Rep. Maxine Waters Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop!
Contact: Hermela.aregawi@mail.house.gov
Los Angeles - Rep. Maxine Waters released the following statement in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop today, August 11, 2023.
I am thrilled to have lived to see Hip Hop evolve into the international culture-shaping force and economic powerhouse that it is today, and to watch the growing role this art form has played in politics. When I was elected to Congress in 1991, many politicians, including Black politicians, were either distancing themselves from Hip Hop artists altogether or trying to censor rap music. Coming from one of the epicenters of this creative creation, Los Angeles, California, I saw the value in the artistry early on. These young people were a sight to behold as they were making art out of themselves and their conditions.
I’m a big freedom of speech proponent. I believe in people’s right to express their opinion without it being censored. Freedom of speech is a very powerful freedom. If you don’t want to hear it, don’t listen to it. I defended rap. In this 1994 article, “Rap Finds a Supporter in Representative Maxine Waters,” I said, “These are our children and they’ve invented a new art form to describe their pains, fears and frustrations with us as adults. Just because we don’t like the symbols they use or the way they look, we should not allow that to cause us to embark on a course of censorship.”
That same year, during a Senate hearing where some Members of Congress wanted to censor rap music, I read Snoop Doggy Dog lyrics to help my colleagues understand that if they could really listen, the words were profound and told a story of pain. Rap was criticizing the way America treated its poor. Rappers were singing about poverty, police abuse, incarceration and other facets of their conditions. As legislators, these were the issues we should have been focusing on, not censorship.
Nonetheless, the influence of Hip Hop on our culture has created and supported new talent and new art forms. It has been a great economic engine, and rap has certainly survived. I continue to further my support of Hip Hop and rap in the founding of the “To be Young Gifted and Black Braintrust," a special session at the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference, that highlights Hip Hop artists. Happy 50th Anniversary to Hip Hop!