I am a fan of the band Grizzly Bear.  Just recently I have discovered a band named Department of Eagles.  Little did I know that Daniel Rossen of Grizzly Bear is actually in Department of Eagles (alongside Fred Nicolaus). 

On the flipside of Grizzly Bear, I would like to mention The Hood Internet, a mashup duo from Chicago.  Here’s their mixture of Grizzly Bear’s song Two Weeks and Dead Prez’s song Hip-Hop:

VERDICT:
8/10 Boss Emcees

One of those magical little movies that’ll a big ol’ smile on your face from beginning to end. Man, what the hell happened to Dave Chappelle?

Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is a documentary that follows Dave Chappelle – back when he was living it up as the funniest man on Earth –  as he puts together an utterly epic block party in Brooklyn, NY featuring some of the biggest names in the history of R&B and Hip-Hop. And being that Dave Chappelle is the man, he makes it into a free show, buses droves of people from his hometown in Ohio to go to the show, and makes everyone laugh their asses off.

What a guy.

Now, I happen to like a lot of the acts that Dave lined up for this show, especially since he somehow managed to get The Fugees back together for it (if you’ve never listened to The Score, you don’t know what you’re missing, brotha). So being that I like to laugh hard and since I’m always down for some choice R&B and Hip-Hop, this was a win-win for me, but I can understand how a number of folks out there might not see the attraction to this little comedy/rap concoction. For those of you who fall into this category, listen close, I have a story to tell thee.

I kinda had to rope my friends into seeing this one when it was out in theaters because they could really have given a shit about every aspect about this movie that didn’t have to do with Dave Chappelle. But by the time they came out, even though they still didn’t really care much for the musical aspect of it, they were soundly entertained across the board.

Part of this is because of Dave. The humor here is kinda different from Chappelle’s Show in that it’s not really trying to be edgy or push the envelope, it’s just capturing Dave as this normal, genuine, and totally hilarious guy that’s just trying to throw this sweet party for everyone to enjoy. The only bits that are scripted are a couple acts he does onstage with Mos Def and The Roots, but his best stuff is just when he’s being himself. It’s a damn shame that he’s been written off as this mental case over the years, because the impression you get from him here is that he’s of the rare humble, and grounded breed of celebrity that’s doing his best not to let fame get to his head. There’s a lot of celebrities out there who could learn a thing or two from Dave. That guy’s A-okay in my book.

But the other part of this is actually because of Michel Gondry. From a visual standpoint, you’d never know Gondry was behind this as it pretty much boils down to him with a camera and that’s it, but it’s something about the overall positive vibes this movie puts out that feels very much his own. Gondry makes movies about people, movies that bring people together, and that’s the beauty of Block Party. More so than the acts on stage, Gondry makes the people going to the show the main characters, showcasing this melting pot of cultures and happiness that all came together for this one kickass occasion.

It’s an unlikely one, but Chappelle and Gondry are a great team whose visions really complement each other. Good times all around with these guys.

Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is just a damn good time. Not only is it funny as hell, but it’s surprisingly insightful, has a huge heart, and the concert itself is totally awesome, too. So give it a shot, even if you could care less about a Fugees reunion, everyone needs a good reminder every now and again of the genius that is Dave Chappelle.

We miss you, man. Come back to us.

Tracklist and link after the jump.

01.Styles P, Jadakiss and Jr. Reid – Invasion
02.Styles P, Noreaga and Uncle Murda – Pablo Doe
03.Nas feat. Dwayne Collins – Like Me
04.Royce 5′9 – Heat To The Streets
05.Busta Rhymes – Where My Money
06.Dead Prez, Styles P and Movado – Gangster Gangsta
07.Fabolous, Akon and Fat Joe – Im So Fly
08.Nas – Cops Keep Firing
09.M.O.P. feat. Styles P – Bangtime
10.Noreaga – High Speed Shootout
11.38 Special, Fever and Dwayne Collins – Streets Raised Me
12.Royce 5′9 – Been Shot Down
13.Jadakiss – Cant Stop Me (Remix)
14.Clipse feat. Jonny Polygon – Rainy Days
15.Dead Prez feat. Bun B – Grind
16.Nas – Election Night
17.Jay Z – Sweet (Remix)
18.Jonny Polygon – There Goes Jonny
19.Amanda Diva – Heartstrings
20.Adele feat. Jonny Polygon – Melt My Heart(Remix)
21.Solange feat. Wale – Fuck The Industry (Remix)

Download

Global hip-hop doesn’t get much better than this. Rapper/college professor Chang Jui-Chuan is a bonafide star of the hip-hop underground in his native Taiwan, and this collection – largely culled from a 2006 release – has him poised to cross over to an English-speaking audience. A gifted, frequently ferocious bilingual lyricist in his native language, Hokkien and also English, he delivers his English raps in a menacing, slurred Taiwanese-accented drawl. This is conscious hip-hop raised to a power: people have been executed for tackling the topics he addresses. He has little use for globalization:

You say free trade gets us out of poverty and hunger

Free trade saves my family from pistol triggers

Free trade assures good drugs for my son’s cancer

Then tell me why we’re dying faster than ever…

Exploitation disguised as freedom and democracy

Global corporations feed Third World Dictators

Paying less than one dollar per month for child workers…

He fearlessly takes the stand for dissidents who risk their lives around the globe, especially those who dare stand up to the mainland Chinese regime:

…when I’m placing an order on this free-speech website

It’s taken over by the interface in Chinese Simplified

Propaganda’s never simplified, can only be vandalized

I orchestrate lyrical drive-bys

The most potent lyric here is in Hokkien, titled Hey Kid, a scathing account of Chang Kai-shek’s invasion of Taiwan, the February 27, 1947 massacre of Taiwanese nationalist freedom fighters, and the subsequent terror that lasted decades and left tens of thousands of innocent civilians dead. He also addresses spiritual concerns without coming across as doctrinaire (he’s a Christian) and the need to preserve indigenous cultures in the face of western cultural imperialism. The backing tracks here deserve mention too because they’re excellent, ranging from spacy psychedelic funk, to roots reggae (Chang sings respectably well), to ominous, chromatically-charged funk-metal played by a live band rather than sampled. Fans of the best conscious American hip-hop acts: Immortal Technique, the Coup and Dead Prez are in for a treat here. Or maybe this guy can hook up with the Hsu-nami and we can get a real Taiwanese-American crossover.

click here to download

K-Salaam & Beatnick – NY Is Burning
1. K-Salaam & Beatnick – NY Is Burning Intro
2. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Buju Banton & Trey Songz – StreetLife
3. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Dead Prez – Bigger Than Hip-Hop 2008
4. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Mos Def & Sizzla – Victory
5. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Young Buck – My Hood
6. Collie Buddz – Come Around (Beatnick & K-Salaam Homegrown Remix)
7. Richie Spice – Open The Door (Beatnick & K-Salaam Open Mind Remix)
8. Richie Spice – Marijuana (Politics Remix)
9. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Outlawz – We Want In
10. Buju Banton – Sinsimilla Persecution (Down & Out Remix)
11. Bounty Killer – Fed Up (If I Ruled The World Remix)
12. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Junior Kelly – Freedom
13. Capleton – Tour (Jackin for Beats Remix)
14. Damian Marley – Jamrock (High Grade Remix)
15. Dead Prez – Bigger Than Hip-Hop (Jamrock Remix)
16. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Outlawz – Only Life I Know
17. K-Salaam & Beatnick Present: Mos Def & Sizzla – Victory Rmx
18. K-Salaam & Beatnick – NY Is Burning Outro

Beatnick & K-Salaam on myspace (more free downloads avail there)

easily one of the greatest hip hop anthems off all time. i used to listen to this shit before every show i’d play.

- panda

When you think of conscious hip-hop visions of The Roots, Common and Mos Def spring to mind with their soulful organic beats and insightful lyrics.  Dead Prez on the other hand take those political lyrics, turn up the amplifiers and make riotous music.

The gig reflected this, one of the rowdiest hip-hop shows I have been to in while, and when they played Its Bigger Than Hip-Hop near the end, oh my days, Koko was nearly torn in two! New similarly supercharged songs such as Close To The Edge also invoked near pandemonium.

One thing about Dead Prez, is they can talk; Viva la Revolution… Fuck Obama.  Yes, Fuck Obama.  I thought only the Republicans were into Obama bashing, well Dead Prez are too, blaming him for anything and everything… they even had a song for it.

At one moment their ideology went, in my opinion, too far when they asked who had been to the shooting range, telling us to grab guns, and get into training.  Happily, we didn’t stand for this bullshit and it was met by near silence – this isn’t the wild fucking west mate, and you’re not talking to some inbreds.  Good thing is they learned their lesson and toned the gun talk down after that.

Old school songs such as They Schools and Discipline showed the side of Dead Prez we all love, the latter evoking a sing-a-long that would do any karaoke contest proud.  Their messages of mental and physical wellbeing remain pertinent.

Near the end of the set a Palestinian MC (apologies because I forgot her name – gig was a little too rowdy to reach for my notebook) gave a little talk about hip-hop in Palestine.  Despite raising spontaneous chants of “Free Free Palenstine,” what could have been a magical moment was a missed opportunity because she did not perform with Dead Prez (and spoke for a little bit too long so her powerful message became a little diluted).

The gig closed with a rendition of, no sing-a-long to Al Green’s (yes Al Green) Lets Stay Together.  No one could have seen it coming, I still cannot believe I saw Dead Prez and they dropped Al Green.

Overall, it was a very good show, raucous and political with basslines that made Koko literally shake. However, the misplaced ideologies put a dampener on night where the true diversity of Hip-Hop should have been the only thing to shine through.

Soulside Funk

Onsdag 5. november gjestet jeg og Christine Dancke Lydverket for å snakke om Barack Obama og valgkamprapen som fulgte i skjørtekantene hans. Se hele programmet her, eller les bakgrunn til saken her. Christine har fulgt opp med utfyllende kommentarer på den utmerkede Hoetell-bloggen, og jeg kan jo ikke være noe dårligere.

Altså: Det var mange rappere som engasjerte seg i forrige presidentvalg også, men det var også påfallende hvor mange som brukte kreftene på å være mot George W. Bush, istedenfor å være for John Kerry. Men når Obama annonserte sitt kandidatur, sto alle rapperne i kø – fra Common via Jay-Z til Young Jeezy – for å støtte den kommende presidenten.

Dette er pirrende stoff for NRK, og jeg har blitt intervjuet flere ganger om det, for betyr dette ikke at “rappen er blitt politisk igjen”, for å sitere den gjennomsnittelige P2-journalisten. Og samtidig, hva skal rapperne kritisere nå som presidenten er valgt?

Her er uansett noen funderinger jeg gjorde i forkant av sendingen. Noe sa jeg, mye rakk jeg ikke, og noe ble kvittet vekk. Men som en sa etterpå, vi glemte å snakke om “the elephant in the room”: Kan ikke den massive støtten forklares ved at Obama er svart (eller farget, for å være pinlig politisk korrekt). Amerikansk-kubanske Pitbull er såvidt jeg vet den eneste rapperen som støttet John McCain, og det var trolig fordi han synes Obama er for soft i forholdet til Castros Cuba.

Fun fact: Common var trolig den første rapperen som namedroppet Obama, allerede i 2005, i remiksen av Jadakiss‘ “Why”: Why is Bush acting like he trying to get Osama / Why don’t we impeach him and elect Obama.

Bonus: Den kontroversielle artikkelen “Why President Elect Barack Obama is not the first Hip Hop President”.

Spørsmål: Hvor mye hadde det å si for Obamas presidentseier at et samlet Hiphop-Amerika støttet ham?
Det kan nok hende Hiphop-USA overvurderer sin egen betydning en smule, for dette var en vinn-vinn-situasjon for begge. Barack Obama kunne sole seg i glansen av støtte fra rapperne og referere til Jay-Z, mens rapperne selv fikk mye oppmerksomhet ved å støtte Barack i låter. Da Hiphop-USA mobiliserte i forhold til Rock the Vote-kampanjen i forrige valg, hadde det mindre betydning, for rapperne trengte en passende kandidat å støtte. Spørsmålet er om Barack Obama vant fordi han ble støttet av rappere, eller om det var fordi han appellerte til befolknings- og aldersgruppen som utgjør den såkalte hiphopgenerasjonen. Han har jo selv vært forsiktig med å få hiphoppresident-stempelet, og er for gammel til selv å tilhøre hiphopgenerasjonen. Men det er liten tvil om at støtten har hjulpet, ikke minst ved å mobilisere unge velgere som ikke ville ha stemt. Ved forrige valg var flere hiphopere åpent mot Bush, men det hjalp lite når så få var for John Kerry.

Hemmeligheten ligger i Obamas appell overfor hiphopgenerasjonen, snarere enn rappernes påvirkningskraft på velgerne. De har nok kanskje bidratt til å få noen flere til å stemme, men det viktigste er at Obama er den første kandidaten som har fått hiphopgenerasjonen til å stemme. Rapperne sier det jo selv i innslaget, Obama var den første presidentkandidaten de hadde lyst til å stemme på. Obama var samtidig også smart. Der mange eldre svarte politikere har inntatt black cop-rollen i forhold til hiphop, det vil si å henge seg opp i de problematiske sidene, har Obama aldri fordømt sjangeren som helhet.

Spørsmål: Var det utelukkende positivt for Obama at hiphop-artistene støttet ham, eller hadde det også negative konsekvenser?
Nei, og Barack Obama holdt ganske bevisst de mest intense omfavnelsene på avstand. Dersom han åpent tok imot støtten fra de røffeste gangstarapperne ville det ha fått negative konsekvenser i forhold til den konservative fløyen i partiet og ikke minst den svarte borgerrettighetsgenerasjonen han også er avhengig av støtte fra. Det er en ganske stor generasjonskløft mellom svarte som var unge på 60-tallet og dagens hiphopgenerasjon, og det er også store interne motsetninger mellom den svarte middel- og arbeiderklassen. Da Ludacris kalte Hillary Clinton en bitch måtte Obama ta avstand, og da Jay-Z bannet friskt under “My President is Black” fikk Obama tyn fra konservative tv-journalister.

Spørsmål: Hiphop-artistene mener selv de har makt over hva deres fans mener, for eksempel om politikk. Har de virkelig så stor makt?
De har utvilsomt en del makt, men spørsmålet er også hvor mye makt fansen har over rapperne. Det er sjeldent vi ser rappere innta standpunkt som er upopulære blant fansen, og man kan vel like gjerne si at de ofte gjenspeiler holdningene hos sine fans. Slik sett er de kanskje ikke så mye påvirkningskraft, men representasjon det er snakk om.

Spørsmål: Hva har skjedd med den samfunnskritiske hiphopen etter at Obama ble president?
Samfunnskritisk hiphop er blitt en undersjanger i hiphop, og er ikke like synlig som i glansdagene til Public Enemy og Paris, representert ved artister som Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Mos Def og Talib Kweli. Men vi ser også stadige eksempler på rappere som lager samfunnskritiske låter, og det er gjerne de store begivenhetene som mobiliserer.11. september , Katrina og Barack Obama for eksempel. Etter valget av Obama gikk hiphoperne inn i en kollektiv lykkerus de vel ennå ikke har kommet ut av, men det skal bli spennende å se hvordan Obama blir veid i lengden.

I Wu-Tang Clans “Rules” rapper Ghostface Killah følgende:

Who the fuck knocked our buildings down?
Who the man behind the World Trade massacres, step up now
Where the four planes at, huh, is you insane bitch?
Fly that shit over my hood and get blown to bits!
No disrespect, that’s where I rest my head
I understand you gotta rest yours true, nigga my people’s dead
America, together we stand, divided we fall
Mr. Bush sit down, I’m in charge of the war!

Spørsmål: Har hiphop blitt kjedeligere nå som de har en president de støtter ved roret?
Nei, det er ikke så mange som husker det nå, men etter 11. september var det også mange rappere som åpen støttet Bush, som Wu-Tang Clan og Trick Daddy. Og Bush-kritikken var jo heller ikke så fryktelig spennende i lengden. Men generelt sett er de fleste rappere ikke så fryktelig opptatt av storpolitikk, og det er fortsatt hverdagen og fantasiene i nabolaget som bestemmer mye av innholdet. Men rappere er fæle til å hive seg på regjerende trender, så det blir veldig kjapt en flokkbevegelse av det. Og Obama-hyllester blir like raskt kjedelig som hyllester til trange bukser.

Spørsmål: Når får vi den første Obama-kritiske rappen?
Den kom før valget:

The Doctor’s Orders will not be defeated by the closure of Herbal!
We are bringing you the Motown Vs Def Jam special with a selection of great DJs playing music released on two of the most influential record labels of all time!

On top of that this is the official release party for Spin Doctor’s “Doctorin Detroit” double disk mix dedicated to the Motown sound so you know he will be firing on the night!

For those of you heading to the Dead Prez show on the same night just present your ticket stub from that show at the door to get in for £5!

Motown Vs Def Jam Special, 6th November 2009 @ Gramaphpone, 60-62 Commercial Street, London E1 More Info

I got lot’s to write

About this weekend, chilling with Rasta Mike

Taking shots of Gin-sor,

Two squirt guns, one gin one Windsor

Creeping in pics

Lotsa hot chicks in the mix

Lots of cups to flip

Lots of the dudes from The Hangover flick

What else did I do?

Handed out the swine flu

All you can drink

Private party downtown at the Black Bamboo

From wal-mart shoppers, to circus girl heart stoppers

Hooked up the brat on the grill

Then it got real

Spun the mixtape, handed out copies

Beer, gin, rum, vodka you couldn’t stop me

Mike swung at Tom

Tom dropped like him a bomb

End of the night, surprised we made it this far

Rufio gave Dead Prez a Scar

Dressed as Max from Where The WIld Things Are

Thanks mom for the threads

Partied with wisconsin drinkers and minnesota potheads

Recorded a rap in the upstairs hallway,

Got hungover next day all day

Tried to hail a cab but a cab didn’t come

So we ran thru streets, til the streets start to run

Saw the yellow and white we was glad, hopped in the back

It’ll be a whole year til halloween comes back

M1 of dead prez on Six-City Speaking Tour on Gaza

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief

M1, one part of political hip-hop duo dead prez has been on a speaking tour, “From the Ghetto to Gaza;” in an effort to educate Americans about his experience and the reality of what is going on in the region, Sept. 23-29, ‘09 throughout Northern-CA visiting Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Cruz and Sonoma County, starting off in Sacramento at the Capitol Garage, a café-style venue that is known for hip-hop and reggae events. 

The cost to hear M1 speak was only $5 at the door and benefited local Hip-Hop Congress Community Chapter for Sacramento as well as S.F. Bay View Newspaper and BlockReportRadio.com.  M1’s goals are to stop the war that is at hand in the Middle-East and help the poor and oppressed people of the world, he says. 

Photo Courtesy of M1

Photo Courtesy of M1

“The main purpose of the tour is to politically educate our community about what is happening on a international scale. The Block Report, the Bay View and dead prez have international world views,” says [Prison of Conscious Community] P.O.C.C. Minister of Information JR.

M1 was to meet up with others to begin a caravan in Cairo through the Gaza strip to provide resources to people who had been held under an Israeli embargo.  Once the caravan arrived at their hotel, there were Egyptian government agents who were told to “follow and document every word and action taken by the Viva Palestina group” according to M1. 

According to M1 the government wasn’t making it easy for his group, which included British Parliamentarian George Galloway, organizer of the mission, Green Party presidential nominee who ran against Barak Obama; Cynthia McKinney who was previously arrested and jailed by the Israeli government for seven days and freed by the Lebanese; Charles Barron, former Black Panther and emcees S.O.U.L. Purpose of the U.S. and Iran and Lowkey of Britain to obtain entrance to Palestine.  The agents made it nearly impossible for the group to leave the hotel room and also, according to M1 relieved them of “thousands of dollars and pounds” of humanitarian aid, including mattresses, medical supplies, school supplies, books and more without the caravan’s knowledge.  Finally, the group was allotted only 24 hours to be in and out of Gaza and told not to bring supplies. 

Palestinians were not allowed to leave Cairo nor could they have access from the Gaza Strip on the other side.  M1 explained how it made him feel, seeing families at the border’s checkpoint, trying to cross the border.  “Cairo is one of the dirtiest cities you have ever seen in your entire life,” says M1.

Photo By Kendaru Photography

“Hip-hop is strong in the Middle-East.  They don’t encourage hip-hop to be said or done, it just happens,” says M1 who explains that the government doesn’t control hip-hop so it is a true underground movement.

 “Hip-hop is the right wing of the state [in the U.S.], including hip-hop media – except for Hip-Hop Congress,” says M1 who tells Hip-Hop Congress that they can help out by creating events in an effort to spread knowledge about what is going down in Palestine. 

“A lot of people think they know what is going on,” says M1 who also reports that a lot of hip-hop artists want to make songs about what is going on but it is hard to when they haven’t experienced it first hand.  He gave the example of Sean Bell being gunned down in Queens, NY and not understanding the dynamic of the secret police force. 

Photo By Kendaru Photography

M1 and others realized they were only there to do public relations for the Gaza Government.  He also states that their government was to parade around English and American citizens in a media effort.  M1 believes that the government that runs Gaza is not the best government for Palestine. 

“I found that Hamas was very aggressive [and] uses fear [to control its people],” according to M1.

“I thought to myself [that we were] giving goods and services to the people, in reality, we were giving it to the government,” says M1 who didn’t want to parade around helping Palestine and then to have U.S. media report that they helped a terrorist country.  

In the end, the group was able to drop off the supplies to the people of Gaza and then returned home. 

“I want to be able to tell the truth from a revolutionary perspective,” says M1. 

Want to get involved?  Contact www.blockreportradio.com, www.deadprez.com or www.sfbayview.com.

By Aaris A. Schroeder
Editor-In-Chief

Grind for the Green, a non-profit organization that works with Bay Area youth careers in music provided its second annual four-part series, free of charge that includes a beat and emcee competition, July 12-Aug 30, ‘09 for the final competition at Yerba Buena Park in San Francisco, CA; all happening while caring for the environment utilizing solar panels for energy, sponsored by Solar Living Institute.

“The ecological aspect of it is that all of our materials are made with recycled paper,” says Ambessa Cantave, Co-Executive Director for G4G, “We are trying to instruct the youth on where the world is going and the impact we can make with the choices we make.”

Solar Living Institute has been training communities in environmentally friendly alternative lifestyles; G4G has a relationship with them through their official fiscal sponsor, Global Exchange.

 “More urban communities need access and information on eco-living so they can understand that going green can be cool and not just for hippies. It also provided a learning opportunity for the artists involved in G4G who are learning more about this movement,” states Founder and Executive Director, Zakiya Harris who had nearly 350 in attendance to G4G, double the amount of last year.

Young adults were able to unify and become educated while attending music conference, music workshop, a creative beat battle and a paced emcee competition.  Several workshops went down on July 12 at San Francisco State University where youth learned how to project their voices with song and poetry, improvisation, how to check in with a soundman and more.  July 18 was G4G youth conference featuring speaker M1 of dead prez educating youth on music business and environmental justice. 

“It was inspirational and we were happy that it was all about social justice, activism and then to take it upon themselves to make it happen,” says Cantave.

Photo By Aaris A. Schroeder

Emcee Talib Kweli and vegan soul chef Bryant Terry played the part of celebrity judges.  Young adults are taught dynamics of vocal performance, producing music, mixing and mastering, stage presence correlated while learning how to put the right foods in their bodies and to respect the earth, hence solar-powered hip-hop events. 

“I think that it assisted our community by exposing them to tangible solutions for the planet in a culturally engaging and innovative way. I believe that is the only way to get urban communities excited about climate change,” says Harris who was able to hire and pay youth we also had three interns and various volunteers this year. 

Photo By Aaris A. Schroeder

This year, along with major headliners, dead prez [stic.man and M1] and Mr. F.A.B., Fiyawata, Lil Lo A.K.A. O’Zone and last year’s G4G emcee battle winner along with DJ Anthony Marshall performed with the final contestants that made it through the summer, learning and performing hip-hop in an eco-friendly environment.  August ’09 G4G awarded Tre Pounds, emcee battle winner and Money Alwayz, best beat-maker, judged by the people and announced by local emcee and host for G4G The Jacka.  Each winner received $1000, free studio time and the chance to perform on the same stage as Dead Prez and Mr. F.A.B.

Photo By Aaris A. Schroeder

“Since its inception, hip-hop has been used as a tool of education and community organizing, even though it’s not apparent in the mainstream media.  This fits in line with hip-hop because, [similar to] climate change [which] unites people among all races, class, genders etc, hip-hop is a universal language and going green is a universal movement because if we don’t have a planet what else really matters?” Boldly states Harris.

Sponsors and affiliates to get involved with in the G4G movement; visit online at GrindForTheGreen.com, include greenforall.org, globalexchange.org, consciousyouthmediacrew.org and partners with SFSU MRI Program where events are held cel.sfsu.edu/music.  Other partners are Alliance For Climate Education and Rainbow Grocery.  G4G can be seen spring ’10 at the Eco-Music Festival and are getting ready to be involved with the annual Green Festival, check it out at greenfestival.org.

wow.

being a music and dj snob, i can tell you honestly, only about 3% of mash-ups are actually good.

this one actually works.

very, very well. i’ve been playing this one all day.

thanks riley and addison.

Award-winning law professor Paul Butler titled his inspirational and somewhat subversive book, “Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice” after dead prez’s debut album because he wanted to send a subliminal message of camaraderie to the most incarcerated population in the history of the world – the Hip-Hop generation.

For years Butler, a Yale and Harvard graduate, worked as a federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, a city notorious for its drug infestation that heightened around the same time the incarceration rate increased as did the popularity of Hip-Hop. Butler was on the prosecutorial team when former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was charged with possession of cocaine. Then one day, 33 years after Butler had been raised in the inner city by his single mom to become an accomplished African-American without a criminal record, he was arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and his perspective was changed.

It was a petty neighborhood beef over a parking spot that sparked his revolution, but turn he did. He left his post as a prosecutor and is now lecturing about how the War on Drugs and the fact that because the United States has more people locked up for drug crimes than people locked up for all crimes in the European Union is making our land of the free dangerous grounds where parents are missing from homes and low-level criminals are being bred for recidivism.

His soundtrack, he notes in “Let’s Get Free…” is Hip-Hop, because like no other multi-ethnic popular culture, this group of artists and consumers has a viewpoint that may save our nation. In Hip-Hop, he notes, justice is simple: “If you kill my dog, I’ma kill your cat,” and even though we don’t love the crime, we love our criminals: “I’d open every cell in Attica/send ‘em to Africa,” because we know that crime and punishment destroys neighborhoods.

So, to reverse what has been an alarming increase in jail building and lock ups, Butler outlines legislative ways that have long been acknowledged – focus resources on education and rehabilitation. He also calls for the individual to work the system (since the system isn’t working) through the completely legal practice of jury nullification in cases involving nonviolent drug offenses.

Jury nullification is what happened in the Barry case when, although the videotape evidence overwhelmingly pointed to guilty, the jury declared Barry not guilty either out of love and for the man or disdain for The Man. Or, as Butler says, “When we return to the best values of the patriots – their trust in the common person and their suspicion of an overbearing government – we will live up to the democracy’s highest ideals.”

For more information on “Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice,” log on to log on to www.letsgetfreethebook.com/.

Also check out Hip-Hop wired’s interview with Paul Butler here.

New policy guidelines will be sent out today by the Justice Department outlining that the federal government is not to arrest medical marijuana users who are in compliance with state laws. That’s one small step for marijuana advocates, one huge leap for those of us who know the War on Drugs is like looking for WMDs – the destruction is the war, not the drugs.

Here, he talks to Hip-Hop Wired about why a soldier should keep his head up.

Hip-Hop Wired:  In “Let’s Get Free…” you also suggest that when individuals are called for jury duty we practice jury nullification – finding someone not guilty of a nonviolent drug offense despite the evidence. It’s legal, but is it subversive?

Paul Butler: It’s subversive of the present system which needs subversion. Any system that’s locking up more people than any criminal justice system in the history of the world needs fundamental change and unfortunately, the politics are that we’re not going to get that from our lawmakers unless we insist. So what the strategic nullification does is insist.

It sends us very strong messages, “Well you can have these laws but we’re not going to follow them,” which is the same thing that the people who sat in on the lunch counters said… The nice thing about nullification is it’s legal so in a sense it’s different than that kind of civil disobedience, but what it sends is a message that these laws are about oppressing people and discriminating against people and they should not be enforced.

Hip-Hop Wired:  Oppressive and discriminatory, sure, but should we really be surprised that we have the highest rate of incarceration in the history of the free world when this country was founded by people who stole labor and land to build it?

Paul Butler: We have this great moment in American history now where we have an African-American President. So it’s true we were founded by people who stole land from Native Americans and then built the land with slaves who were mainly taken from Africa.  And those were the same people, including slave holders, who wrote the Constitution and now we have all these Black people who are no longer slaves but who are in prison and so it is easy to be sort of defeated and think well there’s just no reason to be hopeful, but then a long comes a guy named Barack Obama… You know, it’s just an amazing moment in history. I’m probably more optimistic now than I would’ve been two years ago that there really is, in spite of all of the baggage that the Constitution carries, it also holds some promise.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What can we do to better engage politically the power of the Hip-Hop community?

Paul Butler: What I would love to see happen is for more of the artists to become activists. Now, a lot of times people say, “Well that’s not my role, my role is to create art, to make something beautiful or provocative,” but it’s not a luxury, the idea of these people using their skills for art only.  It’s a luxury that I think the Hip-Hop  nation can’t indulge. Art is also embodied in what you do everyday and what you use everyday and I think that that notion has to become more realized in Hip-Hop.

Yes, you’re artists and yes you make beautiful rhymes and you put together dope beats, but your community needs you. People who are getting locked up, people who are hurting other people…they listen to you, that’s an extraordinary power.  So the question is…Are you going to use that power in a responsible way?

Hip-Hop Wired:  Given the debate about Hip-Hop in the mainstream, why did you take such a clear Hip-Hop perspective to address the criminal justice system and to share an idea as serious as jury nullification?

Paul Butler: Because mass incarceration is an extraordinarily serious problem. It’s been a problem since the 1980s and people a lot smarter than me have been complaining about how many people we’re locking up and those complaints have fallen on deaf ears so I wanted to write a book that a lot of people would read… The title from the dead prez album really communicates to people who know this is a little something different.

Hip-Hop Wired:  What does being “free” mean to you?

Paul Butler: In a legal sense, it means that if I’m driving down the street and I see a cop car behind me then my heart doesn’t have to start beating fast. I get stressed out. And that’s what happens to me now, especially if I don’t have on a suit. That’s not the kind of society that I want to live in. I want to know that as long as I’m obeying the law, police are going to leave me alone.

Hip-Hop Wired:  In your book you outline things legislatively that need to be done – addressing employment, education, and healthcare as ways to reduce the incarceration rates, in addition to individuals taking action such as jury nullification. What else can we do as individuals to get free?

Paul Butler: Helping a kid graduate from high school. If you do that, you make an enormous debt in the prison population because most of the people who are locked up don’t have high school diplomas… In the book I wish I talked more about training parents. The good news is we have thousands of people in the community who could teach that because we have thousands of people who have very successfully raised kids and they understand their skills that could be taught that doesn’t require Congress to pass a law.

For more information on Paul Butler and “Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice,” log on to www.letsgetfreethebook.com/.

Check out Hip-Hop Wired’s review of “Let’s Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice” here.