium of communication.

Robert Lipsyte:
Yeah. But then you go into phase three, and you become an authority figure, right?

Krs-One :
Right.

Robert Lipsyte :
What happens then?

Krs-One:
Someone has to succeed me.

Robert Lipsyte:
Well, but I mean, do you see that rap is going to have real effect going to be so powerful? It's going to have messages that people haven't maybe heard before, in this way?

Krs-One :
Well, yeah, it will. But it won't be the last, it won't be the final word. This is like one chapter in a book, you know, in a 17, chapter book, rap music. The other one would have to come from maybe next year's hit will be a movie star that comes out speaking non violence in rap music in the movies, he would then become the new fad and so on. But on the topic of rap music, yeah, this will definitely

Robert Lipsyte:
Do you think raps will have positive effect?

Krs-One:
Certain some of them, some of them, all of them have a positive effect in terms of entertainment. But in terms of learning, or spreading a message or a direct concept, say 50% of it is.

Robert Lipsyte:
Yeah, what what led you to rap was did you come out of the music or out of as, as a poet or? Well,

Krs-One :
I studied poetry for four years. And what really got me into rock was it was a guy named Scott Sterling, who was a social worker at a shelter in which I stayed there. And almost, yeah, yeah, for 10 years. And he, um, he he heard he bought one of my poems, by the way, it was called Advance, it was a song about nuclear war. He read it, I said, this is excellent stuff. You know, I was looking for a vocalist myself. I wanted to get involved with a group. So we hooked up, got together in two years of studios, record companies and so on. We eventually created our first album. You were a homeless kid?

Robert Lipsyte :
Yeah, and it's Scott La Rock.

Krs-One:
Mmhmm

Robert Lipsyte 12:27
Died.

Krs-One :
Last year, August 26th, 1987.

Robert Lipsyte:
We don't have very much time left but but what interests me is that there's there's a kind of a self censorship in your work. I think your line was you don't write about anything that makes people dream or makes their penises hard.

Krs-One :
That's right.

Robert Lipsyte 12:48
What does that mean?

Krs-One:
It's strictly reality music we're dealing with strictly. I- I'm really not into the self glorification. "I'm this, I'm that." You know, it's more we, our, us. That's basically our mode, why would say a statement like that? Definitely. Yeah.

Robert Lipsyte:
Kris Parker, thank you very, very much for being with us. Stay where you are. There's more on Tap Daddy-O, Chuck D. and the hosts wrap. But first, a clip from the group Public Enemies video, Night of the Living Bass Heads, a hip hop commentary on among other things, the media and the Wall Street drug scene.

Music video clip ends and Host Lipsyte, back in the studio introduces his next guests.

Insert Interview:
Robert Lipsyte:
Joining me are two top rappers Daddy-O, leader of Stetsasonic, who you saw at the top of the show, and Chuck D, leader of Public Enemy, who you just saw. Welcome, Chuck, you've talked about rap music as black America's TV station. What's the message that's going out?

Chuck D.:
Well, matter of fact, you know, it's like, it's the network that black people never had. See, the thing about rap records, is that it's descriptive of a situation. Matter of fact, when I was growing up, I never knew how a black kid in Los Angeles or black kid in Texas was living. Today, rap reaches those those points. Matter of fact, it's descriptive, and it defines and dictates the way black people live and the way they should live because people are expressing themselves. And if we had a television network, to give ourselves role models, or so called heroes, you know, then black American black America, let's say rap maybe wouldn't be as powerful. But rap compensates for the lack of media.

Robert Lipsyte:
When you were saying telling telling black people how they should live. You know, rap music is not monolithic. Different groups have different messages, what what's, what's the message you're putting out on the black TV station?

Chuck D. :
Well, our message is basically telling us to know about ourselves know that we do have a history, and you have to know your history to know where you should go in the future. And that's it simple and plain. We don't believe that the curriculum in the school systems is good enough to tell black people people how to deal with America, we have to know the education of America how to deal as Americans and we must know the education for black people have to deal with America as a black person. So you have two different schools of thought and two different types of training that we have to be taught. So a lot of times being that we don't have media control it to teach large amounts of people, you know, how what we're about how we act and how we talk about how we do things, then rap records kind of fill in that void. For example, you have television, you have radio, and you have print. But none of these things are being picked up in our best interest coming from a black sauce or a black voice.

Robert Lipsyte:
And black kids are turning them off because they feel is not relating to them.

Chuck D.:
Right.

Robert Lipsyte:
Daddy-O, in in the sense that you're an artist. And yet, it seems as though the artist has some sort of social responsibility before his art.

Daddy-O :
Or I've always been involved in that. But I always say before you're a reporter, 'fore you're a newsman, 'fore you're a milkman, you're person first. So the type of person that I'm flexing my music. And so the reason I have a social responsibility is because I've always been that type of person anyway. Yeah. It's always been something after that.

Robert Lipsyte :
The danger though. If you don't entertain, you're going to be turned off to

Daddy-O :
Well, I don't worry about that. Because I've always been a great entertainer anyway. You know, Sammy Davis Jr. is my role model. They call me Baby Sammy so I don't worry about that part

Robert Lipsyte:
Well is rap ahead or behind the people that it's relating to. Is rap leading them is his lap is rap coming out of their consciousness?

Daddy-O:
Both. I think that is the situation that in most cases in the case, like my, my, my, what I have, is priority and what Chuck has a priority on what Kris has a priority, then we definitely come ahead. We you know, we come out to give a message and we come out to lead the people you know, knowledge and information is the key to life. If you don't know, then there's there's no way that you can make a change. When a group like Stetsasonic does a record like Africa, we we look to give them information on South Africa and about Africa as a heritage as far as black people are concerned. In the same token, we relate to the people because we come, we come right out of their culture. We live with them. So we know.

Robert Lipsyte:
One of the things that excites me about rap is that something that comes out of my time: the image of Malcolm right. Relate that to what's happening in rap.

Chuck D:
Well, I think it's the image of Malcolm- what Malcolm was was a man that was intelligent enough to see what, you know, what it took to be black and and get by for the masses or your people in America. If you're intelligent enough to understand the situation around you, I think everybody could be on the level of a Malcolm X which was 20, 25 years ago. I think about, let's see, even with people like Minister Louis Farrakhan, who I support, you know, I think it's important that you follow the living rather than following the dead. So right now in this day and time everybody's looking back, and we should look forward and look at the situation now. And if you're going to look back then study all the way what's happened in our past and just to know where to go in the future, you know. So it's, it's a thing about what Malcolm stood for, because he understood the situation around them. And we're trying to tell the people today and the youth today understand the situation around you, in order to know where to go in the future.

Robert Lipsyte:
And there's a sense too that there's something generational about rap. I mean, kids, you know, are relating to rap. Their parents may be listening to Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, they're not relating much as 25 years ago, white kids were getting onto rock and roll. And their parents found this dangerous and intimidating.

Daddy-O:
Well, just look at the situation. Anita Baker sings about good love, Vesta Williams sings about sweet love. Luther Vandross sings about any love, Vanessa Williams, she's dreaming. Chuck D lighter living basehead, Daddy-O, talking all that jazz. So big difference. In terms of the responsibilities that entertainers have in the community, as far as an end, and you know, amongst their people, as far as black people concerned. Taking on responsibilities. What does a young girl need to know about good love? If she's a teenage mother? She's got it. And she already has proof.

Robert Lipsyte:
What does she need to know, we don't have much time left.

Daddy-O:
What she needs to know is about her heritage. And then she and then she can understand whether or not she needs a child or not.

Robert Lipsyte:
Daddy-O, Chuck D. Thanks very, very much for being with us. I'll be back with a legendary jazz drummer, and one of hip hop's most authoritative critics. But first, a clip from the Stetsasonics video talking all that jazz, a tribute to raps roots in jazz.

Host Robert Lipsyte returns and introduces his next guests, Max Roach and Harry Allen.

Interview concludes. Robert Lipsyte announces the show and introduces himself.

Charitable funding for show announced and overlay The Eleventh Hour graphic.