Cultural Exchange: South Africa and USA Youth Development Through Hip Hop, Dance and Culture

April 26, 2011 | Leave a Comment

PROJECT UPDATE Cultural Exchange: South Africa and USA Youth Development Through Hip Hop, Dance and Culture [Magee and friends on Hiking Table Mountain, Cape Town] April 12, 2011, Washington DC On March 14th, 2011, Junious Brickhouse, aka House (Urban Artistry), and I (Nomadic Wax) traveled from Washington DC to Cape Town as cultural envoys with the US State Department. The 2011 exchange had grown out of a project initiated by Nomadic Wax and myself during the summer of 2010. This project, The 2010 Cape Town 2 DC arts exchange, brought two of South Africa’s leading hip hop artist activists, DJ Thee Angelo and Emile YX?, to Washington DC for two weeks of collaboration with local artists and activists. As members of Black Noise (one of South Africa’s first hip hop groups and dance crews), arts activists, and educators with the non- profit Heal the Hood, these two artists were able to contribute indispensible knowledge and experience to the program. Working with artists like former State Department Hip Hop Ambassador Kokayi, B-Boy IronMan, Flex Mathews, and DJ RBI (of Words, Beats, Life, Inc), we created a space to share strategies, workflows, and methodology. Among the many partnerships the exchange created, the strongest relationship was formed with DC dance collective Urban Artistry. Upon their return to South Africa, Heal the Hood began to work with the US Consulate in Cape Town to plan a return exchange, and to further strengthen the relationships that had been formed between the two arts communities. Heal the Hood?s partnership with the consulate resulted in the organizing of the second installment of the exchange which began in 2010. As representatives of US hip hop culture and our respective art forms, Junious and I were invited to South Africa to further strengthen the relationship with Heal the Hood and the South African arts community, as well as connect and work directly with local youth throughout the country. The mission of the project was to both identify and connect with underserved youth in the townships of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban. As both role models and educators, we were to conduct workshops with youth within our respective fields of expertise: ‘house’ dance & film. [Credit: Sizwe Ndlovu. Magee McIlvaine delivering a talk at University of Cape Town, South Africa on March 17, 2011] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. At a school in the Cape Flats] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. DJ Thee Angelo] Upon touchdown in Cape Town, it soon became apparent how dramatic the need for sustained youth work and arts activism is in Cape Town. This need was further reflected in the other locations we visited during the trip. Cape Town, and South Africa as a whole, is an extremely complex place. In Cape Town specifically, we were immediately welcomed into the realities of life in the so- called ?colored? communities throughout Mitchell?s Plain. This area is considered to have some of the worst gang-related violence in the world, and it is safe to say that young people in these neighborhoods are faced with very hard decisions on a daily basis. It was truly an honor to witness the work of Heal The Hood in these communities. Their approach is extremely effective and their access is unparalleled. Through dance and hip hop culture as a whole, Emile and his crew of young educators—who come from the very same neighborhoods– are able to foster the confidence of these young boys and girls, instilling in them a new sense of identity. They help these youth re-contextualize the idea of being ?African? as something positive– a message that is very much absent in many of the communities we visited. Their model for working with at-risk youth in the often-ignored black Afrikaans communities is very impressive. For more information on this community, watch this short film. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Cape Town] South African youth love Kwaito, which is the country’s own version of House music. Despite the prevalence of House music, knowledge of the actual dance techniques and the music genre?s history is somewhat lacking. Junious is a pro. I was very impressed with how he was able to jump into any situation and get kids (sometimes groups of 20, sometimes around 100) moving and having fun, while telling them the story of the music, and contextualizing it for them. In communities with few opportunities for traditional career paths, dance can be a way out. What is impressive about Junious and Emile?s work is that it places equal importance on technical skill, as well as building confidence and love for one’s-self. Not everyone will be able to tour the world like Black Noise have, but confidence and self-worth are important in all aspects of life. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Junious Brickhouse, house dance workshop in Johannesburg] As for me, my workshops focused on the basics of filmmaking. They were generally made up of kids who were very curious about film (especially horror films as a matter of fact) and dying to know how special effects worked, as well as the kids who were too shy to participate in the dance workshops. Knowing time constraints and equipment access were going to be an issue, I constructed my film workshops to focus on several key points. First, despite the vast economic disparities in South Africa, filmmaking is not an unattainable career for township youth. Second, through cell phone technology, almost every youth has access to the equipment they would need to start down the path of professional filmmaking. At their core, the workshops were about instilling in the participants the confidence to pursue film as a tangible career path, despite the challenges they might face. I believe that this approach worked quite well. One of the most memorable moments was when a young albino girl in a Township outside of Pretoria who demanded we shoot a short solo performance she had created, complete with characters and voices. Though very shy outside the workshop, when given access to a camera, her whole demeanor changed into that of a superstar. When I explained that she actually had access to cameras all along, through cell phones, she left the workshop both excited and motivated to continue filming herself and others. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine capturing an aspiring filmmaker at work.] [Credit: Two young participants in Magee's film workshop shooting some test video] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Film workshop in Johannesburg.] On a personal level, I learned a great deal from this experience. I have worked all across Africa, but this was my first project in South Africa. All the young people we worked with were hungry for the skills we were teaching. In fact, many already had the skills, but lacked the confidence to use them. With the level of racial tension, economic disparity, and a local division throughout South Africa, this kind of work with youth is all the more important. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Bboy doing a freeze in front of the Heal the Hood van.] Organizations like Heal the Hood are doing incredible work on a local level, and we met arts activists at different centers throughout the country doing similarly positive work. These kinds of projects need to be supported and expanded. I am in touch with a large number of people who either participated in one of my workshops, or hosted our program. I am working on potential collaborative projects and mentorships for some of the bright young filmmakers we met along the way. Magee McIlvaine Nomadic Wax, Creative Director For more pictures check out THIS ALBUM. Read about the exchange in a local South African Newspaper. Read about Emile YX? in Arts Review (Online African Culture Magazine) ****************** You can read more about the project’s partners here: Urban Artistry Heal the Hood Words, Beats and Life, Inc Nomadic Wax www.mageemcilvaine.com Black Noise Kokayi DJ RBI Heal the Hood at a school in the Cape Flats Dance Workshops With House Film workshops with Magee of Nomadic Wax Heal The Hood Project South African Promo 2011 RAPtivism – South Africa : Heal the Hood DJ Angelo: DC to Cape Town (2010) ft Flex Mathews The 2010 Cape Town 2 DC arts exchange This Spring’s cultural exchange adventure in South Africa was a follow up to the From Cape Town to D.C. program Nomadic Wax organized last July. In partnership with the DC Commission of the Arts & Humanities, Nomadic Wax hosted two legendary South African Artist-Diplomats (Emile XY? and DJ Thee ‘Angelo)who teamed up with two equally legendary DC artists (Kokayi and DJ RBI) to create a performance piece which was performed, recorded and filmed during the visit. Read more about the project. Be sure to watch this MINI-DOCUMENTARY about the exchange! Listen to a track from the piece HERE. (Video clips located below. Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 1 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 2 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 3 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 4 The ‘Cape Town 2 DC’ Exchange (2010): mini-doc       Featured Media Nomadic Wax Democracy in Haiti official mixtape plus some great videos! Libyan Youth Rap for Freedom With over 20 years of experience supporting peaceful change in the Middle East, Mercy Corps is empowering young people with IT and other career training, providing psychosocial support for children and youth traumatized by conflict; encouraging peaceful conflict resolution; and building business partnerships that stimulate sustainable job growth. Now they’re preparing to lend their expertise in bringing people together and creating opportunity to support those who want a better life in Libya. Produced, written and filmed by Cassandra Nelson. Watch the video here The ‘Cape Town 2 DC’ Exchange (2010): mini-doc Directed…Magee McIlvaine Edited…Magee McIlvaine DP…. Magee McIlvaine, Megan Keefe, Yusuf Harden, Lena Jackson This is a short piece documenting the 2010 arts exchange program organized by Nomadic Wax (with funding from the DC Commission for the Arts & Humanities) entitled ‘Cape Town 2 DC.’ The exchange focused on the collaboration and relationship building between the Cape Town and the Washington DC arts activist communities. Delegates from South Africa consisted of Black Noise’s Emile YX? and DJ Thee Angelo. From DC, we had Kokayi, DJ RBI (Words, Beats, Life, Inc), and B-Boy Ironman (Urban Artistry). Watch the video HERE Diaspora Mixtape Volume 2 Following the critical success of Diaspora Mixtape Volume 1, Nomadic Wax Records is proud to announce the release of a second installment in the series. With unparalleled levels of innovation, Nomadic Wax’s second Diaspora Mixtape is something the global urban media market has never encountered. Download free HERE! Free Album From ODDISEE: Mental Liberation D.C. based rapper and producer is allowing free downloads of his 2009 release "Mental Liberation" this week. Cop it!   Download the mixtape FREE   Connect with us:   Twitter   Facebook   You Tube   Vimeo Nomadic Wax, Brooklyn | DC | Genoa Italy | Worldwide E: info@nomadicwax.com

© 2010 Nomadic Wax LLC. All rights reserved.

Manila Hostage Crisis: Tragedy Speaks to Pre-existing Tensions

September 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment

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Manila Hostage Crisis: Tragedy Speaks to Pre-existing Tensions

By Camille Gutiérrez

4 September 2010

Just two weeks ago, one breaking story flooded every news station here in Hong Kong. On August 23rd, ex- policeman Rolando Mendoza boarded a bus in Manila took twenty-five passengers hostage – twenty-one of the Hong Kong tourists- and demanded his job at the police academy be reinstated. The footage reporters managed to capture shocked and outraged many. Despite their ability to capture the entire rescue operation on film, reporters took days to announce the final result that eight were dead. I remember I could actually see the inside of the bus on the television screen and thought this event was nothing short of an absolute disaster.

The Manila Hostage Crisis, as it has already been entered in Wikipedia, will create several long-term effects because of underlying issues that already existed. Already, changes are taking place. Although Bureau of Security in Hong Kong issued a travel ban to the Philippines only initially, Hong Kongers continue to cancel already purchased tickets. Just this past Sunday, Hong Kongers marched not only for the victims, but also to protest the Philippine government. Locals are criticizing Jackie Chan’s Tweets about the incident, meanwhile sports committees in the Philippines are taking measures so that Filipino athletes will not have to take connecting through Hong Kong to get to Guangzhou for the East Asian Games. Particularly anxious to remedy the situation are Philippine officials, who anticipate damage to the tourist economy and its effects on the country’s welfare.

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This event is a classic case of misplaced frustrations. The larger issues at hand are questions about the capability of institutional forces, like the police, in less developed or non-Western countries and pre-existing tensions between Hong Kongers and Filipinos. Southeast Asian countries, which many consider significant only as popular tourist destinations, will come under closer scrutiny. Locals are equally disappointed. G.k. Gonzalez, a reggae artist and radio DJ based in Cebu shares his perception of how the police responded: “To me, with all the high ranking police officials there, the military, the people, as well as politicians looking at their t.v., watching…that was the best solution they came up with?” Expressing the urgency of the aftermath he states, “We need a change. This can’t be happening and the people here in the Phils that are either tourists or foreigners thinking twice to see if they could have peace of mind being here in the islands.” Gonzalez adds, “I’m sorry for the families and loved ones involved in the tragedy…it’s unfortunate.”

In response to the circulating rumor that the Hong Kong government is blacklisting or blocking Filipinos, Gonzalez makes it clear that stereotyping can bring no good. “The act of one person doing bad or evil has become the act of all the Filipino people…its the Babylon system to me,” he says, referencing the Rastafarian belief that institutions can foster dishonesty and corruption. Emphasis should remain on Mendoza alone, whose actions are more than difficult to comprehend. Like many, Gonzales feels that in such situations the main objective should be to free the hostages. “Obviously, this is bigger than that and really that’s one thing they need to investigate because I’m one hundred percent sure that before the hostage taker did what he did…he really thought of it before doing so, you know what I mean?” poses Gonzales. Indeed, many news articles are attempting to get at that issue: circulating stories about what kind of policeman Mendoza was before his discharge, investigating the nature of his release charges and attempting to get at his moral character, if you will. Such an inclination is both natural and futile, because it will most likely do little to ease the pain of those who lost the victims.

When the answer to the natural question of how Rolando could do such a thing remains unknown, it is again both expected and detrimental for those hurting to point fingers in any direction possible. The coverage on the recent protest in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park has made a point of interviewing Chinese people who mention that they are not angry towards the local Filipinos. I do not dispute that many Hong Kongers are promoting tolerance. I have read countless facebook posts by my local friends and students condemning those drawing conclusions Filipinos at large and that discourage villainization in general. But it would be surprising to read the reverse in the papers. Filipinos comprise a substantial portion of Hong Kong’s population, over 140,000, and they are definitely aware of how other’s perception of them might change. What makes the situation delicate is that the majority of Filipinos in Hong Kong work for Chinese families as live-in housekeepers, or domestic helpers as they are referred to here, and thus lack a formal arena to speak on the matter.

Florence, Tytje and Mehel, who work as domestic helpers for the Central Sagada organization, were very willing to share their thoughts on Manila with the hope to apologize and at the same time remind others “not all Filipinos are Mendoza.” They agree that the “unprofessional and ineffective action” of the police force has “affected the Filipino community around the globe.” On the relationship between Chinese and Filipinos in Hong Kong, Florence states, “There is a feeling of indifference, anger, and frustrations among Chinese towards the Filipinos but it is very understandable in [sic] the part of the Filipino community because the event is still fresh in the hearts and minds of the Hong Kong people. It just so happens that the hostage taking was done in the Philippines but such [an] event can happen anywhere around the globe.” Their belief that “No one is to blame except the hostage taker. No one has to suffer the consequences of one’s wrongdoings except himself alone,” reminds me just how much power one man can achieve through a single action. I shudder when I think of other individuals who have executed similar feats throughout history.
Every time a tragedy occurs, we say change is necessary. But it is difficult to make a change when we are not fully aware of the before and after. I found it easier to learn how people felt about what happened in Manila than what actually happened. Various news sites report different facts about the number of hostages and lives taken, Mendoza’s former position, how the operation actually went down, and so on. By not taking one piece of information we come across at face value, we prevent the distribution of verbal chaos. In the meantime, we will hold our breath and watch the future of another country unfold, hoping it is for the best.
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MC Sbazzo – The Light (preview)

August 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Sbazzo, self-proclaimed King of Beijing, has been grinding for a minute now, simultaneously establishing buzz as a group and solo artist, as well as nurturing the fledgling Chinese hip-hop scene. With accolades from sources as diverse as the LA Times, New York Times, The Beijinger, and City Weekend (Beijing), his crew, Yin’tsang, is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the underground hip-hop movement in mainland China.

With XIV heading back to America and the final Yin’tsang album in the stages of mixing and mastering, Sbazzo is gearing up to launch a solo career with the release of his first solo EP, The Light. The first preview music video teaser is out now on Youtube and Youku:

Galaxy High – From the People, to the People

May 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Power to the People, Galaxy High’s recently released single, floats along on a buzzing cloud of snares and loping samples.

A self-styled “multilingual ambassador,” Galaxy High is a Swedish-born Gambian Londoner, by the end of his teenage decade already a veteran of the BMG Scandinavia roster, courtesy of his Hundreadz collective – in his words, “pointed out as the Scandinavian Boot Camp Clik.”

Off the strength of Power to the People, I called up Galaxy High in London and listened as he broke down his influences and spirituality, explained why rap cannot be pop (but sometimes is), and outlined his next steps.

Nomadic Wax: What’s the background behind the Power to the People single? Why drop this track right now?

Galaxy High: Power to the People was a quick thing, let’s do it and put it out to the people for free… It’s not a dance track, but it’s more reflective and trying to be something to vibe to. I’m being a bit conscious there, but I like to be light-hearted in terms of how I’m conscious. You have a lot of artists that’s revolutionary, trying to change up the whole system – I’m not this or that, I’m in between both of them. I’m not like, here comes the new underground artist.

I do have a new EP coming out soon, Hello Mellow, so I just wanted to hit them with something to let them know the EP’s coming.

NW: You call yourself the “multilingual ambassador”, and that’s evident throughout your music – in this track, you flip it up and spit in a couple of languages on the chorus. What does it mean to you, to be in that role?

GH: I like to, I like to go back to my roots, and let my roots be in both the West and Africa. So I have both of those sides, really.

NW: Why does hip-hop, why does the world, need someone speaking from that perspective? Where do you get that motivation to put yourself in this role?

GH: Basically, I get my drive from just being me – as an artist, [hip-hop is] an art form, and art comes from your experience, your expression, and your way of interpreting life around you…. [It can include] things that you might not know – but I’m more in tune with what I know, what I’ve seen, and that’s been very multicultural, very colorful.

I was born in Sweden, grown up in Gambia, returned to Sweden, it’s like two different worlds – so you absorb, it’s a very colorful environment to grow up in both those worlds. And you meet people in both languages, both cultures. So I’m not from New York, but I’m very international in my accent. I felt home, straight, the first day I visited New York.

NW: True – I remember, growing up, I was listening to hip-hop so much – old school New York rappers – the first time I visited the city, I was blown away by how much seemed familiar. Of course rap has grown out and taken on new influences, but New York is so imprinted on the DNA of the culture… subways, graffiti, the boroughs, all that.

GH: Exactly, exactly. I think being multicultural comes from my roots, being surrounded by multiculturalism, growing up in two different worlds and knowing them well, knowing the customs and stuff. So it’s part of me, I don’t even have to think about it when I pick up a pad and paper. Whatever comes to me, comes to me.

And I think, God gives gifts to everyone. And that’s just me expressing myself in the way that I’ve been gifted by my surroundings. So it’s only right if I’m being real to me.

NW: What is the meaning of “Galaxy High” – what are you conveying by adopting that name?

GH: Galaxy High, it’s like, outer space, out of here – going beyond the majority of what you see. [A lot of music is] all kind of the same, referring to the same thing, following whoever’s big there, they think that that’s the way to go if you want to reach success. I’ve always been a person that’s a little bit unique in my thinking, in a way. I’m not a follower, I’m a leader of my own self. I’m not telling people, let me be your leader – I’m just a leader of my own.

The galaxies are very different from this earth, [outer space] works in a way that we don’t understand, I’m working in a way that we don’t understand – it’s definitely about keeping different from anyone else. A lot of people choose an artist name because it sounds cool, it sounds dope, but I put it on like it’s a part of me: an artist that’s original, creative, and likes to think a little bit outside the box.

Don Jupiter, that’s where that also comes in – I’m intrigued by mystery, I’m a devout Muslim, and I like to balance spirituality in everyday things we’re doing. That’s a part of us, we’re spiritual beings.

NW: Word. I once read a great quote, something like: We’re spiritual beings, who happen to have a physical body, but people get it twisted and think it’s the other way around, physical first and then having a soul.

GH: Definitely not. We have a soul, and that makes us spiritual beings, and we live in a society

that keeps that hidden – whether you have a lot of money, a lot of materials, you still need that notion of balance in your life. [But] the preaching comes at me first: whatever I’m saying, I’m saying it to me before I’m saying it to other people.

NW: No doubt, we all have to make sure we practice what we preach, that we aren’t just putting things out there for others but then adopting what we’re talking against ourselves.

GH: Right, we can’t worship what we create – we should worship what created us. At the end of the day we need to go back to balance. You can’t be extreme in any way, and as a musician, I’m being an ambassador – a communicator with people.

NW: On the track, you say – “Rap is not pop”

GH: “Rap is not pop if you think that then stop,” right, I’m quoting Tribe Called Quest, they drop that on a track.

NW: Right, and – to you, what does it mean to be “pop”?

GH: These days a lot of people are just talking shit, because it’s good money, it’s quick money – but how much money can you have? It’s just quick fun, it’s fast food, you eat and you get hungry again, after half an hour you feel like you’re hungry again, like you didn’t even eat, you want something proper, a plate with rice. We can balance. I’m all for commercial music, I like Blondie, Madonna, that’s the pop stuff for people to go up and dance, but it was rooted still. It’s not about being commercial and underground, I’m a little bit between both of them.

A while ago, at the time, we were spittin hard stuff, we grew through different stages of rap. When I [first] heard Common Sense, I thought he was soft, i didn’t feel it. The first time I heard the Black Star album – that all grows on you. Company Flow – that was fresh, man, pure freshness.

NW: [laughs] No doubt, man! Shoot, Company Flow, El-P, it’s been a minute since I’ve heard someone mention that album [Funcrusher Plus].

GH: I think there is two different “pops” – there’s a pop that’s original, and that’s not the pop that I mention. I’m not talking about the pop that I used to love back in the day – Chuck Berry, he could be rock-pop, but it was commercial and fresh, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder. Pop comes from those genres. Michael Jackson – that’s not the pop that I’m dissing.

But you can’t come as a rapper, and you’re jumping on something that should be a different song, should be a pop song, the rap on top of it just sounds plastic.

There’s two types of pop: there’s pop for the people, and I like that, digging back to the old days, 80s, 60s, 70s music – that’s the good pop for me. But today’s pop, if they went back to study the old pop, in a sense, that would be great – but… I’m not really seeing any new artists doing it that way, they all sound like Billie Holliday. But it’s good if they add something that’s them, a little bit.

NW: Word. So you’re based in London right now, can you tell me – what is London to you? How does it influence your music?

GH: I don’t think it influences my music much – somewhat, it does, but I’m more of a traveler. I still like to travel, it’s the traveling that brings more, that puts me in the mood of writing. I don’t think that London’s bringing my creativity, especially the rainy days. It’s a multicultural place here, that’s the nice part of it, but in terms of it helping me be creative because I’m in London – I like to zone out in my own world. But big up to London still, and I hope this summer’s shining.

NW: What about Gambia? How does that play into your identity?

GH: I grew up in Gambia since an early age, and that’s the first language I started hearing. I went there when I was a baby, stayed there until I was 12, then went back to Sweden – so it’s very personal, very sentimental.

Going back there brings back old memories, playing in the streets, making musical instruments with kids around the streets, on the block, where the cars were running – I had that African life in the 80s. Growing up there, I’ve seen people having a lot, having poverty, but I’ve seen a lot of happiness. It wasn’t having a color TV that made a person the happiest here, people are smiling, we appreciate life, people have faith in God.

Of course, things have changed now – the whole world has gone materialistic. People might look up to someone because they have a good car, a big house, but growing up there in the 80s, it was simplicity, life was simple, and even now I still feed off some of the music that I heard growing up as a kid.

NW: And how does Sweden fit into your identity?

GH: Sweden molded my rapping, definitely. But since Gambia, you see me lost in the crowd, jumping and dancing, as my auntie was looking for me, amongst adults, basically. Music’s always been a part of me somehow. I was very intrigued by breakdancing – my cousin was breakdancing, but I was much younger, so he didn’t let me come and practice, but I always liked to sneak and see what they were doing.

In Sweden, it’s more organized, it’s very secure – like, your life is quite secure. And um, in the 90s, Sweden was very Americanized. So you might catch Swedish people having a bit of American accent, and the TV shows as well. We were in our own little “New York” world, but in Stockholm. [laughs]

But it’s a lovely place, we had a good hiphop thing going on, it’s a good hip-hip scene. So I think that molded my hiphop, that’s the place I’m born, that’s always going to be a part of me as well. I would say I’m Gambian, first of all, but I’m also Swedish, because I was born there, I know the ways. All of them made me whom I am.

NW: Any last things you want to throw out there?

GH: [pauses] Yeah, actually, the EP’s just something I quickly want to get out there. Tell people – the EP’s the first project where what I’m doing is a mixture of written and freestyle. I’m mixing straight freestyle and parts of it are written – so I was like, let me just challenge myself and get it done. I want to get it out of the way quickly, get people out there to get it.

I [also] have an album coming out with this female producer, and we’re looking to call it Black Astronauts – very 70s Shaft, Barbarella, those kinds of spaced out and blaxploitation films, the album’s gonna be that kind of film. We’re gonna be on the cover, dressed in space suits.

I like to bring females who are bringing it to the game. These days you don’t have a lot of women who are doing very much, but she’s a female producer – that will be coming out at the end of the year, but make sure to get the EP just to vibe with me.

Power to the People is available on Galaxy High’s Bandcamp page. The Hello Mellow EP is releasing soon.

TIHHF2010: Lessons from the Teacha

April 21, 2010 | Leave a Comment

“KRS-One specialized in music… I’ll only use this type of style when I choose it!”

and so a young Kris Parker started off his legendary diss South Bronx, simultaneously big upping his hood and dissing on the QB projects and equally legendary MC Shan, Juice Crew, and DJ Marley Marl.

A legendary – controversial – figure in hip-hop, KRS-ONE’s credibility and history is untouchable: responsible for countless rap classics, the Teacha has toured the world, performing solo and with the legendary Boogie Down Productions; put his credibility towards campaigns for Nike, Sprite, and more; founded the Temple of Hip-hop, one of the organizations responsible for stewarding hip-hop culture; and served as an elder (if unpredictable) statesman for years.

During the second evening of the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival, as the crowd swelled for the Saturday night concert (which KRS-ONE headlined and closed out), a small group of press passes and video cameras gathered, selected by the organizers to partake in a closed-door session with Blastmaster KRS-ONE.

As the volume steadily grew to a raucous clamor outside, KRS shared insights with the audience:

on technology

the need to master (and not be mastered by) our tools

The need for hip-hop education

how hip-hop should be taught and available in school curriculum

on rap’s death and hip-hop’s growth

and – making a strong display for why he deserves his name, the Teacha, he broke down the history of New York urban radio, from WBLS and KISS FM’s radio/DJ battles, to the founding of Hot 97 – and its later abandonment of what he considers to be real-school hip-hop

Last, before rushing out the door, he broke down what he considers the hip-hop lifestyle to be – not flossing or throwing around stacks, but knowing how to get by and survive and thrive

Throughout the weekend, the local Temple of Hip-Hop members (big up to Trinity College Temple of Hip-hop – the nation’s first collegiate chapter!) were showing out for KRS-ONE’s new book, The Gospel of Hip-Hop. At the close of this session, his associates passed out complimentary copies to all the journalists in attendance, as the teacha was whisked away to his green room.

Recap: The Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival 2010

April 17, 2010 | Leave a Comment

[Flick 1: Nomadic Massive on stage]

What’s good, party people?

This past weekend, Nomadic Wax’s first-stringers must have all bailed on them, because Ben was desperate enough (all praises due) to issue me a press pass to the 5th annual Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival. As part-time c-list blogger (and so d-list journalist), I was hyped to see how my online credentials would transfer into the real world. And so, last Friday, with Bboy Andrew in tow as my enlisted photographer, I jumped into a borrowed car and headed north from New Haven on I-91.

Pulling into Hartford a quick hour later with Alchemist and Clipse records on blast, Andrew and I cut our way through the Trinity campus in stealth mode. The festival actually started that morning with a series of in-class lectures, but we planned to hit town just in time for dinner; so we made our way to registration just in time to collect our press passes, introduce ourselves to some familiar faces, and hit the invited delegates’ networking dinner

[Flick 2: Bboy Andrew, me, Jasmine, and DJ Nio]

Over that dinner – throughout the weekend – the Nomadic Wax/Trinity Hip-Hop crew did a strong job of creating community between the invited hip-hop writers, emcees, DJ’s, and activists. Whenever event organizers mingled with the crowd, they were building with guests and introducing delegates to one another – artists, workshop presenters, and even press members all bore the event sponsors’ co-sign. And so it was easy to connect and politic with anyone around – anyone displaying a TIHHF badge was already screened and trusted by at least some true hip-hop heads.

The atmosphere throughout the festival was full of this positivity, with a rare level of mutual respect and comfort among the attendees. The vibe was almost family reunion-style – I heard “brother” and “sister” thrown around like a 70s Blaxploitation flick. I’ve seen “networking”, especially at hip-hop events, often turn into a rodeo of promotional gimmicks and self-important rants. But there was a sense of purposefulness to most of the acts gathered in Hartford.

Many groups – Senegal’s Wagebele, Palestine’s DAM, the multinational Readnex Poetry Squad – have explicitly tied their musical identities to bigger issues, like African/Middle Eastern politics, social justice, and urban education. And even those hip-hoppers without explicit social agendas, such as RAH Zemos, still came across as driven by a vision of hip-hop culture as deeper than rap (no Rick Ross), pushing the culture further and bigger than the mainstream image of hip-hop as 45-second commercial interlude soundtrack. With this shared understanding, it makes sense that we would see each other as brothers- and sisters-in-arms for hip-hop.

That sense of positivity wasn’t just unifying people across regions or languages – all elements of the hip-hop culture were representing side-by-side, from Emceeing, DJing (big ups to DJ Boo [NYC] and DJ Nio [Italy]), Graf writing, Bboying, to Knowledge (the hip-hop scholars out in full force, along with the Temple of Hip-Hop). After waking up on Saturday, I drove over to Trinity’s campus and joined the emcee showcase, hosted by Self-Suffice and Undakova backed by DJ Nio, while local graf artists pieced up canvases feet away.

The second half of my afternoon was dedicated to an ill bboy battle, with a bracket filled by crews from the region. Bboy Andrew and his partner were knocked out in a close battle (1 vote away from a tie) in the first round, but I stuck around shooting flicks and politicking with the bboys in the spot. My Mighty Healthy ASIAN tee was getting a lot of looks and compliments from the heads in the crowd (what up my pinoy bboys and fly girls?) – i noticed that the asiatic representation in the bboy crews was much higher than among the emcees. An observation to come back to in the future.

As I broke it down with bboys, dj’s, and emcees alike, a troubling thought that remained in the back of my head was that, as much unity and love as we were seeing, one area of segregation that remained was between the diverse elements of hiphop. While we all came out to the same locale, I saw MC’s, DJ’s, and journalists building with one another, bboys sticking to themselves, preferring to vibe out to the music or warm up in tight circles; and i didn’t even have a chance to get at any of the graf writers in the spot.

During a 10 minute interlude between the first and second round of the bboy battle, Zulu Nation emcee K-Swift and a couple of other acts performed – but most bboys scattered to eat, drink, or practice, with only a fraction of the crowd sticking around and dancing or vibing to the intermission acts.

I would have loved to see more cross-elemental communication – the visual artists, musicians, and dancers seemed to all have their own spaces during most of the day. Most of the day, that is, until KRS-ONE took the stage to close the Saturday night concert.

Anyone who knows the Teacha a/k/a Blastmaster KRS-ONE knows that he has been at the very forefront of preserving and bringing together hip-hop’s elements, from his legendary crew Boogie Down Productions, to classic albums like Criminal Minded, and the Stop the Violence movement. Having seen his live performance on two previous occasions, I thought that I would have gotten used to his presence – but as soon as he took the stage, he didn’t let up for a minute until it was time to go home. The consummate performer.

Perhaps most inspirational, though, was how generous he was with the spotlight. Calling out the graf heads for their pieces on the walls, inviting bboys up from the crowd to rock with him, and then ceding the stage to other emcees to let them spit for a good ten minutes, he ended the weekend with a bomb of truth, love, and power – reminding us all that, in the end, hip-hop is bigger than any one of us, our elements, labels, or movements.

Rah Zemos – Old to the New

March 22, 2010 | 1 Comment

Rah Zemos – Old to the New

Ra – Egyptian Sun God, progenitor of eleven Pharoahs bearing his name: Ramses, born of the Sun God.

Baron Zemo – B-list Marvel Comics supervillain who showed briefly in the ‘60s to taunt Captain America, then killed off a year after his introduction.

Ramzi Mokdad – Ram-Zi, Rah Z, Rah Zemos – has an antipodal rap alias, marrying noble ambitions with a supervillain alter ego. He tells me he’s “Raw material, a king – somebody who’s a leader, not a follower.” But his name hints of aspirations to artistic complication: “I have my pure and righteous side, but we all have that alter ego… that darker side.”

As I listen to him talk on hip-hop, I wonder where that diabolical side rests: Rah’s purist agenda seems ingenuously straightforward. He founded an independent record label, Nocturnalight, in 2004 to “shin[e] the light where it’s darkest” and, when asked to clarify, he identifies hip-hop culture’s drifting from its foundation as the root cause of that darkness: “Selling out to the music industry, calling women bitches, all about drugs… B-boys, DJ’s, MC’s, graffiti. Rarely do you see these elements used in popular music…. they sold out. They didn’t stick to the roots of what hip-hop was all about.”

Our discussion reminds me of the early-2000’s, when the progressive zeitgeist of indie hip-hop was less Drake and Kid CuDi and more a bunch of dudes standing around in hoodies and non-designer jeans, talking about bringing the underground back. “Conscious rap”. Then, labels’ independence – Rawkus, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Def Jux – was touted by purists as a clear philosophical choice (Def Jux’s slogan: “Independent as Fuck”), and hip-hop heads seemed more vocal about bringing rap “back to its roots” than rationalizing the latest regional trend (remember crunk?).

But in 2010, nearly a decade removed from the turn-of-the-century scene, Jay Electronica (buddy-buddy to Rawkus mainstays Mos Def and Talib Kweli) stops by Youtube to big up Soulja Boy, and one-time major label soldier Freeway drops an album on Rhymesayers, with a guest appearance from Cash Money boss Baby. Jay-Z opens the Glastonbury festival backed by DJ Neil Armstrong, and Kanye West’s concert show looks more Cirque du Soleil than Rock Steady Crew.

Is this cultural drift – and is it negative? Rah would say so – “if I go to a show, and there’s a DJ and an emcee, some B-boys and a graffiti artist, that’s the most hip-hop show you’re ever going to go to…. if you don’t have all the elements of the culture, you’re not maximizing the potential of what your culture is.”

Rah has the experience to back up his aggressive cultural rhetoric: born to Lebanese parents on vacation in LA and raised in Saudi Arabia, he attended high school in Quebec, spending his adult life in New York and Toronto. He knows exactly what his Arab heritage brings him – “We’re the ones who are targeted, they’re watching what we’re up to – we’re the new minority… being an Arab and a lyricist is a big thing for me, the music’s big to me, because it’s my way to talk about these things.”

Rah embraces his distinct heritage, despite the persecution it can bring, and I wonder if this factors into his disdain for sell-outs – “they’re scared to really be themselves… That’s why Public Enemy said, don’t believe the hype…. When you put enough hype behind something, you could put out the worst product in the world and people will say, ‘wow, yeah, it’s pretty tight.’” When asked about who he does respect in the industry, he pauses for a long moment before throwing out KRS-One – “kept it real to the point where he hasn’t let the dark side corrupt him” – and, after prompting, Killah Priest, both not just for their cultural authenticity but also the positivity of their messages.

Positivity is a word that Rah often returns to – beyond artistic content, it’s his guiding principle: “My overall goal is to be as best a teacher and role model I can for our youth and adults alike.” His critique of artists who drift too far from hip-hop’s foundation is grounded in how he defines that foundation: “it’s all about positive and negative. Are you going to do something that has a positive impact, or negative?” Rah leaves no room in hip-hop for technical excellence without morality: either you are a fake or, worse, a sellout; or you are helping the audience towards unity and positivity.

Show and Prove is important in hip-hop – if you want respect, you have to earn it – and if Rah is outspoken in his criticism of other figures, at least he backs it up in his day-to-day grind. Ramzi Mokdad hustles 9-to-5 in the nonprofit world, with an outfit called Plan Canada, a sponsorship organization providing youths in underprivileged communities with food, medical care, and education. Nocturnalight Records is also active in bringing awareness of social issues to the forefront, organizing designers, artists, graffiti writers, and producers to hold workshops and get involved with the youth.

But how’s the music? On paper, Rah could come off as preachy and heavy-handed – and as much as he brings to mind the early-2000s Rawkus camp, there are good reasons that Rawkus’ presence on the scene faded around 2004, bought out by larger labels. And the best of intentions – saving the youth, bringing positivity to the hood – can be overshadowed by wack beats, stiff [||] rhymes, and an awkward flow.

Rah’s latest project is Volume 2 of his Full Spectrum mixtape series, released through Nocturnalight Records. While he generally shies away from associating himself with too many other artists, Rah does embrace a small circle of emcees on this project, and it’s obvious from the start that he respects them highly – the album intro finds Rah spitting, weaving the names and track titles of the other rappers together into a 2-minute track. A lot of mixtapes these days can feel thrown-together, with artists phoning in verses separately from one another and a DJ sequencing a passionless project together – but Rah notes, “More than separate artists, I wanted this to reflect a collective movement… these artists, I did the research on them, they’re handpicked, I felt they’d collaborate well together.” More than a promotional project, the Full Spectrum tape is supposed to be a “personal, mental, spiritual collaboration” – not just about demonstrating skill, but about showing off likeminded personalities.

The vibe of the whole tape is what I expected, given Rah’s background and passion for the fundamentals of hip-hop. The emcees he’s gathered together complement one another well – and, given the milieu of his adopted country and his diverse background, it’s not a surprise when emcees spit in a dizzying array of English, French, and Arabic. This fits in with his explicit aim for the project – when asked about the title of the tape, he responds, “It’s a tropical mix, a multicultural mix of emcees from all over the place – different backgrounds, different types of music, but all with a unified purpose. All their music is good – it’s proactive, it’s productive. So the full spectrum is kind of like the full spectrum of light, but also of cultures, religions, and races. So the Full Spectrum mixtapes are gonna feature different artists from all over the world. On this volume, we have 13 different cities and 4 different continents, 20 different artists.”

The overall effort has a distinct air of throwback rap, but the diversity of languages and cultures represented, along with solid production, make it the kind of album I wouldn’t mind walking down the street with in a chill autumnal twilight, or on an otherwise drowsy plane ride. It’s not a revolutionary album – but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. After all, his rhetoric is that of a hip-hop fundamentalist. So, maybe the best compliment that I can pay Rah’s music is that it is evolutionary: taking the substance of hip-hop’s golden era and bringing it one step forward. It’s not a game-changing record, but a solid, diverse, mature project. This might not be the brand of hip-hop that sets sales charts on fire, but the fact that emcees like Rah and the other Full Spectrum artists are still making music like this, over 30 years after the birth of hip-hop, may be the best compliment to the culture’s foundations.

You can download music and read more about Rah Zemos and Nocturnalight Records at Nocturnalight.com or at his blog.

Keepin’ Kosha: Kosha Dillz on being labeled, Jersey vs. LA, and putting together an album

February 15, 2010 | 1 Comment

Poetic Pilgrimage on Star Women and the Femcee Perspective

February 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment

Written By Amanda Macchia

True to their moniker, hip hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage pays homage to the spoken soul of poetry and its journey through the power and tribulations of long-awaited social liberation. The women behind the group are fueled by much more than creative rhymes and story telling. Their newest endeavor, mix tape Star Women is a tribute to the light every person has within them. Using their own experiences as activists, minorities, and women, they channel their perspective to shed light where there has always been darkness. Poetic Pilgrimage has conceptualized the prospects of social acceptance and freedom into Star Women, with an energy that can only be described as determination.

Activist and sociologist, W.E.B. DuBois, was known in his critical theory of race for the concept of a “double-consciousness”. Later adapted by the feminist Dorothy Smith as the “bifurcated consciousness”, the idea refers to a sense of awareness that those who aren’t in a position of power are advantaged to understanding. The repressed, the subordinated, or the minority, have a heightened sense of what society looks like; with only one foot in the door, they have the opportunity to experience a duality of self. Capable of looking in from the outside, a repressed member of society understands what it is to be a part of the mainstream social order, while they simultaneously can see the world from the perspective of someone with a limited sense of social amenities. They have a sense of “otherness” that in it’s most bare state is, itself, repression. Yet something positive can come from being the “other”, because a dual perspective is far more valuable than a single provincial understanding of our world. For DuBois, this repressive state can be turned into a celebration of variety, and an intellectual pilgrimage toward equality. Integration for DuBois was a unity of difference, and of the solid fact that we can all relate as human beings. Just as DuBois didn’t extract theory without emphasizing the end goal of political change and the importance of activism within the social world, Poetic Pilgrimage uses Star Women to catalyze the audience into their worlds and their experiences, in the hopes that something important might come out of it.

Sukina and Muneera of Poetic Pilgrimage explain their efforts brilliantly: “Within our music we try to give an alternative perspective, the voice of those who tend not to be heard… As individuals we realized that in many ways we sometimes fail to see the greatness that is inside of us, not just musically but in our personal lives. We spent a lot of time reminding ourselves of our achievements, and then it dawned on us that in general as human beings sometimes we don’t see the beauty, the potential the power, and tenacity that is dormant within our cells. This in itself is an inhibition, and can be oppression to ourselves. So in this project we are reintroduced to messages of freedom and change.”

The free download they have available online is a prelude to their actual mix tape project. It speaks of the beauty inside that we naturally, and unknowingly, tend to neglect. Pulling from a massive volume of styles, decades, and cultures, Poetic Pilgrimage has accumulated an album where every song is different and yet universal in meaning. They combine aggressive, funky beats with a cool, hip and organic orientation. There are glimpses of jazz, vestiges of electronica, intergalactic excursions into R&B, and a percussive tunnel into afrobeat, all of which serve to frame the gentle, persistent rapping of Poetic Pilgrimage’s natural lyrical affinity. The download is as exciting as any mix tape could hope to be, so one can only wonder what surprises their real project has in store.

In general, nothing they do is without purpose. Considering that the marriage of hip hop to social or political activism is a growing trend in subcultures throughout the globe, there is something to be said for progressive and active music that stands out above the rest. Artists and hip hoppers are pooling together their resources, and their natural affinity toward a two-fold perspective to create music of the sort most people have never been exposed to. Star Women is a shining example of an artistry that is full of messages without the sacrifice of the immense integrity it takes to be a truly talented hip hop pioneer.

What I love about hip hop,” says Muneera, “is that it is a tool that has given many people the opportunity to express themselves in a direct and creative manner. Art in general surpasses layers and aims straight for the heart. Hip hop, in particular, is the only form of music in the western hemisphere that was born out of oppression. This music has given those with no way to express their social conditions a means to speak and be noted…. it is something that is accessible to all people regardless of class or financial status. It gave life to a new type creativity, and has provided opportunity for growth and business… now that hip hop has gone international, this has only added texture to the many layers with in it.”

The ladies have a lot going on aside from the release of their mix tape. “We recently came back from a mini European tour where we performed at the 5-year anniversary party of the World Culture Museum in Sweden. We did an event called ‘The Night The Songbirds Are Set Free’ in Berlin that focused on liberating women’s voices, and we performed at a World Music Festival on the German/Polish border too. We are also currently working towards an album that will be ready before autumn. This will be coming out on a Californian based label called Remarkable Current. Most of the production will be by an amazing producer and arranger called Fair Grime. We are also looking at other forms of writing.”

Muneera and Sukina met young, and were both united by one thing. “We first became close friends because of music,” says Sukina. “Muneera used to be a DJ and would always get early releases from Sony and other record companies. I remember hearing Jill Scott for the first time and Amel Larrieux, whilst also being in love with people like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Kweli and Common. We were so inspired by this music and the message and spirituality that existed in it. We wanted to create for others what this music had meant for us. We decided to come together to inspire and uplift people, and represent a voice for some of the voiceless people around the world.”

It’s safe to say that Poetic Pilgrimage as a concept accomplishes these goals entirely.

It is refreshing to see a piece of artwork so honest and bare bones. With songs off the download like “Beautiful”, we are reminded that in most cultures women only know themselves in relation to men. The song is infused with the hope that we can keep shining, and recognize how to allow ourselves to measure up in the face of social norms and cultural gender roles.

“Aborted Daughters (Live)”, addresses the politics that fuel Poetic Pilgrimage, while taking the concept of the mix tape and giving it the integrated identity of a multi-media approach. It starts with a short speech and launches directly into the spoken word format, giving the free download a boost of texture and allowing the messages of liberation and faith more power.

Poetic Pilgrimage uses their own identities, as well as those of other women to forage an image of the universality of the female and human experience. They translate into music the socially constructed domination and internal subordination that we all suffer. On top of it all, Poetic Pilgrimage has created timeless music and poetry that honors the power and prowess of women in hip hop.

“We feel strongly about justice, love, and peace for all,” says Muneera. “Being from different community groups we see how people can get caught up with just themselves, and obviously we all have to make sure that the home is straight, but oppression is a disease and once we allow it to breed we can all be susceptible to it.”

To download a free prelude of Star Women visit http://www.starwomenmixtape.com/.

Rest In Peace Brother Modou

February 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this post. Our dear friend Modou Konate – aka Bourba Djoloff – passed away February 1st 2010. Many of you will remember Modou for his incredible music he made with his group Sen Kumpe. Some of you may remember this role he played as an activist trying to bring change to his beloved Senegal. I’ll rememeber Modou as all of these things – but most importantly, as my friend who will be greatly missed.

Modou – man dunu la fate. Dinga nekk sama xol sama xarite. Nammenala bu baax a baax. Sa xarite, Ben

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• Cultural Exchange: South Africa and USA Youth Development Through Hip Hop, Dance and Culture
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Cultural Exchange: South Africa and USA Youth Development Through Hip Hop, Dance and Culture

April 26, 2011

PROJECT UPDATE Cultural Exchange: South Africa and USA Youth Development Through Hip Hop, Dance and Culture [Magee and friends on Hiking Table Mountain, Cape Town] April 12, 2011, Washington DC On March 14th, 2011, Junious Brickhouse, aka House (Urban Artistry), and I (Nomadic Wax) traveled from Washington DC to Cape Town as cultural envoys with the US State Department. The 2011 exchange had grown out of a project initiated by Nomadic Wax and myself during the summer of 2010. This project, The 2010 Cape Town 2 DC arts exchange, brought two of South Africa’s leading hip hop artist activists, DJ Thee Angelo and Emile YX?, to Washington DC for two weeks of collaboration with local artists and activists. As members of Black Noise (one of South Africa’s first hip hop groups and dance crews), arts activists, and educators with the non- profit Heal the Hood, these two artists were able to contribute indispensible knowledge and experience to the program. Working with artists like former State Department Hip Hop Ambassador Kokayi, B-Boy IronMan, Flex Mathews, and DJ RBI (of Words, Beats, Life, Inc), we created a space to share strategies, workflows, and methodology. Among the many partnerships the exchange created, the strongest relationship was formed with DC dance collective Urban Artistry. Upon their return to South Africa, Heal the Hood began to work with the US Consulate in Cape Town to plan a return exchange, and to further strengthen the relationships that had been formed between the two arts communities. Heal the Hood?s partnership with the consulate resulted in the organizing of the second installment of the exchange which began in 2010. As representatives of US hip hop culture and our respective art forms, Junious and I were invited to South Africa to further strengthen the relationship with Heal the Hood and the South African arts community, as well as connect and work directly with local youth throughout the country. The mission of the project was to both identify and connect with underserved youth in the townships of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban. As both role models and educators, we were to conduct workshops with youth within our respective fields of expertise: ‘house’ dance & film. [Credit: Sizwe Ndlovu. Magee McIlvaine delivering a talk at University of Cape Town, South Africa on March 17, 2011] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. At a school in the Cape Flats] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. DJ Thee Angelo] Upon touchdown in Cape Town, it soon became apparent how dramatic the need for sustained youth work and arts activism is in Cape Town. This need was further reflected in the other locations we visited during the trip. Cape Town, and South Africa as a whole, is an extremely complex place. In Cape Town specifically, we were immediately welcomed into the realities of life in the so- called ?colored? communities throughout Mitchell?s Plain. This area is considered to have some of the worst gang-related violence in the world, and it is safe to say that young people in these neighborhoods are faced with very hard decisions on a daily basis. It was truly an honor to witness the work of Heal The Hood in these communities. Their approach is extremely effective and their access is unparalleled. Through dance and hip hop culture as a whole, Emile and his crew of young educators—who come from the very same neighborhoods– are able to foster the confidence of these young boys and girls, instilling in them a new sense of identity. They help these youth re-contextualize the idea of being ?African? as something positive– a message that is very much absent in many of the communities we visited. Their model for working with at-risk youth in the often-ignored black Afrikaans communities is very impressive. For more information on this community, watch this short film. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Cape Town] South African youth love Kwaito, which is the country’s own version of House music. Despite the prevalence of House music, knowledge of the actual dance techniques and the music genre?s history is somewhat lacking. Junious is a pro. I was very impressed with how he was able to jump into any situation and get kids (sometimes groups of 20, sometimes around 100) moving and having fun, while telling them the story of the music, and contextualizing it for them. In communities with few opportunities for traditional career paths, dance can be a way out. What is impressive about Junious and Emile?s work is that it places equal importance on technical skill, as well as building confidence and love for one’s-self. Not everyone will be able to tour the world like Black Noise have, but confidence and self-worth are important in all aspects of life. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Junious Brickhouse, house dance workshop in Johannesburg] As for me, my workshops focused on the basics of filmmaking. They were generally made up of kids who were very curious about film (especially horror films as a matter of fact) and dying to know how special effects worked, as well as the kids who were too shy to participate in the dance workshops. Knowing time constraints and equipment access were going to be an issue, I constructed my film workshops to focus on several key points. First, despite the vast economic disparities in South Africa, filmmaking is not an unattainable career for township youth. Second, through cell phone technology, almost every youth has access to the equipment they would need to start down the path of professional filmmaking. At their core, the workshops were about instilling in the participants the confidence to pursue film as a tangible career path, despite the challenges they might face. I believe that this approach worked quite well. One of the most memorable moments was when a young albino girl in a Township outside of Pretoria who demanded we shoot a short solo performance she had created, complete with characters and voices. Though very shy outside the workshop, when given access to a camera, her whole demeanor changed into that of a superstar. When I explained that she actually had access to cameras all along, through cell phones, she left the workshop both excited and motivated to continue filming herself and others. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine capturing an aspiring filmmaker at work.] [Credit: Two young participants in Magee's film workshop shooting some test video] [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Film workshop in Johannesburg.] On a personal level, I learned a great deal from this experience. I have worked all across Africa, but this was my first project in South Africa. All the young people we worked with were hungry for the skills we were teaching. In fact, many already had the skills, but lacked the confidence to use them. With the level of racial tension, economic disparity, and a local division throughout South Africa, this kind of work with youth is all the more important. [Credit: Magee McIlvaine. Bboy doing a freeze in front of the Heal the Hood van.] Organizations like Heal the Hood are doing incredible work on a local level, and we met arts activists at different centers throughout the country doing similarly positive work. These kinds of projects need to be supported and expanded. I am in touch with a large number of people who either participated in one of my workshops, or hosted our program. I am working on potential collaborative projects and mentorships for some of the bright young filmmakers we met along the way. Magee McIlvaine Nomadic Wax, Creative Director For more pictures check out THIS ALBUM. Read about the exchange in a local South African Newspaper. Read about Emile YX? in Arts Review (Online African Culture Magazine) ****************** You can read more about the project’s partners here: Urban Artistry Heal the Hood Words, Beats and Life, Inc Nomadic Wax www.mageemcilvaine.com Black Noise Kokayi DJ RBI Heal the Hood at a school in the Cape Flats Dance Workshops With House Film workshops with Magee of Nomadic Wax Heal The Hood Project South African Promo 2011 RAPtivism – South Africa : Heal the Hood DJ Angelo: DC to Cape Town (2010) ft Flex Mathews The 2010 Cape Town 2 DC arts exchange This Spring’s cultural exchange adventure in South Africa was a follow up to the From Cape Town to D.C. program Nomadic Wax organized last July. In partnership with the DC Commission of the Arts & Humanities, Nomadic Wax hosted two legendary South African Artist-Diplomats (Emile XY? and DJ Thee ‘Angelo)who teamed up with two equally legendary DC artists (Kokayi and DJ RBI) to create a performance piece which was performed, recorded and filmed during the visit. Read more about the project. Be sure to watch this MINI-DOCUMENTARY about the exchange! Listen to a track from the piece HERE. (Video clips located below. Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 1 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 2 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 3 Cape Town 2 DC Exchange (2010) PT 4 The ‘Cape Town 2 DC’ Exchange (2010): mini-doc       Featured Media Nomadic Wax Democracy in Haiti official mixtape plus some great videos! Libyan Youth Rap for Freedom With over 20 years of experience supporting peaceful change in the Middle East, Mercy Corps is empowering young people with IT and other career training, providing psychosocial support for children and youth traumatized by conflict; encouraging peaceful conflict resolution; and building business partnerships that stimulate sustainable job growth. Now they’re preparing to lend their expertise in bringing people together and creating opportunity to support those who want a better life in Libya. Produced, written and filmed by Cassandra Nelson. Watch the video here The ‘Cape Town 2 DC’ Exchange (2010): mini-doc Directed…Magee McIlvaine Edited…Magee McIlvaine DP…. Magee McIlvaine, Megan Keefe, Yusuf Harden, Lena Jackson This is a short piece documenting the 2010 arts exchange program organized by Nomadic Wax (with funding from the DC Commission for the Arts & Humanities) entitled ‘Cape Town 2 DC.’ The exchange focused on the collaboration and relationship building between the Cape Town and the Washington DC arts activist communities. Delegates from South Africa consisted of Black Noise’s Emile YX? and DJ Thee Angelo. From DC, we had Kokayi, DJ RBI (Words, Beats, Life, Inc), and B-Boy Ironman (Urban Artistry). Watch the video HERE Diaspora Mixtape Volume 2 Following the critical success of Diaspora Mixtape Volume 1, Nomadic Wax Records is proud to announce the release of a second installment in the series. With unparalleled levels of innovation, Nomadic Wax’s second Diaspora Mixtape is something the global urban media market has never encountered. Download free HERE! Free Album From ODDISEE: Mental Liberation D.C. based rapper and producer is allowing free downloads of his 2009 release "Mental Liberation" this week. Cop it!   Download the mixtape FREE   Connect with us:   Twitter   Facebook   You Tube   Vimeo Nomadic Wax, Brooklyn | DC | Genoa Italy | Worldwide E: info@nomadicwax.com

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Manila Hostage Crisis: Tragedy Speaks to Pre-existing Tensions

September 8, 2010

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Manila Hostage Crisis: Tragedy Speaks to Pre-existing Tensions

By Camille Gutiérrez

4 September 2010

Just two weeks ago, one breaking story flooded every news station here in Hong Kong. On August 23rd, ex- policeman Rolando Mendoza boarded a bus in Manila took twenty-five passengers hostage – twenty-one of the Hong Kong tourists- and demanded his job at the police academy be reinstated. The footage reporters managed to capture shocked and outraged many. Despite their ability to capture the entire rescue operation on film, reporters took days to announce the final result that eight were dead. I remember I could actually see the inside of the bus on the television screen and thought this event was nothing short of an absolute disaster.

The Manila Hostage Crisis, as it has already been entered in Wikipedia, will create several long-term effects because of underlying issues that already existed. Already, changes are taking place. Although Bureau of Security in Hong Kong issued a travel ban to the Philippines only initially, Hong Kongers continue to cancel already purchased tickets. Just this past Sunday, Hong Kongers marched not only for the victims, but also to protest the Philippine government. Locals are criticizing Jackie Chan’s Tweets about the incident, meanwhile sports committees in the Philippines are taking measures so that Filipino athletes will not have to take connecting through Hong Kong to get to Guangzhou for the East Asian Games. Particularly anxious to remedy the situation are Philippine officials, who anticipate damage to the tourist economy and its effects on the country’s welfare.

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This event is a classic case of misplaced frustrations. The larger issues at hand are questions about the capability of institutional forces, like the police, in less developed or non-Western countries and pre-existing tensions between Hong Kongers and Filipinos. Southeast Asian countries, which many consider significant only as popular tourist destinations, will come under closer scrutiny. Locals are equally disappointed. G.k. Gonzalez, a reggae artist and radio DJ based in Cebu shares his perception of how the police responded: “To me, with all the high ranking police officials there, the military, the people, as well as politicians looking at their t.v., watching…that was the best solution they came up with?” Expressing the urgency of the aftermath he states, “We need a change. This can’t be happening and the people here in the Phils that are either tourists or foreigners thinking twice to see if they could have peace of mind being here in the islands.” Gonzalez adds, “I’m sorry for the families and loved ones involved in the tragedy…it’s unfortunate.”

In response to the circulating rumor that the Hong Kong government is blacklisting or blocking Filipinos, Gonzalez makes it clear that stereotyping can bring no good. “The act of one person doing bad or evil has become the act of all the Filipino people…its the Babylon system to me,” he says, referencing the Rastafarian belief that institutions can foster dishonesty and corruption. Emphasis should remain on Mendoza alone, whose actions are more than difficult to comprehend. Like many, Gonzales feels that in such situations the main objective should be to free the hostages. “Obviously, this is bigger than that and really that’s one thing they need to investigate because I’m one hundred percent sure that before the hostage taker did what he did…he really thought of it before doing so, you know what I mean?” poses Gonzales. Indeed, many news articles are attempting to get at that issue: circulating stories about what kind of policeman Mendoza was before his discharge, investigating the nature of his release charges and attempting to get at his moral character, if you will. Such an inclination is both natural and futile, because it will most likely do little to ease the pain of those who lost the victims.

When the answer to the natural question of how Rolando could do such a thing remains unknown, it is again both expected and detrimental for those hurting to point fingers in any direction possible. The coverage on the recent protest in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park has made a point of interviewing Chinese people who mention that they are not angry towards the local Filipinos. I do not dispute that many Hong Kongers are promoting tolerance. I have read countless facebook posts by my local friends and students condemning those drawing conclusions Filipinos at large and that discourage villainization in general. But it would be surprising to read the reverse in the papers. Filipinos comprise a substantial portion of Hong Kong’s population, over 140,000, and they are definitely aware of how other’s perception of them might change. What makes the situation delicate is that the majority of Filipinos in Hong Kong work for Chinese families as live-in housekeepers, or domestic helpers as they are referred to here, and thus lack a formal arena to speak on the matter.

Florence, Tytje and Mehel, who work as domestic helpers for the Central Sagada organization, were very willing to share their thoughts on Manila with the hope to apologize and at the same time remind others “not all Filipinos are Mendoza.” They agree that the “unprofessional and ineffective action” of the police force has “affected the Filipino community around the globe.” On the relationship between Chinese and Filipinos in Hong Kong, Florence states, “There is a feeling of indifference, anger, and frustrations among Chinese towards the Filipinos but it is very understandable in [sic] the part of the Filipino community because the event is still fresh in the hearts and minds of the Hong Kong people. It just so happens that the hostage taking was done in the Philippines but such [an] event can happen anywhere around the globe.” Their belief that “No one is to blame except the hostage taker. No one has to suffer the consequences of one’s wrongdoings except himself alone,” reminds me just how much power one man can achieve through a single action. I shudder when I think of other individuals who have executed similar feats throughout history.
Every time a tragedy occurs, we say change is necessary. But it is difficult to make a change when we are not fully aware of the before and after. I found it easier to learn how people felt about what happened in Manila than what actually happened. Various news sites report different facts about the number of hostages and lives taken, Mendoza’s former position, how the operation actually went down, and so on. By not taking one piece of information we come across at face value, we prevent the distribution of verbal chaos. In the meantime, we will hold our breath and watch the future of another country unfold, hoping it is for the best.
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MC Sbazzo – The Light (preview)

August 22, 2010

Sbazzo, self-proclaimed King of Beijing, has been grinding for a minute now, simultaneously establishing buzz as a group and solo artist, as well as nurturing the fledgling Chinese hip-hop scene. With accolades from sources as diverse as the LA Times, New York Times, The Beijinger, and City Weekend (Beijing), his crew, Yin’tsang, is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the underground hip-hop movement in mainland China.

With XIV heading back to America and the final Yin’tsang album in the stages of mixing and mastering, Sbazzo is gearing up to launch a solo career with the release of his first solo EP, The Light. The first preview music video teaser is out now on Youtube and Youku:

Galaxy High – From the People, to the People

May 17, 2010

Power to the People, Galaxy High’s recently released single, floats along on a buzzing cloud of snares and loping samples.

A self-styled “multilingual ambassador,” Galaxy High is a Swedish-born Gambian Londoner, by the end of his teenage decade already a veteran of the BMG Scandinavia roster, courtesy of his Hundreadz collective – in his words, “pointed out as the Scandinavian Boot Camp Clik.”

Off the strength of Power to the People, I called up Galaxy High in London and listened as he broke down his influences and spirituality, explained why rap cannot be pop (but sometimes is), and outlined his next steps.

Nomadic Wax: What’s the background behind the Power to the People single? Why drop this track right now?

Galaxy High: Power to the People was a quick thing, let’s do it and put it out to the people for free… It’s not a dance track, but it’s more reflective and trying to be something to vibe to. I’m being a bit conscious there, but I like to be light-hearted in terms of how I’m conscious. You have a lot of artists that’s revolutionary, trying to change up the whole system – I’m not this or that, I’m in between both of them. I’m not like, here comes the new underground artist.

I do have a new EP coming out soon, Hello Mellow, so I just wanted to hit them with something to let them know the EP’s coming.

NW: You call yourself the “multilingual ambassador”, and that’s evident throughout your music – in this track, you flip it up and spit in a couple of languages on the chorus. What does it mean to you, to be in that role?

GH: I like to, I like to go back to my roots, and let my roots be in both the West and Africa. So I have both of those sides, really.

NW: Why does hip-hop, why does the world, need someone speaking from that perspective? Where do you get that motivation to put yourself in this role?

GH: Basically, I get my drive from just being me – as an artist, [hip-hop is] an art form, and art comes from your experience, your expression, and your way of interpreting life around you…. [It can include] things that you might not know – but I’m more in tune with what I know, what I’ve seen, and that’s been very multicultural, very colorful.

I was born in Sweden, grown up in Gambia, returned to Sweden, it’s like two different worlds – so you absorb, it’s a very colorful environment to grow up in both those worlds. And you meet people in both languages, both cultures. So I’m not from New York, but I’m very international in my accent. I felt home, straight, the first day I visited New York.

NW: True – I remember, growing up, I was listening to hip-hop so much – old school New York rappers – the first time I visited the city, I was blown away by how much seemed familiar. Of course rap has grown out and taken on new influences, but New York is so imprinted on the DNA of the culture… subways, graffiti, the boroughs, all that.

GH: Exactly, exactly. I think being multicultural comes from my roots, being surrounded by multiculturalism, growing up in two different worlds and knowing them well, knowing the customs and stuff. So it’s part of me, I don’t even have to think about it when I pick up a pad and paper. Whatever comes to me, comes to me.

And I think, God gives gifts to everyone. And that’s just me expressing myself in the way that I’ve been gifted by my surroundings. So it’s only right if I’m being real to me.

NW: What is the meaning of “Galaxy High” – what are you conveying by adopting that name?

GH: Galaxy High, it’s like, outer space, out of here – going beyond the majority of what you see. [A lot of music is] all kind of the same, referring to the same thing, following whoever’s big there, they think that that’s the way to go if you want to reach success. I’ve always been a person that’s a little bit unique in my thinking, in a way. I’m not a follower, I’m a leader of my own self. I’m not telling people, let me be your leader – I’m just a leader of my own.

The galaxies are very different from this earth, [outer space] works in a way that we don’t understand, I’m working in a way that we don’t understand – it’s definitely about keeping different from anyone else. A lot of people choose an artist name because it sounds cool, it sounds dope, but I put it on like it’s a part of me: an artist that’s original, creative, and likes to think a little bit outside the box.

Don Jupiter, that’s where that also comes in – I’m intrigued by mystery, I’m a devout Muslim, and I like to balance spirituality in everyday things we’re doing. That’s a part of us, we’re spiritual beings.

NW: Word. I once read a great quote, something like: We’re spiritual beings, who happen to have a physical body, but people get it twisted and think it’s the other way around, physical first and then having a soul.

GH: Definitely not. We have a soul, and that makes us spiritual beings, and we live in a society

that keeps that hidden – whether you have a lot of money, a lot of materials, you still need that notion of balance in your life. [But] the preaching comes at me first: whatever I’m saying, I’m saying it to me before I’m saying it to other people.

NW: No doubt, we all have to make sure we practice what we preach, that we aren’t just putting things out there for others but then adopting what we’re talking against ourselves.

GH: Right, we can’t worship what we create – we should worship what created us. At the end of the day we need to go back to balance. You can’t be extreme in any way, and as a musician, I’m being an ambassador – a communicator with people.

NW: On the track, you say – “Rap is not pop”

GH: “Rap is not pop if you think that then stop,” right, I’m quoting Tribe Called Quest, they drop that on a track.

NW: Right, and – to you, what does it mean to be “pop”?

GH: These days a lot of people are just talking shit, because it’s good money, it’s quick money – but how much money can you have? It’s just quick fun, it’s fast food, you eat and you get hungry again, after half an hour you feel like you’re hungry again, like you didn’t even eat, you want something proper, a plate with rice. We can balance. I’m all for commercial music, I like Blondie, Madonna, that’s the pop stuff for people to go up and dance, but it was rooted still. It’s not about being commercial and underground, I’m a little bit between both of them.

A while ago, at the time, we were spittin hard stuff, we grew through different stages of rap. When I [first] heard Common Sense, I thought he was soft, i didn’t feel it. The first time I heard the Black Star album – that all grows on you. Company Flow – that was fresh, man, pure freshness.

NW: [laughs] No doubt, man! Shoot, Company Flow, El-P, it’s been a minute since I’ve heard someone mention that album [Funcrusher Plus].

GH: I think there is two different “pops” – there’s a pop that’s original, and that’s not the pop that I mention. I’m not talking about the pop that I used to love back in the day – Chuck Berry, he could be rock-pop, but it was commercial and fresh, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder. Pop comes from those genres. Michael Jackson – that’s not the pop that I’m dissing.

But you can’t come as a rapper, and you’re jumping on something that should be a different song, should be a pop song, the rap on top of it just sounds plastic.

There’s two types of pop: there’s pop for the people, and I like that, digging back to the old days, 80s, 60s, 70s music – that’s the good pop for me. But today’s pop, if they went back to study the old pop, in a sense, that would be great – but… I’m not really seeing any new artists doing it that way, they all sound like Billie Holliday. But it’s good if they add something that’s them, a little bit.

NW: Word. So you’re based in London right now, can you tell me – what is London to you? How does it influence your music?

GH: I don’t think it influences my music much – somewhat, it does, but I’m more of a traveler. I still like to travel, it’s the traveling that brings more, that puts me in the mood of writing. I don’t think that London’s bringing my creativity, especially the rainy days. It’s a multicultural place here, that’s the nice part of it, but in terms of it helping me be creative because I’m in London – I like to zone out in my own world. But big up to London still, and I hope this summer’s shining.

NW: What about Gambia? How does that play into your identity?

GH: I grew up in Gambia since an early age, and that’s the first language I started hearing. I went there when I was a baby, stayed there until I was 12, then went back to Sweden – so it’s very personal, very sentimental.

Going back there brings back old memories, playing in the streets, making musical instruments with kids around the streets, on the block, where the cars were running – I had that African life in the 80s. Growing up there, I’ve seen people having a lot, having poverty, but I’ve seen a lot of happiness. It wasn’t having a color TV that made a person the happiest here, people are smiling, we appreciate life, people have faith in God.

Of course, things have changed now – the whole world has gone materialistic. People might look up to someone because they have a good car, a big house, but growing up there in the 80s, it was simplicity, life was simple, and even now I still feed off some of the music that I heard growing up as a kid.

NW: And how does Sweden fit into your identity?

GH: Sweden molded my rapping, definitely. But since Gambia, you see me lost in the crowd, jumping and dancing, as my auntie was looking for me, amongst adults, basically. Music’s always been a part of me somehow. I was very intrigued by breakdancing – my cousin was breakdancing, but I was much younger, so he didn’t let me come and practice, but I always liked to sneak and see what they were doing.

In Sweden, it’s more organized, it’s very secure – like, your life is quite secure. And um, in the 90s, Sweden was very Americanized. So you might catch Swedish people having a bit of American accent, and the TV shows as well. We were in our own little “New York” world, but in Stockholm. [laughs]

But it’s a lovely place, we had a good hiphop thing going on, it’s a good hip-hip scene. So I think that molded my hiphop, that’s the place I’m born, that’s always going to be a part of me as well. I would say I’m Gambian, first of all, but I’m also Swedish, because I was born there, I know the ways. All of them made me whom I am.

NW: Any last things you want to throw out there?

GH: [pauses] Yeah, actually, the EP’s just something I quickly want to get out there. Tell people – the EP’s the first project where what I’m doing is a mixture of written and freestyle. I’m mixing straight freestyle and parts of it are written – so I was like, let me just challenge myself and get it done. I want to get it out of the way quickly, get people out there to get it.

I [also] have an album coming out with this female producer, and we’re looking to call it Black Astronauts – very 70s Shaft, Barbarella, those kinds of spaced out and blaxploitation films, the album’s gonna be that kind of film. We’re gonna be on the cover, dressed in space suits.

I like to bring females who are bringing it to the game. These days you don’t have a lot of women who are doing very much, but she’s a female producer – that will be coming out at the end of the year, but make sure to get the EP just to vibe with me.

Power to the People is available on Galaxy High’s Bandcamp page. The Hello Mellow EP is releasing soon.

TIHHF2010: Lessons from the Teacha

April 21, 2010

“KRS-One specialized in music… I’ll only use this type of style when I choose it!”

and so a young Kris Parker started off his legendary diss South Bronx, simultaneously big upping his hood and dissing on the QB projects and equally legendary MC Shan, Juice Crew, and DJ Marley Marl.

A legendary – controversial – figure in hip-hop, KRS-ONE’s credibility and history is untouchable: responsible for countless rap classics, the Teacha has toured the world, performing solo and with the legendary Boogie Down Productions; put his credibility towards campaigns for Nike, Sprite, and more; founded the Temple of Hip-hop, one of the organizations responsible for stewarding hip-hop culture; and served as an elder (if unpredictable) statesman for years.

During the second evening of the Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival, as the crowd swelled for the Saturday night concert (which KRS-ONE headlined and closed out), a small group of press passes and video cameras gathered, selected by the organizers to partake in a closed-door session with Blastmaster KRS-ONE.

As the volume steadily grew to a raucous clamor outside, KRS shared insights with the audience:

on technology

the need to master (and not be mastered by) our tools

The need for hip-hop education

how hip-hop should be taught and available in school curriculum

on rap’s death and hip-hop’s growth

and – making a strong display for why he deserves his name, the Teacha, he broke down the history of New York urban radio, from WBLS and KISS FM’s radio/DJ battles, to the founding of Hot 97 – and its later abandonment of what he considers to be real-school hip-hop

Last, before rushing out the door, he broke down what he considers the hip-hop lifestyle to be – not flossing or throwing around stacks, but knowing how to get by and survive and thrive

Throughout the weekend, the local Temple of Hip-Hop members (big up to Trinity College Temple of Hip-hop – the nation’s first collegiate chapter!) were showing out for KRS-ONE’s new book, The Gospel of Hip-Hop. At the close of this session, his associates passed out complimentary copies to all the journalists in attendance, as the teacha was whisked away to his green room.

Recap: The Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival 2010

April 17, 2010

[Flick 1: Nomadic Massive on stage]

What’s good, party people?

This past weekend, Nomadic Wax’s first-stringers must have all bailed on them, because Ben was desperate enough (all praises due) to issue me a press pass to the 5th annual Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival. As part-time c-list blogger (and so d-list journalist), I was hyped to see how my online credentials would transfer into the real world. And so, last Friday, with Bboy Andrew in tow as my enlisted photographer, I jumped into a borrowed car and headed north from New Haven on I-91.

Pulling into Hartford a quick hour later with Alchemist and Clipse records on blast, Andrew and I cut our way through the Trinity campus in stealth mode. The festival actually started that morning with a series of in-class lectures, but we planned to hit town just in time for dinner; so we made our way to registration just in time to collect our press passes, introduce ourselves to some familiar faces, and hit the invited delegates’ networking dinner

[Flick 2: Bboy Andrew, me, Jasmine, and DJ Nio]

Over that dinner – throughout the weekend – the Nomadic Wax/Trinity Hip-Hop crew did a strong job of creating community between the invited hip-hop writers, emcees, DJ’s, and activists. Whenever event organizers mingled with the crowd, they were building with guests and introducing delegates to one another – artists, workshop presenters, and even press members all bore the event sponsors’ co-sign. And so it was easy to connect and politic with anyone around – anyone displaying a TIHHF badge was already screened and trusted by at least some true hip-hop heads.

The atmosphere throughout the festival was full of this positivity, with a rare level of mutual respect and comfort among the attendees. The vibe was almost family reunion-style – I heard “brother” and “sister” thrown around like a 70s Blaxploitation flick. I’ve seen “networking”, especially at hip-hop events, often turn into a rodeo of promotional gimmicks and self-important rants. But there was a sense of purposefulness to most of the acts gathered in Hartford.

Many groups – Senegal’s Wagebele, Palestine’s DAM, the multinational Readnex Poetry Squad – have explicitly tied their musical identities to bigger issues, like African/Middle Eastern politics, social justice, and urban education. And even those hip-hoppers without explicit social agendas, such as RAH Zemos, still came across as driven by a vision of hip-hop culture as deeper than rap (no Rick Ross), pushing the culture further and bigger than the mainstream image of hip-hop as 45-second commercial interlude soundtrack. With this shared understanding, it makes sense that we would see each other as brothers- and sisters-in-arms for hip-hop.

That sense of positivity wasn’t just unifying people across regions or languages – all elements of the hip-hop culture were representing side-by-side, from Emceeing, DJing (big ups to DJ Boo [NYC] and DJ Nio [Italy]), Graf writing, Bboying, to Knowledge (the hip-hop scholars out in full force, along with the Temple of Hip-Hop). After waking up on Saturday, I drove over to Trinity’s campus and joined the emcee showcase, hosted by Self-Suffice and Undakova backed by DJ Nio, while local graf artists pieced up canvases feet away.

The second half of my afternoon was dedicated to an ill bboy battle, with a bracket filled by crews from the region. Bboy Andrew and his partner were knocked out in a close battle (1 vote away from a tie) in the first round, but I stuck around shooting flicks and politicking with the bboys in the spot. My Mighty Healthy ASIAN tee was getting a lot of looks and compliments from the heads in the crowd (what up my pinoy bboys and fly girls?) – i noticed that the asiatic representation in the bboy crews was much higher than among the emcees. An observation to come back to in the future.

As I broke it down with bboys, dj’s, and emcees alike, a troubling thought that remained in the back of my head was that, as much unity and love as we were seeing, one area of segregation that remained was between the diverse elements of hiphop. While we all came out to the same locale, I saw MC’s, DJ’s, and journalists building with one another, bboys sticking to themselves, preferring to vibe out to the music or warm up in tight circles; and i didn’t even have a chance to get at any of the graf writers in the spot.

During a 10 minute interlude between the first and second round of the bboy battle, Zulu Nation emcee K-Swift and a couple of other acts performed – but most bboys scattered to eat, drink, or practice, with only a fraction of the crowd sticking around and dancing or vibing to the intermission acts.

I would have loved to see more cross-elemental communication – the visual artists, musicians, and dancers seemed to all have their own spaces during most of the day. Most of the day, that is, until KRS-ONE took the stage to close the Saturday night concert.

Anyone who knows the Teacha a/k/a Blastmaster KRS-ONE knows that he has been at the very forefront of preserving and bringing together hip-hop’s elements, from his legendary crew Boogie Down Productions, to classic albums like Criminal Minded, and the Stop the Violence movement. Having seen his live performance on two previous occasions, I thought that I would have gotten used to his presence – but as soon as he took the stage, he didn’t let up for a minute until it was time to go home. The consummate performer.

Perhaps most inspirational, though, was how generous he was with the spotlight. Calling out the graf heads for their pieces on the walls, inviting bboys up from the crowd to rock with him, and then ceding the stage to other emcees to let them spit for a good ten minutes, he ended the weekend with a bomb of truth, love, and power – reminding us all that, in the end, hip-hop is bigger than any one of us, our elements, labels, or movements.

Rah Zemos – Old to the New

March 22, 2010

Rah Zemos – Old to the New

Ra – Egyptian Sun God, progenitor of eleven Pharoahs bearing his name: Ramses, born of the Sun God.

Baron Zemo – B-list Marvel Comics supervillain who showed briefly in the ‘60s to taunt Captain America, then killed off a year after his introduction.

Ramzi Mokdad – Ram-Zi, Rah Z, Rah Zemos – has an antipodal rap alias, marrying noble ambitions with a supervillain alter ego. He tells me he’s “Raw material, a king – somebody who’s a leader, not a follower.” But his name hints of aspirations to artistic complication: “I have my pure and righteous side, but we all have that alter ego… that darker side.”

As I listen to him talk on hip-hop, I wonder where that diabolical side rests: Rah’s purist agenda seems ingenuously straightforward. He founded an independent record label, Nocturnalight, in 2004 to “shin[e] the light where it’s darkest” and, when asked to clarify, he identifies hip-hop culture’s drifting from its foundation as the root cause of that darkness: “Selling out to the music industry, calling women bitches, all about drugs… B-boys, DJ’s, MC’s, graffiti. Rarely do you see these elements used in popular music…. they sold out. They didn’t stick to the roots of what hip-hop was all about.”

Our discussion reminds me of the early-2000’s, when the progressive zeitgeist of indie hip-hop was less Drake and Kid CuDi and more a bunch of dudes standing around in hoodies and non-designer jeans, talking about bringing the underground back. “Conscious rap”. Then, labels’ independence – Rawkus, Rhymesayers, Anticon, Def Jux – was touted by purists as a clear philosophical choice (Def Jux’s slogan: “Independent as Fuck”), and hip-hop heads seemed more vocal about bringing rap “back to its roots” than rationalizing the latest regional trend (remember crunk?).

But in 2010, nearly a decade removed from the turn-of-the-century scene, Jay Electronica (buddy-buddy to Rawkus mainstays Mos Def and Talib Kweli) stops by Youtube to big up Soulja Boy, and one-time major label soldier Freeway drops an album on Rhymesayers, with a guest appearance from Cash Money boss Baby. Jay-Z opens the Glastonbury festival backed by DJ Neil Armstrong, and Kanye West’s concert show looks more Cirque du Soleil than Rock Steady Crew.

Is this cultural drift – and is it negative? Rah would say so – “if I go to a show, and there’s a DJ and an emcee, some B-boys and a graffiti artist, that’s the most hip-hop show you’re ever going to go to…. if you don’t have all the elements of the culture, you’re not maximizing the potential of what your culture is.”

Rah has the experience to back up his aggressive cultural rhetoric: born to Lebanese parents on vacation in LA and raised in Saudi Arabia, he attended high school in Quebec, spending his adult life in New York and Toronto. He knows exactly what his Arab heritage brings him – “We’re the ones who are targeted, they’re watching what we’re up to – we’re the new minority… being an Arab and a lyricist is a big thing for me, the music’s big to me, because it’s my way to talk about these things.”

Rah embraces his distinct heritage, despite the persecution it can bring, and I wonder if this factors into his disdain for sell-outs – “they’re scared to really be themselves… That’s why Public Enemy said, don’t believe the hype…. When you put enough hype behind something, you could put out the worst product in the world and people will say, ‘wow, yeah, it’s pretty tight.’” When asked about who he does respect in the industry, he pauses for a long moment before throwing out KRS-One – “kept it real to the point where he hasn’t let the dark side corrupt him” – and, after prompting, Killah Priest, both not just for their cultural authenticity but also the positivity of their messages.

Positivity is a word that Rah often returns to – beyond artistic content, it’s his guiding principle: “My overall goal is to be as best a teacher and role model I can for our youth and adults alike.” His critique of artists who drift too far from hip-hop’s foundation is grounded in how he defines that foundation: “it’s all about positive and negative. Are you going to do something that has a positive impact, or negative?” Rah leaves no room in hip-hop for technical excellence without morality: either you are a fake or, worse, a sellout; or you are helping the audience towards unity and positivity.

Show and Prove is important in hip-hop – if you want respect, you have to earn it – and if Rah is outspoken in his criticism of other figures, at least he backs it up in his day-to-day grind. Ramzi Mokdad hustles 9-to-5 in the nonprofit world, with an outfit called Plan Canada, a sponsorship organization providing youths in underprivileged communities with food, medical care, and education. Nocturnalight Records is also active in bringing awareness of social issues to the forefront, organizing designers, artists, graffiti writers, and producers to hold workshops and get involved with the youth.

But how’s the music? On paper, Rah could come off as preachy and heavy-handed – and as much as he brings to mind the early-2000s Rawkus camp, there are good reasons that Rawkus’ presence on the scene faded around 2004, bought out by larger labels. And the best of intentions – saving the youth, bringing positivity to the hood – can be overshadowed by wack beats, stiff [||] rhymes, and an awkward flow.

Rah’s latest project is Volume 2 of his Full Spectrum mixtape series, released through Nocturnalight Records. While he generally shies away from associating himself with too many other artists, Rah does embrace a small circle of emcees on this project, and it’s obvious from the start that he respects them highly – the album intro finds Rah spitting, weaving the names and track titles of the other rappers together into a 2-minute track. A lot of mixtapes these days can feel thrown-together, with artists phoning in verses separately from one another and a DJ sequencing a passionless project together – but Rah notes, “More than separate artists, I wanted this to reflect a collective movement… these artists, I did the research on them, they’re handpicked, I felt they’d collaborate well together.” More than a promotional project, the Full Spectrum tape is supposed to be a “personal, mental, spiritual collaboration” – not just about demonstrating skill, but about showing off likeminded personalities.

The vibe of the whole tape is what I expected, given Rah’s background and passion for the fundamentals of hip-hop. The emcees he’s gathered together complement one another well – and, given the milieu of his adopted country and his diverse background, it’s not a surprise when emcees spit in a dizzying array of English, French, and Arabic. This fits in with his explicit aim for the project – when asked about the title of the tape, he responds, “It’s a tropical mix, a multicultural mix of emcees from all over the place – different backgrounds, different types of music, but all with a unified purpose. All their music is good – it’s proactive, it’s productive. So the full spectrum is kind of like the full spectrum of light, but also of cultures, religions, and races. So the Full Spectrum mixtapes are gonna feature different artists from all over the world. On this volume, we have 13 different cities and 4 different continents, 20 different artists.”

The overall effort has a distinct air of throwback rap, but the diversity of languages and cultures represented, along with solid production, make it the kind of album I wouldn’t mind walking down the street with in a chill autumnal twilight, or on an otherwise drowsy plane ride. It’s not a revolutionary album – but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. After all, his rhetoric is that of a hip-hop fundamentalist. So, maybe the best compliment that I can pay Rah’s music is that it is evolutionary: taking the substance of hip-hop’s golden era and bringing it one step forward. It’s not a game-changing record, but a solid, diverse, mature project. This might not be the brand of hip-hop that sets sales charts on fire, but the fact that emcees like Rah and the other Full Spectrum artists are still making music like this, over 30 years after the birth of hip-hop, may be the best compliment to the culture’s foundations.

You can download music and read more about Rah Zemos and Nocturnalight Records at Nocturnalight.com or at his blog.

Keepin’ Kosha: Kosha Dillz on being labeled, Jersey vs. LA, and putting together an album

February 15, 2010

Poetic Pilgrimage on Star Women and the Femcee Perspective

February 2, 2010

Written By Amanda Macchia

True to their moniker, hip hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage pays homage to the spoken soul of poetry and its journey through the power and tribulations of long-awaited social liberation. The women behind the group are fueled by much more than creative rhymes and story telling. Their newest endeavor, mix tape Star Women is a tribute to the light every person has within them. Using their own experiences as activists, minorities, and women, they channel their perspective to shed light where there has always been darkness. Poetic Pilgrimage has conceptualized the prospects of social acceptance and freedom into Star Women, with an energy that can only be described as determination.

Activist and sociologist, W.E.B. DuBois, was known in his critical theory of race for the concept of a “double-consciousness”. Later adapted by the feminist Dorothy Smith as the “bifurcated consciousness”, the idea refers to a sense of awareness that those who aren’t in a position of power are advantaged to understanding. The repressed, the subordinated, or the minority, have a heightened sense of what society looks like; with only one foot in the door, they have the opportunity to experience a duality of self. Capable of looking in from the outside, a repressed member of society understands what it is to be a part of the mainstream social order, while they simultaneously can see the world from the perspective of someone with a limited sense of social amenities. They have a sense of “otherness” that in it’s most bare state is, itself, repression. Yet something positive can come from being the “other”, because a dual perspective is far more valuable than a single provincial understanding of our world. For DuBois, this repressive state can be turned into a celebration of variety, and an intellectual pilgrimage toward equality. Integration for DuBois was a unity of difference, and of the solid fact that we can all relate as human beings. Just as DuBois didn’t extract theory without emphasizing the end goal of political change and the importance of activism within the social world, Poetic Pilgrimage uses Star Women to catalyze the audience into their worlds and their experiences, in the hopes that something important might come out of it.

Sukina and Muneera of Poetic Pilgrimage explain their efforts brilliantly: “Within our music we try to give an alternative perspective, the voice of those who tend not to be heard… As individuals we realized that in many ways we sometimes fail to see the greatness that is inside of us, not just musically but in our personal lives. We spent a lot of time reminding ourselves of our achievements, and then it dawned on us that in general as human beings sometimes we don’t see the beauty, the potential the power, and tenacity that is dormant within our cells. This in itself is an inhibition, and can be oppression to ourselves. So in this project we are reintroduced to messages of freedom and change.”

The free download they have available online is a prelude to their actual mix tape project. It speaks of the beauty inside that we naturally, and unknowingly, tend to neglect. Pulling from a massive volume of styles, decades, and cultures, Poetic Pilgrimage has accumulated an album where every song is different and yet universal in meaning. They combine aggressive, funky beats with a cool, hip and organic orientation. There are glimpses of jazz, vestiges of electronica, intergalactic excursions into R&B, and a percussive tunnel into afrobeat, all of which serve to frame the gentle, persistent rapping of Poetic Pilgrimage’s natural lyrical affinity. The download is as exciting as any mix tape could hope to be, so one can only wonder what surprises their real project has in store.

In general, nothing they do is without purpose. Considering that the marriage of hip hop to social or political activism is a growing trend in subcultures throughout the globe, there is something to be said for progressive and active music that stands out above the rest. Artists and hip hoppers are pooling together their resources, and their natural affinity toward a two-fold perspective to create music of the sort most people have never been exposed to. Star Women is a shining example of an artistry that is full of messages without the sacrifice of the immense integrity it takes to be a truly talented hip hop pioneer.

What I love about hip hop,” says Muneera, “is that it is a tool that has given many people the opportunity to express themselves in a direct and creative manner. Art in general surpasses layers and aims straight for the heart. Hip hop, in particular, is the only form of music in the western hemisphere that was born out of oppression. This music has given those with no way to express their social conditions a means to speak and be noted…. it is something that is accessible to all people regardless of class or financial status. It gave life to a new type creativity, and has provided opportunity for growth and business… now that hip hop has gone international, this has only added texture to the many layers with in it.”

The ladies have a lot going on aside from the release of their mix tape. “We recently came back from a mini European tour where we performed at the 5-year anniversary party of the World Culture Museum in Sweden. We did an event called ‘The Night The Songbirds Are Set Free’ in Berlin that focused on liberating women’s voices, and we performed at a World Music Festival on the German/Polish border too. We are also currently working towards an album that will be ready before autumn. This will be coming out on a Californian based label called Remarkable Current. Most of the production will be by an amazing producer and arranger called Fair Grime. We are also looking at other forms of writing.”

Muneera and Sukina met young, and were both united by one thing. “We first became close friends because of music,” says Sukina. “Muneera used to be a DJ and would always get early releases from Sony and other record companies. I remember hearing Jill Scott for the first time and Amel Larrieux, whilst also being in love with people like Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Mos Def, Kweli and Common. We were so inspired by this music and the message and spirituality that existed in it. We wanted to create for others what this music had meant for us. We decided to come together to inspire and uplift people, and represent a voice for some of the voiceless people around the world.”

It’s safe to say that Poetic Pilgrimage as a concept accomplishes these goals entirely.

It is refreshing to see a piece of artwork so honest and bare bones. With songs off the download like “Beautiful”, we are reminded that in most cultures women only know themselves in relation to men. The song is infused with the hope that we can keep shining, and recognize how to allow ourselves to measure up in the face of social norms and cultural gender roles.

“Aborted Daughters (Live)”, addresses the politics that fuel Poetic Pilgrimage, while taking the concept of the mix tape and giving it the integrated identity of a multi-media approach. It starts with a short speech and launches directly into the spoken word format, giving the free download a boost of texture and allowing the messages of liberation and faith more power.

Poetic Pilgrimage uses their own identities, as well as those of other women to forage an image of the universality of the female and human experience. They translate into music the socially constructed domination and internal subordination that we all suffer. On top of it all, Poetic Pilgrimage has created timeless music and poetry that honors the power and prowess of women in hip hop.

“We feel strongly about justice, love, and peace for all,” says Muneera. “Being from different community groups we see how people can get caught up with just themselves, and obviously we all have to make sure that the home is straight, but oppression is a disease and once we allow it to breed we can all be susceptible to it.”

To download a free prelude of Star Women visit http://www.starwomenmixtape.com/.

Rest In Peace Brother Modou

February 1, 2010

It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that I write this post. Our dear friend Modou Konate – aka Bourba Djoloff – passed away February 1st 2010. Many of you will remember Modou for his incredible music he made with his group Sen Kumpe. Some of you may remember this role he played as an activist trying to bring change to his beloved Senegal. I’ll rememeber Modou as all of these things – but most importantly, as my friend who will be greatly missed.

Modou – man dunu la fate. Dinga nekk sama xol sama xarite. Nammenala bu baax a baax. Sa xarite, Ben

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