Contributed by NINO* on 12/28/07

The recent release of U.K. rapper - Bashy’s ‘Black Boys’ track literally got through to the very core of my being. It is basically an anthem for ‘Black Boys’ everywhere. With advice, explanations, understanding and an endless list of black icons for these kids to hold on to. Providing inspirational evidence that they can, and should, do something positive with their lives rather than giving in to satisfying other people’s stereotypes of them. A message hip hop has always got across more than any other medium. Some fools hit back at Bashy, labelling the track as racist. But it’s practically the opposite.

This track provided me with a drastic personal realization I have been pushing to the back of my mind for too long. I am Asian. And I’m a b-girl. And I could not think of one verse to parallel ‘Black Boys’ with ‘Brown Girls’. Never mind ‘Brown B-girls.’ I do not mean there are none. But they are few. And I am talking about femmes who do more than exist, ones who leave a bigger impression, make a difference. Really fulfilling their dreams and drive masses to do the same. Stepping out of boundaries, stereotypes and the expectations and opinions of others. However there is one woman in particular who has always provided over 80 million with hope, faith and belief in a better Pakistan, and in turn women, and the world’s population as a whole.

Benazir Bhutto was by no means perfect. But some unreliable corruption charges can be forgiven as minute compared to her passion and will for the best for her country. She was one of a kind. She did what she believed was right. Not what was within the lines of other rulers. On 27th December, she was shot in the neck and chest by a suicide bomber who then went on to kill at least twenty others with the bomb he detonated. She was in her car, leaving a rally in Rawalpindi - a rally campaigning for democracy and safer, happier Pakistan. I have a lot of family from Rawalpindi. My uncle is an MP there who put under house arrest when Benazir returned to the country in October my Musharraf and the army. Half the people the bomb killed were close family friends, going back for generations. And it is as though millions more bombs have gone off in the hearts of my community, many all over the U.K., Pakistan, Afghanistan and in reality all over the planet. Over 80 million dreams shattered by a piece of metal.

It is hard to find even a dim glimmer of faith or hope for the future of Pakistan now. Any grief I should feel is replaced by anger. Because the immediate response – the statements issued by Gordon Brown and George Bush have firmly and undoubtedly laid the blame on Islamic Extremists. Terrorists. That’s the Prime Minster and President’s job. To simplify even the most complex of situations into one single cause to make it easier for the western population to digest.

Let’s get one thing clear. Islam does not preach murder. It is not the religion of ‘kill whoever you can’. It is the religion of brotherhood, which some people take too far and read into the Qu’ran incorrectly wishing to repent injustices done by America and England to their Muslim brothers and sisters. But that all requires a meatier analysis for another time. The point I am trying to make here is that terrorism wrong. And it has nothing. Absolutely fuck jack shit hell all to with Benazir Bhutto’s death. Osama Bin Laden may have supposedly ordered her death many years ago. (Again, another fantastic Coca Cola evil character for Bush and Brown to blame everything on) But this was on entirely different grounds, with the political, social and RELIGIOUS state of the country on very different grounds. Benazir had also quite openly slated terrorism. Which is another reason so many people justly support her views. Because this opinion is correct. But Al Quiada are not playground bullies. In case you had not noticed - not many people like them. But that is not what is important to them, what they do notice is people who slate ISLAM. Although, ironically they don’t even understand it themselves. I still stress how wrong and sick there actions and concepts are. But this fuel is one stronger, and bigger than a mere slag-off.

Today, Islamic fundamentalists who are in their minority, but result in every brown face in the Western world being received with fear, discrimination and mistrust; were the last people bothering to kill Benazir Bhutto. This leaves many suspects, but I’ll focus on the most obvious and prominent ones. As Rawalpindi is the centre of military forces and the army have been fighting against the government and democracy for quite some time (similar to the situation in the Philippines – where the ‘woman at the wheel of all the pain’ is quite different to Benazir Bhutto), they were hardly ready to watch her win the elections in the next few days. The assassin was clearly trained. Not just some Average Ajmal with a gun. A professional. You can’t get more professional when it comes to weapons than the army. Then of course, there’s our old buddy Bush. The epicentre of hate, corruption, lies and misused power. Bush had offered to help Bhutto get back into Pakistan after being exiled to England. He had wanted to get her closer to him and the U.S. in order to have some steady leverage on the country that hates them so profoundly and still continently has the ‘weapons of mass destruction’. Which, oh would you look at that, Bush kindly gave to them not so long ago.

Benazir went along with this originally to get back home. But she was always planning to stay loyal and do what she believed was best for Pakistan. And, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, America haven’t really been ‘the best’ for any Eastern land. So, perhaps poor lil’ Bush got pissed, organised the whole assassination, aided and convinced Musharraf and his army to kill her. And as for the other people who died. Over twenty coloured people. After the zillions America’s been mercilessly executing for years…Did he even blink? But of course, now again he can launch his massive Islamiphobia tirade. Not fear of terrorists. Merciless killers. Fear of people who look like them. This lack of common sense makes you wonder if he can even read. Maybe instead of an autocue they jut have someone mouthing the words to him to repeat…

Now he has a hundred and one excuses to infiltrate a country past the brink of civil war and destruction. And how many of the West’s public will fall for the facade? When will they stop licking their plates with EVERYTHING the government and media keep feeding them. Not before myself and my brethren yet again must endure the unjust racial abuse we suffered in the aftermath of 9/11 and 7/7. Those falling for their trap are mere cowards. Afraid of the truth, difference and working to understand these things themselves.

But now back onto the whole female hip hop angle. Recently I chatted to one of the few well known positive female icons in hip hop; MC Lyte. And, naturally, the topic of positive females in hip hop society came up. Lyte stated,

“They do degrade women a lot in hip hop and I think it’s just their experience with women. Maybe they’ve never been loved and admired by women until now. Now they’re in the biz and women love them but not really. The male rappers don’t really understand unconditional love so they think the women that want them now are just after their money, and they might be, who really knows” (see this quote, here).

This view is more expansible than it may appear. It can be applied to Islamaphobia and to those against Benazir. Because, just as Lyte says; many mainstream rappers look into their personal experiences way too much. They don’t a have full understanding of these matters. And they never bother to look at any other aspects or opinions. You do not learn from just yourself. How can you? Someone, something else needs to be involved. But fans, groupies and general suck ups build up these guys’ egos so that they become convinced that they are the only people they can ever learn from. And so begins the downhill spiral. With hip hop suffering as a result of these individuals. Just like Muslims and Pakistani, Arabs, Persians etc, of every religion suffer due to the actions of individual fundamentalists. Just like Koreans and even Chinese, Filipinos etc. suffered after the Virginia tech shootings. But more so, the finger pointing and hefty push down the spiral provided by, yes they’re everywhere; Brown and Bush.

As a Deutsch-Asian I will always suffer discrimination. As a b-girl I not only find ignorant discrimination due to the guns culture the media and government (bravo again) have associated with hip hop. I find that most fools think that I’m the pathetic one. A girl. An Asian. Who lives hip hop. They automatically write me off as sleaze. They envision me standing outside the b-boy circle, in my hot pants and diamonds, watching my man break. Those girls would not know hip hop if it bit them on their ‘booties’. There are a few females, local to me as well, who prove this stereotype wrong. But we’re not enough. Politics have become a big part of hip hop. Whether you like it or not.

Benazir was my encouragement in general as a female, but also an Asian female, and again as an inspirational head strong b-girl, youth mentor and hip hop activist. She was my encouragement that this is possible. That I could achieve something away from the expectations society has clearly laid out for me. Suddenly I feel as though somebody has presented me with a blindfold, an empty spray can and a moving train. Utterly useless. Pointless.

As the world trembles at Benazir’s death. Even before it all comes back into clear focus for me. Hip hop remains with it’s unbreakable soul. Anything. Everything else could melt under such heat. But, as hip hop marches colourfully on with the existing hardcore heads. We need to look past the media’s straight forward picture and see the truth of the world we live in. Women, girls, boys, men. All colours. All ages. Sexual orientation. Whatever. Females of all backgrounds must find a real faith in a more colourful, powerful future. Resulting in a more stable, honest and fair society for the lot of us. As my views and experiences mature. It seems increasingly obvious that I will never get far by laying my inspiration on those who I can draw close comparisons to myself with. Every influential group, as Bashy’s ‘ Black Boys’ makes obvious; had to have started with a minority finding faith in themselves and their passions in order to make an ever growing difference. A light appears as I think of how Malcolm X helped define my own views and those of others, to me in order to get my youth work in full gear… Muhammad Ali…who inspired another individual closer to home, Asian British boxing champ – Amir Khan. It’s time the new generation quit trying to beat racism by being racist to itself, and look to each other for support, guidance and inspiration. After all, that’s what hip hop is all about.

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