How Islam Uses Technology to Make Political Statements

       A wonderful advantage of our access to social media platforms is that we can voice our opinions much easier and find comfort knowing they will most likely be heard. This can be seen in many social movements such as the #BlackLivesMatter movement and support for the LGBTQ community. When a negative event happens in connection with these movements, there will most likely be an influx of posts on social media concerning details of the events, advice in hindsight or just moral support for their community.

      Unfortunately we have seen a horrible tragedy take place last Friday. A tragedy that lead to the influx of posts mentioned earlier. Of course I am referring to the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris. A horrific tragedy of this magnitude comes with a lot of emotion and, in effect, plenty of confusion.

     Many people are making political statements about this event but some are ill-informed. Placing the blame of these terrorist acts on the religion of Islam is not rare, and is generally due to ignorance, xenophobia or Islamophobia. Fortunately, many members of the Muslim community are willing and able to utilize their social media platforms to clear any air.

     We can see a variety of tweets and facebook posts from Muslims all over the world, discussing how being Muslim does not indicate being a terrorist. The picture below is an appropriate answer to those who tend to confuse Muslims with terrorists.

This shows the ability of the Muslim community to participate on the Internet and use it to make a political stance. In a way, this relates to Elizabeth Elcessor's article discussing the ability for disabled citizens to utilize the internet for their own benefits. We can be thankful that there are not as many obstacles for Muslims to get past when displaying their messages on the internet. If there were some type of restriction that didn't allow Muslims to use the internet effectively, it could be a lot worse in terms of their representation. Some disabled people cannot participate on the internet at all due to physical or mental limitations, thus silencing their voice from the web. If this happened to be the case for the Muslim community, there would be a lot less people defending them. With less people defending the image of Islam, the more common these dangerous misconceptions become.

Hip Hop Is Not Dead

                               

          Recently there has been some distress about the idea of today’s rap music being a simple watered down version of 90’s rap. We’ve heard the argument before, mostly from backpack-sporting, headphone-wearing, self-proclaimed fans of “real hip-hop.” Basically, any rap music released nowadays is garbage when compared to the legendary standard set by rappers from the 90’s. I have been listening to Hip-Hop my entire life, and even I have subscribed to this belief at some point. I used to think all new rap was trash and underground rap was the standard, and then I grew up.

          Again, I found Hip-Hop a lot sooner in my life than in high school or whenever 50 Cent put out “I Get Money” and I continuously find something new to love about it. Something that has always been expressed in rap music is a braggadocios theme concerning one’s personal achievements and how they make another person inferior. To some, this theme seems childish and pointless, but maybe those critics aren’t familiar with the low self-esteem that comes with surviving in a low-income neighborhood. This is a theme that enters every aspect of Hip-Hop. Biggie, Tupac, Big L, Nas and Wu-Tang all did it, and they certainly weren’t the only ones.

          What confuses me is when these fans of “real hip-hop” say today’s music is just about drugs, violence, money and promiscuous women, when it is blatantly obvious that their favorite artists did the exact same thing. Let me get this straight, since Big L was an intricate lyricist it’s okay for him to talk about murder and drugs? It is inconsistent to apply your beliefs to Waka Flocka Flame’s music, then turn around and say Nas is justified in doing the same thing.  In Big L’s 98’ freestyle, he makes several claims about his stature as a drug dealer, a thug and a player. My favorite line that contradicts the “holier than thou” idea “real hip-hop” fans have about Big L is “I’ve got more riches than you, I got more b*tches than you, only thing I don’t got is more stitches than you.” Aside from the contradiction that this presents, this hardly cuts deep in the emotion of whoever he is attacking.

Even still, hardheaded backpackers will argue that Big L was just expressing himself through his art form in a way that is familiar to him. Well what makes it okay for an “intelligent” rapper to talk about his life growing up in the hood, but not okay once an average rapper talks about his experiences? To stay with Big L as an example, he only has a few songs dedicated to raising awareness of mistakes to be made in the hood, but the rest of his catalogue is about violence, drugs, sex and money. Biggie Smalls was not known for his peace promoting songs, nor was Wu-Tang, N.W.A. and Big Pun. These rappers are still regarded as great by the same fans who criticize Schoolboy Q and others for rapping about the same subjects.

            Another argument that is presented is that rap songs released today are far simpler than they once were which is obviously absurd. Sure there were plenty of well-spoken rappers back in the “golden age,” but there were also a lot of simple artists. Beastie Boys, Eazy-E, Vanilla Ice, Kriss Kross and others were definitely not the most complex lyricists, but of course this gets overlooked when “real hip-hop” fans decide to cherry pick which artists represent a generation. When speaking about legendary rappers, we forget that people like Rico Suave and MC Hammer existed and also made it embarrassing to say you were a fan of rap. The difference between Rico Suave and Jedi Mind Tricks is that Rico Suave actually got radio play.

            If you wanted to listen to the new Jedi Mind Tricks album in 1998 you had to really want to find it. The same can be said for good music today. Instead of listening to the radio station, waiting for an artist you like, go find the music you want to listen to. Along with the idea of listening to music you want, keep listening to the radio if that is what you enjoy. Tyler, the Creator, an artist described as someone who “consistently nails the craft,” says the same thing in his title track for his Goblin album. “These n*ggas ain’t f*ckin with me, cuz I don’t listen to the Immortal of Tech-the-nique, and all this underground bullsh*t that’s never gon’ peak, on the Billboard Top 20 and Jam of the Week, I’d rather listen to Badu and Pusha the T, and that Waka Flocka Flame instead of that real hip-hop.” This is certainly a powerful statement about the expectations that backpackers have about taste in rap music. It also shows that just because you enjoy Chief Keef or Future doesn’t mean you can’t live your own intelligent and enlightened way of life. I am a heavy supporter of conscious rap but it’s not something I want to listen to in every situation. A party is not the right setting to play Immortal Technique or Jedi Mind Tricks, at least not if you care about everyone else at the party and not just yourself. “Back That Azz Up” by Juvenile is a much more effective way to start a party than “Dance with the Devil.”

    Overall, I think this claim that rap music used to be great and now it sucks, is just plain lazy. First, there is never a time frame for when rap was absolutely perfect. The argument always comes with arbitrary terms like “new school” and “old school.” As years progress, everything becomes “old school.” Hip-hop shouldn’t be about music then versus music now, it has always provided a commentary to extremely recent and relevant events and pop culture topics. The problem is hip-hop heads think everyone has to make an insightful commentary about serious topics that are happening. Some rappers do talk about important issues but then there are others who would rather talk about strippers and prescription pills, and they both have a right to express themselves. Think about all the entertaining movies out there. They would all be replaced with documentaries if we apply the same mind frame to cinema. The same way you don’t see a documentary at a movie theatre, you’re probably not going to hear a socially conscious rap song on the radio. Similar to a documentary, you have to go find the quality of music you yearn for, it is not going to just pop into your lap. Now I realize it may be difficult for some people to find more than five above average rappers nowadays so I took it upon myself to compile a brief list. Ab-Soul, Action Bronson, Big KRIT, Bishop Nehru, Casey Veggies, Capital STEEZ, Chance the Rapper, Dizzy Wright, Denzel Curry, Earl Sweatshirt, Flatbush Zombies, Isaiah Rashad, J. Cole, Joey BadA$$, Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Mac Miller, Run the Jewels, Robb Banks, Schoolboy Q, Tyler the Creator, Vic Mensa, Vince Staples, Wale. Now, when you listen to these musicians you may notice they talk about money, drugs, women and violence, but remember that your favorite rappers were probably violent, misogynistic, rich and addicts themselves. I can listen to Young Thug and you can listen to Common, but at the end of the day, we both just go home and live our regular lives. I hope this discussion continues because as the great Xzibit puts it, “Your little lungs is too small to hotbox with God.”