These days there seems to be a gap so large between the youth and the elderly that most have given up even trying to bridge it.  As we try to find ways to do this, who would have known a common ground would be found in hip hop?  Our last BEATS night we decided to really take it to the streets by holding it outside.  People who normally were either too shy or too cool to step inside the venue, now hung along the fence in the shadows.  The night was flowing well, with youth painting words on our graffiti wall that represent their dreams, to the sounds of uplifting hip hop and spoken word spilling from the mic.  As I step up to the mic to close out the night, out of the corner of my eye I see a car roll to a stop in the middle of the street.  After a few minutes, an older woman gets out and stands right outside the fence with her arms crossed.  She does not look happy.  I turn my focus back to the crowd, but suddenly she is next to me asking if she can get on the mic.  In a split second I think, “Oh no, is she going to tell us we’re all going to hell for listening to rap?…She’s my elder; I can’t say no.”  With a smile (probably looking a little nervous), I hand her the mic.  She takes it in one hand and with the other hand she removes her large rimmed red church hat and her high heeled red shoes.  She steps onto our stage, which is really a graffiti wall laid on the ground, in her dress suit and nylons and starts:
“I say I rap for Jesus and I’m right on time,
for you to hear the gospel rappin rhyme.
I tell it to you like God give it to me,
so blinders can be opened and be able to see.
And I’m rappin to the beat, the Gospel beat,
I’m rappin for Jesus, cuz He’s truly the best.
Layin down His life was the Father’s request.
Yes, He laid down His life, but He rose up again
to rid this world of satan and sin…”
I look at the youth and see eyes opened wide and jaws dropped, but soon everyone is clapping to the beat with funny smiles on their faces.  My own smile grows as I think of how this 67-year-old woman is demonstrating that the way to bridge the gap between the youth and older generation is by stepping across it and speaking their language. In this case it’s the language of hip hop.

Posted on January 14th, 2009 by Laurie Cook
Filed under: BEATS, News