Insights | Peace is the Answer

A few days ago this single by Inoki titled "Peace is the Answer" was released . Given the theme that is very dear to Universal Zulu Nation and Hip Hop Culture , we're taking this opportunity to push the message and delve deeper . Big up also to Metallo e Cemento . Peace

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In the last two years we have seen the outbreak of two fairly major wars, the one in Ukraine and now the one in the Gaza Strip, but as our good Ahki Mastafive would say "no war is good, not even the minor ones" , so we simply take the opportunity, with this song, to propose, as we have already done in the past, an in-depth analysis on Peace and Hip Hop.

When the war broke out in Ukraine I wrote this:  Insight | Zulu Nation - Stand For Peace - Peace To You All  where I talked about the meaning of Universal , the motto for Peace "Peace, Unity, Love and Having Fun" , the peace treaty between the gangs and the principles that the Universal Zulu Nation has always had within itself regarding the search for peace.

Now, I remind those who don't know that Hip Hop Culture was named and brought together under its principles by the Universal Zulu Nation , so anyone who practices any of the elements of Hip Hop should know these foundations regarding peace that are inherent in Hip Hop Culture , and that every Hip Hoppa should know, recognize and apply if possible. 

Because Hip Hop emerges from war and is born to heal it , it emerges from the war of racism, from class warfare, from economic warfare, from fratricidal urban warfare (see the article on the gang peace treaty), and from internal warfare to give itself value. Precisely for this reason, Hip Hop was born to bring unity in diversity (the shared passion for art that allows us to communicate and exchange ideas), it was born for integration (art communicates regardless of social class), it was born to create new entrepreneurial avenues (through its own inventiveness, creating an alternative path where other paths were, or seemed, closed), it was born to merge different cultures and create a new one full of nuance and awareness  (of everything it carries within), and it was born to give the power to change one's reality into something better , this through the recognition of one's personal value  . It's important to remember that the kids who became the pioneers of Hip Hop culture were growing up with these themes, which also derived from Funk, Soul, Jazz, and the Civil Rights and African-American movements. It was precisely the combination of all these influences that created Hip Hop.

As many of us know, the first official step towards Hip Hop was the peace treaty between the Bronx Gangs , which led to the formation of the Universal Zulu Nation with its vision of integration and universal peace , meaning inclusive of all. But this happened through death , the death of many kids on the streets of New York City neighborhoods, due to gang warfare, racism, ignorance, and class differences. In particular, it was the death of Black Benji that changed everything (see the Ghetto Brothers article) . So Hip Hop is very familiar with war and death, and was born to bring the opposite: Peace, Unity, Love, and Fun—since its inception—have been its DNA.

It is also true that physical confrontation transformed into artistic battles and this happened in all its disciplines, and this is part of its nature, but as the good Inoki says, and as we at UZN have always maintained, Hip Hop is not just this , indeed it should be and could be much more, for this reason we encourage artists to create positive art, for the community and for the world, art that involves a constructive vision of reality.

Market law dictates that right now, people are only interested in the most vulgar things. I'm sorry to tell you, but the numbers don't lie. If most people listened to constructive music and acted constructively in the charts, we'd hear different messages, and we'd probably see less chaos in the world.   This is partly due to the music industry, but partly due to the artists , who should become more aware of the powerful persuasive and imitative power they have over young people through their art.

This is also why the Hip Hop Peace Declaration was written (which you can find here ), which was meant to be the guideline for anyone who practiced one of the disciplines of Hip Hop Culture , of which I will only quote the introduction (I remind you that the Hip Hop Peace Declaration was signed and endorsed by all the pioneers of Hip Hop Culture).

The Hip Hop Declaration of Peace

This declaration of peace guides Kultura Hiphop toward freedom, separating itself from violence, and establishes recommendations and protection for the existence and development of its community internationally. Through the principles of this document, we, Kultura Hiphop, uphold a foundation based on well-being, love, awareness, health, peace, and prosperity for ourselves, our children, and their children.

It should also be considered for clarification of the meaning and purpose of Hip Hop, or when the intention of Hip Hop is questioned, or when disputes arise between parties concerning Hip Hop; Hiphoppers should have access to the advice of this document called The Hip Hop Peace Declaration for guidance, help (advice), and protection.

As we see, Hip Hop Culture carries within itself, in its DNA, peace, love, unity and the pursuit of common well-being for all of society, all of us, as members of Hip Hop Culture, should reflect on whether what we are creating is leading us in this direction.

The Universal Zulu Nation has always believed that each of us is an active force for positive change . Once a person has educated themselves and recognized their own value , they become an instrument for the transformation of their community. The knowledge and value a person places on themselves are transformed into power. 

The first power is that of changing oneself, improving oneself in every area of ​​one's life, automatically becoming an example for those around us . This type of example should not be underestimated, UZN argues that:

 "We are all masters, at every moment of our lives, because anyone who observes us, at any time, can learn something from our gestures and have a change of heart through this real-life example." 

This is why a true Zulu takes care of himself, of his body, of his health, because this makes him stronger, more able to change, to help the community and to help someone else.

Zulu Nation believes that if the Infinity Lessons were applied to everyday life , and if the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace, and the spirit of Peace within Hip Hop itself, were practiced by all who use one of its elements, the world would certainly be a different place . This is why becoming a Zulu requires some self-work.

In fact, when one tries to become a Zulu , or at least takes the path to understand what the Universal Zulu Nation is and its importance to Hip Hop Culture, these are the thoughts and questions that are posed through the study of the Infinity Lesson and the Green Book, thoughts such as: 

• Zulu was founded after realizing that it could best benefit the community if the various gangs came together and used their strengths to better each other and in turn better the community.
• The Zulu Kings embody the vision that all can exist in harmony. We celebrate our divine nature and appreciate our individual contributions to the good of the group...
• We use Hip Hop as a medium to carry the positive message of "Knowledge, Wisdom, Overstanding, Freedom, Justice, Equality, Peace, Love, Unity and Fun." UZN is more oriented towards self-improvement and the overstanding of people and the environment around each of us.
• To educate, develop and improve the present state of mind/mood of adults and young people in the world.
• Spread our message of love, peace and unity among all races through our ways and actions.

and how these can be applied through Hip Hop and everyday life.

From this reflection, the "Zulu Nation Italia Serious Mixtape" project was born, where all hip-hop artists—MCs, writers, videomakers, DJs, beatmakers, and breakers—who want to spread a positive message can submit their artwork to create a mega mixtape that showcases the positive side of hip-hop. The material will be selected by Universal Zulu Nation Italia. Anyone interested in participating can contact us via Instagram ( zulu nation italia official) or by email at  uznitalia@gmail.com.

For anyone who wants to learn more about all this: Peace Treaty, Infinity Lessons, Hip Hop Peace Declaration and much more we recommend purchasing our book    "Zulu Nation Italia Works and Knowledge", for info zulu nation ig or +3403998013

For anyone who wants to be part of our projects without necessarily becoming a Zulu, you can join the Hip Hop Condictio et Intellectvs association for info always on uznitalia's instagram.

As we were saying, hip hop has always had peace in its DNA, and many artists have addressed the topic by writing songs against war or for peace. Afrika Bambaataa himself, together with James Brown, created an entire album entitled "Unity ," which addresses these issues. Below is a list of relevant tracks created by hip hop historian Davey D. 

Peace

• 2PAC 'Never B Peace'
• 2PAC 'War'
• AFRIKA BAMBAATAA 'World Destruction'
• AZEEM 'George Bush Is A Gangsta'
• BEASTIE BOYS 'In A World Gone Mad'
• CHUCK D & FINE ARTS MILITIA 'Twisted Sense of God'
• CHUCK D & FINE ARTS MILITIA 'Twisted Sense of God pt 2'
• COMPANY OF PROPHETS 'Hush' [War Times LP]
• CONSOLIDATED 'We Gotta Have Peace'
• CRACK EMCEE 'Hoeing For George'
• CRACK EMCEE 'Red, White & Blue'
• DEAD PREZ 'Know Your Enemy'
• DEAD PREZ & The COUP 'Get Up'
• DEAD PREZ 'Revolution'
• DEAD PREZ 'War'
• DE LA SOUL 'Held Down'
• DENIZEN KANE 'Lost Found Nation'
• DIGITAL UNDERGROUND, PARIS, SWAY & TECH 'Time For Peace'
• Dilated Peoples 'War'
• DJ DISORIENTALIST 'Occident & Emergency'
• DJ KUTTIN KANDI '9-11' spoken word piece
• DJ SPINNA 'Fly or Burn'
• DJ VADIM 'Pacifist'
• DJ VADIM 'Ghetto Rebel'
• EYDEA and ABILITIES 'Murder of Memories'
• ERIC B & RAKIM 'Casualties of War'
• FELONIOUS 'Protest'
• FUNDAMENTAL 'Rape [Tactic of War]'
• GOAPELE 'Red, White and Blue'[War Times LP]
• HANNIFAH WALIDAH 'Soldierman'[War Times LP]
• JAHI 'Neva The Same'
• JAZZY JEFF AND RAHIEM 'My People'
• J-LIVE 'Satisfied'
• JURASSIC 5 'Freedom'
• KNOWN ASSOCIATES 'World So Cold'
• KOS 'Heaven Only Knows'
• KRS-ONE 'World Peace'
• KRS-ONE 'Stop The Violence'
• MELE-MEL 'World War III'
• ME'SHELL NDEGEOCELLO 'God Bless America'
• MICHAEL FRAANTI & SPEARHEAD 'We Can Bomb The World to Pieces'
• MICHAEL FRAANTI & SPEARHEAD 'Water Pistol Man'
• MICHAEL FRAANTI & DISPOSABLE HEROES 'Satanic Reverses'
• MR LIF 'Home of the Brave'
• MUD FAMILY 'Peace Not War'
• NAS 'Rule'
• NAS & JAY-Z 'Rule' rmx
• NAS 'My Country'
• NIDIRAH SHAKOOR 'Winds of Karma'
• NO THE PIPER 'God Bless America'
• NO THE PIPER 'US History'
• PARIS 'What Would You Do?'
• PUBLIC ENEMY 'Son of a Bush'
• PUBLIC ENEMY 'Black Steel In the Hour of Chaos'
• QUEEN LATIFAH 'The Evil That Men Do'
• RED GUARD 'United We Stand' [War Times LP]
• SAUL WILLIAMS 'Not In Our Name'
• SAUL WILLIAMS 'Anti-War Freestyle'
• SAMANTHA LIAPES 'Masters of War' [War Times LP]
• TALIB KWELI 'The Proud'
• THREE TIMES DOPE 'Peace Ya Self'
• WYCLEF JEAN 'War No More'
• ZACK DE LA ROCA 'March of Death'

Article by Ahki Smogone