Bodega Approved: The Message by Felicia Pride

I you all do not know about the book The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop’s Greatest Songs, you need to. Felicia Pride examines her favorite hip-hop songs while incorporating her own personal reflections on life. She found that many hip- hop lyrics spoke directly to what was going on in her life, an aided her journey. Thus she dedicated this whole book to the songs that have helped her learn and live.

Recently at the Q-Tip concert at summer stage I thought that what I was experiencing was very similar to church, it was hot, I was dancing and clapping, and Q-Tip and Tribe Called Quest spoke to my personal needs. Felicia Pride speaks to the fact that hip-hop can be forum where one reflects and releases. The Message is truly a beautiful collection of work that reminds us of the healing components of hip-hop. For Video Thursday I will leave you all with the videos to some songs that she has written about as well as quotes from The Message about those songs. Enjoy! And take time out to reflect on how hip-hop music has helped your life.

“Umi Says” is inspired by Mos Def’s Mother, Sheron “Umi” Smith, the woman who told her son to fight and shine his light. The tribute reminds me of how my own mother, from the moment I could breathe, instilled in me that I was a star, part of the solution, special, unique. Powerful. When I get weary and the pressure to unleash my power weighs heavy on my shoulders, I have no choice but to excel. I’m a role model, an example, a leader, and embodiment of the potential that my ancestors fought for.”

“Lauryn Hill’s “Everything is Everything” could be the choir’s selection at church on Sunday. Similar to her soul godfather Sam Cooke, Hill releases from the heart a hip-hop spiritual where “change, it comes eventually.” She sings about self-love as a solution to failure, dedication to our harvest, where we reap what we sow, and how even when it seems like our dreams won’t materialize, we must maintain our faith.”

“As must as some rap music has glamorized a trife life, there are those gems to counterbalance the claim and show the dangerous sport of boxing with Death. On the realness radar, I give “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” a ten. I never hung up a poster of the Houston rap group, but this remains one of the dopest hip-hop songs, and it could have aired on television as an anticrime public service announcement. Over the backdrop of an Isaac Hayes sample, which provided an extra dose of soul, the Geto Boys are lyrically convincing that when you’re doing dirt it’ll start to smell, and it’s only a matter of time before someone comes to take out the garbage. The paranoia they describe doesn’t sound pleasurable: Ever several seconds you’re checking out the window, fearful for your life. Bad deeds come back to haunt you. You try to pray for forgiveness. Regret weighs heavy on your heart. Fear is your companion but not your friend. You stare at the walls and they stare back. Nerves are shot. Your dreams are filled with adversaries taking you down. the only place free of worry is death. Is it worth it?”

“They Reminisce Over You” is dedicated to Trouble T-Roy (Troy Dixon), a friend of Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth and a former member of Heavy D. & The Boyz. It’s a musical celebration of their friends spirit. “T.R.O.Y.” reminds me to never forget…We all have developed methods to (not) cope with death, and many of us have found our own ways to keep memories alive. It doesn’t matter if we pour otu liquor, rhyme about friends who have passed, hold candle light vigils, or speak to the departed at night. All that matters is that we never forget.”

All passages from The Message: 100 Life Lessons From Hip-Hops Greatest Songs by Felicia Pride.