Music is never simply noise: it is the sound of a society, of a time, of a place. Music marks the spirit of people; people make music that reflects their thinking and feeling. Music, then, always has the potential to be dangerous - it can inflame the revolutionary - which is why it has been banned and censored at many points in history. It articulates the ideas and emotions that are too strong for words, and that "cannot remain silent." This refusal to remain silent is why music has so much social power. In this month's theme, we explore music as a reflection of, and force for, social change. Music that is angry, joyous, and necessary.

Deeply rooted in the activist tradition is a dependency on solidarity and the achievement of consensus. It is often frustrating that so much energy need be spent finding a level on which a collective can agree, before it is possible to move forward with action. Much of the audio used in this piece was recorded throughout the day of a particular march. The confusion and frustration involved in the day's activities is evident, however the issue of the march is not. The work essentially takes for granted the idea of struggle as an eternal entity. Considering how the turmoil of organizing a march can often mirror the turmoil around the greater issues that made the march necessary.

When it was all finished, there was a necessity to try and form all these disparate elements of the march into a unified whole. As with activism in general, the aesthetics of the piece is derived from the determination to make the chaos work. To find a kind of harmony in the vast spectrum of opinions and ideas held within a society. In doing so the struggle becomes personal, and the listener is asked to contemplate their own decisions and principles on that abstract plane where sound meets thought.

"I Am Hip Hop" is a video created by youth through the Global Action Project, a project that defines hip hop as a youth movement and culture, an expression of the daily life experiences of urban youth.
Watch the video!