This is the first in a series of diaries on progressive hip hop. In light of recent discussions, I thought it would be worthwhile to examine some progressive hip hop (not the kind Don Imus learned from) to see just how political it is, in what ways and on what levels political information and opinion are transmitted, and regarding which issues.

"Wishing," by Edo G and Masta Ace, is a remarkably thorough and powerful manifesto on black politics, which displays a great deal of political sophistication to express distrust for institutions of government, lament the poor material conditions of so many black Americans, criticize the maladaptive gang culture which has pervaded hip hop, and make critiques on the status quo, which, if translated into political theory or social science, could fill volumes. The first lines are simple and direct:

I wish the president would stop lyin'
Black babies would stop cryin'
And young brothers would stop dyin'
I wish the police would stop killin'
Politicians would stop stealin' and actin like they not dealin'

The early lines set the scene -- a distrust for the political system and a sadness for the material state of black America. By criticizing the president in the very first line, Edo and Ace ensure that the audience will interpret and understand the entire song through a political lens, so crying babies are not just to make you sad, but to make a point.

I wish we'd get this shit figured out
And stop goin' the trigger route
And actin' all niggered out
On the block with the nine cocked
I wish we'd try and stop, stop wishin' for the pine box
I wish she wasn't so obsessed with death
Tell me is it cuz we blessed with less?

After setting the scene as a political one, but before the artists engage their outward political message in earnest, they have the courage and self-awareness to criticize the self-destructive elements in their own cultural group. They degrade and devalue gangs, gang violence, and the whole gang-culture "route" that leads to it. They use the word "nigger" only once -- not as a racial slur, or a term of endearment, but with a new meaning I have heard gaining some popularity among black progressives, to mean a person who has chosen to be a nigger by glorifying the traits implied by the original racial slur -- violence, ignorance, lawlessness, learned helplessness, and a swath of other self-destructive behaviors.

The Imus apoligists kept asking where the black voices are who speak out against black artists who denigrate women and advocate violence and disrespect other black Americans -- I don't think they ever had "Edo G" or "Masta Ace" on their Sunday shows.

In the bridge between verses one and two, snips of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech can be heard in the background, igniting a feeling of purpose and solidarity, whether you're a black youth, a veteran of the civil rights movement, or just a WASPy 21 year-old with a soft spot for civil rights. It reminds us, while we lament the despair in the world, that there was a time when people did something about it, when people who couldn't even cast their vote rose up together and changed history...

In a perfect world, the audience might fill the elipsis at the end of that thought with, "Then so can we." ... Next verse:

I wish my pops didn't die when I was seven years old
If there's life after death, is heaven this cold?
I wish I could wipe the tears of all the cryin' mothers
Wish New York niggas didn't start flyin' colors
I wish my people stop avoiding the truth,
BET stop poisoning youth
We need changes for teenagers as they go through phases
More than just a concrete jungle the world got green acres
I wish I'd been more diligent
Smart cats rhyme militant, the rest rhyme ignorant
I wish the world didn't give us funny looks (uh huh)
Think we all just dummies and crooks
Athletes and entertainers singin' hooks
We need more black babies that's into books (read on)
I wish god could take away the pain
I know you wanna call me insane, I'm a dreamer.

Notice the renewed critique of gang culture, the way it works both with and through the praise for education. A love for rap and a disdain for education often go hand-in-hand in the "money, power, respect"-based gang culture, which is why Edo G's admonition that "Smart cats rhyme militant, the rest rhyme ignorant" is such a deep critique of the culture. Many have broached this issue in the past, but most often in an oppositional stance -- what Edo G does is he gets inside gang culture, he uses its love for rap and its fragile ego against its own self-destructive myth, achieving a result something like: "If you don't read you'll never be any good rapping and you'll get beat up at school."

Not only do the artists utilize enough analytical knowledge of this destructive culture to turn one head of the hydra against the rest, but they attack one of the major purveyors of this culture: BET. A lot of progressives have started saying "Don't criticize Glenn Beck, criticize CNN." Edo G is one step ahead of you. Think how long it took for the Democratic party to start disowning Fox News, though they actively work against us at every front. These guys had the courage to disown a network which actually claims to speak for him, and could potentially be a major source of revenue and notariety.

I wish I didn't get searched when I come through customs
I wish Christians stop beefin' with Muslims
Wish the poor didn't have to take welfare
Wish America had universal healthcare
Cuz there aint' no help here, in a country where we don't fight fair
The American dream becomes a nightmare
It's all hype here, and on this track my soul I might bare
I wish Bush just get outta office
Before he start world war three and try to off us
It won't cost him, but it'll cost us
And right now, believe me you lost us.

In the final stanza, the context and perspective, the shared plight and purpose are as complete as they ever will be, all that's left is the ask, the push: Racial profiling is a problem too structural and cultural to go away by policy or action in a matter of years, maybe even decades; Christians beefing with Muslims isn't a black issue or a hip hop issue, one who underestimates the political acuity or purpose of the artists would find this line a complete non-sequitor; that the poor could be independent of any sort of social safety net is a wish not less than Utopian; "universal health care" is the first mention of any sort of policy proposal in the entire song. What brings this verse together is just plain wishing; it's that no one in the target audience can deny sharing one of these wishes.

The song ends as it began, with a critique of the President, of his war-mongering (all that "beefing"). The criticism that Bush's next war "won't cost him, but it'll cost us" is one of the most powerful critiques offered against the recent wars, one that it took most of the Democratic party about 3 years to come up with. But before it ends, Edo G devotes a few lines of the song to a criticism of the structure of our economy. The bolded selection above summarizes volumes of political and social theory, lifetimes devoted to study and analysis of the implications of a system that promises opportunity to all, and then ensures far more losers than winners, protecting capital and preserving an ever-growing lineage of the chronically poor.

What I learned today about progressive hip hop is that these artists, Edo G and Masta Ace, seem quite conscious of the fact that they are engaging in a struggle for the soul of black culture. They are self-aware; they have examined the self-destructive forces and the means of their disemination; they are willing to politicize the unpolitical (like crying babies) and ask their audience to better themselves, from changing TV-viewing habits to altering modes of thought; they speak from personal experience to a shared perspective. This doesn't sound too unlike what we are doing here on the 'tubes, and this song is a vessel of progressive culture. Any radio station that plays it is advertising the Democratic party (so long as the Democratic party is able to align itself with these images and concerns). These artists are potential allies, and their fans are potential activists. If only we could do away with that word "potential" ... maybe in volume 2.

Full text of the song's lyrics below.

Wishing
by Edo G featuring Masta Ace

[Masta Ace]
I wish the president would stop lyin'
Black babies stop cryin'
And young brothers stop dyin'
I wish the police would stop killin'
Politicians a stop stealin' and actin like they not dealin'
When they know they got bricks in the street
At the country club fixin' to eat
I can see em' now
I wish we'd get this shit figured out
And stop goin' the trigger route
And actin' all niggered out
On the block with the nine cocked
I wish we'd try and stop, (what?) stop wishin' for the prime box
I wish she wasn't so obsessed with death
Tell me is it cuz we blessed with less?
I don't know really
I wish the world was safer, I'm scared to travel abroad
That's why, I travel with the Lord
I wish the cabs would stop for me in the rain
I know you wanna call me insane, I'm a dreamer.

[Background: Martin Luther King Jr.]
I have a dream that one day even injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream.

[Edo. G]
I wish my pops didn't die when I was seven years old
If there's life after death, is heaven this cold?
I wish I could wipe the tears of all the cryin' mothers
Wish new york niggas didn't start flyin' colors
I wish my people stop avoiding the truth,
BET stop poisoning youth
We need changes for teenagers as they go through phases
More than just a concrete jungle the world got green acres
I wish I'd been more diligent
Smart cats rhyme militant the rest rhyme ignorant
I wish the world didn't give us funny looks
Think we all just dummies and crooks
Athletes and entertainers singin' hooks
We need more black babies, that's in the books
I wish god could take away the pain
I know you wanna call me insane, I'm a dreamer.

[Edo. G]
I wish I didn't get searched when I come through customs
I wish Christians stop beefin' with Muslims
Wish the poor didn't have to take welfare
Wish America had universal healthcare
Cuz there aint' no help here, in a country where we don't fight fair
The American dream becomes a nightmare
It's all hype here, and on this track my soul I might bare
I wish Bush just get outta office
Before he start world war three and try to off us
It won't cost him, but it'll cost us
And right now, believe me you lost us.