subject: True Soldier of the Lord...So Ghetto, So Hood [print this page] by Takuan Amaru by Takuan Amaru
"Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared"
-Tupac Shakur
Many people associate words like "ghetto" and "'hood" with poor, racially-segregated urban areas overflowing with violence, drugs and prostitution. However, those who live in these areas often-times 'flip-the-script', using these terms in an endearing way to "represent" to the world their pride, love and compassion for themselves and their community. For these people, their hood is all they know; it's home. As one of the last frontiers of authentic culture, despite the pollution and run-down, dilapidated structures, hoods all around the world represent the passion, emotion and courage to rise above the suffering and struggle that comes with being poor and disenfranchised.
The term, "ghetto", first came into widespread usage during WWII in occupied Europe. Ghettos were the areas designated by Hitler and the Nazis for Jews to live in prior to being transported to the infamous concentration camps.
In the US, Irish, Italian and Polish people were the first immigrants to form the "ethnic enclaves" in big cities that would later be referred to as "ghettos."
Nowadays, despite the various "Little Italy's", "China-Towns" and other similarly overcrowded racially homogeneous districts in US cities, the "ghetto or "hood" is primarily seen as the home of Blacks and Latinos and...also as the birthplace and home of Hip Hop.
In his 2nd single, So Ghetto so Hood, from the album Language of the Timez, Pryme Minister gives you a major piece to his divine plan to Change Muzik in the hood...and around the world. This laid-back, funk style philharmonic features a DC, go-go type street percussion that beautifully captures the hopelessness and frustrations, as well as the pride and love for the ghetto, that can only be created by someone who genuinely is from "around the way."
"I love God, I just don't front...'cause I don't have to..."
-Pryme Minister
American culture has boasted many great artists who have successfully woven their ghetto-experience into their art form. From Blues legends like Bessie Smith and Muddy Waters, to "Bird" and John Coltrane in Jazz, to Rakim and Biggie in Hiphop, not to mention poets such as Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou, there is a long list of musical and literary giants who have narrated for those wishing to take a brief "tour of the hood."
Any art form that is able to take something negative, or nothing at all, and create something positive, by definition, is spiritual. However, Pryme Minister takes his spiritual expression to the next level by incorporating his love for God into nearly every verse while magically, it seems, being able to lay "deep in the cut" with his lyrics, never betraying his Hip Hop roots or audience.
True Soldier of God
"We did not hesitate to call our movement an army. But it was a special army..."
-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1963
Pryme Minister continues to recruit for his Army of the Lord in his latest "truth-to-power" message to the streets. In uncompromising fashion, he lets you know about his love and affection for his hood as well as his sincere commitment to God all throughout his verses:
"I'm a Hartford native, often hated & underrated, but to know my loyalty to God is nothing to be played with..."
And once again, he instructs his listening audience that no one, no matter how low they have sunk, is beyond Christ's redemptive powers; this includes gangsters and mobsters.
In his words:
"...(Gangsters) still got a right to the cross...ain't it true, that the Lord came down for the lost..?"
Since the late 80s to early 90s, with KRS-1's "Stop the Violence" campaign along with West Coast rappers like Ice T supporting the LA gang truce, other than the Nation of Islam's contributions, single-minded, collective efforts committed to uplifting the folks in the hood have been virtually non-existent.
Militant-Minded Entertainment and Change Muzik's mission to impart Christ's teachings for the rehabilitation of lost, scattered souls in the streets caught up in the illusion of fast money, women and cars may usher in the most significant movement in Hip Hop in the last 20 years.
This song is a love story. Rappers representing for their hood is nothing new, but combining this hometown pride with an intimate love relationship with God, while maintaining a street, Hip Hop appeal is unprecedented to this point.
Although folks living in slum areas are not happy about being poor, many of them are quick to let others know, with extreme pride, where they hail from. Many people in the mainstream who have never been to the projects can't comprehend the dignity of their sentiments, but are fully aware of its presence. This is something they may never be privileged to fully understand no matter how many trips as a "ghetto tourist" they take to 125th Street in Harlem, South-Central LA, or the South Side of Chicago.
So, why do we show so much love for the streets and slums where we live? For us that's easy to explain...
