29 replies to this topic

[ramal lamar]

i ain't go get into it too much... i'm one of those descendants of afrikan slaves, my peoples migrated over here to the west coast and i was born and raised in los angeles california. currently im finishing up my studies at san francisco state university.

i do not wish to speak on behalf of the whole African experience of Maafa survivors, but I do have experience enough to place my words on this screen and contribute to the dialogue, because hip hop is an expression of that pan-african culture that us young people know about so well.

my whole point in writing this is to simply say, we recognize the diversity of pan- afrikan culture, and with that we challenge the ideological construct of a so -called dialectic between the african born back home, and the african born abroad, whether in Europe or in the New World as descendants of african slaves.

Honestly, a lot of my experience with the diverse aspects of this pan-african culture has been in my university and intellectual life from meeting different african students such as my self from various regions of africa, and the world. God made it like that. So we africans, recognizing the power of this chance to advance our humanity... we build , build and build with each other. Not just studying together in a group for some class, we do that too, but i'm talking about making up for lost time. in a strictly philosophical sense , its been a while since we've 'seen' each other. Two custodians of the same pan-african culture, each from distinct and unique backgrounds.

Like this, if you out here in the Western Hemisphere of the world and you don't know where Tupac Amaru Shakur got his first two names from, and you claim to be a custodian of our culture, then you ain't serious. You a sucka. (Even if you don't claim to be a custodian , you are!because you folks out here is hungry, fiending for some freedom and reconnecting back to Africa),

If you can't appreciate the fact that Tupac Amaru was a revolutionary indigenous fighter from Peru who fought off Spanish colonialists in the 17th century, and Tupac Shakur was named after him in a tradition of African struggle in the Americas against slavery, then you don't know about this revloutionary culture called hip hop. Which implies that you ain't out here in the West learning the lessons required for your historical task in this African Renaissance that is taking place around the world.

You can't even respect the fact that after Tupac's death in 1996, that the tupac Amaru guerilla fighters led an attack on the Peruvian government, and the puppet prime Minister, right around the time the democratic of the Congo was temporarily united.

We ain't even talked about the Black Panthers yet. You can't even come to the West with out demonstrating your knowledge about the differences and relationships between the Shakurs( see, Assata, Mutulu, Tupac, Afeni, etc), the ji Jaja's( see Geronimo Ji Jaja Pratt), and other African families here in the wilderness of North America.

No, you ain't supposed to just know this and know that. But you are supposed to want to know, and if so, you are supposed to know who to go converse and receive this knowledge and wisdom. It really enhances you experiences out here in the West. We, the descendants of the West, have a lot of vital information to share with you, as we sincerely seek vital informatuion of ourselves from you all who were born back home.

General knowledge required for us who accept the responsibilities of masters of ceremonies.

I'm talking about stuff like revisiting hip hop classical material like digable planets 1993 album(10 years ago) "reachin, a new refutation of time and space" do yall remember that? who 's ready to really appreciate the content of that album by posing a philosophical discussion? Do yall think I'm playing when I say that all those interrelated themes throughout that album is really nothing more than an explanation of quantum physics according to a sound method waaaay fresher than the way Einstein's posed his General Theory of Relativity? I'm ready not only to battle those who doubt my intelligence on the matter, but also to show and prove my position as fact.

Was you listening to that album 10 years ago? If you were then maybe you know what I'm talking about. If you wasn't then I highly recommend for this upcoming autumn.

okay, i've listed just a few things illustrate the beauty in the diversity of our beautiful philosophy and culture.

And to clarify one more point: The African -American just don't live in the U.S. Geographically speaking, Afro-America extend all the way North to ALaska and Canada, all the wa down through Panama, down to the southernmost tip of Chile, to Tierra del Fuego. It strictly a political term.
Generally speaking, most of us don't use it, we say Black or African.

Ramal Lamar
bwonder@sfsu.edu