mrDaveyd | Hip-Hop and Politics

Drama at the UN; Caribbean Nations sue for Reparation, US Walks Out on Mugabe

September 30, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves

Today everyone is talking about the Breaking Bad finale, which is cool if you’re into the show. What we should pay attention to is how the national media and other outlets are doing full coverage of this ending complete with reporters and interviews and comparative analysis of this ending vs other show endings in the past..

Following on the heels of that story is the media doing full stories about Amanda Knox, the young woman accused of killing her room-mate in Italy..The Italian govt is going to retry her..Many are not sure as to exactly how her plight impacts the average person who is wondering if they will have access to payments and services if the government shuts down..

What’s not being covered today is the fact that 14 Caribbean nations are suing European nations for reparations due to slavery… In my opinion the goal is to avoid any and all convos about that topic…

Here is what Al Jazerra America is reporting :

In a speech Friday at United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves said the European nations must pay for their deeds.

“The awful legacy of these crimes against humanity – a legacy which exists today in our Caribbean – ought to be repaired for the developmental benefit of our Caribbean societies and all our peoples,” Gonsalves said. “The European nations must partner in a focused, especial way with us to execute this repairing.”

The lawsuits – which are likely to amount to a lengthy battle – are being brought by The Caribbean Community, or Caricom, a regional organization that focuses mostly on issues such as economic integration. They will be brought to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, based in The Hague in the Netherlands. It is not immediately clear when court proceedings will begin. Read the entire story at the link below

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/9/27/14-caribbean-nationssueeuropeancountriesforreparationsoverslaver.html

You can also hear the entire speech given by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves where he lays out the United nations Millenium Goals and how ‘developing nations are crippled. he gets into the reparations part about 9 minutes into the speech..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU0Rp8ydGWU

Prime Minister Robert Mugabe

The other issue not being covered in the mainstream media is Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe smashing on the US and UK for imposing sanctions on his country.. He talks about the land reform movement. He talks about how economic sanctions are a hypocritical move by those imposing it.. As he boldly stated ‘Shame Shame Shame’ on the US and Britain, the US delegation walked out of the speech… Apparently the US is good at giving lectures and telling folks how to behave while ignoring pointed accusations at her.. In fact many are pointing out that the US is in violation of her own Human Rights laws.. http://mg.co.za/article/2013-09-27-us-walks-out-of-un-address-after-mugabe-speech

Below is an excerpt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbR6j_OI2NE

Here is the full speech:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7odlcABg10w

Here’s a film and debate about Mugabe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywev9OSOwFg

Breaking Bad and Amanda Knox vs Reparations and Human Rights, the choice is yours

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Caricom, Ralph Gonsalves, reparations, Robert Mugabe, UN General Assembly 68, United nation

Kanye West Opens Up in BBC Interview -Talks About Creative Limitations

September 25, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Kanye West is always colorful and leaves no stone unturned when he does an interview.. I recall the first time I interviewed him, he was just starting to get known and he was talking about how folks confuse his confidence with being cocky and that he intended to do great things… There’s no doubt, Kanye has been doing his thing..

In recent days folks are talking about Kanye’s interview with the BBC‘s Zane Lowe. He covers a range of topics including whats driving his art and what he’s challenged with.. He breaks down the concepts behind the Yeezus album..He also talks about the glass ceilings he’s hit not just in music but in other areas of his life.. He says he shouldn’t be limited in his creativity and that he’s trying to knock down doors and have impact..He talks about the things he’s created and designed what he hasn’t been credited with.. He also talks about classism, racism and self hate. He opens up about who his mother and father are…Very insightful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2T0fMkZoMo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx3X4r-eCYQ

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: BBC, kanye West, Yeezus

Will the New Face of Terrorism Now be Somalis?

September 23, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Between the horrific drama playing out in Kenya with the mall shooting, this new Tom Hanks movie Captain Phillips which is showing commercials every 5 minutes and is about US/European ships being victims of pirates and the US media highlighting the exploits of Al-Shabaab, the new terrorist boogie man is gonna be Somalia in a big way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WT8NYn9Wf8

The fact that there are reports surfacing saying that Somalian-Americans are rolling with or have sympathies with Al Shabaab, means this war on terror will increase and domestic spying will be justified especially if it’s a Black face being spied upon..We have already seen increased surveillance activities in large Somali communities in places like Minneapolis.

Congressman Peter King

It was just the other day we heard Congressman Peter King chairman of the House of Representatives committee on counterterrorism and intelligence has already come out and urged the FBI to watching Somali-American communities. He asserts that Al Shabaab has been recruiting amongst Somalian Americans and thus all Americans should be wary of them.. Of course King is not too vocal about us needing to be wary of white Americans who may be recruited by Neo-Nazis, KKK members or other white supremacist organizations which routinely are involved in acts domestic terrorism.

Words like lawlessness and ungovernable are routinely used to describe Somalia and her people. What’s often missing in the analysis are the stories about extreme drought and poverty which were exacerbated by polluted waters caused by world commercial vessels passing through the Horn of Africa, which has depleted fish supplies which has long been a main sources of food and commerce.

Pay attention as all this unfolds… It’s in the mist of chaos that serious, oppressive moves are made..

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/09/21/nr-intv-savidge-francona-al-shabaab-mall-shooting.cnn.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D87knFnlSAE

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Al Shabaab, peter King, Somalia, Terrorism

Does Macklemore represent an Eminem/Elvis situation for Seattle hip-hop?

September 23, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Sir Mix a Lot

When Sir Mix-A-Lot reached number one on the Billboard chart and won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Solo Rap Performance with his song “Baby Got Back,” Seattle hip-hop was placed on the national and international stage in a way that few places outside of New York and California had been to that point. With this accomplishment came questions, and some assumptions, about who would be the next figure in Seattle hip-hop to receive this kind of mainstream recognition. Given the immense power of the Seattle music scene as a whole at that moment, few would have guessed that it would be nearly 20 years before someone from the 206 would approach Mix-A-Lot’s prop levels.

Fast forward to 2012, the release of the album The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and the song “Thrift Shop.” In terms of popularity, “Thrift Shop” had the necessary universal thematic and sonic ingredients to compare favorably with “Baby Got Back’s” ability to make an impression on the mainstream. In terms of theme, “Thrift Shop” touched upon the increasingly popular concept of pushing back against designer clothing labels and supporting second hand stores like Goodwill and Value Village. Sound-wise a catchy, looping saxophone melody made the sound of “Thrift Shop” easy to bob your head to and remember.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reTx5sqvVJ4

Almost exactly in between these two book-end Seattle songs, Eminem emerged from Detroit, Michigan. His wave of success in the early 2000s revived a discussion about the white MC that had been essentially tabled since Vanilla Ice’s brief run in the early 1990s. However, the key difference between Eminem and Vanilla Ice was that Eminem was recognized as a highly skilled rhymer.

Eminem

This was certainly not the case with Vanilla Ice, even by 1990s standards. With millions of records sold, a handful of Grammy Awards and even an Oscar for the song “Lose Yourself” off the soundtrack from his film 8 Mile, talk began to swirl around Eminem’s place in hip-hop history. With this discussion came the inevitable comparisons to Elvis Presley.

After following in the footsteps of and borrowing liberally from pioneers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Elvis used movies and music to eventually become acknowledged by the mainstream as ‘the king’ of rock and roll. These comparisons were not lost on Eminem, who in his song “Without Me” noted:

I am the worst thing since Elvis Presley, to do Black Music so selfishly
and use it to get myself wealthy (Hey)
there’s a concept that works 20 million other white rappers emerge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVkUvmDQ3HY

From its beginnings in New York City hip-hop culture has always been much more multiracial than mainstream media gave it credit for. However, as a descendent of the legacy of privilege, power and oppression that led to the creation of hip-hop in the first place, the white male MC has always occupied a complex space in the culture. This is in large part due what Charles Aaron, in his article “What the White Boy Means When He Says Yo,” describes as black people’s suspicion of “whites who identify too closely with African-American culture, primarily because those same whites often want to boost the culture wholesale.”

Traditionally this suspicion has taken two forms; the previously mentioned “Elvis Syndrome” and what Aaron refers to as the “White Negro Problem,” a Norman Mailer idea from the 1960s, or culture appropriating ‘wiggers’ as they have been renamed in hip-hop terms.

Macklemore

Although it is true that in the time between Mix-A-Lot and Macklemore the Seattle hip-hop scene has produced a variety of impact players who reflect the diversity of the greater metro area, its the lily white image and population percentage of Seattle that brings an added element to this dynamic.

In some ways, questions around the likes of Eminem and Macklemore begin to center around the status of the subculture of white hip-hop. For example, in a larger historical context think of the cultural beginnings of the United States. On certain levels early American culture was essentially a subculture of British culture until at some point, U.S. culture matured and stood on its own. Similarly, hip-hop culture began as a subculture of African-American culture until, probably sometime in the late 1980s, it became a culture unto itself. Have we reached a point where white hip-hop culture has begun to stand on its own? If the answer is yes then what, if anything, does that mean?

In the 20 years since “Baby Got Back” was released, the song has been elevated to the rarified air of iconic pop cultural status. The white girl saying, “Oh my God Becky, look at her butt!” at the beginning is one of the most repeated lines in recent music history. The continued appeal and relevance of the song over the years is clear as it continues to make appearances in various form of popular media such as commercials for Burger King, Charmin Bathroom Tissue and Target as well as in movies like the Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez bomb Gigli, Scary Movie 4, and probably most famously danced to by Cameron Diaz in Charlie’s Angels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCAvWd_53Xw

With the video for “Thrift Shop” at well over 400 million views on YouTube and the song and video nominated for all types of awards, this song appears well on its way down the path of “Baby Got Back.” But with this, how will the various media elements document the history of hip-hop in Seattle in the post “Thrift Shop” era?

The ‘newest, latest is the greatest thing ever’ crowd who frequently populate social media could certainly have the potential to reduce over 30 years of history to essentially ‘the Macklemore show.’ However, Macklemore himself does not come across as the type who would approve of this approach having thoroughly acknowledged the richness of this history in 2009’s “The Town.” In addition, the fact that the beginning scenes for the “Thrift Shop” video take place in front of the Northwest African American Museum is significant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

With songs like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love,” Macklemore has risen to massive prop levels by going directly against two of the most well established norms in mainstream rap, namely bling and homophobia. While it took longer than some may have thought for the city’s next hip-hop superstar to arrive, Macklemore is a great representation to the world of what Seattle hip-hop was and is, though not the only one by far.

written by Dr Daudi Abe

Dr. Abe teaches at Hip-Hop Theory & Culture at Seattle Central Community College and is author of the book ‘6 N the Morning which chronicles West Coast Hip Hop History‘ Email: daudi.abe@seattlecolleges.edu

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Eminem, Macklemore, Seattle Hip Hop, Sir Mix a lot, white rappers

More Than a Movie: ‘The Beat’ Isn’t Art… So What’s The Word?

September 23, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Scene from The Beat

Ten years after it’s theatrical release in 2003, a directorial debut from one of the youngest filmmakers to have a feature film accepted to the Sundance Film Festival retains its buzz as a classic among online and niche markets, gathering a following through social media & television almost as if the film itself was a brand new release. A common question that typically follows is:

How come I never saw this movie before?

It’s a good question. When “The Beat” featured in Park City, Utah in 2003, the year after many prospects at the previous Sundance Festival flopped, distributors were understandably hesitant to invest in new films, especially from unestablished filmmakers. So when Symbolic Entertainment was offered a deal with Ardustry in 2005 for the video and television release of “The Beat” it was a welcome negotiation considering that nearly everyone involved in the film– from the producers, the writer/director, and even the star– were first-time filmmakers (many of them still undergraduates at the USC School of Cinema-Television at the time).

The accomplishment of getting an independent film picked up for television was a major achievement, so much that several of the collaborators went onto pursue successful careers in Hollywood, such as Scott Speer, assistant director on “The Beat” who directed last year’s blockbuster, “Step Up Revolution“, and writer/director Brandon Sonnier who currently writes for the NBC drama “Blacklist”.

Any professional in Hollywood can tell you that “making it” in this industry is no guarantee, let alone a walk-in-the-park. Success has less to do with your academic degree and more to do with your networking and savvy negotiation… or simply being at the right place and the right time, such as the case with the film’s lead, Rahman Jamaal, a colleague of Sonnier’s that earned respect for his ability to rhyme and was eventually asked to contribute to the vision of the film during their freshman year of college.

The result of this collaboration added 6 original songs to help carry the underlying theme throughout the film. The rap lyrics provide social commentary acknowledging the difficulties and pitfalls independent artists face when attempting to succeed in the music industry:

“…when the only opportunity for you to speak
Is through a beat commodity starts with the high marketing
All cuz we like pocketing profit that’s sky-rocketing
When artistry starts to be properly signed property…”

One particular piece entitled “This Isn’t Art” defends rap music as a legitimate art form by merging conscious poetry to a classical piano piece called “Prelude In G Minor” by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The lyrics assert that the cultural form of social expression known as “Hip Hop” deserves to be recognized and given the same respect as all musical genres in high regard:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw8FDr5VUCU

While some assert that Hip Hop is dead, “The Beat” is a modern-day artifact showing us the opposite by encouraging artists to follow their dreams. This is certainly easier to pursue today when you consider that more independent artists are able to find popularity through online media. The real question is whether “bucking the industry” with an uncompromising message of social awareness poses a risk for major corporations who usually draw the line somewhere in the artist’s lyrics to maximize profits in a capitalist economy.

Today, “The Beat” persists as the story of underground success in a mainstream society that could easily boost its conscious sentiment to the spotlight if enough people watched it. The fact that a movie over 10 years old is still a breath of fresh air to the fans who have grown weary of the same old rap clichés saturating the market is a testament to how “The Beat” was ahead of its time. This may explain why it can steadily & consistently build an international buzz and still manage to remain relatively underground to this day.

The power of Hip Hop has always evolved the social landscape from within, and this movie has only become more relevant with time. It deals with controversial issues of race, class & justice in America that have continued to come into the public light as we’ve witnessed drastic social changes over the last ten years (Occupy Wall Street, Arabic Spring, Oscar Grant, Trayvon Martin, etc.). “The Beat” is a fictional story of a young black man following his dream despite the odds of his environment, an American myth so common to the consuming public and younger generation that it speaks to the human ability to make sense on a world struggling with notions of authority and justice.

Something has been brewing in the fabric of society that a group of young filmmakers touched upon early on in their careers. Time will tell if this artistic vision finds its place in a larger mainstream reality of rapidly changing norms & innovative technology, as the message of the film quite literally represents “the dream” of succeeding without needing to compromise for popular appeal.

One anecdote used by the main character Flip in “The Beat” is the slang phrase “word” to identify a statement of truth. Throughout the film, Flip holds fast to the idea that he is going to “bring it back” as if “the word” has been lost to the ages. Whether or not you agree, something keeps bringing “The Beat” back. Perhaps it is the word. As the industry chooses to invest in the marketing appeal of young artists, the street keeps supporting the message in “The Beat”, and that may be all that is needed for an artist to “Flip” the script, so to speak…

“The Beat” will air next Wednesday, 9/25 at 12:25pm on STARZ In Black.

written by Rahmaan Jamal

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Hip Hop, Rahmaan Jamal, The Beat

NYPD Attack CUNY Students Who Are Protesting General Petraeus

September 21, 2013 By mrDaveyd

NEW YORK, 17 September — Six students were arrested this evening in a brutal, unprovoked police attack on a peaceful protest by City University of New York students and faculty against CUNY’s appointment of former CIA chief ex-General David Petraeus. Students were punched, slammed against vehicles and against the pavement by police captains and officers, after the NYPD forced them off the pavement and into the street. The demonstration was called by the Ad Hoc Committee Against the Militarization of CUNY.

The arrested students are presently being held and are to be arraigned this Wednesday, September 18, at some point between 9:00 a.m. and the afternoon at the Arraignment Court in the Manhattan Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street. All defenders of students’ basic right to protest are urged to come to the arraignment and show their support.

“As students were chanting ‘War Criminal Petraeus Out of CUNY Now,’ I was shocked to see several police officers grab and brutalize one of the demonstrators,” said City College student Yexenia Vanegas. “This was completely unprovoked, as demonstrators made clear that they were there to defend our university in a peaceful protest.” The attack occurred in front of CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College, where Petraeus has been appointed to teach a class on public policy.

“Protesters were marching in a circle on the sidewalk and chanting, but the police forced them into the street and then charged. One of the most brutal things I saw was that five police officers slammed a Queens College student face down to the pavement across the street from Macaulay, put their knees on his back, and he was then repeatedly kneed in the back,” said Hunter student Michael Brian. The student was one of those pointed out by “white shirt” officers, then seized and brutalized. A Latina woman student was heaved through the air and slammed to the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cisT-Fl1Sw

A broad range of CUNY students, faculty and staff members have been carrying out a campaign of “protest and exposure” against the Board of Trustees’ appointment of Petraeus, whose documented actions as Iraq/Afghanistan war commander and CIA chief include drone attacks upon civilians, and the creation of torture centers and death squads. When Petraeus was setting up special police commandos, the “dirty tactics” that were used included the use of white phosphorus, a chemical weapon, against the population in Fallujah. “Petraeus’ man” Col. James Steele, who organized death squads in Central America, had been brought to the area to organize death squads there.

With the NYPD being sent to brutalize and arrest CUNY students on behalf of a certified war criminal, organizers state that this blatant use of police brutality against peaceful protesters will not intimidate or deter those who expose the truth about the actions of David “Death Squad” Petraeus and oppose attempts to turn the City University into “a war college.”

For more info contact Ad Hoc Committee Against the Militarization of CUNY adhoccunycommittee@gmail.com

written by Denise C. Ford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPtn5–IVDo

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: CUNY, General Petraeus, NYPD

Breakdown FM: ’91 2Pac Intv About Juice, the Police, Oakland & the State of Hip Hop

September 19, 2013 By mrDaveyd

2Pac scene from Juice

One of the most interesting and intense interviews, I’ve ever conducted was with Tupac Shakur back in 1991. He had just hit it big with the movie Juice and everyone wondering was he just acting or putting forth his real life persona in the movie.. Although I had known him for a couple of years it was hard for me to tell.. because during our interview he had a loaded gun sitting besides him as we spoke…If I recall it was a ’38….

In our interview 2Pac explains his then recent encounter with the Oakland Police Department which resulted in him getting beat up pretty bad.

I had run excerpts from this interview in a newsletter I used to publish back in the early 90s. I had completely forgotten about this interview and had misplaced the tape. A couple of months ago while working on liner notes for Digital Underground‘s Greatest Hits which recently came out on Rhino records, I came across a tape that had an old interview I did with Shock G. I flipped to the b-side and to my surprise I discovered the missing 2Pac interview from 1991.

Tupac Shakur considers himself the ‘Rebel of the Underground’ [Digital Underground] and for good reason. He stirs things up and does the unexpected. Such a person is bound to generate excitement because they have impact on both the people and situations around them. 2Pac in 92 promises to have major impact in the world of hip hop. He’s kicking things off with a sensational acting debut in the movie ‘Juice‘ where he stars as the character Roland Bishop.

His debut lp ‘2Pacalypse Now‘ is beginning to cause a bit of a stir on retail shelves around the country. And if that’s not enough Tupac is branching out and signing new acts to his production company including his older brother Moecedes who raps in the Toni Tony Tone song ‘Feels Good. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing this out spoken and very animated individual at his apartment where he told his tale.
Davey D
c 1991

Davey D: Give a little bit of background on yourself. What got you into hip hop?

2Pac: I’m from the Bronx, NY. I moved to Baltimore where I spent some high school years and then I came to Oaktown. As for hip hop…all my travels through these cities seemed to be the common denominator.

Davey D: 2Pac… Is that your given name or is that your rap name?

2Pac: That’s my birth name and my rap name.

Davey D: You lived In Marin City for a little while. How was your connection with hip hop able to be maintained while living there? Was there a thriving hip hop scene in Marin City?

2Pac: Not really..You were just given truth to the music. Being in Marin City was like a small town so it taught me to be more straight forward with my style. Instead of of being so metaphorical with the rhyme where i might say something like…
I’m the hysterical, lyrical miracle
I’m the hypothetical, incredible….
I was encouraged to go straight at it and hit it dead on and not waste time trying to cover things…

Davey D:Why was that?

2Pac In Marin City it seemed like things were real country. Everything was straight forward. Poverty was straight forward. There was no way to say I’m poor, but to say ‘I’m po’…we had no money and that’s what influenced my style.

Davey D: How did you hook up with Digital Underground?

2Pac: I caught the ‘D-Flow Shuttle’ while I was in Marin City. It was the way out of here. Shock G was the conductor.

Davey D: What’s the D-Flow Shuttle?

2Pac:The D-Flow Shuttle is from the album ‘Sons of the P’ It was the way to escape out of the ghetto. It was the way to success. I haven’t gotten off since…

Davey D: Now let’s put all that in laymen’s terms

2Pac w/ Digital Underground

2Pac: Basically I bumped into this kid named Greg Jacobs aka Shock G and he hooked me up with Digital Underground and from there I hooked up with Money B... and from there Money B hooked me up with his step mamma… and from there me and his step mamma started making beats…[laughter]

Me and his step mamma got a little thing jumping off. We had a cool sound, but Shock asked me if I wanted a group. I said ‘Yeah but I don’t wanna group with Money B’s step momma ’cause she’s gonna try and take all the profits… She wants to go out there and be like the group ‘Hoes with Attitude’, but I was like ‘Naw I wanna be more serious and represent the young black male’.

So Shock says we gotta get rid of Money B’s step mamma. So we went to San Quentin [prison] and ditched her in the ‘Scared Straight’ program…[laughter. After that Shock put me in the studio and it was on..This is a true story so don’t say anything.. It’s a true story. And to Mon’s step mamma I just wanna say ‘I’m sorry, but a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. I’m sorry but it was Shock’s idea-Bertha.. but don’t worry she can get her half of the profits from the first cut after she finishes doing her jail time. [laughter]

Davey D: What’s the concept behind your album 2Pacalypse Now’?

2Pac: The concept is the young Black male. Everybody’s been talkin’ about it but now it’s not important. It’s like we just skipped over it.. It’s no longer a fad to be down for the young Black male. Everybody wants to go past. Like the gangster stuff, it just got exploited. This was just like back in the days with the movies. Everybody did their little gun shots and their hand grenades and blew up stuff and moved on. Now everybody’s doing rap songs with the singing in it.. I’m still down for the young Black male. I’m gonna stay until things get better. So it’s all about addressing the problems that we face in everyday society.

Davey D: What are those problems?

2Pac: Police brutality, poverty, unemployment, insufficient education, disunity and violence, black on black crime, teenage pregnancy, crack addiction. Do you want me to go on?

Davey D: How do you address these problems? Are you pointing them out or are you offering solutions?

2Pac: I do both. In some situations I show us having the power and in some situations I show how it’s more apt to happen with the police or power structure having the ultimate power. I show both ways. I show how it really happens and I show how I wish it would happen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugEUpjIT2k

Davey D: You refer to yourself as the ‘Rebel of the Underground’ Why so?

2Pac: Cause, as if Digital Underground wasn’t diverse enough with enough crazy things in it, I’m even that crazier. I’m the rebel totally going against the grain…I’m the lunatic that everyone refers to. I always want to do the extreme. I want to get as many people looking as possible. For example I would’ve never done the song ‘Kiss U Back’ that way.I would’ve never done a song like that-That’s why I’m the rebel.

Davey D: Can talk about your recent encounter with police brutality at the hands of the Oakland PD?

2Pac:We’re letting the law do its job. It’s making its way through the court system.. We filed a claim…

Davey D:Recount the incident for those who don’t know..

2Pac: For everyone who doesn’t know, I, an innocent young black male was walking down the streets of Oakland minding my own business and the police department saw fit for me to be trained or snapped back into my place. So they asked for my I-D and sweated me about my name because my name is ‘Tupac’. My final words to them was ‘f— y’all’ . Next thing I know I was in a choke hold passing out with cuffs on headed for jail for resisting arrest. Yes.. you heard right-I was arrested for resisting arrest.

Davey D:Where is all this now?

2Pac: We’re in the midst of having a ten million dollar law suit against the Oakland Police Department. If I win and get the money, then the Oakland Police department is going to buy a boys home, me a house, my family a house and a ‘Stop Police Brutality Center’ and other little odd things like that..

Davey D:In the video for the song ‘Trapped’ do you think that would’ve had the police want to treat you aggressively? After all, the video is very telling especially in the un-edited version where you have a cop get shot.

2Pac: Well the ironic thing is the cops I came across in that incident didn’t know about that video. The second thing is that everything I said in that video happened to me. The video happened before the incident. In the video I show how the cops sweat me and ask for my ID and how I can’t go anywhere…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCEmTaWSPTk

Davey D:Let’s talk about the movie ‘Juice’. How did you get involved? Where’s it at? and what’s it about?

2Pac: MMM what led me? Well, we have the Freaky Deaky Money B and Sleuth [road manager for DU]. Money B had an audition for the movie Sleuth suggested I also come along so I went. Money B read the script and said to me’ this sounds like you- a rebel. he was talking about this character named Bishop. I went in cold turkey, read, God was with me…

Davey D:Have you ever had acting experience before?

2Pac: Actually I went to the school of Performing arts in Baltimore and that’s where I got my acting skills.

Davey D:Ok so you weren’t a novice when you went up there… So what’s the movie about?

2Pac:The movie is about 4 kids and their coming of age.

Davey D:Is it a Hip Hop movie?

2Pac Scene from Juice

2Pac:No, it’s not a hip hop movie. It’s a real good movie that happens to have hip hop in it. If it was made in the 60s it would’ve depicted whatever was ‘down’ in the 60s…My character is Roland Bishop, a psychotic, insecure very violent, very short-tempered individual.

Davey D:What’s the message you hope is gotten out of the movie?

2Pac: You never know what’s going on in somebody’s mind. There are a lot of things that add up. There’s a lot of pressure on someone growing up. You have to watch it if it goes unchecked. This movie was an example of what can happen…

Davey D:Can you explain what you mean by this?

2Pac: In the movie my character’s, father was a prison whore and that was something that drove him through the whole movie…

Davey D: This was something that wasn’t shown in the movie?

2Pac: Yes, they deleted this from the film. Anyway this just wrecked his [Bishop’s] mind. You can see through everybody else’s personality, Bishop just wanted to get respect. He wanted the respect that his father didn’t get. Evertyhing he did, he did just to get a rep. So from those problems never being dealt with led to him ending four people’s lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj2hBPsoNpg

Davey D:Do you intend on continuing making movies?

2Pac: It depends on whether or not there are any good parts. I want to challenge myself.

Davey D:What is your philosophy on hip hop? I’ve heard you say you don’t to see it diluted?

2Pac: Well when I said that, it made me think. It brought me to myself. Now I have a different philosophy. Hip Hop when it started it was supposed to be this new thing that had no boundaries and was so different to everyday music. Now it seems like I was starting to get caught up in the mode of what made hip hop come about. I would walk around and hear something and start saying ‘That’s not Hip Hop’. If someone started singing, I would walk around and say ‘That’s not Hip Hop’. Well, now I’ve changed my mind. That could be Hip Hop.As long as the music has the true to the heart soul it can be hip hop. As long it has soul to it, hip hop can live on.

Davey D:I guess my question would be, how do you determine what’s soul and what isn’t?

2Pac: Well you can tell. The difference between a hit like ‘Make You Dance’ [C&C Music Factory] and ‘My Mind Is Playing Tricks On Me’ [Geto Boys]. You have to ask yourself, ‘Which song moves you’.

Davey D: Well actually both. Both songs move me

2Pac: Really? well… ok there you go

Davey D:So they both would be Hip Hop, right?

2Pac:I guess so, at least in your opinion. ‘The Make You Dance’ song didn’t move me. But the Geto Boys song did move me

Davey D:Well for the record Bambaataa says both of them are Hip Hop. I asked him what he thought about groups like C&C Music Factory. He said they were part of the Hip Hop family…But that’s his philosophy on things. So what’s your plans for the next year or so?

2Pac: To strengthen the Underground Railroad. I have a crew called the Underground Railroad and a program called the Underground Railroad…I wanna build all this up, so that by next year you will know the name Underground Railroad…

Davey D:So what’s the concept behind The Underground Railroad?

2Pac:The concept behind this is the same concept behind Harriet Tubman, to get my brothers who might be into drug dealing or whatever it is that’s illegal or who are disenfranchised by today’s society-I want to get them back into by turning them onto music. It could be R&B, hip hop or pop, as long as I can get them involved. While I’m doing that, I’m teaching them to find a love for themselves so they can love others and do the same thing we did for them to others.

Davey D: How many people in the Underground Railroad? Is it a group that intends to keep constantly evolving? Also where are the people who are a part of Underground Railroad coming from?

2Pac: Right now we’re twenty strong. The group is going to be one that constantly evolves. The people that are in the UR are coming from all over, Baltimore, Marin City, Oakland, New York, Richmond-all over.

Davey D: What do you think of the Bay Area rap scene compared to other parts of the country?

2Pac: Right now the Bay Area is how the Bronx was in 1981. Everybody is hot. They caught the bug. Everybody is trying to be creative and make their own claim. New York just got to a point where you could no longer out due the next guy. So now you have this place where there isn’t that many people to out due. Here you can do something and if it’s good enough people will remember you. So that’s what’s happening. here in the Bay Area, it’s like a renaissance.

Davey D: In New York the renaissance era got stopped for a number of reasons in my opinion. What do you think will prevent that from happening in the Bay Area?

2Pac: Well at the risk of sounding biased, I say Digital Underground. They are like any other group. I’ll give that to Shock G. He made it so that everything Digital Underground does it helps the Bay Area music scene. It grows and goes to New York and hits people from all over the country. That helps the Bay Area. Our scene is starting to rub off on people. We want everyone to know about Oakland. When other groups come down, like Organized Konfusion or Live Squad and they kick it with Digital Underground, they get to see another side of the Bay Area music scene. It’s a different side then if they kicked it with that guy… I don’t wanna say his name, but you know who he is he dropped the ‘MC’ from his name [MC Hammer].

Davey D: So you think Digital Underground will be more strength to the Bay Area rap scene because they help bring national attention. What do you think other groups will have to do?

2Pac: What we have to do is not concentrate so much on one group. We have to focus more on the area. It’s not about just building up Too Short, Digital Underground and Tony Toni Tone and say; ‘That’s it. They’re the only groups that can come from the Bay Area’. We have to let the new groups come out. Nobody wants to give the new acts a chance. Everybody wants to only talk about Too Short and Digital Underground…We have to start talking about these other groups that are trying to come in that are coming up from the bottom.

Davey D: When you say ‘come up’ what do you mean by that?

2Pac: It’s like this. Instead of letting them do interviews where nobody ever reads them, let a good newspaper interview them. Instead of putting them on the radio when nobody is ever going to hear them or where nobody is going to hear them, have them where people can hear them and get at them where they had a better chance, just like if they were Mariah Carey.

Davey D: Do you find the Bay Area sound is being respected? Do you find that people are starting to accept it around the country?

2Pac: I feel that the Bay Area sound hasn’t even finished coming out. It’s starting to get respected more and more everyday.

Davey D: Your brother Moecedes is a rapper for the group Tony Toni Tone. What’s the story with him? Are you guys gonna team up?

2Pac: He’s in the Underground Railroad. He’s also about to come out with another guy named Dana.

Davey D: Who produced your album and are you into producing

2Pac: I co-produced it with the members of the Underground Railroad which is Shock G, Money B, Raw Fusion, Pee Wee, Jay-Z from Richmond, Stretch from the Live Squad. It’s really like a life thing-this Underground Railroad. It affects everything we do.

Davey D:Is there anything else we should know about Tupac?

2Pac: Yeah, the group Nothing Gold is coming. My kids are coming out with a serious message…NG is a group coming out that I produce.. All the stuff I say in my rhymes I say because of how I grew up. So to handle that, instead of going to a psychiatrist, I got a kids group that deals with the problems a younger generation is going through. They put them into rhymes so it’s like a psychology session set to music. It’ll make you come to grips with what you actually do..

Davey D: What do you mean by that? Are they preaching?

2Pac: No they’re just telling you straight up like Ice Cube or Scarface. They’re being blunt and it comes out of akid’s mouth. If you’re a black man, you’re going to really trip out cause they really call you out and have you deal with them…NG will make us have responsibility again. Kids are telling you to have responsibility…

Davey D: What do you think of the current trends in Hip Hop like the gangsta rap, Afrocentric Rap, raggamuffin and the fusion of the singing and rap? Some people call it ‘pop rap’.

2Pac: I think all the real shit is gonna stay. It’s gonna go through some changes. It’s going through a metamorphis so it will blow up sometimes and get real nasty and gritty, then the leeches will fall off and Hip Hop will be fit and healthy. Hip Hop has to go through all of that, but no one can make judgments until it’s over.

Davey D: What do you think the biggest enemies to Hip Hop are right now?

2Pac: Egotistical rappers. They don’t wanna open up their brain. Its foul when people are walking around saying things like; ‘Oakland is the only place where the real rappers come out. New York is the only place where the real rappers come out. They booty out there or they booty over there…’ All of that just needs to die or Hip Hop is gonna have problems. Its gonna be so immature. That’s just conflict in words. We can’t be immature we gotta grow.

Davey D: Cool I think we got enough out of you 2Pac.

2Pac: yes I think you got enough

Davey D: Peace.

2pac ’91 pt1-BDFM-Young Blackmale-

2Pac ’91 pt2-BDFM-Rebel-PoliceBrutality

2Pac ’91pt3-BDFM-Juice & theState o fHipHop

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News, Breakdown FM Interviews Tagged With: '91 interview, 2Pac, Breakdown FM, Juice, Tupac, Underground Railroad

Breakdown FM: A Conversation w/ Chuck D of PE & Brother J of X-Clan

September 19, 2013 By mrDaveyd

This is a classic interview straight from the Breakdown FM vaults..It was done in December 2006, when Chuck D of Public Enemy rolled to our studious with Brother J of X-Clan to talk about the landmark tour these two seminal groups were doing… Below is the story we wrote…

Brother J

No Disrespect to Nas, but somebody tell that man that Hip Hop is alive and well”. That was the sound advice given by Brother J of X-Clan from the stage of the packed out Mezzanine Nightclub in San Francisco the other night. The crowd roared with approval as Brother J sans his mentor the late Professor X and his best friend the late Sugar Shaft carried on the legacy of one of Hip Hop’s all-time greatest groups.

The audience was assaulted with song after song and hit after hit –from ‘Grand Verbalizer’ to ‘Ways of the Scales’ to his new hit ‘Weapons X’. It was a moment to behold as the audience was brought to fevered pitch by 10:30 that night and Public Enemy had not even touched the stage. Brother J and X-Clan were on fire.

As you looked around the crowd you saw an accurate reflection of the Hip Hop community. You saw folks ranging from their early 20s to well onto their 40s. Believe it or not I saw a few folks in attendance with their adult kids. I saw a lot of women. I saw b-boy and b-girls, thugs, squares, cultural activists, academics, Nation of Islam members, revolutionary types, former Panthers, Hippies types, whites, Latinos, Asians, professional types and lots of women.

Flava Flav

Some came for the political message the groups offered. Others came because they yearned to see and reconnect to the hey day Hip Hop’s famed Golden Era of the late 80s and early 90s. Others came because they like the new material put out by both acts over the past couple of years. A whole lot of folks came to see the TV phenom we call Flava Flav.

When he stepped on the stage that night in the middle of ‘Welcome to the Terrordome’ the crowd erupted and an already amped up crowd took it up a notch. In spite of the controversy Flav has caused with the VH1 TV show, and fellow band members like Professor Griff speaking out, what was clear was that once on stage, every member absolutely needed to be there. There was no denying the chemistry and more importantly the friendship and love they all have for one another and for their people. This was especially telling when Griff and Flav were on stage as the two clearly showed that despite the differences they have genuine love and support for one another.

Professor Griff

You felt secure seeing Professor Griff and the martial arts trained S1Ws holding it down. Griff also doubled as band leader which included stellar musicians like his step son Kyle and longtime legend Brian Hargroove on bass. We also want to offer our heartfelt condolences to Griff who lost his sister to cancer just two days before. In spite of the loss he brought his love and charisma to the stage and it was felt. You felt at home watching the long-time camaraderie of Chuck D and Flav as they went to and delivered a non stop energized 3 hour show that will go down in the history books. It was Hip Hop at it’s best. And so in many respects while Nas has a point in the fact that corporate media has ruined a lot of the music, it was more than apparent that they could not kill off the culture. There was no denying the infectious vibe that PE and X-Clan brought to the stage.

Earlier that day, I along with my radio listeners in the Bay Area, Atlanta, Portland, Fresno, Sacramento, Seattle, Anchorage and all around the world via satellite and internet got a chance to experience that vibe with a historic meeting of the minds. For the first time in their long histories Chuck D and Brother J did an interview together. We had an in-depth, memorable conversation about everything under the sun ranging from Hip Hop and politics to the art of emceeing to the anniversary of Crip co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams’ execution at San Quentin in part 1.

In part 2 we continued our discussion touching on topics like; Cointel-pro and the character assassination many Golden era political groups suffered. We talked about Hip Hop around the world and how the US is perceived. We talked about how Hip Hop went from being a subversive-secret code based communication that inspired and liberated people to one that came to be an extension of the dope game. We also talked about this insistence by forces outside the Black community to keep labeling Hip Hop as young people’s music. Lastly we talked about the importance of valuing our history.

We talked about the significance of these two legendary groups touring together for the first time and why it never happened during Hip Hop’s Golden era in the late 80s a/early 90s when both acts were arguably in their prime. Chuck D explained that there was never any rivalry or funk between X-Clan and PE despite their slightly different political approaches and philosophy. PE was influenced by the Black Panthers and were rooted within the Nation of Islam, while X-Clan were rooted in Black nationalist philosophies of the Blackwatch Movement headed by the late Sonny Carson.

Chuck D noted that by the time X-Clan hit the scene PE had already started touring outside the US and that the two groups simply weren’t on the same page in terms of being able to hook up a tour. However both him and Brother J spoke to the importance of groups and people within the Black freedom struggle being able to come together and work for a common goal. The sense of history behind a Public Enemy and X-Clan tour was not lost on either man.

Adding to this importance was the fact that although absent from the tour, Brother J and KRS-One who once traded barbs over records around their political outlooks had buried the hatchet and become good friends. In fact some of KRS’s Temple of Hip Hop members are on tour with Brother J included KRS’s road manager Non-Stop who is serving as tour manager for Brother J.

In this particular segment we focused on how X-Clan and KRS-One deaded their once storied rivalry which centered on Black Nationalism vs. Humanism. It was interesting to note that Brother J was touring with several members of KRS’s Temple of Hip Hop. He went into detail as to how that came about and how important it was for folks to know that the pair get along. It was the first time that Brother J had publicly addressed the issue. Also on the new X-Clan album ‘Return to Mecca’, he and KRS did a song together called ‘Speak the Truth’.

We spoke with Chuck D about the art of emceeing. He explained how Brother J made him step his rhyme game up in a major way and that he was blown away by J’s clarity and precision.

Brother J noted that he came out of a Brooklyn based tradition which was personified by artists like Big Daddy Kane and the late ODB. J explained that for years he was a battle emcee who basically refocused his energy into political topics. Lastly in this segment we spoke about Black leadership and the anniversary of Stanley Tookie Williams. Both J and Chuck spoke about how we spend a lot of time and energy focusing on issues of mass distraction like the 50 Cent vs. Oprah and the Michael Richards calling Black people ‘nigger’ at a comedy club. Chuck noted that it goes beyond name calling and into the types of treatment we receive at the hands of people who don’t care about us including the recent police killing of Sean Bell.

Also of note is Brother J’s take on Nas doing a song addressing the police shooting. He challenged him and others to be more consistent with their activism and not leave people confused by doing songs like ‘Ochie Wally’ that seemingly undermine their credibility as being conscious.

Original air Date 12/06/2006

BreakdownFM-ChuckD-Brother J pt1

BreakdownFM-ChuckD-Brother J pt2

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News, Breakdown FM Interviews Tagged With: Breakdown FM, Brother J, Chuck D. Brother J, X-Clan

J Cole Releases Song Dedicated To Slain 7 yr old Aiyanna Stanley-Jones

September 18, 2013 By mrDaveyd

This is a powerful song and video called ‘Crooked Smile‘ from rapper J Cole that he dedicates to Aiyanna Stanley-Jones. She was the 7-year-old girl from Detroit who was killed when police showing off for a reality TV show ran into her home looking for a suspect and threw a flash grenade in her room and then shot her.. It was tragic on all levels…

The cop responsible Joseph Weekley was put on trial for the killing, the jury was deadlocked and the proceedings were deemed a mistrial, which means he will be retried.

In the video J Cole makes the case that the war on drugs needs to be reconsidered being that his depiction centers around the cops raiding the home of a drug dealer. In the Aiyanna Stanley-Jones case the police were looking for a man who lived upstairs in the duplex who was wanted for murder.

A scene from the J Cole video Crooked Smile

The take away from all this is two-fold. First police need to do their jobs without playing things up for a TV crew.. Weekly was a frequent guest on the 48 Hours show and who knows what his mindset was when they raided the house.. Was his focus on doing good police work or cheesing for the cameras, making sure they caught his ‘good side’.

On the other hand, folks who are involved in any sort of dirt can not and should not bring that home where innocent kids are residing. Over the past year we’ve heard of number of horrific tragedies involving young kids being shot and killed. In fact they are too many to count. From the most recent one in the Brooklyn where a 1 year old Antiq Hennis was slain to several in Oakland including the recent slaying of 8 year old Alaysha Carradineto and 1 year old Baby Drew to a high-profile cases in Chicago where 6 month old Jonylah Watkins to 6 year old Tiana Ricks who was slain in Southern Cali which moved a number of rappers including The Game and Snoop Dogg to help pay for her funearl

In some of the instances the kids were caught up because the parents were all up in the wrong mix.. There’s an old saying ‘Don’t shit where you sleep’, meaning keep your home safe.. Don’t allow trouble to come where innocent folks live especially kids.

Another scene from J Cole video

In other instances, kids who were killed were caught up in the crossfire which leads on to ask what is wrong with folks these days that they can’t wait until kids are out of sight to settle their violent disputes. Can folks establish some sort of code of ethics?

The take away for all of us is to protect our children.. If we don’t value our own lives, at least find it within ourselves to value theirs.. This goes for out of control police to dirt doers in the community.. Props to J Cole for sparking the discussion and reminding us..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzzMOMkjm8A&feature=youtu.be

The J Cole video reminds me of the powerful video Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X did a couple of years back..It was called Three Little Girls…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgcVMvl-k7A

Another cut dedicated to Aiyanna was by Bay Area artists Ras Ceylon and Sinista Z called 4 Aiyanna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIDOvFyq5Y

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Aiyanna Stanley-Jones, crooked smile, J cole, Joseph Weekly, Ras Ceylon

Boots Riley of the Coup While in Paris Speaks His Mind on Politics & Music

September 18, 2013 By mrDaveyd

“One of the problems, with political movements or music, is the fact we don’t think we matter”

-Boots Riley-

Boots Riley of the Coup

Boots Riley, from the Coup, is a true MC. He always manages to grab your attention, whether it’s on record, during a show, or discussing with him. Because he’s a rapper who speaks with power and he’s also an organizer who acts with power. As this year marks the 20^th anniversary of his group’s first album “Kill my landlord”, and the 2^nd anniversary of the occupy movement in which he was involved from his hometown, Oakland, La Voix du HipHop sat down with him, in Paris, while he was on tour promoting The coup latest album, “Sorry to bother you”.

How MC Hammer’s success (and also Digital Underground and Too Short ones) helped him get signed, HipHop activist Vs organizer, the lure of black capitalism, the criminalization of black cultures, the shutdown of Oakland Port and its meaning, but also The Coup’s strategy to be heard and evolve (among other topics), Boots Riley provided us with some useful, entertaining and pertinent food for thought. In the true spirit of the MC.

Interview:

La Voix du HipHop: Did you have the thought or the ambition of being a rapper when you would grow up, like kids of today?

Boots Riley: No. When I was 12, I wanted to do something Big. I think I wanted to be like Prince or I wanted to be on TV. And to me, what I knew was important was what was on TV.

Growing up as a child you learn about the terrible things in the world but you learn about them in a way that says there’s no change. You learn about them with no sense of power, no sense of your own agenda in that world, except for maybe you could escape. You have the power to make yourself better and to guard yourself from that…

By the time I turned 14, I joined a revolutionary and political organization. I started learning that the way the world is, it is able to be manipulated by the people, not just by the few who are in power. I understood there were certain steps I needed to take to be effective in this possible future that may happen. I was learning, not only things that were happening but also dialectical materialism, the idea that things happen for a material reason, and also that things always change. And that what you do has an effect how those things change. All these learnings gave me a sense of power and made me feel like I was doing something important. Like, “Ok, you don’t have to be on TV to be important, you don’t have to be on TV to matter…”

What led you into HipHop?

Everybody was rapping at school, it was just something you did like playing basketball or baseball. Lot of times, it was just people beating on the table and then it’s your turn! And at that time I was stealing my raps from a very good rapper named Schoolly D. I was saying his rhymes and people would be like oh shit!! In my town, nobody knew Schoolly D.

Then, since I was involved in organizing rallies, I was trying to get a couple of my friends to come. I was telling them that if they come to the rally, they could get on the mic and rap, there will be hundreds of people, and it will be like a rap show. My friend Johnny was like, ok, I’m only doing this if you’re my hype-man. So I became his hype-man. That’s how I got started… And at that time, we had the dream he would get a record deal. But his idea of what a record was a freestyle. I mean, we thought all records were freestyle and that all the albums we heard was like somebody just got in the booth and started rapping and that it was easy. Then, I started asking around about the techniques to master how to do it actually. From there I was learning and practicing… And my school was doing a play called “Eastside story”, that was a take-off of Westside story which was a take-off of Romeo and Juliet. They wanted to make it a rap musical play and I wrote all the raps for it. I was actually in the play and nobody booed the raps. So I was like wooah, I can do it! And for the record, the girl who was playing the opposite me in that play was Hiep Thi Le who ended up being a star in an Oliver Stone movie’s “Heaven & earth”.

How did you end up signing with Stud Fine’s Wild Pitch records, which at that time was an east-coast oriented rap music label with Main Source, UMCs, Chill Rob G, Lord Finesse, Gangstarr, etc.. For us, as fans, it was a huge powerhouse…

First of all, at that time, in the early 90s, MC Hammer, Digital Underground and Too Short went multiplatinum. And the record industry works like this: You got a blonde girl sing and you go multiplatinum, then every record label has 50 blonde girls in their roster. So because of these three artists, every record label had to have somebody from Oakland or from the Bay area.

Once I decided to do this rap thing seriously, because of political organizing, I knew how to launch a campaign, I knew how to plaster an area with a poster or an idea, or how to go to door to door. So we applied that to the music. We had an EP, and we put posters everywhere in Oakland. The EP was available at this independent record store in Oakland and I guess basically the record label, Wild Pitch, went in that record store and asked who were the top 3 selling local artists. And it was us, The Coup, E-40 and a guy named Dangerous Dame. Dangerous Dame has just come off a major label record deal, he wanted a gang of money… E-40 and the click? they had other income sources. So we were just the cheapest one of the 3.

And there’s another reason we got signed. Stu Fine, the owner of Wild Pitch, is a great A&R person and a terrible business person. So he signed stuff that he didn’t know how to make money on, just because he liked them. The way he got into this business actually is that He had been first in the music industry in the 70s and hen he had to quit to do baseball management or something like that. He was walking down the street and there was a LL Cool J concert, he walked in and decided to stop with the baseball stuff and start a HipHop label that day. So he decided he would just sign things he liked… So he had people like Gangstarr, he hooked up with Guru and them, he hooked up with DJ Premier, who was in Texas, and put them together. But the point is most people wouldn’t even sign them and put them out, same thing with The Coup. We’ve been shopping stuff, nobody was interested. Stu signed us just because he liked us, but he didn’t have any idea on how to market us at that time. You know Gangstarr didn’t really sell records until they went to somebody else… Same thing with Lord Finesse… He was signing people nobody else would sign. And if Stu was a good businessman, he wouldn’t have signed any of us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsUDGxdeICw

You’ve been on a major label. You’ve been in independent label. What are the pros and cons of being independent, today. Especially when you do the type of music you do?

It’s all capitalism at the end of the day. The idea of independent capitalism that is better than corporate capitalism is bullshit. Slave masters were independent capitalists. It’s not necessarily better. It’s not necessarily worse.

Sometimes, when you have a small label, you can get more attention, but you don’t get as much coverage… Epitaph records for “Pick a bigger weapon”, for instance, was the best experience. The same label 6 years later, as music industry changed, had different tactics and strategies, and I felt that they didn’t have as much faith in our record. It’s not their fault. That’s part of the reason, a small part, that is, not so many people who like the Coup know the new album, “Sorry to bother you”. Anyway, I don’t think there’s any formula to our type of music.

The really small independent label I was on for “Steal this album”, they still owe me 60 thousand dollars. They stole it…

Talking about “Steal this album”, there is a lot of misunderstanding about “Me & Jesus the pimp”… Personally, I saw it as a critic of black capitalism, as it repeats the same violence to the same people.. Could you elaborate on this one. What’s the message?

Actually there’s quite a few messages. The main idea, to me, is Jesus the Pimp, symbolizes the idea that we can be free by black capitalism & black entrepreneurship. You know the things people get caught up in their struggle, for some sense of power in their life.

But first and foremost, I wanted to write a song about sexism. I started to realize that how sexism (that is taught to women) actually affects men’s lives in terrible ways. So in that song, I wanted to talk about that.

I went to film school, I always liked to tell stories, I liked to write descriptive things, and also after “Fat cats & bigger fish”, I started seeing people thought I had a talent for that, so I decided to write another story song…

The choice of title? Before I was on internet a lot, I had just remembered there was a revolution in Grenada in 1979. So I was like I’m going to use that for title, because it was a social revolution.

I want to address “fuck a perm”… I mean, in the early 90s, lots of black folks had jheri curls, especially on the west coast… Weren’t you dissing people who could have been fans of your music?

Back then I had natural hair and people were criticizing it like ‘what you’re doing with your nappy ass hair!’. I wrote that song as a response to the critics about my hair. Also, I think at that time I was at San Francisco State University where there were folks who changed their names with stuff that meant King or Queen. So I was influenced by the culture around and it did have an effect on my writing. A lot of those who considered themselves as revolutionary or conscious were preachy, like you need to change yourself…

Now, you said lots of people had jheri curls back then. Actually they didn’t so much by the time the song came out in 1993. Even Ice Cube had cut his curls…And to get back to the fans, here’s an interesting story. We were on tour promoting “Kill my landlord” and we went to Milwaukee. Milwaukee in 1993, stylistically, fashion-wise, looked like Oakland in 1986. We were on the stage performing and I remember E-roc saying to me, don’t do “fuck a perm”. We didn’t do it as it was obvious 90% of the crowd had curls. It wasn’t about politics, it was just style. Then we got out to sign autographs, and a group of dudes walked by and they were like “Hey Coup” – [because of a lot of people called us “Coup”], “Hey Coup, fuck a perm… Fuck you”. And they kept walking and got into their car. And they were just sitting there, not so far from us.

Then we left the venue, and they followed us, bumping the whole album loud in their car and they kept yelling “fuck a perm”. And they all had curls… They really seemed hurt. But they were bumping the album. We went to different clubs, they were still following us… So it became clear there are lots of things on the album those dudes could relate to, but the song made about appearances w as the one that touched them. And that wasn’t even the intention of the song, as if the appearance was what was all about. And things are still that way today. We had all these articles about young people sagging their pants, etc.

So you say, the problem is not how we look like nor our culture…

For years after the civil right & black power movements, we’ve been endoctrined by the media that told us the problem wasn’t the system, but the problem is people being lazy, irresponsible, savage, etc. And some of black intellectuals response to this was chiming and said yeah, but it’s because of these culture conditions: Which was we don’t know ourselves so therefore we’re lazy, violent, etc. But the reality is: That’s bullshit.

We’re so much endoctrined that what we actually see black people as dangerous, ignorant, savage. They might be black people who are dealing with drugs, yes because that’s what exists in all our society. There might be like one person hustling and doing nothing, yeah, but you got that all over the world. The problem is that Black culture has been criminalized so they look to some other culture that doesn’t exist right there to say that’s what it should be. But then afterwards, that culture will be criminalized as well… It really stems from people running away from having class analysis.

Culture in everything is dictated from how people survive. From the beginning of the humanity, things have been organized for survival. In this system, that survival has to do with labor and economics. You work for money to survive. There can’t be new paradigm on how to look at addressing that problem. But until you do, you end up blaming the people…

How would you define yourself: An activist? A HipHop activist?

I wouldn’t call myself as a HipHop activist or activist. The activist , to me, is someone who moves from event to event, like a rally or a demonstration, which is kinda what’s being pushed as opposed to an organizer which has to do with more long term campaigns, with building something. I’m an organizer.

HipHop activism is a term that came about in the early 1990s. There was a bunch of us who wanted to see the landscape of political organizing change. It was boring at that time. The idea was : Trying to make this thing (political organizing) more artistic. And in the early 1990s, we had set up this thing called HipHop edutainment concert with the Mau Mau Rhythm Collective. And a few years later, people who were in the non-profit organizations picked up on stuff like this (on what we were doing) and started selling it to foundations to get money. Like HipHop activism is the new thing.

You had these non profit organizations that would come at you like ‘we want you to come and sit at this roundtable discussion. We’ll pay you a thousand dollars, come over here”. I go there it’s like a closed door discussion about political organizing… And then they take pictures of me, use it in a flyer or brochure, and after that, they’re like “we do HipHop organizing, give us some money, look we even got Boots Riley involved”… So, many of these non profit organizations make 10s of thousands or hundred of thousands dollars off of that and say that I’m part of these things.

It was on your Facebook page: Oakland Port, December 2nd, 2011. We did it. What does the shutdown of Oakland port mean to you?

Boots Riley & Mistah Fab Address the Crowd

Boots Riley at Occupy Oakland

A lot of the folks in non-profit organizations in Oakland are politically radical and revolutionary. But they have a job. And some of them in these organizations are not necessarily politically radical revolutionaries, some of them are liberal progressives, and they’ve been the ones doing certain struggles that stayed away from economic wages struggles. They’ve been the ones doing stuff around “Stopping the violence”. We gotta stop the violence in our community, ok. But they do not address the fact violence comes out of the fact there’s an illegal business that’s happening that needs violence to regulate it. This business needs violence to regulate. You can’t come in and just take the money without fear of the police coming and locking you up. How do you eliminate the need for that illegal business? When you have jobs that pay decently. When people have jobs with decent wages, they’re going to be involved in that job, instead of the illegal business and the violence associated with it… But that’s too much, like class struggle, for certain folks. Especially for foundations, what they talk about is limited. That being said, some of those political organizations, not only non-profit ones, don’t have any base in black communities or in communities of color. Because they’re not handling what these people are doing on their everyday life which is trying to put some food on the table. And some people are like “Fuck marching on the streets, it’s not doing anything…”

We managed to achieve that shutdown because people saw it as something possible, as an economic blow to the system and as a way to have some economic leverage. That’s why people came out and drove for that.

Also we announced that at the exact right time… A few days earlier, a young white ex-marine from Occupy Oakland got shot in the face by the police.. So because it came out he was an ex-marine, a young white guy and also because it was caught on video, it blew up all over the place… people kept coming to the park Occupy Oakland demonstrators were occupying, and police kept coming back… And we knew it costed the city millions of dollars, so they couldn’t sustain doing that… So we put it out there, that we would just keep coming back, they’re gonna spend tens of millions of dollars, til they give us the park back. So they gave us the park, they opened it up, there were thousands medias from all over the world there.. So the idea of many of the organizers was like we got this world stage right now, let’s take it up one notch. It was a 3 thousand people meeting. 3 thousand people voted to have a general strike in one week from then. So the fact we didn’t say from 3 months from that, but one week, which seemed crazy for me at that time, most of us didn’t even think that would happen. We were just like we would put the call out there, put the idea that economic leverage can do something. People were like “Hell, yeah!” and it was all up in the media. And since it was connected to all the occupy movements in other cities, it made people felt like it had more power as well.

One of the problems with political movements or anything, even music, is the fact we don’t think we matter. Like you have a local rapper, a local band, and they might be really good to you, but you know they are only known in your city, you’re like “they’re only local”, and people don’t like “local”. Because if it’s only local, it can’t be that good. That’s what happened to us too. All of sudden when people from our city started seeing people from other cities liked us, they were “oh, they must be good”. Because people of other cities are better than me. That’s how we started getting a big local group of followers. Similar with this movement, people see that it is attached to something bigger. They feel they have more chance to win. So 50 thousand people came out and shut down the port.

The outcome of it? 3 years ago, a labor contract would come up and the Union wouldn’t even fight it. Workers would just lose their benefits and everything… Right now, what’s happening in Oakland is the BART workers and the train operators are on strike, the librarians are on strike. Other cities workers are striking, they’re striking and are supporting each other. That wouldn’t have happened in any other time. That’s illegal. But we put this tactic on the table. Because that’s the only way things are gonna be done, through solidarity strikes…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Ia-oQnZOo

HipHop (especially through videos and records) plays a big role in shaping the views and opinions of millions of people worldwide when it comes to the representations of Black (youth) life and experience. The Coup is known worldwide, today. How do you deal with these issues of representation black lives and experiences in front of the world with your music and now with the movie “Sorry to bother you”?

There are plenty of mafia shows on TV all the time, and people are not scared of Italian people all over the world… Most of those representations and images of black people come from portrayals of news medias and the political of what happens in a city and why it happens.

The image of black people that people put out or that artists put out is just the image that they are talked too or that they see on the news. It’s not necessarily the image that comes from what they know.. See, you could live in a city and have most of your information about that city given to you by the news. And often that’s the case, and you make certain assumptions and logic based on the some of these basic facts you hear on the news.

And also what is being said on some of those songs is exactly what they are taught about what the world is supposed to be about in school. They are taught that if you have money, it’s because you work hard, be smart about it, and figure out how to hustle… If you don’t have money, it means it’s on you, it’s not the system. So, that leads to everything else.

Now, whether people are afraid or not of the image of black people, has to do with how they categorize people. There’s a TV show called Dexter, about a blonde white guy who is a mass-murderer, he’s the hero of the show because he only kills the bad people. Nobody is afraid of blonde white guys. So, it’s not just videos. It’s everything, the news, the movies. We hear on the news, a random shooting happened. NO.You can explain clearly, like this is the dope game, there are no jobs paying 12 dollar/per hour in the area, it’s not random. It happens because of these things… You have non profit organization that would be like we need to stop the violence and talk about interpersonal communication. But it’s not about that. If you talk to people from these organizations, they admit it’s not about that, they admit the solution is having jobs that pay more. The question is how to get that? You only get that through making a radical militant mass movement. It’s a hard thing to do and who wants to spend their life doing that? But we have no choice.

I remember Digable Planets saying that they capitalized on their pop success (Reachin’) to put out their master plan into action (Blowout combs) which, lyrically, kinda hit as hard as any PE album HipHop. When you deal with Art & Revolution like you, is there any strategy to adopt to get your message heard?

It must be a very long strategy because I’ve been doing this for a long time… More seriously, I have strategies, the question is whether they work or not. I had a strategy with “Steal this album”, back in 1998. But at that time, there were no downloading. So back then, if you steal an album from a store, that store still has to pay for the album. We had a lot of fans, a lot more fans than those who were represented by record sales. So for instance, for me, besides an Ice Cube album, every album I ever had was dubbed on cassette tapes. One person would get an album and we would dub it, that’s how it went. HipHop when it was just in the black communities didn’t even go gold. A lot of people were listening to it, but it wasn’t what you were spending your money on.

So “Steal this album” was based on the idea that what if you have 3 millions of fans, but your 3 millions of fans are among the brokest people on earth and someone else has hundred thousand fans, but those fans are wealthier. It’s gonna look like more people like that person. It’s gonna change how people make records. So here’s the solution: Steal this album.

What’s the coup business plan today?

Today, touring is our main way of promotion, we can’t really rely on anything else. We have some fans who are more well-known, so we try to enlist them to help us. We have for example, Patton Oswalt, who is a well-known comedian in the USA. He made recently (In june 2013) a video doing an interpretation of “Magic Clap”. We’re trying to get Dave Chappelle… So that’s one of the strategies. I think I’m also going to do sort of political comedy talk shows, so I also could stay at home, I need to.

-courtesy of La Voix Du HipHop- (Paris France) LaVoixduHipHop.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acT_PSAZ7BQ

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Boots Riley, Farnce, Hip Hop, Paris, political movements

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