The revolution will not be mayonized
Black and Latino Freedom Fighters (ex-political prisoners)
to speak at ACRC
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An interview with Hip Hop artist Paris
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Hip Hop artists featured on 'List of Traitors'

By Davey D

It’s the year 2003, but the way things are going it might as well be 1984... In the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the passing of the Homeland Security Bill and the Patriot Act, the Bush administration has set a climate where dissent or differing opinions are not only not tolerated, but grounds to label someone a traitor.

A number of celebrity activists have lost endorsement deals or come under well-orchestrated, organized attacks for speaking out against Bush. Actor Martin Sheen was let go from being a spokesman for a major credit card company. The Dixie Chicks were subjected to boycotts from major radio station chains. The latest skirmish has Danny Glover under fire; he may lose his position as an MCI spokesperson.

Now we have “private” citizens that are leading the witch-hunt with no discouragement from the Bush administration. There are two scenarios that have popped up. First is a deck of cards called the “Deck of Weasels” put out by NewsMax. The cards were patterned after the Bush administration’s “Deck of Death” cards, which highlighted 52 Iraqi leaders who were wanted by the US.

This “Deck of Weasels” depicts activists and celebrities who have spoken out against the Bush administration. The cards include quotes from the people depicted. Among those featured on the cards are Michael Moore, Tim Robbins, Jacques Chirac, Barbra Streisand, Ted Kennedy, and Kofi Annan. Normally this sort of thing would be overlooked and ignored. The problem is that major news outlets all over the country have spotlighted the “Deck of Weasels.”

Now, for the record, there is a deck of cards put out by an activist group in Oakland that spotlights companies and people who profited from the war. This deck has not been in the mainstream press at all.

The second situation comes from a new website called www.probush.com which was spotlighted in the Sunday, May 18 LA Times. The creators of the site have put together a “List of Traitors.” The site states that treason is a violation of allegiance toward one’s country or sovereign, especially the betrayal of one’s country by waging war against it or by consciously and purposely acting to aid its enemies. The web site also says, “If you do not support our President’s decisions, you are a traitor.”

The “List of Traitors” includes a number of outspoken anti-war activists and a number of Hip Hop artists: Michael Franti, Mos Def, Zack De La Rocha, Fred Durst, Rakka from Dilated Peoples, author Michael Eric Dyson, Suheir Hammad of Def Poetry Slam, comic strip writer Aaron McGruder, Ozalmatli, and Professor Cornel West, to name a few.

The Bush administration is featured prominently on the site with phone numbers, website links, and addresses to contact administration officials.

I recently caught up with recording artist Rakaa Iriscience and asked him his thoughts on the List of Traitors.

“Things like this are ridiculous and irresponsible especially in today’s political and social climate where a handful of powerful people are trying to squash dissent,” said Rakaa. “Most of the people on this list had an anti-war stance not an anti-American stance. It’s ridiculous to equate anti-war sentiments with being anti-American.”

When asked if he thought such lists would be circulated and have an effect on his livelihood, Rakaa said, “It probably won’t effect my recording career, but it may have an impact on sponsorship opportunities considering that war is big business and a lot of big businesses supported the war efforts.”

He concluded, “I take it as it comes. If people want to sponsor me they know where I stand on things politically. What’s ironic is the fact that I’m out here trying to promote peace and end violence so you would think I -- and others -- would have a bigger platform to speak out. Unfortunately, we have people trying to silence and ridicule us for promoting peace.”

Rakaa concluded by noting that the List of Traitors was an A-List of people whose community work and activism speaks for itself and he said he would be proud to hang out with them.

Both the “Deck of Weasels” and the “List of Traitors” claim to be satirical. The “List of Traitors” folks even offer you an address to write to if you feel like you have been unfairly added to the list. However, this appears to be a clever way for the folks behind these efforts to cover themselves in case of lawsuits and other legal actions. The fact that these lists got such widespread coverage indicates that at least in the mainstream media the sentiments expressed by the people behind these efforts are shared by the media giants.

The web address for the “List of Traitors” is www.probush.com/traitor.htm

Source: Daveyd.com

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The revolution will not be mayonized
Black and Latino Freedom Fighters (ex-political prisoners)
to speak at ACRC

By Barucha Peller

“I cannot disassociate myself with the future that is proposed for my brother.”
- anonymous

On May 30, strugglers in the black and latino liberation movements will be speaking here in Asheville at the Asheville Community Resource Center. The speakers include Shujaa Graham, Ramona Africa, and Marco del Fuego.

Shujaa Graham is an ex-political prisoner who, during the California prison struggle of the 60s and 70s, spent 23 years locked up and was one of fewer than a hundred people to be exonerated from death row after four controversial trials. He spent time in Soledad Prison and was kept in solitary confinement for seven years. A prison organizer during the George Jackson era and a member of the original Black Panther Party, Shujaa’s story offers a personal account of an important chapter in the black liberation movement and the fight against the racist injustices of the prison industry. Shujaa Graham remains today a tireless struggler against the death penalty and the prison system, his own experiences being a point of reference and inspiration.

Ramona Africa is a member of the MOVE family of Philadelphia, an organization that since the late 70s has struggled to fight the system that perpetuates death and injustices. Outspoken critics of the death penalty, the judicial system, and many of the actions of US government that causes suffering here and around the world, the MOVE family believes, under the teachings of John Africa, that all life is to be protected and that which does not protect and harbor life should be removed.

The MOVE family has been a key element in the movement to free Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner from Philadelphia.

In one of many acts of retaliation to the voices of dissent that have spilled out of the MOVE household and for years has strengthened it’s surrounding West Philly community, the Philadelphia police department dropped a bomb directly on the MOVE house in 1985, killing 11 people including 6 children.

Ramona Africa was the only survivor of this bombing that burned 86 surrounding households. She has in no way become a victim of fear, but instead remains a strong revolutionary voice that truly shows what it is to never back down.

Marco Del Fuego is an ex-political prisoner from El Salvador who once faced deportation to El Salvador to be executed before Amnesty International intervened and lead 90 members of Congress to sign a petition demanding his release. He is a founding member of the council of Latino Agencies in Washington, DC, and despite his past incarceration continues to speak out against the US government and it’s actions against Latinos here and the role that it plays in South American politics.

These freedom fighters have shown that even so close to the breath of death their hearts could never be cooled, their love for the people and for freedom persists to inspire others to continue resisting. As more and more dissidents of the system face persecution in the courts and in the streets in the wake of the PATRIOT Act, people such as Shujaa Graham, Ramona Africa, and Marco Del Fuego remind us of a history that has imprisoned and sought to silence those who dedicate their lives to the people and the earth’s liberation.

The Asheville Community Resource Center is located at 63 N. Lexington Ave. behind the big doors with the bird mural. For more information please call the ACRC at 236-1672.

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An interview with Hip Hop artist Paris

By Bro. Tony Muhammad

In the midst of a “war on terror,” there is an increasing amount of entertainers who are voicing their attitudes about war-oriented government policies in post 9-11 America. Among the most controversial is hip hop artist Paris.

Hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area, Paris gained national exposure in 1990 with his hit single The Devil Made Me Do It from the album of the same name. Backed by a mixture of Black Panther and Nation of Islam philosophical world views, he gained interest and support from the hip hop community of the early 90’s due to his politically and socially conscious outlook. Yet his fan support did not protect him from running into conflicts with the actual production of his music.

When his second album, Sleeping With The Enemy, was ready to be released, now-defunct Tommy Boy and distributor Time Warner terminated Paris’s contract upon learning of the album’s inflammatory lyrics against Pres. George Bush Sr. and racist police officers. Paris then released the notorious album on the newly-formed independent label Scarface Records.

In 1993, Paris signed a major deal with Priority Records and released Guerilla Funk, but left the label in 1995 due to creative differences. Unleashed was released in 1997 under the now defunct Whirling Records.

Paris then left the public eye for several years, but continued writing and recording music. In 2002, Paris’s long time friend and Hip Hop pioneer, Davey D, promoted Paris’s unreleased music through his web site www.daveyd.com. Paris stirred up excitement with his guest appearance on Public Enemy’s most recent album, Revolverlution.

Now, with the experience of five world tours, countless national performances, and a more developed political theory, Paris -- set to release his fifth album, Sonic Jihad -- has formed an internet site network which attempts to expose the “The War on Terror” as a farce.

Here is what Paris had to say in an Unsigned Artists Network interview.

Tony Muhammad: What has Paris been up to since the Hip Hop community last saw him in a more popular light in the early 90s?

PARIS: I’ve been involved in real estate and investment banking. I never really left Hip Hop though, just watched it make a fool of itself...

I am aware of your new album, Sonic Jihad. Basically what can you say the album, as a whole, is about?

The message of the entire album is not specific to Bush-related issues, in spite of what most people think about the cover. It’s a commentary on the state of many things -- the current climate of manufactured fear and “War on Terror,” fighting the pro-war propaganda that we’re assaulted with daily, police brutality, and the embarrassing state that hip hop is in right now…I’m looking to release it in May if I don’t face any more obstacles with it’s manufacture.

Many have considered your work to be controversial, both the lyrics in your songs and images displayed on your albums. I even read on www.daveyd.com that one particular image in the Sleeping With The Enemy album of Pres. George Bush Sr. walking towards you holding a gun led to conflicts with the record label you were on at the time and awarded you a visit from the Feds. Can you give us a little insight as to what happened in these particular cases, as well as discuss other memorable experiences (if you will) concerning “controversial” statements you have made?

I don’t really talk about that because I don’t want it to appear that I’m celebrating the experience. Yes, the label did have issues, and no, the Feds weren’t happy. It’s the same situation nowadays, but to the ninth power. I’ve already gotten more of a backlash from the Sonic Jihad project before it’s release than the entire Sleeping With The Enemy project’s run.

In short, why do you believe Paris’s highly political expression is needed today in Hip Hop?

Because there’s no balance in hip-hop now. Even though there are a hand full of artists making positive statements, the overwhelming majority of what’s allowed by labels to be presented to the public is negative. For every Common there are 50 gangsta/playa wannabe groups. And it’s not what the street dictates -- as labels claim -- because the street doesn’t know what it wants. The street responds to what it’s presented. It’s simply a corporate effort to inundate our communities with bullshit messages for profit.

In your opinion, what needs to change -- not only in Hip Hop, but in the music industry as a whole? If things continue the way they are in respect to the music industry, what do you believe will be the result?

We are already seeing the results -- lower profits for the industry and no respect for the artists. The public is going to respond to music the way music treats the public. If music is looked at by “artists” as little more than hitting a lick for financial gain, then the music and the listeners suffer. Now the audience is rebelling.

What are your views concerning the current “War on Terror” and the mental state of the American people?

The War On Terror is a sham. It’s the greatest hustle in the history of this country. The selling of fear, the endless terror alerts, the unjust wars, the staged 9-11 tragedy -- all pre-agreed upon and put into effect for the benefit of a select few. It’s too deep to go into here, but if you want an in-depth perspective that pulls no punches, visit and subscribe to my site at www.guerrillafunk.com.

What do you believe is needed to alert the American people to the truth? By what means would it be possible?

The widespread dissemination of information is need, ASAP. That’s a part of the reason why I’ve structured www.guerrillafunk.com the way that I did -- to give the audience information other that that which is presented to us day in and day out in the media.

Would you consider the expression of your music as well as that of other conscious entertainers as being one of the most important means to get across a crucial message? If so, how?

Definitely, because music is extremely influential. Kids often know the words to songs but can’t get their homework right. And since our country is one which celebrates style over substance, we see entertainers elevated to a higher status socially than they probably should be. This status gives added credence to the words of artists for many people. Since this is the case, I don’t waste time with the message.

Any inspiring words?

Embrace independent thought and look beyond the surface of what you’re given as information everyday. Became internet savvy and learn the truth about what’s really going on around you. If you get all of your info from TV and the newspaper than you’re ill-informed. If you need assistance in finding alternate sources of information, then please visit me at www.guerrillafunk.com.

Thank you.

Peace!

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