Hard Truth Soldiers
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Paris was best known as "The Black Panther of Hip-Hop," a college-educated West Coast version of Public Enemy's Chuck D. He kickstarted some serious controversy when he tried to release an album called "Bush Killa," with a picture of him hiding in the bushes (get it?) of the White House lawn with a big f'ing gun.
In the mid-90s, he retired from the rap game and became (what else?) a capitalist. He made some bank as a stockbroker and real estate investor, then returned to hip-hop with "Sonic Jihad" a couple years ago. That album was really spectacular, with Paris' G-Funk meets Bomb Squad production, heavy on hooks, melody, and big big bass, and his booming voice doing the Chuck D thing with some thought-provoking revolutionary lyrics.
Now personally, I don't think that the President should be killed, or that he planned 9/11 (both of which are among the more... uh... exciting ideas he presents on that album), but I do think that a lot of what Paris was bringing to light in that record was vitally important. And while the inflammatory cover (which featured a jet headed for the White House) may have obscured the music, the music was exceptionally good.
Paris has been working with Public Enemy, Kam, and dead prez on a new record for the label he runs, Guerrilla Funk, called Hard Truth Soldiers. An interesting review below.
Various Artists: Hard Truth Soldiers Vol. 1 - PopMatters Music Review
Here's a question: to what extent do you feel The Sound of Young America should host artists with strong political messages? I'm not really interested in banning politically-active artists from the show or anything, I'm just worried particularly when they're talking about explicitly political projects. I've generally avoided this in the past, partly because I worry about the inherent bias of my cultural situation and personal political views. I'd love to hear thoughts.
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In the mid-90s, he retired from the rap game and became (what else?) a capitalist. He made some bank as a stockbroker and real estate investor, then returned to hip-hop with "Sonic Jihad" a couple years ago. That album was really spectacular, with Paris' G-Funk meets Bomb Squad production, heavy on hooks, melody, and big big bass, and his booming voice doing the Chuck D thing with some thought-provoking revolutionary lyrics.
Now personally, I don't think that the President should be killed, or that he planned 9/11 (both of which are among the more... uh... exciting ideas he presents on that album), but I do think that a lot of what Paris was bringing to light in that record was vitally important. And while the inflammatory cover (which featured a jet headed for the White House) may have obscured the music, the music was exceptionally good.
Paris has been working with Public Enemy, Kam, and dead prez on a new record for the label he runs, Guerrilla Funk, called Hard Truth Soldiers. An interesting review below.
Various Artists: Hard Truth Soldiers Vol. 1 - PopMatters Music Review
Here's a question: to what extent do you feel The Sound of Young America should host artists with strong political messages? I'm not really interested in banning politically-active artists from the show or anything, I'm just worried particularly when they're talking about explicitly political projects. I've generally avoided this in the past, partly because I worry about the inherent bias of my cultural situation and personal political views. I'd love to hear thoughts.
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posted by Jesse Thorn at Wednesday, March 22, 2006
6 Comments:
Bias exists in everything someone does. Who you choose to book is a reflection of your tastes in pop culture. It's just not extending out into the political realm on your show.
There are so many places you can go to for political commentary all across the spectrum, some of it even enlightened and intelligent, that it might seem redundant. Besides, your show is about things that are awesome, and politics is not awesome.
Is your hesitance due to an unwillingness to potentially risk alienating a segment of your audience?
Well, I think you've struck the nail squarely on the head there, David. There is an obvious cultural bias built into the show, which I counter a bit by interviewing the occaisional indie-rocker, and a bit by being up front about it: the show represents a certain aesthetic.
But politics is a much touchier issue. Generally, I can escape from the political issue by the means you describe -- generally, politics are not awesome.
But what about, say, Culture Clash? That was pretty much decided by the fact that I love and admire those guys so much that I would have hated myself for not interviewing them (or more specifically Richard Montoya). But they are pretty explicitly political, and that came out in the interview.
Same with Dan Piraro, who created Bizarro. He was on an anti-Bush tour when I interviewed him (although iirc I cut the anti-Bush stuff when I replayed the interview during the podcast era, seeing as it was no longer timely).
The thing that worries/bothers me is that I'm certainly not representing the full political spectrum, here. We're talking about left and lefter, really. And I have no interest in alienating conservative listeners. The show ain't a politics show, you know?
Paris' first record, 89/90's The Devil Made Me Do It, is great, one of the best rap albums of the late 80s-early 90s, and I still listen to it regularly. Picture this: 14-year-old Martin in front of the radio (no TV in those days, kids!), in Sweden of all places, just going crazy when tracks like This is a Test and Ebony suddenly came on. Paris' songs, the early ones at least, have aged a lot more gracefully than, say, X Clan's (if we are to bluntly compare him with other black power-ish acts).
I have been following his career on and off since those days - though I don't think anything has topped the debut. The second album had some memorable cuts though, like the Patrice Rushen-sampling The Days of Old.
(I could go on, you know.)
As for the question at hand, I personally wouldn't mind, but then again I'm not sure I can justly relate to the situation, since I don't have any experience running a radio show and don't know the inherent problems associated with such a stance.
Do you think you'd alienate potential (or current) listeners?
(I see Jesse just answered my Q, while I was typing it.)
I don't think you have a responsibility to represent the full political spectrum. You just have a responsibility to book and interview guests who are consistent with the theme and style of your program. (re: Awesome)
I will submit that intellectuals and comedians (often one and the same) will typically lean left, and let people extrapolate what they want from that.
That said, I would also say that excluding guests or editing for purposes other than topicality, time constraints etc. would be being untrue to the full expression of the aesthetic.
For lack of a less trendy example, I'll bring up "The Daily Show." They are left and political sure, but they do bring on Bill O'Reilly and republicans and conservative authors etc., when what they have to say fits the aesthetic of their show. Or "The Onion", which is largely left, sometimes picks on hippies and hipsters too.
At least in my opinion. But then again, you're the one who created the show and who truly knows the aesthetic you want to convey. And I mean this unsarcastically, but you have a show and I don't, and there's a reason for that.
Put simply: I have every faith that you'll "keep it real classy", like a chandelier in a mobile home.
I'll go a little off topic, but Jesse, I sometimes feel we were separated at birth!
I long wondered what became of Paris. I'm probably not alone is feeling disconnected from both his and PEs music in the post-sample era. Reproaching his work from Guerilla Funk on, I can now appreciate the production values. I really like what I'm hearing in the new Public Enemy/Paris album that came out last week.
Rob Lord, who later started IUMA while at UC Santa Cruz was a clerk at my neighborhood(SoCal) record shop. I was quite younger, but we talked up PE and BDP every time I came in. He turned me on to Paris and I listened to the Devil made Me... almost daily for a good year. This was a few years before hip-hop became mainstream, so as a white kid in a white city, I was the only Paris fan I know.
I've noticed that lots of political rappers, one they've done an album or two, devote a lot of their energy and lyrics to their beefs with the recording industry, and paris was no exception. Given Paris' apparent struggles with the suits, I can understand why, but its difficult for the average listener to relate, so eventually I disconnected with the message as well.
But to your question- you have a fine line to walk. Politics are generally not awesome, but some awesome people are political and their politics should not keep them off the show. I think a good approach would be to take on politics as they relate to a particular guest, with fascination about what makes them tick. Your listeners have common sensibilities and would like to see issues handled in a certain way, but don't presume that your audience is in accord on any one issue- there will be no quicker way to scare off otherwise loyal fans. Also, you have great comedy-related content and its always important to beware of humorless topics.
This brings up a great observation I heard a comedian make once- too many comedians do political humor, and they get tons of applause because their audience agrees- but they didn't really kill. At the improv in LA there's a lot of amateur political humor... some do it well, like Marc Maron, Kathleen Madigan, but most, even otherwise fine comedians, take short cuts.
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