link: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=13752
Hip Hop Confronts War
Walidah Imarisha, War Times
August 2, 2002
Viewed on August 7, 2002
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Since Sept. 11 corporate media have regurgitated the government's mindless pro-war propaganda. It's not just CNN and NBC, though: big money rappers have fallen in line to rally 'round the flag, from Mystikal to R. Kelly to Wu-Tang Clan to MC Hammer.
"Whether you have Dan Rather or Wyclef or Ja Rule wrapped up in red, white and blue, it's the same, because then they become the Dan Rather of the hip hop community," says Mario Africa of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, publisher of AWOL, a political hip hop magazine.
Rapper Canibus' song "Draft Me" is just part of a media blitz feeding the racist attacks that have claimed dozens of Middle Eastern/Arab/South and Central Asian people since Sept. 11: "Lurkin', to leave y'all with bloody red turbans/Screamin ‘Jihad!' while y'all pray to a false god/We ready for all out war, it's time to settle the score." The song ends with a clip of George W. Bush.
But luckily, underground hip hop is speaking out against the "war on terrorism," operating, as Africa says, as town criers. "It's these cats who are selling their CDs out of their backpacks and the trunk of their cars who come with the analysis, because they can say this is what it means to me, because we live under the gun."
Folks have organized shows, like the May 12 LA Not in Our Name show, which drew over 1,200 people. Africa and AWOL Magazine are now planning a Sept. 11 spoken word show in Berkeley, Calif. to address both political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal's case and post-911 America.
And hip hop artists/organizers are still doing what they know best: creating art. Seattle hip hoppers put out "911amerika" earlier this year (See www.nwexplosion.com). Gabriel Teodros, one of the organizers, says, "I was disturbed that for the first time in my life people of color were waving U.S. flags and screaming retaliation ... The CD just felt like the best thing we could do to help combat the self-destruction."
Erik Wissa works with the Boston American Friends Service Committee's hip hop program Critical Breakdown. He says hip hop, as the voice of young people today, is a vital tool for the progressive movement. "A lot of organizations don't see the power in music, but cultural workers have always been at the forefront of every movement."
Critical Breakdown is working with South Africa-based Bush Radio, Big Noise Films and AWOL to put out a CD entitled "Infinite War" (See http://awol.objector.org). It would be a global voice against the war on terrorism.
Many groups have joined forces, realizing that making a dent in the pro-war propaganda machine is going to take a concerted effort. "There's so much division in hip hop already: east coast, west coast, underground, mainstream," says Kevin Ramirez of 3rdworldwide and AWOL. "It's really time we start working together, linking up now, before we're either all drafted or bombed."
Walidah Imarisha is a spoken word artist, journalist and organizer with Good Sista/Bad Sista and AWOL Magazine.
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Reproduction of material from any AlterNet.org pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. © 2002 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
Hip Hop Confronts War
Walidah Imarisha, War Times
August 2, 2002
Viewed on August 7, 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Since Sept. 11 corporate media have regurgitated the government's mindless pro-war propaganda. It's not just CNN and NBC, though: big money rappers have fallen in line to rally 'round the flag, from Mystikal to R. Kelly to Wu-Tang Clan to MC Hammer.
"Whether you have Dan Rather or Wyclef or Ja Rule wrapped up in red, white and blue, it's the same, because then they become the Dan Rather of the hip hop community," says Mario Africa of the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, publisher of AWOL, a political hip hop magazine.
Rapper Canibus' song "Draft Me" is just part of a media blitz feeding the racist attacks that have claimed dozens of Middle Eastern/Arab/South and Central Asian people since Sept. 11: "Lurkin', to leave y'all with bloody red turbans/Screamin ‘Jihad!' while y'all pray to a false god/We ready for all out war, it's time to settle the score." The song ends with a clip of George W. Bush.
But luckily, underground hip hop is speaking out against the "war on terrorism," operating, as Africa says, as town criers. "It's these cats who are selling their CDs out of their backpacks and the trunk of their cars who come with the analysis, because they can say this is what it means to me, because we live under the gun."
Folks have organized shows, like the May 12 LA Not in Our Name show, which drew over 1,200 people. Africa and AWOL Magazine are now planning a Sept. 11 spoken word show in Berkeley, Calif. to address both political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal's case and post-911 America.
And hip hop artists/organizers are still doing what they know best: creating art. Seattle hip hoppers put out "911amerika" earlier this year (See www.nwexplosion.com). Gabriel Teodros, one of the organizers, says, "I was disturbed that for the first time in my life people of color were waving U.S. flags and screaming retaliation ... The CD just felt like the best thing we could do to help combat the self-destruction."
Erik Wissa works with the Boston American Friends Service Committee's hip hop program Critical Breakdown. He says hip hop, as the voice of young people today, is a vital tool for the progressive movement. "A lot of organizations don't see the power in music, but cultural workers have always been at the forefront of every movement."
Critical Breakdown is working with South Africa-based Bush Radio, Big Noise Films and AWOL to put out a CD entitled "Infinite War" (See http://awol.objector.org). It would be a global voice against the war on terrorism.
Many groups have joined forces, realizing that making a dent in the pro-war propaganda machine is going to take a concerted effort. "There's so much division in hip hop already: east coast, west coast, underground, mainstream," says Kevin Ramirez of 3rdworldwide and AWOL. "It's really time we start working together, linking up now, before we're either all drafted or bombed."
Walidah Imarisha is a spoken word artist, journalist and organizer with Good Sista/Bad Sista and AWOL Magazine.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Reproduction of material from any AlterNet.org pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. © 2002 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.