Sunday, August 16
3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Picnic for Palestine
at Frank Liske Park (Barnhardt Shelter)
4001 Stough Rd
Concord, NC
All supporters and friends of Palestine are invited
Bring your own dish to share with others
In preparation for the creation of Charlotte Community Center for Palestine, we would like to cordially invite you to our first annual picnic. You will have the opportunity to relay your comments and remarks and to participate. Info: Khalid Hijazi, sumood67@yahoo.com or 704-806-8334.
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sing For Peace & Justice
The Square
Trade St & Tryon St
Charlotte NC
Musician Seth Martin will perform (http://www.myspace.com/sethmartinsmusic)
Info: Anna athomps8@email.cpcc.edu or 704-807-3987
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
The Power of Culture
by Mumia Abu-Jamal, May 5, 2009
[Review of: Beats, Rhymes + Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy + The Politics of Identity, by Marc Lamont Hill (New York: Teachers College, 2009.)
For years now, scholars have tried to grasp and utilize the various tools of hip-hop to stimulate and educate American school students (perhaps especially urban youth) with various measures of success or failure, depending, of course, on who does the measuring.
Some have done so from a position of presumed superiority, looking down on this late 20th century art form much as a biologist peers through lens at a microscopic germ. Some have unjustly painted hip-hop as a symptom of a rebellion that has rarely flashed elsewhere.
Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of education and anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University, has produced something between these two poles, for, as a relatively young scholar, one raised in the temporal and spatial era of hip-hop culture, he sees it neither with the derision born of age, nor the projection born of hope.
It is as real, and as present as the weather, and as such, it influences and informs those under its syncopated spell, with fascinating effect and impact.
Dr. Hill spent several months in a sweltering South Philadelphia classroom, and instead of blasting CDs, he and a colleague presented their classes with printed lyrics of prominent hip-hop artists, and using discussion and journaling, sought to plumb young minds not merely about the devices and parts of speech utilized in the works, but also about the meanings and messages embedded in the music, and how (or if) the themes presented in the music had relevance to their lives.
What followed were discussions of rare and revealing frankness from students who are not usually asked nor allowed to speak of issues of race, class and culture.
Although open to all students, the majority of sign-ups in Hip-Hop were Black, but whites, Latinos and Asians attended.
In one telling chapter, Hill noted the comments of four white students regarding their views on hip-hop. Despite being fans of the genre, they expressed a discrete racial identity that separated them from many of their classmates and the music:
Hill has his pulse on a vital node of American, African-American, urban, musical and youth culture at the dawn of this new century.
--(c) '09 Mumia Abu-Jamal
===============
The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!
Audio of most of Mumia's essays are at: http://www.prisonradio.org
http://mumiapodcast.libsyn.com/
Mumia's got a podcast! Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays - Subscribe at the website or on iTunes and get Mumia's radio commentaries online.
Mumia Abu-Jamal's new book -- JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: PRISONERS DEFENDING PRISONERS V. THE USA, featuring an introduction by Angela Y. Davis -- has been released! It is available from City Lights Books: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100448090
If you are planning to organize an event or would like to order in bulk, you can also receive a 45% discount on any bulk orders of 20 copies or more. The book retails for $16.95, for orders of 20 copies or more the discounted price would be $9.32 per book, plus shipping and handling. Prepayment would be required and books are nonreturnable. If you or your organization would like to place a bulk order, please contact Stacey Lewis at 415.362.1901 or stacey@citylights.com
Let's use the opportunity of the publication of this brilliant, moving, vintage Mumia book to build the momentum for his case, to raise the money we desperately need in these challenging economic times, to get the word out – to produce literature, flyers, posters, videos, DVD's; to send organizers out to help build new chapters and strengthen old ones, TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS … all the work that we must do in order to FREE MUMIA as he faces LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR EXECUTION!
Please make a contribution to help free Mumia. Donations to the grassroots work will go to both INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL and the FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION (NYC).
WWW.FREEMUMIA.COM
Please mail donations/ checks to:
FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL COALITION
PO BOX 16, NEW YORK,
NY 10030
(CHECKS FOR BOTH ORGANIZATIONS PAYABLE TO: FMAJC/IFCO)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
215 476-8812
212-330-8029
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!!
Subscribe: mumiacolumns-subscribe@topica.com
Read: http://topica.com/lists/mumiacolumns/read
Subscribe ICFFMAJ email updates list by e-mailing
icffmaj@aol.com!
[Review of: Beats, Rhymes + Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy + The Politics of Identity, by Marc Lamont Hill (New York: Teachers College, 2009.)
For years now, scholars have tried to grasp and utilize the various tools of hip-hop to stimulate and educate American school students (perhaps especially urban youth) with various measures of success or failure, depending, of course, on who does the measuring.
Some have done so from a position of presumed superiority, looking down on this late 20th century art form much as a biologist peers through lens at a microscopic germ. Some have unjustly painted hip-hop as a symptom of a rebellion that has rarely flashed elsewhere.
Marc Lamont Hill, a professor of education and anthropology at Teachers College, Columbia University, has produced something between these two poles, for, as a relatively young scholar, one raised in the temporal and spatial era of hip-hop culture, he sees it neither with the derision born of age, nor the projection born of hope.
It is as real, and as present as the weather, and as such, it influences and informs those under its syncopated spell, with fascinating effect and impact.
Dr. Hill spent several months in a sweltering South Philadelphia classroom, and instead of blasting CDs, he and a colleague presented their classes with printed lyrics of prominent hip-hop artists, and using discussion and journaling, sought to plumb young minds not merely about the devices and parts of speech utilized in the works, but also about the meanings and messages embedded in the music, and how (or if) the themes presented in the music had relevance to their lives.
What followed were discussions of rare and revealing frankness from students who are not usually asked nor allowed to speak of issues of race, class and culture.
Although open to all students, the majority of sign-ups in Hip-Hop were Black, but whites, Latinos and Asians attended.
In one telling chapter, Hill noted the comments of four white students regarding their views on hip-hop. Despite being fans of the genre, they expressed a discrete racial identity that separated them from many of their classmates and the music:
Lisa: I mean, I love hip-hop and everything. I always did. But I'm still a white girl, you know? Like, the same way that a Black person would love opera but it's still white, a white person could love hip-hop but it's still Black. In here, I'm still white.Hill found their insights both complex and contradictory, yet it gave insightful glimpses at the formation of current youth identity (often at variance with one's parents) and racial identity. Clear from their comments is a sense of racial identity, which made them see themselves as outsiders from a culture that they all confessed to loving -- if only from a certain distance.
Maggie: Right. I mean, I love hip-hop but I can't be hip-hop so I just play my position in here.
Joe: I disagree. I am hip-hop, just like Black people. But I still play my position. It's still certain ways that I'm not in.
Kristen: Exactly. [Hill, Beats....59]
Hill has his pulse on a vital node of American, African-American, urban, musical and youth culture at the dawn of this new century.
--(c) '09 Mumia Abu-Jamal
===============
The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!
Audio of most of Mumia's essays are at: http://www.prisonradio.org
http://mumiapodcast.libsyn.com/
Mumia's got a podcast! Mumia Abu-Jamal's Radio Essays - Subscribe at the website or on iTunes and get Mumia's radio commentaries online.
Mumia Abu-Jamal's new book -- JAILHOUSE LAWYERS: PRISONERS DEFENDING PRISONERS V. THE USA, featuring an introduction by Angela Y. Davis -- has been released! It is available from City Lights Books: http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100448090
If you are planning to organize an event or would like to order in bulk, you can also receive a 45% discount on any bulk orders of 20 copies or more. The book retails for $16.95, for orders of 20 copies or more the discounted price would be $9.32 per book, plus shipping and handling. Prepayment would be required and books are nonreturnable. If you or your organization would like to place a bulk order, please contact Stacey Lewis at 415.362.1901 or stacey@citylights.com
Let's use the opportunity of the publication of this brilliant, moving, vintage Mumia book to build the momentum for his case, to raise the money we desperately need in these challenging economic times, to get the word out – to produce literature, flyers, posters, videos, DVD's; to send organizers out to help build new chapters and strengthen old ones, TO GET THE PEOPLE OUT IN THE STREETS … all the work that we must do in order to FREE MUMIA as he faces LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE OR EXECUTION!
Please make a contribution to help free Mumia. Donations to the grassroots work will go to both INTERNATIONAL CONCERNED FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF MUMIA ABU-JAMAL and the FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL COALITION (NYC).
WWW.FREEMUMIA.COM
Please mail donations/ checks to:
FREE MUMIA ABU JAMAL COALITION
PO BOX 16, NEW YORK,
NY 10030
(CHECKS FOR BOTH ORGANIZATIONS PAYABLE TO: FMAJC/IFCO)
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
215 476-8812
212-330-8029
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal
AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370
WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CAN *NOT* REST!!
Subscribe: mumiacolumns-subscribe@topica.com
Read: http://topica.com/lists/mumiacolumns/read
Subscribe ICFFMAJ email updates list by e-mailing
icffmaj@aol.com!
Neil Young to release anti-war graphic novel
Canadian PressAug. 10, 2007
TORONTO -- Outspoken musician and political activist Neil Young is putting his anti-war and environmental convictions into a graphic novel.
The book will be an adaptation of Young's 2003 disc "Greendale," a 10-song concept album that was turned into a film of the same name in 2003 and also spawned an art book and multi-media tour.
The legendary artist, renowned for his strong anti-George W. Bush sentiments, has made it clear that the project will be just as biting politically as the rest of his artistic catalogue, said writer and collaborator Joshua Dysart.
Dysart, who describes his own political leanings as "left of Lenin," says the graphic novel's theme is decidedly anti-war and pro-planet. The story is set in the fictional town of Greendale on the eve of the Iraq invasion in 2003.
"It's just sort of a smorgasbord of the political reality of that moment of 2003 when we went into Iraq," Dysart said Thursday in a telephone interview from his home Los Angeles.
"Greendale is a fictional town but it's in northern California and the politics and concerns of northern California are going to be very prevalent and that's: anti-war, environmentalism and the raping of the California resources by major corporations in the pocket of the Bush administration."
The novel has been two years in the making and will be published by the DC Comics subsidiary Vertigo. Dysart said he's only completed a sketch of the storyline so far and hopes the book could be completed next year.
The idea for the novel came from Young himself, he adds, but so far the Canadian rocker has taken a largely arms-length approach to directing the narrative.
Major elements, however, are drawn directly from his disc "Greendale," said Dysart, also behind an Avril Lavigne graphic novel released earlier this year called "Make Five Wishes."
Young's album "Greendale" told the story of a tragic event and its effects on three generations of an American family.
The graphic novel focuses on the story of Sun Green, a teenager and burgeoning activist whose life is changed when a mysterious stranger pays a visit to her small town.
It also places great significance on her family's unique ability to connect with nature, an aspect referred to only casually in the art book, said Dysart.
"I just clued into that because it hadn't been explored in other mediums and the last thing I wanted to do was just kind of regurgitate the storyline," Dysart explained.
A big challenge for Dysart will be just how to capture Young's unconventional persona.
"There is this sort of low-fi, loose E-string humming Americana rock-n-roll about that album and about a lot of his work," he notes.
"I want to find that (feeling) inside of our medium. And part of that is going to be what (artist) Sean (Murphy) brings to it, obviously. I think, for instance, the way he uses ink is going to very much have that sort of a strong intensity. He can be a splatterer when encouraged with his ink and I think that will help a lot."
Those who know the album well will likely recognize a few song lyrics Dysart hopes to insert into the text.
"I'm sure there will be many because there are some great storylines in there," he said. "I will probably be altering them so they do not rhyme. That's not really the kind of piece we're going for. It's not a music video on paper."
As for Young himself, Dysart was coy about whether the music great would make a cameo.
"In the film, a sort of a supernatural entity arrives in town who is like a white blues man, basically all dressed in a red suit and a red fedora and patent leather shoes," he says. "Now, that character is going to be in the piece and if that character looks strikingly similar to Neil Young, then I don't know what to say."
TORONTO -- Outspoken musician and political activist Neil Young is putting his anti-war and environmental convictions into a graphic novel.
The book will be an adaptation of Young's 2003 disc "Greendale," a 10-song concept album that was turned into a film of the same name in 2003 and also spawned an art book and multi-media tour.
The legendary artist, renowned for his strong anti-George W. Bush sentiments, has made it clear that the project will be just as biting politically as the rest of his artistic catalogue, said writer and collaborator Joshua Dysart.
Dysart, who describes his own political leanings as "left of Lenin," says the graphic novel's theme is decidedly anti-war and pro-planet. The story is set in the fictional town of Greendale on the eve of the Iraq invasion in 2003.
"It's just sort of a smorgasbord of the political reality of that moment of 2003 when we went into Iraq," Dysart said Thursday in a telephone interview from his home Los Angeles.
"Greendale is a fictional town but it's in northern California and the politics and concerns of northern California are going to be very prevalent and that's: anti-war, environmentalism and the raping of the California resources by major corporations in the pocket of the Bush administration."
The novel has been two years in the making and will be published by the DC Comics subsidiary Vertigo. Dysart said he's only completed a sketch of the storyline so far and hopes the book could be completed next year.
The idea for the novel came from Young himself, he adds, but so far the Canadian rocker has taken a largely arms-length approach to directing the narrative.
Major elements, however, are drawn directly from his disc "Greendale," said Dysart, also behind an Avril Lavigne graphic novel released earlier this year called "Make Five Wishes."
Young's album "Greendale" told the story of a tragic event and its effects on three generations of an American family.
The graphic novel focuses on the story of Sun Green, a teenager and burgeoning activist whose life is changed when a mysterious stranger pays a visit to her small town.
It also places great significance on her family's unique ability to connect with nature, an aspect referred to only casually in the art book, said Dysart.
"I just clued into that because it hadn't been explored in other mediums and the last thing I wanted to do was just kind of regurgitate the storyline," Dysart explained.
A big challenge for Dysart will be just how to capture Young's unconventional persona.
"There is this sort of low-fi, loose E-string humming Americana rock-n-roll about that album and about a lot of his work," he notes.
"I want to find that (feeling) inside of our medium. And part of that is going to be what (artist) Sean (Murphy) brings to it, obviously. I think, for instance, the way he uses ink is going to very much have that sort of a strong intensity. He can be a splatterer when encouraged with his ink and I think that will help a lot."
Those who know the album well will likely recognize a few song lyrics Dysart hopes to insert into the text.
"I'm sure there will be many because there are some great storylines in there," he said. "I will probably be altering them so they do not rhyme. That's not really the kind of piece we're going for. It's not a music video on paper."
As for Young himself, Dysart was coy about whether the music great would make a cameo.
"In the film, a sort of a supernatural entity arrives in town who is like a white blues man, basically all dressed in a red suit and a red fedora and patent leather shoes," he says. "Now, that character is going to be in the piece and if that character looks strikingly similar to Neil Young, then I don't know what to say."
Richard Thompson brings tight band, anti-war view to Park West
By Alan Sculley Correspondent, DailySouthtown.com, June 13, 2007
Guitarist/singer Richard Thompson knows he has one of the best touring bands in the business, with multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn, bassist Danny Thompson (no relation) and drummer Michael Jerome on board for his current tour.
That doesn’t mean Thompson can’t dream of bigger and even better.
“It’s a compact band,” he said recently by phone. “The fact that we have Pete Zorn, he plays so many instruments that we can kind of keep it pared down to just four people.
“Economics are ever-tougher out there on the road. Four pieces is really all I can afford right now. I always think I’d like to add another voice to the band and another instrument maybe, but that’s going to be in the future, after this album is an enormous smash.”
Thompson, of course, isn’t really expecting the new CD in question, “Sweet Warrior,” to set the charts on fire. Despite being universally hailed as one of rock’s most talented songwriters and a guitarist good enough to have been ranked number 19 in a 2003 “Rolling Stone” list of the top 100 rock guitarists of all time, he’s never had a hit single in the United States.
Thompson, who plays Park West in Chicago tonight, doesn’t seem to mind his position in the rock world. He has often said in interviews that he enjoys the artistic freedom that comes with being on the fringes of the mainstream.
That situation probably won’t change with “Sweet Warrior,” but the CD may bring Thompson more attention than usual because of one of its songs, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me.”
An anti-war anthem anchored by the catchy refrain of the song title, it vividly captures the gloomy reality of soldiers caught in the Iraq war, and in two especially powerful lines jabs at the entire motivation for the United States’ decision to go to war.
Ironically, the song didn’t start out to have as much of an anti-war message.
“I was just interested in the language the troops were using in the Iraq war,” Thompson said. “I think soldiers’ language is very interesting, the way they express their circumstances, they way they respond to the generals and politicians. It’s usually with humor and cynicism.
“In all wars, there’s very colorful language, which is the language with which the soldiers deal with things. And this is true of the Iraq war. You have these great phrases like ‘Dad’s gonna kill me,’ ‘Dad’s in a bad mood,’ ‘Dad’s got the blues,’ referring to Baghdad. I thought this kind of jargon was really interesting, so I kind of spun a song out of these phrases. So that was my original interest in the song.
“I was trying to be sympathetic to the troops,” he said. “That was also my first interest because I feel for the soldiers who are out there every day putting their lives on the line. That’s a terrible situation to be in, a very precarious situation to be in. It’s only later in the song that I question the reasons for them being there, that it becomes a lot more blatantly an anti-war song.”
Still, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” shouldn’t be the only reason for Thompson to get more media attention. “Sweet Warrior” is among Thompson’s better CDs – no small statement for a musician whose catalog now stretches back 40 years (to when he co-founded the trailblazing English folk group Fairport Convention), and includes several albums that often land on all-time best album lists, such as the 1982 release “Shoot Out The Lights” (which he recorded with his ex-wife, Linda Thompson), “Rumour and Sigh”(1991) and “Amnesia” (1988).
Like virtually all of his albums, “Sweet Warrior” mixes Thompson’s love of English folk with a gritty yet highly melodic brand of rock. The new CD rocks a bit harder than Thompson’s most recent electric album, 2003’s “The Old Kit Bag,” as songs like “I’ll Never Give It Up,” “Mr. Stupid” and “Bad Monkey” (the latter an extended romp in the accordion-laced musical tradition of the Thompson concert favorite “Tear Stained Letter”) give “Sweet Warrior” plenty of friskiness.
Several slower songs, though, also come with considerable edge and bring a sense of gravity to the CD. The songs “Poppy-Red,” “She Sang Angels To Rest” “Take Care The Road You Choose” all fit into this setting and feature particularly striking dimly hued melodies.
Thompson frequently exceeds the quality of his studio work on stage, and his current tour promises to find him putting some musical twists into his shows.
“I have kind of a short list for the tour, which is going to be different from recent tours,” Thompson said. “Obviously there will be stuff off of the new record, as much as the audience can absorb, which is going to be between six and eight songs in the show.”
“Then I’m trying to find some variations on older material. So we’ll be dragging out some more unusual songs from the '70s, '80s, maybe '60s. So it’s a mixed bag.”
If you go ...
Who: The Richard Thompson Band
When: 8 tonight
Where: Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $28
Information: Call (312) 559-1212 or visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/
Guitarist/singer Richard Thompson knows he has one of the best touring bands in the business, with multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn, bassist Danny Thompson (no relation) and drummer Michael Jerome on board for his current tour.
That doesn’t mean Thompson can’t dream of bigger and even better.
“It’s a compact band,” he said recently by phone. “The fact that we have Pete Zorn, he plays so many instruments that we can kind of keep it pared down to just four people.
“Economics are ever-tougher out there on the road. Four pieces is really all I can afford right now. I always think I’d like to add another voice to the band and another instrument maybe, but that’s going to be in the future, after this album is an enormous smash.”
Thompson, of course, isn’t really expecting the new CD in question, “Sweet Warrior,” to set the charts on fire. Despite being universally hailed as one of rock’s most talented songwriters and a guitarist good enough to have been ranked number 19 in a 2003 “Rolling Stone” list of the top 100 rock guitarists of all time, he’s never had a hit single in the United States.
Thompson, who plays Park West in Chicago tonight, doesn’t seem to mind his position in the rock world. He has often said in interviews that he enjoys the artistic freedom that comes with being on the fringes of the mainstream.
That situation probably won’t change with “Sweet Warrior,” but the CD may bring Thompson more attention than usual because of one of its songs, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me.”
An anti-war anthem anchored by the catchy refrain of the song title, it vividly captures the gloomy reality of soldiers caught in the Iraq war, and in two especially powerful lines jabs at the entire motivation for the United States’ decision to go to war.
Ironically, the song didn’t start out to have as much of an anti-war message.
“I was just interested in the language the troops were using in the Iraq war,” Thompson said. “I think soldiers’ language is very interesting, the way they express their circumstances, they way they respond to the generals and politicians. It’s usually with humor and cynicism.
“In all wars, there’s very colorful language, which is the language with which the soldiers deal with things. And this is true of the Iraq war. You have these great phrases like ‘Dad’s gonna kill me,’ ‘Dad’s in a bad mood,’ ‘Dad’s got the blues,’ referring to Baghdad. I thought this kind of jargon was really interesting, so I kind of spun a song out of these phrases. So that was my original interest in the song.
“I was trying to be sympathetic to the troops,” he said. “That was also my first interest because I feel for the soldiers who are out there every day putting their lives on the line. That’s a terrible situation to be in, a very precarious situation to be in. It’s only later in the song that I question the reasons for them being there, that it becomes a lot more blatantly an anti-war song.”
Still, “Dad’s Gonna Kill Me” shouldn’t be the only reason for Thompson to get more media attention. “Sweet Warrior” is among Thompson’s better CDs – no small statement for a musician whose catalog now stretches back 40 years (to when he co-founded the trailblazing English folk group Fairport Convention), and includes several albums that often land on all-time best album lists, such as the 1982 release “Shoot Out The Lights” (which he recorded with his ex-wife, Linda Thompson), “Rumour and Sigh”(1991) and “Amnesia” (1988).
Like virtually all of his albums, “Sweet Warrior” mixes Thompson’s love of English folk with a gritty yet highly melodic brand of rock. The new CD rocks a bit harder than Thompson’s most recent electric album, 2003’s “The Old Kit Bag,” as songs like “I’ll Never Give It Up,” “Mr. Stupid” and “Bad Monkey” (the latter an extended romp in the accordion-laced musical tradition of the Thompson concert favorite “Tear Stained Letter”) give “Sweet Warrior” plenty of friskiness.
Several slower songs, though, also come with considerable edge and bring a sense of gravity to the CD. The songs “Poppy-Red,” “She Sang Angels To Rest” “Take Care The Road You Choose” all fit into this setting and feature particularly striking dimly hued melodies.
Thompson frequently exceeds the quality of his studio work on stage, and his current tour promises to find him putting some musical twists into his shows.
“I have kind of a short list for the tour, which is going to be different from recent tours,” Thompson said. “Obviously there will be stuff off of the new record, as much as the audience can absorb, which is going to be between six and eight songs in the show.”
“Then I’m trying to find some variations on older material. So we’ll be dragging out some more unusual songs from the '70s, '80s, maybe '60s. So it’s a mixed bag.”
If you go ...
Who: The Richard Thompson Band
When: 8 tonight
Where: Park West, 322 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago
Tickets: $28
Information: Call (312) 559-1212 or visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/
Hip-hop has been vocal about the war
by Davey D Special to the Mercury News
June 12, 2007, ThugLifeArmy.com
While debates raged in Congress recently about funding the war in Iraq, the Source Magazine, which has long been considered the bible of hip-hop, published an article asking why more rap artists haven't spoken out against the war. It also profiled Oakland rapper Boots Riley of the Coup and Mississippi rapper David Banner, because both have been vocal from Day One about their opposition to U.S. intervention in Iraq and assertions that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Ironically, the Source article hit the newsstands at the same time as a Chicago Tribune column by Grammy-nominated rap superstar Twista, who took the president to task for his veto of an early bill that attached war funding to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Twista urged fans to speak up and do whatever they could to bring the troops home.
"They didn't attack us, so why should we have to attack them?" he wrote. "Sometimes I don't know what to think."
I'm certain Twista was offended by the Source article, just as I was, because his position on the war was similar to that of countless hip-hop artists who have expressed vehement opposition and have taken action.
In the Bay Area, three anti-war hip-hop compilation albums have been released: Hard Knock Records' critically acclaimed "What About Us," which featured Zion I, Blackalicious, Michael Franti, the Frontline, Piper of Flipsyde, Rico Pabon and Hobo Junction, among others; "War (if it feels good do it!)," a compilation by Bay Area music veteran Billy Jam, which features sound montages skillfully mixed by the DJs of Mass Destruction and songs from Public Enemy, Mr. Lif and local artists Azeem and Aya de Leon; and "War Times - Reports From the Opposition," put out by Oakland's Freedom Fighter Music, hosted by political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and featuring anti-war songs by local artists Goapele, Hanifah Walidah, Felonious and Red Guard and tracks by nationally known spoken-word artists Danny Hoch and Suheir Hammad. Many of the artists on "War Times" also organized and participated in anti-war rallies around the country.
We would be remiss not to mention Bay Area rapper Paris' album "Sonic Jihad," which was probably the first disc addressing the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq. Featured on this landmark LP were dead prez, Kam and Public Enemy. The album was accompanied by a 10-page essay and, later, a DVD breaking down the politics behind Sept. 11 and the war on terror. It sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide.
Also deserving a mention is San Francisco's Rappin' 4-Tay, who teamed with then-presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich to do the song "Weapons of Mass Distraction."
These examples represent just the tip of the iceberg. To date, more than 100 anti-war songs have been put out by hip-hop artists.
They range from Snoop Dogg's insightful "Brothers and Sisters" to Nas' Tears for Fears-inspired "Rule," Eminem's groundbreaking "Mosh," Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mele-Mel's "Tha Bushes,", Sage Francis's "Makeshift Patriot" and KRS's heartfelt track "Soldier." Even the Ying Yang Twins released an anti-war song, "We at War." These are just a few of many that stand out.
Former San Jose producer Fredwreck brought together some of the biggest acts on the West Coast, including Mack 10, WC, Dilated Peoples, Defari, Cypress Hill and Daz, to do two anti-war songs, "Down With Us" and "Dear Mr. President." Radio stations were afraid to touch these politically charged songs, even though they were available for free.
Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Cypress Hill, Mobb Deep, Saul Williams, Wyclef Jean and Talib Kweli are also among those who have recorded, or were featured on, anti-war songs. We had all sorts of Hip Hop journalists and scholars ranging from author Kevin Powell to Professor Michael Eric Dyson to activist /author Adrienne Marie Brown formerly of the League of Pissed off Voters who have been vocal in their writings about the wrongness of the War. People should not forget that KRS-One held a well attended anti-war/9-11 conference in LA to mark the one year anniversary of 9-11. The event included artists like MC Lyte and Kool Moe Dee to name a few. This is just a short list of Hip Hoppers who have
Lastly we have several under-reported stories where Hip Hop stood up against the War. The first involved P-Diddy who several months before he launched his Citizen for Change/Vote or Die campaign in February of 2004, astonished a large crowd in Los Angeles attending the Rock the Vote/Lippert Awards. Diddy upon receiving an award gave a 7 minute speech in which he pledged to 'Kick George Bush's ass out of office'. He apologized to the event organizers who were supposed to be non-partisan and then he repeated his remarks. He went on to note that Bush needed to go because of the immeasurable pain he had caused countless inner city mothers who's sons and daughters had died in an 'illegal war'. Hearing Diddy go off on the political tip was dope and at the time a welcome breath of fresh air. In spite of the throngs of media present including MTV and the LA Times, Diddy's explosive anti-war remarks were hardly reported. It took me several weeks before I finally was able to obtain a copy of his remarks and at the time I sat on the advisory board for RTV.
Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons was much more blunt and explosive with his remarks directed toward Senator Hillary Clinton shortly after the start of the Iraq War. He along with Big Daddy Kane and Killer Priest appeared on our syndicated Hard Knock Radio show where all three spoke out forcefully against the war. Simmons put Clinton on full blast, accusing her of selling out and being untrustworthy. He remarked how he given all sorts of money to help get her elected and was angry that she would support the war which he felt was wrong. Simmons was also clear about expressing his concern for the number of poor people who were likely to wind up on the front lines dying.
Just recently, we had Washington DC based Hip Hop Caucus do a two month Make Hip Hop not War tour in over ten cities and colleges campuses throughout the US. Reverend Yearwood who headed up the tour wanted to make sure that Hip Hop had a stronger presence in the anti-war movement. Artists ranging from Akir to Immortal Technique to Hasan Salaam to Mystic to DJ Chela who did an anti-war mixtape called 'Embedded Reporter' all partook.
As I mentioned earlier, all this is just the tip of the Iceberg, so let it never be said hip-hop has been silent about the war. We need to ask why we haven't heard more of these voices in the mainstream. If there's anyone that's been silent and complicit, it's been those big time broadcast, newspaper and television owners and programmers who went along with Bush's war agenda in the face of overwhelming evidence suggesting we go in another direction.
June 12, 2007, ThugLifeArmy.com
While debates raged in Congress recently about funding the war in Iraq, the Source Magazine, which has long been considered the bible of hip-hop, published an article asking why more rap artists haven't spoken out against the war. It also profiled Oakland rapper Boots Riley of the Coup and Mississippi rapper David Banner, because both have been vocal from Day One about their opposition to U.S. intervention in Iraq and assertions that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
Ironically, the Source article hit the newsstands at the same time as a Chicago Tribune column by Grammy-nominated rap superstar Twista, who took the president to task for his veto of an early bill that attached war funding to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. Twista urged fans to speak up and do whatever they could to bring the troops home.
"They didn't attack us, so why should we have to attack them?" he wrote. "Sometimes I don't know what to think."
I'm certain Twista was offended by the Source article, just as I was, because his position on the war was similar to that of countless hip-hop artists who have expressed vehement opposition and have taken action.
In the Bay Area, three anti-war hip-hop compilation albums have been released: Hard Knock Records' critically acclaimed "What About Us," which featured Zion I, Blackalicious, Michael Franti, the Frontline, Piper of Flipsyde, Rico Pabon and Hobo Junction, among others; "War (if it feels good do it!)," a compilation by Bay Area music veteran Billy Jam, which features sound montages skillfully mixed by the DJs of Mass Destruction and songs from Public Enemy, Mr. Lif and local artists Azeem and Aya de Leon; and "War Times - Reports From the Opposition," put out by Oakland's Freedom Fighter Music, hosted by political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal and featuring anti-war songs by local artists Goapele, Hanifah Walidah, Felonious and Red Guard and tracks by nationally known spoken-word artists Danny Hoch and Suheir Hammad. Many of the artists on "War Times" also organized and participated in anti-war rallies around the country.
We would be remiss not to mention Bay Area rapper Paris' album "Sonic Jihad," which was probably the first disc addressing the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and the war in Iraq. Featured on this landmark LP were dead prez, Kam and Public Enemy. The album was accompanied by a 10-page essay and, later, a DVD breaking down the politics behind Sept. 11 and the war on terror. It sold more than 300,000 copies worldwide.
Also deserving a mention is San Francisco's Rappin' 4-Tay, who teamed with then-presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich to do the song "Weapons of Mass Distraction."
These examples represent just the tip of the iceberg. To date, more than 100 anti-war songs have been put out by hip-hop artists.
They range from Snoop Dogg's insightful "Brothers and Sisters" to Nas' Tears for Fears-inspired "Rule," Eminem's groundbreaking "Mosh," Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Mele-Mel's "Tha Bushes,", Sage Francis's "Makeshift Patriot" and KRS's heartfelt track "Soldier." Even the Ying Yang Twins released an anti-war song, "We at War." These are just a few of many that stand out.
Former San Jose producer Fredwreck brought together some of the biggest acts on the West Coast, including Mack 10, WC, Dilated Peoples, Defari, Cypress Hill and Daz, to do two anti-war songs, "Down With Us" and "Dear Mr. President." Radio stations were afraid to touch these politically charged songs, even though they were available for free.
Lupe Fiasco, Jay-Z, Cypress Hill, Mobb Deep, Saul Williams, Wyclef Jean and Talib Kweli are also among those who have recorded, or were featured on, anti-war songs. We had all sorts of Hip Hop journalists and scholars ranging from author Kevin Powell to Professor Michael Eric Dyson to activist /author Adrienne Marie Brown formerly of the League of Pissed off Voters who have been vocal in their writings about the wrongness of the War. People should not forget that KRS-One held a well attended anti-war/9-11 conference in LA to mark the one year anniversary of 9-11. The event included artists like MC Lyte and Kool Moe Dee to name a few. This is just a short list of Hip Hoppers who have
Lastly we have several under-reported stories where Hip Hop stood up against the War. The first involved P-Diddy who several months before he launched his Citizen for Change/Vote or Die campaign in February of 2004, astonished a large crowd in Los Angeles attending the Rock the Vote/Lippert Awards. Diddy upon receiving an award gave a 7 minute speech in which he pledged to 'Kick George Bush's ass out of office'. He apologized to the event organizers who were supposed to be non-partisan and then he repeated his remarks. He went on to note that Bush needed to go because of the immeasurable pain he had caused countless inner city mothers who's sons and daughters had died in an 'illegal war'. Hearing Diddy go off on the political tip was dope and at the time a welcome breath of fresh air. In spite of the throngs of media present including MTV and the LA Times, Diddy's explosive anti-war remarks were hardly reported. It took me several weeks before I finally was able to obtain a copy of his remarks and at the time I sat on the advisory board for RTV.
Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons was much more blunt and explosive with his remarks directed toward Senator Hillary Clinton shortly after the start of the Iraq War. He along with Big Daddy Kane and Killer Priest appeared on our syndicated Hard Knock Radio show where all three spoke out forcefully against the war. Simmons put Clinton on full blast, accusing her of selling out and being untrustworthy. He remarked how he given all sorts of money to help get her elected and was angry that she would support the war which he felt was wrong. Simmons was also clear about expressing his concern for the number of poor people who were likely to wind up on the front lines dying.
Just recently, we had Washington DC based Hip Hop Caucus do a two month Make Hip Hop not War tour in over ten cities and colleges campuses throughout the US. Reverend Yearwood who headed up the tour wanted to make sure that Hip Hop had a stronger presence in the anti-war movement. Artists ranging from Akir to Immortal Technique to Hasan Salaam to Mystic to DJ Chela who did an anti-war mixtape called 'Embedded Reporter' all partook.
As I mentioned earlier, all this is just the tip of the Iceberg, so let it never be said hip-hop has been silent about the war. We need to ask why we haven't heard more of these voices in the mainstream. If there's anyone that's been silent and complicit, it's been those big time broadcast, newspaper and television owners and programmers who went along with Bush's war agenda in the face of overwhelming evidence suggesting we go in another direction.
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