I first saw Public Enemy Live at the Hammersmith Odeon in London in 1987. It was a mind blowing experience that I will never forget. It changed the way I thought about music forever and is still an inspiration for the work I do today.

Chuck D is an icon of conscious hip hop and a true music revolutionary. Last night I was lucky enough to attend a Public Enemy workshop at Red Bull Studios in Cape Town. Chuck D spoke for 2 hours on the state of hip hop and global music culture. He also spoke extensively on the future of (South) African hip hop. Shaking his hand and listening to him talk yesterday was an incredibly moving and inspirational experience.

Although Chuck D spoke at great length, and in great detail, I thought it would be a good idea to create a list of 10 most interesting things I remember. I originally posted these on Twitter (#10GemsFromChuckD) and Facebook, but Mikko Kapanen suggested that I give them a more permanent home on this blog, so here we go…

‎01. Don’t be an ‘Afrimerican’ – don’t copy the US. Be proudly African

02. SA needs an infrastructure that supports local hip hop

03. Don’t let corporations (like MTV or Metro FM) dictate your musical / cultural agenda

04. Be accountable for the music you make – words are powerful and have consequences

05. Africa can be a global hip hop powerhouse if it chooses to be. Believe!

06. Embrace indigenous languages – that’s what makes us unique in the world

07. Focus on your live performance – your live show must kick your video’s ass

08. Groups or movements are more powerful than a single person. Be a team. Up your game!

09. Build strong networks in SA, and throughout Africa. Connect the continent

10. Confront difficult issues of race and inequality in South Africa – these are stories people need to hear

http://pioneerunit.com/2012/24/11/12-gems-for-sa-hip-hop-from-chuck-d/

Although he may be talking about SA Hip Hop I think alot of these rules apply to Nigerian hip hop and african hip hop in general

one of them I agree on is the first of the list which is trying to be american which has flooded the whole of african hip hop, almost every african rapper wants to copy the US and rap in an american accent with american slangs

if you lived in america for a majority of your life fair enough I can understand that, but there are some people who have been to america for a few years or studied in america or been on holiday to america a few times and they come back thinking they are american, YOUR NOT AMERICAN!!!! JUST BE ORIGINAL!!!!