In the passage, Jay mentions hip hop as a genre of music that doubles as a socio-political movement. While the image of hip-hop has strayed from its origins, The Message remains one of the most pure hip hop songs to date. Within the context of the Higgins reading, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are choosing to shy away from the depicting beauty in the song. They talk about the perils that face them by living in a remote and destitute neighborhood. The chorus typifies the mindset that one plagued by these conditions might have. Like Tupac said “I don’t know how to change it, but I know if I keep talking about how dirty it is out here, somebody’s gonna come clean it up” It’s not completely cleaned up yet though.
Sources :
Tupac MTV Interview (1994)
