Guerrilla News Network releases film on Black disfranchisement
Whatever you think you know about our election systems or Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, this film will make you question further why the news media fails to accurately inform the public. Directed by GNN’s Ian Inaba, creator of Eminem’s “Mosh” music video, American Blackout critically examines the contemporary tactics used to control our democratic process and silence voices of political dissent.
Many have heard of the alleged voting irregularities that occurred during the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004. Until now, these incidents have gone under- reported and are commonly written-off as insignificant rumors or unintentional mishaps resulting from an overburdened election system.
American Blackout chronicles the recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement from Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 while following the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney. Mckinney not only took an active role investigating these election debacles, but has found herself in the middle of her own after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
frank:
Stan,
You can leave Eminem out of the picture-I don’t care how much weight his name carries, the guy is a misogynistic asshole. You’re bordering on hypocrisy by including his name here.
Frank
20 September 2006, 9:50 pmStan:
I didn’t write it. I posted the piece from the film’s site and linked it. But are you suggesting anyone who is not perfect can never be mentioned without rsiking “hypocrisy”?
It says that Inaba created the Mosh video for Eminem.
Not directed at you singular, Frank, but I notice that a ot of people are ready to take hip-hop music to task for misogyny, when rock and country are every bit as cluelessly sexist. Check out the old anti-empire song by Guess Who, recently covered by Lenny Kravitz, “American Woman.” Pop love songs strike me as often every bit as patriarchally insidious as many hip-hop lyrics (but they are not in that funny-sounding Ebonic patois, eh).
(Eminem is white, but as the joke went back when he was peaking, it’s a crazy world when the best golfer is black, the best rapper is white, and the best basketball player is Chinese. Hip-hop is a Black genre; and the manner in which people go after it based on universal music sin strikes me as pretty interesting.)
If that is where this goes, then I can link the lyrics to the song and link the video.
kids: i pledge allgience to the flag of the united states of america
and the to the republic
Marshall: People!!This is it. It feels so good to be back
Mosh with me now
You scrutinize every word, memorize every line
I spit it once, refuel, re-energize and rewind
I give sight to the blind, my insight’s through the mind
I exercise my right to express when I feel it’s time
It’s just all in your mind - what you interpret it as
I say to fight, you take it as I’ma whip someone’s ass
If you don’t understand, don’t even bother to ask
A father who has grown up with a father-less past
Who has blown up now to rap phenomenon
That has, or at least shows, no difficulty multi-taskin’ and juggling both
Perhaps mastered-his-craft slash entrepreneur
Who has helped launch a few more rap acts
Who’s had a few obstacles thrown his way
Through the last half of his career
Typical manure, moving past that
Mister kiss-his-ass-crack, he’s a class-act
Rubber-band man, yeah, he just snaps back
Chorus:
Come along, follow me, as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me, and I wont steer you wrong
Put your faith in your trust, as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel we gon’ fight
We gon’ charge, we gon’ stomp
We gon’ march through the swamp
We gon’ marsh through the mosh
Take us right through the doors
Come on..
Verse 2:
All the people up top, on the side and the middle
Come together, let’s all form this stomp just a little
Just let it gradually build, from the front to the back
All you can see is a sea of people, some white and some black
No matter what color, all that matters we’re gathered together
To celebrate for the same cause, no matter the weather
If it rains, let it rain
Yeah, the wetter the better
They ain’t gon’ stop us, they can’t
We’re stronger now, more then ever
They tell us “No”, we say “Yeah”
They tell us “Stop”, we say “Go”
Rebel with a rebel yell
Raise hell we gon’ let em know
Stomp, push, shove, mush Fuck Bush
Until they bring our troops home, c’mon, just..
Chorus:
Come along, follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me, and I wont steer you wrong
Put your faith in your trust, as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel we gon’ fight
We gon’ charge, we gon’ stomp
We gon’ march through the swamp
We gon’ marsh through the mosh
Take us right through the doors
Come on..
Verse 3:
Imagine it pourin’, it’s rainin’ down on us
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone’s tryin to tell us something
Maybe this is God just sayin’ we’re responsible
For this monster this coward that we have empowered
This is Bin Laden
Look at his head noddin’
How could we allow something like this without pumpin’ our fists
Now, this is our final hour
Let me be the voice, and your strength and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify it, times it, and multiply it by six
Ten Million People are equal at this high pitch
Maybe we can reach Al Qaeda through my speech
Let the president answer a high anarchy
Strap him with a AK-47, let him go fight his own war
Let him impress daddy that way
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil
No more psychological warfare to trick us to thinking that we ain’t loyal
If we don’t serve our own country, we’re patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes, its all lies
The stars and stripes, have been swiped
Washed out and wiped and replaced with his own face
Mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight, you’ll know why
‘Cuz I told you to fight
Chorus:
Come along, follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me, and I wont steer you wrong
Put your faith in your trust, as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel we gon’ fight
We gon’ charge, we gon’ stomp
We gon’ march through the swamp
We gon’ marsh through the mosh
Take us right through the doors
Come on
Outro:
Eminem: And as we proceed to mosh through this desert storm.. in these closing statements, if they should argue, let us beg to differ.. as we set aside our differences, and assemble our own army to disarm this weapon of mass destruction that we call our president for the present.. and mosh for the future of our next generation.. to speak and be heard.. Mr President.. Mr Senator..
(Kids: Can You Guys Hear us?x2Hahaha)
AV link
21 September 2006, 9:02 amfrank:
Hip-hop/rap is part of my music collection, but it’s old school stuff; Maybe it sounded different then, not like the hardcore stuff.I don’t dig the idea of folks making money off the bitches and ho’s thing. Check out Material - Intonarumori.
21 September 2006, 3:44 pmStan:
Like I said, the comment was general. And I’m not reluctant to criticize misogyny in hip-hop… but I always have to point out that it is not some special feature of hip-hop. The most vocal critics of hip-hop lyrics that are misogynistic are from patriarchal folks themselves, mostly white folks, and a handful of black preachers who constantly sound the refrain that what is “wrong” with black communities is the lack of good, strong male role models and husbands. It’s a way to go after black culture wihtout saying its is Black culture they dislike. This does NOT mean I support sexist lyrics as black culture.
bell hooks and Ice Cube were once invited onto a show together. hooks took the initiative and said up front that she and Ice Cube may have issues to resolve, but that the white media wanted to put them together in order to watch one Black person attack another one. He accepted that, and the two of them then collegially critiqued white supremacy. Gotta love bell hooks.
I heard all sorts of things prior to the latest phase of the Energy War about liberating women in Afghainstan and Iraq, too. The most common critiques of hip-hop for sexism have this manipulative flavor; so I feel obliged to bend the stick back some — without giving patriarchy a pass — just to ensure that we don’t join a white patriarchal ruling class dogpile.
White artists make every bit as much money off patriarchy as Black artists; they just don’t do it in a Black dialect. (BTW, most of the corporate profits from mainstream Black artists are lining more white pockets than Black.)
21 September 2006, 6:55 pmIfy:
You can’t leave rap or anything else for that matter out of an arguement because it is sexist. Will Christian and Islam drop off the planet because they are sexist. Even murderously so sometimes ? No. But you can criticize them in a way that they drop the misogyny. And They will drop the misogyny. They have no choice.
22 September 2006, 11:22 amIfy:
So what if the problem with the black community is fatherlessness ? Guess what. Christian values will trump race class and gender wranglings any day. Funny part is conservative christians do their best to incorporate respect for women into their programs. Many of them loathe women. I have read it in their literature. But what hits ground are programs that strengthen the family and include justice for women. And those will be the programs that are the answer to black problems. And it really does not matter what black liberals say about class arrogance, and racism from conservative white christians. I respect conservative christians for putting their programs through despite liberal criticism. And you know what. Conservative Christian programs are the programs that will help the black community, that you say has no problems that need to be attacked. Christians get attuned to fatherlessness because the bible makes so many comments about fatherlessness. The weak that God is always yelling about and advocating for in the bible is the fatherless and the widow. You have good intentions, but they will not help the black community. And at the end of the day you and bell hooks might not be operating in truth even though as a liberal Christian I continue to believe that bell hooks, alice walker, and toni morrison are prophetesses. White people are not black folks problem right now. And even if I don’t agree with everything that conservative Christians say, I think they are bring back basic biblical truths that will actually help people more than any liberal musings will. So what do we say to the likes of bill cosby ? That their are no problems in the black community ? Even sociological numbers say that the main problem in the black community is fatherlessness.
22 September 2006, 11:11 pmelaina:
I have the same critical stance on hip hop as I do on rock and roll, country, blues, and any other bottom-up form of music (or any form that evolved from the bottom-up, I should say.)
It’s revolutionary potential that doesn’t every really make it all the way. I gotta say that in the hip hop genre I don’t feel that women are as soundly silenced, but it doesn’t change what they have to do to have their voices heard.
In all the genres if you are a woman and don’t try to be a living doll, you are limited to fringe existence/participation. I’d say that country music’s had (in the past) some decent women figures. But lately, there are fewer and fewer who don’t 1. look like barbie dolls and/or 2. sing like one would imagine barbie dolls would sing.
I could go on and on but I’m supposed to be working right now so I won’t.
23 September 2006, 9:21 amelaina:
Ok, and a little bit more, because I left out the part that was the most cogent in this thread-
rock and roll and country both illustrate quite well the racial hijacking of other forms of music- there’s an AC/DC song that highlights this poigniantly, but I won’t wax romantic here.
Instead of fomenting solidarity amongst the working class of different races, these musical forms have, in a general sense, led on with the divide and conquer mentality and trend.
Anyways.
23 September 2006, 9:24 amRequired:
I agree that a lot of citicisms of hip-hop are very race based. The amount of leftists I’ve heard say “eminem wants to be black” is foul. That said there is no denying the mysoginy in Eminems lyrics. Not that anyone here was.
Any one who’s interested, Dead Prez, highly politicized hip-jop duo, have just held a contest Microphone Queen, to uncover new women MCs. They haven’t announced any winners yet but you can keep up to date at http://www.bossupbu.com
23 September 2006, 9:24 pm