Since the beginning, Hip Hop culture has always rested firmly upon the premise of education and the need thereof. Submitting to the idea of education serving as the basis of honing a discipline was always integral to the success of Breakers, Graffiti Artists, Lyricists, and DJs/Producers/Beat Makers alike. The idea was simple – without a devotion to learning the craft, one would likely be considered a fraud; a Half-Stepper according to the assertion of the legendary Big Daddy Kane.
But as Hip Hop progressed, these skilled and educated Hip Hop Artists began to gain more monetary success for their talents, creating some extremely comfortable lifestyles in the process. But when the money comes in fast and regularly, the pace of the financial education needed to act responsibly with it is often not commensurate.
As minorities, we generally lack education in personal finance. From Vehicles to Homes, we often make purchase decisions using the desires of the heart and ego and not the pragmatism and rationale of the mind, thereby resulting in the stress heavy experience of living beyond our means; a problem that also confronts our White counterparts but often goes undiscussed and unconsidered within the confines of Black and Brown communities. And why should it? The responsibility of rectifying instances of educational and financial disparities should never rest with those that cause the disparity, but instead, those that are disparaged, for the purpose of fulfilling the desire to be better and tapping into the inherent greatness that resides within begins with introspection and self-initiative, resulting in self-betterment or perhaps even, the realization of self-purpose.
So, being devoted to Hip Hop and also having a genuine concern for the education of our people, we found it necessary to leverage the culture’s 5th and perhaps most unexplored element of ‘Knowledge/Education’ as a tool to impart some enlightenment on the matter of Personal Finance. To facilitate this, on our next episode of TCOHHL (The Chronicles of a Hip Hop Legend) Radio, we’ll be speaking with the wonderful, LaShonda Johnson of the Houston Housewives of Finance; a national organization [with a growing list of chapters] that successfully empowers individuals with the tools necessary to arrive at a place of effective financial literacy. From credit cards to the dreadful Student loan(s) to the selection of the appropriate life insurance policy, LaShonda graciously schools us on various aspects of personal finance while dispelling some of the long-standing misconceptions and circumstances of financial miseducation that so many of us have fell victim to – like my severely misguided and uninformed decision to purchase a $600.00 leather Avirex jacket [back in 1997] while being a full time College Student with part-time employment.
Taking notes while listening to this episode is recommended – Class will be in session!
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By: D.D. Turner, Founder/Executive Producer/Host
TCOHHL (The Chronicles of a Hip Hop Legend) Radio
Twitter: @TCOHHL_Radio/@HipHops_Wizard
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The Chronicles of a Hip Hop Legend (TCOHHL) 