Street Kings: Martin & Common

“Hold the same fight that made Martin Luther the King”
(Common – “A Dream”)

Two years ago, about.com had a poll asking which emcee is the hip hop equivalent of Martin Luther King Jr.

The list was a who’s who of true lyricists, artists that have each in their own way spoken out against systems of oppression in a potent mix of poetry and politics. As a whole, they’re not the most popular rappers in the game, but they are by far the most focused on making a statement and spitting about what it is they stand for. Unapologetically. Undeniably. Each of the following names stands on its own as a force of revolution to be reckoned with:

Chuck D. Common. Talib Kweli. Pharoahe Monch. Lauryn Hill. Black Thought. Nas. KRS-One. Mos Def.

There were 371 votes cast when the poll closed and with 79 votes or 21 percent, Chi-town rapper Common was crowned as the most Kingly emcee. In a close second was god’s son Nas with 20 percent and Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. came in third with 12 percent of the votes. Lauryn Hill had 11 percent and the rest of the rappers had percentages under 10 including Other.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest orators of all time who could freestyle with the best of them. I wonder what he would think of the poll. Would he want to add anyone to the list? Take someone off of it? Would he vote for Common as the emcee that is his equivalent? Perhaps he would put out an album featuring his favorite rappers a la Cornel West. Or maybe he wouldn’t listen to hip hop at all.

It doesn't surprise me that Common -- who will be seen in the racially charged movie Street Kings one week from today -- would get the most votes in the public poll. He has been expressing messages that resonate with inspiration and consciousness from day one, attracting fans from all creeds and colors. He’s more modern that Chuck D. and KRS-One, less aggressive than Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch, more masculine than Ms. Hill and less controversial than Nas.

At the end of 2006, Common and will.i.am released “A Dream,” the lead single from the Freedom Writers movie soundtrack:

"Will had the beat pretty much hooked up, but once he started putting the Dr. Martin Luther King sample on there, it took me to a whole spiritual high level," Common told MTV. "The movie was already inspiring, but to be on a song with Martin Luther King, I had to write to the best of my ability. Ain't no playing when you have Martin Luther King on there."

"I think that hip-hop is part of that Martin Luther King dream. Hip-hop is a bridge to bring people together. ... At my concerts it's white kids, Latino kids, Asian kids sharing the same experience. I think hip-hop is bringing people together."

But let’s be real. It’s difficult to compare King to any modern-day emcee. First of all, it is a different day and age, where prejudice exists behind the scenes in subtleties and erupts ever so often in the forms of blind rants (Richards, Imus, Dobbs).



And rappers don’t march. They lean and rock with it. They have concerts. For cash. And they develop a following based on beats before beliefs. This is, of course, a generalization because at its core, hip hop is meant to represent everything King spoke about: social change, unity and progress.

But I do believe that every name on that poll above lives up to that standard in some way. And hip hop, at its best, will continue to grow out of Dr. King’s undying legacy. Just ask Barack Obama.