The Game Speaks About The Kids and Justice…

By Chris Roan


The New York City Police accused of murdering Sean Bell were acquitted last week and rapper The Game (29) responded with a powerful video. Nothing conveys urgency and desperation like a well-executed Dead Presidents reference, but the message here is particularly interesting for IWRI. If Game Ran It, young communities would use technology to communicate, collaborate, and empower. The rapper says:

I feel like…how long are we gonna sit around and let em just tear away at who we are? First of all as…human beings…and then as young, black, American youth…The Rodney King shit…we were all too young for that. I couldn’t be as vocal in ‘92 as I am in 2008, due to the fact that I was only 11 years old when that happened to Rodney King and when the 92 riots jumped off. Now it’s a whole other ball game. Its 2008 I’m one of the most potent voices in the black community, in America period, as far as gangsta rap and hip hop are concerned…And we’re fed up.

The stakes are as high as imaginable in Game’s example, but the themes here are relevant across the board: the people in power (the President all the way down to your boss) are often deaf to new ideas and young voices, and it’s on those same young people to find ways to join the marketplace of ideas. If not us, then who?  Start reading, Join the movement!



Tags: , , , , , ,
Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

One Comment

  1. camille added these pithy words on May 9, 2008 | Permalink

    Thanks for the tip on this!

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

  • Featured

  • 24.Jun
  • If We Ran It Update 6.24.08

  • We hope you 80’s babies can pick up what we’re about to put down…
    Remember Voltron? That rad Japanese mecha cartoon dubbed in English & released in the US a few decades ago? Well we’ve been inspired by the “Defender of the Universe.” Not in a nu-hipster, conspicuous consumer, buy the t-shirt kind of way, but […]

  • People

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 13.May
  • Too Cool for School

  • Waaaay <30 green thumber Hunter Gross is inspired to inspire others his age (and then some) after learning about the effects that global warming has on the planet. The 12-year-old entrepreneur is eager to demonstrate how small changes can add up to make a big impact. To do this Hunter and his parents created Project […]

  • Thinking

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 08.May
  • IWRI x ‘Steampunk’

  • The New York Times published an article on Steampunk culture that’s getting a lot of buzz on the Internets. Steampunk originated as a term for science fiction based on Victorian-era themed concepts - and the literature has birthed a rich lifestyle culture with a unique fashion aesthetic and product modification styles (some references & […]

  • Doing

  • <?php the_title(); ?>
  • 14.May
  • All Day Buffet Throws Battle of the Bands Tomorrow Night

  • It all goes down tomorrow night. The Canal Room, 4 bands of kids, 4 celebrity artists, lots of fun and a ton of good.
    In an early entrée to the Canal Room, four bands of students from Education Through Music will be performing with their celebrity coaches. The night features Weekend Top 30 and WKTU’s “Hollywood” […]