Crib Notes

KILLER MIKE SHEDS A TEAR AT JUSTIN’S

(photos by Shannon McCollum)

Oct. 14, 2007, started like any other old Sunday. Me, dreading Monday and feeling slightly guilty about not remembering the last time I went to church (I think it was my cousin’s wedding). But little did I know, one afternoon would make up for a lifetime of spiritual truancy.

With the shadow of the overhyped BET Hip-Hop Awards looming over the city, special invited guests abandoned the red carpets, name dropping, and VIP theatrics to embrace the core values of love, compassion and humanity. A who’s who of hip-hop artists, industry tastemakers and activists huddled into Justin’s on Peachtree seeking spiritual renewal via “The Evolution of Hip-Hop: An Intimate Conversation with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,” sponsored by AllHipHop.com and 9196 Management.

As rap gets star billing as the new American scapegoat (T.I.’s arrest certainly didn’t help its public image), the gathering sought to combat attacks on the art form, offering straight-no-chaser strategies to center the global influence and cultural impact of hip-hop through social responsibility, atonement and activism. The star-studded roundtable of guests included Chuck Creekmur (AllHipHop.com), Benjamin Chavis (Hip-Hop Summit Action Network), Chuck D and Professor Griff (Public Enemy), Dee Dee Murray (Murray Music Media Corp.), I’na Saulsberry (the Starfire Group), Organized Noize, Jason Orr (Funk Jazz Kafé), Michael Eric Dyson, director Bryan Barber, Teddy Riley, N’dea Davenport, David Banner, NO I.D., Diamond D, and Atlanta rappers and producers Killer Mike, Cee-lo, DJ Toomp and Bryan-Michael Cox.

Anyone questioning Nation of Islam leader Farrakhan’s effectiveness need only witness a room full of “industry” folk humble themselves enough to plead for direction, as was the case with a teary-eyed Killer Mike, who was so overwhelmed by the rousing speech he not only offered a public apology for his headline-grabbing feud with Big Boi’s Purple Ribbon record label, but also sought guidance in coping with an industry built on capitalism and greed. Mike’s impromptu alter call has already become legendary.

Mixing the spiritual leanings of a corner store preacher and the intelligence of the coolest professor you had in undergrad, Farrakhan delivered a message of hope by challenging hip-hop heads to live a life of purpose and self-worth.

Thank goodness the Gordon Parks of hip-hop, internationally acclaimed photographer Shannon McCollum, was there to capture every historic moment. You can see more of his exclusive photos at ShannonMcCollumPhotos.blogspot.com.

MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN

N’DEA DAVENPORT OF THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES

BENJAMIN CHAVIS OF THE HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK

AllHipHop.com founder and CEO Chuck Creekmur weighs in on the historic day:

Explain your aim in sponsoring the “Evolution of Hip-Hop” event with Minister Farrakhan.
Well, first we support positive movement in hip-hop as it appears in
various forms. Secondly, I think Minister Farrakhan is one of the very
few leaders that still gets the respect of the hip-hop community. I
feel we needed to help them get that message of empowerment and change out to the people.

Describe the gut-wrenching energy in the room.
I think Killer Mike expressed it best, the feelings that some of the
younger folks felt, but can’t always express. Hip-hop has always been
“damaged goods” in a number of ways. When you hear a kind or caring
word that touches your soul, you feel it in a major way. It felt like a
smaller version of the Million Man March.

How do we as hip-hop heads develop an agenda that uses hip-hop as a vehicle for social responsibility?
I think we are already doing that. I think some of us have to lead by
example and set a tone and create the climate. I think we’ll see it
soon. There is a current and it’s powerful. We have been looking for more
socially responsible hip-hop and we’re getting it. We just have to stand
for something, whether this is the media or a rap song.

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