So, hip-hop has always spoken to these issues, but right now it's becoming critical that hip-hop sort of lives up to its call to be the voice of the people, because we're seeing this rise all around the world and hip-hop is going to respond to that, as it always does. So, hip-hop artists, like you said, from the Occupied Territories to Native Americans right here in the US, they've always known this threat, even if by another name, like occupation, and genocide. But hip-hop is rising to that occasion, right, as responding to this right-wing rise and this rise of fascism that we're seeing across Europe. Let's take Italy, France, Hungary, Poland, and elsewhere across Europe. Right? So, I mentioned La Llama Rap Colectivo, from Spain, right? People don't know that some hip-hop artists in Spain are arrested and exiled for critiquing the king, for example. And in the last class I taught on hip-hop, we talked about the rise of fascism globally, the rise of white supremacy and anti-Semitism globally, and hip-hop's response to that. Look, you mentioned freedom of expression. But she presents another view - that people there are joyful, interested in self-determination, that they love life, they love each other, they love their community, and it's a really moving kind of track that's knowing where you come from, but also knowing where you're going together as a community, as a collective. Everybody knows the Cape Flats from this Eurocentric perspective of violence, oppression, poverty. One of my favorite songs from her is "Cape Flats Kung Fu." I love this song for so many reasons, but it's beautiful in that it shows the other side of the Cape Flats. But I'll tell you, when I first heard Eavesdrop, my jaw dropped and she combined elements of Lauryn Hill, Rah Digga, the Wu-Tang Clan. There's just a whole range of women's voices. But there are so many other women right now in Cape Town that produce dope hip-hop from Eavesdrop to Natasha Tafari, to queer and non-binary, nonconforming acts like Andy Mkosi, Dope Saint Jude. So, I'm very familiar with the South African scene, and everyone knows about the immense contributions of groups like Godessa, for example. And African women in particular have been producing hip-hop for decades. So, women occupy this huge share of hip-hop, much larger than we think, particularly because it's usually measured by industry standards or metrics that don't capture the role of women. I mean, in our class with Public Enemy's Chuck D this past year, he reminded us again and again that 25% to 33% of hip-hop music globally is produced by and with women. But there's also the dirty south and so many more things, that as a rap fan you may have heard about or are at least interesting enough for those who did not live back then to experience now.I agree completely with that. You can feel the love through the screen Edit 2: even more seasons and maybe no end in sight? I wouldn't mind, because the quality is there and the interviewer as someone in the game himself, knows what he talks and asks others about! Even if the Biggie and Pac thing has to be condensed it finally gets spoken about to here. In-Depth and a lot of interviews and background information. And while I didn't expect one to come (2 years after the initial season was made), it is as good as one would imagine. So while this may not be definitive and you may not find your favorite artist in this, it is one of the best looks inside and beyond Hip Hop Edit: Just watched the second season. It's more broad in that way, which it has to be, because if covers not just one style. There are quite a few artists who get to say how it was for them and there is a lot of trivia shared. And it's really nice that the whole thing has a time-line and starts from the beginning, going towards the the newer age of hip hop. It's not just an evolution, but also a revolution at times. Though even that running time cannot cover everything, it does cover really interesting points in the history of how this became a cultural phenomenon. So if you are here for the longer run (it's almost 3 hours long, split into 4 episodes), you are in for a treat. I imagine it still is good, but hopefully some people who mixed those two up, will not confuse others. The movie played at some festivals and has a condensed view. Some have mistaken the movie that was compiled and cut together from this series as the actual series.
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