“Footprints on the Moon” is the new album by three-time Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Raheem DeVaughn and multifaceted wordsmith and actor Wes Felton. The duo performs under the moniker, “The CrossRhodes.”

The album addresses racial and social injustices, economic disparities, and issues that affect real people. From the title track to closing, it takes listeners on a ride of community and self-reflection. The first lyrics of the introduction is delivered by the late, great artist Gil Scott Heron.“America” begins with a spoken word piece recited by Raquel Ra Brown that includes lines like “People out here hungry barely staying afloat makes you think about survival. What is survival?”

Released September 22, this album aims to reach the inner critical thinker inside of those that listen to it.

“When you bring music with a message, and purpose, and a movement behind it, it’s not under your control anyway.   It’s under God’s control,” said Mr. Felton.        

“You may think in the moment that while you’re making it, people should be getting it, but maybe God doesn’t have the world and the planet in the place mentally, physically and spiritually where they’re really ready for that kind of art,” Mr. Felton told The Final Call.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have always had a great reputation for supporting and advocating for the cultural revolution and for artists to use their artistry and gifts to uplift and educate and not degrade.

“I’ve always had a huge amount of support from the Nation, from the Minister, from the brothers, so I really wanted to get this project on their radar and let them know, like, it’s some music out there for the conscious Black mind and for the conscious mind as a whole, and we need y’all’s support,” Mr. DeVaughn said.

“The biggest challenge has been letting people know, this album’s not only out, but it’s available in your phone. It’s already in your Smart Phone.   It’s already at a digital platform, waiting for you (Tidal, Spotify, Google Play, iTunes etc., under the name “The CrossRhodes”), and it’s something that you can work out to … you can have discussions around this album.   It’s something you can listen to with your kids,” Mr. DeVaughn added.

“Not Trying to Fight Tonight,” deals with the problems of alcoholism and how it contributes to domestic violence.    

This album is not for the escapist mentality, but it’s reality music, but not in the sense of reality T.V., continued Mr. Felton.   It challenges and encourages the listener to take time to critically weigh their situation and circumstance, he explained.

The project employed youth talent between 15-23 years old.   They were part of the entire process of making the video for “America,” said Mr. Felton.   The aim was to show the teens that everything comes through a process and they can achieve what they want if they take the time.

“It’s great to be able to have music that goes hand-in-hand with the movement that we’re creating and the movements that have been created long before me and Wes were thought about,” said Mr. DeVaughn.

Keeping within the theme of giving back and truly impacting the community, Mr. DeVaughn’s Love Life Foundation advocates for Black women and the Black community.   Its emphasis is on HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, mental illness, autism, cancer, education, music and the arts.   It helps pay for books and materials for college students in their first year.

The CrossRhodes were guest speakers on the Hip Hip Stand Up nationwide conference call on September 17, themed “The Role of Hip Hop in 2017 and Beyond.”   Artists, executives, bloggers and radio show hosts have held the weekly calls since the San Francisco Police execution-style killing of Black youth Mario Woods on Dec. 2, 2010.

The post ‘Reality music’ with a message appeared first on Final Call News.

Web Posted August 8, 2006

He is Peruvian and his grandfather is Black. His lyrics are filled with awareness of the struggles of oppressed people all over the world. His name is Immortal Technique and he was recently in Chicago to perform in the Lyrics for Liberty II benefit concert, organized on the campus of DePaul University by Students for Justice in Palestine group to raise money for a children’s organization. He sat down with Final Call Online Correspondent Ashahed Muhammad for a broad discussion of current events, the global struggle for peace and justice, and the role of hip hop in that struggle.

Ashahed Muhammad (AM) : What is the root of your consciousness, your political education because of your obvious grasp of political affairs and the geo-political landscape in your music?

Immortal Technique (IT): I started when I was about nine years old. I could always write, spit a little freestyle here and there. It was something I really didn’t take seriously until I was locked up in 1998 and right then and there I started writing more and actually constructing songs.

When I got out of prison, I was on parole and I couldn’t get no regular job. So my solution was to find any side hustle I could get. On the side, I would do these emcee battles and I was successful. I won most of them in New York City. I realized that I wrote a lot of the songs based on that concept of revolution, whether it was global or happening in Harlem, to combat gentrification, or where I was hanging out in Washington Heights where it was just a drug game.

It just dawned on me that a lot of these songs are about these specific things in my hood and other hoods. So I called the album Revolutionary, Volume One and started hustling the street. Sold maybe 7,000 albums and then I started working on the next album. I was connected with a man who later became my financial advisor and then I became associated with Viper Records. I definitely learned a lot about the music industry. I choose to stay independent so that I can have the ability to say what I want to say.

AM: What are some of your upcoming projects?

IT: Green Lantern, that’s a mix tape that’s coming out. After that, I’m going to have a record that relates to what we are talking about. A new album called The Middle Passagebecause, as an underground emcee, I can say anything, I can do anything. I don’t need to clear this sample. I don’t need to clear this artist. You want to make a solo, let’s make a solo. We can do whatever we want to do. I don’t have to pay nobody else to make the music.

Once I become involved in the commercial mainstream, it’s like a transition between freedom and being a slave. And what was the Middle Passage? It was a transition between freedom and slavery, and it was perpetrated by people who understood. When you understand and you steal a lot of people, it gives you a devilish nature. To try to convince people that they’re lesser human beings in order to justify your rule means that there’s something inherently devilish about the way that you want to set up the world.

IT: Before I say that, it’s something for me to get involved with things because, at the end of the day, I have to make the final decisions about everything–from what songs go on my album to how the cover art looks. Every aspect of it, I have to have the final word. It doesn’t go if I don’t say yes. Therefore, it’s in my control and it’s my desire. If I lend my support to a specific cause, it has to be something that I look over and that I have a complete understanding of and it’s not just some extracurricular bull—-.

I see a lot of that in Black politicians and Brown politicians, too. It’s sad because these are the people that you never see when it comes time for us to come together or when it’s something that has to do with police brutality in our neighborhood; when it has to do with gentrification. It seems like they’re there for the photo-op, but they’re not there for anything else.

AM: You have a message in your music, you have a fan base and you’re bilingual. That’s dangerous to those who fear the spreading of a conscious, revolutionary message. Do you feel that?

IT: I kind of want to see how they’re going to do that.

AM: With the press and things like that?

IT: Not just press, but the best way to destroy a movement is to become part of it and corrupt it. Infiltrate it. If you don’t like the guerillas, you just start bombing civilians and you claim that it’s them. You start killing people and you claim that it’s them. If the government really finds revolutionary hip hop to be a real issue, they’ll just bankroll somebody who has a similar message to mine, but is much more in line with their politics. They’ll look more rational than me, by their standards, by conforming to America.

AM: As opposed to taking a conscious message and stripping it or redirecting it like they did in the ’90s?

IT: They can never fight it.

AM: That’s what they did when there were conscious rappers.

IT: They’ll accept the capitalists. The ‘king of hip hop’ is always the poster child for capitalism, no matter who it is. I’ve always focused on the way history repeats itself. In every movement, we’ve always been infiltrated and we’ve always had people telling on each other.

There’s a book by Herbert Aptheker called, “American Negro Slave Revolutions,” and it talks about all the slave revolutions, not just the ones that we’re told about, but it talks about maybe 5,000 other incursions. It talks about several dozen larger ones and how they all were betrayed by your house n—–s. They’re all betrayed by one person who is afraid of stepping outside of the status quo. It’s always your own people. The sad thing is we can look at our people and it makes some of us hate some of our people, but the truth is they’re being talked to in their ear by the system that promises them something better.

So whether it’s this message or whether it’s this one, it don’t matter for them. You’re stopping their paper; you’ve got to go. I’m not stopping their paper yet. I still make money for the distributor. If I find a way to press my own records and distribute my own record and I start a distributing company and a publishing company, then you’ll have my head on a wall somewhere.

AM: What’s next for you?

IT: One of my old friends has been working on a documentary about the inner workings of the business and kind of like my rise from an ex-con as somebody who couldn’t really get a job to someone who had to accept the personal responsibility of doing this. I just want to make myself a better man. There are a lot of things I know I have to change in my life and, in all honesty, it’s a process. It’s slow sometimes. I’m not perfect.

AM: What is the perfect world for Immortal Technique?

IT: The perfect world for me is to find some sort of inner peace. I believe that a man that walks with God can walk anywhere. Just because I choose to question religion doesn’t mean that I’m spitting in God’s face; it’s the opposite. I’m tired of people spitting in God’s face. I’m tired of seeing these divisions over a different type of Christianity, over a different type of Islam.

When you look at Sunni and Shiite, you see that their division comes from who would control the culture of Islam. That isn’t about the sanctity of the religion, that’s about who has the power. Are they related to the Prophet? If they weren’t related to him, there’s no way you would become related to him; you couldn’t become his son all of a sudden if you were already born.

The Catholic Church did the same thing with its succession of popes. It is disturbing that one of [Cardinal Ratzinger’s] primary functions was to destroy liberation theology in Latin America–an ideology that promoted that Jesus Christ was more on the side of poor people than he would be on the side of rich people; that was Cardinal Ratzinger’s position before he became pope. He was busy destroying those documents, destroying the idea that Jesus had more to do with the people; that he walked among than individuals that stole his image; that painted him White; that decided to use him to justify everything else.

I would love for [Jesus] to come back because I would love for him to face what is happening and to really have some sort of perspective. In that same respect, I’m sure that Prophet Muhammad would be disgusted by what some people use his name to justify.

AM: Thank you.

Find Immortal Tehnique’s tour dates and download tracks @
http://viperrecords.com/index.php/artists/immortal-technique

The post A lyrical revolution – Interview with Immortal Technique appeared first on Final Call News.

‘Stuff M.G.T. Say’ spreading across the internet

You may have heard of the internet phenomenon sweeping YouTube dealing with such topics as ‘Stuff Girls Say,’ ‘Stuff Guys Say,’ ‘Stuff Black People Say’ etc.

None of those is as creative and witty as what some of the Nation of Islam’s sisters have put together in a short humorous clip titled: “Stuff M.G.T. Say.” It will make you smile, laugh, cheer and reflect.

Check it out @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkma2U8EVg

The post A witty display of culture and refinement appeared first on Final Call News.

(FinalCall.com) – Some months ago, Jasiri X was invited to perform at the University of Connecticut as the principal performer for what was billed as a “Political Awareness Rally.” According to Brother Jasiri, about a week before he was to perform there, he received an email from one of the organizers that he met at Occupy Wall Street, informing him that there was concern regarding the song “Occupy (We the 99).”

Brother Jasiri said the organizer said he would not be censored if he chose to perform the song, however, he might not receive the agreed upon performance fee. He then received an email directly from the comptroller of the Undergraduate Student Government telling him specifically that he could not perform the song.

At first, Brother Jasiri agreed only to perform the “non-political” songs because he did not want to cancel the performance which would disappoint his fans and waste the efforts of many of the campus organizers who worked so diligently to make the event a reality, however, when he arrived at the University of Connecticut for the event, he had a change of heart, and decided to perform all of the songs, even those considered “politically incorrect.”

“As I looked around the crowd I began to think of all the people around the world occupying for a better tomorrow, being arrested and brutalized by police, sleeping in the cold and rain, sacrificing comfort for freedom. I knew at that moment I had to perform the song, ‘Occupy (We the 99)’ as well as other ‘political’ songs like ‘Real Gangstas’ (about the Wall St. bankers), even if it meant I would not get paid,” wrote Brother Jasiri in a posting on his popular YouTube channel. “At some point in this movement all of us are going to have to make sacrifices if we truly want to see real change. The 1 percent control the 99 percent with promises of money, access, and comfort; we have to put our own souls above all three.”

Download Jasiri X’s song “Occupy (We the 99)” FREE @ http://jasirix.bandcamp.com/track/occupy-we-the-99

You can also check out the YouTube video for the song filmed live at Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Pittsburgh and directed by Paradise Gray @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxv9kIFJh5Y

The post Principle over profit! Jasiri X believes the movement is more important than money appeared first on Final Call News.

(FinalCall.com) – When news hit after the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis that singer M.I.A. used an obscene gesture during the half time show headlined by Madonna, there were probably a lot of questions and likely some quick condemnations and recriminations about the lewd, crude side of hip hop and problems with today’s young people.

Hold up, wait a minute, as the hip hop generation might say, there might just be more to this obscene gesture than meets the censored or uncensored eye.

No civilized person would embrace and condone obscenity in the name of freedom of expression, which the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan explained long ago is not license to simply dump filth on the public or heap mud on a people already languishing in it.

“While M.I.A. has offered no official comment on why she threw up a middle finger during Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show, a source close to the rapper told ABC News Radio that her actions were caused by ‘adrenaline and nerves,’ a result of getting ‘caught up in the moment,’ and ‘weren’t an attempt to make any kind of statement,’ ” ABC News reported Feb. 6, the day after the single finger salute.

“Regardless, M.I.A. flipping the bird and uttering an expletive to an audience of millions has become one of the most talked about moments from Super Bowl XLVI. The gesture came during a performance of Madonna’s new single, ‘Give Me All Your Luvin,’ on which M.I.A. raps. Viewers at home saw their TV screens blur for a second afterwards in a failed attempt to conceal the act.”

M.I.A, or Maya Arulpragasam, is a British-born singer who is also a member of the Sri Lankan minority Tamil group, which has struggled for independence and suffered inside the country. She has readily identified with the struggle of her people and gained fame with her 2007 hit “Paper Planes.” It was nominated for a Grammy award and an Academy Award as part of the Slumdog Millionaire movie soundtrack. Her voice was also used on hip hop rappers T.I. and Jay-Z’s single “Swagga Like Us” in 2008, which were lyrics sampled from Paper Planes.

Her fame and outspokenness about the yet unresolved plight of the Tamil people and use of gunshots and strong socially and politically charged images and lyrics made her controversial and at one point made it difficult to enter the United States. Her father was among those who tried to bring peace as Tamils have sought autonomy.

In an interview with Tavis Smiley, M.I.A. referred to herself as a refugee in describing living different places, not being judgmental, wanting to hear people speak for themselves and use her brain to decide what is true. “I wanted to become a musician and help some, like, some sort of change, or stand up for what I believe in or use music for what it’s supposed to be for, you know? So it wasn’t really about getting fame and success and becoming a celebrity and selling records. It was more about bringing together an opinion or a point of view of the other that doesn’t usually get heard or mentioned,” she told interviewer Smiley in a 2009 segment captured on YouTube.

“Music was also used for social change. It’s not a bad word and I think we just shy away from it, because, yeah, the pressure of being successful, and the pressure of being like sexy and standing up for nothing is just so big. You know what I mean? I think you have to be pretty tough to like fight that,” she said.

The lyrics of Paper Planes were interpreted by some as an ode to terrorism, which she denied, saying the song could be about gun corporations selling guns and making billions of dollars or immigrants being “like the scary other that is going to take everyone’s jobs.”

It has also been called “a denouement following stereotypical perceptions of immigrants, violence and M.I.A.’s own visa troubles while recording her second album.”

She has talked about racism and Islamophobia in England and the United States and once filmed a police arrest of a Black man in New York, used it at a concert performance, questioned the use of force, and said police tried to shut down her show as a result. M.I.A. charged genocide against the government of Sri Lanka. “Tamils make up 20 percent of the country and they’re being wiped out,” she told one interviewer.

Paper Planes was a major multi-million unit selling song, hitting the Top 20 charts in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Last November, the song hit 3.6 million copies sold in the U.S. It’s obvious her message was getting to a lot of people.

Predictably the condemnations came in after the Super Bowl show, with NBC and the NFL apologizing and the Parents Television Council expressing outrage. Most viewers missed and would not have known about the gesture if not for the media hype around it and knowledge coverage would bring coveted readers and viewers. The single finger got more attention than the deaths of thousands of Tamils.

“NBC fumbled and the NFL lied because a performer known as M.I.A. felt it necessary to flip off millions of families. It is unfortunate that a spectacular sporting event was overshadowed once again by broadcasting the selfish acts of a desperate performer,” said Parents Television Council President Tim Winter, in a statement. He added that the NFL promised the council it’s show would be “appropriate.”

The council blasted NBC, saying the network should have been able to catch the act. “They chose a lineup full of performers who have based their careers on shock, profanity and titillation. Instead of preventing indecent material, they enabled it,” he declared.

While not defending the finger, it is amazing that a single gesture is obscene and a M.I.A. video called “Born Free,” which depicts the targeting of red-haired males by masked, SWAT teams who drive them to minefields, where they are blown up, and shot to death is virtually banned. But videos of semi-nude women, backsides exposed, abound and lyrics that tout murder and insanity are highly regarded and defended. M.I.A.’s lyrics about having more records than the KGB are off-limits but guns, drugs and violence are fine.

Once again, music industry and clear social fear of anything with a message rises but the pursuit of control through ignorance, appeals to low desires and sick displays of materialism are all good.

Those who want to focus on a gesture instead the abject reality under which non-White people live in this country and around the world, and the poor suffer regardless of race globally, don’t know the meaning of the word “obscenity.” It certainly means more than a finger in a world where millions suffer, hundreds of thousands die and no one says a word or cares.

The post Obscenity, entertainment and the Super Bowl appeared first on Final Call News.

(FinalCall.com) – Founded by Afrika Bambaataa in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx, Universal Zulu Nation has dedicated itself to ending street violence among the youth through the empowering voice and expression of Hip Hop. Presently, Universal Zulu Nation has chapters all over the world developing cross-generational and cross-cultural programs under the banner of Peace, Unity, Love and Having Fun.

While a major national celebration of the 38th Anniversary of Universal Zulu Nation’s founding took place in New York, smaller local celebrations took place on the same day throughout the rest of the world, including one at 6th Street Studios in Miami’s Little Havana district. The all-day event included music, children activities, artist and dance performances and community discussions.

The FOI of Muhammad Mosque No. 29 was a feature at the festive gathering. Student 7th Regional Captain Al Muhammad led the men into a drill exhibition while discussing the importance of teaching discipline to the youth.

Student Assistant Minister for the 7th Regional Student Minister Rasul Muhammad, Bro. Garthion Muhammad, spoke about the current state of Hip Hop promoting “a culture of death” that we must come out of. After freestyling conscious lyrics, he noted how it was artists such as Public Enemy, Rakim and KRS-One while growing up that inspired him to become more studious, aware of the realities of the world and accept responsibility for himself, his family and his community.

Bro. Tony Muhammad, spoke about the importance of returning to the principles of activism through which Hip Hop were birthed. He warned the older generations who were present about the danger of witnessing the denigration of Hip Hop through corporations but doing very little to organize programs for them to exercise their creativity productively. He added, “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan teaches us that success in any time period means the mastery of difficulty … when we don’t have to struggle we become comfortable. We aren’t going out to Hip Hop concerts like how we used to. Our focus must be on doing for ourselves and improving the quality of life of our youth!”

South Florida Zulu Nation Chapter Leader Darwing “Image” Flores commented to the Final Call, “It was an honor having The Nation of Islam take part at the 38th Anniversary of the Universal Zulu Nation and celebrating Hip Hop History month here at 6th Street Studios in Little Havana … The purpose of this event was to bring man, woman, and child together spreading peace, unity, love and having fun in our community.” He added, “How can we survive? By coming together like one strong fist … making an impact with words, sound, power and the oneness of God.”

The post FOI Present at 38th Anniversary of Zulu Nation Celebration in Miami’s Little Havana appeared first on Final Call News.

PITTSBURGH (FinalCall.com) – One Hood Media, established by Jasiri X and Paradise “The Arkitech” Gray, in conjunction with August Wilson Center for African American Culture and a generous donation provided by the Heinz Endowments, began New Media Academy.

New Media Academy is a tool to help Black young men critically analyze media messages, broaden their experience of media, and develop the creative skills needed in creating their own media. All too often the young African American male is either underrepresented or misrepresented in media. The mission is to improve self image, dispel stereotypes, and provide a positive forum of self expression.

The program is offered to young Black men, ages 14-19, and will include, the art of blogging, video production, and social media. Guest speakers will come and talk with the youth about their success in this new media paradigm, including, CEO of Allhiphop.com, Chuck Creekmur, legendary Hip-Hop journalist and radio host, Davey D, award winning director and President of We Shoot First Films, Arthur “Silky Slim” Reed and social media guru, journalist, and recipient of several Black Blog Awards, Jesse Muhammad. Applications for entry are now being accepted. Located at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture the New Media Academy will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays and conclude on December 8.

Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X, which has garnered over one million internet views and thousands of subscribers. One of his most recent and most popular videos to date, “What if the Tea Party was Black?”, has resulted in a variety of opportunities showcasing the singular ability of Jasiri X to adequately surmise a situation within a the confines of a verse. Jasiri X continues to travel the world opening minds via multiple speaking engagements and performances.

Paradise “The Arkitech” Gray, founding member of legendary rap group X-Clan and the Blackwatch Movement, is the man behind the camera responsible for framing the images that make the Hip-Hop series so unique. Paradise’s work as a pioneer, photographer, writer and archivist in the Hip-Hop community, is rivaled only by his work as a dedicated activist in the community.

(For more information regarding this topic, or to schedule an interview with Jasiri X or Paradise Gray please call 412-404-2347 or email jasirix@gmail.com.)

The post Jasiri X, One Hood Media presents New Media Academy for Black youth appeared first on Final Call News.

Known for his rapid fire, mind-bending lyrics, Wise Intelligent, the most visible member of The Poor Righteous Teachers, the pioneering pro-Black conscious rap group from Trenton, NJ, has continued to work as a mentor, social and political commentator, artist and now author. In honor of June being Black Music Month, he shared some of his thoughts with The Final Call’s Ashahed M. Muhammad.

FinalCall.com (FC:) Many people refer to the “Golden Age” of Hip Hop as an era when there were conscious songs permeating the airwaves. It is generally believed that the era is long gone and it’ll never be like that again. Perhaps we will never get back to a time where socially and politically conscious artists dominate the airwaves. In a time when Hip Hop artists still impact and shape minds, what are your thoughts?

Wise Intelligent (WI:) I think it’s just a gross misconception of Hip Hop from what Hip Hop is in a broader sense. I think that we’re allowing mainstream mediums through which corporations propagate a particular brand of Hip Hop. We’re allowing that medium to interpret for us what Hip Hop is or isn’t. I think that’s where we fall short of understanding.

It’s a plethora of MCs young and old who are still on the front lines of social and political relevant conscious music; it’s just that mainstream media is not allowing a particular brand of Hip Hop because they only want to propagate one ideal. And we have this ideal that those ten MC’s that we hear in every rotation in mainstream mediums are what Hip Hop is. So if it’s not in the mainstream it’s apparently not in the bloodstream for a lot of people because they are allowing mainstream media to dictate what Hip Hop is or isn’t for them. But we’re still right here. MC’s are still touring, still putting out records and a lot of people don’t want to get back to that era especially corporate people and for social, economic and political reasons also. Basically, more so political reasons. So I say that it’s a myth that we are not going to get back to that era. For me it’s not a matter of getting back to that era. It’s a matter of becoming aware of the fact that that era hasn’t left us. It’s still here.

FC: When you were making songs in 1990 on the album “Holy Intellect” and then in 1991 with “Pure Poverty” as a follow-up, there was an ideological underpinning acting as a catalyst for your lyrical content. What was it primarily that caused you to inject that kind of information into your songs? Books, speeches, the general atmosphere in the community, what was it?

WI: It was a conglomerate of a lot of things that you listed. The circumstances, you know living in a state of poverty, living in an environment where poverty is concentrated into small areas and the environment is over populated with poor people. Growing up in an environment where the High School had a 71 percent and still has a 71 percent student poverty rate. These things exacerbate problems and small problems become major problems in such an environment. Then you have the influx of drugs, guns, things of that nature and it just gets blown out of proportion. So that was one influence in my view but really what oriented me and basically gave me the ability to interpret myself in that struggle differently for a lot of us at the time was the Supreme Wisdom.

You know the 120 Lessons as we had come to call the Supreme Wisdom–it actually gave us focus. It caused me to study and made me think more critically. It made me not take things on face value. It made me study not just myself but my surroundings, my environment. I learned that to understand yourself is to understand others. You can’t understand anyone else if you don’t understand yourself. You have to have an understanding of yourself first and foremost. It’s just like before you can love someone else, you have to be able to love yourself. And love for us is an elevation of understanding, so understanding of others is almost impossible if you don’t have an understanding of who and what you are. The Supreme Wisdom kind of put me on that path of study of research, of not taking things on face value, of rethinking, relearning, and unlearning. That basically was the underpinning of our approach to Hip Hop.

FC: From what you are saying, the motivation wasn’t solely to get money. So what was the main motivation?

WI: It was a lot of things but for the most part it was a love for music, Black music in general. Whether it was a soul singer, a blues musician or a jazz musician, first and foremost is the love for the music; love of Black music.

FC: What are some of the primary influences of Black music you would say that really guided you?

WI: There’s many Blues artists, Howlin’ Wolf, Josh Swank, we can go back to Muddy Waters. Of course there’s Billy Holiday and just moving right up through the years, Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield.

FC: More soulful sounds definitely … I think back on that … there’s definitely a soulful sound in your expression.

WI: Also it was a lot of reggae artists like eek A Mouse, Yellowman, just all over the Black music spectrum as far and as wide as it stretches I was into everything. As far as money, was money a motivation? Yes. Money is always a motivation. We didn’t feel like our subject matter would block us and stop us from getting money and it didn’t. It didn’t stop Public Enemy from making money and selling millions of records. That was the difference.

Today it’s like people would be like ‘that’s career suicide for you to say something like that in a record.’ Whereas when we were coming up, it wasn’t career suicide because the number one rap in the medium was socially and politically conscious music. So we had KRS-One, Arrested Development put their record out and their record sold four million records. Public Enemy sold millions of records. It wasn’t that conscious rap wasn’t selling. It’s just they wanted to stop propagating that particular brand of Hip Hop for reasons specified elsewhere like in my upcoming book.

FC: Tell us a little bit about the book.

WI: It’s called ‘Three-fifths an MC: The Manufacturing of a Dumbed Down Rapper.” And the book goes in on how Hip Hop got this way. How did we get here and why are we here. I don’t want to give away the whole book but the bare bones of the book is basically dealing with how the mainstream MC is not a self-made MC. The environment that he’s embedded in is contributing to what he delivers.

FC: What motivated you to write a book like that? What do you want the person who picks it up and reads it to come away with?

WI: I want them to get an understanding of what Hip Hop is and what Hip Hop isn’t. You know from a perspective from all of the debate and discussion about Hip Hop being responsible for prison culture and gang culture. Every time they talk about Hip Hop and the mainstream they’re connecting Hip Hop to random acts of violence, negativity and things of that nature. What I want people to get from a book is that Hip Hop didn’t cause these problems. It was gang banging and drug dealing before 1976. These things were occurring long before Hip Hop. So we really need to get to the root causes of these things.

I think that Hip Hop is a scapegoat, it’s a soft target to deflect blame off of the real cause of the social ills that we face on a daily basis. So the book goes into those social ills and defines them. Like the prison culture, I go into that and I show how that came to be. I show how the gang banging and drug dealing came to be. I show how the Black community ended up in this dilapidated state in so many cities in the United States so Hip Hop didn’t do this. And that’s what I’m saying we need to stop blaming ourselves for what others have done and have done to us.

(Follow Wise Intelligent on Twitter @WiseIntelligent. His most recent release: “Wise Intelligent Iz The UnConKable Djezuz Djonez” is available through iTunes. For more information regarding appearances and other outreach, go to http://www.wiseintelligent.com.)

The post Wise Intelligent discusses ‘The Manufacturing of a Dumbed Down Rapper’ appeared first on Final Call News.

Snoop Dogg says: ‘An argument or dispute is a conversation away from peace.’

(FinalCall.com) – Since emerging on the scene in 1993, Snoop Dogg began by winning the 1994 Best Rapper MTV Video Music Award along with the 1994 Source Awards New Artist of the Year (Solo), Lyricist of the Year and Best Rap Video for “Doggy Dogg World”.

Since then he has amassed an impressive discography and musical career spanning two decades. Along with acting roles in close to sixty movies, Snoop Dogg is one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, and a certified mega-star. He sat down with The Final Call’s Ashahed M. Muhammad during a trip to Chicago to launch the Snoop Youth Football League, which has been in operation successfully on the West Coast for over six years.  

Ashahed M. Muhammad (The Final Call FC:) What’s something that the general public would be surprised to find out about Snoop Dogg?

Snoop Dogg: (SD:) It’s kind of hard to say because I’m so different in many different aspects, but I think probably the way I love. A lot of people don’t know that I love to love. To have a different kind of mask on me where people feel like I’m not a loving individual. I just love to love, I love everything and everybody, I’m about peace that’s my spirit.

FC: Now, sometimes people have a certain image in their minds and they have a different perception of you. People who may not know you, have an idea of who they think you are and who you are being marketed as. As somebody who is totally exposed to the media, you go out of the country, everybody goes crazy, they know words to your songs and they don’t even speak English, they have seen your movies everywhere, you are a mega star–how do you stay grounded and keep yourself sane? How do you stay rooted?

SD: I never forget where I came from. I remember eating a bowl of Wheaties and sharing hot dogs with my brothers, taking baths with my cousin. Not really having much, wearing hand-me-down clothes from my cousin. Waiting to get his clothes that he couldn’t fit no more. You know those things inspired me to do what I’m doing now. And once I made it, I always had that reflection in my mind to go back.

And I always wanted to help those who couldn’t help themselves because I was in a position to help. I would always go back and give jobs to my homies that had just got out of jail, paroled couldn’t get a job because they had to put (makes a motion as if to write on a job application) “Were you ever arrested?”… “yes”… “Are you on parole?”… “yes” … You ain’t getting a job! So I would give them jobs, I would help them out.

FC: What do you say to people who are critical of you and see you as one with a negative mindset, doing ads for liquor, doing the movies with these women, and make up their minds based on that? Then, for them to hear you saying that you are a cool brother who loves and cares. What do you have to say to those people?

SD: Well I’m a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it’s separate from my personal. It’s like whatever I do business wise, it’s done in the business fashion whether it’s promoting , marketing, whatever I’m doing. But personally you can’t judge that and that’s what speaks volumes for me in my personal works, in my personal attributes as far as what I bring away from the business and that’s like what I’m doing today. Coming into the community, touching hands, giving hope and really trying to put something in the community that they really need. Not being from this community shows how my concern is about people and not just about me and where I come from.

FC: You are considered a legend in hip-hop. You’ve been around a long time. A lot of new rappers look up to you, may have grown up listening to you, yet we still see the brothers in the industry falling for some of the same tricks such as signing contracts and not understanding the details and losing their money or getting caught up with the law. Do you have a chance to influence them in any way? And when you run into them and talk to them what do you say?

SD: I’m Uncle Snoop. That’s the name I’ve been given in the industry because I’m like an Uncle to all of the rappers whether they are older than me or younger than me and I love giving advice. If I feel like they need some information, I give it to them, I sit them down and talk to them. I try to get all of the rappers on one page of peace, love and just having soul and just being about representing this music. This music is not made for us to fight each (other), to kill each other. It’s made for us to make people have a good time, it’s a universal language of all people.

So what I try to push and promote is peace through the whole music industry. So if I see a particular rapper, and I know he has a problem with this particular rapper and I love both of them, I’m going to pull this rapper to the side and bring him in my room and talk to him and give him some understanding on why he need to stop acting stupid. And I am going to get with the other rapper and tell him the same thing. I have been in beefs and wars with rappers and conflicts with people but to be the bigger man is to end it and to put the peace hand out there to show … “hey man I don’t really have no problem with you … I don’t even want to go there with you brother.

What can we do to work this out?” I try to get the rappers to understand that. It is serious when you’re having an attitude with this rapper because his friends might not take it as a joke, they might see you and take it for real and then we have another tragedy like Biggie and Tupac and we don’t need that in hip-hop right now.

FC: And what about in your interaction with some of the brothers when you go back to the West coast or across the country as you travel and you talk to those who may still be involved in street organizations?

SD: I just try to teach them about unity as far as bringing different organizations together that would have never been together because I’m cool with everybody. So if I got somebody from this organization that doesn’t like that organization I can find a way to pull them together and then both their organizations will become one and that’s how we work on a common ground. It’s just a matter of communication.

An argument or dispute is a conversation away from peace. It’s just a matter of who is going to be man enough to say ‘I was wrong’ or ‘I’m willing to hear what you’re saying’ instead of jumping to conclusions and wanting to fight and hurt somebody. That’s not the mentality that I push and promote. That’s why I’m so successful because peace is my main thing, it’s not about money. It’s about making sure everybody is having a good time and loving and living and enjoying life.

FC: Years from now when the testament is written about Snoop Dogg and what kind of man he was, what do you want people to say about you?

SD: I don’t even care what they say about me. I’m here to impress only one man. He don’t live here with us. He’s on top. So that’s all I’m concerned about. My work is not for the public or for man to view or make judgment on me, I work for one person … period. That’s it. That’s all.

FC: Anything else you want to share or add?

SD: You’re sharp! You were back here breaking it down. This interview need to be on NBC, CBS you hear me?! For real though this is the uncut. I want to say this too, when I do these kind of interviews … these are the interviews that mean me the most because you are coming after my heart. You are not coming after exposure and trying to make a name for yourself off of doing an interview with Snoop Dogg. You are trying to really put out there what I’m doing. I appreciate you all for giving me your time and putting me on your camera and letting the whole world know what it is. Real talk.

FC: Real talk.

For more info regarding the Snoop Youth Football League visit http://www.snoopyfl.net

The post Interview with Hip Hop Artist Snoop Dogg appeared first on Final Call News.

You may have seen him on the David Letterman Show, or on P-Diddy’s Bad Boys of Comedy on HBO. Perhaps you have seen him imitating Denzel Washington or former President Bill Clinton at any number of comedy clubs across the U.S., or you may have seen him at Saviours’ Day, but do you really know what drives comedian and impressionist Reggie Reg? He sat down for a brief interview with The Final Call’s Ashahed M. Muhammad.

Final Call (FC:) Many of us have seen you perform. We have had the opportunity to see you in many venues, many different locations. As it relates to comedy and what you do, why is that important?

Reggie Reg (RR:) Well you know it’s important because for everybody, Black, Brown, Yellow and White, comedy is a medicine. Everybody needs to laugh. Everything that happens with human beings; sadness or when you cry, when you laugh or have some kind of happiness or enjoyment it’s only temporary. Now, I am talking about the members of the Nation of Islam and in general now with people who have jobs or are working hard 365 days out of the year and eight hours out of each day, there is a lot of stress out here. And looking at the country, the economy, for a guy like me there is a demand to make people laugh and bring some kind of temporary enjoyment to them.

FC: How did you get started?

RR: I got started officially at a comedy environment that used to be called The Cotton Club here in Chicago. Jimmie Spinks, from the movie ‘Car Wash’–the real big brother–along with Larry Byrd put together an “open mic” there and Bernie Mac was the host. That was the first time I had gone to an official comedy club to do what you call “open mic.” It’s like only about 3-5 minutes worth of material. I didn’t know what I was doing, I had to learn.

FC: How old were you?

RR: About 18 or 19

FC: Prior to that, when you were young did you know that you had that talent? Were you the guy who could make everybody laugh at school?

RR: Well, I don’t know if I was the guy who could make everybody laugh, but I was the person that when the teacher would leave out of the room I would get up and I would imitate the teacher. I wasn’t interested in school. I didn’t become interested in school until I heard the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and was invited to come out to the meetings. My mother was instrumental in that because I was kind of going another way.

I would get up and imitate my teachers. I really didn’t know what the gift was until I just started doing it.

FC: Some of your comedic influences?

RR: Watching Saturday Night Live, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Eddie Murphy and a lot of influence from Richard Pryor, Red Foxx, Bill Cosby the list goes on. There is a brother that is no longer with us that was a mighty soldier in the F.O.I. and that was Brother Amir Muhammad, that was a great influence and encouragement. Amir was the one who told me, ‘you should be at the comedy club’ and that’s where my journey started.

FC: Now as a member of the Nation of Islam, a member of the F.O.I., typically, that’s not something that somebody reading this interview would think that a member of the Nation of Islam would have as a profession; we are seen as very serious people.

RR: You’re right. I used to do shows for the community and I would imitate a lot of the Nation of Islam officials and Minister Farrakhan. So the community of the Nation of Islam has seen me grow and develop. It was Minister Farrakhan who encouraged me to go and improve on what I do. So people who maybe reading this interview, there is a lot about the Nation, a lot about Islam and a lot about the community that they will begin to learn. This is a cultural environment as well and according to what I understand a Nation has everything and everybody. So you have doctors, lawyers, actors, writers and comedians. So a bit of history is being made now. I hope that for others who want to take a run at doing standup comedy or getting in the comedy business this will inspire them.

FC: Now you do an excellent and respectful imitation of Minister Farrakhan and people reading this may have heard of situations where people have made fun of the Minister at a comedy club and there was a problem afterwards. The F.O.I. don’t really like people making fun of the Minister–a very sensitive area. So for you, how was that? Developing the skill. Were you afraid? Were you hesitant at first?

RR: That’s a good question. When I first started on the professional stage it was Ted Koppel, Rev. Jesse Jackson and Minister Farrakhan and during that time they were always in the news. So, it was risky because this is going out in the public. When I got the opportunity to perform for the community, I had asked his permission and he granted the permission so it was like a thin line so you better have it right. (Laughs) So I practiced with tapes and video clippings to make sure the voice was right, the mannerisms. I love Minister Farrakhan and I love everybody that I do, but there have been comedians that have kind of tried to run that thin line with the Minister and it becomes disrespectful, when you are making mockery. Minister Farrakhan is nothing to joke with–so when I do routines, I’m very careful. In my routine, he is always the person that pretty much does what he does and that is to guide. So yes, it really is treading a thin line.

FC: At first, did somebody go to him and say: ‘Minister Farrakhan, there is a brother who does a really wonderful impression of you?’ How did that come about?

RR: It’s a funny story because on security post one night, I was working on my impressions. Minister Farrakhan was up around 4am in the morning and here he is watching me doing something that he didn’t understand what was going on so he thought I was crazy! There I was working on material and (some time later) he was talking with his family and he had mentioned “I met this particular brother and I don’t think he should be around the house; he might need some medical help.” They said “no, dad, that’s Brother Reggie and he does imitations and impressions” and he put it all together. That’s how that happened.

FC: When your career is over and you’ve made it all in the movies receiving all the royalty checks from your DVD’s and everything, and there is a period put to the end of your life. What would you like for people to say about Reggie Reg?

RR: I would like for people to say that … not really to look at what I’ve done in entertainment, because to me that is second. I would just like them to know that I helped a man that is doing a (it’s hard to find the words for) what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is doing. What a friend we have in Jesus … because to me that is something that is worthy to be known for. That I have helped to make that come into reality. A world where people can live and there is no racial bias or racism. A world where finally there is peace in the Black community. We are eating better; we have our own businesses, our own schools. We are involved in what is going on in the world and for other people to experience that as well, that I had a hand in that. That is what I would like to be known for. That I walked with the boldest Blackman in North America and that is the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the members of the Nation of Islam. That’s it.

FC: Thank you.

The post ‘Comedy is Medicine’ appeared first on Final Call News.