Hip Hop History 101: Jitu of Ten Tray Explains the Origins of Hip Hop in Chicago

Nowadays it’s hard to turn on the radio and not hear music from one of Chicago’s many music superstars. Kanye West,  Lupe Fiasco, Common, Rhymefest, Twista, Da Brat, Shawnna, Doe or Die and Crucial Conflict  seem to have firmly positioned themselves over the years as household names within the mainstream..In recent days many have come to know Chicago rappers via the exploits of Chief Keef.

If you dig a little deeper and check out Hip Hop’s underground, you’ll discover that very few people are willing to roll up and do battle with esteemed Chi-town lyricists like M’Rald and of course Juice. On the political front acts like Rebel Diaz and Lah Tere have proven to be no joke..Others like DJ Third Rail, DJ Illanoize, and the late DJ Pinkhouse to name a few have not only made names for themselves as deejays not to be toyed with but also provided important platform for local artists.

Yes, the Chi seems to have established itself in the world of Hip Hop, but it wasn’t always like that. In fact much of the Chi-Town’s success is a direct result of organized effort by it’s pioneering Hip Hop community that grew frustrated from being locked out by the industry that saw Chicago, more as a consumer market as a opposed to a place where stars are born.

Many within the music industry were only willing to embrace the nation’s third largest city as the Mecca for House Music and somehow managed to disconnect that music form from Hip Hop when in many ways the two are intertwined, especially along the lines of deejay culture.

The battle to establish ‘Tha Chi’ within Hip Hop was about as brutal as its political landscape. Unsung heroes like Dr Groove, Lord Cashus D, DA Smart, Black Allies, Sugar Ray Dinky, George Daniels, World wide Posse, God Squad, The Chi Rock Nation, Ill State Assassins, and the late DJ Pink House all played crucial roles in organizing, pushing the envelop and seeing to it that the Windy City get its respect. They used to roll up on nightclubs, radio stations and even label executives demanding to be recognized. Many will forget that back in the late 80s there was a movement called the New World Order which brought many of Chicago’s Hip Hop community together as they fought for change and respect.

Sadly despite those heroic efforts of the past, today, many local artists who are not signed to a major record label or coming out of Kanye or Common’s camp find that many outlets like radio and even nightclubs are closed to them. This is now spurning up a new generation of Chi-Town Hip Hoppers to start organizing to bring about change.

During the recently held National Hip Hop Political Convention (2006) we sat down with one of Chicago’s premier pioneering emcees, Jitu the Juggernaut of the group Ten Tray. For those who are unfamiliar ten Tray was the first group to be signed to major label. Back in 91, Jitu the lead rapper was and to this day remains an activist who saw the power of Hip Hop and decided to use his talents to spark political thought and hopefully change.

In our interview he gave a serious rundown of the city’s history. He also cleared up a lot of perceptions. For example, he talked about Hip Hop first emerging in the Chi around the late 70s. He talked about how Afrika Bambaataa’s Universal Zulu Nation set up a chapter under pioneer Lord Cashus D in ‘78.

Jitu broke down the important connection between Hip Hop and House. He reminds us that House is a Black music genre that at least in the Chi was enjoyed by cats that lived in the hood. He talked about the Hip House movement that came about in the late 80s with key players like Fast Eddie, Tyree, JMD and the late Kool Rock Steady being not only household names in the Chicago, but in many ways ambassadors for the city around the world. Jitu goes into depth about the important role Kool Rock played.

He also talked about how the House music deejays forced everyone to step up their deejay skillz and that it was not unusual to have b-boys and b-girls at House music parties and events. He also drew parallels to how the lack of public school after school programs and music classes forced many to turn to deejaying as a way to express themselves musically. A good part of House music was born out of that void.

Jitu also talked about The Chi’s early graf scene with pioneers like Warp One.

What really stood out in our conversation was Jitu talking about the early club and open mic scene. He talked about how the now defunct El Rukins street gang (originally the Blackstone Rangers) had a building on the Southside complete with an auditorium where they would hold weekly emcee battles.

Jitu details the influence Chicago’s highly organized, legendary street gangs have had the scene. He also talks about how other groups like the Nation of Islam and the legacy of the Black Panthers which had its largest and most organized chapter in the Chi have also had influence on folks as they were coming up and into Hip Hop.

Lastly Jitu goes into detail about the politics and the layout of the city. He talks about the differing cultures that exist on the historic Southside, the Westside and the Northside of the city. He also runs down a report card of sorts about some of Chicago’s famous people and organizations and the role they played or ‘have not’ played in terms of elevating Hip Hop.

Jitu finds himself back on the scene after coming out of retirement and ready to drop a new album called ‘Necessary Ingredients’ which is being backed by the Universal Zulu Nation.

Here is our 2006 Interview which first aired on Breakdown FM..

We also posted this interview on Youtube..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WnAZFgCBAY

Below is a brief timeline of Jitu and his career courtesy of decentexposure.com http://www.decentx.com/artist.asp?id=472

Jitu is an African name, given to him in 1995 meaning “A giant among men.” Jitu is a youth program coordinator and community organizer on the south side of Chicago. He swarmed the game in 2002, entering battles and open mics. Leaving crowds in a state of disbelief, Jitu has humbled emcees all over the country, blending a once in a lifetime voice with an expansive vocabulary and ferocious delivery. On the underground, many call him the best they have ever heard! A short look at his accomplishments: • 1986-Winner of “Battle of Chicago Rappers” at El Rukn Fort

• 1989-2nd Place-“Battle of Chicago Rappers”

• 1989-Formed “New World Order” along with Cashus D of the Universal Zulu Nation, to organize rappers, dancers, singers and dj’s in Chicago. Was the largest such organization in the country with over 200 members.

• 1989-Organized, with Dr. Groove (Source Magazine) and DA Smart, a massive hip-hop community protest of the opening of “Sarafina” at the Regal Theatre for refusing to recognize DA after he won a national talent competition with his rap, “Black People ain’t Prejudiced, They Just Mad.” They recognized DA as the winner of the contest.

• 1991-With group Ten Tray, signed to Smash Polygram records to become the first rap act in Chicago on a major label.

• 1992-Appeared on Rap City, The Box and Yo! MTV Raps.

• 1992-Album, “Realm of Darkness” recognized as album of the month in Rapmasters magazine.

• 1992-Song, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like a Sister” was number one song in Las Vegas region and other west coast markets for 4-9 weeks.

• 2003-Winner-“Battle of the Iron Mic”

• 2003-4 Time Champion-Emcee Battle @ Wild Hare

• 2003-Winner-1st Annual Kool Mix Emcee Battle

• 2003-3 Time Champion-Microphone War @ Subterranean

• 2004-Represented Chicago in national BRAINSTORM rap battle in Seattle (semi-finalist)

• 2004-2nd Place-Rhyme Spitters emcee battle and documentary (see enclosed DVD…we got shafted!)

• Joined and helped develop veteran hip-hop alliance, “FIGHT CLUB”

• 2005-Begin work on album, “NECESSARY INGREDIENTS.”

On this album, entitled NECESSARY INGREDIENTS, Jitu brings pure, unbridled passion and energy with ridiculous beats provided by the likes of Harvy Allbangers, Tony Baines, Joe Blaque, Ty Hill and Issues. Jitu blends real street cuts and bruises, consciousness, passion and skillz to deliver the gz-noods on this project. This album is a holy book for emcees, as Jitu blends subject matter, lyrics, delivery, flow, energy, breath control to give you what we believe, is ONE OF THE BEST ALBUMS IN THE HISTORY OF HIP-HOP.

Contact Information: Jitu tha Jugganott 4356 S. Lake Park, Suite 1N (yeah, right!) Chicago, IL 60653 (773) 317-6343 jitubrown@yahoo.com (Respect the Art of Emceeing!)

A Blistering Open Letter to World Star Hip Hop…

RE: FALSE ADVERISEMENT AND MISLEADING INFORMATION ABOUT HIP-HOP CULTURE

Mr. O’Denat,

On behalf of the thousands of members of the Universal Zulu Nation, of which I am Minister Of Information, I write you this letter in peace and hope these words find you in the best of health and spirits. Brother, we at UZN have the utmost respect and love for all who choose to take our Culture to new heights, and we thank you for your part in creating new media that preserves our culture. It is with great sadness that we bring to your attention the obvious ills of your site, WorldStarHipHop.com. Mister O’Denat, you are well aware, or should be well aware that many are viewing your site’s content as very graphic and extremely violent. Before you brush this off as just another person’s opinion of your site and
the content you publish, please do not get it confused. This is not the case.

As I mentioned earlier, Mr. O’Denat, I am a representative of the Universal Zulu Nation, and we take our Culture quite serious. You are a Black man who has accomplished quite a lot without a formal education, and I’m quite sure when you dropped out of New York’s Grover Cleveland High School, you would never have imagined that you’d be as successful with your company, World Star, LLC. Doesn’t it bother you just a little that another Black man (that man being yourself), has “made it” out of the “ghetto”, only to display unnerving images and videos of young adults berating, belittling, and beating each other solely for the purpose of the enjoyment of who you are led to believe are “millions of Hip-Hoppers?”

Mr. O’Denat, the followers of your site are impressionable young men and women who “follow” you for a reason. As salacious as you may want your site to be, our youth are looking for answers and solutions to the many problems that plague our communities. The young people use your site as an outlet to escape the world they are living in, only to find that you place them right back at the starting point. Brother, you are well aware, or should be aware of the way Haitians are treated all over the world, including their own country. After all, Mr. O’Denat, you are Haitian, and you have even labeled yourself as a “Haitian Ghetto Nerd”, to gain God knows what kind of accolades. I am not Haitian, but I find it deplorable for a Haitian to associate such a dignified people with the “ghetto”, when Haitians come to this country to escape ghetto life.

Brother, I am sure you heard God speaking to you when the earthquakes in Haiti destroyed so many lives, and many of us di a fair share of work to help those in need. The repair for the damage done physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially will be an ongoing process that will take decades. But one of the brilliant brothers of Haitian decent is instead showering the world with what you call “the CNN of the Ghetto”. Brother, you are sadly mistaken if you would like the world to believe that hype. If you understand journalism 101, news is reported with two sides. Your excerpts of ghetto life, your lack of morality when accepting uploaded material, and your drive to maintain a site for the sole intent to destroy our Culture’s standing in these Americas is both uncouth and unacceptable by all of us at UZN. We are hereby separating ourselves and our followers from your site and what it supposedly stands for. Brother, if you were in fact the “CNN of the ghetto”, then you, as a former resident of Queens, NY should already know who Zulu is and what real Hip-Hop Culture is. Mr. O’Denat, there are many real Hip-Hoppers from Queens who laid the brick in the wall that you are trying to tear down.

You should already know about Run-DMC, Larry Smith, Salt-N-Pepa, Nas, MC Shan, LL Cool J and the founders of FUBU Clothing, to name a new. These men and women purposed to create a platform of expression for our Culture, and through the years, they have maintained and preserved that Culture. Mr. O’Denat, you are a Haitian, so you should know how serious Haitians are about their Culture. We are just as serious.

This is a new year, and the Universal Zulu Nation has begun a movement against anyone who is against us. Mr. O’Denat, either you are for Hip-Hop Culture, or you are not. There is no in-between, and no matter how many people have hyped you to believe that WorldStarHipHop is anything close to what this Culture is, they told you a lie. Mr. O’Denat, Hip-Hop Culture is FOUNDED on four spiritual principles. In case you haven’t already been schooled on what those principles are, they are: Peace, Unity, Love and Havin’ Fun. Mr. O’Denat, I pray that you do become a “CNN of the ghetto”, and that you someday get a camera and go to the ghetto yourself to record both sides of our neighborhoods. We still do have neighborhoods, brother.

Mr. O’Denat, can you imagine how much more hits WorldStarHipHop would have if you were intuitive enough to record rising Black political stars and activists, and some of the issues they discuss when trying to fix our problems nationwide? Or videos of Black political superstars like Barack and Michelle Obama. I would have loved to see the behind-the-scenes footage of the President at home with the wife and kids – on your website. I invite you to meet me in The Bronx, Boston, Virginia, The Carolinas, Chicago, DC, Maryland, Detroit, or any place that you feel more comfortable, so we may discuss the realities of “the ghetto” and how you can be better involved.

Mr. O’Denat, in closing I am asking you to remove the footage of the young man being forced to strip naked outside while people look on and another young man beats him with a belt while the camera man pours water on his fully naked body.

This is the link in question, Mr, O’Denat:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=375073675924908&set=vb.100002668367738&typ
e=2&theater

This is not the first time you have posted content that has been of this nature, and from the looks of it, this is probably Child Pornography. Therefore, I will forward the link and the video to the proper authorities to be sure that these young people are in fact of age and in full consent of being on your site in such a demeaning fashion. I’m unsure if this will bring about any charges, as there is a huge rumor on the streets that you are in fact working for the feds and are using your site as a cover up. But who knows? Mr. O’Denat, I again ask that you look into the fact that you and your site have misused our Culture’s name, committed fraud and falsely advertised your site as “Hip-Hop”. You have forced the hand of the Universal Zulu Nation to take further action should you continue to promote your “CNN of the ghetto” as “Hip-Hop”, and we are asking with all due respect that you include a disclaimer at the bottom of the front page of your website concerning your company and Hip-Hop Culture. A great
footnote on your site should be:

“World Star Hip-Hop is in no way affiliated with real Hip-Hop Culture or its’ founders or the Universal Zulu Nation. This site solely for entertainment purposes, and does not promote Hip-Hop Culture”

Mr. O’Denat, you are free to use the above language, or you may use any language you see fit that parallels the language above. Please contact me at your earliest convenience, should you have any questions or concerns. I can be reached at quadeershakurmedia@gmail.com or 617-297-7423.

Respectfully,

Quadeer “M.C. Spice” Shakur
Minister of Information
Universal Zulu Nation

Hip Hop’s Universal Zulu Nation Call on Elected Officials to Step Up

Universal Zulu Nation Requests Aide of Elected Officials

New York, NY—Hip-Hop Culture’s oldest activist group seeks help from elected officials, law enforcement and the media on denouncing and disbanding so-called “Hip-Hop” websites, radio stations and promotion companies which blatantly disrespect Hip-Hop Culture and its true origins and principles.

The entire Hip-Hop Community worldwide has spoken up against various companies that have used the term “Hip-Hop” to cause Americans to view the culture as one of violence, illegal drugs, homophobia, child pornography, and illicit sexual behavior. Zulu Nation founder, Afrika Bambaaata and, outspoken member Mick Benzo, Grandmaster Melle Mel and Minister Of Information, Quadeer “M.C. Spice” Shakur have pledged to ‘publically dismantle’ those companies and individuals who use Hip-Hop as a tool to carry out the destruction of a culture through media. We believe this is false advertising and a deception and cover-up for an ulterior motive to destroy Hip-Hop Culture.

City Councilors, State Representatives, US Representatives, Mayors, Law Enforcement, and activists from New Jersey New York and the tri-state area: YOUR VOICE IS NEEDED! Many of you have grown up on and in Hip-Hop Culture, so you are well aware of the many contributions Hip-Hop Culture has made to American Culture in general. Our four spiritual principles are the main foundation of our existence, and those principles are: Peace, Unity, Love and Havin’ Fun. And The Fifth Is Knowledge we have always believed that if these principles are not evoked, it isn’t Hip-Hop.

You may have, or should have seen the disgusting and disturbing video of a young man being stripped and beaten on a public street with onlookers cheering on the culprit as he swings a belt at the young man’s totally naked body. During the ordeal, the onlooker pours water on the body of the young man who was being beaten because his father owed the culprit a mere $20. What makes it more disturbing is the fact that the website in question which aired this horrific act, brands itself ‘WorldstarHipHop”. Many greedy companies and individuals use “Hip-Hop” to get over on unsuspecting consumers, viewers, listeners, and young children with impressionable minds.

WorldstarHipHop is just one of many of these companies that are flat-out promoting some of the most serious and heinous acts of violence and sex and calling it “entertainment”. We, however, do not condone or represent such reprehensible behavior, nor do we see these videos as what some call ‘entertainment’. We are asking your help in investigating the viral videos that may very well contain underage sex acts, and that your office seek to censor some of these websites and their ability to allow viewers into their sites without limited access, thus giving our children open access to  the gory and outlandishly violent videos they have uploaded.

We would like to meet and discuss avenues of censoring this website and holding the owner Lee O’Denat and others responsible for the content that has continued to shock and cause stress to our children who look to Hip-Hop as a means of communication and that uplifts, not tears down. Your help on this very serious matter will be greatly appreciated, as we move forward with celebrating 40 years of service to our community and the world during this milestone in History (the re-election of a true Hip-Hop President, Barack Obama).

Universal Zulu Nation:
The Universal Zulu Nation is an international hip hop awareness group Was Founded By hip hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa. Originally known simply as the Organization, it arose in the 1970s as reformed New York City gang members began to organize cultural events for youths, combining local dance and music movements into what would become known as the various elements of hip hop culture. By the 1980s, hip hop had spread globally, and the Zulu Nation has since established (autonomous) branches in Japan, France, the UK, Australia, South Korea and the Cape Flats in Cape Town South Africa.

For more information, visit www.zulunation.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO75LRi5X_Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FadzGGJiLTg