Beats for the Revolution-Everybody’s Free (Dedicated to Egypt)

With every movement or revolution there’s a soundtrack and what took place over the past 3 weeks in Tunisia and Egypt is no different. We got word that scores of recording artists on the ground in Egypt captured the historic moment by recording songs. Their goal to inspire those alongside them in the struggle to keep on keeping on…

We decided to do this mixtape to pay tribute not only to the folks in Egypt who inspired and made us proud but also to pay tribute to those who struggled before them and continue to do so as we speak. Among the highlighted tracks are ‘Beautiful Resistance’ by Bay Area artist Mystic. It’s a song dedicated to those who stand strong in turbulent times…

We also have dope cuts from Killer Mike ‘Burn”, Invincible ‘Sledgehammer’, Jasiri X and M1 ‘We Shall Be Free’  and Kev Choice ‘The Struggle’ who stepped up and addressed the ongoing battles many communities have with police brutality..

We wanted to remind folks of the horrors many experienced in past struggles hence we rocked some deep songs from Brother Ali and Baltimore‘s Labtekwon which touch on the issue of slavery

Other artists like Salome from Iran, Clotaire K from Lebanan, Narcy from Arab Summit/ Euphrates from Iraq and Lowkey from UK/ Iraq, Fredwreck from Palestine, Arabian Knightz from Egypt reminded us that Hip Hop is alive and well in the Arab World and front and center in these struggles.

In this mix we captures the sounds of rallies both in Cairo and right here in San Francisco. They along with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and Kathleen Clever of the Black Panther Party provided timeless narratives to this mixtape

Lastly we kicked things off with an anthem of sorts from almost 20 years ago.. Rozalla‘s Everybody Free. It was a house music favorite back in the days and her timeless words calling for freedom resonate with many today.. We remixed it up  and heightened the urgency of her message.

Enjoy the mix it comes from the heart… I also dedicate this to my father who found freedom from his own struggles here on earth. May you Rest in Power Dad.

-Davey D-

 

Click HERE to Listen to Breakdown FM Egypt Mix

http://www.mixcrate.com/mix/33574/Beats-for-the-RevolutionDedicated-to-Egypt

you can also access the mix at All day Play FM

http://www.alldayplay.fm/episodes/egypt-free

1.Everybody’s Free (Davey D Freedom Remix)by Rozalla

2.Freedom by Paris, Dead Prez & Public Enemy

3.Freedom by Jurassic 5

4.#jan 25 by Freeway, Narcyst, Omar Offendum, Amir Suilaman & Aiya

5.Not Your Prisoner by Arabian Knightz & Fredwreck

6.The System by Mobb Deep & Sizzla

7.We Shall Be Free by Jasiri X & M1 Of Dead Prez

8.Back Down Mubarak by Master Mimz

9.The Travelers  by Brother Ali

10.Triangular Trade by Labtekwon

11.Beautiful Resistance by Mystic

12.Stereotype Incorporated by Euphrates

13.Ya Saryan by Clotaire K

14.Scream To Let Your Voice Be Heard by Salome

15.Cradle Of Civilization by Lowkey W/ Mai Khalil

16.Bin Laden by Immortal Technique w/ Mos Def and Eminem

17.Burn  by Killer Mike

18.One Eleven (Davey D Egyptian Remix) by J-Dilla

19-The Struggle by Kev Choice

20-Sledgehammer  by Invincible

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Comments

  1. Well the Muslim Brotherhood, the fascist and sexually repressed faction that is seizing power, believes in forced female circumcisions. Maybe that should be your next mixtape, Dave. Everybody’s Free to a Get a Free Sexual Mutilation!

    Damn, put on the Hammer record, I feel like dancing.

    Oh, and they’re also cracking down on public kissing. That sounds healthy.

    http://www.smh.com.au/world/islamist-moves-from-jail-to-power-and-a-chance-to-ban-kissing-20110216-1awnm.html

    … The military officers governing Egypt have convened a panel of jurists, including an outspoken Muslim Brotherhood politician, to revise the constitution in the first tangible evidence of a commitment to move the country towards democracy after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

    …The biggest surprise was the inclusion of Sobhi Saleh, an Alexandria lawyer and former MP who is a prominent figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. The Mubarak government repeatedly portrayed Mr Saleh as an extremist. He has espoused views such as advocating a ban on public kissing, and was recently released from an intelligence prison.

    • Hawk we have political parties right here in the US who have backwards way of thinking…ranging from the suppression of Blacks and other minorities to the oppression of women.. In afree society everyone is allowed to speak their piece and even have a seat at the table.. I’m no fan of these dimwitted tea prty folks, but hey if they got voted in then they have right to speak same with MB in Egypt.. Last I checked you weren’t in the streets helping anyone get free from Mubarak or MB if they are in fact this boogey man.. Bottom line let Egyptians decide.. and you sit down and stop trying to think for people who may have bit more insight and intelligence on their fate..Shyt we believe i n the easter bunny and Santa clause which is about as dumb as it comes..to an outsider its our right to do so here..

  2. Nobody in the U.S. believes in the easter bunny or santa clause Dave. We just pretend to for fun.

    The complicated divergence of of belief is the very least of what makes any kind of democratic experiment work. Islam doesn’t look at the divergence of belief as a mechanism necessary to retain large scale social order, it looks at it as the complete opposite. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Islam was “just” a religion, but it’s not. It’s a social order paramount to ALL of the cultural assumptions of the people in that region.

    They got rid of their dictator but now they’re waiting for the next one
    to tell them what they want to hear.

  3. China has been tightening its rein of its people’s right to protest and speak. The Chinese gov’t as bulked up its budget to ensure “stability” with a restrictive and iron clad internet and public monitoring policy. Yes, the U.S. has her flaws, worts and all, and the middle eastern countries and some African nations are finally taking their regimes to tasks, but it is far better than China. But, it is only a matter of time, a stronger show of condemnation of China’s policies from the U.S. gov’t (local, state and federal) and businesses (e.g. tech firms in the SF Bay Area), and the Chinese to put away their old world thinking of passiveness to ensure democracy and true freedom.

  4. e-scribblah says

    wow dave, dope mix but kind of a reactionary comment to a valid point. i didnt know you still believe in the easter bunny, lol, but you kind of downplay the oppression of women, which is troublesome. i know a lot of us like to romanticize our revolutions but the truth is often more complicated. very few of us were in the streets of cairo, and the sexual assaults on women–including egyptians and american news media members–is not a good sign.

    • Downplaying? actually not really.. Rapes occur on the regular all over the world from church to the streets from the army to the streets in Cairo.. my point is dont dismiss an entire movement bc of the activities of some as if what happened with Ms Logan was endorsed by those at Tahir Square.. If we are gonna play that game.. then lets apply those rules to all other incidents… hawk wasn’t concerned abt rapes.. he was using one to express his disdain for poor disenfranchised people.. His pt was not valid..

  5. e-scribblah says

    well, Hawk didnt specifically mention correspondent Logan’s sexual assault. but he did mention sexual repression and politics in the same breath. i think that is a valid point, because, unfortunately revolutions started by the people do get co-opted by political factions, historically-speaking. The French and Russiian revolutions being the obvious examples. So it starts with a revolutionary flashpoint of liberation coming from the underclass, the poor, and the oppressed — which ends up being a transfer of power to –in this case– a US-approved gov’t proxy. Usually the military is involved as well. There’s not enough info on Logan’s situation at this point to know whether the Army played a role or not. initial reports were that she was surrounded by a mob, separated from her crew, then assaulted, only to be saved by the army. but we dont know if she was targeted, and today, it was reported that she had been arrested and detained at least twice by the military prior to the assault–yet she kept coming back to report the story.

    I’m not dismissing “an entire movement,” as you say, just not letting my rhetoric get ahead of my facts.

    IMO, causing a governmental overthrow in just 18 days is huge for the people’s of the world, and we are already seeing movements to do the same thing in Libya emerging.

    But the underside of that is “the people” are not in power in egypt, the military is–for the time being–with the MB waiting in the wings.

    So we could be, in essence, trading one set of human rights abuses for another. That’s not a win-win.

    • Eric again.. hawk has no concern about the repression of women.. so his argument has no merit.. I’ll take my cues from the women from Egypt who have been speaking on this movement and have been involved for years.. Mona Ibrahnam, Liz from malcolm X, Deanna.. all who voices are in that mix.. They speak to the sovereignty of women and have the tone, nuances and paths we should be following not hawk.. who is cherry picking..

      If the issue is repression of women, then I’m all for it.. lets get the hell out of saudi arabia, lets decreases the large amounts of rapes in our own military and lets stop the ridiculous bills being pushed by Congress redefining rape.. If he’s not on that page.. then he’s cherry picking and his argument holds no weight.. Its opinion based on his desire to keep people oppressed…

      As far as movements being co-opted… that happens everywhere.. I’ll let Egyptians fight that one out.. we here should figure out how our own movements have been co-opted and show the world how to prevent that from happening versuses speculating on what may or may not happen in Egypt..

  6. e-scribblah says

    it will be interesting to see how Egyptian youth — who one would assume make up that country’s hip-hop contingent– respond to their newly-found ‘freedoms’. In countries such as Kenya and Cuba, governments have had to subsidize hip-hop to some degree because emcees started talking about conditions in their music. i hope they will address the need to keep the spirit of the 18-day uprising alive.

    i guess i agree with parts of both dave and hawk’s arguments: repression of women is a red flag alert, but at the same time, Lara Logan’s story shouldn’t cause us to lose sight of what just transpired: the overthrow of a dictatorial and corrupt government.

  7. e-scribblah says

    “we here should figure out how our own movements have been co-opted and show the world how to prevent that from happening ”

    +1.

  8. yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over but the islamic one has just begun.

    http://theunitedpersons.org/blog/yuppie-revolution-in-egypt-is-over

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

  9. It’s always a hoot to read strangers explain to everyone else what exactly my real concerns are, especially when they sign off with statements like “stop trying to think for people who may have bit more insight and intelligence on their fate..” Oh, Internet. You so crazy.

    I don’t know if I’m qualified to lecture anyone else on what exactly is going on in Egypt. Some people are saying this is a CIA backed coup because Mubarak really wasn’t onboard with the war on terror

    Source: Mubarak Toppled by CIA Because He Opposed US Plans for War with Iran; US Eyes Seizure of Suez Canal; Was this the Threat that Forced Mubarak to Quit?

    http://tarpley.net/2011/02/18/mubarak-toppled-by-cia-because-he-opposed-us-plans-for-war-with-iran/

    Very long winded article but Tarpley’s youtube videos are worth checking out.

    There are much larger forces and different agendas behind the revolutionary fantasy that most American arm chair revolutionists can’t process.

    But that’s not what I’m saying.

    All I’m saying is that I’m calling 100% BS on a post that reads “Beats for the Revolution-Everybody’s Free” when it looks like even more freedoms might be lost after this foreign funded destabilization program. Like, hey, let’s get some public executions for people that leave Islam.

    http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/30193-future-of-egyptian-christians-unclear-after-mubarak-resignation-

    The Pew Research Study conducted a survey that indicated 84 percent of Egyptian citizens said they would favor public execution of those who leave Islam for another religion…called ‘apostasy’…which is in place in some Muslim countries. Seventy-six percent of Egyptians favor stoning for those caught in adultery.

    • Hawk nice try… First anyone with an ounce of sense knows that in that the US will try and flip any sort of uprising.. They did it here at home with popular movements from the Civil Rights to anti-war to the more militant ones.. They been doing this overseas for decades.. thats nothing new.. This does not negate the unrest that was already existing.. Mubarak put a 30 year emergency rule in place bc people did not like his iron fisted rule..

      So now u have a uprising and the US along with Russia, Israel and anyone else with an interest hedged their bets to see how they could move things into a favorable scenario.
      This has been discussed before the uprising, during the uprising and after the uprising..

      None of that negates how people are feeling.. and what they plan to do and what they’re willing to give their lives for.. hence the theme Everybody’s Free.. Its a desire for folks whether they’re under the thumb of Mubarak, Obama or Suge Knight..

      Your agenda since we’re talking about that is to not have people be free at all.. First u gave a song and dance about women being oppressed, now your giving me a song and dance about Islam being the real danger…

      Save the pew research study for someone else.. I buy that as much as I do Fox News..

  10. what is this?????