To Hip Hop Heads and Haitians, with Love

"I'm sick of feelin impotent watchin the world burn, in the era of apocalypse, waitin my turn." -Immortal Technique

It's crazy how big events can make you feel so small. I mean, when in the booth or in front of the laptop or behind the podium, one can feel so big, so bionic. But when that same person is in the wake of a quake or a plane crash, it's hard to rise up, let alone mutter something inspired. Listening to Immortal Technique and Nas can get any hip hop head hype, but when Biggie says "Blow up like the World Trade" or Im says "burying your fam like a central american earthquake" it can put a lump in your throat immediately. There's something so real and visceral about their words, almost like you can feel the power summoned by the very disaster, or see the images those tragedies created as the words are spat into the microphone. Hip Hop is real life. Prophetic and revisited. Over and over for some real heads. And spat by any and all who can feel it. Real hip hop i guess. And that's why I can stay up late-ish and listen to old records because they convey real life situations and say things that i can't say myself. So with that, I send a hearty heart out to the doctors without borders, to the red cross, to unicef, to the UN, to Obama's administration, and most importantly, to the victims of this natural disaster and those throughout the world.

If, indeed, we are in the age of apocalypse, and hip hop is the voice of the people, maybe we need some more positive prophets. I mean, maybe i do need to pay attention to these holy hop warriors. If it's about praise and not so much worship. I know how to worship on my own (or with instrumental accompaniment). It's the praise that God inhabits...maybe we need some more of that goin up behind the podium, in the booth, or within the halls to even out the burden of proof here. To me, it's a simple equation: sound + words --> (+) or (-) w/ power = inspiration either negative or positive...it can get the asses shakin, or get the tambourines shakin....but what does it do in the face of earthquakin? Ok that was corny, but for real! I can send my donation and put my prayers in, but what can I really do?

As an aside, there should be free trips and free lunches for volunteers when it's time to make the trip(s) down to Haiti.