temp-cohh-dev

A lot of us grew up in neighborhoods where we had to think about survival from the second we stepped out of the house.
When there was a rare moment to think about other things, we fantasized about finding a way out:
Out of the despair…
Out of the cycle of poverty and violence…
And finally being able to grasp onto something that gave us all hope.
Then on August 11, 1973 — on Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx — Hip-Hop was born, giving people in the inner city a pathway out.
Hip-Hop created a connection within the community, and gave people not only a way to survive, but also a way to thrive.
In more recent years, that pathway manifested itself in many different ways.
We use the internet to make a name for ourselves.
We say “Fuck validations on the charts, I’m hot where it matters to me.”
Make no mistake, Hip-Hop was — and still is — a game for hustlers.
Whether you hustle on the mic…
The turntables…
The dance floor….
With the spray can…
Or if you literally hustled .
Hip-Hop gives us the tools to navigate a way through a biased and broken system.
It’s the same broken system that labels a Black or Brown man wearing a hoodie, a hoodlum.
And gives racist police the immunity to shoot first, and ask questions if they feel like it.
Hip-Hop gives a voice to the voiceless.
But you can’t just stand there and wait to be heard.
You have to speak up through actions.
And go get it.
From the moment Hip-Hop was birthed in the Bronx, it’s always been moving forward and evolving.
That’s the whole point: To keep growing, and to evolve.
Be strong…
Be even stronger….
Be a leader…
Be original…
Be a force…
Be powerful…
Be even more powerful…
Be East Coast…
Be West Coast…
Be Southern…
Be suburban…
Be boombap..
Be trap…
Be beyond labels….
Be talking your shit…
Hell…be mumbling that shit…
Be strictly OG, or not…
But most importantly, be living that shit.
And just know, there’s a difference between hating and debating.
In our game, respect is everything.
300 years from now, when future generations have their names written into the history books, we believe they will have an even better story to share.
People said that they were nothing.
But they took that nothing, and turned it into something.
Something even greater than the culture that we’ve built so far.
And they’ll do that for future generations through the power of Hip-Hop.