A coalition of Democrats are looking to use the power of music to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing Black and Brown Americans.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday unveiled the Congressional Hip Hop Power and Justice Task Force outside the Capitol.
The taskforce, led by Bowman, will use hip hop’s messaging of building a more equitable society to help spearhead initiatives to address economic equality, affordable housing and racial justice imperatives.
In an exclusive with The Hill, Bowman explained that the inspiration behind the task force came from reflecting on how the genre impacted him over the years.
Artists like Eric B. & Rakim, Queen Latifah, Chuck D and Public Enemy inspired the New York lawmaker throughout his life, he said, including during his time as an educator.
“They were very instrumental in creating a curriculum and blueprint for my life,” Bowman told The Hill. “I owe a lot of who I am to the lessons that they taught me on and through their music.”
Hip hop, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last August, has often been used as a political tool for Black and Brown Americans, and Bowman said he hopes to capitalize on that through the taskforce.
“Hip hop has always been about ending poverty in America, about fully funding our public schools. It’s always been about justice reform and police reform,” the lawmaker said. “It’s always been about affordable housing and dealing with the issue of threats of violence.”
“At this moment in particular when you consider the Black Lives Matter movement to the Ceasefire movement and the fight that continues for freedom, justice and equality — now it’s time to build political power at a level that’s never been done before,” he added.
Some of that is already happening.
In September, artists — including Fat Joe, Rick Ross and Busta Rhymes — partnered with Power to the Patients, to film a public service announcement demanding legislators create a more honest, affordable and equitable healthcare system.
Groups like The Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), the Recording Academy and the Black Music Collective have also joined forces with Bowman and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) in calling for the passage of the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act, a bill that would limit the admissibility of an artist’s creative or artistic expression against them in court.
And every year, Hip Hop on The Hill brings artists and legislators together through the Hip Hop Caucus.
“It’s been going on in terms of rappers and artists and industry interfacing with elected officials on a consistent basis, we just want to take that up a notch and make it more consistent, make us more intentional, and use the power of the genre as a multibillion dollar global economy to move lawmakers in terms of helping them to understand what’s happening in our most marginalized communities,” said Bowman.
Part of that, he added, means conducting Hip Hop on the Hill once a month rather than once a year.
“We want artists to constantly be talking to lawmakers about what they’re going through in their communities and what’s happening in their communities so lawmakers can understand that hip hop artists come from the most marginalized, neglected places in our country,” he said.
Some of the most prominent hip hop artists have shared what it was like to grow up in these places.
Eminem, whose full name is Marshall Mathers, grew up in poverty in a trailer park — a story that many Americans relate to, Bowman said, and lawmakers need to hear that reality.
But Bowman also points to how legitimizing hip hop can lead to widespread cultural change. One way, he said, is by addressing misogyny both in the genre and public discourse.
The lawmaker points to the story of Megan Thee Stallion, who faced vitriol and hate after filing assault charges against rapper Tory Lanez after he shot her.
“She persevered, she fought, she told the truth, and she won,” said Bowman. “And that’s what we need to know about.”
Uplifting women in hip hop is a core component of the task force, in part because Black women have been instrumental in the fight for equality and justice, said Bowman.
That’s part of the reason why he unveiled the taskforce on Wednesday — the anniversary of his mother’s death.
Bowman, who grew up in a single mother household, said his mother used to listen and enjoy hip hop with him as he grew up.
“I’m very lucky because I was raised in the culture, the time when the culture was not as misogynistic and violent,” he said.
To introduce the task force on the day of her passing, he added, “is to give honor to her and to pay homage to her as a single Black mom in America and pay homage to all the single Black mothers in America and all the women out there loving their sons and doing the best they can for their children, their families.”
But the timing of the task force also aligns with Black History Month and an election year — something that the New York Democrat said was intentional.
“Artists have held the establishment accountable for many years and during election years, many artists, many people in the community and culture, continue to not trust as it relates to what we’re doing on the hill,” Bowman explained.
The result is less voter turnout and overall less interaction between legislators and the community. The task force can begin to rebuild that trust as they urge voters of color to trust the process and cast their ballots come November.
“Election season is critical to build authentic relationships … in terms of what the needs are, what the challenges are, what the struggles are and what the aspirations are,” the congressman said.
In addition to Bowman, the task force will be led by Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson (Ga.), Delia Ramirez (Ill.) and Andre Carson (Ind.). No Republicans are part of the task force.