hip hop vs. social change?

Story and photography by
Duhirwe Rushemeza

Last October I wrote an article for F News titled “A Fly Spy at AIC” about the subtle barriers that often keep people from certain demographics away from museums. The saga continues...

For a refreshing change, the Field Museum hosted what could be considered a very “out-of-the-box” conference, entitled “Hip-hop and Social Change.” This feature functioned to attract patrons that might not normally visit the museum. However, part of the weekend left a sour taste in my mouth, overshadowing the great dialogue that was created over the two-day conference of excellent panel discussions and workshops prior to the much-anticipated keynote address by hip-hop celebrities Mos Def and Talib Kweli.

During certain parts of the weekend, I wanted to say “f*%$ hip-hop” (for social change). What did we really get out of it? Clearly, this was just at the height of my emotional letdown. I was just looking at the tumultuous end to a supposed great weekend. I was looking at the fire brought on by an angry brother (who had real issues and real questions) who directed comments to Mos Def, demanding more from him in his role as an artist. Mos Def attempted to calm the man down and Talib Kweli defended his partner, “Do you even listen to this man’s music? He is one of the most responsible artists out there!”

As one man shouting and demanding that there be more responsibility and more revolution from the two artists on the stage inevitably became a dozen or so men shouting, the audience of close to a thousand became uneasy. Meanwhile, security quickly lined the stage, backup was called, and squad cars stood at attention in front of the museum. Order escaped the beautifully adorned gates of the auditorium, along with a quarter of the audience.

As I watched in bewilderment at deliberate planning gone awry, I went through a range of emotions in a very short time: shame, embarrassment, anger, disappointment, and finally, quiet reflective meditation. Maybe this episode was a good thing. We can at least attempt dialogue. The artists said very little of substance in their twenty minutes of rambling disguised as keynote address. The audience came expecting to hear them discuss “the global impact of hip-hop culture” and their commitment to produce thought-provoking work that reaches beyond the mainstream media. Was that at all an unfair challenge? The hip-hop fans that paid $20 to attend would say no. Mos’s anecdotal ramblings were funny and filled with the natural charisma now expected of the Mighty Mighty Mos. Did he, however, address the real issues that the audience of the “Hip-hop and Social Change” conference were waiting to hear?

The incident spoke to the heart of the old museum. To provide a fascinating contrast, one level above, in the grand lobby of the Field Museum, an ultra-glossy and conservative banquet — the kind of function that the museum is used to hosting — was taking place at the same time. Unlike the hip-hop conference attendees, the banquet guests, roaming the exhibition spaces on the second level with wine glasses in hand, did not appear to have constraints as to where they could or couldn’t tread. In contrast, guards were posted to direct the patrons below, halting those who might dare cross into the banquet space, and ropes blocked them from further exploration of the museum beyond where the keynote address was taking place. The message was loud and clear: “Please don’t ruin these good upper middle class folks’ gathering.”

Was the keynote a success? Though order was lost and regained over and over, a valuable dialogue did spring forth. So if a dialogue was the singular goal, the answer is yes. The real question is whether overall the entire conference was a success. When I took note of the number of people who registered for the entire conference, the engaged faces at Zephyr’s graffiti presentation, the stream of questions discussed at one panel discussion on the global elements of hip hop’s movement, the satisfied kids that created works at the “Hip-hop Visuals” workshop, and the tears that streamed down one young educators’ eyes when she heard another’s story in the spoken word workshop, the answer is a resounding yes.

What the “insurrection” conveyed was a need to address these issues — that bring anger and frustration — in the hip-hop community. One may ask the artist to be responsible, but as Mos Def suggested, music can only carry the message of revolution so far. The important work of change happens in daily increments, in our neighborhoods, schools, and homes. The steps against the struggles of the masses will be made in strides. It is a process; the answers to the numerous issues facing our communities will not come overnight, and certainly not at one conference, in one museum, but in due time.