*Several hip hop veterans are coming together again to relaunch the “Stop the Violence Movement,” which was founded in 1988 with the aim of addressing rampant gun violence in the Black community, reports Rolling Stone.
In the months leading up to its original formation, a 19-year-old had been shot and killed just minutes after arriving at New York’s Nassau Coliseum for the 1988 Dope Jam Tour, and Boogie Down Productions (BDP) founding member DJ Scott La Rock was fatally shot while trying to break up an argument.
With journalist Nelson George and Jive/RCA executive Ann Carli assisting, BDP lead rapper KRS-One spearheaded the release of “Stop the Violence” in 1989, a single produced by BDP’s D-Nice and The Bomb Squad’s Hank Shocklee, and featuring an all-star roster of MCs, including Stetsasonic’s Daddy-O, Public Enemy, Doug E. Fresh, Heavy D, Just-Ice, MC Lyte and Kool Moe Dee. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, where it stayed for a total of 10 weeks. Proceeds ultimately totaled more than $100,000 and were donated to the National Urban League.
Sadly, 35 years later, violence in the rap community has gotten worse. Tupac, The Notorious B.I.G., Big L , Nipsey Hussle, and Jam Master Jay are among the dozen rap figures who’ve died by gunfire since the release of “Self-Destruction.” In 2021 alone, more than two dozen rappers were either fatally stabbed or shot, including Young Dolph, Drakeo The Ruler, and Slim 400, according to Rolling Stone.
As a result, Hip-Hop Alliance (HHA) Chairman and Temple of Hip-Hop founder KRS-One has decided to revive the Stop The Violence Movement and recruit several of his fellow old-school artists to help spread the message. Former Profile Records artist Special Ed, best known for his 1989 single “I Got It Made,” joined the cause following a sobering phone call with Tha Dogg Pound rapper Kurupt.
“Kurupt, my little homie, mentioned they wanted to bring some attention to stopping the violence that’s been going on,” Special Ed told Rolling Stone. “I said, ‘Yeah, you know what? We have to do it, because otherwise, it’s not going to get done. Nobody’s saying anything.’ So I reached out to KRS-One and Kurtis Blow. I joined the table and brought up the fact that listen, ‘We need to do something about the violence going on. Artists are coming out under the notion that this is the climate and the behavior—and that’s not acceptable.”
Special Ed said they got to work calling members of the hip-hop community to get involved. “We have participants from the East Coast, West Coast, South, Midwest—all over the country—even some from overseas,” he said. “They see the need and see what’s happening to us as a culture. It seems as if it’s being magnified by most of the hip-hop community, so we have to address this.”
Legendary DJ Kid Capri, also contributing to the cause, has been tasked with uniting a roster of artists for another Stop The Violence single. “KRS-One asked me to be a part of it, and I was honored,” he recalls. “I produced the beat, sent it in and they loved it. I know KRS-One and Special Ed are on it, but they’re putting together older rappers and newer rappers. I gave them two tracks for the album so far. It’s a project that will coincide with the Hip-Hop Alliance. It all goes together.”
“The music is simply a catalyst to the message across that this is not right by any means. We’re being driven in the wrong direction, mentally, spiritually and otherwise, and we hold ourselves accountable for our actions, our families, and our loved ones,” Special Ed adds. “We want to go out there with a conscious behavior.”
“The Stop the Violence Movement was a powerful Movement that brought attention to the impact of violence in our society and urged us to make a change,” Kurtis Blow, founder, and executive director of the Hip-Hop Alliance, told Rolling Stone. “We need that same energy—not just as a symbol of our past but also as a call to action for our future. We also need to come together and use our voices to promote peace, unity, and positivity in the culture. Hip-Hop is not violence!”
Kid Capri points out that the Stop The Violence Movement and Hip-Hop Alliance are laced together, but have separate objectives. The Hip-Hop Alliance is a labor force organization intent on promoting and securing fair wages, fair royalties, and strong health and retirement benefits for all creators in the Hip-Hop and R&B community. The Stop The Violence Movement is focused on spreading a message of nonviolence as it did in the ‘80s.
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