Hey family my name is Samuel “The Bridge” Jones. I am a hip hop artist from the Midwest and I absolutely have your best interest at heart with news from the hip hop world. Recently, there was a documentary on the evolution of the hip hop; “Tanning of America: One Nation Under Hip Hop” on VH1. I absolutely loved getting an intensive view on the history of pop culture’s most famous genre.

When watching the documentary, it felt like I was taking an introductory course, hip hop 101. It was hard to believe, that over a course of 40 plus years, hip hop would influence fashion, politics, the media, television, publications, and social norms. To hear that even the Jewish culture had so much to do with its evolution was amazing. Can you imagine that popular outputs like The Source and Def Jam had founders that were not African American?  Well it’s true! Even fashion moguls such as Tommy Hilfiger caught on to the firestorm created by people like Snoop Dogg, wearing his clothing. It inspired a generation of rappers such as LL Cool J, Sean Puffy Combs, and Jay-Z to represent their lines.

Hip Hop encouraged the idea of cross-platform merchandising and the parental explicit label. It made jewelers like Jacob the Jeweler a commodity destination instead of a rarity to visit. It became the outsource for political messages and gave way to a cool view of an African American leader in the white house, who used urban language and quotations from popular rappers. This tanning of America led music’s upper echelon to become acceptable of hip hop at the Grammys when it was not included in its original broadcast as an award. It led to the creation of Yo! MTV raps and In Living Color as competitors against the likes of Saturday Night Live.

Hip Hop is more than just music that tells stories of drugs, women, money, and street horrors. It is the music that essentially changed a nation to gradually accept African American cultural and social norms as their own. So it was not just a music, genre, or trend, it became a lasting impact on Americans from all nationalities, religions, and creeds.

Friend Me on Facebook: Samuel Jones or purchase my music on itunes and cd baby: The Bridge. Be Sure To Leave A Comment!

[twitter style=”vertical” float=”left”]

[fblike style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[fbshare type=”button”]

[linkedin_share style=”none”]

[google_plusone size=”standard”]

Do you find Parenting is hard in this day and age? Do you think Television plays a role in your child(ren) behavior? Are you considered the mean or strict Parent that never allows their child(ren) to do anything? What age should children start dating, be able to wear weave, & get the sex talk? Is Hip Hop taking over your home? I KNOW these are a lot of questions. However, as Parents we are faced daily with these scenarios and we MUST be equipped. There is nothing more disturbing to me, then a disrespectful child or teenager. Society has made our children believe that it’s okay to look like everyone and act like everyone. As if being unique isn’t a birth right from God or it’s not possible. When I see an elementary or middle school girl with weave in their hair down to their butts my heart aches. My heart aches because in the back of my mind, I want to know what her Parents were thinking and why make them grow up so quick. I mean seriously, when I was growing up my Mother made sure we had simple wash & press or braids & beads. Even when it comes to our young men and them sagging. Society has deemed it acceptable, yet as Parents a STANDARD should be lifted. The reality is whose going to hire a want to be thug that can’t dress appropriately? The answer is NO COMPANY that has a pension, benefits, & other perks. As a Mother of a son, every time I saw my son pants sagging I embarrassed him and felt no type of way about his feelings. I mean why should I, especially if he represents his parents and could care less about embarrassing us. I know the odds are against us, because the world is conditioning our child(ren) for failure. BUT today, I want to encourage you to STAND firm on your faith and rear your child(ren) in the way of the Lord. NO, I’m NOT telling you to be super RELIGIOUS. I’m telling you that structure, wisdom, discipline, and love is MUCH needed to STAND against this chaotic world. To my Parents that have reared their child(ren) this way, DON’T forget the PROMISE attached in doing so. “Train up a Child in the way he/she should go, And when he/she is old he/she WILL NOT depart from it”. I say AMEN to this promise, because although I wasn’t as bad or disrespectful as some of this generation seems to be. I was bad, disrespectful, disobedient, and hard headed too in my teenage years. The only reason I succeeded was because I had a praying Mother and Grandmother who made me go to Church. My Mother MADE my Sister Nina & I participate in community activities such as going to the Nursing Home, reading to patients, & doing their hair. We had chores at home, television was limited, & there was an EXPECTATION from our Parents because FAILURE was not an option. Be SURE to TUNE in Sunday’s on wpbnetworks.com 5pm EST or Thursday’s 7pm & Saturday’s 2pm EST on praiseaustin.com & Let’s Talk About It. Your VOICE Matters so please leave us a comment and feel free to share this Blog…..Peace & Blessings!

[fbshare type=”button”]

[linkedin_share style=”none”]

[google_plusone size=”standard”]

[twitter style=”vertical” float=”left”]