I love Hip hop. I'm not talking about the mainstream rap, with the video girls and the blinged-out chains, and cars and bottles poppin' everywhere (although, I have been known to have a ratchet moment or two). I'm not here to debate Rap vs. Hip Hop, but when I define Hip Hop, I offer descriptors such as street poetry, graffiti art, B-Boys and B-Girls break dancing on the street corner on cardboard boxes. I think of shell top Adidas, suede Pumas, Kangol hats, and needles scratching on records at just the right spot. It's everybody in the house saying, "Hoooooooo!" while waving their hands in the air like they just.dont.care. My hip hop is all about love. It's about timing. It's about giving a voice to the unheard. It's a clear description of a day in the summertime, it's a marriage proposal, it's ghetto anthems, stories about successes and hard knocks.

If ever there was a platform that embraced Blackness, unapologetically, it has Definitely been Hip Hop. Lately, it's even embraced some of the most taboo topics in the Black community, from depression to LGBTQ... Hip Hop has taken on these stigmas with a raised and clenched fist. And I am loving it. Recently my cousin shared an article with me, which was published by Kaiser Permanente, about how to destigmatize depression, which is right up my ally, as it follows the mission of Nikky Definitely. So, as I was reading this very informative article, full of links (please go check it out in the link above), I scrolled down and found this video. And I watched it...

...and then I watched it a couple more times... and thought, "That's K.Dot". It's not that I was surprised, so much, but that I was in awe of how beautiful these lyrics sound coming from the voice of a child. Poetry over a dope beat... that's Hip Hop. That's Blackness. That's us. It's in our spirit. It's who we are. The Roses the grew from the concrete... 

My message to Hip Hop; don't stop! If there was ever a time that we needed a voice, it's now. At a recent protest following the murder of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, a group of young people raised their fists and chanted, "We gon be alright". And in my heart, I hoped that they would keep moving and striving toward greatness. They're listening. When our Black men are receiving criticism instead of props for seeking help with mental health issues. We are listening to you. J. Cole, Kanye, The Roots, Kid Cudi, Lil Wayne, Common, Killer Mike, Jay-Z, David Banner, Lupe, Mos, Lyte, Badu, Dead Prez, Ms. Hill, Chance, ATCQ... All y'all... we hear you. Keep motivating our youth. Keep breaking down those stigmas. Remember, Hip Hop... "goes on 'n' on 'n' on 'n' on.... and it don't stop. Rock on to the rhythm; it don't quit." - ND