Hip-Hop Nation Has a Role in Our Democracy

Re “Hip-Hop Needs More Than a Good Beat to Be a Political Force,” Commentary, Aug. 27: I disagree with Jimi Izrael’s comments that hip-hop culture knows only about “rap music, break-dancing and baggy clothes.”

My son, a recent college graduate, produced his first CD of hip-hop songs (with positive messages) that he had been composing since he started college. In these times of great political and social upheavals it is important to reach out to the youth in whatever form possible, and because most relate to music, hip-hop gets that message across.

With voter turnout being the lowest in any industrialized nation, we need to encourage and engage our youth to be a part of the process for a better world.

Varini de Silva

Huntington Beach

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The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network is trying to rally the vote of the hip-hop community all over the country. Despite its so-called lack of education and knowledge, the hip-hop community can be a political force.

As witnessed in the last presidential election in 2000, every vote does count. As U.S. citizens, it is our constitutional right to vote. Everyone should exercise that right.

How many voters in the general population are themselves educated and well informed of the issues and candidates anyway?

Blanca Lopez

Northridge