Well, the dummies have come home to roost! Years of media manipulation and dumbing down of America has resulted in a society-wide cynicism and willful ignorance unmatched by modern generations. Even outside the U.S., the Brexit vote both surprised and confused the World community at the seemingly backward drift of the modern man. However, it’s not really men in general. It’s a particular kind, of man or woman, that lives a life invested in the mainstream popular culture.
The Mainstream media has manipulated modern people to a George Orwell level of backward thinking. Progressives are regressive. Republicans are populists. Insiders are outsiders. Black and Latino voters are establishment shills and the so-called White middle-class is the most down-trodden segment of the population. This is all part of a cynics best wet-dream. Cynics hate progress as I stated in a piece called …
Real poverty numbers and how cynics hate progress
The beginning of 2016 had me reflecting on where we are as a Hip Hop Kulture… In a piece from Feb titled Where do we go from here? I said, “Right now, we don’t see a youth culture fortified by the same principles of integrity and originality we once admired. Instead, we see a youth culture bathed in the same excesses of mainstream greed and narcissism that the underground Hip Hop Kulture used to warn against. In one sense, we failed to pass on Hip Hop the proper way. That’s something I’m disappointed by every day, when I observe things outside my circle (Feb 2016)”. With that said, I then mentioned the positive side, “On the other hand, I’ve been blessed to live a life behind the scenes of Hip Hop Kulture that many would dream of living. I’ve been honored to be around some of the most talented and inspirational pioneers and innovators of the Hip Hop Kulture over the last 25 years. I’ve been in the room where legendary events have taken place and even participated in helping others ‘come to plan’. Most importantly, I’ve seen Hip Hop grow from ‘nothing’ into something over the course of my 47 years on the Earth. And knowing the obstacles we faced in the past as a culture, I feel optimistic about the future of Hip Hop. Our options for growth are, actually, more attainable than in the past (Feb 2016)”. I still believe that. (Hint: go.tmgnj.net)
This year was especially monumental for me personally, in that, I finally completed a 22 year art project. This project (which I will detail in a later post) culminated in a 3 month exhibition of 25 years of my work at the new Hip Hop Lives Archive in Plainfield NJ. Like most of my other work, these posts are meant to be understood in the future and act as a sort of journal in the meantime. A few were reposts from years ago that have relevance now. Similarly, some of the posts from this year will only begin to make sense to some as time goes on. In reverse chronological order (last to first), here are links to the articles I wrote this year.
Shout Out to Hip Hop Nerds 12/ 3/2016 – Or. Pub. 1/31/16
My Thoughts on Hip Hop History Month 11/21/16
Make Hip Hop Great Again 11/11/16
Integration is the problem 11/9/16 – Or. Pub 6/25/14
Another way to see how media manipulates you 11/9/16 – or. Pub. 7/15/13
Why the Mainstream Prefers Suckers, Clowns and Cynics 11/9/16@ 02:24 – or pub 8/20/16
How Hip Hop Business Creates Shared Value pt 2 10/31/16
How Hip Hop Business Creates Shared Value pt 1 10/31/16
Rappers Love to Talk About Money Not Business 10/30/16
Cross Cultural Consumer Characterization and You 10/25/16
Progressives Hate NSA But Love Russian Hacks? 10/17/16
New Episode: What about non-English Rap? 10/11/16
Donald Trump and P*ssygate 2016 10/9/16
How many Hip Hop References are in Luke Cage? 10/2/16
Luke Cage NetFlix Series On Deck: Cue Primo 9/27/16
Media Proves They’re Stuck on Stupid pt 1: Politics 9/25/16
The Most Admired Woman in the World 9/15/16
Unsigned Artist Review (Parts 6 & 7) 9/12/16
Hip Hop and U.S. Politics Have a Similar Problem: The Media 9/7/16
Unsigned Artist Review (S2 E5) 8/28/16
People Lie about the 1990’s 8/27/16
WTF is a Poverty Rate? 8/24/16
Luke Cage infused with 90s Hip Hop 8/15/16
HipHopLives FB UAR (S2 E4) 8/15/16
Real poverty numbers and how cynics hate progress 8/6/16
Mainstream rappers don’t care about you 7/25/16
A new look at the Hip Hop Elements 7/21/16 – or pub 2/19/15
Young Rappers Don’t Love Hip Hop 7/13/16
COLLECTOR’S LIMITED EDITION PRINTS 7/11/16
After this, do you still love Hip Hop? 6/21/16
This July at the Hip Hop Archive 6/14/16
Elizabeth NJ – A Place in Hip Hop History 6/13/16
Check out the Hip Hop Lives Archive 5/18/16
The Hip Hop Declaration of Peace 5/16/16
It’s All About the Hamiltons 4/30/16
Exhibition set up, come visit us! 4/29/16
Archive Update: Hip Hop Posters 4/26/16
What have you learned from Hip Hop? 04/10/16
Some fools don’t need a special day 04/01/16
18 Years ago this month 04/01/16
Remembering the Moments 03/23/16
Preserving Hip Hop for Future Generations 03/23/16
24 Years Ago in Hip Hop 03/09/16
Aren’t we all wrong sometimes? 02/29/16
What’s in a leap year? 02/28/16
A View from the underground 02/19/16
Where do we go from here? 02/11/16
What Happened to Skillz? 01/25/16
What did we learn about Hip Hop in 2015? 01/18/16
Kurt Nice
Kurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer in the Hip Hop Kulture, creating the first nationally distributed video mix tape series, Shades of Hip Hop, in the late 1990s. Since touring the country with the Stop the Violence Movement and the Temple of Hip Hop as KRS-ONE’s National Marketing Director, Kurt Nice has been a constant commentator on conscious Hip Hop and its relevance to the new rap music of today, through radio and cable appearances. contact Kurt at info@hiphoplives.net
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Kurt Nice aka Kurtiss Jackson is a behind the scenes pioneer in the Hip Hop Kulture, creating the first nationally distributed video mix tape series, Shades of Hip Hop, in the late 1990s. Since touring the country with the Stop the Violence Movement and the Temple of Hip Hop as KRS-ONE's National Marketing Director, Kurt Nice has been a constant commentator on conscious Hip Hop and its relevance to the new rap music of today, through radio and cable appearances. contact Kurt at info@hiphoplives.net
