R.eal A.nd P.ersonal
What If Hip-Hop was Governed?
By: Deshair Foskey
Last updated June 15th , 2010

A few months ago, KRS-ONE, surrounded by New York media, went on an all-out rant during the Grand Opening of the first Hip-Hop Museum. He spewed on a long list of topics, from what he proclaimed as lack of "Founding Father" support to the museum as well as these same architects being left out of any moneys made by the museum. The reviews to his statements were mixed. While there were some people in attendance that agreed with his philosophies, others felt that KRS-ONE was way off track, along with choosing the wrong time to express his aggressive thought patterns.

Days later, I sat down for dinner with a friend of mine and we talked about the incident. We were floored by KRS-ONE taking this moment as his own, when he was approached about the opening of the museum six months before. We picked his entire message apart and a conversation from the past struck us: what if Hip-Hop was governed? The connection was made with thoughts of the first generation of emcee's which are left out of this billion dollar industry, and out of the hearts and minds of Rap lovers around the globe.

What if Hip-Hop was governed? If it was, it would be the spitting image of modern day politics. No more debates about who is the best emcee in your state. An emcee would have to run for office (his or her position in Hip-Hop). If Fabolous wanted to represent Brooklyn, NY ... he would need the support of its people to vote him into position as their representative. And here's the kicker ... he'll need to be married with a family, just like any other politician, to be credible enough for office. Of course there'd be competition from other artists. But if Fabolous wins, he is rewarded as the face of that cities music, while being funded from the Hip-Hop Government. Only a person in office can release an official album. Losers would have to wait until the next election. That's right, we've just solved the issue of an overpopulated field of emcee's.

Ok, Fabolous is the "Mayor" of Brooklyn. So who would be Governor of New York? Let's say that Jay-Z is Governor. He is in charge of New York's Hip-Hop budget. Did I forget to bring up the rap tax? How else would Hip-Hop be funded? Music purchases, concert ticket purchases, all products under the umbrella of Hip-Hop would be taxable. Yes, if you starred in a movie while in office, your paycheck would be taxable. On the other end of this spectrum, rap music would be defined as a service. Artists would be more visible in their communities. Suddenly, celebrity has been removed from Hip-Hop.

The Senator position would be eligible to people with more than 15 years experience in any office. Two seats per state. The position of Senator would go to people like Ice Cube, Busta Rhymes, Scarface, Uncle Luke, etc. Do you see where I'm getting at? We use the word "politics" in rap, all the time. We complain about government whether it's too much or too little. However, the one thing that government has that rap music doesn't have is structure. A rap tax could very well take care of Hip-Hops' Founding Fathers in the form of a pension. As a matter of fact, similar to how our government works, if you hold a seat for 4 years, you are entitled to a pension for the rest of your life. You'll never hear about another Platinum selling rapper sleeping on his grandmother's sofa.

What if Hip-Hop was governed? I'll tell you one thing; it would be as structured as corrupted. The President of Hip-Hop would have a lot of work to do in maintaining order between Mainstream and Conscious emcees (the two political parties). One thing I do know for sure: Hip-Hop would be for the people again.

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