Hip-Hop and Health: What You Don't Know Can Kill You
Written by Jerry "Mr. Live-N-Direct" Bagley

Using the words "Hip-Hop" and "Health" in the same sentence is an oxymoron. It's like mixing water and oil. The statement is an enigma, a paradox, an incongruous, contradiction of jumbled words that are as relatable as Jay-Z and Bill O'Reilly.  My point exactly, they just don't mix. In 2009, we learned the hard way that the state of Hip-Hop music as we know it has an even bigger enemy on the horizon. And it's not the Hip-Hop police, smoking weed, or rappers getting Plaxicoed or jail sentences that have put the likes of T.I. or Shine behind bars and out of commission. It is simply your health.

And with this article we will take a closer look at the who, what and why's of this particular health predicament, and why it is so pandemic within the Hip-Hop community.


It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop
For decades the foods we ate were basically determined by how we were raised and where we came from. Most black families in the ghetto were brought up in low income housing where their parents, due to their economical contraints, were forced to buy meat and dairy products that wasn't necessarily "Grade A" or considered FDA approved. Trust me, your mothers welfare check in them days only went but so far. So instead of the best foods possible, your mom had to base her grocery list moreso on quantity rather than the quality of the food in order to feed so many kids. Hence, the giant block of welfare cheese, the pickled pig feet, fatback, chitlings, the peanut butter and jelly all in one jar, using "Lard" instead of butter cause the good stuff was far too expensive. So these bad eating habits were almost in-bred in us. It was considered generational. They were passed down from your great-grandmother to your grandmother, then to your mother and then inevitably to you. And now here it is, the cycle continues because we're now passing it down to our kids.

High blood pressure and diabetes is almost twice and three times as high amongst African Americans than it is with Whites and Latinos. And the primary cause in the spike in those numbers is our diet. So let's take a good look at the three most significant contributors to our bad health, and is something we cannot live without and is a staple in the Hip-Hop culture which is fried foods, alcohol and drug use.


The Dirty Bird
Often times when we hear a phrase or statement like: "all black people like to eat is chicken and watermelon", those words can easily be miscontrued or taken out of context as being derogatory or even down right racist. But if you take a closer look at it, black people actually love to eat chicken. And there's a reason for that.
In the inner-cities, those were the most accessible meat products we could afford, packs of chicken and ground round beef we used to make those giant brontosaurus burgers out of with the onions in the middle. Chicken was just affordable and you could do so much with it. It was like you would eat chicken every night; whether it was fried chicken, baked chicken, stewed chicken, chicken fricassee, chicken parmasean, well you get my drift. Chicken, especially fried chicken in particular, is the worst because of the high levels of bad chloresterol or HDLs that clog your arteries and eventually leads to heart disease. But fried chicken was also the easiest to make.

Just throw it in that brown paper bag filled with flour, shake it, throw it in the grease and you was good to go. And don't forget the hot sauce. You couldn't eat fried chicken without using hot sauce. That would almost be sacriligeous. But by adding hot sauce, you were now piling up even more salt on top of all that fat you was already eating. And who can ever forget the big coffee can of left over grease that was left on the stove? No one from the hood can ever forget that. And in regards to the music industry and how it all relates to our poor diets, it's the fast foods like Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonalds, Dominos Pizza, that artists crave for during those late night studio sessions, or red eye flights out of town and there's nothing else to eat. Sometimes even as an artist that is health conscious, realistically what health food places are open or even accessible say 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning? So artists begin to make it a habit of eating more and more fried foods.


Blame It On The Al-Al-Alcohol
Ahhh, the good ol' days of drinking 40 ounces of St. Ides and Budweisers straight out the bottle. In the Eighties, in rap videos if you weren't in the hood drinking a 40 ounce you weren't considered gangsta. You wasn't cool. You didn't have what was called street cred or you wasn't "hard". And we all know in Hip-Hop, to have "street cred" is the best form of acceptance from your peers. So everybody back then walked around with a 40 ounce, pants sagging and hat to the back.

Fast forward to 2009, and things haven't really changed too much. Now instead of twisting the cap off 40 ounces of beer, it has been replaced by popping bottles of Cristal and Moet. NuVo is all the rage and now Puffy got the Ciroc boys in the building. So instead of hanging out on the stoop and on the street corner, it's now stunting and making it "rain" in the club.

So just like our eating habits, the consumption of alcohol has also progressed in incremental stages throughout Hip-Hop culture to keep up with the times. We tend to still drink away our pain, drink away the stress of our everyday lives.


That Sticky Icky-Icky
It is called many names: The Sticky Icky, the Chronic, the Bomb Diggety, that Kush, Purple Haze, Hydro, Weed, Spliff, or all of the above, marijuana is as commonplace within music and the Hip-Hop culture, as a musician playing a musical instrument is. It is the choice of high for many Hip-Hop artists. Some say its soothing and calming effects help them to concentrate and come up with more innovative ideas when they are being creative in the studio. They also say smoking marijuana helps them to open up and release their inhibitions.

Even those admitions are clinically unfounded, what has been scientifically proven is that smoking one marijuana joint is the equivalent of smoking 10 indiviual cigarettes. And we all know that smoking cigarettes causes breast cancer, emphezema and other breathing ailments. Marijuana is also known to kill and destroy brain cells that are otherwise irreplaceable, causing permanent damage. Do you ever wonder why you can't remember some of the most simple of things? Think about it.

Then there are other designer drugs of choice like Oxycontin, Vicodin, Percocet, Viagra or even more hardcore substances such as coke, dope or crack cocaine that many artists indulge in as well. So, you couple all three of these elements of bad diet, getting drunk and high all the time and high levels of stress and it can become quite a deadly combination.

We are creatures of habit. We are a reflection and product of our environment. We understand that there is a certain image to maintain to your fans to show that you're still relevant and cool. But you owe it to yourself to maintain good health so you can live longer and continue to make good music. And the only way to do that is by number

1. improving our health and change your diet. Add more vegetables and fresh fruits and cut out all the saturated fats and junk food. And drink lots of water.

2. Exercise more. Try and do at least an hour of cardio everyday. Physical activity is good for the mind, body and spirit. It helps cut down on the high levels of stress as well.

3. Relax more. Meditate and refocus your energies on what's important, not the trivial stuff and cut out all the drug use and consumption of alcohol.

Just take a look around you. The proof is right in front of you. One of our greatest MCs in Big Pun died of a massive heart attack because he was severely overweight. Look at DJ Unk. He's in his 20s and he already has suffered a heart attack because he wasn't taking care of his body. And also take heed from all the other messages from Hip-Hop artists warning you about the dangers of not taking care of yourself. Cause a life that you save might just be your own.

The Statistics
The African American community is disproportionately affected by obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) rank as the number one killer of African Americans, claiming the lives of over one third of the more than 292,000 African Americans who die each year.

And one of the primary risk factors contributing to these alarming statistics is our diet and the way we eat. Fried foods, high intake of sodium, sugars and saturated fats high in HDLs, which is also known as the "bad chloresterol" can lead to clogged arteries and heart disease.

Fact: 3 out of 8 black males 33-45 is diagnosis with high blood pressure.

Fact: The early stages of high blood pressure can now be found in high school students.
African American adults on average, consume only 4.3 servings of fruit and vegetables a day, compared to the national average of 5.2 servings.

The second contributing risk factor is physical activity. Nearly half (48%) of African Americans reported that they did not participate in the recommended levels of physical activity which are 30 minutes of moderate physical activity 5 days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous physical activity 3 days a week. Even brisk walking for 10 minutes, 3 days a week can be significantly beneficial to one's overall health and well being.

In today's Hip-Hop industry, rappers and R&B singers alike are used to working in the studio during long recording sessions for 14-16 hour days with little to no rest in between. Then you couple that with the rigorous schedule of touring and being on the road in different cities every night, constantly eating fast food on the go, the stressful environment of making deadlines and not getting much sleep on top of all of that, and what you now have can possibly result in disaster.

The reason I am writing this story is to take a closer look on how good health and eating habits relates to our music and the Hip-Hop culture in general, and the way we take care of ourselves to sustain longevity, especially in light of the recent news reports of DJ Unk suffering a heart attack and he was only in his twenties. We spoke directly to doctors, healthcare providers and Hip-Hop and R&B artists to get their take on how they dedicated themselves to eating better, exercising and reducing their levels of stress and here is what some of them had to say:

Jeremih- (Def Jam recording artist who had one of the biggest hit singles of 2009 "Birthday Sex") : "As a new artist constantly on the road, it is very easy to attain unhealthy foods. While touring, I have become more conscious of my eating habits and daily workout plans by hitting the gym to stay in shape . I think everyone should sustain great health in their career/life to remain successful."

Twista- (Platinum recording artist and legendary rap artist out of Chicago) : "Hearing about the tragedies in music recently and having concern for my own health, I think it's important to pay attention to what we eat and how we exercise. If you smoke or drink it is important to consider stopping or at least slowing down! I am now taking the necessary steps towards living a healthier lifestyle! Remember, without health there's no wealth!!!"

Tango- (NeYo manager) : "I personally suffered from health problems recently and am getting better everyday. It's tough. But if I can help one person out there, then what I set out to accomplish was successful. Right now I look at my recovery as a new lease on life."

Ludacris- (Def Jam multi-platinum recording artist and actor) : "I try and maintain both good eating habits and a good workout regimen. With both an acting and rap career in full swing, I have to stay focused. Roles like Max Payne and Crash were physical, so in order to nail these roles you have to bring your "A" game."

Dan Williams, PHD, an exercise physiologist at the University of Utah- " Not only is exercise a proven Blood Pressure Buster, but it may also help quell inflammation in your arteries."

Akon- (Universal/Konvict multi-platinum recording artist/writer/producer) : "Man, you have no idea the constant grind touring can take on your body. I've been all over the world and come across all types of foods that are good for you and some that are not. So I make it a point to eat better and workout on a regular basis. Believe it or not, working out for me puts me in the right frame of mind creatively."

Craig Ross- (TV/Film director of television series Bones, Numbers, Prison Break, Cold Case and the newly released film Mansfield 12) : "I cut out red meat, dairy and sugar from my diet entirely. I also work out 5 times a week, three of those days with a trainer and two on my own. I box a lot to stay in shape. I've been boxing for seven years. And I find that boxing keeps me focused mentally as well as physically. Being a creative person in film, sometimes you have to be able to see things before they actually happen. In business, you're taught that the "unseen" is real because you have to be able to see things develop as they're coming down the pipeline before they actually unfold. Eating well and working out allows me to think clearly, feel clearly and see clearly. You're unable to see or feel clearly if your body is clogged with all these pollutants."

Chrisette Michele- (Grammy Award Winner, Def Jam recording artist and actress) : "When I'm on the road I try to eat as healthy as possible. And I still hit the gym in the morning to do cardio and practice yoga to refocus the spirit where it needs to be. I tell my band all the time, guys you gotta eat better. Its the only way to live your life."

Robert Lustig, MD, a neuroendocrinologist at the University of California at San Fransisco- "It all comes down to the fiber in produce. Fiber prevents insulin levels from spiking after you eat, so you have less insulin available to convert calories into fat."

T-3- (Member of the rap group Slum Village) : "Health issues and eating well and taking care of your body is really important to me, especially in light of the death of Jay Dilla (legendary producer who died from Lupus) and the recent passing of another one of our members Baatan. This health thing has taken on a entirely new meaning for me. I had been a vegetarian for 7 years, but still found myself to eat poorly because even though I didn't eat meat, I still was eating a lot of starch like french fries and apple pies which aren't good for you at all. So now, I still don't eat meat, but I added chicken and fish to my diet and its worked wonders for me."

Street Politics
By Jerry "Mr. Live-N-Direct" Bagley


Rikers Island: The Power of The Phone

Whether you're facing 6 months in the county or 25 years to Life, the telephone at Rikers Island is the single most important source of communication that links you to the outside world. It's not only vital to the success of your case within the judicial system, but it can also ultimately lead to ones freedom both mentally and physically.

Each housing unit in Rikers Island has two primary phones. Both of those phones, during the hours of 8am to 7pm is called G.P. time or House time where anyone can go and get on the telephone without fear of reprisal or physical violence from those who run the phone.To get on the telephone during G.P. time you either sign a list to keep it orderly or call next to use the phone from the guy ahead of you.  During daytime phone calls you can talk to your lawyer to set up legal visits, review your case or you can set up times and schedules for your family to come visit you at the prison.

So just think, if you weren't allowed to use the phone at all, how that could have an impact on you mentally, because it stresses you out that you can't talk to your family and have them come see you, or effectively work with your lawyer in order to get out of jail.  Realistically it takes more than 5-6 minutes to discuss your case with your lawyer and when you have someone rushing you to get off the phone, this is where major physical confrontations happen.  Someone facing a murder charge and is looking at a 25 to Life prison sentence is not trying to hear some young punk tell him he only got 6 minutes to use the phone. There's been examples when a prisoner facing all that time, would take the receiver of the phone and hit the other prisoner in the face with it, splitting his head wide open.  There has also been instances, where a prisoner would take the entire phone off the wall, bring it to his cell and then take his knife out and yell to everybody on the unit: "I got the phone in my cell! If you want it, come get it!" Daring anyone to go in his cell to get the phone so he can stab them up and try to kill them. You have to remember at this point, some prisoners that are facing life in prison have nothing to lose. It's either do or die.

Slot Time:

Prime Time- 7pm to 11pm or what is called 7 to Click. Phone time is generally broken up into whats called "slot time" which is half hour slots, 45 minute slots or 1 hour slot time for those that either run the phone or is known to be "Thorough, or those that are known on the street and in jail to get busy and regulate for that slot time". The more slot time a prisoner has, means the more gangsta and dominate they are.  Slot time on the phone is the most powerful thing to have in prison. Slot time in jail is the equivalent on the streets to you holding down a street corner on the block. So the same principles apply. Other prisoners see your slot time as your territory and either want to make a move on it or take it from you altogether.  And when it comes to taking another prisoners slot time it isn't pretty. They will try to cut you with a razor in the face or stab you with a "banger", a homemade shank or knife.

There are 3 general types of Guys In Jail:
Punks, Neutrals and Gangsta’s 

Punks can be: Homos, those that get extorted or beat up for G.P. or "soft" individuals that are usually taken advantage of.

Neutrals are: Not directly in a gang, but has close associations to the gangs, still fights and holds their own, dibbles and dabbles in criminal activity and generally can be a thorough dude on the streets and in jail.

Gangstas: consist of Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, Netas, Dominican Power or those that are big time drug dealers and criminals on the street. In regards to phone time, homos, white boys and neutrals are regulated to use the phone only during the daytime. Gangstas can use the phone anytime they want day or night.  Gangstas usually control the flow of drugs and illegal contraband that come into the jail, run the phone time in their house or "unit" they're in, does extortion and other criminal activity.

Phone set up:

Every prisoner gets 3 Free Calls and one 6 minute call or what is jokingly called "6 Minutes Dougie Fresh You're On".  Every Sunday, the 3 Free Calls refresh.  Now if you have money in your account, the 3 calls are no longer free. That's why guys with no money become important because those extra phone calls can be bought for a price.  Gangsta’s typically prey on the homeless or those less fortunate with no money for their 3 Free Calls and daily 6 minute call by offering them cookies, chips, a plate of cooked food, coffee (a prison favorite), cigarettes, weed or other forms of commissary in order to give up their phone time. Homeless people typically have no one to call on the outside so they make for easy “minutes to grab.”

**Some prisoners are also extorted in order to even use the phone once a day. Most weaker prisoners or white boys are taken advantage of like this where they have to pay commissary just to use the phone for 6 minutes.**

Blood phone- Only Bloods are typically allowed to use this phone especially during "Prime Time" with the slot time. In some more harsh "units" nobody other than a Blood can use that phone period.

Latin King Phone- all Latinos use this phone whether that particular Latino is a Latin King or not. It's a general rule of prinicple that Latinos look out for their own.

Even the Correction Officers use the power of the phone to control their housing units. C.O.s will confiscate the phones for lengthy periods of time due to prisoners fighting, creating disturbances and not keeping their units clean. Correction Officers also use the phone as a "controlling" mechanism to keep prisoners pacified. They use the phones to make sure you get up on time in the morning, make sure you clean the unit, make sure you're quiet when walking on line. C.O.s use the phone to maintain a routine for prisoners on the inside.

Then on the flip-side of that, C.O.s can also use the phones to create dissension between groups of prisoners as well. They can easily say because of so and so prisoner, that's the reason why he's confiscating the phone for a few days. And when other prisoners hear about that they tend to turn on that other prisoner by beating him up or "running" him out the house.

The "phone" you've seen as a tool of physical power that controls and manipulates prisoners, and you've also seen the phone as a "commodity" to make money and hustle. Behind the wall the same rules and principles apply. Just don't touch that phone if you don't want to get hurt.