sometimes i wouldn'ta made it if it wasn't for you

when i was handlin the shit i had to do

it was all for you, from the door for you

speak through you, gettin paper on tour for you

from the start, thought was down by law for you

used to hit up every corner store wall for you

we ripped shit, and kept it hardcore for you

i remember late nights, steady rockin the mic

i remember lots of times i wouldn'ta made it if it wasn't for you

hip-hop, you the love of my life and that's true

-the roots, act too.. the love of my life-



hip hop. i love it. i appreciate it. i feel it. but do i own it? is it me? do i have any ownership of the music, the movement, the culture, the history? to me those answers are a resounding "no." i don't own hip hop. i am not hip hop. my persona, my being, is not hip hop. one can be infused with hip hop, to have a deep appreciation for all that true hip hop stands for, yet still be not hip hop. i do not mc. i do not break. i do not write. i do not dj. i do not partake of the culture any more than the average person on the street. i buy (download) the music. i respect the art form. but because of that respect, i cannot say that i am a part of hip hop.



but what then is ownership of something? do you have to be a part of something to own it? if i rock phat farm and fubu, am i hip hop? if i dance to hip hop, am i hip hop? if i know every little minute detail of the history of hip hop, am i hip hop? if i can sing along to the lyrics, am i hip hop? i don't think so. some people think you can buy ownership of hip hop. some people think that you can just pick it up like the latest fashion. but i think to be a part of something, to say that you have ownership and possession of something, you need to be a part of its creation. not just a bystander, not just someone looking from the outside in. you have to be, if not a part of that community, then somewhere uplifting it and representing it.



hip hop is more than just music. it's a culture. it's a culture that i have not grown up with, that i have not actively participated in, that i have not in any way shape or form advanced. i can breathe eat and sleep hip hop but i still would not feel right saying that "yes, i am hip hop." because i come from a place where i only adopted hip hop because i felt like it was right for me. because i initially felt the music. i love hip hop, but at this point, i hesitate to say that it is me. because it's not me. you can dress hip hop, talk hip hop, appreciate hip hop but unless you create hip hop, i don't feel like you have any right to ownership of it. i can say that hip hop is a part of me, but not vice verse. people sometimes confuse the two. they are not to be confused.



i am however sure that i own something. i own filet o fish fridays. one dollar for a filet. one dollar people. this is not a game. this is not a joke. this is not a warning in the event of an emergency. this is real. one dollar. fillet o fish. this is the great social equalizer. this is a public service announcement. go get that filet on friday.



and also. with any luck, i will own vegas by the end of this weekend. double down. yo.