If not, what artists or genre of music is going to spark it? Lead it? I'm sure there are many underground and indie musicians doing good work in all genres. But I am talking about something, someone, that is going to appeal to the masses.
"Music is important in the struggle, every revolution has music." I'm paraphrasing here, but this is the spirit of what the legendary Grace Lee Boggs said during her opening speech at the North Dakota Study Group in Detroit, MI last weekend. Later a woman got up with her acoustic guitar, echoed her comments and then proceeded to lead the group in singing a protest song from the '60s.
One hour later we were on a bus taking a tour of Detroit. As we passed the old "Hitsville USA" I began to come back to that idea of music and social change. Are we going to have another What's Going On by Marvin Gaye? War by Edwin Starr? Then again, the struggle was so different then, so visible, so tangible. This made it easier to be outraged. The enemies, the issues were clear. Despite more media, the struggle now is more elusive. Is a musical artist going to write a song railing against institutional racism? Develop a catchy chorus that shines a light on predatory loan practices? How do you describe those things? Do you write about the cause, or the results?
That evening, performances included a Detroit rapper named Invincible who, along with a versatile flow and solid wordplay, carried with her a strong message of change and hope. This also made me return to the idea of change and music. I wonder what role rap music can have and will have.
This is going to be the first of yet another series of posts that highlights lines, phrases and rhymes that are aimed at societal change. It is hard to do that topic well but I plan on holding a high standard. Important and prophetic words alone will not be good enough. Ultra-technical and "deep" artists may not always get posts. Flow and wordplay are going to be just as important content. It's rap after all, not spoken word poetry. It has to be musical.
All of my reoccurring posts have a title that is drawn right from the topic itself. Vomitspit, Come Back Like Jordan..., 7MCs, and Camay are all representative of lyrics or song titles by particular artists (DOOM, Jay-Z, Rakim and Ghostface Killah). "If Revolution Had a Movie..." is props to Common.
The 6th Sense
Like Water For Chocolate
The first post happens to be from the song where Common rapped that line. Lots of jewels were dropped through the song. It's rife with Common's 'juxtaposition rhymes' and a hard delivery. The DJ Premier helped to create a sense of chaos and urgency. The video adds to the overall product but remember to read while listening too.
The revolution will not be televised
The revolution is here
Yeah, it's Common Sense, with DJ Premier
We gonna help y'all see clear
It's real hip-hop music, from the soul, y'all
Yeah, check it, yo
The perseverance of a rebel I drop heavier levels
It's unseen or heard, a king with words
Can't knock the hustle, but I've seen street dreams deferred
Dark spots in my mind where the scene occurred
Some say I'm too deep, I'm in too deep to sleep
Through me, Muhammad will forever speak
Greet brothers with handshakes in ghetto landscapes
Where a man is determined by how much a man make
Cop Cognacs and spit old raps with young cats
with cigarettes in their ear, niggerish they appear
Under the FUBU is a guru, that's untapped
Want to be in the rap race but ain't ran one lap
Ran so far from the streets that you can't come back
You tripping with nowhere to unpack, forgot that
Chorus: (Scratched by DJ Premier with variations):
"This is rap for real, something you feel"
"And you know, yes you know"
"Rap for the black people"
"Heeeeyyyy, heeeeeyyyy"
In front of two-inch glass and Arabs I order fries
Inspiration when I write, I see my daughter's eyes
I'm the truth, across the table from corporate lies
Immortilized by the realness I bring to it
If revolution had a movie I'd be theme music
My music, you either fight, fuck, or dream to it
My life is one big rhyme, I try to scheme through it
Through my shell, never knew what the divine would bring through it
I'd be lying if I said I didn't want millions
More than money saved, I wanna save children
Dealing with alcoholism and afrocentricity
A complex man drawn off of simplicity
Reality is frisking me
This industry will make you lose intensity
The Common Sense in me remembers the basement
I'm Morpheus in this hip-hop Matrix, exposing fake shit
Chorus
Somedays I take the L to gel with the real world
Got on at 87th, stopped by this little girl
She recited raps, I forgot where they was from
In 'em, she was saying how she made brothers cum
I start thinking, how many souls hip-hop has affected
How many dead folks this art resurrected
How many nations this culture connected
Who am I to judge one's perspective?
Though some of that shit y'all pop to it, I ain't relating
If I don't like it, I don't like it, that don't mean that I'm hating
I just want to innovate and stimulate minds
Travel the world and penetrate the times
Escape through rhythms in search of peace and wisdom
Raps are smoke signals letting the streets know I'm with 'em
For now I appreciate this moment in time
Ball players and actors be knowing my rhymes, it's like
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