HHNLive.com: Rise Up: Dr. Benjamin Chavis

Written by Tiffany Gordon

May 2008

http://www.hhnlive.com/features/more/444

Dr. Benjamin Chavis sits down with HHNLive.com writer Tiffany Gordon to discuss Hip-Hop and how it’s portrayed in the media, HIV/AIDS, the Hip-Hop Summit movement and much more.

Dr. Chavis on Snoop’s Larry King appearance: “He was very articulate, very cognitive with all of the issues of what the world is faced with. This is Snoop Dogg an Icon of Hip Hop, conversing with Larry King. Those things are very important.”

Tiffany Gordon: How do you feel Hip Hop is portrayed in the media?

Dr. Benjamin Chavis: Well I think that the established Media in the United States and to some extent around the world has a misunderstanding of Hip Hop. Hip Hop has many positive attributes. It’s a worldwide global culture phenomenon. Hip Hop is the cognitive expression of young people. It’s their lifestyle, it’s their consciousness it’s their mindset. Of course it’s manifested in music, but it’s manifested in fashion and it’s manifested in dance. And one of the reasons why Russell Simmons and I co-founded the Hip Hop Summit Action Network 8 years ago is because we wanted to make sure that how Hip Hop is portrayed in the media is more balanced…. more accurate. And typically focus on the most positive things that Hip Hop artists do to improve the quality of life for people, not only in the United States, but around the world.

TG: Why do you think the HIV/AIDS rate is so high in the African-American community?

BC: Well I think that there are several contributing factors to the high incident of HIV/AIDS in the African American community.
1. Poverty. When people live in poverty, they do not get the information; they do not have access to the information that they need to improve their quality of life. To decrease the number of HIV/AIDS incidents in the African American community, you have to do something about ending poverty.

2. How information about HIV/AIDS is disseminated. In fact the modality of the transmission of the information. A lot of times the information sort of flies over their heads. That’s why when the epidemic first started, a lot of African Americans did not take it seriously because they didn’t get the information in a serious way. People thought it was somebody else’s disease or some other group and there were a lot of myths and stereotypes about HIV and AIDS and so that made it harder for this to be taken seriously in terms of the pandemic and epidemic proportions that are now happening.

3. Young people, here in the African American community, are the most talented, the most gifted, but they also are the highest risk takers. And I think that if we get more information; utilizing a format, utilizing the language of the youth then we can be much more effective in getting the young people to understand the dangers of unsafe sex, the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

So I think the whole thing can be turned around through eliminating poverty, getting the information out in a better and more effective way and also focus particularly on youth, to get young people to participate in the reduction of HIV and AIDS and not just making young people the object to throw information at.

TG: So what is the main reason that you decided to start the Hip Hop Summit: you and Russell Simmons?

BC: I’ve been involved in a lot of movements. I worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the Civil Rights movement and in those early days, back in the 1950’s, 1960’s; we had to take a point position, similar to today. Hip Hop is the culture phenomenon among young people all over the world and if we can utilize hip hop culture as a means by which we address issues like HIV & Aids we could be much more effective. So Russell Simmons and I co-founded the Hip Hop Summit Action Network to deal with the wide range of this. We are also getting young people to go out and vote in record numbers. Hip Hop transcends race, Hip Hop transcends the social economic status of those who are rich and those that are poor. So I think Hip Hop has been one of the most effective ways and means by which we can challenge and rise to the occasion to stem the tide of the HIV and Aids epidemic.

TG: As far as the stereotypes that Hip Hop does have, the media only let’s us see the negative side…what can we do or other artists do to make sure that the positive images that we see overpower the negative?

BC: This is one of the things that we do in the Hip Hop Action Network. What distinguishes our organization from other organizations is the presence of the artist. We are artist-centric. And we are always relating to the artist that in their videos, in their lyrics, in their public statement, we have to make this issue a serious concern in the art form itself. And I think that we get a tremendous response. I think that every artist that we talk to, are very responsible, we don’t have to twist arms, artists volunteer their time, they give back to the community, particularly in this issue and I am very pleased on how hip hop artists are rising. One being the “Wrap it Up” campaign. Each artist has their own individual philanthropist and “give back” campaign surrounding issues of raising public awareness. So I think that part of what we talk about among the artists is how to deal with overcoming the negative stereotypes. Snoop Dogg was on the Larry King show and he wore a suit, he broke that stereotype. He was very articulate, very cognitive with all of the issues of what the world is faced with. This is Snoop Dogg an Icon of Hip Hop, conversing with Larry King. Those things are very important. Russell Simmons and I went on the Oprah Winfrey Show after the Don Imus thing, and there was some attempt to use Hip Hop as a scape goat for the negative things that Don Imus said which had nothing to do with hip hop. A lot of times Hip Hop gets blamed unjustifiably for some of the contradictions in the community. If you want to improve the quality of life of our people, we should not try to suppress Hip Hop. What we should do is try to inform Hip Hop and improve the social conditions that a lot of artists in their lyrics and in their videos display. It’s about the social conditions of the community, that’s what needs to be changed. There is no need to change the artist; you need to change the social conditions of the community.

TG: I saw David Banner & Master P on CSPAN at the congressional hearing. And I heard David Banner say that he changed his style and tried something different, but then when he saw that his record sells dropped he reverted back. Do you feel that a lot of artists are afraid to make the change because of that reason?

BC: First of all an artist has to be true to himself in order to be successful. Record sales come when the fans feel they can really understand and appreciate what the artist is saying and how that artist is saying it. It’s not so much the label tells the artists “well you have to do this to be successful”… it’s the artist, it starts with the artist. The artist has to say I’m going to represent my people, I’m going to represent my community and I’m also going to represent the contradictions among my people and my community. And if they do that, that artist will be successful, male or female. A lot of times artists do feel like they have to make some kinds of decisions to be more successful, but what our counsel is always telling them is to be true to themselves. Be true to the conditions, be true to the realities. If you put the reality out there in an art form, you’ll be a successful artist.

TG: So what’s next, what is the impact that the hip hop summit will have in the future?

BC: Well we are going to continue to raise this issue of HIV & AIDS and we are going to work very hard. We’re announcing a new “Turn Up the Vote” Campaign. We want the largest youth vote turnout in American history in November 2008. We are working in all of the various states. We have shocked America so far and we will continue to shock the world with young people coming out to vote in record numbers.