Fly By Night #HHtheAtre

Fly By Night

Peace to Thes One!

Mogul

Mogul

"Mogul is a variant of the word Mongol, which we often use to refer to the empire once led by the famous (or infamous) Genghis Khan. The Mogul Dynasty conquered India in the 16th century, and remained in power for hundreds of years. As a result the word mogul became synonymous with "leader" or "ruler" (Vocabulary.com).

As I listened to the most recent podcast conversation between Premium Pete and Co-Founder of Loud Speakers Network Chris Morrow (Podcasting in 2019), I caught mention of plans for a potential Mogul episode about Combat Jack's life. It made me go back to all those times I listened to the Combat Jack Show and heard Combat urge listeners to check in and listen to the Mogul series he'd just produced about the life & death of Chris Lighty. I don't know what it was at the time, or why I never checked for it. I suppose I was most interested in the Combat Jack Show itself, or maybe was discouraged from thinking that Mogul was only accessible through a streaming service I didn't have access to. No excuses, I slept. And as I listened to the idea of a Mogul episode dedicated to Combat, I thought about Combat's episode on Lighty a lot more and made the decision to search for the episode, found it, and checked in. Once I started, I couldn't stop. By the end, I recognized the labor of love that Combat put into what seemed like a lifetime project that only someone like Combat could've accomplished. 

As I reflect back on the transitions of the Combat Jack Show, Mogul started to feel like a vision that I listened to Combat develop over the years. A whole other way of telling a story, the next step up into the podcast platform that Combat & crew were creating in our imaginations. It was a story told in a way that simply couldn't be captured any other way or by anybody else. You felt Combat's connection to the story and those interviewed that shared their reflection on the rise of Chris Lighty from the burning borough of the Bronx all the way to a conversation of mental illness and the last chapter of Lighty's physical time here on earth. There's something powerful in the way this story is presented. I'm reminded of when I listened to Chinky of Queensbridge reflect on Prodigy's impact on her life in the Realness Podcast. There were so many more layers to this project, so much more time and effort, "blood, sweat and tears" type work. In some ways I hope taking the time to hear this show honors Combat's vision for this type of storytelling, but also recognizes what Combat was teaching us in so far as how these stories can be put together, documented, and presented in a way that a mind can't forget.

Prior to this episode, I didn't know much about Chris Lighty. What I did know was the familiarity of the voices of the microphone masters he was associated with. As Combat Jack did during his time on the mic, I want to encourage visitors to check in on the Mogul podcast. I can only imagine what a Mogul podcast about Combat Jack would sound like and to hear those that were closest to Combat reflect. To imagine Premium Pete, Dallas Penn, A-King, Chris Murrow, and Combat's family coming back together to honor their dear friend who was an ever present voice in our lives for so many pivotal years in podcasting Hip Hop. I gotta say though, I wasn't feeling the idea of a Mogul episode about Combat being a 2 episode program. If anything, hopefully that Mogul blueprint can be honored in a way that reflects the inception of the idea itself. 

Below are links to a number of stories on Mogul including the 6 part series produced by Combat Jack. RIP.

The Life & Death of Chris Lighty: Soundcloud / ((listen))

The Making of Mogul, the Life & Death of Chris Lighty: Soundcloud / ((listen))

'Mogul': Even in Death, Chris Lighty Takes Hip Hop to Another Level: NPR The Record / Read

Critical Approaches to Hip Hop 2019

This semester, Spring 2019 Hip Hop Alumni introduced a first of its kind course at Penn State Berks cross listed with African American and Interdisciplinary studies AMST226N: Critical Approaches to Hip Hop

James aka SkydeJames of HHA

The course examines the politics of hip hop art and culture by placing hip hop in a broad historical context tracing its aesthetic and cultural roots from Africa to Jamaica to 1970s New York City and then forward 1980s and beyond. For more information on the course contact Professor Justin De Senso at jxd367@psu.edu.

Below are shots from the Penn State Berks Thun Library with a display for Hip Hop Stacks in recognition of the new Critical Approaches to Hip Hop course at PSU, 2019. Shout out to the Thun librarians!