(ThyBlackMan.com) Rapper Dee-1 appears to be the future of hip-hop. As Americans grow tired of music that glorifies self-destructive behavior and excessive materialism, Dee-1 stands outside the crowd. As a self-described “One Man Army,” this artist is determined to shift the power of hip-hop in a way that keeps black people from turning the gun onto ourselves.
One song that Dee-1 made that recently got my attention had the title “I hate money.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t think a rapper has used those words since Dr. King was a baby. Most rappers (at least those being promoted by big, racist corporations) don’t hate money, they are taught to worship it. They are taught to sell everything they value in order to pursue it. They are trained to ignore the death and destruction in their own communities, all for the sake of adding a dollar to their bank accounts.
Then, when they get the money, many of them are taught to give it all right back to the very same racist corporations that are paying them to promote a nation-wide minstrel show. When the money-hungry rapper finally goes broke after giving his money back to the white man, he ends up looking like a washed-up crackhead who’s gone two weeks since he had his last hit. He
lives his life in the studio, eating hopes and dreams for breakfast lunch and dinner, hoping that the same companies that gave him a check 20 years ago will have a change of heart.
Yes, that story is both pathetic and all-too common. One of the best ways to avoid being controlled by money is to keep from being addicted to it in the first place.
You can imagine my surprise to hear a rapper make a song with such a strong title, and how happy I am to see a brother who understands that it’s actually cool to be your own man.
According to the song, Rapper Dee-1 effectively makes the point that even though most of us realize that we need money, you can’t use it to destroy the things that are most valuable in your life. As a Finance professor myself, I was taught to understand the value and power of money on a microscopic level. I took the classes on the highest levels of mathematics, statistics, economics and financial theory. I wrote a 150-page dissertation on Financial Pscyhology and crafted theories on the topic as well. In other words, I know what it’s like to eat, sleep and breathe money. The more I learned about it, the more frightened I actually became.
My perception of money is that it is a lot like a drug: It can heal terribly difficult situations and even make you a happier person. But if you overdose on the drug, it can distort your perceptions, make you delusional and cause you to behave like an addict. So, rather than using the power of money to liberate yourself, you find that if you’re not careful, money can turn you into a bigger slave.
Corporate America wants to be a slave to money because this convinces you to give both your life and your resources right back to the same companies that are seeking to oppress you. It’s not a mistake that the government won’t support the idea of teaching financial literacy to young people. The fact is that addictive spending is the backbone of the American economy.
Here are a couple of lyrics from the Dee-1 song “I Hate Money”:
“I’ve seen it come in between best friends to the point where they be beefing;
I’ve seen it come between family to the point where they ain’t speaking;
I’ve seen people die for it, chase it till they ain’t breathing”
I had the chance to interview Rapper Dee-1 not long ago. As a fan of hip-hop, I can say that almost no artist has ever impressed me the way that he did. His flow is extraordinary, to the point that he can be compared to some of the best artists in the industry. However, his consistency of vision and confidence-laced humility is impressive, particularly for someone who has been offered a lot of money to modify his message.
It’s not a coincidence that Dee-1 (aka David Augustine) was not only a teacher, but a leader and extraordinary student. He graduated as homecoming king at Ben Franklin High School, one of the most academically-rigorous schools in the state of Louisiana. He was also a basketball star.
As a teacher, Dee mentioned to me that he noticed how his words impacted the students in his classroom. He also noticed how so many of our young people are influenced by the actions and messages of their favorite artists. When I listen to Dee’s music, I pick up the same degree of intelligence that I see in the greatest artists in the industry, but the music is backed by the kind of integrity reflective of a courageous young brother who actually cares for his people (Imagine that: A black man who cares about black people. Maybe that’s just old-fashioned or something).
Whether we like it or not, hip-hop artists are some of the most significant teachers in the entire African American community. They can drown out the voices of well-intended parents, mentors and anyone else, and it’s important that we understand the power that these voices have on the psyches of our children. So, if an artist teaches young black boys to kill each other, more young men will die. If an artist teaches young black boys to lift each other up, then more young men will rise.
Even Chief Keef (aka Keith Cozart) of Chicago, considered one of the most ignorant and destructive rappers in the game, understand the power of his words. Closing into the release of his album last year, Cozart proudly proclaimed that his album would “increase the murder rate in Chicago.” The crying mothers on the southside of Chicago know that this violence is real. So, big corporations profiting on the marketing of such sentiment is a clear violation of corporate ethics and probably worthy of a class-action lawsuit with a multi-billion dollar verdict (Maybe the great Willie Gary will pick up such a case. I would gladly support his efforts).
So, the consensus is that most hip-hop artists have enough intelligence to know that their words have power. But beyond intellect, it is a man’s spiritual fortitude that determines whether he is going to use this power for good or evil. That’s the difference between an average man and a great one. Based on this assessment, as well as his spiritual makeup, it’s hard not to argue that Dee-1 could be one of the greatest artists in hip-hop history.
You can see the interview I did with Dee-1 below:
[youtube -EwSjBkcXW8]
Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.
