To toot my own horn and before I heard it from Tariq, I saw years ago when I started going overseas and at times living overseas and seeing many countries that not just hip hop, primarily hip hop, but not just hip hop is the world's most dominant culture.
Black American culture is the world's most followed, imitated culture bar none. And the sad fact is we don't realize just how much power that is. We've sold "our" culture (and before some of y'all start, I mean FBA, but all of us black in America, all participate in it).
The slang is copied....bad or good: hoes, fam, crib, lit, facts, AF, on and on and on I've heard it on every single continent by their gen z and gen y. And white folks know this. They know we don't realize our own power. BLM showed our power. It was global. The media won't report it but all over the world young people co-opted BLM/Floyd and made it local. And I don't mean co-opted in a bad way IF its used for justice. BLM marches were big in the UK. Our UK brothers and sisters were in them streets heavy. In Hong Kong, in Korea, all over there were local protests inspired by what we were doing here in the states.
The white folks keep a tight reign on our music because it could easily be used to galvanize. It's why you won't see labels signing any 2023 version of Tupac, NWA, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah or KRS One. They already know and the frustrating thing is we don't f*cking want it bad enough as a collective to do something about it. We literally gave away a multi billion dollar industry that could have created many more black millionaires AND help make changes. Tupac is followed and loved around the world by people who were born after he died. And its not just music. I read an article once that in the mid 70s, the two most recognizable things in the world were Coca Cola and the name Muhammed Ali. More recognizable than The Beatles!!
Michael Jackson in the '80s could shut down whole countries when he visited. No head of state, no other person could literally control the local headlines like that.
Black American icons are global. LeBron, Kevin Hart, Michael Jordan, Beyonce and Jay Z, Kanye, all of that. Kim K is one of the few non Blacks and she got her weight up BECAUSE of effing with black folks.
I'm telling you stuff I've seen first hand. Been to a few dozen places and see it first hand. Brothers in the military overseas can tell you the same.
Once we get to the point we really push our weight around and our famous and rich get on board, its game over. Reparations would happen in months rather than years. Reparative justice laws and regulations would happen in weeks or months. Imagine if for example, black Olympians said f*ck it, we ain't representing shyt? That is a global event. No brothers and sisters in track? Boxing, B-ball? etc? Almost happened in '68 Olympics. We were >>>this close <<< to a full boycott. Imagine if say, Ghana said, 'Hey, we'll give y'all dual citizenship and represent the motherland in the Olympics". Shyt would get real quickly because of the embarrassment the US would have. And then the UK brothers may follow and represent the Caribbean and African countries of origin. Just one example.
Imagine if hip hop changed to some militant/activist stuff? And Tyler Perry and others stopped playing 'black crab' and make some real ish for the people, a cinematic version of Hidden Colors in a movie with big names as characters for real stories. Imagine that? We ain't serious though.
