‘Sup, Meteor readers,

Today is my wedding anniversary. I’d do a mildly sappy opening since we’re all friends here, but then I became aware of a more pertinent life event: Taylor Swift announced that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is dropping in October.

Speaking of music and important dates, tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop!

In honor of The Bronx’s greatest export, we asked some friends to share their favorite lyrics of the last 50 years. (And not to spoil anything for you, but we’ve got a lot of Lauryn Hill fans in the house.)

But first, before we bop down memory lane, the news.

All the way up,

Shannon from the block

WHAT’S GOING ON

History in flames: A massive wildfire has torn through the town of Lahaina in Maui, Hawaii, killing at least 36 people. The blaze began as a result of an unseasonably dry summer and passing hurricane winds in the region.

Compounding the number of lives lost (which fire officials believe will only rise) is the loss of historical landmarks. Lahaina was once the royal capital of Hawaii prior to the colonization of the archipelago. The town was home to a heritage museum and the Old Lahaina Courthouse, both of which have burned to the ground. The executive director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation told the Times, “This is the worst destructive thing that has happened in this town’s entire history.”

This particular wildfire is also one of the worst ever to strike the U.S. and is quickly becoming the deadliest. Residents are being evacuated to fire shelters, but many don’t know if they’ll have a home to return to once the fire is contained.

To help those affected by the fires, you can donate to Maui Strong Fund, Kākoʻo Maui Fund, or Maui Mutual Aid.

  AND:

• It’s been more than 100 days since the Writers Guild of America went on strike. Last month the writers were joined on the picket lines by members of the actors’ guild SAG-AFTRA. Both groups are committed to the fight for a fair contract despite the great cost—for example, Billy Porter, who says he will now have to sell his house because he doesn’t know when he’ll be able to go back to work. Find out how to help writers and actors affected by this work stoppage here.

• If Greg Abbott wasn’t already on your most hated list, let us help you: Last month the Texas governor ordered an enormous floating buoy be placed in the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from entering Texas from the river. Seven people have died as a result and the DOJ is now suing Texas. Instead of having a shred of humanity, Abbott doubled down on the barrier and had “‘chainsaw-type’ devices” added to the buoys. No words.

• Ohio voters came out in droves this week to show lawmakers that they’re paying attention by stopping their legislature from amending the state constitution to make it harder to pass pro-abortion initiatives.

CLICK THE LINK ABOVE TO JOIN OUR AMBASSADOR PROGRAM! 

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

The Rhymes That Changed Us

11 women on their hip-hop click moment

BY REBECCA CARROLL

WYCLEF JEAN, LAURYN HILL, AND PRAS MICHEL OF THE FUGEES, 2023 (IMAGE BY TAYLOR HILL VIA GETTY IMAGES)

Hip-hop as a genre is complicated. But at its core, it’s about bearing witness to the world and telling a story directly from that personal vantage point. Whether they be stories of revolutionary rage, tender triumph, sheer joy, or all of the above, the hip-hop canon is undeniably rich. This year marks the 50th anniversary of hip-hop as an art form, and to celebrate, we asked our favorite creatives to share a lyric from one song that impacted them in some profound way.    

It could all be so simple
But you’d rather make it hard
Loving you is like a battle
And we both end up with scars

— “Ex-Factor,” Lauryn Hill 

I write to music. I look for songs that open me up to the emotions I’m writing. These lyrics are so deep and gutturally poetic. I put this song on repeat to write the “fourth quarter” of Love and Basketball. I have literally heard it over a thousand times. And it rocks me still. —Gina Prince-Bythewood, filmmaker

And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women, do we hate our women?

— “Keep Ya Head Up,” Tupac

I spent some time with Pac before this song was written. I was in a black feminist rock group called Subject to Change. He would come to my band rehearsals, and afterwards we would share deep and heavy conversations about the depiction of Black women in Hip Hop. We also talked about the incredible women of The Black Panther Party. My heart expanded when he wrote these powerful lyrics. He was such a beautiful man inside and out. —Cree Summer, actress, singer/songwriter 

You ain’t a bitch or a hoe

—“U.N.I.T.Y.,” Queen Latifah 

I’ve been a hip-hop fan since I was a little girl, but I’ve always resented how misogynistic the music can be. I didn’t have the greatest understanding of why that was when I was small, but I knew that our men were using it to call us mean names and I didn’t like that. When I was about nine, Queen Latifah released “U.N.I.T.Y.,” a powerful clapback towards sexism in both hip-hop music and the Black community. I was entranced. Latifah was so strong, so beautiful, and she was standing up for us. It’s one of my favorite songs to this day. —Jamilah Lemieux, cultural critic

WEEKEND READS 📚

On bodily autonomy: “Birth Control: The Insidious Power of Men Over Motherhood” may take you more than a weekend to read, but every second will be worth it. (Bookshop)

On music: Meet the Palestinian pop singer bringing new life into the resistance. (Teen Vogue)

On education: Do HSI’s (Hispanic-serving institutions) actually help the students they claim to be supporting? (Refinery29)

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