OUR REASON FOR RAPPING

We might not intend or even desire to be, but we are all rappers. Before DJ Kool Herc, Gil Scott-Heron rapped…and before him was the comedian Rudy Ray Moore, and others like King Pleasure who used syncopated phrases to convey a message. Grand Master Flash and others certainly helped bring it to broader recognition as an art form, but 'rapping', in its rawest form, is still the act of conveying a message. It's been around a long time and if you've ever attempted to verbally get a point across, you can consider yourself as a rapper of some sort.

I had the opportunity to interview two up and coming admitted rappers, Omar Zuhair and Zachariah Fahmi, whose intents are to share their gifts with others. They believe that the current world consciousness of greed and selfishness needs to be adjusted, and that they are agents of positive change in that arena. Each of them is talented in their own right, yet feel that working together will exponentially increase the effect they have on those whose lives they touch. These guys are 18 and 21years of age, have no agent, no manager, and no producer, and are employing their own resources to record, produce, and distribute their first recorded message at no cost to the consumer. Once this is done, they will offer affordable performances to both exhibit their talents and to spread the messages inherent in their songs. These two young men have proclaimed themselves rappers, are bound to the commitment of conveying their messages, and have each dedicated themselves to doing so in what they feel is a positive and beneficial manner.

Now for those of us who sometimes view rappers as profanity driven, thug attired conveyors of meaningless lyrical compositions; let's put our opinions aside for a moment and take a look at our role in relation to the big picture. First of all, most people on this planet are displeased with what they view as problems, and are embracing whatever provides them with a sense of peace and well being. Be it food, drugs, or some form of entertainment, we are all seeking a means for getting out of the 'mess' we too often see ourselves in. We look at rappers as purveyors of negativity, yet don't consider that they too are trying to get out of their own as well as the worldly mess most of us see ourselves in. They, for one, are using their marketable skills as a means for doing so. Isn’t it conceivable that the rest of us can at least 'rap' to one another about devising a means to help those whose intent is to help others. Doesn’t it seem only right for us to stop running from the mess we assume others are making, and participate in doing what we can to help clean it up. We can all rap so let's work on changing our lyrics from blame and condemnation to acceptance and participation. Let's start looking more at self and perhaps adjusting our attitudes in regard to how we view others.

Again, we are all rappers even if we 'ain't gettin paid'. Each and every one of us has a message, so let's start conveying messages of hope and endless possibilities whenever the opportunity to do so presents itself. It's all about intent and if we just desire that our words make a meaningful difference, they ultimately will and we can all get paid in allotments of peace, of harmony, and of love.

I'll holla…

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