[audience clapping, beat starts]

We've been having these gatherings for over 12 years

Uhh, my first one, was ah at Latin Quarters in 1987

with Afrika Bambaataa - he threw the first one, that I attended

We kept the tradition going through the Stop the Violence Movement

Through Human Education Against Lies, Rhythm Cultural Institute

And now the Temple of Hip-Hop

This is Hip-Hop's spiritual base

And as a spiritual base, we look to guide the youth in that discipline

Uhh, no culture is a culture, unless it has principles

unless it has morals, unless - we are unified

in some sort of principle, something we are not going to step beyond

Something that defines us

What I'd like to do, is just for a moment as we.. deal with this

Think about your role in Hip-Hop

Think about what you do everyday in Hip-Hop

This is not about right now

It's about twenty years from now

It's about ten years from now

The tapes are rolling, the notes are being taken

This is the type of thinking we have to get into

if this is going to survive and last

So again, Hip-Hop Appreciation Week, is a time of self-reflection

A time for Hip-Hoppers to ask,

"What am I doing, to preserve the culture?" [echoes]