BOSSIP recently caught up with Mike Bigga (aka Killer Mike), and while talking about his new album PL3DGE (in stores April 19), we got into an interesting conversation about Black History and the Hip-Hop generation.
Asked what the significance of Black History is today, here’s what Mike had to offer:
Black History is important because Black people in America have no culture. Prior to Desegregation, we had culture. We had our own communities, we had our own businesses, we had our own system within which we took care of ourselves. With the dissemination of segregation, we gave up our culture in exchange for being fully integrated. Black communities are not policed by Black officers. The Black people who live in these communities don’t shop at Black stores because there are none, hence the Black dollar leaving the community and never coming back. And without that strong economic base, you don’t have a strong foundation for families, politics, commerce or culture, period.
What Black people have lost is a sense of culture. A lot of people think having a Black president is enough. But we still have a [Congressional] Black Caucus, meaning we don’t have enough Black members of Senate or Congress for us not to need a caucus. We don’t have enough representation in local politics. Most of us are happy to have a Black President as a hood ornament, but most of the decisions he makes don’t affect you on a daily basis. So we still have a long way to go.
But then, what is Hip-Hop’s roll in Black History? Flip through to check out five Black History facts every Hip-Hop head should know, courtesy of Mike Bigga.