The 44 Percent: rap & murder, Miami Gardens helps Jackson, Miss. & Florida Memorial
“And killing innocent people man that so messed up/ Good die young ain’t how it’s supposed to be/ Every time I turn around I lose somebody close to me.” — PnB Rock “My City Need Something”
I love hip-hop with ever fiber of my being.
Thanks to a mom with an affinity for 2Pac, Lauryn Hill and Outkast, the genre practically raised me. Some of my fondest childhood memories are soundtracked to “California Love” and “Roses.” Quite frankly, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without hip-hop. The older I get, however, the more complex my emotions become.
At its best, hip-hop can be the voice of the struggle, shining a spotlight on how poverty and racism affects marginalized people. At its worst, hip-hop — or more accurately its insanely popular gangster rap cousin — can be part of a vicious cycle that promotes a lifestyle rife with money, murder and mayhem, which, in turn, attracts money, murder and mayhem. These were the thoughts that swirled in my head after learning of the tragic killing of PnB Rock, a 30-year-old rapper-singer fatally shot Monday.
No genre in the history of music has had more murders than hip-hop. Keep in mind hip-hop is not even 50-years-old. At least one rapper has been killed every year since 2018. That list includes XXXTentacion in 2018, Nipsey Hussle in 2019, Pop Smoke in 2020 and Young Dolph in 2021. I thought something might change after Nip. Or maybe Pop. Most certainly after Dolph. But nothing seems to change.
Hip-hop and the streets will forever be connected: the genre itself was born from the day-to-day lives of people in neighborhoods forgotten by the powers that be. It’s worth questioning how these places came to be, an answer that involves a historical understanding of redlining, community divestment and several inequality-related issues. Miami-born activist Dexter Gunder who, when describing how community divestment impacted his hometown of Liberty City, said, “When you treat people like animals and put people in a cage, they start to act like animals.”
Los Angeles rapper Murs discussed the connection between rap and murder in 2018. “Is the trauma that they faced too much to overcome? Are we the listeners, as we discussed last week, at fault for not encouraging them to get help? Or are the labels responsible for exploiting them for not requiring them to get the help that they need?” Murs asked, adding later there’s a need for mentors to say, “’Hey I think you’re amazing and extremely talented but I’m not going to give you the platform or promote you until I feel like you’re no longer a danger to yourself or the community as a whole.’ If the gatekeepers, executives, influencers don’t take this type of attitude, we’re going to be doomed to repeat this violent cycle.”
INSIDE THE 305
With another predominately Black city of Jackson, Miss., in need, Miami Gardens steps up:
The city of Miami Gardens sent thousands of water bottles to Jackson, Miss., another primarily Black city nearly 1,000 miles away that’s currently dealing with a water crisis.
“We deal with hurricanes and natural disasters here so being two predominately Black cities, two of the largest, predominately Black cities, we want to make sure that when they’re in need that we assist them and hopefully when we’re in need, it will be a reciprocal effect,” said Kendra Bullock, the executive director of the Orange Blossom Classic, which partnered with Miami Gardens to send the water.
Despite water pressure being restored in Jackson, a citywide boil water notice is still in effect for its more than 150,000 residents. Local activists link Jackson’s current situation, exacerbated by flooding and an aging pump at the main water treatment facility, to systemic racism.
“At the root of this crisis is systemic racism, and the local and state governments’ intentional negligence to redirect infrastructure funds that could have helped solve this issue years ago,” Black Voters Matter co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright said in a statement.
Man accused of racist attack on Black historian in Florida town faces assault charge:
Last week, prominent Black Miami historian Marvin Dunn alleged a man hurled the N-word at him and nearly ran over his son. On Monday night, the man, 61-year-old David Allen Emanuel, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“I feel more respected,” said Dunn. the author of several Black history books, who said he had sent a stream of emails to the sheriff’s office in Levy County, which handles law enforcement in Rosewood. Over a decade ago, Dunn bought a piece of a 5-acre property in the historic town that was almost wiped off the map during race riots in the early 1920s.
“I feel as if I got listened to,” he said. ”The police did their job.”
Florida Memorial enrolls its largest freshman class in 15 years, a turnaround for the HBCU:
Big up South Florida’s only HBCU for surpassing the century mark.
“To bounce back from a global pandemic and exceed our enrollment goal is astounding, and to say I am proud is an understatement,” said Jaffus Hardrick, FMU’s president, in a press release.
OUTSIDE THE 305
With today marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, I thought it right to share GQ’s recent profile of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The 32-year-old progressive powerhouse chatted with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery about everything from abortion rights, masculinity and even White House aspirations. It was on the topic of masculinity, however, that Ocasio-Cortez made some of her most poignant points.
The battle for bodily autonomy and human dignity, she said, will only be won if men themselves join in the fight.
“For almost every woman that has gotten an abortion, there’s a man who has either been affected or liberated by that abortion too,” she told Lowery. “In this moment it’s really only going to be the vulnerability of men, and men talking to other men, that gives us the greatest hope of shifting things the fastest, soonest.”
HIGH CULTURE
‘Atlanta’ is back for fourth and final season:
Who else has been waiting for the final season tonight?
With six Emmys, two Golden Globes and a top-10 spot on The Guardian’s best shows of the 21st century list, “Atlanta” has dazzled viewers for six years with its boundary-pushing comedy and cultural commentary. While I’m upset that the lives of Earn, Paper Boi, Darius and Van are ending, I look forward to seeing how multihyphenate creator Donald Glover closes this chapter of his career. The two-episode season premiere debuts 10 p.m. Thursday on FX.
Where does “The 44 Percent” name come from? Click here to find out how Miami history influenced the newsletter’s title.
