蘑菇短视频

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Richard Reddie

Good morning.

Today is World Hip Hop Day. For those unfamiliar with this genre of popular music, it began in New York in the early 1970s, and is noted for rapid fire lyrics and pulsating beats. However, its origins lie in Kingston, Jamaica and what is known as DJ culture, where musical artistes would talk over music rather than sing to it. When the art form moved to the USA, it underwent obvious cultural adaptations, to appeal to its new audience.

What鈥檚 really interesting about hip-hop is the way the music has both survived and adapted over 50 odd years. What is more, there are various categories of hip-hop - too many for me to mention now. Some of these have been efficacious, both holding a mirror up to society, and calling for positive change, while others have been reductive, puerile and regressive.

What鈥檚 remarkable about hip-hop is that it is now a global phenomenon, which is embraced by people of differing ethnic groupings, and is performed in myriad languages. So, what once belonged to one community is now the preserve of many.

Hip-hop music is a subset of culture, and culture is never static; it鈥檚 dynamic, and disposed to transformation and alteration, depending on the milieu. As we all know, many are wary of change, as it brings with it so many imponderables that can take us out of our comfort zones. Yet, often, it is only when we find ourselves in such situations that we develop new ideas or encounter new experiences.

So today, I pray that we may be people who are ever open to change, and I ask that that change is never solely on our terms.

Amen