2013 Daily News | Hip-Hop and Politics

Where Was Bloomberg’s Private NYPD Army During the Westside Hwy Biker Chase?

October 2, 2013 By mrDaveyd

By now many have seen the video of the altercation on the Westside Highway in NYC where enraged bikers chased down a man and his family driving an SUV after he ran over one of their comrades. It’s a scene out of a movie and for many its frightening.. In watching the six-minute video, a lot of questions are raised starting with ‘Where the hell was NYPD?’

This question is asked in the backdrop of knowing how intrusive and well-resourced NYPD is said to be. Here we have a department that is 40 thousand deep in personnel. We have department that has stopped and frisked NYC residents over 5 million times. In some neighborhoods it seems like police are stopping and frisking people darn near ever 3 minutes.

We have a police department that rivals the FBI and other federal law enforcement divisions in terms of its surveillance capabilities . They make no bones about spying on American-Muslims and their organizations, which has led many to accuse NYPD of being in violation of a number of laws and to say the least over the top in its practice.

We have a department that left no stone unturned when it came to surveilling, containing and in the end bashing on the Occupy Wall street Movement. We saw the city’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg brag that NYPD was his private army that is unmatched by any police agency in the world..

It’s with that in mind that one needs to wonder how there were no police insight on one of the city’s most heavily traveled freeways? In the video we see a chase that lasts for 6 long minutes with no law enforcement in sight. One has to ask where are all the surveillance cameras that NYPD has been using to spy on citizens? They have cameras on the floors over every housing project but none on the Westside Highway which runs along the Hudson River? Isn’t that freeway of point on entry that should be watched in case of ‘terrorist’ attacks?

NY’s Domain Awareness System

It was just last year that NYPD bragged to the world that they had teamed up with Microsoft to set up a top-tier all-seeing state of the art, Domain/ Domestic Awareness System that does everything from read license plates to face recognition. Over 3000 cameras have been placed in lower Manhattan alone.. You can read about that system HERE and HERE.

One would think if there was anytime that these domestic spying systems would’ve been used would’ve been over the weekend when close to 60 bikers held court on a freeway and chased down the SUV, especially if the reports of them blocking off freeway entrances are true..

Take a look at the video and ask where’s Bloomberg’s Private Army?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5ftcC2I0hc

Injured biker Edwin Mieses

With respect to the attack there are a number of conflicting reports.. The bikers are claiming the man in the SUV, Alexian Lien who is an executive at an internet company, bumped one of the bikers with his car. When the bikers went to help, Lien hit the gas and ran over several men including Edwin Mieses who was bent over his fallen friend helping him. Mieses had his spine severely injured and is now permanently paralyzed. His wife is calling for Lien to be arrested and charged.

The bikers are claiming that’s why they chased down Lien and his family. They didn’t want him to get away. They claim what took place was a road rage incident.

The flip side to this story was the bikers had already been riding around swarming cars prior to getting on the freeway. Once on the freeway they had blocked off entrances and one of the drivers went and brake checked the SUV driven by Lien. When the bike was hit from behind, bikers surrounded the vehicle and that’s when Lien whose 2-year-old daughter and wife were in the car with him hit the gas running over the bikers.

Lien was eventually caught when he exited in upper Manhattan. That’s when bikers smashed the window, dragged him out the car and beat him in front of his daughter and wife.

Eventually all that really happened will come out in the wash..Who was right and who was wrong will be sorted out. In the meantime all of us should be asking how a major freeway was shut down in the Big Apple for more than 6 minutes with a police agency notorious for conducting surveillance on everyone inspite of concerns and objections, was no where in sight?

This police agency conducts millions of stop and frisk where 90% of those detained are found to NOT be in violation of any law. Police commissioner Ray Kelly says he wants to increase Stop and Frisk, but a major incident like this jumps off and they are nowhere to be seen? Something ain’t right in Gotham

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Alexian Lien, domain surveillance, domestic spying, Edwin Mieses, NYPD

Recent Suicides on Oakland Police Force Raises Major Concerns

September 30, 2013 By mrDaveyd

Crazy to hear that there have been a number of police officers within OPD (Oakland Police department) who have committed suicide..There hasn’t been a whole lot of talk about this, but from what I gather it’s because of stress on the job..Here’s what a recent article laid out in Contra Costa Times http://bit.ly/1bVXUc8

Documenting officer suicides is an imperfect science because many departments don’t report them accurately. A 2012 report by the police suicide watchdog group Badge of Life documented 126 officer suicides that year, but Violanti estimated that the true figure was about 17 percent greater.

In Oakland, Weston’s suicide was not included as an “officer death” in the department’s monthly staffing report to the City Council.

Over the past five years, four Oakland police officers have taken their lives — the same number as those killed in the line of duty.

This leads to a few concerns..

1-How stable are the officers patrolling the streets.. Are the suicides isolated or are they tip of the iceberg? If officers are not in the right mind-set, how safe are we when we come in contact with them? Do they lash out in anger? Are they overly paranoid? How are they triggered?

2-If officers are under stress because of the dangers they face.. One can only imagine how stressed those are who live in ‘high crime areas’ who deal with the threats of dangers without having the powers to carry a gun and arrest those who do wrong..

3-The police suicides can not be seen in isolation and disconnected from the massive amounts of suicides that are taken place within our military.. More suicides have taken place in the military than what we lost in combat? How secure is our security??

4-It’s been pointed out that 150-200 police officers kill themselves each year.. There are so many that a support group has been set up with recommendations for officers to avoid this tragedy. The question we should all be asking is how many officers are actually getting mental health check ups? What’s the standard? how many have met them or not? With all the incidents of police brutality being reported in Oakland, one needs to know as to what was the mental conditions of the officers accused..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKe1FvtaEYI

Filed Under: 2013 Daily News Tagged With: Oakland Police, Suicides

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

Categories