March 6, 2023 • 11 mins
Hip hop has become one of the world's most influential forms of artistic expression today, largely because artists aren't afraid to turn the hard times into something positive. Today Dramos looks at The Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop and a quote from Marcus Aurelius to show how pain and trials can lead to triumph and purpose.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Yes, yes, I am Dramas And this is the Street
Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose a timeless stoke
philosophy remix for the hip hop generation. We are combining
(00:26):
ancient stoic philosophy with lyrics and quote from something the
greatest who ever grace the microphone. Now, with that in mind,
let's get things started with your daily shot of inspiration.
Now today we are going to be focusing around the
stoic idea of practicing resilience. And I'm gonna pull a
(00:51):
quote from from Man, one of the greats, Most Death.
This is actually from the book Book of Rhymes The
Poetics of Hip Hop, and in it, Most says hip
hop is a beautiful culture. It's inspirational because it's a
culture of survivors. You can create beauty out of nothingness.
(01:11):
And I love that last line as I'm reading it,
It's just kind of like stuck out to me. You
can create beauty out of nothingness. And if that doesn't
kind of get you, I don't know, inspired and worked
up a bit, I don't. I don't know what will.
Because he is talking about Man, this culture of people
who many of whom came from very dire circumstances and
(01:37):
turn that into triumph. Right. Like, you know, when you
think about the idea of art, you know, it's oftentimes
the people you know who who have created some of
life's most beautiful art. Like they did so by building
from the ashes of tragedy and pain. And of course,
nobody wants to have to suffer in this life. Right
if we could avoid it, we we I'm sure we
(01:58):
all would. But there is some sort of like beautiful
synergy in people who have been able to turn that
pain into beautiful works that last the test of time,
you know. And I think this kind of like lends
itself perfectly into a stoic quote, right, And this quote
comes from Marcus Aurelius, and he says, adapt yourself to
the life you have been given, and truly love the
(02:20):
people with whom destiny has surrounded you. Right, And I
think that this lends itself to what great artists have
always known, that rather than complaining about your circumstances, instead
find a way to use it as the fuel for
your expression. Right. Like you think about why is as
(02:41):
has hip hop become this global thing? Right, It's no
longer just the genre of music, but instead it's a
way of life, you know, And and partially it's because
it was a voice and it still is a voice
for people who grew up in similar circumstances to those artists, right,
And then you know, for others, the mass appeal of
it is that it's given people a window into a
(03:02):
life they would have never been able to experience had
it not have been for the art, right, Like, you
realize that the trials and tribulations like they've now given
you a story to tell them. I think that's the
beauty in particular of a genre of like hip hop,
where it is sort of autobiographical, like this has given
(03:24):
you something to talk about. And again, there's a lot
of pain, there's a lot of loss, there's a lot
of tragedy in these stories that we hear, you know,
throughout the decades of great music that has come out,
but it's also you know, from those those tough times
that some of the greatest art has been created and
ones that have impacted myself. And I'm sure anybody listening
(03:44):
to this right now, you know, we all can point
to a song or an artist that has had a
profound impact on our lives, and much of it I'm
sure is that we share in some sort of experience
that they went through or a feeling that they're sharing,
you know. And and for me, it's something that I
tried to adapt into all that I do. You know,
I relate to this on a pretty grand level, you know,
(04:05):
where I've definitely over the last couple of years, I've
gotten far more comfortable talking about my struggles with with
mental health, you know, and it's allowed me to connect
with people on a bigger scale than I could have
ever imagined, you know, because I've I've now been able
to help people and to you know, give them a
voice and an acknowledgement that they're not alone, you know.
(04:26):
And even on a more personal level, my parents, you know,
they now open up to me about things that they
struggled with, you know, because they relate to what I'm saying, right,
and our relationship has gotten stronger as a result. I've
given them a safe space to share their their own
stories because I've been unafraid to share mine. I see
them as as people just trying to do their best.
(04:48):
You know. There's been so much healing just from us
coming together and being able to have a safe space
to share you know, like all of that love and
all of that understanding, it's coming from from me just
sharing my story, right, which is such a beautiful thing.
My bouts with the pressure anxiety are of course difficult
(05:10):
at times, but I also, you know, now view them
as as something that has empowered me, you know, and
for that I'm forever grateful, you know, to have practiced
that sort of resilience, you know, through through some tough times.
And I think that's the whole notion, the whole idea
I'm trying to get out with today's show. Now, you've
heard from man one of the greats most death. We
(05:30):
have heard from Marcus Aurelius. You have heard from myself
my own story how I relate to this. Now let's
talk about you and how you can make it your
mantra for today. But first let's take a quick break
and then we'll be right back. All right, So we
(05:54):
have heard from most Deaf, we have heard from Marcus Aurelius.
I've talked a bit about how the idea of practicing
resilience has been applied to my life. Now let's talk
about how you can make it your mantra for today. Now,
I don't have some sort of easy, black and white
textbook type of answer to give you of how to
(06:16):
handle the tough moments in your life. Right, I think
all I can try and do here is invite you
to look at things a different way. And again, we're
all going through different shit. I can't tell you how
to mourn, how to get over it, you know what
it is that you're going through. But I would would
invite you to ask yourself, how can I make something
(06:39):
of this pain? And I look at it even beyond
just like an artist, because we're talking about you know,
rappers and artists in general, you know, making something out
of their pain, making a creative work. Like even when
we look at some of the tragedies that have gone
on in this world, the people who have been taken
from us due to violence far too early or at
(07:01):
the hands of police violence that's been something far more
recent in the news. You know, you oftentimes see the
family members or those closest to them using it as
a means to fight back and try and make sure
something like this never happens to someone else again. Right,
that's often a quote we hear. I mean, that's something
(07:22):
that the mother of Tyree Nichols the young man who
is brutally just beat up and killed by police officers
in Memphis. That's something his mother was saying, that she's
now viewing this as his death was so that he
can be a vehicle for change, right, that his story
can be a vehicle for change, and that her mission
is to now try and make sure that this never
(07:44):
happens to anyone else again, to make sure that a
mother never has to mourn in this way again because
of a senseless police killing. Right. I think that that's heavy,
but it's also a real world example of people using
their pain for good and using it as fuel, right,
using all of the pent up energy, the anger that
(08:06):
is inside of them, and then figuring out a positive
way to release it, a positive way to impact the world,
so that this tragedy at least has some sort of meaning.
And of course, I'm sure all the people were speaking
of would rather have their love one with them, But
this being the reality that we're faced with, right, and
that you have no choice but to practice resilience in
(08:28):
the face of this. How can I make something positive
of it? How can I make something of this pain?
And I think that's just a question we all need
to try to ask ourselves during those those tough moments,
and of course it's not an answer, it's not an
antidote for it. But at least we can always look at,
you know, the situation at hand, and know that we
(08:50):
are doing the best with man the cards that we
were dealt. Right now, to summarize man, I again love
this quote from from Most Deaf and that as line
always gets me. You can create beauty out of nothingness, right,
It's it's the idea of the people who are the
they have not figuring out a way to empower themselves
(09:11):
and using their situation, um, not as an excuse for
not being able to make their dreams come true, but
instead using it as as a means to get them
into the position that they want. And then Marcus Aurelius,
you know, talking about adapting yourself to the life that
you've been given, right, not not sitting here longing for
(09:32):
a better situation, not longing for that negative thing to
not have happened, but instead just constantly adapting yourself to
whatever has been thrown in front of you. And then
I think, with my journey, you know the fact of
me understanding the power in my story as difficult as
it is, you know, um as difficult as the experience
of battling mental health issues at times can be, understanding
(09:56):
that there's also power within that and that I've been
dealt this hand and I'm going to adapt in the
most positive way possible. Right again, I really just point
to that that quote from from Most Deaf talking about
hip hop. You know, it's a culture of survivors. You
can create beauty out of nothingness, and I think that's
we all have to keep in mind as we go
(10:16):
through life and things inevitably happen, you know, asking ourselves,
how can I make something of this pain? If you
want to get some more personal content, if you're inspired
by some of the things I've said, I just put
out a book called Just Be Just b dot NYC
is the website. You can go check that out, and
you know it's a deeper, I think understanding of all
(10:37):
things that I talk about, particularly if we're speaking about
mental health and talking about some of the darker points
and in life. I definitely suggest checking that out. Now.
With that said, thank y'all so much for checking out
the Street Stoke podcast. Do your best to apply these
concepts that we discussed Today it's yea everyday life. Then
I'll catch you next time. The Street Stoke Podcast is
(11:00):
a production of iheart's Michael Pura podcast Network
Yes, yes, I am Dramas And this is the Street
Stoic Podcast, bringing you your daily dose a timeless stoke
philosophy remix for the hip hop generation. We are combining
(00:26):
ancient stoic philosophy with lyrics and quote from something the
greatest who ever grace the microphone. Now, with that in mind,
let's get things started with your daily shot of inspiration.
Now today we are going to be focusing around the
stoic idea of practicing resilience. And I'm gonna pull a
(00:51):
quote from from Man, one of the greats, Most Death.
This is actually from the book Book of Rhymes The
Poetics of Hip Hop, and in it, Most says hip
hop is a beautiful culture. It's inspirational because it's a
culture of survivors. You can create beauty out of nothingness.
(01:11):
And I love that last line as I'm reading it,
It's just kind of like stuck out to me. You
can create beauty out of nothingness. And if that doesn't
kind of get you, I don't know, inspired and worked
up a bit, I don't. I don't know what will.
Because he is talking about Man, this culture of people
who many of whom came from very dire circumstances and
(01:37):
turn that into triumph. Right. Like, you know, when you
think about the idea of art, you know, it's oftentimes
the people you know who who have created some of
life's most beautiful art. Like they did so by building
from the ashes of tragedy and pain. And of course,
nobody wants to have to suffer in this life. Right
if we could avoid it, we we I'm sure we
(01:58):
all would. But there is some sort of like beautiful
synergy in people who have been able to turn that
pain into beautiful works that last the test of time,
you know. And I think this kind of like lends
itself perfectly into a stoic quote, right, And this quote
comes from Marcus Aurelius, and he says, adapt yourself to
the life you have been given, and truly love the
(02:20):
people with whom destiny has surrounded you. Right, And I
think that this lends itself to what great artists have
always known, that rather than complaining about your circumstances, instead
find a way to use it as the fuel for
your expression. Right. Like you think about why is as
(02:41):
has hip hop become this global thing? Right, It's no
longer just the genre of music, but instead it's a
way of life, you know, And and partially it's because
it was a voice and it still is a voice
for people who grew up in similar circumstances to those artists, right,
And then you know, for others, the mass appeal of
it is that it's given people a window into a
(03:02):
life they would have never been able to experience had
it not have been for the art, right, Like, you
realize that the trials and tribulations like they've now given
you a story to tell them. I think that's the
beauty in particular of a genre of like hip hop,
where it is sort of autobiographical, like this has given
(03:24):
you something to talk about. And again, there's a lot
of pain, there's a lot of loss, there's a lot
of tragedy in these stories that we hear, you know,
throughout the decades of great music that has come out,
but it's also you know, from those those tough times
that some of the greatest art has been created and
ones that have impacted myself. And I'm sure anybody listening
(03:44):
to this right now, you know, we all can point
to a song or an artist that has had a
profound impact on our lives, and much of it I'm
sure is that we share in some sort of experience
that they went through or a feeling that they're sharing,
you know. And and for me, it's something that I
tried to adapt into all that I do. You know,
I relate to this on a pretty grand level, you know,
(04:05):
where I've definitely over the last couple of years, I've
gotten far more comfortable talking about my struggles with with
mental health, you know, and it's allowed me to connect
with people on a bigger scale than I could have
ever imagined, you know, because I've I've now been able
to help people and to you know, give them a
voice and an acknowledgement that they're not alone, you know.
(04:26):
And even on a more personal level, my parents, you know,
they now open up to me about things that they
struggled with, you know, because they relate to what I'm saying, right,
and our relationship has gotten stronger as a result. I've
given them a safe space to share their their own
stories because I've been unafraid to share mine. I see
them as as people just trying to do their best.
(04:48):
You know. There's been so much healing just from us
coming together and being able to have a safe space
to share you know, like all of that love and
all of that understanding, it's coming from from me just
sharing my story, right, which is such a beautiful thing.
My bouts with the pressure anxiety are of course difficult
(05:10):
at times, but I also, you know, now view them
as as something that has empowered me, you know, and
for that I'm forever grateful, you know, to have practiced
that sort of resilience, you know, through through some tough times.
And I think that's the whole notion, the whole idea
I'm trying to get out with today's show. Now, you've
heard from man one of the greats most death. We
(05:30):
have heard from Marcus Aurelius. You have heard from myself
my own story how I relate to this. Now let's
talk about you and how you can make it your
mantra for today. But first let's take a quick break
and then we'll be right back. All right, So we
(05:54):
have heard from most Deaf, we have heard from Marcus Aurelius.
I've talked a bit about how the idea of practicing
resilience has been applied to my life. Now let's talk
about how you can make it your mantra for today. Now,
I don't have some sort of easy, black and white
textbook type of answer to give you of how to
(06:16):
handle the tough moments in your life. Right, I think
all I can try and do here is invite you
to look at things a different way. And again, we're
all going through different shit. I can't tell you how
to mourn, how to get over it, you know what
it is that you're going through. But I would would
invite you to ask yourself, how can I make something
(06:39):
of this pain? And I look at it even beyond
just like an artist, because we're talking about you know,
rappers and artists in general, you know, making something out
of their pain, making a creative work. Like even when
we look at some of the tragedies that have gone
on in this world, the people who have been taken
from us due to violence far too early or at
(07:01):
the hands of police violence that's been something far more
recent in the news. You know, you oftentimes see the
family members or those closest to them using it as
a means to fight back and try and make sure
something like this never happens to someone else again. Right,
that's often a quote we hear. I mean, that's something
(07:22):
that the mother of Tyree Nichols the young man who
is brutally just beat up and killed by police officers
in Memphis. That's something his mother was saying, that she's
now viewing this as his death was so that he
can be a vehicle for change, right, that his story
can be a vehicle for change, and that her mission
is to now try and make sure that this never
(07:44):
happens to anyone else again, to make sure that a
mother never has to mourn in this way again because
of a senseless police killing. Right. I think that that's heavy,
but it's also a real world example of people using
their pain for good and using it as fuel, right,
using all of the pent up energy, the anger that
(08:06):
is inside of them, and then figuring out a positive
way to release it, a positive way to impact the world,
so that this tragedy at least has some sort of meaning.
And of course, I'm sure all the people were speaking
of would rather have their love one with them, But
this being the reality that we're faced with, right, and
that you have no choice but to practice resilience in
(08:28):
the face of this. How can I make something positive
of it? How can I make something of this pain?
And I think that's just a question we all need
to try to ask ourselves during those those tough moments,
and of course it's not an answer, it's not an
antidote for it. But at least we can always look at,
you know, the situation at hand, and know that we
(08:50):
are doing the best with man the cards that we
were dealt. Right now, to summarize man, I again love
this quote from from Most Deaf and that as line
always gets me. You can create beauty out of nothingness, right,
It's it's the idea of the people who are the
they have not figuring out a way to empower themselves
(09:11):
and using their situation, um, not as an excuse for
not being able to make their dreams come true, but
instead using it as as a means to get them
into the position that they want. And then Marcus Aurelius,
you know, talking about adapting yourself to the life that
you've been given, right, not not sitting here longing for
(09:32):
a better situation, not longing for that negative thing to
not have happened, but instead just constantly adapting yourself to
whatever has been thrown in front of you. And then
I think, with my journey, you know the fact of
me understanding the power in my story as difficult as
it is, you know, um as difficult as the experience
of battling mental health issues at times can be, understanding
(09:56):
that there's also power within that and that I've been
dealt this hand and I'm going to adapt in the
most positive way possible. Right again, I really just point
to that that quote from from Most Deaf talking about
hip hop. You know, it's a culture of survivors. You
can create beauty out of nothingness, and I think that's
we all have to keep in mind as we go
(10:16):
through life and things inevitably happen, you know, asking ourselves,
how can I make something of this pain? If you
want to get some more personal content, if you're inspired
by some of the things I've said, I just put
out a book called Just Be Just b dot NYC
is the website. You can go check that out, and
you know it's a deeper, I think understanding of all
(10:37):
things that I talk about, particularly if we're speaking about
mental health and talking about some of the darker points
and in life. I definitely suggest checking that out. Now.
With that said, thank y'all so much for checking out
the Street Stoke podcast. Do your best to apply these
concepts that we discussed Today it's yea everyday life. Then
I'll catch you next time. The Street Stoke Podcast is
(11:00):
a production of iheart's Michael Pura podcast Network
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.