There Were Always Renegades...

...People willing to do something different,

Moving against the dominant culture.

"Since the Prehistoric Ages.

And the days of Ancient Greece.

Right down through the Middle Ages.

Planet Earth kept going through changes.

Then the Renaissance came.

And times continued to change.

Nothing stayed the same,

But there were always Renegades.

Like Chief Sitting Bull.

Tom Paine,

Dr. Martin Luther King,

Malcolm X,

They were Renegades

Of this Time and Age.

The Mighty Renegades."

A lot of people don't realize that this song was written by Afrika Bambaataa,

The Godfather of Hip Hop, 

Former Black Spades gang member, 

and founder of the Universal Zulu Nation.

It was made popular more recently by Rage Against the Machine.

Of course, bboys usually dance to the RATM version.

but WHO ARE the Renegades?

"Renegades are the people.

With their own philosophy.

They change the course of history.

Everyday people like you and me."

And the Renegades of FUNK? Who are they?

Of course, the generation born out of Funk,

Which is the HIP HOP Generation.

HIP HOP HEADS.

The Renegades of TODAY's Time and Age.

Half of yall don't realize your own significance.

Hip Hoppers are the Renegades of Funk.

They changed the course of history.

It would be incorrect to discuss the Origins of Hip Hop without mentioning Funk.

And it would be incomplete to talk about the origins of Funk without mention of the Civil Rights movement, and Blues music before that. It's all part of a larger struggle.

Are you taking part in changing the world for the better?

If you love Hip Hop culture, then you very well may be!

You heard it here: Hip Hop is a sustainable culture for the future.

The culture is tied to Knowledge, which invariably ties it to Education.

Ever heard the phrase "Each one, Teach one"?

If you have a light, you can light 1000 candles.

Know what I mean?

Because of that, Hip Hop is here to stay.

Still only 40 years young.

Still going strong.

What lays ahead?

Consider the famous first words of the song...

"No matter how hard you try, you can't stop us now."