Dead Prez… Positive, Conscious Hip Hop

July 21, 2010
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Social philosophy… Conscious hip hop

Dead Prez is a Great example of Conscious hip hop. This kind of hip hop represents a transition from the kind of hip hop that Represents life as being a party, with content centred around, worshiping the “in the Club”, Alcohol, drugs, money, Im gangster mentality to more progressive Social philosophy. This social philosophy or social Conscious is one that gets the audience to think about their place and Role in society getting the audience consider wider social issues and possibilities, breaking the im gangster mentality. personally Dead Prez played a pivotal role in my personal development, breaking the im gangster Image, discovering a more positive empowering self image… Its all about Conscious hip hop

Positive Hip hop

When it comes to woman and relationship, Dead prezz doesn’t follow the format that You find in popour rap/ hip hop music were woman/ young teens seen as sex Objects and bitchs, an image which is heavily promoted in the mass media. An Image that is damaging, not only to girls/teens in their formative year and Beyond but damaging to society.

Conscious Hip Pop

The attitude and values promoted in the main Stream media or damaging to the  Psychological development of young man and women alike. Why… because for one the music distorts young peoples self image and moral code, and inhibits the formation mutual respectful relationships between the sexes, because young men begin to see woman as bitches and hoes to be used, at will.

Socialy and Politicaly Conscious

So groups like dead prez are a well needed breathe of fresh air. All in all as a social and political group who have been around for many years and who have gone though many transformations creatively and politically. Some of their early work may be consider offensive, in saying that their work should be consider intellectually against the back  drop of their social and environmental developmentally years.

Conscious meaningful Rap/ Hip Hop

In recent years I have gone though many changes and learnt many things, the Lyric’s in this peace by dead pez mirrors much or my own journey. I also used these Lyrics in my early bird toastmaster’s ice breaker.

Way of  life Dead Prez… Lyrics

1    What you know about the running, the stretching
2    The katas, the weapons
3    The path, the journey
4    The jewels, the learning
5    The fear, the focus
6    The aches, the pains
7    The contact sparring’, the breaks, the sprains
8    The trials and errors, the ranks, and belts
9    The spiritual growth, the science of breath
10  The tests, the techniques
11  The forms, the stances
12  The flow, the rhythm, the internal answers
13  The herbs, the healing, the quiet meditation
14  The truths reveal through daily dedication
15  The love for the art, the sweat on your shirt
16  The mind, the body, and the spirit at work
17  The feelings of failure, the hope’s to succeed
18  The battles of questions like “Should I smoke weed?”
19  The water, the thirst
20  The cleansing, the blessings
21  The flash of insights, the teachings, the lessons
22  The grappling and locking, trapping and boxing
23  The training and slacking
24  The starting and stopping
25  And staying’ committed, when your homies ain’t with it
26  The hours or practice after the class is finished
27  The cause of your ignorance, flaws in your discipline
28  Broken laws of nutrition, and poor conditioning
29  The vitamins and supplements
30  Salves and ointments
31  The kinships, pull joints in doctor appointments
32  The dues, the pads, the wraps, the gloves
33  The mouthpiece you left home, the taste of your own blood
34  The hunger, the blocks
35  The punches, the squats
36  The crunches, the example you set for the youngsters
37  The will, the skills, to kill or to heal
38  The separation between what’s fake and what’s real
39  The laws of physics, the class “comradely”
40  The vows of humility, the bow, the courtesy.

Listen to the words, not just to the Beat

Good music  has a message, This message  is  needed on the streets, In Alkebulan (Africa) music was more then just the Beat.

Lines 1&2;… What you know about the running, the stretching The katas, the weapons… Relates to me, the discipline found in physical fitness, martial art qi gong and Yoga, etc, which is the bed rock, the foundations to build a conquering and persitant attitude.

Lines 3&4… The path, the journey, The jewels, the learning… I relate this to the personal commitment the continual learning and rewards found in a well structured discipline. I would sum it up as a Philosophy of Personal development

Lines 5, 6 &7… The fear, the focus, The aches, The pains, The contact sparring’, the breaks, the sprains…  These lines represent to me, the essence of personal development as in overcoming personal limitations, growing stronger and stronger, pushing forward, When you at first feel weak, this is the persistence needed to attain your dreams an success and climb the mounting of success, in any pursuit.

Lines 8.. The trial and error, the ranks, and belts…  I see this as finding your way being bold and courageous, developing a plan and Working it, refining and discovering the rewards. To put it in one, this is the drive for Knowledge and the Persistence to implement the Knowledge.

Lines 9… The spiritual growth, the science of breath Life is very much a spiritual journey and all pursuits in life lead to further Spiritual growth and enlightenment, the lessons in life are ultimately about the Personal and Spiritual Knowledge, Experience of self.

Lines 9… Science of breath The knowledge and application of special breathing tecnics such as found in yoga, qi gong etc is known as the science of breath Once understood the science of breath is a tool that shines a light into the inner world of the mind and your being. This consciousness experiences leads to a greater mastery and understanding of the mind, body and spirit.

Lines 10, 11, 12… The tests, The techniques, The forms, the stances, The flow, the rhythm, the internal answers, The Skill that is gained through repetition and discipline, the knowledge which is understood through experience and application.

Lines 13… The herbs, the healing, the quiet meditation… I interpret these lines as the holistic life style. A holistic self style requires a conscious and proactive attitude in the area of health and the environment. The aim of a holistic life style is to work in harmony with mind, body and spirit.

Lines 14… The truths reveal through daily dedication…  What more needs to be said, you need to labour to discover the fruits. Far too many people give up on their goal ambitions and dreams, before they really get started.

One of the universal laws of nature is that thing come in to being in seasons and stages. Just like a farmer you must have vision of the harvest before the harvest, what must be understood is that there is work that has to be done in between the vision and the harvest, this is where daily dedication comes in.

Lines 15, 16 & 17… The love for the art, the sweat on your shirt,The mind, the body, and the spirit at work,  The feelings of failure, the hope to succeed… Readers of mpd space.com by now would have gathered that I am dedicated to yoga, qi gong , juggling and martial arts, I am passionate about these disciplines Because, there are and have been tools that can be used on multiply level to aid Personal growth and as said above, the truths are reveal through daily Dedication.

Lines 18… The battles of questions like “Should I smoke weed?” This is a complex and dynamic one, which over stretches the scope of this Article

Lines 19 to 22…  The water, the thirst,  The cleansing, the blessings, The flash of insights, the teachings, the lessons… I relate these Lines to spiritual discipline of fasting and the Inner learning’s which take place in the process, The grappling and locking, trapping and boxing… Ok I am going to use a quote to explain a quote….

“Civilize the mind, make the body savage”- Chairman Mao…

In my experience the best physical training or work Out is, when you test your metal against another man, one that is as or more Determined to win. This is when you have to pull on your latent inner resources.

Lines 23  to 25… The training and slacking, The starting and stopping  And staying’ committed, when your homies ain’t with it… These lines explain to me that commitment is about Persistence. Persistence has no end it knows no condition, its you against the world.

Line 26… The hours or practice after the class is finished… this brings home the truth that success is many times the result of the extra effort outside the formal setting, there’s a saying “what you practice in private you get priased for in public”

27  to 28… The cause of your ignorance, flaws in your discipline Broken laws of nutrition, and poor conditioning… No more needs to be said,” We do not rise to the level of our expectations, We Fall to the level of our training and conditioning”

I’m jumping to line 36… Which is… The example you set for the youngsters

For me line 36 is the most important “the example you set for the youngsters” as individuals we in a inter connected system it is right that we be not good role models but great role models for the younger’s and the next generation.

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