by Jared Ball aka The Funkinest Journalist
February 8, 2003
"Culture is created only by the people. All artists use this culture.
They do not create it. A writer writes a song or a book, they did not create
music, language or writing; the people did. Thus, the artist only represents
the People's culture. The culture of all oppressed is the culture of resistance.
The enemy seeks to corrupt the artist into misrepresenting the people's
culture, thus betraying them. Thus all artists coming from an oppressed
people must represent resistance in their art form. Anything other than
this is betrayal."
-Kwame Ture
For those of us who take these words of Kwame Ture seriously loving rap music is often difficult. Many have written or discussed this ongoing problem and in an attempt to avoid such repetition let me just say that it was nice to again see Dead Prez doing their thing. For one night at least lovers of revolution could avoid those regular feelings of tension and guilt we get when often we listen to our beloved rap music. Thankfully, Dead Prez force no such contradictions upon their ideologically in-tune fan base.
“Turn off your radio, turn off that bullshit...” was the Dead Prez call last night as they thundered onto the stage of the 9:30 Club (Washington, DC 2/8/03). The title track from their most recent release could not be more appropriate or timely. The radio, with all of its potential, is more an enemy than friend to American born Africans and hearing that point made so well, with absolutely no apologies, over such well-crafted beats was nothing less than a treat. At a time when analysis and direction are sorely needed it was just refreshing and inspiring to hear the rap art form put to such good use. With a wonderful blend of music, projected images and tight beats Dead Prez instructed, challenged and rocked the crowd all at once.
As practitioners of what they preach - these cats are far more about their lyrics than the average fake Corleone-thuggin’/Escobar-dope dealin’ TV gangster rappers - Dead Prez gave us stylish rhymes offering instruction on how to get over on your boss and your tax collector, how to physically and mentally prepare for this world and defend against this rabid dog of an un-elected Bush administration. Most importantly everything from suggestions on how to get over on credit cards, avoid an illegal tax system and the need to liberate funds or equipment from your place of employment all were geared toward supplying the needs of our community. The bottom line is that if you know anything about the current economic system (some refer to it as capitalism) then you know that poverty is programmed, ignorance is cultivated and relief from these ills can only come from the bottom up. This is what Dead Prez live and teach. And as MCs and producers they and their crew are not at all bad.
Speaking of crew. I cannot end this without a strong shout out to Dead Prez RBG member (Revolutionary But Gangsta/Red, Black and Green, Revolutionary Black Guerrilla) Tahir whose opening performance was on fire! Again, solid beat production mixed with unrelentingly powerful revolutionary lyrics constructed as well as any. This brotha is fierce and his album Recoil (in the streets only or ask me for a copy but don’t bother looking in stores yet) borrows the much-used “Malcolm in the window with machine gun” pose album cover but brings a fresh set of for-the-people lyrics.
We should support these artists and remember that it is “bigger than hip-hop.” Like most American born African cultural production rap music is resistance-based. Thanks to Dead Prez and crew we have some shining examples of that. These cats are beyond the vague, though brilliant, lyrics of Talib Kweli, Mos Def and Common. Dead Prez is blatant, unabashed, unapologetic make-change music. The open political clarity of pan-African unity, African socialism and revolutionary militancy mixed with musical and lyrical genius is on a level far and above what anyone else has produced in rap music history. They have truly built upon a tradition passed to them by KRS-One, Chuck D and X-Clan. This is so, in part, because they are practicing the essence of the statement by Ture, “... all artists coming from an oppressed people must represent resistance in their art form. Anything other than this is betrayal.”
Make sure to cop Turn Off Your Radio and the next Dead Prez album set to drop on May 19th -Malcolm X’s birthday - on which, M1 has told me, sometimey political flame-thrower Nas will appear. I am looking forward to what such a collaboration might bring out of him.
-Jared Ball, aka The Funkinest Journalist, is a founding member of Organized Community Of United People (COUP) a Washington, DC - based organization for total change (www.voxunion.com/coup). He has a master's degree in Africana Studies from the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University and is currently a Ph.D. student in Journalism at the University of Maryland. He is also a host of Chaos Or Community a weekly radio foray into funk, news, history and politics.