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In the beginning.
I grew up in New Jersey. I remember the first
time I learned about the
Five
Percent Nation. It was the 4th of July, I was 15 years old, drunk, and
in
the
middle of what was about to be a typical street fight when I heard
myself being waged against…. “I think the
God can take him ‘cause
homeboy’s
a eighty five percenter.” Fingers pointed at me and heads shook
in
disapproval. The words struck me like a fist. I remember thinking..
“What’s
an eighty five
percenter?” I lost focus and backed out of the fight. It
wasn’t out of fear; it was a combination of their
sureness I would
loose and
the label [eighty-five percenter] that confused me. It felt as if the
pause
button
on my reactions had been suddenly pressed. Like when someone
yells at
you in a foreign language. They knew something
I didn’t. You can’t
fight
what you don’t know.
This incident had tremendous repercussions
on me. It forced me to seek
information I would not otherwise have been seeking. The more I found
out,
the more
I wanted to know. I still look for answers and doubt I’ll find
them
all in this life time but I have collected
a few and even learned what
an
eighty-five percenter was along the way. The good thing is once you
know
what
one is, your not considered to be one any more. So lets get
started.
During the early 90’s Hip Hop fans began
to hear a strange new lyrical
trend
coming from the East Coast. There was a sub-culture emerging with a
distinct
esoteric philosophy making its presence known. Instead of sex and party
songs, (sound familiar?) these new MC’s
fashioned themselves as ghetto
wise
men with an urgent message for the people while hinting towards a
secret
brotherhood
or creed. A good example was Wise Intelligent from the
group
Poor Righteous Teachers who hit the scene with rhymes
like:
I combine / Two types of rhyme / Tryin’ to reach ya / The knowledge of
myself / Makes me a poor righteous
teacher /
Stop and flip the topic/ Islamic-ly I drop it/ My duty be to teach/ So
keep
your pistol in your pocket
…
Other Artists spoke of creation and self divinity like ‘Grand Puba from
the
group Brand Nubians
who wrote
I guess I’m like the Verbalizer/ For the fact I’m moving Blackwards/
This
Asiatic Black Man
is a dog spelled backwards/ The maker/ The owner/ The
cream of the planet Earth/ Father of civilization/ God Of The Universe!
Suddenly
flooded with references of Islam and Asia, most fans never
understood the message in the music. Although members claimed
Islam as
their
religion, The Five Percent definition differed from the Arabic word
which
means –to submit.
For them Islam was an acronym for the words I Self
Lord
And Master. Many fans do not know that some of their favorite
artists
such
as Rakim, Wu Tang, X Clan and Digable Planets were all missionaries for
a
movement known as The
Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths. Even
today the
initiated ear can hear their presence and influence. Grammy
winner
Eryka
Badu displays her allegiance when she sings… “If we were made in His
image /
Then
call us by our name / Most intellects do not believe in God / But
they
fear us just the same.”
So what
is the Five Percent Nation? Picture a baton race. Every time
the
baton passes to another racer, it alters slightly
but still remains a
baton.
The urban Islamic movement in America has been changing and switching
hands
in
this way since Jan. 8, 1886 when according to legend there was a
great
earthquake caused by the birth of the “Prophet”
Nobel Drew Ali. Also
known
as the Holy Sage, Ali founded the Moorish Science Temple in 1913 and
introduced his
followers to a system of ceremony known as “rotation”, a
system of government as well as an extremely eloquent
and mystical /
historical text known as the Circle Seven. The books heading reads
‘Know
Thy Self and
Thy Father Allah’ and contains passages regarding the lost
stories of Jesus, the mysteries of duality and unity,
holy instructions
for
life and the spiritual history of man and religion to name a few. A
convert
of Ali’s
movement was a man named Elijah Poole Bey who later went on to
become the Honorable Elijah Muhammed Founder of the Nation
of Islam
(N.O.I.).
Everyone has heard of Malcolm X the charismatic leader of Temple# 7 who
was
expelled
from the N.O.I. for changing his beliefs. Another celebrated
figure
was also expelled from the same Temple located
in Harlem for being what
they
called a rebel. His name was Clarence 13X A.K.A. “The Father” Founder
of
the
Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths. His brand of I.S.L.A.M.
appealed to
youths in the streets in particular
because he told them that they were
Gods
who had forgotten who they were and once they regained what he called
“Knowledge
Of Self,” they could achieve anything they desired.
The doctrines established by 13X were based upon lessons
called “120
Degrees
of Knowledge” contained in the “Book of Life”. It also contains
geographical
information concerning the rotation of planets, the weight of the
earth,
measurements of oceans and the distance
from here to the sun. These
lessons
are memorized and recited or unleashed on those who should make the
mistake
in entering a debate with a hardcore member. Their abstract play on
words
cause most verbal opponents to retreat.
This is because 13X also
introduced
two cipher systems known as the Supreme Alphabet and the Supreme
Mathematics.
Using these coded systems members can communicate about
any
subject openly without being understood by spies or unenlightened
ears.
When
the so called East Coast West Coast wars were taking place, Five
Percent
terminology was often
used to mimic and make fun of New York rappers.
They
made an easy target because there’s just something funny
about hearing
people having coded conversations. Anyone doing a parody of a East
coast
rapper or thug always begins
with –“Yo God Knowledge this.” Followed by
a
line of dis-jointed words and ending with “YouKnowWhatImSayin’?”
What
does it all mean? Their name comes from one of their lessons
concerning
mankind. Clarence 13X believed that the population
was made of 85% of
people
who were mentally blind deaf and dumb, while 10% of the population were
the
devils
who keep 85% of the people ignorant. The remaining 5% were the
poor
righteous teachers who would teach the 85% who
they were and raise them
from
their lost state.
Like Malcolm X, Clarence 13X was eventually murdered
by his enemies.
After his death, there was no heir to the movements throne. Members
based on
the argument that
each man was his own savior shunned the idea of a
centralized leadership. The philosophies of the Five Percent Nation
grew
strong roots in the East Coast where Harlem became known as Mecca,
Brooklyn
changed to Medina and New
Jersey was re-named New Jerusalem. Their flag
consists of a sixteen-facet emblem with the number seven in the center.
Each
facet represents sixteen skin tones or “shades of blackness”.
According to
Bay Area
historian and author Rafiq Bilal the number seven represents
the
numerous cycles found in nature. In his book Egyptian
Sacred Science in
Islam, Mr. Bilal states: “Geometrically, seven possesses the three
possibilities. The three
is the triangle, the four is the square and
the
cycle of seven itself is a circle.” That’s heavy. It would
seem that
there
is only one piece missing from the package that would solidify the
Nation of
Gods and Earths
status of nationhood here on planet earth. Sadly, it’s
the
most important part Sovereign Land. If nothing else
is gathered through
reading this article one thing we can all be sure of. Weather in
Oakland,
New Jerusalem, Manhattan
or Medina, the ghetto streets are more
philosophical than you think. Word is born.- Ismail Azeem
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