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CULTURE BANDITS VOL. 1 (CULTURAL GENOCIDE IN AMERIKKKA)
COPYRIGHT 1990 BY: DEL JONES Produced by Del Jones Communications Unlimited All Rights Reserved, printed in the United States About Author: Del Jones is a journalist from Philly. He has studied and covered the violent elections in Jamaica, worked and was part of a fact finding mission weeks beforethe cowardly invasion of Grenada, and also traveled and studied the situation in Southern Afrika. He earned his associates degree from the school of Hard Knocks, his B.S. is in organizing in the streets and on the campuses of Philadelphia, his masters is in dissecting the media’s: distortions, lies, half truths, and kicking it out to the people. And his Ph.D. is for surviving to run it down another day. As a result of all of this, he has been rewarded his War Correspondent credentials by Revolutionary Pan-Afrikanism (Black Power to you) and henceforth a W.C. will appear after his name. ISBN 0-9639995-9-1 2
AS A CHILD I WONDERED..... As A child I wondered, As a man I knew As A Child I wondered, As a man I knew Broken dreams and promises bad news with postage due Nostril-aching smells of sadness, embryos try-ing to dodge the knife We’re all spattered, with the urban-blues As a child I wondered, as a man I knew Death on a shingle, cold ground call nothing to lose Multi-hues robots accustomed to being used Powdered face gun toters, grab a straw for the booze As a child I wondered, As a man I knew
Del Jones, W.C.
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DEDICATION I dedicate this work to all of those who believed in me and my tortured War Corresponding efforts in our struggle: To Mylo, also to my Mother & Father Ellen & Simeon Jones, and my family the Philly crew (Sim, Ben, Snookie, Bob, Deke, Wayman, and their beautiful families). I appreciated your help through the years. To my children Dawn ‘n herhusband Kenny, Dale ‘n her husband Norman, Del Nyerere, Nia Njeri and little Dedan Sekou Kimathi. Also my grandchildren Malcolm, Benita, little Kenny and the lost one. Never forgetting my total family, including the Miami connection, and my main man Uncle Herbie Jones of New York. In addition, to my Afrikan extended family, which includes all of you. To Mr. Keels the super elder, who kept my old bomb running. And then there is: Scoop U.S.A. the home of my column for over a decade, Westside Weekly, First World Forum, Philadelphia New Observer all in Philly. Also including, The Frontline Network that was born out of the struggles of Temple University’s campus. Special mention to AFRIKAN EYES the Newsletter of the Committee for Pan Afrikanist Development, the organization that has been my home base for political growth and clarity, of which I am a founding member. Most of all, to my Brother and cadre in arms Brother Deke and his Know Thyself Bookstore and Culture Development Center located at 528 S. 52nd Street in Philly 215-748-2278, that is the oasis for the upliftment of the consciousness of our people. This is where you can always track me down.... Del Jones (Your War Corrsepondent) 4
Special thanks to my copy editor Pat Jacobs, who put up with me and worked long hours with a commitment to the truth. Also, thanks to Robin Bright-Jones (my beautiful SisterIn-Law, a Howard University Art Grad) for her creative art work and design of the front cover. Thanks for your unique creativity and belief in this project. In addition, I’d like to thank John Martin for his art work on the Pharoah, I’ve admired his work for years.
A special thanks to Civilized Publications. Also thanks and appreciation to Harr y Allen of Public Enemy for his time and energy, Tyree Johnson and the Westside Weekly in Philly for layout skills and professional kindness.
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DEL JONES, W. C. INTRODUCTION Don’t let them fool you, it is not the gun that keeps the have nots of the world in bondage to white supremacy’s economic system of capitalism, it is the mass media component of this system of exploitation that perpetuates the confusion of the oppressed. Confusion is the enemy of revolution and the western media are experts in causing confusion and perpetuating lies, stereotypes, and his-torical distortion, as they play with our appetite for a better life. Anti-Afrikan Propaganda is a vital key to the survival of white supremacy. Any error in this area of the great white lie would certainly lead to the destruction of the world economic and communications order. In short, this is the heart we are attempting to strike at to deal this evil force a death blow. A blow that would breathe life into PanAfrikanism in particular, and the exploited in general. Consequently, it is vital that all mediums of their mass media reinforce one another. In other words, they must articulate the same lie in every media product. And what are these media products that we ingest and digest daily on the road to further servitude: Music: (records, videos, songwriting, musical awards, classical European, traditional Afrikan, blues, gospel, r&b, jazz, rock, Reggae, rap, afro-pop, etc.) Print Medium (which includes text books, newspapers, novels, comic books, print advertisements, magazines, newsletters, cereal boxes, bill boards, posters, graffiti etc.) 6
WAR CORRESPONDENT Radio: (talk programs, music programming, sports programming, public broadcasting, all news formats, religious programming, campus radio, etc.) Film: (Hollywood, documentaries, educational films, cartoons, training films, his-torical teaching tools, etc.) Television: (support your local police shows “cop shows,” sitcoms, soap operas, cartoons, t. v. news, docu-dramas, sports, award programs “grammy/Tony/Emmy,” educational t.v., Cable t.v. syndicated reruns, news specials etc.) Telephone: (telephone commercials, tele-marketing of sex, products, exploitation of the lonely, intelligence gathering etc.) Fashions: (European fashion crazes, official business uniforms, Afrikan cultural attire, hairstyles, gold craze, graffiti people, peer pressure and sewing machines etc.) Scholarship: (colonization of scholarship, stolen legacies, his-torical banditry, perpetuation of academic superiority, technological ownership, control of degrees, educational institutions etc.) Satellite Communications: (Invading the borders of other nations, broadcasting in other nations’ air space, promotion of western values and products, spying on other countries, etc.) 7
DEL JONES, W. C. This work was designed as a community working paper and survival kit for establishing a beachhead against the invasions of our minds, and destruction of our culture. Also to further document things this author may have missed that you think are important and must be shared with the community. It is also designed to set up a coherent counter attack to drive back the invaders of our collective consciousness that are in pursuit of our purchasing power as it simultaneously attempts to destroy us. In addition, it serves as documentation of Amerikkka’s program of genocide and menta-cide against Afrikan people. burden understanding these things demandsThe us to act toofslap back the aggression and put forward individual and mass programs of both rehabilitation and culture maintenance. It should be understood that the scope of this subject is vast and can not be adequately covered in one volume. However, the broad brush is necessary to define the methods of the enemy, the maladies they cause and some of the options that are available to us. (which covers music) is a liberating tool and should not be confused with any reformist products put out by many other media critics. It was developed to heighten the awareness of the victims (us) and act as just one of the deprogramming agents necessary for the development of our just struggle against domination by the white collective. Culture Bandits Vol.l
What you must bring to this work is an open mind and an inquiring spirit. It was written for mass consumption, not 8
WAR CORRESPONDENT just as an exercise in intellectualizing the struggles of Afrikan people. It is the goal of this book to aid the community in being ever vigilant to the deadly demonic forces that cloud reality to control every sphere of our lives. No mass media product should go unquestioned by the brain computer. We must shed the passive approach to the media. We then will enter a tug-a-war for our consciousness, our culture, and . . our very hue-manity. The element of trust must be excluded when dealing with the mass media, because when we begin to identify with the media messages on a personal tip, we are in grave danger of being used against our own interest. Every media message has a reason for being created and none of these creations are designed to deliver freedom to Afrikan people. On the contrary, all of their products are produced to increase control and exploitation. It is the goal of the mass media to sell the Amerikkkan way as the superior system, yes that bastard Amerikkkan culture is projected as the beginning and the end. Finally, two things can not occupy the same space at the same time, consequently our freedom can not be created as long as their exploitation is intact and in control of our present and our children’s future. Leave all you know and believe behind the cover of this book and travel with me into dimensions untouched as we continue our search for the liberation of our own minds. Then and only then will we be free to develop the strategies and tactics necessary to turn the tables on the Culture Bandits and undo their lie that has captured the world and its resources. 9
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
“Every society has its own culture and every culture its own values of civilization. Thus, we easily understand that every act, every objective to be achieved should necessarily be within the scope of culture; for culture embraces the entire physical and moral being of a society whose whole thought and action underlies in the various manifestations of its existence.” Sekou Turé
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS GLOSSARY OF TERMS CULTURE Culture is everything a people do, why they do it, when they do it
and how it is done. Everything falls in the realm of culture. COLONIALISM The system of governing a people in their own land by a foreign power. It has social, economic components and its chief activity is to rob the indigenous people of their resources, self determination, culture, labor and basic freedom. MASS MEDIA Broadcast and print mediums that disseminate information locally,
nationally or internationally. Its role is to control the flow of information, ideas and culture. Its primary objective is to distort, lie, rename, confuse and destroy all truths that could beused for liberating purposes by those subjugated by white supremacy. RADIO The broadcast system used to reach audiences using the radio spectrum. Audio programming used to sell ideas, lifestyles, and products to the world. Also, it is used to control thought and dissent. Its largest product is music, a vital tool of the Culture Bandits. The first truly effective mass vehicle for exportation of alien culture. TELEVISION The broadcasting of audioand visual images. Amedium that is popular and used to define reality, influence opinion, and redefine information and situations. Used for the propagation of Amerikkkanism and western values. A manager of news and views, greatest salesman of products as it brings what Dallas Smyte calls “advertisers to audiences.” Supplies visual images for the populous to emulate.
Socializing agent for morales, mores and culture. Redefines reality 11
GLOSSARY OF TERMS and delivers a fantasy perspective in its place. Creates only confusion to set viewer up for economic, cultural and social exploitation. FILM Valuable tool of promoting Amerikkkan culture, historical inaccuracies, selling fashions and abnormal perspectives. A racist tool for redefining people and stereotyping outsiders and justifying genocidal programs, past & present, against people of color. VIDEO The new kid on the block, a great tool to quickly overtly and covertly define anything effectively. Example, music videos have become a powerful promotion tool for the recording (audio) industry. However, like the rest of the mass media, it is a powerful weapon in the hands
of the Consequently, music videos areItstrapped the foulCulture watersBandits. of racism/sexism/soap opera/violence. violentin counterpart, the video games, are trapped in the quicksand of its own unwholesome world-view of war, sex and racism. Most of the minds dealing with this medium are demented, and in a powerful position of sabotaging any attempts at developing a healthy consciousness. Even the pinball machines that preceded video games were violent/ racist/sexist. PRINT
The oldest and the most abusive. Under the logo of “free flow of information” the most racist/reactionary garbage has been produced. While at the same time, the effective control over the distribution of newspapers, books, magazines, periodicals, journals etc. has limited Afrikan people’s access to each other. This book is evidence that now there is no excuse for us to lay silent. The advancements in computerization and desk top publishing and the establishment of Black distributors has begun to chip away at the concrete barrier between the writers, publishers, and their Black audiences.
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS COLONIZED SCHOLARSHIP The colonization of scholarship is the control over our research and information by and about us. Keeping it captive and away from the people who need it to develop a clear view of our-story and our present direction. The mere fact of keeping the work of our researchers in all areas of scholarship unpublished or under-published, extracts our scholarship from the body of knowledge. Even though, we are the founders of all the disciplines they now claim. While at the same time, they promote and present anti-Afrikan propaganda that was/is unfounded, untrue and destructive to the collective intellect of our people and how others view the Afrikan. ACADEMIC TERRORISM Is a critical activity of controlling the thoughts of our people. The
discrimination our educators, who challenge the liesdegrees. that they perpetuated byagainst denying tenure, employment and advance All the way down to the elementary school student who is punished for presenting George Washington as the slave holder he was, or pointing out the Afrikan lineage of Beethoven, Pushkin, Aesop etc. Designed to make the Black students’ and educators’ consciousness prisoners of white supremacy. CULTURAL GENOCIDE Cultural Genocide is the goal of the Culture Bandits in all phases of
society. It is their goal to destroy the culture of our people, claim all they can accept as their creation, while destroying those elements that are undigestible by the European. Another goal is to confuse the people as they attempt to apply another race’s morals, mores and norms to themselves. The death of the culture would lead to the death of the people they hate and fear. CULTURAL IMPERIALISM The invasion of another culture (collective & individual consc iousness of a people) by outsiders (enemies) in order to rearrange and control
the victims for the purpose of subjugation. 13
GLOSSARY OF TERMS AUDIENCES TO ADVERTISERS The major role of radio, newspapers, t.v., etc. is to bring audiences to advertisers for the purpose of selling products. For example, sports is used to sell: beer, sneakers, cars and other so-called male products. Even when attending a sporting event live, the printed programs, and scoreboard are littered with commercial messages. Soap Operas are used to push: home products, laundry products, feminine napkins, fashions, cosmetics, etc. Ratings are based on how many people a program can deliver to a sponsor. Proven winners like the Super Bowl can command almost a million dollars per 60 second spot. SUBLIMINAL MESSAGES Hidden messages and images using air brush techniques, words and images embedded in frames of film or photos that only the
unconscious can seetoorpropaganda. subconscious earit can It is anof illegal and unethicaleye approach Yet, is a hear. skillful part their communications arsenal. SUBLIMINAL SEDUCTION The process of using the speed of the mind against the consciousness of the individual for the purpose of seducing the individual into a pleasant response for the products of the advertiser. It employs sexual references for the purpose of establishing a favorable feeling in the mind of the viewer. We must side step intellectualizing here and state
it is a vicious rape of the mind and a criminal act. Playing with the reoccurring sexual urges of human beings is reflected in the rape of men, women and children and the unhealthy unnatural sexual abuse seen in many relationships. GOSPEL MUSIC Our musical response to the religion of our captors, that was used for political purposes. “Wade In the Water,” and “Follow The Drinking Gourd” are just two examples of gospel songs that passed on political and escape route messages within the worship space thatwas allowed.
Many times only for worship could prisoners of war (slaves) be 14
GLOSSARY OF TERMS allowed to gather. Later many of us were to adopt the Christian religion seriously. THE BLUES A musical form that grew out of gospel expressions and the objective
conditions of Afrikan people here in the states. Like every form of our rich, musical culture, there are different kinds of expressions that make up the blues. Many came from different objective realities in various locations throughout this country. Whether it was Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis or St. Louis, we sang the blues all over because conditions required a musical articulation of reality. RHYTHM & BLUES (SOUL, URBAN CONTEMPORARY) The expanding of the blues toward more complicated instrumentation and arrangements increasing the complexity, which was an out growth of the urban or city experiences. Environmental factors impact on the type of musical products we will produce. The tone and pace of life will always affect the music. R&B is also what some considered at the time to be the unholy alliance between Gospel & Blues. Which gave us another term for R&B, which is also called Soul Music. Now the music business apparatus is calling R&B (Soul Music) Urban Contemporary, which would include all kinds of people, who live in an urban setting. This attempt to take away the ethnic identity of the music and drop it in the lap of the exploiters has drawn criticism
from recording executives, and consumers. Polish, Irish, many Asian,Black so-called Jewish and many artists other peoples live in what is called “contemporary society.” They would be apart of such a logo (Urban contemporary). Like Malcolm X taught us, “Black coffee keeps us awake, but put in a little cream and what kept you awake will then lull you to sleep.” JAZZ Is the total exploration of all music to infinity. A collage of textures and tempos, it is a highly sophisticated tapestry of all that has come
before and all that will emerge in the future. It is an intellectualizing 15
GLOSSARY OF TERMS of the blues and definitely indigenous to our people. You see, the call and response, crisscross rhythms and poly rhythms are locked in just as they are in all forms of Afrikan music. It is feared by our enemies, because it is harder to digest by those outside our culture. Consequently, there has been more aggression against jazz than any other form of music with the exception of music dealing with revolutionary lyric lines (Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” The Last Poet’s “This is Madness,” Oscar Brown, Jr.’s “Brother Where Are You,” and Public Enemies “Welcome To The Terrordome” are just a few examples). ROCK ‘N ROLL Is the bastard child of R&B, which was created to invade our musical culture by the Culture Bandits. Before this music, the music was as segregated as the society. Our musical culture advanced at a steady pace. The Culture Bandits decided to run a frontal assault on R&B for both economic and political reasons. Our music,which was called race music, was separated by stations or blocks of time on white broadcasting outlets. Neatly pushed aside, so they thought. However, crude demographics and documented observations of whites sneaking uptown and across the tracks to partake of our musical culture screamed for an economic and political solution. Elvis Presley, Bill Haley and the Comets, and people like Jerry Lee Lewis were projected as the alternative to the real thing. In short, they muscled their way
into our music with these pale, soulless imitators of our song. They are unashamed, as they propagate themselves as the srcinators and have our youths thinking Sha Na Na were the creators of Do Wop music, which was born under streetlamps in the Black neighborhoods in Urban centers. POP MUSIC Soulless music, white-like for consumption by the dominate culture, broken down Black music into patterns and melodies that don’t confuse whites. Blacks who slip into this category sell their soul for
a few (really a lot of) pieces of silver and usually can never come 16
GLOSSARY OF TERMS home again. Sammy Davis, Joe Williams, Diana Ross and Lou Rawls are clear examples of singers with proven talent content to drone sounds in mikes for the consumption of whites. REGGAE
Reggae is a dynamic music that spun out of the reality of the Jamaican experience and is locked into the suffering of the Jamaican people and the religion of Rastafari. Its foundation is grounded in basic Rhythm and Blues and, of course, has all the elements of Afrikan music in it. Recently, the Culture Bandits have been struggling to destroy the music. The attempts on the life of Bob Marley and his questionable death, the death of Peter Tosh, the deaths of several other key exponents of the art form cleared the way for commercializing the form and removing the nationalism from it. This was done by: a. controlling the economic base of the music b. controlling radio airplay across the globe c. isolating the political (culture) portion of the music and exploiting the party music (dance hall) d. controlling the artists by making them subscribe to the “acceptable” standards set by the deadly enemies of the music. e. overexposing the sound through commercials, while attempting to shorten the life of the uniqueness of Reggae. f. developing the young artists a carrot on the stick control ofFinally, the music. In other in words, do it this way or starve. RAP MUSIC (HIP HOP) The music of the streets forced out of the urban decay we are captured by in the inner-city. It was born out of the response of the youth from the control of our music by the enemy. The businessmen creation and perpetuation of the music under the logo of “Disco” and the development of the male images of soft-punks like: Michael Jackson, Prince, Babyface and assorted non-threatening images that developed
in little girls the wrong image of Afrikan manhood, and in little boys 17
GLOSSARY OF TERMS soft non-threatening characteristics, that would never confront our enemies on behalf of our people. Music that is now struggling with the same forces who control Reggae and for all the same reasons. However, the nature of the promotion of the music (on the streets and in the clubs rather then radio air-play) and the fiercely loyal audience has led to the growth of Hip Hop. And it is growing because of the reactionary backlash of the Culture Bandits. Nationalism is the ingredient that will never be washed out,but the struggle continues. ROCK ‘N HEAVY METAL Attempts of white music to explore sound, space and time. Fathered and given definition by Jimi Hendrix. Grafted from the Blues and R&B, British attempts to create off of a Black base failed until the arrival of Hendrix. Interesting enough, they have never surpassed his work and still fumble around in the musical state of creative
confusion lost and alien. Heavy marketing and the creation of a culture around these sounds have created a planet for exploitation. Fashions and products surround the white youthful sounds and a necessary loyalty keeps it afloat. It is important to note that, this music only exists as a vehicle for young whites to attempt to get in touch with their feelings and in touch with the environment that is being destroyed by their mothers and fathers. The Chicago Transit Authority, Blood Sweat and Tears, the British rock acts, and the million white vocalists that tried to sound like Ray Charles, cut Rock out as a beachhead for further invasion of Black music. After all Bruce Springsteen, George Michael and others had to have a fort to attack from and reinforcements to prevail. However, stealing is their only form of srcinality. Culture Bandits will steal from Jazz, Reggae, Blues, Gospel and R&B (naturally groups like Guns ‘N Roses and the Rolling Stones’ music are racist products from those who disrespect the victims of their larceny). Butin the final analysis,it’s an innovationless music because its mother, Black Music, ignores it as a child of a raped parent. CALYPSO (SOCA) Music of the Eastern Islands of the so-called Caribbean. A local folk 18
GLOSSARY OF TERMS music with a carnival vibe, but also cuts with necessary political knife in the hands of some of its creative artisans. Mostly uptempo, it provides a pulse all of its own, a life of bright sounds, unique rhythms and cultural compatibility with all other Afrikan forms of music. MUSIC FROM THE AFRIKAN CONTINENT Afro-pop, Juju, Mbaqanga, Highlife and other contemporary sounds from the homeland mix comfortably with the traditional rhythms that gave birth to music of the world. Heavily influenced by imported R&B and Jazz, they all demonstrate the creativity of the Afrikan with word, sound, and power. In addition, it also speaks to environmental factors that are tied to all Afrikan expressions. More importantly, like Reggae it is a music that is kept from the Afrikan in the States at all costs. When all of these sounds marry, the earth will shake and
the Culture Bandits will be on their way out as controllers of our culture. AFRIKAN CONTEMPORARY MUSIC (Afro-Pop, Juju Music, Mbaqanga, Highlife etc.) Afrikan contemporary music is a diverse as the many languages on the continent. Flavored from ethnic tradition and culture, it is married with the musical approach of the Afrikan taken to the states. Therefore, the R&B flavor and jazz riffs identify us all as the same people using the same elements of sound to articulate our environmental and social
experiences. Fela, Franco, Sonny Okshun, Sonny Ade, Hugh Masekela and thousands of others create the Afrikan jam from their reality. And we all benefit. Culture Bandits like Ginger Baker, Eric Burdon and Paul Simon, travel the globe looking for a sound to steal and rework through Copyright Offices unashamed. They think they are undetected Culture Bandits masquerading under the title of liberals. CROSSOVER MUSIC Music purposely designed to appeal to both Black and white
audiences. Disco is a perfect example of how economics can affect 19
GLOSSARY OF TERMS the culture of our people. Pop music was the first crossover music design to redefine Black music to be digested by mass white audiences, who were economically and culturally out of touch with the developers of the real music. POP MUSIC Attempts by whites to interpret the foreign musical products of Black folk for exploitation. FUSION Fusion is the use of all kinds of Black music to create a new sound. R & B bass runs, complex chord changes, different meters and melody lines proves the relativity of our sounds. Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew was a hallmark, yet so-called “jazz purists” (whatever that might be) criticized Miles as a sell out. Even though, he never left home, because all these textures and sounds are our creations, many have locked their ears to Miles’ constantly evolving sounds. A foreign artist, like Chuck Corea, known for his work in fusion, demonstrated contempt for the creators of the musicby recording the so-called JoBurg sessions in South Afrika. That’s his thanks to Miles’ people after playing with Davis. “They don’t get no respect!” MUSICAL SOAP OPERAS The constant diet of love songs, relationship situations and sexual
banter that is both childish and out of step with reality, are nothing but musical soap operas (most music has been reduced to soap operas, clowns and all). The effects of this music is left unmeasured, yet society has to be the barometer of truth. Teen pregnancies, adultery, loose sexual activity, emotional irresponsibility, sexual exploitation by males and females, family decapitations with more attention paid to sexual activity than any other part of the human domain, leaves many confused about the meaning of life. R & B has been reduced to a one dimensional output of sexual material drowning in its own childishness. Controlled from the outside, it is! 20
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T We are brought up with the enemies’ media surrounding our existence capturing reality, bottling it up from eye sight, and replacing it with fantasy images pale and dead. Timely patterns of death are a daily diet pushed down with polluted water. We eat, we drink and our consciousness is dulled by the cloning repetition of the white lie. Our history is locked away in colonial museums and the names,srcin and race are changed to destroy the innocent. This critical component of the systematic destruction of Black folk is of life and death importance to the Culture Bandits. By allowing them to define the storm a weary truth is buried as a people is lost in confusion, self-hatred, and future-less-ness. Disjointed from the continuity of history with no defined role to continue, we can only subscribe to the agenda of the slave master or at least within the confines of acceptable struggle for acceptable goals. Confusion destroys progress and those who lose direction stop short to avoid stumbling into the future like hidden furniture in dark rooms in a land that is not ours. To create this reinforced confusion, one must be a professional liar. A liar so dedicated that they must subscribe to the lie as if it was the truth. Consequently, discussion with the enemy is hopeless, they know only one language, the language of force. For example, if you view Dr. Frances Welsing or any other Afrikan intellectual putting forth a clear, well researched position to an enemy commentator, talk show host, or news reporter, you will find that, they are never convinced of the truth. 21
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T They will evade, lie, confuse, dodge, get angry, cry about antiSemitism, reverse racism, or some other escapist tactic. Never, I repeat never, will you hear them admit they are wrong, that his-story is wrong and that they have done a job on us. Naw, the lie must continue... Why? Because, their fragile synthetic reality is based on well constructed lies and phenomenal Culture Banditry. They stole our achievements, claimed our discoveries, said they were people they were not, seized civilizations that were not theirs, philosophies thatbelonged to others, religions that were not their creations and denied us the truth of our noble, dynamic ancestors. George G.M. James called it “Stolen Legacies” and his book should besought out and read by every Afrikan person who now populates this earth. It would take volumes just to list the banditry of these barbarians. But my point is that discussion with them is as useless as talking to a white wall. They are locked in and will defend to the death their right to use us, abuse us. The mere notion of us collectively finding out the truth and moving on that truth sends chills up their collective spine. Understand, just existing equally with other peoples of the world is a reality they will resist to the last man. The Martin Luther King scenario of happy integration is a goal they want us to reach for knowing that it is unobtainable. Violently frightening to them, is a cohesive Afrikan global population. You see, they are aware of what they have stolen, who developed civilization and everything that word implies. Consequently, equal opportunity could never happen. They hold tight to discrimination as a cooling out tool over our creative genius. The key to keeping the lid on our quest to liberate ourselves from our captors is their mass media. It not only reinforces the lie but brings it to life through music,journalism, print, documentaries, (sitcoms), broadcast videos etc. film, situation comedies 22
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T All of that is a mere support system to their system of education that bleeds the Black out of us and sends us into the world distorted, confused and in love with them... while hating ourselves! Yes, they have colonized scholarship. Their education system is a lie machine that pumps up the chest of their children, while deflating ours in an externally developed adulation for them. Consequently, the mass media is the stake through the heart, the convincing agent that seizes our consciousness, still undeveloped, and delivers it to the system of white supremacy. The results are devastating. Worse than death is theprocess of creating, within hue-mans, self-hatred, measured inferiority, and a damaged consciousness that effects reasoning, logic, and self-perception...damn Culture Bandits! Then they feed on the carcass of the dead consciousness in fear of the resurrection that always comes through the power of our genetic make up. Never dead, they continue their attack through the mass media, using it as a secret agent inside our heads that overthrows all our thoughts on pride, progress and liberation. They have wanted to bury us for a long time, cover us up with the soil they captured from others and ruined in the name of profits. Or they’d love to drown us in polluted waters that they have infiltrated with their death in the name of “ye ole bottom line.” They would like to send us up in space through the hole in the ozone layer that they created with their madness. Out of synch with nature they are, and always were. In conflict with all life forms around them...they must be stopped. Enemies of man, beast, the land and seas, they must believe their lies of superiority. It is not in them to take the lead from others, even though they are unqualified to lead, they must be in control. Yet, the only thing they are really qualified to control is destruction, death and their lying machine of backward justification... their mass media. 23
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T Having said all of that, and it had to be said, we can now go on in our quest to understand the Culture Bandits who even control the ideas in our heads. Any thinking Afrikan person must have a global perspective to understand the simplest local problem. We must also understand that the solutions to our dilemma should be a global response to their oppression and subjugation of our collective song. Music is so critically important to us, that they have always sought to control it ever since they first came into contact with us. They understand that it floats through the whole of our culture and binds each component together in a unity of purpose. For example, during one day of grieving over the death of a loved one you will hear the sound of gospel music, a touch of the blues, some jazz melodies of easy listening and the tight funk after all is said and done as the party begins to wash away the pain. Globally, Amerikkka exports our music as a chief seller for their products, culture and way of life. Our music splits the airways all over the world, because Afrikan music is from an advanced cultural form even when controlled by the Culture Bandits. All over the world, they dance to our song, they imitate our dances, way of dress, and slang. During all my trips abroad, the more I attempt to escape the controlled musical products of Amerikkka, the more I ran into them. In Jamaica, Grenada, Zimbabwe, our jams dominated their airwaves. For example, in Jamaica you hear more Black music from the states than Reggae. Encased in the songs that the mass media allows to be played, is the Amerikkkan way of life and the values found in this culture. Most of the material is the usual “musical soap operas” complete with Amerikkka’s childish approach to relationships and the exploitive nature of these musical images. 24
WHAT THE MASS MEDIA IS & AIN’T Hardly any social comment is allowed unless it is the universal messages of a Tracy Chapman. “We gotta live together” themes are as far as this form is allowed to travel. Attempts to sabotage groups like Public Enemy is a daily activity, a never ending quest to expunge all that has not been sanctioned by the Culture Bandits. Internationally, Amerikkkan music (our song) is considered “what’s happening,” and the world plugs into the scene from Asia throughout Europe, and other points on the compass. We must realize the importance of our musical culture and seize it to liberate or it will be used to further subjugate our dreams, drown our reality and destroy our children’s tomorrows. Beware and be aware of the deadly Culture Bandits!
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PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY PRE-COMMUNICATIO
NS STUDY GUIDE
Before we even begin to study the work of the mass media’s Culture Bandits, we must first look into our-story to set up the infrastructure for research, discussion and documentation. To pretend we all bring to the party the same basic knowledge, sensitivity and perspective, would be a waste of energy. We don’t! We know we don’t; thatpoint we must be very clear on. Consequently, it is my responsibility to guide us into a posture for study as we focus in on what I present as the vanguard of their system of oppression...their mass media! Many offer that the Black experience is vast and diverse and one solution does not fit all Blacks. It is a cowardly backing down from the powerful mechanism of the enemy’s communications empire. We all experience their mass media the same, victimized Afrikans whose consciousness is stolen. After which, the powerful culture of our people is chewed and mutilated, then spit back at us as poisonous venom of artificial enslaving garbage. In other words, what was developed out of the daily reality of our people in response to their interaction with this society on different levels of intensity is perverted. The mold with our historicalapproach to culture is attacked and warded off. Reworked, remodeled, redefi ned into harmless co-optative, profit making porridge, toothless and very exploitable. We are then naked with no cohesive definition and no tool of perpetuation. Let us be clear on this, the mass media is not an entertainment/news/ educational series of apparatuses for the betterment of the society, or the world that they beam their anti-Afrikan Propaganda to. Media critic Dallas W. Smythe points out in his bookDependency Road:
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PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY “The mass media of communications were systematic inventions of monopoly capitalism. The purpose is to set a daily agenda of issues, problems, values, and policies for the guidance of other institutions and the whole population. “ We must blow away the myth that the mass media in this country is either a friend, a comfortable companion against loneliness, an information carrier of truth, a documenter of history, or a provider of information needed to intelligently govern our struggle for liberation. It is the purpose of this Pre-Communications Study guide to wash clean some society given concepts, that would lead us all back into their clutches of subjugation, stereotyping, and utter confusion. Logic is the key that must be found to unlock our minds and that is our goal here. Smythe goes on to explain the capitalistic “complex of industries” which he says are led by the mass media which he correctly termed “The Consciousness Industry.” The Consciousness Industry is just that, an apparatus to scramble our consciousness so that we act against our own interest and in theirs. It also establishes itself as the authority, experts in everything and its function is to guide Amerikkka and western society through any troubled waters. He goes further to note that: “In a real sense every politico-economic system rests on the power to control information. Mature industrial countries had the advantage of being first to develop electronic communications using the radio spectrum. This use became the indispensable foundation of the capitalist politicoeconomic system.” 28
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY We must understand this if nothing else: the media is their tool designed to perpetuate their society and the control over the world by the white collective (white supremacy/capitalism/racism). This is basic and must be digested, the alternative is to relax and believe that the so-called entertainment industry is just Amerikkka’s cultural way to pursue leisure time activity and disseminate information. This is a dangerous notion. Following this path will guarantee that your consciousness will remain underdeveloped or completely stolen. The result is a world of illusion, a fantasy existence divorced from perspectives, information, and true cultural development, while putting you back into the cages of bondage with its invisible bars. Thus, developing in you, a victim for its traps of drugs, AIDS, religious escapism, and rampant consumerism for the goods produced by our enemies for their enrichment. In addition, their media is a deadly socializing tool that establishes the norms for us and as you know, to them, normal is aping and parroting their decadent alien morals, mores and values along with a distorted self-serving world view. Children are enslaved by media products of glittery, violent, white value filled cartoons, fantasies,music video programs, children’s cable networks, and consumer gripping commercialism that keeps the appetite for products out of line with income realities. The attack on the family is never ending. The development of machomen images for the men, and soap opera queens for the women deliver in us anti-family sentiments that destroy the very same institution that could and would save us. The promotion of anti-sexual behavior (homosexuality), male studs motivated by their penis and loose whores that are all body and no mind, leads to the destruction of good men and women. Once this unprincipled behavior is digested as very normal and acted out, the family erodes and disintegrates before our eyes. 29
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY It is the theme encased in the music, the videos, movies, cartoons, novels, history books and in the newspapers “If loving you is wrong I don’t want to do right.” Each betrayal sends a death blow to the family and extended family. As they work on our basic reoccurring urges (sexual) and play with our minds, they drapethe unhealthy sexual attitudes on every media product, and we accept unwholesome as the acceptable norm. Completing the trap is an environment of drugs, AIDS, consumerism, classism, anti-Afrikan sentiment, religious intoxication, externally developed inferiority complexes, academic terrorism and, of course, free access to our minds for the Culture Bandits. But who the hell are we and why should we resist the Consciousness Industry? How do we differ from other peoples? And what is our historical role? In other words, what are we attempting to protect, obtain and perpetuate? Great Afrikan historian Chancellor Williams wrote in his classic The Destruction of Black Civilization: “The land of the Blacks was not only the ‘Cradle of Civilization’ itself but that the Blacks were once the leading people on earth; that Egypt was not only once all Black, but the very name “Egypt” was derived from the Blacks; and that the Blacks were the pioneers in the sciences, medicine, architecture, writing, and were the first builders in stone, etc.” We must take time before we journey on into the study of the Culture Bandits, and how and why they work our culture over so thoroughly. We must establish firmly who we are and our relationship to the white collective (European enslavers). To say we are Afrikan people, is not enough, we know that to be a fact, and those of us who don’t know it, will be reminded by our enemies. But who were/are the Afrikans? 30
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY The physical evidence being unearthed daily proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are the srcinal people and all others sprung from us. L.S. B. Leaky and others have documented for those doubters of all hues that we were/are the beginning. Dr. Frances L. Cress Welsing, M.D. laid out her interesting view, Cress Theory of Color Confrontation, dealing with the behavior of the white collective against people of color and especially against Afrikan people. To loosely run it down, she agrees that Black people are the beginning and her dynamic explanation of what she perceived as the white collective’s irrational/hostile/violent behavior toward the 90% of the world’s people (people of color) is in fact a reaction to the fear of genetic annihilation. Her research in the behavior of whites toward Blacks, in particular, should clarify to us all, the phenomena of racism, practiced to deadly precision by our enemies. On this our Elder Neely Fuller writes in his Textbook for Victims of White Supremacy: “Most white people hate Black people. The reason that most white people hate Black people is because whitesare not Black people. If you know this about white people, you need to know little else. If you do not know this about white people, virtually all else that you know about them will only confuse you.” Dr. Welsing, in her famous paper, travels through the white psyche with a laser focus on answering the question of the ages. Why are these people so barbaric toward the 90% of the population of this earth termed people of color? She feels their fear of genetic annihilation leads them to enact a very paranoid love/hate relationship with Afrikan people. She views their castrations of Black men, over-protection of the white female, tanning of skin to achieve color while risking skin cancer, are just a few of the symptoms dripping like a sore on hue-manity. She writes: 31
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY “Psychiatrists and other behavioral scientists frequently use the patterns of overt behavior towards others as an indication of what is felt fundamentally about self. If hate and lack of respect are outwardly manifested towards others, hate and lack of respect are most often found at deeper level toward the self.” Whites are not at peace with themselves nor comfortable with their color: they are fearful of extinction which causes them to be Culture Bandits. This allows them to control the culture they unconsciously feel they sprang from, while destroying all they don’t understand (which is most). And that portion which could not be used to serve white supremacy is hidden and destroyed as they attempt to possess our consciousness as a defense mechanism against our organizing efforts to perpetuate ourselves. Therefore, they nestle in our culture like sleepy rapists, they fight sleep after their foul deeds, huddled with an organic force that is not theirs, they pretend to not only be the experts and critics, but also srcinators. They easily attempt to explain away: Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Gerry Mulligan, Josef Zawifnul, The Beastie Boys (beast indeed), Kenny G, Joe Cocker, George Michael, Robert Palmer, New Kids on the Block, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Madonna (super sick) and on and on. Welsing feels we are at war with the white collective. Because of their deadly fear, they are constantly struggling to decrease the populations of people of color, especially Blacks, who produce the most color producing element; melanin. Thus we are viewed as the greatest and most feared threat. Consequently, they arm themselves with tools of genocide: all types of weaponry, chemical warfare like AIDS etc., birth control, drugs of all types, and I would add, the Consciousness Industry’s process of Culture Banditry prepares our people for genocide. The very loss of 32
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY identity through their mass media and institutions set us up to be victimized by their weaponry. They are so good that their process even gets the victims actively involved with their own slaughter. Other opiums used by the Culture Bandits are religion, consumerism, class consciousness (which means allegiance to them) and confusion, which is the enemy of progress and revolution. Have you ever wondered why Amerikkka and indeed the western world is preoccupied with our culture? It should be understood that they feel it is a threat because of its binding nature, its global continuity, and its rich history, that proves it out produces their backward systems of social formations. They fear and hate our culture, while at the same time, they are in awe of it and our endless reservoir of creativity. The songs, the dances, the language, the clothes and how they are worn, the hairstyles, the definition of cool, the athletic approach to games, the philosophies of life, the developments of religion and, in short, every aspect of life is at their disposal for invasion, destruction and the development of a caucasianizing captivity... they are: Culture Bandits! Another famous Afrikan historian Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan had this to say in his classic work Blackman of the Nile and his Family: “The Black man (indigenous Afrikan and his descendants) must once more write about himself, his culture, and his continent (Alkebulan, Afrika, Ethiopia, Libya, etc.); for no one cares about another’s history. Moreover, when a man’s history is written by his enslavers or captors, regardless of his master’s religion or economic philosophy, such a history is always distorted to suit the master-slave relationship; which is the only possible result from such an enforced union.” 33
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY Dr. Ben, as he is known to the Afrikan community, goes on to establish in us the need to study our history from the sources that sprang from our culture and are linked with us. He continues: “Such paternalism does not have to be vindictive. The mere fact of the relationship’s existence forces one to feel in fact superior to the other. And if the history of such a union is of a very long duration, many of the captured begin to accept their status of inferiority. They then allow themselves to be renamed accordingly. With their new name a new psychology naturally develops; and with the new mind, a new docility...this was done to the “NEGRO.” Yeah, they’re Culture Bandits and consciousness thieves who redefine all we do, why, when, and for whom. But as Dr. Ben has noted, they even redefined us from the Afrikans we were/are into “Negroes.” Once trapping us in a state of confusion and disarming us of our culture, they set up the machinery to keep us in that state of lost huemanity. This was the work of the Culture Bandits. Malcolm X taught us that: “You know that we have been a people who hated our Afrikan Characteristics. We hated our heads, we hated the shape of our nose, we wanted one of those long dog-like noses, you know; we hated thecolor of our skin, hated the blood of Afrika that was in our veins. And in hating our features and our skin and our blood, why, we had to end up hating ourselves. And we hated ourselves. Our color became to us a chain - we felt that it was holding us back; Our color became to us like a prison which we felt was keeping us confined, not letting us go this way or that way. We felt that all of these restrictions were based solely upon our color, and the psychological reaction to that would that as long as wefeatures felt imprisoned or chained or trapped bybe Black skin, Black and Black 34
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY blood, that skin and those features and that blood holding us back automatically had to become hateful to us. And it became hateful to us.” And Malcolm was correct, it is a point we can not deny. However, we seem to get lost as we attempt to explain how this hatred came about. Too many of us do not deal with the theft of our consciousness through overt oppression and symptomatic institutionalized antiAfrikan propaganda. It was and always has been the work of the Culture Bandits to dislodge us from our culture. Whether it was the overseer’s whip, or a Walt Disney cartoon, we must admit they have been successful. The confusion of our people as to their basic identity supplies theevidence that the process worked and continues to work, as a large portion of our people still deny Afrika. Without truly understanding what Afrika was/is, and its role as the foundation of mankind, they flee the label of Afrikan. In an interview with our late genius, Cheikh Anta Diop of Senegal, which was published in Black Books Bulletin and later put in that great time capsule called Great Afrikan Thinkers edited by Ivan Van Sertima and published by Transaction Books, Shawna Moore’s interview with Diop gave up this gem: “When we talk of racism in antiquity, it is important to understand that racism as we know it, could not have been expressed in the same way vis-a-vis Blacks, for the simple reason that it was Blacks who had monopolized technical, cultural and industrial know-how. The other races had to pattern their technological, cultural and religious developments after the accomplishments of Egyptian technology, science, culture and arts. The Greeks were forced to come humbly and drink at the fountain of Egyptian culture.”
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PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY In the famous interview Diop goes on to explain how Alexander the so-called great was in awe of the Egypt he came upon. Even that barbarian knew the value of this Afrikan nation as it surpassed all that he had seen and known. “After conquering the entire eastern Mediterranean basin, Alexander went as far as to set up the capital of the empire in Egypt, not in continental Greece or Macedonia. Don’t you find that strange? It would be like France setting up its capital in Dakar, rather then Paris, after having achieved a colonial empire. Alexander’s decision is indicative of the cultural ascendancy exercised by Egypt over non-Black peoples, even at a time when she had already lost her national sovereignty. Helena’s civilization was indebted to Egypt beyond measure. It was to Egypt that all of the Greek scientists of the Helena’s period came in search of knowledge. Hence, racism in the modern sense of the word could not have been exercised by whites against Blacks in the same way during antiquity.” These things are not common knowledge to our people. Consequently, as Dr. Ben has said, the loss of our identity makes us view others as superior and we taught them. Couple this with what Dr. Welsing views as their fear of genetic annihilation, and we began to get a feel for the reason they developed into Culture Bandits. It was through psychological, economic, and political necessity. In short, they had conquered, through unprecedented barbarism, the Afrikan, his land and his culture. But what they had captured was far superior to anything they could have ever developed. To justify the captivity and exploitation of our people and settle the struggle within themselves over the fear of becoming extinct, they perpetua ted a fraud and claimed all that we had developed as theirs. They are murdering, lying Culture Bandits! To portray the though victim as thestole criminal, is a basic tenet of the Culture Bandits. Even they everything they could understand 36
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY from our societies, wherever they came upon us, they also destroyed more and that which they tried to build upon, they claimed as their creation. Let me make one more point here: In Stolen Legacy, by George G.M. James, he speaks of the Greeks you and I were taught were the basis of everything that the White man is supposed to be. Everything that we must look up to and emulate. But let us listen to what James has uncovered and you will hear this theme over and over throughout the work of our historians, who are telling our-story through dynamic research. James wrote: “After nearly five thousand years of prohibition against the Greeks, they were permitted to enter Egypt for the purpose of their education. First through the Persian invasion and second through the invasion of Alexander the Great. From the sixth century B.C. therefore to the death of Aristotle (322 B.C.) the Greeks made the best of their chance to learn all they could about Egyptian culture; most students received instruction directly from Egyptian Priests, but after the invasion by Alexander the Great, the Royal temples and libraries were plundered and pillaged, and Aristotle’s school converted the library at Alexandria into a research centre. There is no wonder then, that the production of the unusually large number of books ascribed to Aristotle has proven a physical impossibility, for any single man within a life time.” Is this not a Culture Bandit of the highest order? Yet, our children and the youth of the world are taught to look up to this pale pl agiarizer, who stole and claimed our wisdom. Further, what if we had institutions that taught the true story of the Afrikan to our people? Not one of us, not one, I repeat, would want to claim to be, someone or something else.
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PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY Armed with our collective wisdom,achievements and glory, we would have a built-in vaccine against their genocidal programs and their major components of drugs, AIDS, alcoholism, anti-sexual behavior, consumerism, classism, physical mutilation, and the phenomena of dealing against our interests. We traveled that far back for a reason. It is important that we all realize that we are now dealing with the sons and daughters of the srcinal Culture Bandits, and they have done their parents proud. Their ability to steal the culture from under our nosesgoes undetected, in the main, because we have no functioning definition of culture, nor do we identify with anything or anyone but them...the Culture Bandits. In the Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey he explains education in a new light, one that would disarm the Culture Bandits and place them exposed naked before you: “You can be educated in soul, vision and feeling, as well as in the mind. To see your enemy and know him is a part of the complete education of man; to spiritually regulate one’s self is another form of the higher education that fits man for a nobler place in life, and still, to approach your brother by the feeling of your own humanity, is an education that softens the ills of the world and makes us kind indeed.” Garvey made it plain and digestible, but let’s look deeper at the words of this renown Afrikan Patriot. He goes beyond many who have an unnatural love for those who have inflicted on us, for centuries, the type of murder, brutality, physical and consciousness castration, slavery, neo-slavery and every other form of degradation a people can suffer. He says, “to see your enemy and know him is a part of the complete education of man.” And so it is! However, the mass media machine 38
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY of the Culture Bandits bombards our people with the notion of submission to their tyranny because it is in the interest of their genocidal agenda. Reverse the message, and beam to them, that they should put down their arms, love all people and “study war no more”, why, they would kill you. Samuel F. Yette in his famous contribution The Choice dealt with the final solution component of Amerikkka’s plans for its prisoners of war (slaves): “The obsolescence of Blacks in America and their will to survive nobly - demand and fight for their rights - provide some with an adequate rationale for Black extinction. Legal sanctions for systematic invasion of Black sanctuaries homes, schools, and establishments - were signed into law before Congress adjourned for the fall, 1970, elections. But, in America, as in Asia, these essentially military measures bespoke the failure of insincere or basic unsound efforts to help Black people.” Obviously, this is the reason this work,Culture Bandits, was brought into existence. This is not a mere intellectual exercise, but a critical Working Paper that is organic in nature and will change with the tactical developments of the Culture Bandits. Yet, it is not just about survival, it is all about reclaiming what is our heritage and gleaning that which is applicable with this contemporary world and building a new reality from there. This piece is a frontal assault on our enemies and their methodology of confusion. This Pre-Study was necessary if we are all going to start together to seriously deal with their vanguard in their system of oppression... their mass media. 39
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY Welded to it is our destruction wrapped in glittery Hollywood like packaging, subliminal subjugation, and anti-Afrikan propaganda. The purpose of this book is to make you sensitive to their advances on your consciousness. Their military power is useless against us and any other people who have a strong will and dedication to their own liberation. Witness Vietnam and all the violence heaped on their small backs, yet they chased the Amerikkkan military machine out of there with its drawers on fire. It is clear that when the firing stops, white people are in their most deadly state. For example, after the death dealing slave and colonial systems with the documentation of the brutal deaths of tens of millions of our people, not one, I repeat, not one white person did a minute of time in jail, nor have any been executed for war crimes against our people. Furthermore, as the revolution in Southern Afrika continues, whites of the region who are guilty of the daily murder of our people, don’t even fear retribution, justice, or prosecution for their war crimes. Why then, should whites stop the genocidal machinery when there is no punishment for the crime? The mass media will steer all toward the notion of living together as the goal and their approach to education the ideal. They cleverly mask the crimes and never, I repeat never, even consider that Black justice is duty bound to punish those who committed war crimes against our people. Integration is supposed to be our reward for centuries of suffering. Living with them and civilizing them should be our goal. However our true goal has to be justice and it is a betrayal of our ancestors to let them get away with crimes against hue-manity. Many Blacks and whites will move uneasily in their chairs at these sentiments, however, none can deny that justice must be served before 40
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY the eyes of our children and theirs. Why, 90 year old so-called Jews are still chasing feeble Nazis across the stars for war crimes. What the hell is the difference? Consciousness! Their at the table isthat legend. Theirusmass and itstrickyology development ofnegotiating a consciousness drones intomedia neoservitude is more deadly then any fire power we could imagine. For example, most of us don’t see the invisible hand controlling and dealing the drug war that is ravaging our community. What we see is television and movies defining reality for us and their images project local problems, community and internal inferiority. And we function on this as if it were proven fact. We organize to solve the problem as if they are not the problem. We invite the local police, protect drug tradeTown and make from the carnage. We thenwho allow themthe to organize Watchprofits sentries pushing 911 to summon our enemy to document the damage. That is the result of effective Culture Bandit work, that masks their deeds as they pretend to be part of the solution to the problems they perpetuate. After the cries of “off the pigs” and “control your community” in the 60’s and 70’s the mass media swung into gear to suppress the movement of our people toward liberation. Necessity gave birth to Black exploitation movies, “we gotta live together songs,” Spy flicks and liberal created films and t.v. sitcoms that nailed us further down under the ladder of disrespect. We will deal with all of this in volume two of Culture Bandits. For now, let us come together on the fact that we are the srcinal people of this planet and we were a scientific people whose great works were indeed the total knowledge of mankind. Our use of knowledge gave birth to the disciplines of science, mathematics, medicine, astronomy, astrology, engineering, architecture and every other building block to the advancement of civilization. 41
PRE-COMMUNICATIONS STUDY We should now be prepared to dissect the workings of the mass media of our enemies as it takes the vanguard in our destruction. Meanwhile, it hides information, distorts facts, and down right lies to us as we die globally from its effective poisoning of the consciousness. Electronically speaking, we are being whipped down to mere shadows of ourselves. Once down, we are spread open and violently raped of all things Afrikan, planting a seed of self hatred in our bodies and child-like love and obedience to the rapists in our consciousness. As Afrikans we are all but dead and we respond as they respond, consequently, they are never confronted with the terror we could bring if we truly knew this was all about the death of the first race... The Afrikans!
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THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG
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THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG (HISTORICAL OVERVIEW) Our song is a strong versatile collage of rhythm and melody spinning out of the diversity of the global Afrikan experience. It is attached to every sphere of our existence mingling with reality, fantasy and artificial cultural manipulation by our deadly enemies... The Culture Bandits. Control is the operative word here. Ever since we were observed by the flesh thieves and beaten off the boats of captivity, our enemies checked out our affinity with musical language. It did not take a genius to understand that our music was a binding with nature, a consistent interaction with the environment and our fellow man. Our musical messages rode the currents of nature that articulated all the corridors of life we experienced. A comfort zone it was, tied to the efforts of the continuity that we struggled to deliver. Yet, to the outside observer, it was clear, that the enslavement and continued subjugation of our culture depended not on just a remote appreciation for the song, but the destruction of it. Thereafter, they could call the tune, a tune that aided them, not the srcinators. For example, it did not take the Arabs and Caucasians long to realize that music was the bedrock of our culture. This infrastructure supplied the platform to accomplish all that we had since we brought mankind into being. Outta da drum we come! So consequently, the drums were outlawed as deadly communication tools of unity, whose messages could not be decoded by the Culture Bandits. They were preparing to steal all and reclaim it as their own. 44
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG If you understand clearly what we had developed in the early days of civilization, before whites can prove they even existed, you will realize the impact of the Culture Bandits on the continuation of hue-man progress. If you do not understand these things, I urge you to back track into the works of Cheikh Anta Diop, Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan, Ivan Van Sertima, George G.M. James, Chancellor Williams among others. This study will document for you, as it resurrects our true story not his-story. It was through our schools of life that we gave birth to scholarship, humanistic societies, all the disciplines of life... and also the Gods. After saying all of that, and with the fullest of confidence, I know you will do your research in the continuation of our studies for liberation. Let us also understand that for the celebration of life, death, birth, religious ceremony, work, fertility, rituals, partying, war, marriage, education among others, music was/is the key ingredient. And since the music was a language in itself, the destruction or redefinition was always a goal of those who conquered us and wished to keep us enslaved. Therefore, when the Europeans made their moves against our people they specifically targeted music as a cultural fortress that had to be overtaken and redefined at all cost. WHY THEY COLONIZED THE MUSIC
Many of us look at music as something that just exists, something that is there and will always be around because it is an exercise that humans will always be involved in. We look at the categories (Gospel, Blues, Rhythm & Blues, Rock ‘n Roll, Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop, 45
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Jazz, Reggae, Afro-Pop, Ju-Ju, etc.) of music as separate creations of our people. This is an over-simplification and what they want us to believe. These categories were not created by the srcinators of the music...us, but by the businessmen to not only exploit our music for profit, but control our musical creation for political reasons. We may have come up with the names of the forms but not for the purpose of balkanization. These logos were to identify notes in the chord of our song not to segregate them. In other words, they insulated, their system of oppression (white supremacy) from the natural attack of our music as we responded to an environment that holds our dreams and aspirations hostage. Also, as they destroy/control/redefine our music for us, they isolate the songs/dances/poems that threaten their control and destroy them. How? By making the creation of such work unprofitable, because they control the other mediums of communications such as: record companies, radio stations, television broadcasting, schools, music publishing and all other methods of mass communications. Most Black artists dream of million sellers, fast cars, and quicker women, and the development of their work has nothing to do with the struggle or cultural maintenance. Many only want to try to find out what’s happening and plug into it for profit. Consequently, the development of our musical culture is stagnated by profit motive. Therefore, the political products of our real creative forces are forced away from public eye and earshot. Also on an unconscious level, young Black artists stray away from the type of music that aids in clarifying our shit-uation in this genocidal war against white supremacy. I repeat, on a conscious level they are not into creating anything that can not make riches. Money is the goal, not cultural maintenance. And who has the money, then who must you please?... The enemy. 46
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Furthermore, the Culture Bandits win by delivering to the people a backward notion that music is solely for profit and has no other reason for existing for the young artist. At the same time, it is made clear that the silly sex orientated songs have a shot at turning poor songwriter, singer, publisher, producer or record companies into millionaires. The rags to riches, carrot on the stick leads many to develop music against the needs of the Black community. And in many cases perpetuate negativity to gain access to the airways for 10 pieces of silver. Earlier I mentioned the promotion of infidelity records, or what I call musical soap operas. If loving you is wrong I don’t want to do right Me and Mrs. Jones Slip Away If Only for One Night Nowhere in Amerikkka or western society is music discussed as culture. The only music discussed as culture is their creations from Europe. Yes, their classical music which is called, “serious music (?)” Obviously, those in control have our culture captive and because they control the other mediums of propagation, they become the sole experts of our culture. The result is clear, our music, which is encased in all we say and do, is held hostage as it is used against us to perpetuate backward sexual behavior, negative stereotypes and political childishness all wrapped in a love your enemy coating of decay. In other words, our dynamic musical culture so versatile and rich in all textures and colors is now a weapon of the Culture Bandits. And as they use the carrot on the stick techniques on poor rural and innercity kids, we unconsciously churn out all the musical products they 47
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG use against our struggle to create healthy families, progressive communities and our march to true freedom. Rags to riches stories by B.B. King, James Brown and a host of innercity street andInjazz produce a false path out of poverty andRappers servitude. fact,musicians it digs a deeper hole for the people as a whole, while a few rats are allowed to jump ship. Interesting enough, those who get out are viewed as he-roes and sheroes as they climb into another class, they produce negative stereotypical images of the community from which they sprang and also use the music created by the people to desert them. Let us stop here and reflect on our musical uclture. Let it be understood that no one person makes history or creates in isolation from the people he or she is linked to. Therefore, the Blues was not the invention of one man but the method our people used to musically articulate their emotions. Similarly, it was not one person who started using street poetry and called it Rap. Naw, it is the historical and cultural continuum that bled into the youth of today. When responding to their environment in this day and time, they unconsciously returned to what they knew. Their connection to our oral historians, griots (Afrikan storytellers), and the Claude Wheatlys, Langston Hughes, the Last Poets and onMcKays, and on isPhyllis undeniable. This continuation must be known to be felt, but not knowing it does not mean it doesn’t exist. The prophets of rage, Public Enemy, are in synch with their people and their culture. Somehow they squeaked through and they are being dealt with by our enemies. Many times, we have seen powerful forces of white supremacy attempt to destroy them...why? This is not to say they appeared from out of space, but it is to say that they constantly study our history to uplift their knowledge. This 48
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG delivers to them a view of their art as a cultural weapon to strike at our genocidal enemies. Each of their albums has shown cultural development as it also demonstrates that there is plenty of room for more growth. Their study of the life work of Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Dr. benJochannan, Diop, Van Sertima and others earlier mentioned gave birth to their progressive raps. Their impact on the youth of today will be written on historical tablets for generations to know. Yet, Michael Jackson, Prince, Baby Face and others with the soft punk non-aggressive image have the doors of financial opportunity open to them. The system does not attack, but promotes songs of sex, infidelity and sexual backwardness. However, it clearly attacks any performer who uses music for political purposes that does not fit the “we gotta live together” theme ofthe people who make living together impossible. But the greatest danger is trapped in the fact that we believe that the compartmentalization of our music is the natural order of things. Despite the fact that the same ingredients are in almost all of our creations, the commonality still goes unnoticed. The criss cross rhythms, poly-rhythms and call and response elements rt avel through it all in proud ships of cultural identification. Ahh, but even the so-called Afrikan intellectual drinks from the cup of colonization. For example, many jazz fans won’t even consider listening to Rap Music and many Rap fans won’t bend an ear toward what is called jazz. Some Gospel purists down other forms of Black Music, while the Blues and Reggae is generally shunned by all...get my point? Meanwhile, radio and television commercials and even film sound tracks clog the ears with our music while selling their products to 49
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Black and white markets. The Culture Bandits promote music separatism for another critical reason. As long as we allow Afrika to be divided in balkanized states developed out of the imperialist Berlin Conference of 1884-85, we will forever be controlled by external united powers, who consolidated and still consolidate to control our people, resources and culture. Afrika was a mere pie for European colonialism and so is the music developed by Afrikan people all over the globe. Likewise, as long as our people in this country allow the Culture Bandits to isolate our music in segregated patches of exploitation, we will never understand each other. Nowhere in Afrika, will you see a music for the youth and one for the parents and one for the elders. They collectivity drink from the culture cup in a unity of purpose. In other words, our creativity is used against us, instead of it bringing us together, its colonization drives us into different camps of understanding. Indicative of our class and religious separations, we no longer sing the same song. The Culture Bandits would have us believe that its musical taste, class or maturity, when all along they know that all the forms of Afrikan music are not allowed to sing the same song at the same time...politically. In its reactionary stance, they allow us to sing one basic theme, what Public Enemy calls “sex for profit.” If the song was of liberation, it would not matter in what voice, cadence, tempo or key we sang it. The arrangement and vehicle would not be important, the content would rule the day.If Luther Vandross/ Al B. Sure/Jeffrey Osborne also used their skills to put forth ideas of Afrikan unity, economic collaboration, social comfort and political agitation... what would you classify their music, as? Yes...revolutionary! 50
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG If Wynton Marsalis dropped his musical arrogance and understood clearly that there is a place for all if the message is Afrikan Liberation, he would stop causing critical confusion by railing against any music that was not white classical music or his definition of jazz. He claims that Music is of illegitimate. This claim culture is as worthless as his praise and Rap glorification his enemy’s musical (classical music). I watched as a great Blues singer appeared on a talk show years ago celebrating that he had finally made it. He went on to say he had finally left the “Chittlin Circuit” (which was the Black circuit of clubs and theatres like the Uptown in Phiily, Apollo in New York, The Regal in Chicago, The Howard in D.C. etc.). In my thinking, that is where he served his apprenticeship, applied his trade, made a living, performed for his people and kept the culture alive. But in his thinking, it was more about money and fame, which required leaving home and playing for audiences of strangers and young aspiring Culture Bandit musicians, who later stole the Blues. But there were other opinions. This is how Billie Holiday put it affectionately in her book, Lady Sings the Blues with William Dufty: “There is nothing like an audience at the Apollo. They were wide awake early in the morning. They didn’t ask me what my style was, who I was, how I had evolved, where’s I come from, who influenced me, or anything. They just broke the house up. And they kept right on doing it. I played the Apollo for the second week. This is one of the few times it happened there, if I do say so myself. And I damn well do.” All of this does not negate the positive contributions the popular Blues singer has made to our culture, it just clarifies the reality that culture maintenance is not on our conscious or unconscious agenda. Consequently, the Culture Bandits run continuous raids on our culture extracting big chunks like gold from a South Afrikan mine. 51
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Millie Jackson, who is known for her raunchy shows and records, was picketed from coast to coast for her continued appearances in Sun City, South Afrika’s playground. Jackson had no respect for the worldwide boycott of the racist country. She resisted the pickets, lied to get by them on many occasions, and then condemned them from the stage and on the radio. No consciousness, politically brain dead. Many activists have dubbed her “the Boer Whore.” Sometimes acceptance by whites is more important then honor, dignity and fidelity to our people. You may want to counter by saying Blacks were ashamed of the blues and thus neglected them after the large migration to the cities, where the key to employment opportunities during World War II were at the time. All the parts of any culture must have a maintenance component. If a people is swallowed by a dominate culture that projects only their culture on the screen of life, any culture would diminish. In addition, just because I’m not using a portion of my land, or singing a particular musical creation during a period of time, does not open up justification for thievery by external forces. Without the ownership of any methods of mass communications, it is almost impossible to perpetuate the culture of our people here in Amerikkka. Needless to say, even today many radio stations have a Black format but are white owned or have Blacks fronting as if they own these arteries, however, they are really theproperty of the Culture Bandits. And those stations in the hands of most Blacks are in the clutches of someone whose loyalty to the people is questionable. Therefore, the people have to choose to buy from the selections they hear. If they are not exposed to progressive uplifting music, they can not make a conscious choice. If the Blues is nowhere to be found, they can not chose the Blues. If Reggae is not to be found, or Ju-Ju or Afro Pop is not played, how could they know of the existence of these other Afrikan art forms, if never exposed? 52
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Unless they want our children to hear white boys playing the Blues or Paul Simon exposing the music from Azania (South Afrika), our artists are tucked away in the folds of Amerikkka’s diseased culturalcolon. Simon’s Graceland smash was a perfect example of what will sell. It was Well like Tarzan Afrikan andhype the exploitation continues. Tarzanleading made aanfortune offband of the and it saved his career as a practicing Culture Bandit. Think back, and you will remember that he recorded and claimed to pen that old Black Gospel tune Bridge Over Troubled Waters. And it’s sad to say, many Blacks who wouldn’t have been caught dead listening to music from Afrika, purchased his infiltrated music on his album Graceland with all Afrikan musicians and the singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Remember, Graceland wasElvis’ home, now you should understand the inside joke of the Culture Bandits. Another Blues singer (Joe Williams) never appears on Johnny Carson, or any other talk show, without a golf club in his hands to demonstrate he has made it. The timber of the Blues has changed as sung by Joe Williams and B.B. King, since they have ascended to the upper class. Now whites can relate to their songs about problems with the horny or ornery Black woman. That is the extent of the projection of our Afrikan woman, mere objects of lust in red light district songs or dancing on decadent videos. No more songs baout poverty and despair brought on by the enemy. Now the blues they sing has an affinity with their masters as opposed to a relationship to our people, whose suffering has continued. Uniting Afrika under one flag, currency and destiny is the goal and an important tool to be used to that end is our musical culture. It must be seized from the Culture Bandits of the white death.
53
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG AWARDS FROM THE CULTURE BANDITS (OR HOW TO STEAL LEGITIMACY)
When the control of a cultural form is in the hands of the enemies of the people who produce that culture, the only result that can be obtained is retardation. Whenever, outside forces attempt to guide a culture and artificially manufacture its products through commerce, that culture will spring backward or get locked in a time warp, only a mirror of itself or what it could have been. For example, the great Afrikan patriot Seku Turé of Guinea, while alive and at the helm of the revolutionary PDG (People’s Democratic Government), did not allow tourism in his country. He understood that the impact of tourists on the culture of the people was negative. Further, he was clear on the fact that culture is not a commodity for sale, but a living organic expression of a people. Turé wrote: “Every society has its own culture and every culture its own values of civilization. Thus, we easily understand that every act, every objective to be achieved should necessarily be within the scope of culture; for culture embraces the entire physical and moral being of a society whose whole thought and action it underlies in the various manifestations of its existence.” Under tourism, the impact on the economy (foreign capital) begins to be the primary objective. Consequently, the people begin to develop cultural products in its simplicity so that the buyer could relate to the doll, drum, painting, dress, shirt etc. It is then easy for the culture to be slipping backward, because we know if you are not progressing, you are deteriorating. The Culture Bandits understand this, therefore they are very aggressive at seizing the culture of others, controlling it, then replacing it with their cultural norms (cultural imperialism). They know if they 54
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG can redefine the norms of the people/society, they’ll have those people (the victims) worshipping them (the criminals). The notion is to let the other cultures exist but subordinate to the white culture and its norms. Then they market their culture all over the world as dominant, civilized and pure. When all along, it is a bastard culture that samples (imitates) other cultures, and more importantly, steals the products of Afrikan society.And while running away with the achievements of the Afrikan, they claim loudly to be the real srcinators of things they can’t even understand. Whether it is the story of the Black Madonna and child, mathematics, religions, astronomy, astrology, mythology or music, they steal while proclaiming to the world that they did this, they did that. The evidence that Afrikan civilization is the basis for everything they claim except their appetite for war, murder and sexual perversion, one need only to read the startling work of our masters (Dr. benJochannan, Diop, Van Sertima, John Henrik Clarke, Frances Cress Welsing among others). For our study, we have to look historically at how they dealt with our musical culture with the understanding that they crippled our progress and made great profits at the same time. Basically, the story of Elvis Presley’s attempts to imitate Black music should be clear even to the most casual observer. We should also understand that Pat Boone rode to success singing Little Richard’s Tootie Fruity, also work of Culture Bandits. But it goes much further then that, in other words they are not exceptions but the rule. The white torch singers stole unashamed from Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Dakota Staton, Sarah Vaughn among others. Remember the British Invasion? That was a perfect name for the cultural genocidal program the system of white supremacy pulled 55
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG off, while the victims (us), many times, didn’t dig what was going down, what our cultural lost would be, and what the economic ramifications were. Howard A. Dewitt, in his book, Chuck Berry (Rock ‘n Roll Music) revealed the following: “In Liverpool, John Lennon and Paul McCartney listened to Back in the U.S.A. on a portable stereo. After repeatedly listening to Back in the U.S.A., a number of ideas germinated in Lennon and McCartney’s minds. In later years, Chuck Berry’s song was McCartney’s inspiration for the White Album Beatie song, Back in the USSR.” It was also Dewitt’s opinion that Berry had trail blazed and those influenced are considered the cream of the crop of what I call the Culture Bandits. “In later years song-poets like Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan wouldfollow Chuck Berry’s lead of the 1960’s, 1970’s owed much in the way of expanded musical horizons to ground breaking efforts made by Chuck Berry in the 1950’s.” The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, Tom Jones, Joe Cocker and other shameless imitators rode to glory in our cultural vehicles. Their timing was great, for the system of White Supremacy understood too well that their children were being turned inside-out by the emotional Soul music of the 60’s. With James Brown and Aretha Franklin at the helm the powerful Soul machine was light years away from the backward droning of their white contemporary counterparts. Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Chuck Jackson, Tommy Hunt, the Dells and others were dripping soul music all over the world and our music superiority 56
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG was unquestioned as world tours opened up the universe to the music of our people. In her book, The Otis Redding Story, Jane Schiesel passed this tidbit along from the mouth of Phil Walden, manager and white business partner of Otis Redding. “Man I practiced and practiced .” Phil went on “but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t even stay on pitch, much less sound anything like James Brown.” The intent is clear and can not be denied, that whites were going to invade our culture and exploit it, either by attempting to perform themselves or control the business end. In both cases they would profit. onup to managing write that Black Walden wanted to be in Soul Music Schiesel so bad, hewent ended groups. Needless to say, even with this set up, all but a small amount of the profits landed in white pockets. The record companies, publishing houses, tour promoters, artist managers, agents, performance rights groups, club and auditorium sites were in the main controlled by whites. Left out, we were, and cut out of the glory. In front of the audiences and cameras was our domain. Consequently, even though, all we were left with was the adulation, and even this was too much. Racism requires a maintenance. Obviously, white teens yelling at the creativity and the sexuality of Black performers would not do. Acultural counter attack was necessary to stem the tide and reverse the fabulous exposure we were getting to the outside world. For it is a contradiction to say we are savage, genetically backward, and uncivilized when it is clear that we can articulate through music what other people have a hard time feeling internally. In touch felt withinour feelings is reflect one thing, but the ability to make those feelings colder hearts a closer relationship with nature 57
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG and man. Our singers could make them cry, make them happy, make them mad, make them hate us and make them love us...music in our hands is a dangerous weapon to be used inhe t struggles for our rightful place as the original man and creators of what all the world’s civilizations are based on. The birth of Motown Records was more of a curse than a blessing. Even though we are emotionally tied to Motown, because most of us grew up on their music, we must be clear that Berry Gordy’s approach to our music was always with an eye toward the white market. And just as Seku Turé taught us, if we adjust our culture to accommodate others, we will retard it. Gordy wanted the white market bad, consequently he pushed his artist development (A&R) departments to create music for the whole of Amerikkkan society. Unlike James Brown, the hard Stax/Volt Sound out of Memphis, the Chess/Checker sound out of Chicago and the gutty Blues of the Southern regions, who just created the music of the people that sprang from the reality of the lives of the people, Gordy wanted to clone a sound that sugar coated reality and made villain the raw Black vibe. Gordy sent sisters from the inner-city housing projects, like Diana Ross and the Supremes, to finishing school to whiten up their approaches to life, culture and their community.The poetry of Smoky Robinson was digestible to all because it had no particular linkage to the reality of the streets. The excuse was that, Motown had a universal appeal. All things spring from people and one cultural system or another. Since we have yet to make contact with any nomads of the universal culture, we find that universal is another way of saying that the product was produced to “crossover,” in other words, appeal to Blacks and whites. This takes a watering down of our musi cal approach and drives us backward, all in the name of profits. 58
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Also, remember the word “control” is operative here. Since whites controlled all mediums of communications and all other things involved with exposure of the music, most artists began to play to them hoping for a monetary gain, while giving up the ethnic identity of the music. “What is soul?” Johnny Carson would ask Aretha Franklin. “What is soul?” He would ask James Brown as they try to define, dissect and possibly reproduce the music. “Soul is like a comfortable pair of shoes after a hard day’s work,” Aretha answered the question mark on Carson’s face. However, we can not blame the artists alone. All of us, or practically all of us, believed that attention and approval from whites was making it. Thus, it became the goal rather then just a coincidence. The hard kicking group, the Temptations had the raw edge of Blackness in their pure five-part harmony and legitimately became the flag ship of all vocal groups. But even they were later co-opted to sing psychedelic pro-drug songs like “Psychedelic Shack” and the infamous “Cloud Nine.” All of this after personnel changes and a hard rush at the white market leaving behind millions of loyal Black fans that worshipped them. They left and were never to be let back in the door of Black fame. The arrangements and material the Four Tops used were digestible by both the Black and white market as they sold records in the millions. The Culture Bandits enjoyed Gordy’s approach to the music and knew with this approach, they could catch up and take over as controllers of the song. Invade they had! The Beatle hype crashed on the scene and the white mothers and fathers were relieved to see their little girls with the hots for white flesh rather than the sweating dynamic powerful soul 59
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG merchants. In addition, white boys could avoid their feelings of inferiority to the gravel voiced high stepping Brothers, who graced the stage half naked in their various envied hues. White musicianship was locked away in classical formalities and their inability to feel, much less make others feel, was a handicap they could not overcome without the help of the system. And the system responded again as it had when they needed an EIvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis or a Buddy Holly. But because Soul Music had gone international, the hype had to be to the max. Even establishment forms like the Ed Sullivan Show had to be used to increase the exposure of the four, no-singing strange looking youths from England. To clarify my point, have you ever noticed that the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker and Tom Jones sing as though they’re from down South here in Amerikkka, but as soon as they start taIking you can’t understand a word they say?...Why? Because they’re Culture Bandits and they practiced night and day to sing as though they are Afrikans from the United States. The Beatles swept through the country on the steam of the Culture Bandits, who were winning in the war to wash Black music away, even as they sampled it to the best of their ability. Motown had prepared the way for the transition in its greed and lack of fidelity to the necessary practice of culture maintenance. The so-called biggest show on earth called The TAMI Show was formed, filmed and executed as a marketing strategy. Coupling the best in Black music with the British and other white acts was a synthetic platform for the co-optation of Black music and the legitimatizing of the Culture Bandits. In short, all the Black acts like Chuck Berry, Supremes, Marvin Gaye and James Brown brought with them Black integrity as the best of us. Just appearing with these top acts put the Culture Bandits over (like Bruce Springsteen opening for Bob Marley). 60
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG With all the players in place, the bloody coup was ready to come off. They informed James Brown that Mick Jagger and theRolling Stones would close the show. Everyone was shocked. No one, but no one, could follow James Brown, who was legitimately Soul Brother Number One in the Rhythm and Blues component of Afrikan Music. Jagger was shaken when told he was to follow the King. And like a Rocky Movie the stage was set. Brown with the Famous Flames (his back up group) and his dynamic band kicked it out and did three encores. Jagger knew he was right, that he could not follow James Brown. In an historic performance, that left Afrikan people across the world in stitches, Jagger went out and attempted to imitate James Brown. With no rhythm, no coordination, and no voice, (in addition he is ugly as hell) he stumbled and fumbled from one edge of the stage to the other. Dancing like a gorilla with his stuff caught in a vine, in the movie houses across the nation inthe Black community, the collective laughter crescendoed, but it was shut out by the Culture Bandits. Swinging into action the Culture Bandits’ mass media from their discriminating chairs praised James Brown but chorused the lie that Mick Jagger had taken the show. The unmentioned result would be that he was now the king of soul...get it? If you don’t understand run down to the video store and cop a copy of the TAMI Show (now called Ready Steady Go) and watch it, and then think again. Because the whites wanted to believe the lie, the British invasion now swept them away from the Soul singers. Not to mention their psychological need to believe that they are the originators of everything. Even though they knew the srcins of Elvis, they dubbed him the king, just as they dubbed Mick Jagger ‘the king,’ and Bruce Springsteen was the boss and George Michael and on and on. Culture Bandits all, none could be crowned for they are aliens from without who seized the culture through trickyology and greed. 61
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG This competition between the srcinator of the music, us, and the Bandits (them) is a reoccurring theme throughout the struggle here. Again, in Howard Dewitt’s book he weaves a tale of the hatred Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis shared for one another. “In 1959, Jerry Lee Lewis’ mother, Mamie, asked Myra Gail Lewis to write Jerry Lee for a copy of Chuck Berry’sLittle Queenie. Myra recalled: “I suppose that next to Jerry, Chuck Berry is her very favorite.” Jerry Lee reacted in rage...After hearing Chuck’s version two or three hours at his parents’ home, Jerry Lee called a session at Sun studios solely for the purpose of recording Little Queenie....Jerry traveled back to Ferriday with a sample record, and promptly broke the Chuck Berry version into a number of little pieces. Jerry Lee Lewis was infuriated that his mother preferred Chuck Berry’s Music to his own.” Needless to say Mom dug the real thing. And even though Lewis was the Culture Bandit, he hated any reminder that he was, in fact aping the culture of another. In addition he went on ot record more of Berry’s Music including the classicSweet Little Sixteen. Yeah, he was insulted by his Mom’s preference, but he couldn’t stop stealing. Why, because he could not build on a culture that was not his own. In the video documentary Jimi Hendrix, Rock guitarist, Eric Clapton reveals how he and Hendrix argued back stage over who would close a show. “We are not gonna follow you,” he told Hendrix. Clapton went on to say “He (Hendrix) got on the chair and played some amazing guitar.” Of course, that settled it, Hendrix closed the show. The conquerors want us to believe they are the srcinators, we know better, they are mere Culture Bandits. Some even attempt to discredit Hendrix, saying he copied ht e musical theatrics of Jeff Beck, but Little Richard, in a filmed interview, let 62
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG people know Hendrix was always bad. “At times he made my big toe shoot up through my boot” was how the R&B legend put it. Even during his days with the Isley Brothers, they’d cut the guitarist loose during their show and the crowds would go wild. Also included in the documentary, Eric Barret, former Hendrix roadie would say “It went in a weird way...Black groups with a conga player ...At the house was all these colored guys, it was a really strange atmosphere.” Now pick up on that, it wasn’t strange when Hendrix was surrounded by the no—playing white musicians, but Barret thought it was strange when Jimi tried to come back home.
Band of Gypsies, which included Billy Cox on bass and Buddy Miles on drums, two Brothers, made just one album with Hendrix before his management dissolved the all Black group. Hendrix, left with no musicians who could culturally understand him and push him higher, was never the same after that. Buddy Miles says that they were “writing together, jamming together and having a good time.” If you ever see the final scenes from the Video,Jimi Hendrix, you will see a frustrated Hendrix unable to communicate with the unimaginative white musicians, who were lost throughout the jam. After ending the vamp, Hendrix is shown throwing down his ax and apologizing to the audience for the poor performance. Let us be clear, if James Brown, the king of R&B Music, had been satisfied with his crown, he could not have been used. This poor country boy thought it was appropriate to put on a white glove to shake the hands of white fans in the Vegas Casinos, so that they would not offended byas histhe sweaty Nor did Berry Gordy have to see the be white market goal palm. and the Black market as the stepping 63
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG stone. These thought patterns demonstrate a menta lity that could never think in the realm of culture or cultural maintenance. These are the types of slave mentalities that the Culture Bandits feed on. Just western society folk) stolenthem almost that theiras society is based on(white from us, andhad claimed as everything their creations, our music was lifted from our culture, reworded and sold back to us. Since we don’t have a functioning definition of culture or culture maintenance, we are left out of the game, confused, thinking of only money and personal success. However, the Culture Bandits understand clearly what is at stake and their necessity to claim what they can use and destroy the rest. CULTURE BANDITS AWARDS AND CRITICS
“We take for granted the social and cultural milieu and philosophy that produced Mozart. As western people, the socio-cultural thinking of eighteenth century Europe comes to us as a history legacy that is continuous and organic part of the twentieth-century West. The socio-cultural philosophy of the Negro inAmerica (as a continuous historical phenomenon) is no less important for any intelligent critical speculation about the music that came out of it. And again, this is not a plea for narrow sociological analysis of jazz, but rather that this music can not be completely understood (in critical terms) without some attention to the attitudes which produced it. It is the philosophy of the Negro music that is most important, and this philosophy is only partially the result of the sociological disposition of Negroes in America. There is of course, much more to it then that.” From Black Music by Amiri Baraka (jazz & the white critic 1963) In dealing with the critics of our music, it is important to understand that the Culture Bandits must first set themselves up as the experts. 64
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG They must be the judge and jury over the evaluation of a culture they truly could never understand. Both for economic andpolitical reasons, this is done. And it is easy to accomplish this as long as they control the record industry, the radio broadcasting medium, the print media and every lies. other mass communication organ to propagate their structured But being the experts, and sending alien gossip through their mass media is, in itself, not enough. They must go further, they must be the voice of the people, the experts in another person’s culture, and ascend to the position of singling out those who they feel suit their interests and is non-threatening as the best in the field. Needless to say, many times, they crown their own and sanction them as the best of another people’s culture, when in fact, they are, and can only be, mere imitators; aping the work of the maste rs of our musical creativity. The Grammy Awards and Amerikkkan Music Awards are just two examples of the Culture Bandits work on controlling the music of Afrikan people. With these vehicles the Culture Bandits can perpetuate the myth of music categories and continue to colonize all ofthe music. In no component ofAfrikan music are some fans and some participants so arrogantly elitist as the so-called jazz component. Sometimes it takes on a dangerous class character and is as ugly as anything in the class conscious European world. Class conscious reactionaries like Wynton Marsalis attack other forms of Afrikan music for the Culture Bandits, causing confusion and dis-unity between artists and among the people. “After all the history that we’ve been through this is where we are at?” He asked after mouthing a repetitive disco-based beat. “When you get to rap music, you can’t reduce anymore. When you get past that, its not music anymore.” Wynton Marsalis speaking to students at Marshall University in West Virginia from Jet Magazine 1/16/89 page 22 65
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG First let’s look past the inter-cultural arrogance he must have picked up during his classical music lessons. His comments demonstrate a polished white ideological view of our musical culture. Instead of understanding that music of the Afrikan is as diverse as our experiences and responses to the oppression that has been whipped on us, he nestles in his form (called jazz) and spits down from lofty towers at the other components of our musical quilt. It amazes me that we can appreciate the creativity of the brothers and sisters from the islands that turned filthy polluting oil drums into melodic beautiful instruments called steel drums. Why? Because oil drums were newly introduced to the scene and were in the environment and all environments are our playthings for our basic creative genius. What did our inner-city youth have around them, butsome turn tables and old records to play with. Yes, electric toys, that they turned into scratching instruments of rhythm. And to come down on Rappers is to be ignorant of our oral historians, griots (story tellers), Harlem Renaissance and the revolutionary poets of the 60’s. Marsalis needs to be taught by us to understand his place and be reminded that he is being used as a tool of the Culture Bandits. Many jazz purists reject Miles Davis in an attempt to limit his musical travels throughout space and time. The former Jazz Crusaders are railed for their musical journey into other forms of Afrlkan music. If this were coercion for cohesion I could understand the criticism, but it seems to be that the hardliners fear extinction and lash out at those who stray from the desired form. But wasn’t jazz created to be formless or limitless in its exploration? Even though John Coltrane is now considered the beginning and the end of jazz greatness, during the final years of his life he was heavily criticized for his adventures away from established form. 66
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG It is true that jazz is under siege, it has always been so. However, its survival will not come from isolation from the Afrikan body of music from which it sprang, but enhancement and promotion within the family’s musical diet is the key. This is where it will find the safety to continue a fascinating journey to infinity. Anything this, will find it more aligned with the Culture Bandits, whoseshort goalof is not the preservation of the music, but the destruction through slow cooptation. No I’m not attempting to say Wynton Marsalis’ remarks are the norm for jazz enthusiasts, but in the main, many will repeat this elitism without realizing the class connotation that is married with this thought process. We produce all kinds of music, all kinds of sounds and approaches, and jazz has always been under siege because it is the most difficult to reproduce by the Culture Bandits. However, the trickyology used to sabotage the music has always been a deadly source of co-optation. The battle for the survival and promotion of jazz is indicative of how the Culture Bandits love to isolate elements of the whole that is targeted for destruction or co-optation. Dangerous internal reactions will only lead to divide and rule success for our enemies. All forms influence each other, however all the others are the chosen music of Amerikkkan business interests. Consequently, this unnatural over exposure of what is called Soul/Rhythm & Blues/Urban Contemporary is the working of the system of exploitation for financial and political reasons. It is not the work of the people and the other artists who don’t play jazz. Obviously, balkanizing the music is the work of the enemies of our people. This makes it clear that the target of the counter attack should be those Culture Bandits (whites). The Mel Torme’s, Tony Bennetts, Stan Kenton, Peggy Lee, Kenny Gees, David Sanborn are mere imitators of our culture not srcinators. 67
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG Understand clearly the role of white critics. They set themselves up as the experts of the music and the sole legitimatizers of musicians. Further, I repeat, it is the whites who ownthe clubs, record companies and mass media that takes the product to market. It goes beyond blatant and into deadlyattack cultural Our. culture,Cultural because imperialism it isorganic, faces the same aswegenocide. do physically We as a people are engaged in a war against the genocidal forces of race hatred. Just as we don’t see the methods of the Culture Bandits, because we truly love white people in an insane fashion, we are only now beginning to see their total genocidal program with its tools of “Crack” and “AIDS.” A starving Fats Waller use to have to sell his genius for a few dollars. White publishers then would buy outright compositions from writers like Waller and copyright them in their own names and place them in their musical catalogues. They are still making money from performance rights, licensing and record royalties from songs purchased for ten, twenty, thirty dollars....Culture Bandits. Because they owned the recording companies, for years, they forced talented jazz musicians to record jazz versions of their so-called popular music or show tunes. Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Count Basie found great acceptance from the white audiences and soon became almost the exclusive property of the Culture Bandits. They all made good money, but due to the simple fact that the individual is unimportant, our genius was captured and taken away. The money they were paid was peanuts when you consider the co-optation of the music slowed its roll, kept it digestible to white audiences, and made the greedy businessmen a fortune. For example, early in his career, Louis Armstrong was considered the most progressive trumpet player of his time. It is no accident that 68
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG after acquiring success with the white patrons that he found his sound locked in a time warp of the “St. Louis Blues” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” To continue to explore and stretch out would lose his white following. Without a doubt, almost all artists lose their mass Afrikan following when they slow down to keep whites on the measure. In the case of Louie Armstrong, even though he became rich and famous among the Europeans for slow walking the music, his big rolling eyes and Satchel mouth smile eased him into the bag of the system’s Uncle Toms in the eyes of many Blacks. The same song and dance we do among ourselves can be used for negative political purposes by our enemies. Armstrong’s last hit was, of course, a cover of a white show tune about some white broad called Dolly...”Hello Dolly.” Get my point? It’s important for you to know these facts about the music publishing business in order to understand what I am saying here. Music publishers exploit the compositions in their song catalogue by their writers. It is their job to: a. Get their music recorded by as many different artists as possible. b. Get as many record labels involved as they can. c. Print sheet music for sale. d. Get music performed on radio/t.v./Broadway etc. e. Promote their music for radio/television commercials. f. Get mechanical license (first release authorization of a song). g Oversee collecting of performance rights revenue. In other words, you must look at a song as a living piece of commercial property to be rented over and over to as many tenants as possible. 69
THEY HAVE STOLEN OUR SONG As a matter of fact, a popular song is better then a piece of real estate because it cost no capital for up keep, there are no property taxes, but at the same time you can rent it (license it) to as many people at a time as possible. The mere policy that jazz A&R men (Artist & Repertoire) forced musicians to cover commercial or Broadway material and so-called standards, demonstrates the economic exploitation of the artist. More importantly, while the Black jazz artist was recording and totally rebuilding, re-structuring and re-creating tunes by white writers (My Favorite Things by John Coltrane is a classic example), their own music (culture) was left unattended, dusty and abandoned...Culture Bandits! Remember, this is not a history lesson on Jazz or other forms of Afrikan Music, there are others who can do a better job. Itis important to note that this is a dissection of the work of the Culture Bandits. To this we must be clear. In silence we have suffered too long at the hands of the enemy, until we began to accept this perverted relationship as a norm. While in fact, their relationship to our culture is totally abnormal. And again I ask, why don’t they expend some energy developing their own musical culture. Only when the victim (us) realizes the destructiveness of our relationship with them, will the aggressor (them) move away as we snatch the reins from the Cultural Imperialist and began to govern our own cultural expressions. Let them cry that I am a racist, let bellow from now until the end of time: the fact remains, that they can not defend their position as Culture Bandits. Understanding this is key, we are in a deadly battle for survival and at the core of their attack is the deadly Cult ure Bandits. 70
ISOLATING ELEMENTS ISOLATING ELEMENTS If you don’t understand anything else about this book, I would like you awaybody. understanding thatwas all divided our musical are partstoofwalk the same Just as Afrika up bycreations our enemies for exploitation, so was/is our culture, especially our musical culture. And just as our people in the Motherland will fight vicious border wars, to maintain these divisions, we are chauvinistic toward certain forms of our own music. You can’t afford to hate any of your children, you must love them all. You must develop them all, and together the family is whole, strong and invincible...seen? Just as a doctor can operate on parts of the body for the good of the whole, I’m going to take this opportunity to isolate and dissect some of the key forms of our music, that have both historical and contemporary significance. Because, we all don’t partake from all categories of our musical diet doesn’t mean we should propagate against the forms we least enjoy. At the same time, it is dangerous to not understand the importance and the development of the music and its role in our culture. Only then will we understand what has to be maintained, protected, developed, or what has been stolen, re-labeled, and used against us. Just as brother, homeboy, blood, dude, main man, my man, roadie, are all terms for a Brother; traditional, gospel, blues, rhythm & blues, Rock ‘n roll, jazz, fusion, rock, soul, reggae, juju music, Afro-pop are all logos for Afrikan music. It is all connected with a genetic binding that surpasses any notions of control by white exploitive business forces. Married together, they are, and tied to each other as the ancestors are tied to us whether we recognize this fact or not. 71
ISOLATING ELEMENTS The percussion nature of our natural heart beat, outta da drum we come in total control of sound and power. Bending, blending and mending sounds together in srcinal, endless, imaginative creations, we travel throughout the realm of possibility and back, in coherent fits of exploration. Our keys to creativity are the environmental factors and the need to fill in the musical statements to travel with the historical truths of the day. When I say “we,” remember, I’m talking about ‘alI’ Afrikan people, not just those stolen and held in Amerikkka. Afrika, the Islands, U.S., Europe, Latin America and any other place our people are domiciled. OUTTA DA DRUM WE COME
The linkages in the music bleed across the lines drawn by the outslders to define and control our musical products, and our artists function with them for profit. Hoping to cross-over is their wet dream,because it allows them to breakout of their cultural arena (where they should be happy/comfortable and safe) and into the white world. All for the love of money. A white world, while smiling, is hostile, deadly, and an assassination agent of the overall genocidal program of the Culture Bandits. Aworld that will allow one or two Blacks to make dollars from their community via air play on white stations, gigs at white clubs and casinos, plus television exposure. As I isolate some elements in our musicalquilt, I will point out samples of this method of co-optation. Yet, co-optation and piracy is the strong suit of the white enemy. Just as they stole Afrikan Philosophy and credited it to the Greeks, they now feast ferally on our musical products, while almost in full control of them. George G.M. James writes in his classic, Stolen Legacy that: 72
ISOLATING ELEMENTS “The term Greek philosophy, to begin with is a misnomer, for there is no such philosophy in existence. The ancient Egyptians had developed a very complex religious system, called the Mysteries, which was also the first system of salvation. “ It is important to understand not only what we have and will create, but how to protect and maintain it for the benefit of its creators. GOSPEL MUSIC IS AT THE BASE Gospel Music Is a form of music that will always be with us as long as there are Afrikan Christians. The musical expressions of those who hold these beliefs are as emotional and spiritual as Afrikans of
any traditional or adopted faith. All jump for joy in their execution of religious rituals. Since we are the founders of the Gods and also the one God concept, we worship on a higher level both in ritual and more importantly in practice. I mean, we get into some Gods. We are more inclined to become spiritually drunk and blinded, many times by the religions we embrace. For this discussion, I’m speaking of gospel music and Christianity. After the enemy’s version of Christianity was force-fed us, we, at first, used these rare privileges to gather together to inform each other of the struggle, escape routes, new families destroyed, violence used against us, and general local and national news.
Wade in the Water and Follow the Drinking Gourd are two examples that come to mind: wade in the water to lose the two legged ‘n four legged dogs tracking ya. And follow the drinking gourd cause the stars can lead ya north. But the music goes farther then that. It was used to soothe our aching bodies and souls. It was used to keep us focused on the hope of tomorrow and the reward of life. It was used as a binding melody of a people whose diversity had to be eliminated, 73
ISOLATING ELEMENTS whose language barriers had to be conquered, whose religions were diverse. A people who needed cohesive elements to solidify their struggle. We also used Gospel Music for escapism from all that was too real in an attempt to re-establish with nature after an estrangement produced by the kidnapping of us from our land, culture, and our traditional religions. Keep in mind that a deadly European cultural system comes along with their version of Christianity, a cultural system that negates what is needed to deliver freedom. Unless the Bible is reinterpreted by the victims, as Nat Turner and others did in the face of tyranny, it is used to sell us hell on earth as an expectation, and a final reward in the clouds after service to the white one’s comforts. Anyone can or could participate in Gospel Music in an organized sense, in a congregation’s joyful noise or a one on one with the God of their choice. In the fields, the songs could be sung, in the kitchen, in the praying and kneeling of children close to bedtime, and in the cells of tormented time in chain gang gray. As I stated earlier, environmental factors dictate the type of musical product we will produce. The rural sounds differ from the urban, and so on. Yet, it all blends into a consistent, Afrikan approach to music, worship and response to environmental factors. The Soul Music explosion of the sixties revealed the connection between the church and our early vocal expressions. Almost all of the soul singers sang in church, which was amazing to whites, but is basic to us. Every church sang praises and had its own choir. Then, obviously, the children would get their formal training there, singing from the heart, in the bosom of the Community, away from a cruel reality that stalked them outside the church door. 74
ISOLATING ELEMENTS To us Black people, that is formal training: a training that lasts a lifetime, but to the outsider, it is viewed as informal; yet very few outsiders can perform with the youngest of our Gospel choirs and groups. Anytime a group steps in front of a Black audience to sing, they areaggregation facing a loving but critical Furthermore, a great singing is a positive toolaudience. of the church for gaining a rep (a name for itself), recruiting and maintaining its membership. Where else would Blacks be allowed to sing? Then what was the point of attempting to make this all so extraordinary? They wanted us to believe that there was something about the religion that delivered talented, heart-felt expressions to the captured Afrikan. Therefore, people like Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Taylor and Mavis Staples were all trained in one of our formal schools of vocalizing... the church. Today, the art form still continues as strong as ever. Gospel music is a srcinal product developed out of theoppression and environmental changes the Afrikan experienced. Whites suppressed our culture, replacing it with a synthetic slave culture consisting of violence, sexual abuse, labor piracy and economic oppression. With all other forms of expression viciously suppressed, religion and gospel music got the full brunt of our creative and expressive genius. The slavemaster was well satisfied with the situation, for he was convinced that the complete adaptation of Christianity was in his interest. Pleased with the musical products of his “property,” the slavemaster even enjoyed and pressed the converted “heathens” into performing for him as they struggled attempting to get him in touch with his feelings. This journey in search of their feelings continues today. They still have not shaken the barbaric nature they exhibit at the drop of a hat. 75
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Of course, they must control everything in order to make it serve as a tool for their backward ends. Consequently, they dubbed their lifeless musical approach to worship as “Spiritual”, while the more expressive and sincere musical worship was planted with the “gospel” logo. In any case, the music was captured, controlled, and used to the advantage of the slavemaster. However, in spite of this, Gospel Music has enjoyed growth and development, thus reins supreme as the mother of all other musical forms developed in the so-called new world. Just as Afrika is the source of all that the Europeans attempt to claim, this music, linked with our survival, is the foundation of all the musical forms that follow. All of them are Afrikan, and none can be separated from the whole. However, today gospel music is solely used for religious purposes, a recruiting agent, a musical articulation of belief, a tranquilizer. It is the elements of traditional Afrikan music that are not only the classical music of our people but of all mankind. THERE WERE NO BLUES IN OUR DRUM
Gospel music was a kind of blues, a wail, not only for the love of their God, but also a plea for help and an articulation of fidelity. It is a tight fit of emotional need and tangible help. The Blues is also a wail, a scream for relief from life’s ills. Environment is the inspiration. Since everything begins with the women, givers of life and carriers of the culture, when things are wrong in a relationship, progress turns to regression as esteem, ego, and pride take a licking, the Blues is designed to keep us ticking. Since we were forced onto these shores, servitude has always dug into our man/woman interactions. Tugging at the family whole, destruction the goal, we sang to massage the pain, compare notes, rinse the hurt away as tomorrow’s sun demanded we journey onward. 76
ISOLATING ELEMENTS But The Blues was/is more then the lament of a lost lover, it always carried reality’s pain in every bar, in every melody, with each lick of the guitar collective misery rained on us all. It delivered a common bond, that solidified us with experiences externally produced for our exploitation. Whether rural sharecropping or urban unemployment, our cry collected patches of the suppression and flung it on the table for dissection. Yeah, ya gonna have woman problems, man problems, family problems, and personal problems from the posture of a neoslave in the horn of plenty. The New Orleans Blues differs from the Mississippi Delta Blues and the Chicago Blues Texture is different from the St. Louis Blues. It is the environmental factors that create the differences and the oppressor that causes the song to be created and sang from the depths of the soul. Again, the whites, in an attempt to get in touch with their feelings attempted to understand and co-opt the Blues int o their cultural reality. Needless to say, it can’t fit, because their culture and relationship with society is different. They close their eyes,cream, s ramble through their being, and come up empty...lost from the art produced by the oppression they inflict. Just as they sacked the Grand Lodge of Luxor and raped our Egypt and other Afrikan civilizations wherever they came across them, they went after the Blues with a sense of purpose. The Culture Bandits are obsessed with controlling and destroying anything we produce that is useful to our peace of mind. In the 60’s, they decided to not just sample the Blues from a distance; but to get inside it, redefine it, control it, and profit from the rape at the same time. 77
ISOLATING ELEMENTS It must be noted that, many of us had let go of the down-home Blues as we migrated to urban centers in search of jobs. Many Blues purists point the finger at our people and claim we left the blues because we no longer wanted to be associated with the music from home. But I reject onlonger the basis of the observation that the down musicthat and notion, issues no addressed the daily problems of thehome new New Yorker, Philadelphian, or California resident. Remember, our music is living; an organic expression of what we are experiencing at the time. Therefore, with the jobs being different, mode of transportation, taste, smell, concrete replacing grass, and row homes replacing shanties, it would be impossible to produce or appreciate the same music with the same intensity. The man who rises at five to a heavy meal and a mule ride to the fields, has a different reality than the one who rises at seven a.m. and catches a subway train. This is a critical point if we are to understand how and why culture is created. The Culture Bandits decided to move in on the Blues, in the 60’s, as they had moved in on Gospel and Jazz earlier. Record companies took advantage of the so-called Hippie Era and the attempts of some young whites to break totally from the culture of their fathers. They knew instinctively that getting in touch with their feelings and establishing new attitudes concerning war, sex, economics, fashions, hairstyles and other cultural under-pinnings of their backward society was critical. Somehow, they acquired the notion that instead of developing a counter-culture, they could steal ours and become imitation Black folk. Joining hands with the Europeans who were also exploiting our musical culture for profit, they embraced the so-called British invasion. The term British invasion pre-supposes that there were no Britians here and that’s a serious laugh...let’s go on. 78
ISOLATING ELEMENTS The Beatles and groups like the Rolling Stones were serious in their attempts to steal Soul music from its creators. The Butterfield Blues Band, Moody Blues, Righteous Brothers (pick up on that), Blood Sweat and Tears (check that name) all romped forward with Tom Jones and a whole crew trying develop the same success of the chief bandit, Elvis Presley (yeahtohe the King, the King of thievery, and racial hatred as he stole from the people he hated). The Amerikkkan and its imperialist brother from Europe fought over the riches of our musical culture in the same fashion they fought over the riches from the pyramids. Thieving grave robbers were now ravaging through our living musical forms like Cecil Rhodes after Afrikan women and children, yes like the KKK fixing for a lynching. To study the Blues, the enemy had to pull the Blues closer. Consequently, they openedtheir record labels, clubs, radio air waves, films and television time, to a few Black practitioners. From this upclose and personal vantage point, they attempted to dissect the art form for Dr. Frankenstein’s duplication. Just like Milton Berle and other white comics use to sit in the audience (with pad ‘n pencil in hand) during Moms Mabley and other Afrikan comedians performances uptown, white so-called artists sat in the concert halls, smoky clubs and fireside jams for years, listening to the masters of the Blues. We know that Dr. Frankenstein’s monster had to be destroyed, and so it must be for those who steal our music, re-label it, and attempt to sell it back to us. The Blues artists claim it is the white support that keeps them working, and they reward the whites by letting some of them sit in (which is really a requirement to get over). It is here that the cultural incursion begins, for a few (“I gotta make a living”) pieces of silver. 79
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Harmless, you say? However, this legitimatizes the imitators and confuses the next generation who feel it has always been this way. Some fools even use this as an example of how integration works. Moreover, those artists who don’t understand culture, sprout some nonsense “music is the universal language.” If this voice was/isfrom true then why about don’t the whites further develop their musical their own cultural base? Generally, because it is worthless, it is left unattended like a pile of solid waste reeking in the corner. Meanwhile, the developers of the dead music are in our culture attempting to convert our musical articulations into something digestible for their folk as they make a fortune, because they control the mechanism of marketing, programming, recording, broadcasting, criticizing and copyrighting. They must propagate that music is a universal language, or they are cut out of the game. I repeat, why is their music left unattended while they invade ours? For the same reason they went out and conquered the world because their land was dead and they were too barbaric to develop anything that was not also lifeless. Of course, we share freely, just as we did when they rode in on waves of hate in ships for slaves and rich cargo stolen from those they slaughtered. A mistake we repeat daily. Some of this is too much for some of you, but that does not make it untrue. We were brought up to believe in the universality of man, they use this belief to victimize us and rob us of our intellectual achievements and capabilities. They also use it to confuse us concerning the centuries of genocide against Afrikan people. Therefore, we seriously need to study the importance of cultural genocide as their weapon in this war being waged against us. Are you still wrestling with the fact that environmental factors affect what you deliver culturally, how and why? The Blues will clarify. 80
ISOLATING ELEMENTS The need to sing this particular brand of Amerikkkan inspired Blues came from the hard times delivered unto us by the enemy.The Blues of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith to Lady Day and Dinah Washington was grown here in this Babylon. We had no Blues in our drum because there our We have been cryin’was sinceno weAmerikkkan reached theseexperience shores, andinwe aredrum. still silently moaning in this strange state in an alien land amazed at their capacity to inflict physical and psychological pain. Now, Tracy Chapman and Robert Cray have brought the Blues back to the center stage, even though it has a new wrinkle, it is still the Blues. For everything we do must both evolve and remain the same, if you can dig where I’m coming from. Both have sold more records in their short careers then Blues artists sell in a life time. Cray, who has two white members in his quartet, has had a dynamic impact. He possesses a masterful voice, a cry/a wail in the night type voice and his blues guitar is rich with R&B and Jazz elements. No doubt the integrated nature of his unit has helped him with broad acceptance and airplay. Tracy Chapman is another huge talent. Though many would call her a folk singer, what ever that may be, basically, she sings the Blues. She always maintains that she grew up on an R&B diet, no kidding (?), and explains over and over that she was exposed to “folk Music” after receiving a scholarship to Wooster in Connecticut. In an interview with Cary Darling, Chapman said, “Once I got to high school, it was the first time I heard contemporary folk music. People like Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell - we never had those records at my house growing up.” No Shit! Sounds like a good home to me. More importantly, she slipped into the white world away from home, Chapman gives credit to the Cultu re Bandit instead of the srcinator of the song, us! 81
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Whites heaped awards on her head and she sold albums totaling in the millions. Somehow, her attributing her influences took a slap at the Black roots of it all, and made her white idols bigger then life. They are nothing but thieves in the night and you can see that our young hype! performers believe the bandit is the owner. Don’t believe the It is refreshing to hear some one singing more than “can I screw ya baby” songs, but we don’t control the means of broadcasting our products, and many feel that there really is a thing called Black radio...lets be real, it really doesn’t exist. Meanwhile, Joe Williams now sings the bourgeois Blues with golf club in hand, Lou Rawl’s Chicago Blues, with the biting edge, is now the establishment’s boardroom Blues and the list goes on and on. Naw, I aint mad that they make a living, but sometimes we give up too much, too much. We must make a living and maintain and develop the art form that made it for us. If this means we probably will make less bread, then we gotta bite the bullet. We know certain things aint cool, we must draw a line. Success (in the white world) is a dangle of strings attached to us, a whore’s role, and that is all that is offered. It’s either be screwed or isolated and limited. As long as we feel our musical culture is for general consumption, we will forever be used as a stepping stone for other folks’ profits. Unless we seize our culture by developing true Afrikan controlled communications media, (radio stations, cable networks, record companies, publishing companies, distribution networks etc.) in music, film, and printed works, we are doomed to travel the road to nowhere, victims of Cultural Genocide and its operatives, the Culture Bandits.
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ISOLATING ELEMENTS ASS/JASS/JAZZ Jazz was always the people’s music. It was not just music of Black intellectuals or the progressive music of the middle class. It sprang from the people.
It is the music of infinity. It travels light years beyond, into, around and through all that mankind knows about space and time. It knows no boundaries and is not intimidated by constrictions. Jazz is the voice of all that was and will be. Its practitioners are space travelers inside the human range of emotions and external textures. Ahhh, it will marry anything with anything to create a new thing. It can be a single voice through the night or dozens of instruments blending for a righteous sense of purpose. It has no king, it has no queen, just explorers of inner-vision. Usage of everything in life to give an eternity to form and substance. Its faces are diverse as the avenues from which it came. Jazz is the ultimate, tidal waving through all areas of life. Consequently, the enemies of our people, trapped in envious hatred, have been stealing, destroying, excluding, and abusing our artists and their music since the creation of it. What could not be understood was isolated, what could, was co-opted and what was dangerous to white supremacy was destroyed. It stands far removed from their common understanding, therefore its commercial possibilities were limited. Be advised, all our musical developments were not developed for the purposes of capitalist exploitation. However, to those who control the mass media (and us), their economic system does not deal with anything that can not be transformed into hard cash. 83
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Obviously, since Jazz is one of our most complex forms, it is also the most isolated and ignored. The result of this delivers today’s current estrangement of most of our people from this cherished form of musical adventurism. However, it is important to point out the diversity in almost all our musical collections. Check your albums/tapes/cds and note the different kinds of Black music that grace your collection. In the final analysis, there is only two kinds of music: the kind you like, and the kind you don’t like. Yet, we suffer from under-exposure to Jazz because those in control can not market to their people and are not interested in just perpetuating our culture, because the majority of their people could never understand the musical dialogue going on between musician and musician, musician and the listener, and finally the musician and nature. Our musical culture is just another mine field, oil barge, or gold mine to rape with no regard to the land that created the wealth or the people on the land. It is clear, they hate and envy the creators and we are not even considered as they extract all that can be understood. However, many of their musicians who deal with Jazz come from a classical base. Therefore, their interpretations of our music is tainted by both another historical journey, another cultural reality, and the stiffness of classical training which is the opposite of Jazz. Yet, the music was too dynamic to be left alone, too inventive to ignore, and too free of form to not attempt to get close to, inside of and on it as it soared out into the universe. They felt if it was left unattended, they would never truly understand its creators. Historically, they slipped uptown allover this nation, across the tracks in the midnite hour to partake of the musical gems. Their own 84
ISOLATING ELEMENTS musicians, lost and caught in the quicksand of yesterday’s riffs, knew the first to copy the Black sound could get seriously paid and may even acquire credit for the creation of the stolen product. The Benny Goodmans, Artie Shaws, Mel Tormes, and others took their stolen cash to the bank. White, so-called torch singers also cashed in, while the srcinators were buried under the weight of media exclusion. Just as Fred Astair and Gene Kelley were projected as the beginning and the end of dance, Gene Krupa and Louie Bellson were projected rockers of the rhythms. Gil Noble in his book Black is the color of my TV tube, said Willie “the lion” Smith and Lucky Roberts, taught Gershwin to play the style musicwere he became famous for.” Noble out that Blackof records sold under the counter in the also whitepointed communities. Noble went on to reveal the following: “Despite the role of Race records in making America’s big three radio (and later television) networks possible, they continued to ban Black music. Even when it was considered “acceptable” for radio audiences, this music was performed only by white musicians, like Paul Whiteman, AI Jolson and Vincent Lopez (who called his radio broadcast music ‘decaffeinated jazz.’)” By now, you should understand my point, and as denial comes from white places, historically, the work of the Culture Bandits has distorted things. In addition, since we don’t teach our children the history of their musical culture, they are left at the mercy of the most fantastic liars the world has ever seen...the dangerous white supremacist (Culture Bandits). One of our greatest, Duke Ellington, had a trick up his sleeve for the Culture Bandits and any other person who wanted to steal his music. 85
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Herbie Jones, a former trumpet player, arranger, and music copyist with Ellington, had this to say, “Duke used clusters, not chords. Clusters are chords with an added note” he pointed out. “It was Dukes signature, his identification, and this stopped him from being copied.” When Jones joined Ellington in India in September, for a five year stay in the 60’s, and started jamming, he got a weird sensation and thought he was playing off key. “I started messing with the valves, when Cat Anderson said’leave your horn alone man, you’re not outta tune!’” The Ellington sound was a different sound indeed. “Those cats could burn,” Jones offered. “Duke had a magic for looking at an audience that was completely cold and pick the right tunes from his repetoire to stop them from dancing and have them listening to the music.” Jones revealed that Ellington had a Book of 500 songs and in it was something for everyone. “He represented us as a people, he made you feel he represented us with royalty. We had a wonderful relationship.” Also adding to the Ellington Strayhorn arrangements were Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Paul Gonzales and Cat Anderson, the famed trumpet player. “Cat Anderson was one of the greatest trumpet players the world has ever seen” Jones pointed out. “Man he could play it higher than a dog could hear. I don’t think I will ever again experience what I experienced playing next to him.” He called Duke a historical figure whose contribution to our music was a great one. “He created music for us, his people.” He went on to inform me that the Smithsonian Institute has a fantastic exhibit in honor of Ellington. The exhibit includes videos, sheet music, records, uniforms and other important memorabilia. Herbie Jones has a photo of Billy Strayhorn as one of his contributions to the legend that was Duke Ellington at the Smithsonian. Duke’s classic work “My People, 86
ISOLATING ELEMENTS My People” stands as a testament of his love for his race; the Black race. Yes, the Jazz form is a journey all are not able to take. The resistance is not as strong as it should be because we don’t control the means of production. Consequently, our cultural form remains captive in the stagnant jails of the Culture Bandits as they continue to attempt to seize control by propagating their artists while shielding the works of many of our artists from their own people. The Kenny G’s, the Sanborns and others are the second and third wave to wrestle Jazz from the creators. And herein lies the problem, as with the Blues, R&B and other forms of our music, the business apparatus locks us in on their soap opera approach to music. In the book Uplift the Race: The Construction of School Daze by Spike Lee with Lisa Jones, Bill Lee, jazz musician/composer/artist had this to say: “Somewhere along the line lyrics have gotten stuck on “I love you baby,” and haven’t gone much further then that. There are many more words that you can write. I’ve written operasnine jazz operas that deal with many other things than ‘I love you baby.’ I try to draw on what my experiences have been.” Anita Baker told a reporter that she closes her eyes and thinks about sex before she sings. Baker believes it’s a motivating factor behind her sound. Her comments were shot across the world by the Associated Press Wire Services. “Do you have any idea what people do to my music...they make babies.” She went on to say that “I always compare singing to sex.” She continued to talk about singing as primal as sex but more spiritual. “I use the sex comparison to let the listener grasp how I feel when I’m singing. Sex they can touch. In fact, I used to say singing was better then sex.” 87
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Baker is an expert on transferring her message from her heart to the listener and engaging them inher constructed relationship dilemmas. They travel with her through her moans for a lost lover, situation or conquest. What if some of our artists put that much energy into songs of freedom, and upliftment of consciousness and became salesmen of our historical greatness and storytellers of our hunger for liberation? Naw, I aint talking about integrationist safe porridge about “we gotta live together,” I’m talking about another level of songs about race pride needed to fuel tomorrows endeavors. Back to the point, answer me, where would you hear Bill Lee’s work? How would you have known about the Jazz operas if Spike had not put that passage in his book? Other artists are traveling a creative road, but are shut out of the earshot of their own people. Moreover, many would have never heard his fine work if his talented son did not incorporate him in his dynamic film projects. Therefore, he had to ride to public attention through another communication medium...film.She’s Gotta Have It, School Daze and Do The Right Thing are all stamped with his talent. But how many Black Jazz artists’ sons are major filmmakers? More importantly, how come his genius has not been tapped for more recordings of his talents now that he has name recognition? And who will play his recordings and where? From Armstrong to Miles, it has been a struggle for all of them in between. And the future will bring greater struggles if we don’t get into a culture maintenance mode, which I will elaborate on later in this book.
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ISOLATING ELEMENTS RHYTHM AND BLUES
“Like I wanna know who Picked Wilson’s pocket After he shocked rocked itit Fact, he Same kind of thing they threw at James An what they did to Redd was a shame The bigger the Black get The bigger the feds want a piece of that booty Intentional rape system...” Who Stole The Soul? Public Enemy Funk was born with Rhythm and Blues as the Blues traveled uptempo and from the south to points east, west, and up north. The expansion of the small groups to bands with horns rounded out the Blues sound. Elements of the Blues stayed in place, the soulful Gospel sounds pounded within the rhythms, and another joyful noise was produced to further explain the historical period of the day.
The urban Doo Woppers placed harmony at core and stood under street lamps blending to city tempo and a new reality. However, hardcore R&B was cultivated by the likes of Fats Domino, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Ruth Brown, Big Maybelle with the likes of Ray Charles, James Brown and Otis Redding following. We can’t forget Hank Ballardand the Midniters, Ike and Tina Turner, The Dells, Isley Brothers and other pioneers of the form. Those of us over forty will remember that radio was avery segregated medium, and most cities had what was called, “Colored Stations” that played race music. Small towns had spots on their local or regional stations, blocks of time when they would play Black music, but never 89
ISOLATING ELEMENTS did they integrate the music. Therefore, they felt their products couldn’t be measured against the pale, lifeless music of the white supremacist. It is important here, thatyour this was a dynamite periodare of absent growth, and it is easiertotonote perpetuate culture when others from the controls, exploitation and propagation. This is not to say we still weren’t exploited, because we were, to the max, however, the exploitation today takes a more deadly form. How so, you might ask, when now we have millionaire performers? We are going to have to let go of the millionaire syndrome and look at the culture as a product of the whole. An expression of collective reality, a staple in the total cultural diet of us all. Having said all of that, it should be clear that if the artist is making more, then the exploiters are making a killing. Individually, some artists are richer and the past exploitation was raw. However, it continues, and those who create the music are under more controls, restrictions, and boxed into the business apparatus of the recording industry and other communications organs that used recorded product. The de-centralization of the music and the regional appetites helped many more survive in the music world yesterday. All any labor owes you is a living. We now subscribe to the white man’s definition of musical success and that is mega-bucks and only mega bucks. Therefore, the business apparatus can control the trends and the type of cultural products they will expose the people to. Our artists are no longer artists, they are small businesses looking for a “hit” to get paid. The difference is clear, the pull of culture in articulating what is going on and what is being felt by a people is now gone and in its place are songs written with money in mind. Consequently, elementary songs 90
ISOLATING ELEMENTS that are no more then musical soap operas are produced in abundance for personal enrichment. Serious compositions are discouraged because they can’t get played, so the artist can’t get paid...understand? Furthermore, this process ourof artthe form andthat keep lockedor into childish laments of a retards lost love, piece gotusaway, someone else’s husband/wife: the infidelity music that damages our relationships. Instead of hearing thousands of different songs sung in thousands of different ways, we are locked into twenty R&B records on charts artificially controlled by the white business hands. The play lists of radio stations are artificially controlled by whitebusiness people...and our culture dies at the hands of the Culture Bandits. R&B captured the imagination of whites like all our music has. For example, whites used to sneak uptown or across the tracks to partake in the musical culture of our people. Even their culturally elite loved Pops Armstrong, Ellington, Basie, Ella, Sarah, Lady Day and Hampton. Why? Because their musical culture was as dead as their consciousness. However, the run-of-the mill blue and white collar whites were captured by the spunk of R&B Music and its earthiness. They latched on to it and won’t let go. Gospel music, though stirring worship into an open emotional vehicle, and the Blues was too raw and didn’t apply to their situation to be relevant. But R&B was a bridge they could cross if they could control it and broaden it. Little Richard’s wild approach to the music tapped a nerve as his rebellion struck a chord that they have yet to let go of. Bo Didley could do things with a guitar they could only dream of. Ray Charles dripped soul all over big band arrangements and became the undisputed king of R&B after little Richard found God again and scampered back to the church to check himself out. 91
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Like Little Richard and Ray Charles, James Brown hailed from Georgia and he took over driving R&B into a new definition labelIed Soul Music. He traveled light years in front of the pack by using his drive for success, athletic ability, and some of the best young musicians the South had developed. James’ stuff was raw, real funky, innovated and tied in elements of Gospel, Blues, Jazz and R&B. His sound changed every time he changed musical directors. Whether it was Nat Jones, Fred Wesley or others, Brown let them color the band with their distinct style. He could go up tempo with funky, consistently changing rhythms with startling quickness; at the same time, he could milk a ballad like an evangelist could milk a crowd. His showmanship was far superior to anyone who ever took the stage. And that includes the white icon of Sammy Davis Jr. Content wise, it was standard R&B that took political overtones during the early 70’s. Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud stayed on the top of R&B Charts for over a year. But the brother also turned out some lukewarm material on the political front which was self-serving as the White House set him up to be used. He left home and was out of his league. When will we learn to leave their politicians alone? Their experts on screwing ya without the grease. They are so slick that they can talk Muhammad AIi, Pearl Bailey and others into fronting their exploitation machinery in front of Afrika and the world. Why, they can get Sammy Davis Jr. and athletesto be “ambassadors” for their murder machine. It is important to note, the 60’s and 70’s was the time R&B (Soul) Music took off with Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, Carla Thomas, The Dells, Chi-Lites, Hank Ballard and the Midniters. Of course, there was Motown that started out R&B but was purposely marketed Pop or (crossover) after a soulful start. I’ll deal with that later. 92
ISOLATING ELEMENTS R&B got so big that it became an international commodity. One that grabbed the imagination of the whole world, and Amerikkka wanted more control of what it saw as “its exported culture.” Even though they controlled the monetary end of the product, the music was creating a feeling of affection for Blacks in this country, who were trapped in neo-slavery. Don’t be surprised, all nations attempt to control the culture inside its borders as a tool of self-perpetuation. The difference here is clear, we are a trapped, enslaved population within the fabric of a hostile nation and our culture belongs to us as we attempt to develop independently of them. However, due to the business apparatus, everything we develop is stolen and claimed by the Culture Bandits. In short, the Culture Bandits’ works are necessary for, not only the perpetuation of this nation, but to vanguard the genocidal machinery that is poised to take us out. Our enemies know that culture is the defining agent of a people, their stamp on the world. Erase the culture and history of a people and they will cease to be independent of their plotting enemies. In addition, the enemy could then redefine the victims in a nonthreatening way that leaves them open for total victimization, which is genocide. More importantly, the victims will not understand the danger of the unfolding process, as a matter of fact, they will see themselves as the problem, and die seeped into externally induced inferiority. Therefore the maintenance of culture is a primary task of a people, if they are to survive and perpetuate themselves. R&B, or Soul music was the pearl they wanted and needed to pluck from our basket of musical goodies. It was the kind of music that could be exploited and controlled by outsiders if they could set up the right mechanism. 93
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Needed would be, total control of the record industry, radio, publishing, t.v., management, agents and critics. Also award agencies, magazine and promotional arenas. With these controls in place, almost everything had to be screened through them. Only a few products or small companies slipped through their hands, but sooner or later they were bought up or dried up by exclusion. On the Black Entertainment Network (BET), cable program, Our Voices Beverly Smith had a lively discussion with Gene “Duke of Earl” Chandler, the dynamic Little Anthony, Norman Thrasher of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and the incomparable Jack the Rapper, famous Black deejay. With honesty rarely seen on t.v., they discussed the early days of R&B. They dealt with exploitation by record companies and promoters, the development of Doo wopping in the hallways of the projects and in the subways, playola and promotions, sexually explicit lyrics, plus segregation in the South. Host, Beverly Smith, guided them through this wealth of insight from insiders, who had lived history and will always have their places in the development of R&B, thus Black Culture. They told how the record companies took advantage of the young, talented, Black youth and many today still have yet tocollect royalties for their work. “I sang for 10 years and never got a dime,” was how Norman Thrasher put it concerning Syd Nathan owner of King Records, which not only recorded the Midnighters, but also Little Willie John and James Brown for years. Little Anthony outlined how traveling through the south, “Blacks would be in the balcony...Blacks would be behind ropes. “ One time, he continued, “they put “Blacks on one side, whites on the other, so 94
ISOLATING ELEMENTS we sang to the wall in protest.” Those days of exploitation, disrespect, and segregated hatred documented Amerikkka’s attitude toward a culture they loved but a people they hated. Jack The Rapper explained, that “In Miami, you had to have a card...sounds like South Afrika doesn’t it’!” Jack had driven home a point that many chose to forget by not reminding the youth of the struggles of those who came before them and that the oppression has merely changed forms, it has not disappeared as some would have us believe. Smith’s guests continued by exposing the sign that hung in Valdosta, Georgia that read “Nigger don’t let the sun set on you.” They went on to discuss how Lyon Price got run out of town I because he was driving a Cadillac. Little Anthony took us back to the days when the Royals, Crows, Flamingos sang in the hallways and subways and how impressed the girls were with the corner boy melodies. He also said laughingly how he only sang to attract the girls, because that was the thing of the times. Jack the Rapper, known for his candor, told how disc jockies took money to play records, and how they looked on it as a consultant fee. In all honesty, it seems that it would be hard for a deejay to create million sellers and be uninvolved in the rewards of the collective effort. Their wages were slave wages from the radio stations. The whole process of exploitation excludes the record spinner as the businessmen attempt to take it all. This is not to condone playola and plugola, but to understand it and its development. Less important is the money, more important is the exclusion suffered by small independent record labels and artists who would never be heard. Never be heard, not because of their skills, but because of monopoly capitalism in full effect. 95
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Therefore, the quality of the music is irrelevant, only the hookup with the power source can deliver airplay. Consequently, you have cultural control by the Culture Bandits. All of Smlth’s guests complained about the explicit lyrics in today’s music. None, of course, were for censorship, what artist is, what artist could be, what freedom lover ought to be? Finally, Little Anthony expressed this sentiment, “You are .. planting a seed... what we were doing, we were subliminal.” Yet, the artists of yesterday can not divorce themselves from their responsibil ity of using love songs, as Public Enemy put it, as “sex for profit.” And so it is/ was. It is natural for things to move from one form to another. Consequently, they laid the seed for dealing with sex in a promiscuous way. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good love song. I just balk at the reality that 99% of our musical diet deals with sex, some in a graphic way. Then we have the nerve to turn to young girls whose puberty we have played with for profit and say “shame, babies having babies.” A lack of balance it is, a price that is paid and a confusion generated in young and old who are victims of “musical soap operas.” Another job I just can’t get A nice apartment the landlord just won’t rent I go to bed but the sleep won’t come My belly is empty and my brain numb Nobody saw me walking and nobody heard me talking Seems like I gotta do wrong, gotta do wrong, gotta do wrong...before they notice me The Whispers There is so much for the artist to sing about, to explore, to express, to share. But the Culture Bandits have us locked with a terminal focus between our legs. 96
ISOLATING ELEMENTS The only commonalty delivered is that we all screw in one form or another. Consequently, when we come together, we don’t evaluate the total hue-man being but only the external aspects. Our attraction is society-developed and a dead end for lasting relationships. Nor do we feel locked together in a social milieu that is dangerous and hostile. We listen to these songs like show and tell audio designed to give us an upper hand in our next relationship or deadly one night stand. While our reality is stolen, our children’s tomorrows drift away, we are jerking at our organs trying for sensual gratification. In the 60’s and 70’s we rocked to Ship Ahoy, The Love of Money, Say it Loud I’m Black and Proud, Black Pearl, Keep on Pushing, R-E-SP-E-C-T, and on and on. There is no question that we were closer together, attempting to forge unity. Who decided that era was over? You and me? Naw, it was the Culture Bandit, who understood clearly that this music was not lending to exploitation, but could help end it. Just like the Blues have all flavors from different environmental backdrop, likewise R&B has different textures and temperatures. Georgia Men like Little Richard, Ray Charles, James Brown and Otis Redding drove their big bands with Georgia soul. Urban centers gave more sugar with their sounds like the Chi-Lites and the Dells. The Philly sound was even slicker, the closer ya got to the whiteman, the more his ingredients melted on the soul like white Amerikkkan cheese on a funky hamburger. The heavily orchestrated sounds delivered the crossover potential it realized. In Detroit, Motown began as R&B sound and ended up as Casino music for the mob. The transformation was not easy or smooth. Shop Around by The Miracles, I Wanna Love I Can Seeby the Temptations and My Guy by Mary Wells are examples of the feel of the music. However, Berry Gordy Jr., founder of Motown, was notsatisfied with the R&B market; his sights were always set on crossing over, as a 97
ISOLATING ELEMENTS matter of fact, you could almost say he was the founder of the crossover product. He geared his music machine toward the white market, never mind he extracted his talent from the projects and the inner-city. It is almost as if a white man had set up to transform R&B or exploit a resource for the benefit of the outside world. He really zeroed in on the Sisters as described by James Askins in his book I’m Gonna Make You Love Me: The Story of Diana Ross. “Like a very intensive charm school... The girls were taught how to put on make up and how to do their hair, how to walk and sit properly and shake hands using a firm grip. By the time they ‘graduated’ from the course, the three kids from the ‘Black bottom’ were as poised as Park Avenue debutantes.” In short, Gordy took the sisters out of the inner-city and attempted to turn them into classic white women in appearance, dress, and mannerism. This pre-supposes something is wrong with being Black, and from the ghetto. It also carries a dangerous component of Culture Banditry, which we know destroys lives in pursuit of profit. Further, the rinsing away of Black Culture leaves the victim (performer) without a point of reference and in awe of white power, culture, and white people. Berry found this out when he approached the newly cloned Diana Ross and found out he was not white enough for her. For he had replaced her standard of beauty, it was no longer his people but the enemy. Ross told a reporter her feelings on white/black romances and marriages according to Haskins. “It was a Negro guy who wasn’t the most attractive thing in the world, married to a white woman who wasn’t attractive at all. Too fat. But they had two beautiful mixed kids, gorgeous...groovy.” She was later to marry Bob Silberstein and have three daughters. Her comment “It was love at first sight.” 98
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Gordy, known to pay back-up singers $2.50 apiece, had played Dr. Frankenstein and lost the woman he would later desire...justice. He is not alone, because we allow athletes and entertainers to be major role models for our children, 99.9% pied piper them into another culture and are carrot on the stick for rampant consumerism. Not only does the enemy set up to rip off our endless reservoir of musical culture; Black businessmen and entertainers play into their hands, and for their small cut, deliver our culture to them: yet the populous, ignorant of culture and its importance, view them as heroes and role models. That is why we travel in circles of confusion, depression, high blood pressure and utter confusion as they vampire the culture from our existence and replace it with foolishness for purposes of exploitation. RAP AND REGGAE
Rap and Reggae are fingers of the same hand. It is music that spun from the objective reality of the suffering of the people who developed it. It is living tissue, at its core is the people and the lives they are living. Its practitioners are the same people that had the burden of society’s exploitation on their backs. It’s grassroot music for sure and some who are class conscious, feel the same way about it as the enemies of our people. Both forms of Afrikan music are sound ‘n fury, that burst on the scene on several levels. The same elements that are in all Afrikan music saturate these outcries of our people. They face the terror of economic and physical attack by the Culture Bandits. The development of Reggae upset, first Jamaica, then the region, and finally, it bolted around the globe on the wings of Bob Marley and the Wailers. It was never supposed to survive the island government’s repression, much less internationalize itself in the wake of every possible obstacle. 99
ISOLATING ELEMENTS Only an indigenous sound, many thought, not understanding that it was an extension of Afrikan traditional music and R&B, for itexhibits the tempo of life found on the little ‘tuff island. The music, like its Rastafarian founders, was oppressed beyond believability, outlawed in society, and brutalized on sight. Did you know children were not allowed to attend school with dreadlocks as their Rasta parents werehunted down by police oppressors? The music and its srcinators were attacked with a vengeance. Here, the brothers in the states who developed Hip Hop (Rap) in response to oppression and in reaction to the businessmen’s creation called Disco, faced most of the same social issues. With Disco, the Culture Bandits attempted to steal Soul music from us with the heavily orchestrated bottomless cloned music. The backlash was Hip Hop, which stripped the tracks all the way down to the naked rhythm and used our oral skills to control language in the way only we can. In Jamaica, both political parties (Jamaican Labour Party of the rightwing and People’s National Party, social democrats) attempted to control the music once they knew there was no stopping it. The war in the streets has always left Brothers and Sisters littering the landscape and roads with their lifeless bodies, just as gang war has left many a B-Boy blown apart-gone. Both sets of youths were/ are used as political footballs by the politicians. In each case, dying young is a norm, yet a tragedy. In both instances, exploitation of the music by outsiders has been legend. Only now, is the artist beginning to share in the fruits of his or her labor. The young Reggae artist used to get a few pounds for his recording sessions, no royalties, no publishing and no artist support of any kind. Change the pounds to a few dollars and you have the same song for the Rap artist. It is important to understand the commonality of these 100
ISOLATING ELEMENTS two kinds of music as part of the Afrikan musical patchwork quilt. Even the reaction of the oppressor is from the same bag. Reggae evolved from other forms of music such as; Jamaican Ska, and Rock Steady, but the base is in R&B. In the same vein, Hip Hop evolved from R&B, traditional Afrikan Griots (storytellers), Harlem Renaissance, 60’s/70’s revolutionary black poetry and Jamaican “toasting.” Both sounds had grassroot people as its developers before expanding to all segments of the community. Amazingly enough; Reggae is still mostly excluded by Jamaican radio stations. Like Rap, it still enjoys the loyalty of the people from which the music sprang. In addition, the Culture Bandits led by so-called radio consultants, here in the belly of the beast, have targeted Rap for removal from R&B playlists. Citing economics as their reason, they propagate that the youth market is not economically viable. This, of course ledot a new radio approach, which is like easy listening R&B under the logo of “urban contemporary music.” But most importantly, Reggae ‘n Rap are under the threat of being watered down and destroyed or co-opted into pablum filled with nothingness and only a shell of the srcinal creations. Let me clarify, they both come from the rawness of real life, no sugar coating here. Yet, they have grown because of the honesty of the music and the empathy we can feel with the messages encased in the rhythm. Consequently, they can not be externally destroyed. As a matter of fact, the stronger the overt attack is executed, the more popular and loyal its audiences become. For example, Reggae has always been a thorn in the side of white supremacy, always. The more it, and its practitioners were attacked or excluded, the more the people rallied together, further solidifying their base. 101
ISOLATING ELEMENTS It has been the same song with Hip Hop, the attacks on its numberone group Public Enemy by Zionist forces in particular, and the system in general, has identified them to more Black folk as the group to listen to. Yet, the need to destroy the music is even more pronounced. Therefore, they move to negate the positive element in the form by hyping the negative or neutral elements. It is a hell of a tactic that has worked time and time again in other arenas. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and other Rasta Rockers’ creations were considered too political. Their fame and influence was growing internationally, with white supremacy their target. They were overtly and covertly attacked. It is true that in everything there is positive and negative. The Culture Bandits pin-pointed the negative and the politically harmless, and pushed it, hyped it, controlled it, promoted it, and attempted to have it appear to naturally replace the hardliners with easy listening Reggae. In Reggae’s case, Marley and Tosh wound up dead. Marley from instant cancer and Tosh from a bullet in the head as he was stretched out on the floor. Paralleling their passing was the new form of Reggae called “Dance Hall.” This music’s only concerned with partying, happy times, and “can I screw ya baby,” like the R&B that now exists. It has no social conscious and the Reggae that was uplifting, educational, and a culture product of the people, is pushed to the background; out of earshot. Dance Hall with excessive exposure becomes another opium of the masses. A mere drug to put them to sleep, with the slogan “No Problem. “ At the same time, Blacks in the states are singing “Don’t Worry Be Happy, “ while drugs, violence, police brutality, child abuse, and economic chaos take them under. 102
ISOLATING ELEMENTS In the case of Rap Music, the system gets behind MC Hammer, Kid ‘N Play and Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, opening up movies, television and other communication vehicles to push them to the front. Now I’m not saying this to categorize them as reactionary, because fun is part of life, happiness is important and outlets have their purpose. I’m trying to explain why they are given the advantage of exposure by our enemies. In addition, the Culture Bandits can make a killing off of the non-political music, because whites can digest it and deal with it. “Crossover baby, crossover!” But let the Black artist beware, when he or she leaves home, it is almost impossible to get back into the house. For example, the whole Motown contingent were Hollywood and Casino bound. Now they can’t buy their way back on the charts, even though their talents haven’t diminished. Only Stevie Wonder and the post hay day crowd are selling records over there. Look at The Fatboys, a creative Hip Hop Group, went Hollyweird and made a Three Stooges flick called (Disorderly Orderlies) and haven’t been taken seriously since. Listen, if the artists don’t understand the difference between so-called Jewish humor and Black humor they need to hit the unemployment lines anyway. For example, young Blacks only feel that one man slapping another man in the face, poking him in the eyes and kicking him the ass is funny when whites do it. From our cultural perspective, any such disrespect would lead to a major rumble. Consequently, it is viewed as “soft punk” action, unfunny, unfamiliar, unwanted. Then there is Run-D M.C., they made several records with whiteboys (plus videos) and a film called Tougher Than Leather. The records sold and whites loved them, for a minute, now when it was time to go home, they were viewed as “soft punks.” In addition, the scene with two members of the group in the bed with a white whore turned their Black fans off...gone with the wind they are. 103
ISOLATING ELEMENTS In the case of Reggae, the tactic has been different, there have been a few films, but in the main it has been the heavy hype of dance hall, plus easy listening Reggae consisting of covers of Amerikkkan tunes, then add a mildly flavored Reggae beat, usually it is the music for tourists and the deadly Jamaican middle class. So now the music faces the 1990’s with its people suffering worse than ever, but the artists are mostly concerned with money. The commitment of the founders (Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and others) is not encased in the hearts of the new artists. Many see themselves as superstars and they live that life, which is useless to the people from whom the music developed. What was a Black art form is now in the hands of people like Yellowman dealing raw sex and escapism. In the belly of the beast, M.C. Hammer is the James Brown of Rap, a phenomenal talent, so is Kid ‘n Play and Jazzy and the Fresh Prince. If they marry some social commentary with their jams, they could be very useful as we fight this “Dope Jam.” If they don’t, what good is their success to anyone but themselves! In addition, if they do add a component of substance they can not be used against their peers as the whiteman’s alternative. For example, MC. Hammer’s video on drugs and gang death is an important statement. Being from the west coast, the gang problem, senseless violence and the death of children caught in the crossfire is real. He used his art to take you inside the misery, becoming more then just a performer but an agent of positive influence. Thus, this rounds him out before us and we know he is about more then fun and games. The need for progressive action in the arts is important. Everyone can not be KRS-One’s Boogie Down Production, Queen Latifah and Public Enemy, but we all can lend a hand to save our people. 104
ISOLATING ELEMENTS The conditions that developed Rap ‘n Reggae, Reggae ‘n Rap are still here. Those who now make a living off of the struggles of Black heroes and she-roes, to perpetuate the music, owe it to us all. They must advance their skills and talents (gifts from their people) to serve in this life and death struggle against white supremacy. There is nothing wrong with Dance Hall Reggae. It is only when it is the only dish put before us, that it becomes an agent of confusion. Therefore, it is obvious that Steel Pulse must speak, Dennis Brown’s social commentary must be heard with his love tunes and so on. Reggae ‘N Rap are both international kinds of music that bounce around the universe and back again. They speak to the whole globe, but they are in the hands of the enemies of our people...the Culture Bandits. Consequently, only what they deem as harmless is propagated. Yet the truth bounds beyond their control. Therefore, they isolate the progressives for destruction. No, an artist can’t say he is merely an artist, not a politician, because everything is political. The doctor can’t say I’m only a doctor, so I must turn my head to the genocide that is “before my very eyes.” Naw, the teacher can’t say “I’m merely a teacher, I’ll teach what I’m told to teach.” Nor can the trashman say I’m merely a trashman, when he alone can document what is in the waste, and where it is being dumped. He also protects the interest of the people. We’re all in a war of genocide and only we can dismantle the genocidal machinery. Jamaican deejays used to do a thing called “toasting,” which was an oral approach, a rap down to funky beats, many say that is where rap comes from. Influenced maybe, come from, no! The Last Poets and other revolutionary poets slung down language to alert the people. Before them there were rappers all the way back to the birth of civilization in Afrika. Consequently, where-ever we found ourselves our oral tradition flourished. 105
ISOLATING ELEMENTS However, you must not forget, we are also the fathers and mothers of language...check out the pyramids and other evidence found all over the globe, ahh man we are/were bad.
“Don’ say,ofnoBlack mo’ wid yo ‘ mouf dan yo’ kin Stan” In the bookPsychology The Black Language authors Jimback Haskins and Hugh F. Butts, M.D. pointed this out: “In learning language, the baby is not only learning to communicate verbally, but he is also assimilating the culture’s system of meanings and its ways of thinking and reasoning.” It is important to note that the way Afrikans speak this foreign language (English) has been under attack. They call the Jamaican dialect and the language of Afrikans in the states (or where ever else we were disbursed) “broken English.” Because we don’t speak like the Englishmen. Neither do they. They attack our language usage as backward. Why? Because of the slave and colonial experiences, we will mix their languages together and come up with a new thing that serves us. A little French/ English/ Portuguese/Spanish etc. can be stirred in a pot. They are all leftovers from our slavery instituted by the very people who criticize our use of “their” language. More importantly , itwe is/was important thatthem the barbarians didn’t understand a word said.always We talked around for the purpose of liberation. Rap ‘n Reggae continues that tradition, a verbal and musical communication from our culture. On lookers can look, envy and attempt to steal. But the true practitioners are historically tied together genetically and in the people pain inflicted by the enemy. Again in Haskins and Butts bookThe Psychology of Black Language, they state clearly: “One may consider verbal behavior in Blacks as serving several functions: (1) as a defense against individualized and 106
ISOLATING ELEMENTS institutionalized racist behavior in whites; (2) as an aspect of the Black life style reflecting healthy group narcissism, cohesive bonds, and affection; (3) as an avenue for the release of rage, fear, guilt and other effects on an individual basis. In many respects, the development of verbal behavior Black Americans parallels the development of their music in (another form of oral expression).” I would broaden that to cover Afrikans all over the globe. Let us be clear, Reggae ‘n Rap are tremendous contributionsto Afrikan Culture and serve dynamic purposes in the liberation struggle for the minds of our people. For there will be no real tangible, positive action until we liberate our minds. Like all Afrikan music, they are married together in a tight, unbreakable bond that is a cultural comfort zone. Rap ‘n Reggae are products of a proud people, a people who continue to create and struggle in the midst of the dank oppression rained down on us. All components of Afrikan Music are at the service of Black Redemption if we use them as liberating agents. Freedom, they will bring!
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MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY In every struggle there are always those who arise to the occasions and dedicate their life’s work to the cause with a principled commitment of the highest order. No matter what the come down, they are ready to face anything to bring about the reality they believe in. In every discipline known, there is a foxhole and Blacks in it, for a war is waging in every corner of the globe. It is childish to believe the soldiers of this war are just military types. We suffer in every area of hue-man endeavor, because of vicious white supremacy. In the medical profession, education, trade unions, factories, law, radio, television, film, on stage, on the land, in the religious communities, and in the music industry, there are foxholes full of Brothers ‘n Sisters struggling for our liberation. They are our eyes, ears, and expert consultants against the white silent terror. In the music industry Bob Marley, an Afrikan from Jamaica, Fela Anikulapo Kuti from Nigeria and Public Enemy from the belly of the beast, all have served and are serving the cause of consciousness upliftment with their best shot. This trio of freedom fighters have used music to push the struggle forward, inside our people they have traveled through the musical culture given them by the very people they serve. Fidelity to the struggle is a difficult thing to maintain because too many people are perpetuating a fraud. However, these three musical messengers, are but a few examples of how explosive our music can be and how economically and physically violent our enemies react. Nothing is without cost, but the greatest achievement is honor, loyalty and dignity before the greatest people, the srcinal people...the Afrikan. 108
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY ROBERT MARLEY, PAN-AFRIKAN REVOLUTIONARY
Out of the teeming poverty of Kingston, Robert Nesta Marley has made a critical mark on the world as the Blackman continues to struggle forworld his rightful place in(Rastafarianism), the sun. Marley and had the twodeliverance goals: to expose the to his religion of revolutionary freedom to the Afrikan people on this planet. Many try to reduce Marley to a mere musician, he was more then that. He was the wail of the oppressed, the genuine living force of Black Power. Economically, he liberated himself and used his wealth for the good of his people. This was a difficult task considering he was a poor boy from the “government yard.” Moving from house to house, bedding down under the stars with a rock for his pillow, he was ever moving toward his goal of singing our song in the crosswinds. The currents thatwould carry the message around the globe drifting through Afrikan ears, while landing on the oppressor’s fears. Dodging hunger’s death, police brutality, assassins’ bullets and the political confusion that was drowning lesser men, he traveled toward the world’s stage, because he had a song to sing, an emotion to share and an observation to point out. His songs will always be sung as long as truth is alive, his dedication to his people will be admired and emulated by generations that will follow. “I know I was born with a price on my head,” he said many times and in many places. But as Kwame Nkrumah taught us “the secret of life is to know no fear.” And Marley was fearless. A grassroots warrior he was, and his bravery is legend to those who can still see and hear. Ever so humble ya know, not into the “super star” role and he never distanced himself from the touch of his people, for their touch made 109
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY him strong. In every city he visited, he walked among the people, in the neighborhoods, through the villages. He rapped with them and washed himself in their presence.
Bob Marley: Reggae King of In pictures and words, colorsMalika ‘n tones,Whitney by Sister and Dermott Hussey, the World written they wrote: “Marley has inspired, awakened and aroused the innate rebel spirit that has long been dormant in too many of us, and incited it to fight for survival. His songs point the way out of this involuntary exile and towards a place where we will be allowed simply to live.” It was the way he lived his life, how he was viewed and it was the impact his sincerity had on the people he came into contact with. The great conspiracy of the Culture Bandits was to keep him out of the Black consciousness, isolated from the sleeping Afrikan market here in the states. Needless to say, progressive people don’t wait for white supremacists to make a formal introduction to them with revolutionaries. Consequently, his work had a tremendous effect on the Black activist. This is a point that is ignored by so-called his-storians. Legions of Blacks here knew and loved him. They could not be kept from him and they could not keep him from them. We all sought each other out to compare notes, share strategies and tactics, and sometimes just reason together. Therefore, Marley was a great source of upliftment, his music told us we were all on the right track and that our problem needed a PanAfrikan solution for we are all Afrikan people. I don’t know many people who didn’t know Bob’s music and who did not hold him in high revolutionary esteem. 110
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY Now the masses of our people were screened away from him, but he bled into their world as he eased into the R&B playlist with tunes like Is It Love, We’re Jammin and later Buffalo Soldiers. He could not have been kept from his people, his song was too strong. It called them, it appeared of from their globally. outer limits, it drifted over the oppressive realityin weside all bars suffer When I last spoke to him, I asked him why he had not released Blackman’s Redemption on his latest album after it was released in Jamaica with great success. He looked far away, beyond me, in that way he had of going deep into his consciousness. Also in that hotel doorway before we parted, I told him if he wrote aong s about Malcolm X, the Black audience would find him without airplay. He smiled slightly and we shook hands to return to our respective fronts against the white supremacists. I’ll always remember the first time I met him. Warner Brothers had staged a major promo party for him at a major hotel. His concert film was playing for Black deejays and radio folk, most had never seen him perform or heard anything their program director hadn’t approved of. I sat back and viewed the awe they exhibited at the dynamic figure on the screen, who was beyond anything they had ever seen. He was drawing them into the screen as his messages of sufferin’ by our people could not be ignored. In my last interview with him he told me “to wail is when one cries out.” And his wail was a collective cry to end the people pain inflicted by those who hate us. “The real people you never see, and some you see are really obstacles,” was how he put into focus his dealings with those around him. He went on to say “they can’t take you from yourself” and he is correct. That is why the struggle to Know Thyself is primary. When a white writer told Marley he had a greater following in this country Afrikanthen Patriot Marcus Garvey,hehehad replied “I don’tBlack have a greaterthen following Marcus Garvey, 20 million 111
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY people working. The people will wake up again. We are the children of Marcus Garvey, we try to carry on his work.” He added “Garvey prophesied that some has happened already and some will happen today.” When asked about the Klan he responded with “they have a constitution, that dem themselves can’t live by.” He always spoke in simplicity and in logic concerning the struggles of our people. He possessed a directness that cut through bullshit with a razor. Asked by another white, why did he cool out his political message on the album Kaya he responded in a rare shot of anger “Nobody tell me how to fight my war.” The outsider eased back and back into a posture of fake respect. Asked why he was one of the few Reggae artists known to the people at that time, Marley shot a laser beam “We come out here and people met we, the people know us, if the next artist come out here, he should meet the people.” It is obvious, not all artists have the same goals and objectives as the Rasta Revolutionary. They are taught to distance themselves from their own people, because they are better, because they can do this or that. Marley would have none of it. “The more Reggae dem play, the more roots they have...the more Disco they play the more fantasy you get,” was how he responded to my question dealing with the lack of Reggae Music on The Jamaican Broadcasting Company (JBC) and station RJR at that time the only stations on the island. “The truth of the music carries the world philosophy: record companies don’t want to deal with that, they want to deal with charts and like dat” he pointed out stripping fact from fiction. He added “Babylon can’t change cause its corrupted itself already. There is no good that can come out of it. It is corrupted.” Never losing sight that we, Blacks, are all sufferers, he operated from that position and Blacks 112
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY will never know how big of an influence Marley was on the world stage. Not just the musical stage but the world stage. I asked him about the packaging of record products by record companies and pointed out how much I liked the jacket tothe Survival Album. He told me that “Rasta independent struggle and stand up by ourselves. You can’t make it work alone. We can’t be capitalist and we can’t be communist. We are neither left nor right we are straight ahead.” Accurately he added “Afrika don’t have to look outside of Afrika for nothing...unity means strength. If Afrika was united, think of that mon, think of dat.” And that is the goal, it is what whites fear, it is what our children need for the future, global Afrikan solidarity and self-determination. Bob was right, just think of that mon! “After Afrika is united, it will be like a fresh flower, you know bow it smells after a rain and everything is washed clean...ahhh what a smell.” Marley the poet had spoken. Bob’s children, The Melody Makers, have not been a disappointment. And the Ziggy fronted collective has kept the message alive and kicking. From What a Plot thru Dreams of Home, they proudly continue to serve the race with music of upliftment and vivid reality. Their work is something to be proud of. Never mind the awards and the praise from other stations, our diet of struggle music continues to pump heart into our efforts. Serious music it is. Musically, Bob has multiplied himself, hopefully they will also reproduce in their consciousness the oneness he had with our people. Bob was assessable to us all, he walked among us through our villages and drank from the same cup. The common brother, the sufferer, roots, warrior, proud son of Afrika he was. Sister Malika Whitney and Brother Dermott Hussey speak to us again through their classic book on the brother’s life and times: 113
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY “Marley’s death signalled the end of an era. It was he more than any other who pushed Jamaica’s music out from cultural confinement into much vaster dimensions; where he became the voice of the Third World. His passing also meant that his kind of Reggae went with him, but the legacy of his albums, including those as yet released, will ensure that he remains the undisputed master of Reggae.” Bob is now in the whirlwind with Marcus Garvey and their works can be found as pillars in our revolutionary infrastructure. A cornerstone of our-story, a story that lives and breathes in every child’s gaze toward a tomorrow of freedom in Afrika’s sun, that will shine on them wherever they may be. FELA TOO MUCH FOR U.S. AIRPLAY
Fela Anikulapo Kuti is a musical warrior of the Afrikan oppressed, thunder and lightening, a power thrown against the political corruption that has sapped the oppressed of their labor, aspirations and freedom. Fela, sometimes a lone voice from Nigeria’s belly, documents through song, the pain of living under neo-colonialism, the frustrations of struggling against capitalism and the dignity in the liberation process. Once just a talented musician in love with R&B and Jazz, he evolved into a musical power, a rhythmic journalist, a grassroots historian of the battering of our freedom song. From good stock he is. His mother was a good friend of Kwame Nkrumah and her revolutionary qualities are captured in his soulful genes. She once told him “start playing music your people can understand, not Jazz.” Meanwhile, a sister from the states pulled his coat to the historical and political vibe, that helped unleash his consciousness to be used as a liberating agent. Later in an attack against his night club and cultural oasis called the Kalakuta Republic, by vicious army legions with governmental 114
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY backing, Fela found that reactionaries know no bounds in their hatred of the truth. Brother Carlos Moore’s Fela: This Bitch of a Life is an excellent piece of journalism and revealing probe of a complex figure in Afrikan history. Moore let Fela and those involved speak to us directly. Fela speaks in This Bitch of a Life, on the treatment his elderly mother received at the hands of Nigerian soldiers: “They beat her, tore her clothes off, naked her ...then they begin flogging her ...it was too much man. They were flogging away, beating everybody, cutting, using bayonets, broken bottles...raping the women. It was terrible! oooooh!! terrible!... They beat the girls, raped some of them and did horrors to them, man... beat my brother, Dr. Beko,my who was trying to protect myThey mother... Then they grabbed mother. And you know what they did to this 77 year old woman, man. They threw her out the window of the first floor. And me? Oh man, I could hear my own bones being broken by the blows.” Yet, Fela never backed down from his war against, not only Nigeria’s corrupt regime, but also the enemies of Afrikan liberation: both whites and their Black flunkies. The test of a revolutionary is always soaked with blood, always a heartbeat away from death’s-head stillness, and always met with courage to right the wrong and set flight to freedom. Fela’s life is no different, it is a collage of pain, imprisonment, persecution in hatred’s storm. But nothing stops his song, a connected articulation on how rotten shit can get. A stamp of grassroots dignity keeps his heart open to the suffering of the Black sufferers globally. He hears the collective wail in the winds of change and that change must revolve 360 degrees. Every persecution was captured in song. Sorrow Tears and Blood, Unknown Soldier and Zombie to name a few. He attacked Afrika’s neo-colonial state in the classic Upside Down sung by Sandra Smith, 115
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY now called Sulillian Smith, a Black Panther supporter in the 70’s. She was the sister that put Fela on the road to using his talents for liberation. The struggle in the musical arena is no different then any other sector of our existence. It demands knowledge, courage and fidelity, yes, loyalty to our people, who have suffered so much. Fela’s story is a fascinating one, I will not try to tell it here. Cop Carlos Moore’s book, he takes you inside the shit-uation like the craftsman he is. A valuable study in political development paralleled with personal musical growth. Imprisoned many times for political agitation and revealing in song what people rapped about in the streets of the world, he never backed down. Finally, from the book, Fela answers Moore “How do I define my music? People continue to call it Afro-beat. I call it Afrikan Music...but Afrikan Music is so extensive...let’s call it Afrikan music by Fela.” And so it is! PUBLIC ENEMY: RUMBLING FROM THE BELLY OF THE BEAST
Amerikkka puts its elders out to pasture like human waste material and it eats the young. Masters of disguising its genocidal intent, only the blind can’t dig the motion of the maniacs from the west. In its belly Amerikkka has a serious problem, those who enriched this country with their free labor, suffering and death, are now obsolete to this nation. In addition, the Afrikan population is also the sleeping giant, the avengers of time, the evolving power that looks Amerikkka in the eyes and says “you’ve done us wrong!” Just as the youth in England, France, Lagos, Jamaica, South Afrika (Azania) and Brazil are unhappy and moving toward taking positive 116
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY action to accelerate the process of freedom, in the belly of the beast, Blacks again will rise. All through this book I have said environmental factors impact on what cultural products you will produce and perpetuate. In the innercities Rap Music has been the contribution. The ignorant have said for years that we can’t deal with the English language. Rap slaps that lie down. The masters of hip-hop turn the English language inside out, upside down and spits life into it. Masters of the double andtriple meaning, its street talk electrified whose shock opened our eyes. Raining Black poetry down with machine gun precision, Rap flings words in creative bursts of communications. It is a musical tool so rich in practicality, that the advertisers of this nation has seized on the form to sell their products. So out of one side of its mouth Amerikkka nakedly criticizes Rap and out the other uses it as a major tool in reaching the consumers. That’s classic here in the belly of the beast, the ability to talk out of both sides of their face. Like anything in life, there is positive and negative inside the Rap world. Yet, it is vividly clear, that the Rap artists played a key role in the rebuilding of Black Nationalism among our youth. Couple the political maturity of the music with the conditions in our community and you can understand my point. Rap, in its infancy, had a social commentary that the kids could get into, however in later years, the gold wearing, Hip Hoppers dominat ed the scene. Since the people are the true developers of culture, community criticism of the perpetuation of the “drug dealer” image attacked the gold chain wearing, fast car, fly women thrust. Children die on the streets from drug war shoot outs. The community’s frontal attack on drug dealing and the increased knowledge of self by 117
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY our people has led to a new image in the concrete jungles. A pride has been nurtured in the grooves of Public Enemy’s work. Consequently, the sleeping youth are now hungry for knowledge of self, and in this research lies the answer to all our problems. Unity, loyalty, fearlessness and Black Pride umbrella our motion if we remain on track to liberation. If we will allow the youth to feel these expressions wrapped in kente cloth, Red/Black/Green flags and funky rhymes is just another fad, we face genocide’s victory. Because our children needed to bolster their self-perception that had been destroyed by the white society, the bragging, individualistic profiling became a key ingredient dent in the art form. Later, the need to stop violence in the community, the collective approach to problem solving, the pride of being Black, and the hunger for knowledge of self pushed to the front. Yes, globally young Afrikans are dealing with the plight of their people. From South Afrika (Azania) we have the musical play Sarafina whose cast was populated by young people, who through song/comedy/drama heighten the internal and external awareness of the struggle. However, the power was the music integrated with situation raps and dynamic dialogue which clarified real conditions of the people. Meanwhile, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers continue their Reggae assault on the collective conditions of Afrikan people. The writing is mature and from the heart, the music is tight and hypnotic. It has a dignity, it has. These young people’s commitment is in the sounds they produce together, their concerns are for righteous liberation and the end of the suffering of the Afrikan. Public Enemy is their counterpart from the belly of the beast. Oppression in the Islands, Afrika and in the belly spells the wasteful spending of Black lives by our oppressors. These young people are on the frontline, where they should be. 118
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY Interestingly enough, many will see the work by the cast of Sarafina and Ziggy’s Reggae as culture, but view Public Enemy’s contribution as less then a joyful noise. And herein lies the pity and documentation of the brainwashing that has captured our consciousness. Too many won’t even listen to what is being said and why. Consequently, older adults drift farther away from the youth instead of closer. I always found this to be amazing since the use of sampling (using parts of pre-recorded music in their work) should tie one generation to the other. Most of the basic beats are built on or augmented with the works of James Brown, Sly Stone and others from yesterday. Yet, the form and its youthfulness turns many off. Understand clearly, older Blacks may never feel the music as the youth and may never use it for pleasure, however, we better understand. Because understanding the music will help us understand the youth. The importance of understanding the youth is critical, for they speak clearly on how they view society, what society has/is doing to them, and their aspirations. And how can we socialize them if we don’t even understand where they are coming from? And so it is with Afrikan contemporary music from the continent, music from the Islands, Latin Amerikkka and where ever else we find our people. Our enemies clock our music, before Public Enemy released Fear of a Black Planet , the media was calling the work anti-Semitic. Obviously, the so-called Jews were checking them out. “See, see, did you hear that, did you hear what they said, they are anti-Semitic” was the cry before the music hit the record shops. Man, had to listen to jams several times before I could dig where they were coming from. How come others are more into what is happening than we are? Because they understand the power of the music and its role in our liberation efforts. 119
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY Then obviously, we must understand what is happening in our musical culture if we are to understand our people. To plug into young minds and influence themin the right way, ya gotta know what’s up! Arrogant insolation from them cuts them off at the knees and they stray into the enemy’s camp never to be recognized again. It is the rawness of life that they put in the sun’s glare, the issues of prison, AIDS, our interpersonal relationships, collective action, culture, nationalism, police protection, overt ‘n covert CIA/FB I action, genocide and unity. Whether the older generations hear them or not they are solidly plugged into the youth of today. Their voices are accepted as propagandist for the positive. They avoid the easy way out and have shown a loyalty to the truth at all costs. It is important that we understand that their work must continue at all costs. Our enemies would have all our young men be Michael Jackson, Prince and Babyface characters, rather than be strong Black images of independent, culturally connected struggle brothers and sisters. While in Zimbabwe, on a fact finding mission with the Committee for Pan-Afrikanist Development, we were the guests of someAfrikans from the belly of the beast who now live in Afrika. They wanted news from the states on the progress of the struggle. After we ran it down, we played some Public Enemy and KRS-One of Boogie Down Productions. It was a great upliftment to them to hear the work of these two giants in the industry. Needless to say, word of their works had not reached Zimbabwe, but was on the way. Public Enemy’s “Fear of a Black Planet” is a song poem that travels through reality on a high wire. It demonstrates that these artists are studying our shit-uation, articulating what needs to be told in a packaging that is digestible to the young. Re-read what I just said, that is how important it is. 120
MARLEY, FELA & PUBLIC ENEMY Earlier in the Book I mentioned Dr. Frances Cress Welsing’s “Cress Theory of Color Confrontation.” It deals with whites fear of genetic annihilation. To kick that out to millions of our people is no small task and is of great importance if we are to understand the evil works of the enemy. Remember the brutal repression Bob Marley faced from the CIA, which warned him not to return to the islands during the election in the late 70’s. Never forget the attempt to assassinate him that left him bloody and wounded, his wife Rita with a bullet wound that grazed the top of her scalp and the wounding of others during the attack. Later he would die of instant cancer. Remember the trials and tribulations of Fela, the violence, imprisonment against him and his wives, the rapes of his wives, the wanton brutality against his elderly mother, and the economic attacks on his music machine. Remember that the cast of Sarafina come from the war zone of South Afrika (Azania). They have personally suffered and their relatives have been oppressed and brutalized under white supremacy there. They have lost relatives friends and comrades. In short, this is serious business! I suggest we all grasp an understanding of Hip-Hop and help perpetuate the positive. The Public Enemies, KRS-Ones, M.C. Lites and the Latifahs are young people attempting to be historically responsible to our needs as a people. They are targets, obvious targets of the Culture Bandits. If it can be done by isolation, economic oppression or character assassination, they are the tactics that will be used. If it has to be done violently, they will not hesitate. They will and can destroy, can we defend and perpetuate? This is the key question of the 90’s.
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TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES THE ECONOMICS OF THE CULTURE BANDITS The economics of slavery is the economics of the Culture Bandits. The viciousness of capitalism is played out in a more vivid form in the recording and entertainment industries. You may wonder, what do I mean by that? My reply is simple: The recording industry is one of the few, if not the last, vestibule of laissez-faire capitalism (meaning every dog for himself with little or no regulations). On the surface it may appear to the average fan (consumer) that there are checks and balances in place, don’t believe the hype. Playola and plugola still exist as main marketing tools. Bootlegging, corporate raiding, corporate espionage, copyright banditry and hit men litter the business. Take away the hypeof the promoted glamour and you have an organic, all or nothing game of monopoly, where the Black artist, creators of the culture, lose consistently. Historically, it doesn’t matter what occupation an Afrikan man or woman has, the struggle to get paid is an eternal one. Whites have yet to release the image of a captured slave, who is destined to be exploited. Why many behave as if it is their birthright to enrich themselves at the expense of our creativity, culture, and labor. Just as they use every part of the pig to make a profit, they also use every component of our existence to turn a buck. In the 60’s and 70’s the government’s police would shut down community breakfast programs and let the food rot, whenever groups like the Black Panther Party attempted to address hunger in their community. Eventually, the government would develop a free breakfast and lunch program in the schools in order to turn a profit on surplus food, while enriching corporate Amerikkka. Yeah, the Department of Agriculture 122
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES jumped at the chance to help white Amerikkka turn a buck. President Reagan would go on to make his famous quote when he attempted to label “catsup” as a vegetable in defense of the lack of nutrition in the offerings. Sam Yette wrote in The Choice, page 100: “There are other ways to kill a people or colonize them, but none is more certain than denial or control of their food. This is true whether the colony being controlled is in South Carolina or in South Korea. Indeed, you are what you eat: if you eat nothing, you soon are nothing. Hunger kills.” Obviously, if we are also culturally starved or controlled we will waste away into universal nothingness. Apeople who founded culture and civilization is now controlled by those who came after them with military savagery. This is not only unacceptable, but genocidal. Starvation is starvation and we must attack all segments of the genocidal plan. To labor for free is slavery and to labor and be underpaid is neoslavery. Historically, the entertainment industry has used everything we developed as they avoid compensating the srcinators at all cost. Ever since the slavemaster made his “prisoners of war” (slaves) perform for him at any place, anytime, for nothing but the worse food and housing, whites have felt free to steal our cultural products plus our labor. Those Culture Bandits who claimed to be involved in anthropological studies have recorded and used Afrikan music freely for years. Those who captured the Blues of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, the gospel harmonies of our people were unashamed of their piracy. Even Black public domain works were many times copyrighted in pale names and the money landed in white bank accounts. 123
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES Starving young artists like Fats Waller were caught down and out and had to sell compositions for five and ten dollars that later became, not only hits, but classics, perpetual money makers. In fact the R&B artists who founded what today would be called Popular music were ripped off as the rule, not the exception. Many had million sellers but never profited from their work. They were used like physically destroyed, old punch drunk boxers, they died in debt’s gutter, put there by the Culture Bandits. As a matter of fact, the hardest part of the music industry was the struggles to get paid. After creating, innovating and capturing the imagination of millions, many could not find a way to get their money from the Culture Bandits. Norman Thrasher, former member of Hank Ballard and the Midniters, told Bev Smith’s audience on BET’s Our Voices that “Syd Nathan (owner of King Records) never gave us a dime in ten years.” For you who are too young to remember the Midniters, they recorded such classics as: Work with me Annie, Annie had a Baby, Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go and of course The Twist. How does this happen you might ask? Many times the youth who create the sounds of the day have little or no legal guidance, or their managers and booking agents are also in on the exploitation of the artist. Most of the time the artist is seen as a free ride for everyone and anyone who can latch on and hold tight. Very few go into the business as if it were a business, they usually enter with hopes of fame, bright lights, women and an ego trip to nowhere. Too many times, drugs are used asa controlling agent.Marry drugs with groupies (women who chase celebrities), and the business people are left in the store by themselves. There was a drug epidemic in the music industry long before it hit the streets. Further, the reasons for the presence of drugs are the same, 124
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES they are there to control people, to offer escapism and for genocidal purposes. The artist who uses drugs can not keep up with the business side of his profession. He or she can not oversee those who can legally commit him and who have control over the purse strings. The music business is an elaborate business; full of all kinds of licenses, contracts, revenue sources, publishing aspects, recording session cost factors, advances,percentages, promotion/public relations schemes, money advances of all kinds and personal obligations. It is one of the most complex businesses there is. In addition, the inner workings arethe best kept secrets in this nation’s economic framework. It is important to understand, that most lawyers are ignorant of the industry and are of no use to the average artist. It is also important to realize that a personal manager must be well versed in the industry, plus in other arenas (tax/real estate etc.) to maximize his or her effectiveness. Some white man once said “ignorance is bliss.” Ignorance is ignorant! Again on BET, Bev Smith was told by Gene Chandler how he always got his money, but was sure some monies had been stolen from him. Gene is not only a dynamic entertainer, but he is also an excellent businessman. “I got two publishing companies now...and I just took control of the Duke of Earl ,” which of course was the classic R&B hit that is still selling and creating revenue for Chandler. Let me stop here and explain something most Blacks in the business and outsiders don’t seem to understand. The most lucrative portion of the music industry is publishing. Songs are rarely sold, usually they are licensed (rented for use). But unlike real estate, they can be rented to as many people as possible at the same time. My favorite example is Bill Withers’ Lean On Me, which has to be an all time 125
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES money maker. Not only was it a hit for Withers, but also many other artists. It has appeared on countless albums, as the title tune to a movie and it has been used in several commercials. Withers receives record royalties from every release (big hits or small album cuts); money from commercial use, performance rights, income from radio, television, and movie sources, plus sheet music royalties. Let’s look deeper.Very few outside the recording industry understood the coup Michael Jackson pulled off when he bought up the Beatles song catalogue. It was even better than dropping a $100,000,000 on real estate. It is a reversal of the controls we have felt, except for one thing. They would have found a way to steal the catalogue from us, never would they have paid that kind of money to be the owners. I’ve wandered around loosely ot let ya get a feel for the inner workings of the glitter machine. Now I want to stop and dissect a situation to drive home the economic exploitation many experienced in the bowels of the music industry. First of all too many people were like Jimi Hendrix, fame caught him by surprise, he was unaware and totally unprepared to manage his own affairs. In addition, he wasn’t even ready to oversee those who managed his affairs for him. Ripe for exploitation, he got it with both barrels. Juggy Murray, famous Black recording executive, made it clear in the film documentaryHendrix when he said, “signing a contractmeant nothing to Jimmy.” That was either a bad habit, a lack of seriousness about the business, or he was wacked out on drugs, all were poor choices and we don’t know which one is true. None were good. While he was alive, his affairs were always a mess, and after he died, the estate was in utter confusion. Hands were grabbing, reaching from everywhere; some had papers he had signed, therefore, after his death things truly fell apart. 126
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES In the case of Fats Waller, his surprise death on a cold train car also stunned the world. He left a will with an appointed trustee for the estate. After years of exploitation, Waller had gotten smart and was trying to protect his heirs. Struggles between lawyers (and the family) over the publishing rights and royalty income were raging. The family complained that Bernard and Martin Miller had formed C.R. Publishing and assigned the compositions to their company as they ran out with their srcinal publishers. In addition, they claimed that the Miller brothers had given one-ninth of all royalties to Edith Waller. She was Waller’s first wife. They also alleged that after her death, the balance of her share was given by the Miller brothers to Ed Kirkeby. They said under the terms and conditions of the will it should have been given to them. The justification given was that Kirbeby had written some of the material with Fats Waller. The family thought the claim was ridiculous. Waller’s son put it this way in his book: “In February of 1950 Bernard Miller stepped down as the trustee because Ronnie and I were of age, and, under the conditions of the will, we were to be successors. Unaware of the actions of Kirkeby and Morton Miller, and the fact that Miller was a partner of and attorney for Kirkeby, we retained Miller as the attorney for the estate. My mother, Ronnie, and I were induced to sign a document ordering RCA to pay royalties directly to Kirkeby.” As you can see the complex nature of the copyright law, the issues of ownership and royalties are always in struggle, even when a clear cut will has been left. The story goes farther: “Ronnie and I eventually became suspicious and, as trustees, demanded to see a copy of all records, books, and accounts. 127
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES Morton Miller claimed there were no such records, so we had to bring civil action to the courts. Miller countersued, claimed we owed him legal fees. It was a mess that dragged on for years... But the courts ruled that the agreement signed in 1950 by our family and Kirkeby is null and void. All of his life my father felt he was cheated by greedy publishers, and now in death he was being cheated again.” Struggles with the estates of Hendrix, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding etc. are common occurrences, and the legendary one over Bob Marley’s earnings are war zones as the exploitation reaches far beyond the grave to continue to use the Black artists. After the death of an artist, and keep in mind most former stars are economically worth more dead than alive, a new demand for his or her work takes place. Very few have quality products in the can. Many would die all over again if they knew some of their practice tapes, demonstration records or experimentations were released as finished product. And anyone who owns, controls or stole tapes from the departed performer, can release it with a snappy cover and make a killing. As a matter-of-fact Elvis Presley is still RCA’s meal ticket and how long has he been dead? I hope some of this gave you a basic understanding that the business side of the entertainment industry is complex. This maze is set up, and to run through it alone is like running the gauntlet. You will be bloodied, beaten, economically destroyed, and culturally raped. If that is not enough, who do you trust? Ya gotta get a manager, who is not only honest, but knows what’s happening. You need a lawyer, who is not only honest (ha,ha,ha), but knows the industry. In addition, an honest and knowledgeable accountant and booking agent are needed tools. Now that is asking a lot here in Amerikkka. Knowledgeable men, plus honesty...good luck! 128
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES Now, here we have some inner-city kids taught that they could sing their way outta da “ghetto.” Bright lights, women, cars, weird clothes and some bread looks so easy to obtain, until reality smashes their dreams. Many, many, many doors are slammed in their faces, many small time gigs end with no payment. Meanwhile, Mom is yelling “why don’t ya get a real job.” You have very few friends on the way up. Do you know how many Black people can sing and dance? Then obviously, having the hookups are more important then naked talent. Now here we stand with a young vocal group with a dream, a few tunes, and a backup band kicking the funk out. Their formal training happens in front of their peers, the roughest training imaginable. Let’s step back to our school days and line up in class with the teacher leading the way to the auditorium. First of all, we know most children feel assembly is like a substitute teacher, they take recess...party time! Secondly, they totally out number the teachers and administrators. Once seated they are brought under some semblance of control and the program is about to begin. They all are told to rise and sing the national anthem, salute the flag, and plop back down into their seats. Now, in a hostile mood because they had to pledge, sing and salute the red/white and blue, the program begins. The principal, Ms. Cracker goes through the “good mornings” and threatens those still squirming and complaining. Now it’s show time. A more hostile crowd can not be found for the youthful performers ready to bare it in front of their peers. Just their appearance before their classmates leads to verbal harassment, name calling from the crowd, boos and laughter at anything they say, do, or play. This weeding out process, is the same coercive measure used at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem. On the other hand, to remotely quiet and satisfy this crowd is quite an achievement. 129
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES My Brother, Sim, told me stories of a young teen who would always be playing in front of his classmates. “Quiet everyone, shhhh, McCoy is about to play.” Well that real McCoy, was Jazz great McCoy Tyner, braving it before his peers at Sultzberger Jr. High in Philly. To want to jam in front of them took heart and a love of music. Marry them with a dedicated seriousness and a legend was in the making. Those who laughed now swell with pride whenever their homeboy is mentioned, plus it costs some good bread to hear him now. Somewhere between the notes, we must hip our youth to the business aspects of the music industry. It’s almost a given that early in their careers, they are gonna get screwed without the grease. Those who survive and stay in the business are rare. In Philly the former wife of Philadelphia Eagle running back Izzy Lang, Taz Lang, answered the knock on her door and assassins bullets took her lite. She died in her doorway because she would not sell the contract she held on Teddy Pendergrass. It is an unsolved crime. The music industry is full of crime! PAY DAY NEVER CAME
I want to take time to give you a classic example of how the Culture Bandits use, abuse, and exploit our artists, while reaping millions. This is a classic case of greed, disrespect, and racist ignorance. In Philly WMOT Records put together a roster of talent that included Major Harris, Fat Larry’s Band, Damon Harris, Booker Newbury, Brandi Wells, David Simmons and Frankie “Double Dutch Bus” Smith, among others. It was a label run by whites, who had their eyes on the dollar and were concerned with little else. It was a small label attempting to cash in on the popular Philly Sound, that was led by Philly International Records under the guidance ofKenny Gamble and Leon Huff. 130
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES Philly was popping, and almost everything that came out of there was taken seriously by the industry. The music business has always followed hot trends. And if a spot, studio, producer or artist got hot, they would dogit until it dried up. The Chicago sound of Chess/ Checker, thelittle Memphis of Stax and Volt, the Motown sound of Detroit, the studioSound in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, are just a few examples. Out of the pool of talent located in Philly came a young man named David Simmons. He had a group called the Neo-Experience, that created tight soul music locally. Somehow, they seemed destined to breakout locally and travel across country and around the world like many other Philly groups. “I would go into record companies by myself and sent out plenty of tapes,” Simmons told this reporter in an exclusive interview for this book. Eventually, the talented group broke up and Simmons tried to go it alone as a single. He landed with WMOT Records, signing a one year contract with four one year options. Yet, he was not happy just being a singer, he wanted to learn the elaborate mystifying business of music. “I used to be there everyday, everyday” he said with a gleam in his eyes. Simmons saw his chance to be more than a singer;ot learn the business as a whole, innerthe workings, music worldthe behind glitter. how things were done, in the real Simmons who possessed a strong voice, and was now a single act, began to record for WMOT and after several years with the company he said, “I never got a dime for the sessions, I was eager to get my album together.” And after several single releases and album action Simmons could only say “I never got a statement or any type of accounting.” After WMOT cut a label deal with Fantasy Records, Simmons claims the lump sum of money that was given the record label never filtered 131
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES down to the artists. He said the deal was either a “lump sum that included money per artist or for the whole stable.” In either case, none of the bread fed any to the Black artists and their families, Simmons alleges.”I never seen a royalty statement”... To a slave, payday never comes! By this time, Simmons knew what it took to make a hit, he was aware of the promotional side of the project and had learned by just keeping his eyes and ears open. Therefore, when his second album came out he wanted to promote it throughout the country. He went to the record company for a promotion budget and prepared to hit the road. “The only money they gave me for the promotion tour was $600 or $700,” he claims. Of course, this could not support a promotional tour and promo aids like: t-shirts, stick cards, posters, pens etc. Consequently, most of the bread came out of Simmon’s pocket as he hit the trail up and down the east coast and as far west as California. As a recording artist with the now defunct label “I always had to work, I learned, but I was doing it” he says proudly. The industry said that Simmons sounded too much like Teddy Pendergrass, forgetting conveniently that Teddy sounded just like the powerful Marvin Junior of the Dells. In any case, Simmons learned to go to the stores to find out if his records were moving, checked for in-store play, disco action at the clubs, and checked out his rotation (how often the record was being played) at the radio stations. He also checked with distributors. Clearly, he understood, that he was selling records. So he used what he called the “diplomatic approach” in his attempts to get an accounting from executives at the record label. Let us stop here to make a point. Most people don’t realize that the recording session is charged to the artist. This includes the cost of studio rental, musicians, arrangers, background singers, music copyists, engineers etc. Therefore if a session cost anywhere from 132
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES one dollar to a half million, the artist must make back the recording costs first before royalties are due. In addition, if the record company received front money (advances) for the artist, this is also included in the artist’s cost. Yet both Simmons and other WMOT artists said they never received a statement of any kind. In addition, he says he never received any publishing money that was due. He had a percentage of the publishing rights of several of the tunes he recorded under his publishing company AI Hadi Music Co. (BMI). Simmons claims, “musicians, arrangers, producers got paid, but the artist didn’t get a dime.” Now all of these music makers are “for hire” and the musicians were unionized. Therefore, they got their money, but those artists under contract with the label didn’t I know what a statement looked like. WMOT left Fantasy records and tied into another Philly label, called TEC Records. This is when Frankee Smith hit it big with “Double Dutch Bus” and went platinum. “They were taking his money and cutting (recording) other acts,” Simmons revealed. Smith told insiders that he had received only about $20,000 of the monies due him. Not only had he recorded the hit tune, but he also wrote it. In short, hundreds of thousands of dollars disappeared and a true pay day never came for the artist, but his exploiters lived large off of his bread...you know what I’m sayin’? Sour grapes, you might think, or you may think it is mere poor business practices that keep us from getting paid. So let’s travel a little deeper. TEC Records was the toy of Mark Stewart, who is now in federal prison for attempting to launder $40,000,000 in drug money with the infamous high society dentist/drug runner Dr. Lavin. Oh yeah, his ass is in jail too. Did ya hear me? And also a couple officials from Bank Leumi Le-lsrael took falls! I said Mark Stewart, a member of 133
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES the so-called Jewish Mafia, is in jail from now on for attempting to launder millions. O.k. Now understand that laundering money is an attempt to hide illegal profits in foreign banks, dummy corporations and other illegal schemes. One of his dummy corporations was TEC Records. My point is that the owner of TEC Records, which controlled WMOT, had more money than he could hide, more money then he knew what to do with and still the slaves never got paid. Ya hear me? This is important if we are to understand the mentality of the Culture Bandits. At all costs, we, Black people, are not to profit from our labor, our creations, our culture...To a slave, payday never comes. If you are still resisting this information, let’s travel on. Another dummy corporation for his money laundering schemes was the Marti n Luther King Arena in Philly. The general manager was NBA Hall of Fame basketball great Hal Greer. Greer also coached the Continental Basketball Association team called The Philly Kings (co-owned by Stewart) in hopes of working his way into a chance to coach in the NBA. Let me say this, Greer knew nothing of the illegal activities of Stewart and, as anyone can tell you, is one of the most beautiful cats you could meet. In addition, All Pro linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles at the time, Jerry Robinson had hired Mark Stewart as his sports agent. Other Eagles soon signed up, until it became clear Stewart was not to be trusted. Further, Jerry quietly asked to be traded to get away from the bandit. Need more? Former Heavyweight champ “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon was managed by Stewart at one time, who at his signing, gave him an old Cadillac that never ran and not once traveled off of the lot of the King Arena. Ya see, Stewart had a stable of great fighters he was exploiting. Again, none knew he was a solid crook and Cul ture Bandit. They were brothers and sisters attempting to rise in their respective 134
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES professions and we are taught that a whiteman with money is cool, instead of the reverse. To sum up this example of the elusive pay day for a slave, it is clear that our athletes and in entertainers, restthe ofsame the employment situations for us here Amerikkka,like stillthe hold relationship as in the days of slavery. No matter what level you may be dealing on, our labor/culture/skills are stolen for a few pieces of silver. Even those of us doing well are being taken to Rip City. Whether in the NBA Hall of Fame, an NFL All Pro, top rated boxer or Platinum selling recording artist, to a slave, pay day never comes. In this case no amount of profit by the Culture Bandit could induce him to share with what he viewed as his“slaves.” The man had money falling out of his pockets, tucked in dummy corporations, hidden under his diseased mattress, and falling out his asshole, but not a dime a “Nigger” would get, was his motto put into practice. Now, he rots in jail, there from now on, but he’s probably proud that Black hands never made a buck from him. And that Black families never ate or were clothed from the money he stole through the drug trade and other illegal acts. But when you hear the media speak of the drug trade, this type of example is tucked away outta sight. Obviously, TEC Records was having a ball, but David Simmons says WMOT wasn’t doing bad either. When I asked where he thought the money was going, he said, “They were paying themselves big salaries . One of their mother’s owned a shoe store and the other worked in a factory. They were driving jaguars and big ass cars, that shit cost money. Plus weekly paychecks for their friends, but the artist didn’t get shit.” Simmons added “that’s why my shit is set up now, anybody’s song I do I’m going to get a piece. It’s a business. I used to believe I was only singing for the people and I enjoyed it. Now I know it is all of that, but it is a business too.” He says he warns all young people 135
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES going into the recording industry “You gotta learn the business. And cover your ass cause they are gonna try and dog you.” Since the turmoilof the 70’s and the negative experience with WMOT/ TEC Simmons is still in the business and is now completing a new album as an independent producer/writer/artist/arranger. He is still popular with Philly musicians, who love to work with him. “I’ve tried a couple other managers but they change up on you...I always try to deal with my own people. “ His voice is as powerful as ever and his writing crisp and mature, he will be a smash in the 90’s. He handles both material on relationships and social statements with the same funky soul and sincerity. Also, he now has an arrangementwith Philly businessman Jim Wade, former owner of Wade Cable Company. Wade told him “You can sing, maybe I can do something for you.” Wade has been financing his recording activities. “It’s been all on a gentlemen’s agreement, just a handshake brother to brother,” he informed me. This is a first for him. He is comfortable and in a situation where he can create. Naw, a slave never gets paid, but an independent Blackman can get paid, one with an ownership mentality. Remember I said, David Simmons will be a force in the 90’s. Finally, this extraordinary story is the norm not the exception. We must develop an ownership mentality and stop preparing our children to be exploited in the 21st century. The length they will go to exploit and control us is a warning signal that economic growth and maturity is needed. But not in the deadly capitalistic mode, the money for the individual will not solve our collective problems...seen? Block by block, we need to come together, we need our own institutional infrastructure to serve the needs of our people. We face genocide on all levels and those whose only concern is their personal enrichment are just as bad as the foreign oppressors from the white side of the tracks. Bleeding from the gums we are, twisting in the economical winds like a lynched brother, “strange fruit.” 136
TO A SLAVE, PAYDAY NEVER COMES Let me caution, there are many Blacks in the industry who possess that same mentality and they are of no use in this,the final comedown. As Europe moves toward Pan-Europe-ism under one currency, as Russia moves closer to its white supremacy partner in crime, Amerikkka, we are being destabilized by chemical warfare, physical elimination, educational terrorism, and economic atrocities. Naw, to a slave pay day never comes! But to a free man everyday is pay day. Malcolm X taught us that “If you are afraid to tell the truth, why you don’t even deserve freedom.” I thank all of those who made this chapter possible and to those who punked out, you deserve the suffering you refuse to struggle against. We know that a coward dies many deaths, but a warrior only once, and with dignity and honor!
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CULTURAL MAINTENANCE CULTURAL MAINTENANCE In this book we have: briefly journeyed through our history, pointing out the development of our music, established common bond all Afrikan music, clarified the enemy and hisamethods, dealt with with exploitation/isolation/destruction of our song, and the economics of the whole deal. In other words, I hope I have established with you a clear overview of our musical genius and what it means to our efforts to deliver a better day. I hope you also understand the clear control and the colonization of our music. Maybe this book will help to bolster your pride in our diverse but common musical accomplishments under the most perverted conditions. In addition, develop a reasonable sense of urgency concerning the genocidal nature of the global system of white supremacy and the role the Culture Bandits play in this attempt to destroy us forever. The reason I put the glossary of terms in the front of the book is so that you could recognize the importance of understanding these terms and concepts. Further, I was never clear on how the reader is to understand what is being said when the key is in the back of the book somewhere. And because this is my book, I put the glossary where I believe it would do the most good. Now I think we are ready to talk about Cultural Maintenance, not in the abstract but on a real tip. First, we must understand that cultural maintenance is built in a culture, a people. Naturally, the developers of a culture would maintain it by practicing it, shielding it from outsiders, and of course, passing it on to the children as a major socializing tool. Built in, I say, are the methods of culture maintenance. 138
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE However, in the case of the Afrikan and the type of slavery we suffered under, the type of colonialism developed to contain us, while we were raped of everything, plus the neo-colonialism that is inflicted on us now, we can’t maintain anything without a tremendous conscious effort. None of this is an excuse, it is a statement of fact. Importantly, we should be proud of all we were able to retain and develop under the conditions we have suffered from the enemy. Yet, the contact with them has let a lot of color out of our song, it has changed what we would have developed if left unmolested. We must understand clearly, that our whole existence was under the control of other people. Everything we produced has been exploited to enrich the slavemasters, and anything we have received from the musical culture, we perpetuate, has been by accident. Yeah, some have made individual wealth, but nothing has been institutionalized. Under control of the Culture Bandits we are, but we continue to evolve, but that is not enough. The pain and the suffering of our artists litter our-story like the bones of our ancestors under the sea. Rape it was/rape it is/rape itwill always be, unless we get into a posture for aggressive positive action. It is their communications apparatus that controls our culture, with those self perpetuating tools in place for others, they are not available to us at this time. Since we are parked on other folks’ land, the natural perpetuation of culture is not gonna happen unassisted. Their communications system not only defines, exposes, propagates, excludes and labels our musical cultural products, but it claims them as white creations. Or they will try to make an off shoot stand up as a new creation. For example, I used to laugh at the fuss they made over Charlie Pride, the Black Country and Western singer. Making him seem like an exception, instead of one of the few remaining Black practitioners of a music developed out of Black folk music. 139
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE Further, since we raised their babies, they grew up talking like us and socialized to a music otherwise alien to their culture, ya dig! Again Haskin and Butts offer from Psychology of Black Language: “Folk music is produced without formal musical training; it is an emotional creation born out of deep suffering and its spiritual compensation in intense religious feeling. Black folk music comprises of spirituals. It evolved on the plantation, and because the plantation was far from theaters, music halls, and other sources of entertainment, it was encouraged by whites. Through their Blacks, whites had entertainment, and Black folk music thereby seeped into the skins of southern aristocrats.” After seeping into these folks, to a degree, as always, they decided to eliminate the creators from the further exploitation of the music, while claiming to be the orginators...Culture Bandits. Bluegrass, like all other forms of music that didn’t spring from the dirty bowels of Europe, has been historically claimed by the thieves. Just like ragtime, big band music, jazz, torch singing and every other form of music, Afrikans are at the root, the givers of life, the mothers and fathers of the music. That is why some feel R&B, the Blues and Country & Western have the same feel. Yeah! Because they are brothers and sisters. In the case of Country and Western and some other forms, we moved on blazing new trails trying to get away from the bandits. But like any other property, just because we were not using it doesn’t mean some one else can move in and set up shop. In addition, we have already dealt with the fact that we are a progressive people, and we travel on in search of new ways and means to express life. The young must understand their musical heritage on a very basic level. Rap music more than any other demonstrates the commonality 140
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE of it all. All we need do is nudge the youth into the srcin of the music Rap is based on. In this, they can get the needed lessons on our culture. Meanwhile, they can school us on where they are going, their world view and the strategies and tactics they would use to get there. Since we all travel the same road, we could then school them and drop some vibes from our experiences. Then we are all dealing on a higher level. No matter what brand of Afrikan music we deal with, it should all make us feel good about ourselves and our culture. Whether it is a love song about the richness of our relationships, how to put our house in order, the beauty of the elders, the joy in the children’s eyes, setting the record straight and avoidance of infidelity (the true enemy of the family), we’ve got to come together. Or maybe through the exploration of our social situation or the empathy we share in our common struggles across the planet, we can come to know more about each other by listening to the music we all develop, rather than a lifetime of watching Dan Rather create news out of distortions. We can only love one another in the genuine sense if we know ourselves. And if we don’t truly understand the brutal exploitation our musical culture has suffered, there is no way we can understand why we are lost in this hell hole. We must control the creative environment in order for our artists to speak, we must control the economics of the music if our communit ies are to grow, and we must use coercion for cohesion to stop the abuses of the culture for a few pennies internally. Harrison Ridley Jr., the renowned musicologist from Philly, in an exclusive interview for this book, covered a lot of ground for us in the area of cultural maintenance for what he calls “Afrikan Amerikkkan Classical Music,” or what is known as Jazz. 141
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE The first area he cites is education. “We need more institutions to have serious courses on Jazz not just music appreciation. At the high school and college level you should get a degree or a certificate. Students who want to play the music must also be taught the history of music. the music a part he t overall and curriculum” Hethe went evenAnd further when should he saidbe“at the of elementary middle school levels, there should be classes on the music.” In addition he feels that “we should study the innovators of ht e music, scholars like Duke Ellington, Dizzy and Miles and dozens of others who contributed to the sound.” He feels otherwise, white critics will define everything for history. Artists like Dizzy Gillispie were important developers of the music which was labeled BeBop, and artists like Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Monk and Fletcher Henderson are just a few of the people who need to be studied.” He took time to qualify the music of today. “The music that is labeled Jazz has become commercial now, we don’t give enough credit to the people who developed the music. By the year 2,000, if we don’t get serious the music of the people, especially Afrikan Americans won’t survive and because of ignorance it can’t.” As I said earlier in this book, the Culture Bandits set themselves up as critics to control and invade our song, they then are in a position to define our musical culture even though they are outsiders and poor imitators. Ridley says “To me they have too much power of making or breaking an artist without a thorough understanding of Afrikan history. We (Black people) should give more respect to our art, we must take it very seriously.” “Too many of us have a western concept of the music and don’t understand what the music is about, I would say 70 % of what I know came from the musicians themselves.” He says that our musical greats live right in the community, but we don’t seek them out or hold them in esteem. Consequently, we don’t know where the music came from. 142
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE “Jazz is a form of all of it (our music) put together. Did you know many of our great Jazz pioneers played R&B? For example, the great drummer Philly Joe Jones played with Bullmoose Jackson.” He went on to say Coltrane and others played dances and cabarets. Plus, he played with great R&B pioneers like Earl Bostic and the great Big Mama Thorton as he grew into his Jazz starship for musical exploration. In terms of Rap, Ridley said that “Rap has become a noun, if we study our language, Rap means to communicate...It’s just another form of folk music that came about because the instruments became too expensive,” he added. “Josh White, Odetta and even Paul Robeson preserved our folk music.” And Rap is a form of urban contemporary folk music and should be seen in that light. It is not just a bunch of sounds and words thrown together in a meaningless fashion. Ridley went further to prove his point about the community aspects of our musical culture when he spoke about how the musicians used to go from town to town. Usually, they stayed with community folk or in community guest houses. The same structure was available for Black athletes from the old “Negro” league and others. Consequently, it was difficult for the artist or athlete to grow away from his people. White hotels were, in the main, hostile to Blacks or completely segregated. I asked Ridley an important question dealing with so-called Jazz purist attitudes toward Miles Davis’ transition to an electric sound. I wanted his opinion straight up. “It was always built on exploration. Miles is still Miles to me, I respect the man,” was how he put it. “The word fusion reminds me of the word BeBop. You see, there were men of different cultures on the slave ships. If you were from West Afrika you were into heavy rhythm and if you were from Angola, you might be using more string sounds” was how he put it. He went on to agree with me about the collective nature of the music and the need to drop compartmentalizing labels. He highlighted his 143
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE point by saying, “Coltrane might play Peps (a former famous Jazz club in Philly) on Friday night and play some Monk and Charlie Parker, while on Saturday, he may play a cabaret dealing with all danceable music, while on Sunday he may appear in concert at the Academy of Music andget jam arrangements.” Do you thesome point?tight charted big band He feels that Amerikkkan society has not accepted our music as an art form. I would agree in part. They have accepted it as an art form privately, while publicly they treat it as if it doesn’t exist. Knowing we can’t maintain what we don’t know exists. In addition, Ridley feels that we must produce more printed matter on our music, that the churches have a role to play in our musical perpetuation and independent schools have a major task in passing on the culture to their wide-eyed students. I agree, but let us be clear, most of the weight falls on us and what we want to retain. Right now our only involvement in our musical culture is on a consumer level. Very few of us explore the different sounds and textures of the music we create. In other words, we only hear what the white boy allows us to hear and we only interact with the music that he artificially wants you to believe is happening. In addition, all the money raised dances outta our pockets into theirs, thus, enriching the system of white supremacy as it moves to destroy us. Our musicians and singers grow up in pursuit of gold, riches, not understanding their role in the perpetuation of culture. Furtherstill, we are allowing the enemy to choose for us the best of us. No community forums or formal hunts are conducted to marry qualified entertainers with the Afrikan audiences. Thus, just as the so-called Black politicians are loyal to the enemy, the athletes and entertainers are loyal to the slaveholder. The more bread they make, the further they move from the community that delivered the talent genetically to them. Brain drain it is, on a cultural tip. 144
CULTURAL MAINTENANCE Public Enemy says “Don’t believe the Hype it’s a sequel as an equal can I get this through to you’!” Everything in this Babylon is a hype, the control of collective thought is an agent of subjugation. The challenges of the 90’s will be to set up apparatuses of communications and culture that shoot laser beams at theis Culture and war! their scheme of cultural genocide. This book the firstBandits shot in that
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SOUND AND IMAGES SOUND AND IMAGES Our sound, word, and power is manifested in our historical journey through the belly of the beast as agents of survival, pleasure, articulation of pain, musical messages of hope, documentation of faith, and wails for true liberation. We are musical people, because it is an exact science, a social mathematics with an organic nature. Our creations are a wonder of mankind, a practice that strolls through life with us as a friend, a partner, a pure pleasure. Even while the pain of the Blues conjures up situations that strike at the spirit, we know that the pain must be confronted above board if it is ever to be diminished in intensity. Just as we have a million ways of walking, talking, inventing, compromising with nature, we have as many sounds to let loose in the winds of time. The environment is ours, we claim it, use it, attempt to control it, and make peace with it. We are not a destructive people, we lay back in the folds of life timing everything to the beat of the drum. We salvage all that can be used and re-work it into something beautiful, kind and generous. Therefore, the historical winds blow to the beat of our sounds. We document everything here on the Mothership Earth. And the decay of the barbarians is ever closing in to slap us down, destroy our melody, screw up our harmony and slam at our attempts at unity. The Culture Bandits learned long ago that they could not silence the music, that it must be co-opted into their scheme of things, and it can not be allowed to develop into an agent of freedom. 146
SOUND AND IMAGES It must be fun they are having, but it is also critical totheir mechanism of oppression that the beat be for a different drummer. In this game, it is important that the victim never realizes that he or she is the victim. And as a people, as their victims, we must always be made to look at them through friendship eyes and in parental esteem. Segregated we were, isolated on islands, away from pale lice, only invaded for punitive measures. Set aside, out of view, seen only at work time and invisible to the social order. In this setting, we grew, culturally, socially, and economically. As an embryo here in the Belly of the Beast, we had our own school systems, religious community, land, businesses, social order and musical expressions. Never but a step away from their wrath, we also, many times, answered their violence with self-defense and punitive action. In all cases, as the war raged on, the economic districts of our community were attacked and destroyed. At the heart they always strike. Let me point out that the major leagues in baseball did not do us a favor when they de-segregated with Jackie Robinson. In fact, they destroyed more careers than they incorporated. Plus, they raided the opposition, the so-called Negro Leagues, and walked away with the cream of the crop of our talent pool. You see, we must read history “Thru Afrikan Eyes.” This would tell us that we did not gain but lost. Why, you might ask did they integrate? Ya see, they had played a number of “exhibitions” with the Black leagues and got their butts kicked. And just as their people were slipping across the tracks, in city after city, to hear our music and watch us perform, a new trend took form, they traveled to see the Black ball players. They had no choice but to invade the Black league and destroy it. Of course, then as now, we functioned on the myth that white was better. 147
SOUND AND IMAGES Not only did they grab our stars from under us, but also the Black fans, who then flocked to their stadiums paying through the teeth to see an inferior product. This is not a digression, it isofonour thecultural one. And we stillWhy, are celebrating the economic destruction product. the whole vibe was different when you went to see the brothers play. Check out Motown’s film “Bingo Long’s Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings”. Better yet, check out the Black College football league and compare it to what is going on in the dead stadiums of the Culture Bandits. Listen and watch how the music and what is going on in the field, and in the stands comes together in one experience. Hey man, a few years ago when Temple University played Florida A&M here in Philly, Temple put in the contract that Florida A&M’s fabulous band could not jam as the athletes played. Now that is a cultural victory, one that gave Temple the edge. Our culture comfort zone dictated we jam as we ran in a rhythm of excellence. They, of course, would get confused and the whole natural order of things would be out of wack. Just as their orchestrated music is dead with everything neatly put in the passages, never to be changed after centuries, in all areas of life they want the applause in the right spot, the cheerleaders dancing only during the break, and their ugly-ass mascot freaks only farting around when there is no action. While organically, we move with the environment, establish a beachhead with it, and ride it in a collective pleasure, you know what I’m saying. If not, think about it and check it out. I gotta say one more thing. At half time, which is their acceptable time to jam, Temple, yes Bill Cosby’s Temple, had the nerve to send the world famous Florida A&M’s Band on first. They, of course, preceded to get to slamming in a serious get down. Check this out, at 148
SOUND AND IMAGES one point all hundred and something of them did a split at the same time...awesome. After they rolled slapping high fives, low fives, and serious tens, Temple’s thick legged band stamped out on the field like a hundred Pete Roses, slow, and betting no one would dig their fraud. Then look-a-here, they did a tribute to Disney or some shit that came off like Mickey Mouse... Yeah boy, I was in stitches. Is that not like Eric Clapton wanting to follow Hendrix or weird Mick Jagger following James Brown...Culture Bandits! My point is that they watch us like a hawk to see what they can beg, borrow and steal. And many times they lose it and begin to believe their own hype, that they are the srcinators of this or that when they’re mere Culture Bandits, just another tribe of thieves. Up to this point we’ve just been dealing with the sounds, words and power we produce, that is called music. Now let us check out how they attach our sounds to their images and create a new thing. Hollywood drafted Louis Armstrong, Ellington, Lady Day, Bill Robinson and others to “color” their dead racist film products. They had used white actors in Black face but decided to carry the humiliation deeper. Most of this is an area I will cover in Culture Bandits Vol. II. Look, they wanted musicians and singers not actors,so that we could breathe some soul into their unimaginative sound tracks. It also helped with the demographics and aided in getting our people to the movies for an expensive insult. Let me get out of this by saying, the funniest movie I ever saw was called Ski Party. It was about a bunch of whites romping on some snow, and some silly soap opera nonsense. Well they knew it was a dog, so in the middle of this silly flick, James Brown yells at the top of his lungs “Wooooooow I feel good.” Then the camera cuts to J.B. 149
SOUND AND IMAGES doing the “mash-potato” at the lodge, performing for the snow creatures. And soon as his three minutes were up, he was gone! The use of our music to sell images in Hollywood was also part of the packaging of Black-exploitation films. example, Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack for Superfly sold thoseFor junk food images to a whole generation. As a matter of fact, the Culture Bandits knew that, and released the sound track before the movie. The same tactics were employed in the Shaft movie (pick up on that name “Shaft” for the Black private Dick). Isaac Hayes’ sound track was far superior to anything Hollywood ever created. A work of art it was, but again, it was reduced to a mere tool to sell fantasy images to a race in need of reality. I just wanted to cite a couple of examples, you can think of others and jot them down. However, when we needed a tight, soulful sound track it was not to be found. Sam Greenlee author and film-maker of the classic The Spook Who Sat By The Door told me “I was disappointed in Herbie Hancock’s sound track...he just re-worked some old tracks.” Wait a minute, I got a couple more, let’s reverse it. How about Porgy ‘n Bess and Carmen Jones, when Black actors lipped synch to the white voice of opera stars. Sound ‘n images, Images ‘n Sound! Think about the results of growing up on that stuff. It should clarify why we must know ourselves and how we roll, so that no one can make clowns of us again. We are a great people, constantly the butt of their racist jokes. Now watch how offended they are going to claim to be about my references to them...ask if I care! On the stage, Black music has been used for years, both in their productions and Black productions. But one that I can point to as a clear example of sound ‘n images used for the benefit of the struggle is Sarafina. 150
SOUND AND IMAGES It was/is more than a production, more than a collage of sound and drama, but slices of life’s reality in the cruelty of the South Afrikan experience. Written by Mbongeni Ngema, music, lyrics and all embedded in the action, with additional songs by Hugh Masakela, it stripped the oppressive regime naked before an astonished world. The artistry of Ngema’s work travels through the dialogue, music, choreography, staging, lyric work and musical arrangements (with Masakela). It played like living pages from the newspapers, a solid wall of tragedy, fogging children’s laughter, bleeding tears into the lives of the oppressed, breathing pictures of sorrow of unbowed heads. Its strength was in its cast and the unity of purpose that filled our cup of images from home. It was thunder and lightening, piercing pain, surrounded by the struggle for normalcy in the abnormal shower of white cruelty. The youthful message was shouted: “it will be alright!” The dialogue and music swam through the pleading voices, which documented people pain, and the collision course with our freedom song. It tied us up in darkened theaters where it was chasing the usual stage fantasies away and replacing it with flood lights of torment unleashed by the barrel of death’s gun. As a tool, it smashed illusion’s door down and the images and music did the job that newsreels, lectures, speaking engagements, and government bodies had failed at. It portrayed the misery in South Afrika in an Afrikan context with drama, song and dance that described everyday matters for easy digestion. A political tool it was, a political tool it was designed to be, a mission it soulfully executed with revolutionary zeal, disciplined professi onalism, with 360 degrees of exposer. Touching places that have never been touched, teaching lessons that needed to be taught, and moving people before unmoved. The music planted joy in tortured creative soil and watered it with tears of the 151
SOUND AND IMAGES suffering and fertilizer of hope. Planted in our bosom, the children’s voices carried their countrymen’s wail past the borders of shielded censorship. And in every song the message was clear “Apartheid is finished.” The youth would never accept inferiority, lack of opportunity, police brutality, and cultural rape. Their melody predicted the washing of the pain with the innocence of youth, the cleansing of the body with the removal of racist waste, and the commitment to see it through the forest of hatred. They sang out loud and clear “Freedom is Coming Tomorrow” and it will be a freedom that their images ‘n sound helped clear the way for! Images ‘n sound, is a deadly combo, a strike force for social change as well as a louder propaganda tool producing continued servitude. Together they speak than apart. In the hands of political folk they help the viewer and listener to arrive quicker to reality’s door. For example, the music videos in the hands of most recording companies and their artists are mere garbage packaged with unrelated action. Ingredients include, Macho profiling, some tits and ass (T &A), and a rainbow of colors for no particular reason. Edited scenes of dancing, and quick cutting to simulate action, means most play like a 60 second soft drink commercial. Yet, in the hands of an artist with something to say, they become torch lights of hope, an upliftment of relevant sounds ‘n images, a staging arena to develop consciousness. Public Enemy’s Fight the Power Video is a classic case of positive production. Boogie Down Productions’My Philosophy is another example. It effects the market, Cameo’s Skin I’m In is another example of the artists attempting to travel pass T &A Videos. Black film-maker Spike Lee understood culturally the need for sound with his images. In School Daze the soundtrack issued the musical 152
SOUND AND IMAGES transitions from one situation to another. Lee spent as much time creating the music stimulation as he did the image and dialogue portions of the total product.
Da Butt The dance tune tookHe offhad like a rocket, just song as Lee knew it would before it was written. only a title and idea when he turned them over for creation. In this instance, concept was as important as the musical substance. In addition, Lee had solo artists like Phyllis Hyman and also vocal group work by some of the female actresses. The music wasthe heartbeat, the tempo that was at the core of the script. Just like the television show In Living Color, the formula includes music as the transition force, using a deejay, dancers and some of the freshest Hip-Hop, it’s a cultural thing. Further, Lee used music as the pic he hung everything on in Do the Right Thing. Again, Public Enemy’s classic “Fight the Power” overwhelmed many in the audience. Whenever, the movie began to drag, the theme song would jump out of Radio Raheem’s Ghetto Blaster. As a matter of fact the opening scenes with the sister jamming to the theme song delivered a clear double attack using sound ‘n images. Movies like Uptight, Sweet Sweet Back used soundtracks that shook Hollywood’s traditional foundation. The industry was lost in its own shallow creativity when Black filmsrang its cash register. Hollywood took the transfusion, while continuing to turn out anti-Afrikan propaganda. Again, our musical genius was used to tighten the chains on our minds and behinds.
Crush Groove, the Hip-Hop movie expanded Raps appeal and gave the youth a image to latch hold of as it exposed artists, who later became stars like: L.L. Cool J, Heavy D and others. 153
SOUND AND IMAGES It is important to understand that the Culture Bandits used sound ‘n images to drag their people into the conspiracy to rip-off our music. It was Amerikkkan Bandstand that announced to white children that rock ‘n roll, the bastard child of R&B, was created for them to jump out of the dead sounds of Amerikkkan Hit Parade. Immediately, they defined the music as their creation, a new thing, a rebellion against the established musical forms they were bored with, and a new exciting culture revolved around this music that freed up their uptight asses. Clothes, sunglasses, cars, fast food, language etc. all came with the music as a base for it to exist on.
Consequently, they were able to beam, via television, the message to the teens that Elvis, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Big Hooper (whatever that was) and others were the new wave that delivered a colorful life to their pale existence. Understanding that there are contradictions in everything, the white traditionalist rumbled with the new communication order for “old values,” the old way against the “Nigger Music.” Preachers from the pulpit condemned the music and those pushing it and the establishment fought for the great white way. They were to lose, because everything paled in comparison to the new music. But it was not until the advertisers found out that the happy music, the rhythmatic music, sold their products, did the resistance lighten up. Meanwhile, a brother by the name of Otis Blackwell was still trying to civilize Elvis Presley’s sound, it was then we realized that their standard for excellence was real low, lower then a snake’s belly. As a matter of fact, whites would get tremendous applause for having the nerve to act Black in public. Now, add their media as a cheerleader and the co-optation of our music is in full effect. Therefore, after the traditionalist caved in and 154
SOUND AND IMAGES opened up established venues and multi-media access, the Culture Bandits took off and have been flying ever since. Let me clarify, when Ed Sullivan presented Elvis Presley between some tumblers, unfunny a juggler, and a imperialist flat singer, this was the first an major shot incomedian, the new war of the cultural against us. Years later, he would present the Beatles, opening the beachhead against Soul Music. Do you understand what I’m saying? Then the Philly whites, where the mafia is strong, started sending their no singing children out of their South Philly stronghold and into national attention. Frankie Avalon, Fabian and others rode in with what some believe were underworld support. Phil Spector ripped off a piece of the action because he could get the airplay for almost anything. Then the South Philly crew came up with a true coup when a fat boy working in a South Philly butcher shop was pushed to sing, cause “all niggers can sing y’all,” the results was a copy of Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ tune called The Twist. And they have been twisting ever since. Behind him the so-called “blue eyed soul brothers” (no such thing) swam ashore and they attacked the coastline of our song and are now entrenched in the guts of our music just as the whites are entrenched in South Afrika. The Righteous Brothers, Everly Brothers, Len Barry, Little Rascals, Blood Sweat and Tears, Billy Joel, Hall and Oats, Tom Jones, and legions of others all waddled ashore dragging one leg.Like The Night of the Living Dead, they just keep coming. The Philly crew, and Elvis, went to Hollywood and attempted to put the music with the images, and their product was bad on both levels. Elvis couldn’t sing and couldn’t act, Avalon was the same and on and 155
SOUND AND IMAGES on. Since whites are square anyway these wacky efforts made money, because a white artist doesn’t have to accomplish anything. On the fringe, the Beatniks begot the Hippies and both revolved around attempting to be the Blackest of the whites. And to this day, there is an element that will taste anything we do, those who won’t stand for the pale lifeless approach to music, to life. For instance, the Like a Prayer video by Madonna speaks to the tragic sickness that traps them in madness. Here is a white woman who wants to be Black so bad that her music reflects the conflict. Her name is Madonna but, she views herself as the srcinal Black Madonna. In her video presentation is Joe Morton, of Brother from Another Planet fame, who plays Jesus. Madonna, of course, is with the Black oppressed and against the white establishment that is bent on crucifying Jesus. In the end she frees him, kisses his feet, a passionate kiss in the mouth, and she winds up in a Black church jamming with the all Black congregation. Since she is still white, everything revolves around her. She drops to her knees and a sister sings and dances while placing her Black hand on her blond head to Baptize her, thus making her a member of the congregation and race...She’s as mad as a hatter! But then again, remember Neely Fuller who says we must understand that whites hate us because they are not us and if we don’t understand this, everything else about them willconfuse us. Therefore, we should understand the attack on Black women by the Rolling Stones and the hatred of Guns and Roses. Whites both love Madonna for her ability to express her love of the srcinal people (us), while hating her at the same time for exposing their true inner feelings. Many Blacks view her appreciation of our music and hue-manity as a compliment. Always fear the insane, they are unpredictable, unwholesome, and moreimportantly, she is merely a half naked... Culture Bandit! 156
SOUND AND IMAGES Those who are using sound ‘n images to put forth our best foot are true pioneers, those who attack us with these tools are deadly enemies and must be exposed. And then there is a third source, those who are mentally sick: they confuse the whole issue with their sheer madness. If we are going to be guardians of our culture, we must understand that everything that is produced is a cultural product. It is important to note that sound ‘n images are either liberating or enslaving. We should be aware that our people are victimized by the clever use of our sound with screwed up images. Our children are programmed to yearn for the over-priced junk of the exploiters. Expensive sneakers, clothes, fast food, cars, etc. are the carrots on the stick that lead our youth into an unnatural material appetite. But it is the music, the jams, the rapping, fast paced dancing and revolving foolishness is injected straight to the brain of the victims. The music grabs the attention of the viewer to prime them for the commercial messages. For example, as the break in the action of most major sporting events approach, live orbroadcasted music kicks you into the commercial break. Or the Isley Brothers sing Shout, Kool and the Gangs sings Celebrate to wake up the house and on and on. A weapon, a tactic, an evil procedure deadly in nature and confusing to young minds. Our sound ‘n their images is stuff nightmares are made of and backwardness is fostered in. While Sarafina, Do the Right Thing and In Living Color are examples of the positive use of our sound and our images.
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IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC There are key artists that I believe we should all know through the music theyof have created. Their importance inmay being justbe a sample of a brand Afrikan music they influencedlies that soon locked away forever, if we allow it to be. There are also some artists here I feel you should be introduced to because their music is hidden, awaiting further discovery. Any further journey into the music is a life long joy ride, a genealogical study for the roots of us all. It is all encased in the music, in our songs and dances. White anthropological studies are constantly done on our musical expressions and that research only serves as a tool for control. In the heart beat of our rhythm lies our liberation song. Bringing all the forms together and watching them blend in our consciousness will lead us onto the path of unity. We just have to bring all our people together globally to move on white supremacy. Regardless of ethnic, religious, economic, environmental srcins, our musical cultural products are distinctly Afrikan. And the enemy of our unity is the snake low Culture Bandits! STAPLE SINGERS They came forward during the difficult times of the 60’s & 70’s under criticism of the Gospel faithful. Their classic “Respect Yourself” and others were uplifting during turbulent times. REV. ISAAC DOUGLAS His rendition of “Peace, Be Still” moved many,and along with Nikki Giovanni’s poetry, hit a chord in the struggling soul of our people. Nikki later went mainstream and against the struggle, and also said it was “just the poetry of the times” on Phil Donahue’s show. She later made statements against the cultural boycott of South Afrika, came out for the “rightwing” Black artists to play Sun City. While, Isaac told me in an interview “If I knew Nikki was going to put that Black poetry to my singing I would have never had recorded for her.” The record was a classic, while the artists were tired and insincere. 158
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC Needless to say, this happens all the time, when they are swept up in the environment of struggle. THE WINANS
They areStaple reaching the people through updating their version of Gospel ala The Singers and Edwin Hawkins. COUNT BASIE A study in exciting, crisp, colorful big band arrangements. Musical Black power machine drove at you with the aggressiveness of a champion athlete. JOHN COLTRANE The beginning and the end of Jazz development. His development in
music is the same kind of political development Malcolm X went through. A certified genius, but I remember those whose criticism cut him deeply as he explored sound and power to infinity. My favorites were the Afrikan Brass Sessions. SUN RA Sun Ra is a traveling school, an apprenticeship program for the best, a journey through the universe in a Black Mothership - stopping here and there to demonstrate his new discoveries. LEE MORGAN Philly trumpet on young lips, a master too oon, s a death never digested, missed forever ...a journey never finished. HERBIE HANCOCK A “Chameleon,” boy wonder, a versatile champion of rhythm and melody. Too many faces, too many journeys uncharted and some unnecessary. Yet his recordings and writings, jamming with Miles made his life meaningful in a musical way. So much onwax, a study in transitions but to where and why? 159
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC QUlNCY JONES An arranger supreme, a third eye for untapped talent, a history of greatness in his arrangements. Lucrative movie scores got in the way of genius, t.v. arrangements slowed his roll, but “Back on the Block” delivered a message only he could. All Black music are branches of the same tree, a sturdy tree that will live forever...yeah! Check “Gula Matari,” a classic in sound. WES MONTGOMERY No formal lessons did he have, because he was music. It ran through his veins and ached to get out. Turning pro late in life, he blazed a new trail, a new sound, his chords were structured to relax our minds and slip us away from reality’s pain. Check “Down Here on the Ground.” KING SUNNY ADE Sunny’s “Aura” is yet another Afrika journey, a collage of rhythms his music is. While his mellow voice travels over the complexity of his simplicity, the wall of sound smashes joy into your existence. Study him, listen to them all...a treat for all. HUGH MASEKELA Hugh has investigated a lot of approaches to his art. Yet, his classic albums remain “I Am Not Afraid” and “Hedzola Sound.” Every cut
on these two are riddled with musical lessons, those with vocal tracks teach in a verbal way, hey! The musician from Azania (South Afrika) is a special talent and his vocals are pure Blues in the currents of the time. MIRIAM MAKEBA What can I say about MamaAfrika! Check her out, classic by classic, song by song, emotion by emotion. Her voice is that of a veteran of pain, whose job it is to keep us in touch with our feelings.
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IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC OLATUNJI As a teen in the early 60’s I listened to Olatunji’s “Drums of Passion” and other albums. Over the years, the master drummer and teacher has led the way in keeping our traditional music alive. All of his albums can teach you something, the rhythms find their way into your consciousness and create an appetite for our sound that will last forever. BOB MARLEY The bottom heavy sound of the king of Reggae destroys our enemies in a hail of poetic observations graphed from real life. It is the music of struggle, redemption and pride. It challenges abusive authority, our brainwashing as it awakens our powers of observation to the people pain caused by the enemy. One of the greatest writers of all
time, he is/was, was/is. EXUMA Exuma is a folk singer from Trinidad, whose music smacks of the taste of the Eastern so-called Caribbean. Hunt down his classic called “Attica”, a tasty treat for the soul. His raw energy voice has familiar power. MONGO SANTAMARIA This Afrikan from Cuba relies on the rhythms of Afrika, some will
call it Latin which is nothing but local interpretations cause outta da drum we come. Mongo uses big band arrangements, flutes and poly rhythms to challenge us. My favorite goes way back from his live album and is called” Nothing from Nothing.” And of course, there is the classic “Watermelon Man.” FATS DOMINO He is one of the great R&B pioneers. With little Richard, they served as examples for Culture Bandits like Jerry Lee Lewis, Bill Haley and the Comets, Buddy Holly and others. “Blueberry Hill,” “I’m Ready”
and “Blue Monday” lead an impressive list of classics by one man. 161
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC Without Fats, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard there would be no Rock ‘n Roll. LLOYD PRICE Price’s contributions are sometimes overlooked because it’s hard to tie down his influence on the scene. His tunes like “Lady Luck” and “Personality” can be best characterized as upbeat, joyful, and good natured compositions that traveled on the positive side of relationships. “Never Let Me Go,” was a slow tune that dripped with emotion that exposed another side of the brother. CHUCK BERRY Where would the white boys be without Chuck Berry? LITTLE RICHARD Little Richard is Rock “n Roll, that of course means, Rock ‘n Roll is really R&B, because he was the king of R&B when he went back to the church. “Tootie Fruitie,” the classic, was recorded by Pat Boone whose stiff, religious background and lack of talent destroyed the feel of the tune, rhythm, and fun. RAY CHARLES The most imitated voice in Amerikkka, whites still believe that encased in his voice, is vintage raw soul, true R&B and to master the
sound is to obtain the status of “blue eyed soul brother” (whatever that might be). Classic Baby Ray is his pre-country ‘n western stuff. His country ‘n western album sold so much, that he never got back home again or just dropped in for fleeting visits. Couple this with his concerts in South Afrika and he lost the respect of many Blacks. Vintage R&B, Ray dealt with “What I’d Say,” “The Night Time is the Right Time,” “I Gotta Woman,” and “Tell the Truth.” But, of course he also had “Georgia on My Mind” and the complete fantasy record “Amerikkka The Beautiful. “
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IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC JAMES BROWN Truly the greatest entertainer known to mankind. Of course, they tried to give Sammy Davis Jr. this title because of his white voice and backward political nature. Not that James was any better, he just stayed closer to the grassroots, musically. His music was progressive R&B using elements of Jazz, more then basic chord structure and solid R&B vamps with quality solos. His vocal work was exciting and unique: staging-wise no one could stage a show better with all parts of the whole moving and grooving to the hard sound. As a performer, his dancing and timing was flawless. Finally, as a total package no one could follow him on stage then, or now. A hit master with more gold records personally then most record companies have by their total roster of talent. Like Duke Ellington the study of Brown and his musical transitions and era could take a life time. OTIS REDDING Like Little Richard, Ray Charles and James Brown, he was another Georgia boy driven by music to surpass expectations. Same ingredients: driving R&B band, unique uptempo vocals that pushed the musicians, soulful balladeer, and great communicator of the spirit of a song, a master of the lyric, a raw R&B master. THE DELLS One of the greatest R&B vocal groups to ever grace the stage. A unit
that has been together since the 60’s whose sound is imitated but never duplicated. Classics like “Oh What a Night,” “Stay in my Corner,” “I Can Sing a Rainbow” and “Freedom Means.” The Dells work is legend. And lead singer Marvin Junior is one of the greatest vocalists this earth has seen. JERRY BUTLER Dubbed “the Iceman” by famous Philly disc jockey, Georgie Woods, this Chicago product could produce a Soul communication without breaking a sweat. “For Your Precious Love” is said by some to be the greatest R&B record ever made. He recorded it with the fabulous 163
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC Impressions almost four decades ago and it still stands as a bedrock of Urban R&B. “He Don’t Love You” and “I’ve Been Accused” are among his classics. OSCAR BROWN One of the greatest pure talents we have produced. Singer, songwriter, playwright, actor, producer, director and businessman. I contend that because of our lack of controls in communications, this genius, in the main, has been successfully kept from his people and the world stage. Track his records down and cop “Bid ‘em In,” “Brother Where are You,” “Tower of Time” and “The Snake” among others. LAST POETS There were several groups known as the Last Poets, but all created classic revolutionary poetry that had to be stopped by exclusion and isolation. Check Out “On the Subway, “Wake Up Niggas,” “This is Madness,” “E Pluribus Unum,’ “Whiteman’s Gotta God Complex” and “Blessed are Those Who Struggle” and many more that captured the essence of what came before what is now called Rap. JOHN LEE HOOKER The life-time works of John Lee Hooker needs to be checked out to tap into the srcin of most of the music of today. Taste as much as possible, his work is revealing as it is a pillar of our musical infrastructure. HOWLIN’ WOLF Another Blues master whose work is a tattletale of where R&B would travel. It connects with James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, Jimi Hendrix, and others who rode the feel of the music. B.B. KING He has preserved most of the vitality of the music and his Blues band is still one of the greatest. Again, he is another master of the artwhose study would take a life-time of understanding. “The Thrill is Gone” must be the top selling Blues tune of all times. 164
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC BESSIE SMITH The Empress of the Blues followed Rainey’s reign and wore thecrown well. Her music is captured on record. She must be heard if Billie Holiday, Aretha, Dinah Washington, Mavis Staples, Betty Carter and
others are to be understood. THE PLATTERS What is called Pop music today owes much to the Platters, whose slick sound laid tracks for the Miracles, Four Tops, Temptations. More importantly, it set a standard for whites to reach for in orchestrations they could understand. Along with the Mills Brothers, for years, they remained popular with white promoters who knew they could draw a crowd. “Twilight Time,” “Only You,” “Great Pretender” are just a few classic compositions that will last forever. THE DRIFTERS They can boast of great lead singers like Rudy Lewis and Ben E. King, their sound was crisp and clear. Their legacy includes heavy orchestrations. Consequently, whites could grasp their musical offerings comfortably. From their old Atlantic days they created hit after hit. “There Goes my Baby,” “Dance With Me,” “True Love,” “On Broadway” and “Under the Boardwalk.” TEMPTATIONS
As srcinally constituted, they probably were the greatest singing group of all time. Producing, solid five-part harmonies, with five lead singers, high stepping like young stallions, their music would still be busting charts if it were not tampered with. In attempts to find the white market, which really had already found them, they lost their base of support. All of their music must be reviewed to drive my point home. HANK BALLARD & MIDNIGHTERS They had a different kind of sound, a sound that was distinctly theirs. Hank Ballard had the type of voice you could identify as soon as he 165
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC opened his mouth. Chubby Checker covered “The Twist,” which Hank wrote, and he aped Ballard’s style. They came out of the King Records stable headed by Syd Nathan, who didn’t believe Blacks should get paid. “Work with Me Annie,” “Annie had a Baby” and the unforgettable Go,The Let’s Go, Let’s James Go.” At one time King Records could“Let’s boast of Midnighters, Brown and Little Willie John, among others. BO DIDLEY The rhythms of Bo Diddley not only help set the table for R&B but also inspired so-called Rock Musicians. Even today his challenging drive functions as a vehicle that powers lyrics to your attention. A valuable fore-runner of Jimi Hendrix, his stamp is all over R&B and almost all other forms of Afrikan Music. JIMI HENDRIX Just as John Coltrane played R&B, Hendrix never left the form, they just gave his exploration a new name. His time, logged with the Isley Brothers, Ike & Tina Turner and Little Richard, is not a shabby intro to greatness. He built upon his experiences and was truly married to his axe. In Europe, he, of course, rode above the mediocre and slid back into the Belly of the Beast a major force. Had the Brother taken care of himself and business better his star would still be ascending. Yet, his work is still unsurpassed and still misunderstood by whites.
Its Afrikan elements sparked most when the Band of Gypsies took flight. Then is was a collective wall of sound instead of the tug-a-war he had with inferior whites spanking instruments out of key and time. EARTH WIND AND FIRE This tight group of musicians created a sound of the times with percussion and melodies that married together naturally. These craftsmen rode the top, but lost their momentum after slipping into a metaphysical bag and whiteboy theatrics with flying pianos etc. Like Hendrix, they found out that our people don’t like theatrical distractions. Good music and maybe some high stepping will do. 166
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC Leave the rest to Alice Cooper, Guns ‘n Roses and other weak musical units. ODETTA
With Black pride, this sister hasisoffered the best folk music.dignity She is,and to us, what Mariam Makeba to Afrika. Andinshe is still around cheering for Tracy Chapman and others to carry on the art form with her. PUBLIC ENEMY Doing it by example, for the people, all the time! BOOGIE DOWN PRODUCTION (KRS-ONE) KRS-ONE and the Boogie Down Posse deliver meaning in every
line, there is a purpose to their art, their poetry, their videos. Personally, my favorite is “Poetry” with the late Scott La Rock. All their music is crafted to get you locked in on the lyric lines of life. Their lack of awe with the glitter of the business and sense of purpose does us all proud. More importantly, from the street culture, the inner-city maze, nothing gets more respect than an organization that has never-ending loyalty to its fallen warriors. Consequently, we never lose, just gain momentum and a stronger sense of purpose. And that is how they remain with Scott La Rock’s family, any of us would be proud to be from their posse as they struggle to clear the consciousness of our youth. LATIFAH She kicks it hard as the queen that she is. Her focus always clear, she deserves a listen by ole heads who want to understand the movement of our positive youth. It is important to note that she carries herself like Afrikan royalty and we know it rubs off on the young, yanking them away from Bart Simpson, Teenage Mutant Turtles and Nintendo fantasies. Hail! the queen!
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IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC ARETHA FRANKLIN Her sound was all emotion, it spilled out of her like hot soda out of a bottle that had been abused. Like Lady Day before her, a tear travels in every note, a pain punctuated the wrong doing and a scream was
selected thethe ecstasy. “Aint No Way,” and “I Never Loved Aby Man Way “R-E-S-P-E-C-T,” I Loved You,” “Natural Woman” many more serve as documentation that she is the queen. ESTHER PHILLIPS Little Esther’s real-life pain made her music too real and many stat ions shied away from the articulation of her journey. Jazz, Blues, Pop, R&B, were all the descriptions that melted off of her name. Her music was just that, Afrikan music, troubled sounds of a Black caught in hell. On the same level as Lady Day, Dinah Washington, Ella, Sassy
Sarah Vaughn and others, she never got her due but her talent was evident to her peers. BILLIE HOLIDAY Lady Day was to song what seasoning is to soul food, her juicy renditions of people pain locked her in the hearts of our historical journey. Too close to the pain she was, damaged by the storm, she still cried out the warnings we all need. Her life served as fuel for her art until life overcame art. Hounded into destruction, her life was unprotected from the rape of her childhood to exploitation of her
musical products. After recording “Strange Fruit,” the attack was relentless until there was no life left in her body...check her music out.
This is not a complete list of all who have contributed to our musical creations, you probably can think of your own favorites. My point is clear, we, all of us, all generations, need tobe exposed to the complete musical diet of our people. We need to taste it all to have at least a functioning understanding of the depths of our wide range of sound. If we are clear on what is ours, what we developed and possess, it 168
IN SEARCH OF THE MUSIC would be difficult for the Culture Bandits to lay claim to something they can not duplicate or understand. Music has been our oasis in the cultural desert that is Amerikkka. It buffers from complete wounds so unneeded we may struggleus another day. Yet,madness, if appliedsoothes wrong, our it can serve as escapism, a fantasy creator, a weapon against each other. More importantly, in the hands of the enemy our music can be used to destroy our pride, dignity, sensitivity, compassion, relationships, image, goals, needs, and our binding that holds us all together. It is the job of the Culture Bandits to bring about confusion in our culture, economically exploit us, and isolate and destroy those who would use our song for liberating purposes.
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