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Raise Up! Knaan is in the Building-Make Room at the Table for African Hip Hop

March 1, 2009 By

Davey DI met Somalian born rapper Knaan about 3 or 4 years ago in his current place of residence Toronto. We chopped it up back then and he assured me that it was just a matter of time before the US Hip Hop scene would open its arms to rappers from other shores. At the time that seemed far-fetched because even though we all know that Hip Hop is a worldwide phenomenon, very few heads in the states can cite more than 3 or 4 artists from neighboring Canada much less from overseas. Ask folks to name artists from Africa and the conversation is all but over…

On one hand we should not be surprised. After all, Hip Hop always reflects the mindset and cultural mores of the people and places that embrace it.Hence to the degree we can hardly name off any of the Provinces in Canada it should not be a shock that we can’t name off any of her artists.

Nowadays Knaan is increasingly becoming a household word here in the states. He’s already a superstar overseas. For many he’s a breath of fresh air who reminds us just how flavorful good Hip Hop can be. His creativity and overall conversation raises the bar. His global perspectives reminds us that this is a big world and our country is just a small part of it..

We caught up with Knaan during his visit at SXSW in Austin, Tx and chopped it up with him. We talked about his new album Troubadour which is a monster and what he was trying to get across. We talked about the challenges of knocking down doors in the US. Knaan quoted Saul Williams by agreeing with the assertion that Hip Hop has been republican in the past 10 years. Its been about money, closing its eyes to the realities outside its immediate borders and very unwilling to change.
He sees things changing for the better and that’s a good thing.

We covered a variety of topics including the recent move by Homeland security to scrutinize Somalis living here in the US as possible terrorists. We talked about the whole Somali pirates thing and discovered that what we been fed by mainstream news is a big lie. Knaan explained that the so called pirates are actually more like Coast Guards. They been patrolling the waters and stepping to foreign vessels that look at the un-centralized government in Somalia and hence feel they can do pillage the natural resources like over the top commercial fishing and illegal dumping of hazardous wastes. The Somalia pirates have been stepping to vessels for violating their water space and have taken the matter up to the UN only to have the main violators France along with the US veto any resolution..

knaanWe talked about the make up of Knaan’s album and what it was like working with Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and Hip Hop legend Chubb Rock. He explained that Levine was a real cool and basically came through and laid down vocals for free. He just wanted to show respect and appreciation for the music.

He talked about admiring Chubb Rock’s rhyme flow and how it was an honor to have the rapper turned school teacher to come through and lace him up.

Knaan also talked about his rhyme influences which actually come from the Rhythmic Poets of Somalia. These wordsmith have been around centuries before the first rappers in the Bronx

Finally we talked about the state of the world and how US and US Hip Hop fit into things. Knaan noted that the US is now going a period where many of its citizens are feeling vulnerable and at ease. he noted its the same type of uneasiness that many throughout the world feel on a day to day basis. Our economic hardships are routine for the majority of the people around the world and now that type of situation is on our shores and we will have to not only rise to the occasion be much more aware of what the rest of planet earth is experiencing.

Listen to the Breakdown FM Interview w/ Knaan by clicking the link below:

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, Breakdown FM Interviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Kanye West & That Pesky Gay Question!

February 6, 2009 By

Archived Article:

Kanye West & That Pesky Gay Question!
written by Khalil Amani
Jan 2009

Hey Kanye! This is your old crazy-ass gay uncle! Remember me?

Well, I’m not really your uncle and I’m not really gay, but I thought that would get your attention! It’s time for some real talk about gayness. That shyt really irks you, doesn’t it?

For years, some people thought that Prince was gay. Who knew that one day he’d go on record and say that homosexuality was wrong (based on his own warped understanding of being a “Jehopeless Witness”)-Prince condemning homosexuality? Who knew? WTF? (Lol)

But prior to Prince being religiously brainwashed, you never heard him ranting to the public that he wasn’t gay! Prince didn’t give a fuck about what us little ol’ peasants thought about his wearing eyeliner, mascara, high heels, and booty-cheek pants! Prince was our androgynous sex freak who brought the bomb songs into our bedrooms! (e.g. Do Me Baby, Adore, International Lover, The Beautiful Ones, Purple Rain) We gave Prince a ghetto-pass for being himself and never apologizing for his eccentricities.

Prince is one of the musical great ones!

Now look at you Kanye West-stuck in a genre of music (rap) that doesn’t take kindly to gayness. You’re desperately trying to straddle the fence between uber-macho maleness and eclectic/experimentational… musical impresario with a lemon twist of conscious gay rights advocacy. Two juxtaposing worlds! You admit that you get your fashion sensibilities from gay dudes (shhhhh!), but you’re quick to let the world know that you’re not gay! (Okay, wink, wink) That’s how heads are looking at you!

So you wanna be left alone so you can be “great?” Well you’re going about it all wrong! Why do you feel the need to answer to us mere mortals? Let’s see…you’ve got millions of dollars, famous as a motherfucker, got hella women on your jock, on top of the rap game, doing Louis Vuitton shoe deals and stuff, but you’re worried and upset over people writing false shyt about you and your sexuality? You’re upset that 50 Cent continues to diss you? Musically speaking, 50 Cent has already “Before I Self-Destructed,” so count his opinion amongst the haters of your work. (Ever seen the Titanic? GGGG-UNIT!)

You’re starting to look mighty gay bro.! (As straight heads like to say!)

Why do you think you’re getting so much attention? Because you’re the shyt! That’s why! Remember what Steve Harvey recently said (as it relates to Katt Williams calling him out); “A stray dog don’t bark at parked cars!” If you weren’t ’bout it, ’bout it’ no one would be checking for you! You’d be some D-List entertainer on a reality show trying to make a comeback! But this is what the price of fame at its height brings-unwarranted, unsolicited attention-email hackers and Internet geeks whose sole purpose in life is to live vicariously through you! Go read the book Sula, by Toni Morrison. There are people out here that would absolutely shrivel up and die if they had no one to talk about, degrade, castigate, diss and hate on. (Like Byron Crawford/Bol and some of those XXL bloggers) This is the reason for their existence and you, Kanye, are their “Elixir of Life!” (Medical cure-all)

And some of these hip-hop sites and bloggers would like to make you a rapping pariah (outcast) because they don’t like your music. Shamelessly, some bloggers are trying to direct hip-hop and shape public opinion as to what is and isn’t hip-hop.

It would mean the world to them to say, “We at Hateration.com ended Kanye West’s career… hate, hate, hate!”

Enjoy the fame and all that comes with fame while you can, because there’s a graveyard filled with the bones of has-been rappers who think they have a second chance at rap supremacy (Can you say Jaz-O?)

Like me, you’ve opened the floodgates of doubt by acknowledging your gay-niceties. Like me, you want the world to know that you’re straight as an arrow. But unlike me, you haven’t found out that it really doesn’t matter. Hip-hop heads are hell-bent on believing what they want! The more you protest your straightness, the more heads are apt to believe that you have some gay tendencies!

So I’m gonna tell you what your mama would’ve told you (your mama and my mama are in heaven, looking down on their sons)-“Do you and forget the haters! Do you and stop trying to prove that you’re not gay! Do you and let people speculate all they want!” Word to our mothers!

The “great” ones don’t answer to the masses! The great ones are above public ridicule! Go read the “Prince Manual on Royalty” and get a clue! Mofos wanna believe you’re into bi-sexual porn-great! I know you’ve got your own website/blog, but dispelling idiotic rumors is best left up to your public relations people. Stop stooping to answer the ignorance of the peasantry! Take a page out of the “Rick Ross Book of Silence” and let the peasantry have their say. Be about greatness! Stop stooping to answer the ignorance of the peasantry! Be about greatness! Stop letting that pesky gay question fuck with you!

In your recent Vibe interview you said, “I don’t believe in a religion that has something against gay people. …I was taught to hate gays. And I don’t really believe in any of that. …I break every rule and mentality of hip-hop, of black culture, of American culture.” (February 2009 Issue) That’s very progressive of you to not believe in religious bigotry and homophobia. Have you been reading my book? (“Hip-Hop Homophobes…”)

This is what I teach and I beat all hell out of the idea that a “god” has anything to do with man’s condemnation of homosexuals. I don’t give a damn if it is in your Bible! A “god” DID NOT write the Bible! Ignorant, homophobic, and misogynistic men wrong the Bible and forged God’s signature. This is what the laity (common folk) doesn’t know or understand. They read the Bible and believe every word to be God’s hand writing! Evidentially, you, Kanye have read up on Bible compilation and history. For how can one, after all of our religious brainwashing against homosexuality, come to that conclusion, if not by study and inquiry?

Kanye! You say you are here to “break every rule and mentality of hip-hop, of black culture, of American culture.” Do you wanna really shake up hip-hop? Do you wanna do something super-progressive? Are you willing to put what others think of your sexuality aside? Would you like to introduce the world to a genre of rap that has been lurking on the periphery of the mainstream rap world? Wanna do the most innovative thing for rap since the advent of gangsta rap?

Here’s a “rule and mentality” that hasn’t been broken: Sign the first outwardly gay or lesbian rapper to your label! (G.O.O.D.) (I can hear a rat pissin’ on cotton!) They ain’t lookin’ for a seven-figure signing bonus (although nobody’s turning down money!). They are looking to be heard!

You don’t know any gay or lesbian rappers? Well let me help you! There’s a gay rapper from the “Middle East” (North Carolina) named TwiZza who’s a beast on the mic! There’s a gay cat out of Los Angeles-Last Offence, with the lyrical dexterity of your favorite rapper. How about FELONi?-One of the realest lesbian MC’s reppin’ Detroit. Or my lil man Nano, reppin’ the Bay area or a young gay rapper named Bry’NT from New York or my niggas .. and Sonny Lewis, two of the grimiest wordsmiths reppin’ Brooklyn. Not to mention the “Face of Gay Hip-Hop,” my dog Deadlee! (I can name 100 other gay/lesbian rappers!)

So what it do Kanye? Signing a gay rapper is a win-win for hip-hop and humanity! It’s time to move from rhetoric to action! You are the biggest voice in hip-hop that advocates against homophobia. Why not “put your money where your mouth is?” God has equipped you with the knowledge, strength, and foresight to kick in the door of the last bastion of human ignorance-homophobia! If hip-hop heads wanna say you’re gay, then answer back with Redman’s words-“I’ll be dat!” Are you ready to be eternally etched into hip-hop history?

“I’m not gay although I wish I were to piss off homophobes.”

Kurt Cobain-Dead Grunge Rock Star.

Author Khalil Amani describes himself as spiritual adviser to Gay Hip Hop and Kanye West

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Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News, archive articles Tagged With: , , , , ,

Keeping It True School-An Interview w/ Monie Love

February 4, 2007 By

This is a great interview done by my boy Tony Muhammaed down in Miami Florida. He sits down with a true Hip Hop legend Monie Love..

In the beginning of January UAN had the distinct honor and pleasure of meeting with London-born Hip Hop pioneer Monie Love at The Marlin Hotel in South Beach for a fun filled True School Party, featuring super dope DJ and producer 9th Wonder on the 1s and 2s, where we reminisced while jamming to 80s and 90s Hip Hop and R’N’B hits all night long. Without question, Monie has come a long way since back in the late 80s and early 90s when she hooked up first with the Native Tongues Crew and later with legendary producer Marley Marl, producing vibrantly spunky jams that were guaranteed to “hype up the party.”

At age 36 and being the mother of three children, the Monie of today is a much more mature Monie, not only on a personal level but with her level of consciousness of how the industry works, landing work as a DJ on an MTV game show in the 90s and as a morning show radio personality in Philadelphia in recent years. This interview was very timely as it came two weeks after Clear Channel 100.3 and Monie had a “falling out.” It is speculated throughout the industry that this was actually an act of termination in response to an on-air argument Monie had with Young Jeezy just weeks prior.

It is believed that the incident ruined some “back door” payola (pay to play) agreement between Jeezy’s label or management and the radio station. With the overall message of Nas’ new album sparking endless debates among Hip Hoppers everywhere, it found itself in a big way at the radio station that morning. What was supposed to be a discussion promoting Jeezy’s new album turned into a debate about whether or not “HIP HOP IS DEAD” and whether or not Nas truly has “street credibility.” Based on the manner in which Jeezy interacted with Monie on the air, you could tell that he did not have a good idea who she was. Throughout the interview, Jeezy continuously disrespected her; first by questioning her background (being from England) in relation to Hip Hop and second by constantly interrupting her when she was about to respond to his statements. After Monie lashed out at Jeezy by explaining why she felt that “HIP HOP IS DEAD,” Jeezy walked out of the station (Peep the discussion on Odeo.com for yourselves).

Beforehand, Monie and I agreed that the interview was not going to be focused on this incident that has had Hip Hoppers talking all over the World Wide Web through e-mails, blogs and message boards. Yet, if you pay close attention to Monie’s commentary she makes some very strong general statements about Hip Hop artists of today that truly do not have knowledge of Hip Hop’s history (probably referring to Jeezy) and how commercial (terrestrial) radio and media has played a strong role in dividing the Hip Hop generation of 15 years ago from the Hip Hop generation of today. This is a very powerful and emotion filled one and one that is sure to get Hip Hop fans all over talking. Next month, look out for another powerful interview with co-founder of True School Corp., 9th Wonder of Little Brother. For now, enjoy this exclusive piece:

UAN: What is True School Corp. and how are you involved with it?

Monie Love: True School is an organization put together by several college alumni and one of them being the youngest set of alumni which is 9th Wonder, producer and DJ and member of the group Little Brother. I have been a member of the organization for about a year exactly and what the true school movement is about is creating a venue, whether it is a place to go, station to listen to, music to listen to for the non-represented Hip Hop fans which I would say range from about 23 and up. Many of them really don’t feel represented, especially 25 and up. Many of them really don’t feel like going out.

I love Hip Hop and I listen to it in my car and in my house, but I feel like I can’t go listen to it in a club because I’m going to find myself fighting to get in the club. So, what we are trying to do is create a venue and a forum for them to let them know that there is an audience out there that is just like you and we need to represent ourselves and we need to create venues to go out and party. We need to create stations and music formats that we can listen to that play the kind of things that we want to hear. It’s crazy to me how you can find 15 and 16 year old kids wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt and knowing the lyrics to a Rolling Stones song. That doesn’t happen in Hip Hop. It doesn’t happen because we don’t carry our own traditions, which True School Corp. is definitely an organization interested in carrying on tradition and passing it down.

UAN: I heard Chuck D once say that many in the older generation have compromised planting little seeds of knowledge on the youth in exchange for “looking good.” Would you agree with this view?

Monie Love: Absolutely and wholeheartedly! You know, speaking for myself, I do not compromise.

UAN: We know that for a fact!

Monie Love: I do not compromise, but in general for my generation a lot of us do compromise. We are so fixed on remaining in the 18 to 34 bracket or even younger that we end up not focusing much on the 34 end of it. Many of us are paying much more attention to the 13 or 14 year old age bracket and do not realize that it is not our audience and they aren’t really interested. It’s crazy that a lot of the kids are fixed on a lot of the snap dancing and all of that, but you put on some “boom bap” sh*t on, they do not know what to do. They do not know how to dance to it. It’s the craziest thing to watch because it’s like “Oh my God!” This came out before the snapping. The “boom bap” came first. It just bugs me out how these little white kids know about Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones and Def Leopard.

UAN: Well, a lot of the young white kids now know about the history of Hip Hop.

Monie Love: That’s ludicrous to me and we are partly … I wouldn’t say that we are 100 percent to blame because we are not. Radio has given a lot to Hip Hop and taken away from Hip Hop because radio has assumed the position of dictating what’s “in,” what you should be listening to now, what is “old school” and what is “too old.” Radio does that. TV does that. TV video shows do this. Media does it in general. Media does this by eliminating talent; creating hierarchy within Hip Hop … you could go as far back as Ed Lover not doing Yo! MTV Raps anymore. (Yo! MTV Raps had its final episode in August 1995)

UAN: I remember at one point MTV moving the show (Yo! MTV Raps) at some crazy hour in the middle of the night and Ed Lover and his partner Dr. Dre looked angry and were actually saying some things real negative things about MTV, about how messed up they were being treated.

Monie Love: Yeah, that was towards the end. You can even bring it up to speed more recently with BET getting rid of AJ and Free. They were the landmark of 106 & Park. Basically, media has this real fickle attitude towards Hip Hop and as far as it being on TV and on radio; they determine that someone is too old to be delivering it anymore. There’s no too old! It’s ours and it belongs to us! So we can be old, freakin’ grand parents, which some of us are. Like the set before me, they’re now grandparents. It’s ours and it belongs to us and it will be ours until we die therefore there is no better messenger for its history to come from than from us. The stories of old Hip Hop shows, of when this one got on stage and this one was at the park jams … because it all brings it up to speed. Everyone and everything has a history. You can not act like it doesn’t exist because then you’ll just sit there and ask, “Well, where did Hip Hop come from?”

UAN: Right! …. Uuummm … RUN DMC? (Laughs)

Monie Love: You know what I’m saying? … And yes, you know, right! But a lot of these kids can’t even sing a RUN DMC song from start to finish. It’s ridiculous and it’s stupid and it partly has to do with how media handles Hip Hop and promotes it like some disposable music form.

UAN: I remember back in the day when MTV had segments called “Closet Classics” and they would show TV broadcasted performances by Rock artists from the 60s and 70s. Even though kids that were into hard Rock in the 80s didn’t really grow up with Black Sabbath, yet and still many of them were very quick to identify a personality such as Ozzy Osborne as “God.”

Monie Love: That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Now, the other end of the responsibility comes from us, myself, Chuck, Flav, Ed Lover … you name it! It is partly our responsibility to do as Nas says on the Hip Hop is Dead album. On one of the tracks, he talks about carrying on tradition. We have to do that! It is our responsibility to do that. We have not been doing that! So, partly what is happening to some of the youth who are not Hip Hop fans … and you can tell someone who is making music today and put records out and are not Hip Hop fans … and the easiest ways to detect one of these people is if they have absolutely no clue of people who came before them. And not just knowing the obvious cuts it. Everyone pretty much knows about RUN DMC, Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick. That’s not hard. When you start getting into Sweet Tee and Jazzy Joyce …

UAN: Well, let’s take it back to Kool Herc and Bambaataa.

Monie Love: You know what I’m saying? Let’s talk about Diamond D, Boot Camp Click … all of these people. You need to know this kind of stuff! If you don’t know this kind of stuff then you’re not really a fan and if you are not a fan, then what the f*ck are you making Hip Hop music for?

UAN: Generally what artists today would you consider to be “True School?” What is the definition of “True School?”

Monie Love: Everything that you do not hear on terrestrial radio!

UAN: Well, what about someone like say a Busta Rhymes who is still trying to maintain the appeal of the younger audience? And some may argue that he has gotten legally in trouble for trying to lead the particular lifestyle he is now rhyming about. For instance, on his most recent album, on certain songs he mentions how he is a crack dealer. How do you view this?

Monie Love: Actually, Busta had his stint with that and was constantly getting into trouble as a young kid. Young kids find themselves sometimes walking a path that they have no business walking along and can get in all sorts of trouble. Some get saved, others don’t. Busta got saved through family and friends, through people that loved him and his group Leaders of the New School … But, I can tell you that Busta did have his stint of walking the wrong path totally.

UAN: So what would you say about the content of the album?

Monie Love: I love Busta’s album. Busta is able to mix it up. In listening to that album you can tell that he is able to bridge the gap with the youth today without artistically selling out where the hell he comes from. In order to do that all you have to do is listen to track number 8 which is a cut with him and Q-Tip.

UAN: What are your views of what may possibly be the future face of MTV as far as Hip Hop goes – the more abstract and content filled underground genre of artists?

Monie Love: I totally agree that there is a tremendous amount of talent out there that has not been tapped into yet. They are the emcees of the future and they are the people that are going to carry on Hip Hop for years to come. I would like to think that they would learn from their predecessors as far as … It doesn’t make sense saying anything if no one is going to hear it. If you make things so tremendously difficult to understand and you spend time constantly only within your own ciphers that have the same mental orgasmic intensions with their lyrical content people outside of your circle aren’t going to listen to you. You need to broaden what you say in order to bring some people in and understand what you are doing.

UAN: Right now, for True Schoolers, what is the best way to bridge the gap between generations?

Monie Love: By carrying on tradition, by passing the stories down, by creating an environment that people can get to their 30s and not think “Oh well, I need to hang Hip Hop up now. There’s nowhere for me to go and nothing for me to listen to.” That’s crap! There is an entire legacy of music, whether it is R’N’B or Hip Hop or whatever. There is a legacy of music that needs not be forgotten and therefore tradition can be carried on into the following generation. Those Hip Hop heads that are saying things that are so intricate and so crazy and so deep that the masses outside of them don’t understand, broaden your horizons, flow in a manner that you can invite others from the outside and what we are doing right now as the older heads is we are trying to create an environment that will set the tone so that when your sh*t comes out and your sh*t has had its run and your sh*t is now old, there is an environment for your sh*t to continue being heard!

For more info on True School Corp, visit www.trueschoolcorp.com.

source:http://www.uannetwork.com

Filed Under: 2009-Daily Hip Hop News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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