Bun B Holds Star-Studded Panel on “The Ethics of Hip-Hop” [Photo Gallery]
XXL was on hand to hear Bun B, Lupe Fiasco, Talib Kweli and Trae Tha Truth discuss spirituality and being role role models…
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Photos courtesy of Xphaqtor and ISocialHouston
Religious content, artistic integrity, creative responsibility, censorship, parental accountability, political issues: these were a few of the topics on Bun B’s agenda during his panel discussion on “The Ethics of Hip-Hop” at Houston’s Venue Nightclub last night (April 12). The co-professor of the “Religion and Hip Hop Culture” class at Rice University moderated the second public session in a continued effort to close the cognitive distance between rap culture and academia.
The Professor of Trill—as he’s come to be known on campus—played aggregator of content as fellow MCs Tre9, Trae the Truth, Malice of The Clipse, Talib Kweli and Lupe Fiasco spoke openly for three hours about their collective views on how they approach hip-hop artistically and socially.
On the topic of ethics and the long-standing phrase in hip-hop, “keeping in real,” Talib emphasized the importance of staying in your own lane as an artist.
“I think my responsibility as an artist is to be honest with my craft first,” Talib said. “What I get paid to do is to be honest with my music. If I have knowledge, it’s my job to share that knowledge. I can’t share what I don’t have. You have a responsibility for the knowledge that you have. But because of the type of music I make, I don’t expect every artist to make that type of music. I make the type of music based on what I know how to make and if I was to try to make something else, it wouldn’t come across as genuine. But I don’t put the burden of that on the art, I put it on myself as a man.”
Why do things like this not get the graphic presentation like some of these expensive ass videos??
Good question! The short answer of course is it doesn’t make enough money. And moral responsibility isn’t a big enough motivation.
This is where Hip Hop shines – in the realm of consciousness and present rappers. It’s soul music. We don’t need anymore club bangers or booty songs, we need enlightenment, education and truth. We need more people in the public eye like them! We need LOVE.
Too bad “they” will never allow it.
This was an excellent panel with very insightful commentary and a positive exchange of ideas. The three hours flew by…
It’s great that Bun is putting this stuff together, great way to show the people who write hip hop off that their is some real intelligent people making intelligent music, but the Lupe comment about teaching kids to grow their own food instead of math and english is just plain ignorant. Why would we teach kids to grow their own food when they can get food at grocery stores which are stocked from people who decided that they would like to grow food for a career.
Everyone specializes in one thing, and shares the production of their specialty. We don’t want a world where everyone is completely self sufficient, because your so distracted making everything you need we make no progress. Specialization allows people to dedicate themselves to biology, chemistry, or an art like rapping. English and Math Lupe? Really? Thats whats wrong with our school system? Arbitrary tests i’ll give you, but math and english? Reading and Writing? Addition and Subtraction? Those are skills that every individual will need to use every day of their life.
“Why would we teach kids to grow their own food when they can get food at grocery stores which are stocked from people who decided that they would like to grow food for a career.”
^ it’s called being self sufficient…learning how to feed yourself instead of waiting for all of the rancid foods and preservatives to hit the shelves…your comment is proof that he’s right.
If the establishment fell today, you would be as good as dead, because math and English have nothing to do with how to fish or hunt
and the specialization stuff you stated is utter trash…bottom line you rely on the system to provide for you, and if it was taken away from you, YOU would have to wait for one of those “specialized” people to assist your survival instead of knowing how to survive on your own. If you don’t see these limitations you have set on your existence, there’s no further conversation.
where can we get footage of it in its entirety?
let that comment ride XXL…real talk y’all let gay & spam babble ride and y’all know I just dropped a JEWEL worthy of a convo…
“And to see those kids reciting that verse; to know that that
verse got through and ……………………………………………
she had to shake her ass and do whatever she had to do to get that verse to them girls……..”
efqddu, Phil Cannella, cbpxn.
Lupe’s advice about what should be taught in school is well intentioned but misguided. Seriously get your grades up. Get your math 30 , chem 30 and physics 30. It doesn’t hurt to learn this stuff and pays off down the road big time.