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Ice Cube: Rap a vehicle for social justice

"Race, Rap and Redemption" chronicles the rise and impact of hip-hop music.

Katie Hill

Media Credit: Joshua Sy | Daily Trojan A good day | Rapper Ice Cube performs at Bovard Auditorium Tuesday night as part of "Race, Rap and Redemption."

"Shout out loud 'I'm black and I'm proud,'" USC law professor Jody Armour called to a full house at Bovard Auditorium Tuesday night as the headline presenter at "Race, Rap and Redemption."

The event, which featured performances by hip-hop artist Ice Cube, as well as slam poets Mayda del Valle and Saul Williams, chronicled hip-hop's rise to prominence as the voice of racial and social justice.

"Hip-hop is the expression of a generation," del Valle said.

The program, "Race, Rap and Redemption," explored the themes of struggle, silence, injustice and repression in the black community.

Musical performance, slam poetry, interpretive dance and personal stories were employed to explain these themes in an artistic manner and demonstrate how hip-hop culture thrives.

While each participant in the event offered a slightly different definition of hip-hop, most agreed with Williams, who defined the art as "the modern music of the disenfranchised."

"Hip-hop began as defiance against racism, classism, sexism," said Chavonne Taylor, a member of Hip Hop Congress and a senior majoring in sociology. "I think it's something everyone should be involved with."

Taylor was featured in "The State of the Art," a documentary on students' relationships with hip-hop that was screened during the event.

Del Valle expressed her disappointment that hip-hop is often perceived as being "all about violence," and described it instead as an outlet for those who are often overlooked; namely, the black and Latino American lower class.

Rapper Ice Cube agreed that the mainstream media misrepresents hip-hop's societal role.

"Hip-hop is more than just gangster rap, it's rap that we started calling 'reality rap,'" he said.

He described the culture as a form of creative expression that "speaks as the voice of the youth."

He said empowerment is essential as a young generation of black people is stereotyped based on the "disproportionate rate of minority incarceration."

Armour said he "reject(s) people who regard black men in prison as 'toxic human waste.'"

Identifying with those who are viewed as "bad negroes" gives hip-hop its foundation, he said.

Hip-hop addresses the issues plaguing the poor black community and works toward creating a more just society, he said.

"Hip-hop can help amplify the message of people involved in the social justice movement," said Sionne Neely, another student featured in the documentary.

Ice Cube performed a set of four songs to end the evening, including crowd favorite, "Fuck Tha Police."

Ice Cube told the audience when writing songs he focuses on larger concepts.

"It's real easy to write songs about the club," he said. "I like to dig a little deeper."

DaSean Cunningham, a junior majoring in sociology, said the event portrayed hip-hop in a positive light.

"It let people know there's more to rap than just violence," he said. "I'm just glad (Ice Cube) understands the problems. As a black man, not a lot of black men or women would be willing to take that step."

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