On grits and hip hop.

I want to give Bryant Terry a hug. No, it’s not like that. See, yesterday, I read an article called Reclaiming True Grits. It talked about how soul food in general, and grits in particular, had been mispackaged and misinterpreted until they were rendered a form hardly recognizable or even palatable to anyone, much less the original consumers. It appears to be so easy to accept the results of said manipulation. To throw up one’s hands and just say that soul food is the downfall of African American society. Responsible for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease. The funny thing was that the more I read it, the more it reminded me of the current situation with the music industry concerning hip hop.

(DJ Kool Herc’s old apartment building up for sale – interesting story – Thanks Diva)

Original soul food did consist of animal entails during the civil war, but it also consisted of a lot of home grown and fresh ingredients. Both of my parents ancestors, even down to my parents (who still do so today. shoot I’m growing one this Spring, too. LOL.) grew their own kitchen gardens and cooked (and canned) from their bounty. There is a  strong agrarian tradition in soul food cooking. Original hip hop consisted of party music, tales of life in the streets, a snapshot of the things that were going on, a voice for the voiceless. Street kids who had an artistic outlet by mixing musical styles, dance moves, even fashion. Some rappers were brash, but in general, it was about much more than MHC*

But I guess the same way that someone figured out that money could be made from the watering down and fattening up of soul food,people also came to the brilliant conclusion that more gyrating nearly nekkid black females + bragging black males with credit cards to slide in their behinds = big profits for all. With much of the same result. Hip hop is blamed for misogyny** (no, slavery and American society’s long standing acceptance of the sexual exploitation of black women couldnt have had anything to do with that, nooo… ) and every other ill in the African American community from rampant materialism to broken homes to teenage pregnancy. And soul food, of course has to be the cause of obesity, diabetes, heart disease’s prevalence in the community. Never mind little things like environmental injustice , housing  and job discrimination, which can affect one’s access to healthy food.

It is also interesting that black people have become accomplices to the denigration of their own culture where the food and the music are concerned. There are black people who would swear that soul food consists mainly of pork fat and a lot of other unhealthy if consumed in vast quantity type of food. And some folks believe MHC* is the hotness in the streets these days.  That’s really sad.

But you know what? I just hugged Max and thought of how blessed we are that I’ll be able to tell him about that extra long Sugar Hill Gang LP that my cousins played that I thought was the greatest thing since sliced or nonsliced bread back in elementary school. About socially and politically conscious rap. And he already knows about real soul food.  😀

* Money, hoes and clothes/cars/luxury SUVs/you get the picture. 😀

** Please don’t get it twisted, there is enough wrong in the world that the current breed of hip hop IS responsible for, like the international image of black people falling down a few notches, I just chose not to go there.  Today. Hee hee.