SATCHMO

I agree completely with what you're saying. Punk is a genre that can be perceived both as a musical style and as a social or political ideology. I think that hip-hop in generally started out with a lot of parallels to punk, but grew into something that has deviated pretty far from that ideal. I have even in previous threads along time ago, described "outlaw country"- Johnny cash and Waylon Jennings for example, as being intrinsically punk rock for their non-comformity to social ideals and maverick dedication to what they perceived as higher purposes. Jazz, a genre invented by African Americans, in my opinion was the original punk if you look at it in its historical context. It was considered crude abrasive and a generally unaccepted musical style by the political and religious hierarchy of that period. I won't even get into the history of reggae. Ironically, if one looks at modern and post modern music in general, it can be seen that blacks have almost always been at the forefront of using music as an agent of rebellion and social change, which, to me, is the core essence of what punk is, or should be.