HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD MOVEMENT

WAYS TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT:

—-REPRESENT your love for hip hop by wearing a Hip Hop Is Not Dead shirt.
For every shirt sold $1 will be donated to the Hip Hop Association charity. Our goal is to donate $1,000,000 to the charity.

—-DONATE $1 to the Hip Hop Is Not Dead organization.
The proceedes will go towards conducting hip hop events in our communities, such as the Hip Hop Is Not Dead tour.

—-SHOW your love for hip hop by placing the Hip Hop Is Not Dead banner to your myspace, blog, or website. Help strengthen the movement by spreading the word.

—-SUPPORT the culture by adding Hip Hop Is Not Dead to your top friends on your MySpace page. Let all your friends know about the movement.

—-DOWNLOAD the Hip Hip Is Not Dead wallpaper to your desktop. Embrace the culture, support the movement.

Support the Culture
While hip hop music now appeals to a broader demographic, media critics argue that socially and politically conscious hip hop has long been disregarded by mainstream America in favor of gangsta rap, commercialized themes, and pointless lyrics thus marking this point in history as the death of hip hop. But is it really?

Since first emerging in the Bronx in the early 1970s the hip hop culture has become a world wide lifestyle. Hip hop as a cultural movement encompasses a wide array of human activities. The culture is comprised of five major elements: DJing, emceeing, breakdance, graffiti, and knowledge.

The emergence of hip hop helped reduce inner-city gang violence by replacing physical violence with hip hop battles of dance and artwork. However, with the introduction of commercial and crime-related rap in the early 1990s, reoccuring themes of violence and illegal activity lead to controversey surrounding hip hop music and attracted negative feelings towards the culture as a whole. The people of the hip hop culture are responsible for turning the negativity into positivity.

The reach of hip hop is global. Youth culture and opinion is meted out in both Israeli hip hop and Palestinian hip hop, while France, Germany, the U.K., Africa, and the Caribbean have long-established hip hop followings. According to the U.S. Department of State, hip hop is “now the center of a mega music and fashion industry around the world,” that crosses social barriers and cuts across racial lines. National Geographic recognizes hip hop as “the world’s favorite youth culture” in which “just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene.”

The hip hop culture is continually expanding. Despite the negative reviews by critics, the growth of hip hop will not be hindered by the controversial issues at hand, but will instead grow stronger and continue to live the the souls of the youth and elders alike. Commercialized rap should not strike fear in our eyes as the end of hip hop, but should inspire artists to make socially and politically conscious music to empower us as a people. Join the movement and represent the music, the culture, and the lifestyle. Let it be known; Hip Hop Is Not Dead!

(Research courtesy of Wikipedia.org)

Copyright 2007, CYCLONE ARTS STUDIO. All rights reserved. “Hip Hop Is Not Dead” and its logos are registered trademarks of CYCLONE ARTS STUDIO.