The premise of the reading was placing Black and Latino youth in a position to grow and foster their knowledge surrounding their culture and hip hop, eventually hoping to change Hip Hop for the better. The kids going to PHH are mirroring the kids from The Get Down in different time frames; both trying to learn about and create their own sound. Mylene struggles under her misogynistic, oppressive household to be able to express herself through singing. She knows that in order to really make it she has to rise up and leave the Bronx behind and urges Zeke to do the same. Zeke has to find the balance between his rap and the internship and going down the “mainstream” path to success which all the adults in his life are pushing him to pursue. His passion is with writing but nobody sees the value in that because it isn’t making him money. And I get it, poverty is a huge obstacle that’s often traumatic and it’s realistic to go for the route that can bring financial stability, but at the same time, they’re asking him to leave behind an entire part of his life that brings him joy and allows him to express himself creatively.
Kids now have to rediscover the original cyphers in order to get back to the roots of what Hip Hop was. The boys all have to work together to go up against The Notorious Three, using their individual talents to enhance the group. Cyphers today are essentially not a part of mainstream Hip Hop, except for a few exceptions like the Freshman XXL cypher. Kuttner and Hammond note that the cypher has lost importance, being overshadowed by the modern notion that everyone is alone in the game. Young people currently have to use their talents and skills to bring back the original essence of Hip Hop and understand where it began and why. Hip Hop has always been an outlet for the oppressed but it has become so commercialized and commodified that the authenticity isn’t there anymore. All this while the communities where it came from are still impoverished and struggling. Hip Hop is a tool and it can be used to really reach so many people and send important messages but we need people who are able to use their skills to achieve it and that’s exactly what PHH fosters.
