We met when I was just a child; nine or ten, I believe. I met her through my brother, who had become close friends with her. It was in that moment that I became obsessed.  It was then that I fell in love with her.
The years went by. At first I thought that we were just friends. We would spend as much time together as we could, but our time was limited. But the more I saw her, the more I cared for her, the more I loved her.
She was beautiful. Even her flaws were beautiful. Her skin was rough from experience, but smooth under my fingertips. Her hair was knotted and dirty at times, but could clean up nicely. Her language, which was usually diced up with profanity, could become eloquent and polite when needed.
When I looked into her eyes, saw what others could not. I remember many times, I heard criticism from my father and other relatives. My mother didn’t mind her company; we all spoke together often. We talked of life, love, politics and society.    
“How can you stand her?” My Aunt once asked me, “She’s so rude and impolite.”
I tried to defend our relationship, but no matter how I argued, she would not accept her. “I mean, have you heard the language she uses,” she spat. I had heard this argument before from my father many times before, and continue to hear it still.  
“Everybody uses that language. You hear it everywhere,” I tried to explain, but once again my arguments fell on deaf ears. Usually these debates would end without resolution. Normally I would walk away leaving it unsettled, waiting until the day when the subject was again revisited.
Even though the criticisms had been staring me in the face, the thought of leaving her never entered my mind. I knew we were meant to be.
She may have been my soul mate, but we did not spend all of our time together. There were many times when I would meet another woman, and fall in love all over again.
I spent time with each woman, gaining a new appreciation for her character and behavior, but no matter how much love these women and I shared, I always returned to my first love. The other women were sufficient when I needed a taste of something new.
When I spent time with her I was never happier. I would sit in a chair listening to her every word as she read poetry from many thinkers. I was obsessed; I listened to her vivid words over and over again, making her repeat everything. Her every word and her every story put a colorful image in my head, an image of a world that I have not experienced; a world in which I could still relate. A world of outcasts and rejects to society, who are forced to live a life they are not proud of. A life they hope to change. I heard the words she spoke and the poets whose work she read and whose lives she would wrote about. I loved every minute with her and every word I heard her utter. I had to have more of her. I would look into her eyes as I listened to her words, seeing the passion that she shared with me.
As time went by, I started to write my own poems, hoping to one day write as her great poets had written. I shared my written words with my love, hoping she would like them.
Time went by; I continued to perfect my skill. I hoped to one day take my art to its pinnacle. She and I spent hours together refining my craft. She taught me everything she knew and I was an eager student. Everything that I wrote I read to her, in attempts of gaining her approval and respect.
I introduced her to my friends, who quickly understood why I loved her. They grew fond of her as well, but the love between them never sparked like it did with her and me.
Now, years later, she and I are still very much in love. I spend the majority of my days with her, as she tells me the stories I’ve loved so much. I can express myself through her. We have both changed over the years, but have never lost our unique connection. Her name is Hip Hop. And she’s the love of my life.

How Hip Hop Displays Community
       Throughout the history of Hip Hop and the various participates of the historical art form, we have been shown ideas of what a community is and what it can be.
       In many aspects, when a Hip Hop artist is lifted into the spotlight of popular opinion and the public eye, they reveal their sense of community. For instance, at an award show they will enter into the building with various members who knew that individual for years before they became famous or well-known. Depending on which celebrities you study and follow, you will see a strong foundation of support within the team that creates the music and promotes the music and the videos and the clothing-line.
       In today’s musical culture we are seeing an emergence of independent Hip Hop labels.  In order to ensure that these labels grows and see some sort of profit, there has to be a high level of effort from each person on the team. Along with that, you also have to understand that these labels are going to take hits and face a wall of doubt in difficult times.
 
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17. This is a verse that I believe shows the bond that is created in many, not all, of these independent artists and label-makers.
Snow tha Product, a MC who runs Wakeyagameup.com and Staywoke.clothing speaks on many diverse topics on her 2015 release “The Rest comes Later” but one of the post prominent topics was that of the company she keeps. In the song, “Same Ones” from that same release, she quickly discusses that the family that supported her as a child and a young MC is the same family that are with her now.  
“Cause I done came up off rap
Trade rags for riches.
85 Cadillac, man this sh*t switching
But the only thing the same is how I feel
All these things done changed but we still real.

I be with the same kids from when I started out
Y'all ain't gotta ask already know what I'm about
Man I'm just out here with my team, out here with my team.
Same ones that believe, same ones that believe.”
In the hook of the song, you’ll see the line that says, “I’m just out here with my team. The same ones that believed” that right there shows the support system that was there in the beginning and has developed and deepened over the years of obstacles and downfalls.
       In proverbs 17:17 it mentions that a brother is born for a time of adversity. In short, the people who stand by your side in your hardest times and who will pray with you and support and hold you up when you need it will begin to be family to you. They will be seen as extremely valuable to you and will become irreplaceable.
Snow mentions in the song, “Man I used to run around with all the crew that I run with now. We went through broke days and got no pay, tell Atlantic to budget out.” This shows that times were not always perfect, but they kept striving for their dream.
I believe that people generally need a team that supports them through every up and down that we, as humans, face. We need to chase after our dreams and as believers in Christ we are called to carry each other’s burdens as we deal with heavy matters and navigate through the struggles of this life.
      With that being said, let’s focus our mind and our heart on finding those individuals that will support us as we chase after our dream. At the same time, let’s be a friend who will stand firm with our friends as they face their trials and tribulations.  This is just a look at the bond that the Hip Hop community has. Now, it is up to us to increase t and make it better as we learn and grow. We should be looking to strive for our best, but that also means encouraging everyone around you to be their best.  

Go to-http://www.datpiff.com/Snow-Tha-Product-The-Rest-Comes-Later-mixtape.719522.html

For my first post in the "Beautiful Feet in Hip Hop " section of my new website, I figured it would be most fitting for me to give you a detailed explanation as to why I love this culture, this music, and the perfect blend of artistic freedom and personal expression. First off, I grew up listening to Hip Hop. Heck, I not only listened to it, I quickly grew to be a writer myself because of my passion for the art.

Nine year old Anthony would hear lyrics from everyone to Eminem to Jay-Z and Even Will Smith and DMX, just to name a few. I was hooked! My young mind was filled with a plethora of imaginative stories, incredible rhymes and rhymes schemes and ending with real-life lessons that any person can relate to. I studied a multitude of writers and studied their various methods of writing and delivery.   

In many cases Hip Hop was my first love that allowed me to evaluate my inner most thoughts. While at the same time, Hip Hop has also allowed me to build confidence in myself through the rhymes that I would write and share with family and friends. I now had an art form that was all mine, in a community that I felt like I was a part of and I belonged. 

Over the years my taste has changed and my list of favorite artists have adjusted, but my love never diminished! I value to the effort and courage each artist displays through his/her art as well as the clever rhyme schemes that the artist displays. Many artists pack their heart into their lyrics and they spill it all on the stage for the adoring audience to find comfort in.

I think Eminem said it best in his 2002 single, "Sing for the Moment" from "The Eminem Show" album
" That's why we sing for these kids, who don't have a thing
Except for a dream, and a f'in rap magazine
Who post pin-up pictures on their walls all day long
Idolize they favorite rappers and know all they songs
Or for anyone who's ever been through sh*t in their lives
Till they sit and they cry at night wishin' they'd die
Till they throw on a rap record and they sit, and they vibe
We're nothin' to you but we're the f'in shit in they eyes
That's why we seize the moment try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it
'Cause we consider these minutes golden
And maybe they'll admit it when we're gone
Just let our spirits live on, through our lyrics that you hear in our songs."

Hip Hop has brought so many together, especially those who " Have been through sh*t in their lives." This art form has been given hope to so many. It has connected lives in ways we only wish we could replicate. People who would normally avoid communication with one another, becomes brothers and sisters through this art form.
 
I am firm believer that Hip Hop has changed our entire culture and, to be honest, many of the effects are purely positive to the lives of the passionate listeners. The same listeners who, like me, see aspects of themselves painted in the words of their favorite Hip Hop performer.  In the darkest areas of my life, I turn to Hip Hop for comfort and love. I find a community of intelligent, creative people who have never been "Good enough" for the broken expectations of our surrounding environment. They have heard that they would not amount to much in this life to do their personality, their circumstances or their shortcomings. These "nobody's" are usually broken down time after time and they continue to get back up to fight again.  In many ways I  have felt the same way! 

I have never been good enough for many, too many. I was meant to be failure, a nobody! I believed it for years, but God allowed Hip Hop to grab my heart and give something great to strive for. I lost sleep trying to write my own poems and songs that measured to the lyrics of my favorites. I firmly believe that Hip Hop has increased my intelligence and honestly kept me alive!  As I studied the complex lyrics of Eminem, Tech n9ne, Lecrae, and numerous others I was forced to expand my understanding of the rules of poetry. I was also given the opportunity to learn about a whole new world, a culture I knew nothing about.

I truly wish I could perfectly explain why I love Hip Hop, but please understand that I do. I appreciate everything that this culture and this art form has done for me as well as the millions upon millions that have fallen in love with Hip Hop! So, I am here to give props to Hip Hop! Thank you dearly to those who laid down the foundation and blazed a trail that opened the hearts of so many. Shout out to all the courageous men and women that gave the hopeless hope in something. 

Thank you!