The Objective - Introducing The Platform2

The objective! The objective! What objective? I’ve listened to this here [hip-hop] since kickin' my way out my mama’s womb. N thanx to havin' listened to a number of different MCs; I have lost myself in hip-hop to the point of havin lost the objective. I hope to neva have to face the dilemma of writin' an objective.

In school we were neva taught to have an objective. Objective these balls! But since we’ve embarked on a journey that’s hazardous, dangerous and exciting we thought it proper to write an objective. Anyway everybody has got one and perhaps they look at the objective before handing out them awards.

The Platform 2 ain't nuthin' but homage to Hip-Hop. Homage to all the MCs who had nuthin' but a mind and an inbred will to survive. Young Black men must have just been smokin' a blunt n talking to beats in their hearts and that excelled into rap. Street kids must have been frustrated by their situation and started taggin' stuff all around. The DJ must made them all chill n savor the moment.

The b – boy had to flex his skills for all to be entertained. Like a whip from a paint brush a culture was created. A street culture was created. With so many streets on this earth this culture found it easy to travel from here to there. And it hit our shores – the heavens know when – to be embraced by a limited number of free thinking youth n the flame refused to burn out. Despite a lot of pressure from the people in power, freedom of speech continued to be expressed through rap music.

Rap music has transcended through all cultures, solely because through demise of cultures new cultures arise. The industrial age was an era in which cultures became extinct n people where required to adapt to a form a civilized culture. Hip-Hop was formed in these times, a culture that touches all colours and creeds. Lest we forget that this is an ever changing world – niggas can’t be listening to no Beethoven and Mozart forever.

Hip-Hop in Mzansi has been steadily growing since the times of Prophets of the City. New MC’s are cumin' through, painting the world in their eyes through the mics. We surely can’t catch up with the American MCs but who said we have to catch up. A lot of the stuff that comes out from our MCs has good quality rap content to it. We is lovin the music, thus the blogsite. So to all you aspiring MCs on the street coners, computer labs, work, internet shops; if ur shit is good we is willin' to listen.

The Platform 2 is but a platform. A podium on which all can rap the Afrikaans track about De la Ray, as long as it’s in rap format we will listen. A platform on which u can voice out ur hate to the BEE’d up niggas, if it’s in rap format we will listen. A stage to put the middle finger up towards the past or future, rap format – we listen. If u wana kill urself through rap format, we listen.

We intend on reviewing any rap album from South Africa that we can get our hands on. We want to display the different fashions that r emerging in this ever changing Hip-Hop. Need I say we need to see a rise in the forbidden arts of graffiti. Talk Hip-Hop we will talk on the platform.

Sadly Hip-Hop has been cited to be the work of the devil. It has been said to promote violence. It is also said everybody is entitled to their opinions, but the problem with opinions is that like assholes everybody’s got one. (there are also too many opinions in this world than pimples on an adolescent's face - Ed)

True dat, we lost a number of young people as an indirect or direct effect of our culture. 'Let he who has no sin cast the first stone'. This is for the informed street culture lovin' young people, who have smelled the evil scents of the past and have glimpsed the gloomy future. From the words of a wise man “to all my niggas on the darkest corner, roll a perfect blunt n let me spark it for ya.” All we is doing is maintaining the spark, we don’t want it burn out – who wants to go the 70’s to start the spark all ova again. Just think about it.