If, like the author of Black Label Detroit, you dear reader/listener, consider yourself a fighter, or, an ally of any sort in the struggle for radical liberation and justice to all oppressed people, then, you'd understand just as well as anybody else that there exists a nagging, and growing suspicion among our circles that: maybe we've failed to get our point across in a convincing way to the general public? Speaking on the issue straight up: the seemingly inescapable position that us radicals find ourselves in when it comes to the topic of how to actually pursue the goal of racial justice & liberation is the increasingly sinking feeling that any potential revolutionary politics that had the faintest possibility of succeeding has effectively just been suffocated out of the public conversation by the political establishment.
Nike used Colin Kaepernick, a recognizable face in football who popularized the practice of silent dissent and protest against the dual dilemmas of police brutality and a systematically racist political system to sell you... an ad about just "believing in yourself". Rappers have become routine recruits to feature in ad campaigns like 21 Savage and Chime. Finally, and, most unfortunately, the Democratic party, the only political organization that Black people support by and large in our completely broken political system, have convinced themselves that the supposedly "controversial" campaign put forward by movements like BlackLivesMatter and last year's Floyd Uprisings cost the party seats in congress for 2020, since, according to them, the mass calls for Black people to be seen as equal human beings "scared off" suburban voters. It should be noted that the party by and large unironically holds this position despite the fact that the it also somehow managed to get those same demographics of people to turn out for them in an election to elevate a former cop, and a man who, "jokingly", suggested that Black people "weren't really Black" if they refused to support the former segregation sympathizer at the ballot.
Everywhere the modern liberation fighter looks, we see nothing more than the regression and recuperation of our platforms and social politics into the mainstream. Some radicals have assessed our current situation, and, seeing that our reach has been reduced from within the political sphere, they've opted to retreat into more basic forms of political expression and agitation. Well, that's if they weren't turned off from the whole process of political action entirely.
Since some of these former fighters for liberation no longer see a viable route to revolutionary politics, through the political process, according to them, the next best alternative was to allow ourselves to become perpetually entangled into the ever-present "culture war", by weaponizing social awareness into what is essentially the online world's biggest boogeyman at the moment: "woke politics". This has been achieved by opting to employ tactics such as rejecting the need to build alliances between different classes & races of oppressed people and, instead of engaging fellow travelers through mutual aid, understanding, and respect, the rhetorical weapon of choice has been emphasizing the politics of guilt.
Rather than reassuring ourselves and our allies that, for example, the Black, Brown, Asian, LGBT, Immigrant, or working class experience will always be a tale of resilience, self-reliance, and unflinching self respect in the face of discrimination and uncertainty, we've instead successfully opted to portray our identities as a fragile, victimized existence, one which is more deserving of the establishment's pity than actually holding the reigns of actual political power. Instead of gathering heads together to regroup, reassess tactics, and redeploying our message, we've alternatively chose to assemble a group that resembles something like a circular firing squad more interested in taking our aim on other oppressed peoples instead of focusing fire on the institutions that're actually worthy of our contempt. These outlined issues are the very reason why every time you log onto social media, you'll see some completely well-intentioned, yet, willfully ignorant (and potentially obnoxiously self-important) internet personas trying to talk down to other people and educate them on how only Black, or only Brown issues need the public's undivided attention at the end of the day. If another group get's attacked or targeted, it's not their job to speak up, show any type of solidarity, or do any self reflection, or, even worse and more eyeroll inducing, they'll get into pointless and counter-productive arguments with other people suggesting that they shouldn't be forced to speak up because "where was X group when Y event happened?"... as if social media isn't the easiest way to see the concept of conformation bias, or the absence of evidence really is evidence of abstinence...
Don't get this author confused, saying that these strategies have been a complete failure in the grand scheme of things isn't a call to "tone down" our demands, nor is it some stupid request on how we should appeal to the mainstream's unattainable ideal of "respectability". It's absolutely none of that. The abstract matter that this publication wishes to illustrate is the fact that radicalism of all types, political, and social, has been recuperated by our political system, and it would be utterly delusional to think otherwise. Not only have we allowed the power and potential of social change to totally slip between our fingers in the wake of last year's Floyd protests, but, we also allowed our demands to be watered down when faced with the slightest pushback from the establishment's scrutiny. It's exactly what happened with the calls to all those "Defund the Police" slogans that popped up at the time. Since, practically no one was prepared for the scale or the intensity of the protests that occurred last year, there was no plan of action ready to be perused that could be used to educate, and arm other liberation fighters with.
It was a combination of these compounding contradictions that would change the aura of the uprisings in the wake of George Floyd's death from a sense seeing the inevitable collapse, of a racist, unequal, and uncaring power structure just across the horizon to one of confusion, disarray, and defeatism. The tangible sense of revolutionary energy that the moment seemed to radiate would slowly but surely be evaporated and dissipated into thin air.. with next to nothing to show for it.
These seemingly fatalist conclusions don't come from some armchair observer or an uninformed shit-talker. To give a bit more information on who the author of this publication actually is than what would probably be intelligent or appropriate to do so: when some of the summer's first protests were scheduled to take place here in Detroit, this author and a couple of other friends had the personal pleasure of hitting the streets back when spirits were at their highest and the energy seemed to be with the crowds (in fact, your humble author of Black Label Detroit would be photographed by a notable Instagram page "CrimeInThe D", which, happened completely unbeknownst to me, and, wasn't really known about until a couple of nights after everything was said & done). While acting as amateur medics, toting around water bottles and cartons full of milk for the benefit of our fellow protestors, it was our experience near the front of the pack that, in the editorial opinion of this publication, would not only give us a crash-course in what direct action was actually like, but, also set the tone for how the protests would play out over the rest of the summer.
We saw, firsthand, how a small group of "organizers", while, again.. probably having well intentions, mistakenly thought themselves as "leaders" of a mass protest movement because they had the privilege of owning some of the few loudspeakers and walkie-talkies at the whole gathering ( looking back at this aspect of the situation, that fact was kinda sus to begin with honestly. Which, is probably why there was even a commotion outside of DPD headquarters where ordinary protesters had to chant "YOU'RE NOT IN CHARGE!" towards one of the "protest leaders" to get him to back down from attempting to order the crowd around). We were all right there, observing how our "organizers" showed no plan, or discipline as we marched, circled, and backtracked our way around downtown Detroit as night fell, making no effort to congregate or occupy any place of strategic importance. All of which resulted in us encountering, up close and personal, the disunity and chaos that the pigs dressed up in riot police uniforms subjected us all to as they showed us how tear gas really felt like inside of someone's lungs instead of watching it's green clouds roll across TV cameras. We had the uncomfortable "privilege" of knowing how rounds of rubber bullets and pellet guns actually felt against exposed flesh as opposed to being some random, quick, and loud noise over a live feed. And, we had the ability to experience the terrifying adrenaline rush that came from running as far and as fast as your feet could carry you as riot police swerved their cruisers right up next to a group of exhausted protesters, bounced out of every single door, and did their best to run you down in the middle of the street, beat the shit outta you if they could actually catch anyone, and proceeded to zip-tie you into custody rather than being able to "just log off" in response to our experience getting overwhelming.
Owing to the atmosphere of the time, it was during the aftermath of these original protests, where your author may have witnessed ignorant decisions based out of frustration and spite in light of the protests not really unfolding in a manner that I was really expecting them to. Which, predictably, lead to a falling out between your author and some of his friends who favored a more "platonic" form of protesting while in the company of so many police officers roaming around downtown Detroit, not to mention the Orwellian levels of surveillance that's conducted in the area on a daily basis.
Anyways, looking back, the tension that we experienced between each other represented a small, but, prescient microcosm of what occurred during the protests first days. Since the movement literally attracted different types of folks from different walks of life, all with varying levels of morality, notions of justice and ethics, there was a tangible and evident tension between the "respectable" elements of the crowd, and the rowdier, more ethically grey groups of of the protesters.
However, with all that being said, it would be dishonest and unfair for this author to only highlight the perceived failures of the movement's first days. After all, the reason why he would even keep coming out to hit the streets until my family members literally had to forbade me from doing so is because of the heaps of positive energy that coursed throughout the crowd when the protests were alive and well. It was safe to say that the protests ignited the first group of multi-racial, multi-generational fighters for liberation to hit the streets of the city since the communists helped to organize Black auto workers in the city and agitate for our rights over a hundred years ago. There were beautiful scenes of "White-trash" from Downriver advocating for the abolition of racist political system and police oppression. Fellow protesters with voices that better carried sound helped keep the chants for liberation going when our voices would get tired and weary. Other medicinal-minded protesters took it upon themselves to tend to anyone who got injured (best example of this was when a bunch of people carried this guy away to safety after he got shot directly in the chest with a rubber bullet, which, knocked the wind outta him so badly that he couldn't even stand up straight). Most importantly, it seemed like there was an organic sense of self-discipline on behalf of the crowd. For example, some protesters were contemplating busting into the downtown Nike outfitter to come up on some free clothes or bust into some corner store to clean the place out, but, they got visibly upset when most of the other protesters let it be known that we weren't on that type of time.
It's recalling these memories that help this author hold onto the faith that, if there is ever another popular uprising again, (and, make no mistake, it's almost an inevitability there will be another wave of mass protests in response to some killing of an unarmed Black person, or, an exoneration of their murderers somewhere in America. That's not embracing a "bleak" & fatalistic outlook, that's just real) when that time inevitably comes again, and fighters for liberation hit the streets once more, we'll be better prepared, more disciplined, and, ultimately, more successful in getting our point across to the political establishment; So that they know full and well when it comes to the issue of respect, dignity, and accountability towards our communities, those are issues where we will no longer just be "asking" for their adoption and application.
Maybe those men in their finely pressed suits will finally see that we aren't playing around anymore when they witness the so-called "unwashed masses", rather than attempting to "eat the small fish" by looting supermarkets or running through stores to grab shit, go after the symbols and structures of oppression that persist in our communities. Will they try and ignore our demands for economic justice when we decide to take back the wealth that's been cannibalized out of our communities if the payday loan stores and their customer records go up in flames? Can they brush off our demands for economic reorganization if the so called "street mobs" break into bank vaults, and brandish the money that's been refused to be given to the community because the fictitious notation of "not having good credit"? Can the political class pretend as if there's no need for reform as a means of avoiding revolution if protestors are able to storm government buildings, occupy them indefinitely, and threaten to burn the city's tax records if our demands aren't met? If those political power-brokers" had any sense, they'd know that the answer to all of these hypothetical questions was an emphatic "Hell no!"
Now, as author of Black Label Detroit, it'd probably be the absolute height of ignorance to assume that everyone would be on board with this concept of utilitarian violence and social struggle. Some of the more "respectable dissidents" even, (such as the so-called "organizers" of Detroit's protests last summer) might consider this view an embrace of "dangerous illegalism" that is, supposedly, not only harmful, but also "counterproductive" towards the goals of mass liberation itself. To that line of logic informed by the politics of respectability, this author only offers this rebuttal in response:
The very reason why you have next to nothing to show for your activity during the uprisings over the summer other than your dropped charges and your continued freedom is because of the fact that you made the mistake of attempting to talk FOR a community rather than giving a voice TO a community. What's loosely described as "the underclass" whether you want to confront it or not, represented and continue to compromise a large portion of the people ho hit the streets and live throughout the city. That's exactly why your "list of demands" while noble and not undesirable, didn't necessarily capture the attention of that underclass because it didn't really speak to their material needs, to their everyday struggles, or, their desires and aspirations for a radically different city.
If the critics of the approach outlined in this report want an example of a tried and tested method that liberation fighters could probably use to turn around our fortunes and become more effective, history provides us with a few excellent tips: Instead of priding ourselves on being as insular & outwardly standoffish as possible, we need to radically open ourselves up to our communities. This isn't some new & idealistic tactic, the Black Panthers originally used community engagement to rise in popularity and grow their numbers back in the 70's. The Panthers knew that they wouldn't be able to achieve the goal of liberation by only talking to like-minded people, or solely fighting or the interests of Black people; Their power, and their threat to the establishment came from their ability to build unlikely alliances. To the critics of this report, why do you think one of their biggest success stories came from the Chicago chapter building what was called the "Rainbow Coalition", an entity that was formed between various street groups like the Chicano-liberation oriented "Yung Lords" and the "Young Patriots"?; which, was a club that was set up to organize former White Appalachians who moved to the city for work. They even went so far as to appropriate the Confederate flag to lure working class Whites into their party.
It would be notable leaders in the Panther movement such as Fred Hampton and Huey Newton who would emphasize the need to organize more than just anti-capitalists. According to thinkers like them, one of the social groups that had the most revolutionary potential was a mass section of society that they liked to call the "street brothers". Who, essentially made up a sizeable portion of the Rainbow Coalition despite being drug dealers, hustlers, bank robbers, or the otherwise unemployed and disenfranchised. They would come to see the promise in these social outcasts by borrowing some of the ideas and concepts of class consciousness from another contemporary Black Marxist, the West Indian-born French psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. By analyzing the social relations that existed in his home of Martinique, he would go on to lay the framework for how fighters of liberation at the time (such as the Panthers) would reach out to this collection of "underclassed" individuals.
Even though Fanon would consider himself a Marxist, agreeing with Marx's analysis of class struggle and sharing his vision for the eventual emancipation of all oppressed peoples, one thing that this author considers very interesting about Fanon's train of thought is that he considered Marx's contempt for the social underclasses (who, he called the "lumpenproletariat", which, in Marx's German, roughly translates to "rag workers" or "people of rags") to be both completely ignorant and counterproductive to his stated goal of social liberation. Fanon considered this large mass of "de-classed" individuals a prime target for radicalization. Since, because of their social position, they had to find a means to survive outside of the capitalist system by engaging in degrading work such as: selling their bodies, resorting to crime, being unable to find consistent work, etc., they could possibly be receptive to a political project that sought to lift them out of their "underclassed" status.
Even though the current state of racial politics has resulted in Fanon's views becoming slightly dated, (for example: Fanon's analysis centered around race relations in a world where European countries still possessed empires that stretched across the globe, and, implemented a system of oppression based on a rigid racial caste system; We now live in a world where the old colonial empires have given way to corporate domination of those same lands and even here in the so-called "developed world"), Fanon's research into how oppressed peoples view themselves, and which methods that should be employed to reach them has been a cornerstone of both academic circles and street organizations since the late 1970's. Any fighter for liberation worth their title or perceived position would be wise to analyze some of the man's works.
Any activism interested in the pursuit of liberation for all people shouldn't be restricted to action in the political world though. Recuperating and reclaiming the anti-establishment potential of "low class culture" from the clutches of it's current stasis in capitalist realism, the idea that "getting it however you can" is all there is to life, will undoubtedly be a part of our struggle. Hip-hop originally emerged as a means for young people to talk about the experience of living in the decaying urban city, the concept of what "consciousness" in Hip hop even was would originate in this time period and would appear here and there after the genre got off the ground in the late 70's. Though, one of the only artists who would be able to excel at blending the aspects of social consciousness and life as a "street brother" seemingly effortlessly with each other emerged onto the scene decades later. Tupac Shakur's time in the music industry, in this author's editorial opinion, provides an interesting blueprint for anyone interested in reaching audiences of all types, political or otherwise.
It's probably no a coincidence that Shakur's outlook on life as well as his approach to music was shaped by his mother, Afeni, who was at one time a card-carrying member of the Panthers. Though, after Shakur's untimely and unanticipated death, the worlds of "conscious" and "gangster" rap would seemingly split apart from each other indefinitely. As the genre would continue to branch out and evolve as the new millennium began, it's growing popularity would eventually lead it full circle from being an unappreciated outcropping of culture, more worthy of being burned en masse by maligned parents into an invaluable commodity, meticulously curated and relentlessly coopted by the forces of the mainstream. In light of these events, the most pressing issue for any liberation fighter is to rekindle the connection between the streets and the socially conscious, and, fortunately for us, the influence that Detroit's/the Bay Area's "Shit Talk'" subculture provides us a potential path to put our theories into action.
Like most subgenres of 21st century gangster rap, "Talking Shit" is a musical ecosystem that thrives on the necessity of painting the picture of a nihilistic and dystopian existence. Exploits of personal betrayals, lost loved ones, slain rivals, & ill-gotten wealth. The key elements of the equation that separate "Shit Talking" from the rest of the field however, are it's uncompromisingly raw lyrical content (even though rappers in the field often contest amongst themselves on who's actually lying in their raps and who isn't), the "vulgar" content of the music being contrasted by melodies made with "classical" instruments such as violins and pianos or, samples just straight up ripped from r&b and techno artists that'd never be cleared in a million years, which, in turn, are tortured with speed and synchronized bass hits. Finally, the rapper's inhuman ability to bend the English language to it's breaking point in order to get off colorful, off-kilter and unpredictable rhyme schemes coalesces these elements into a potent formula that, while not being appropriate music to play in polite company, proves to be an irresistible product whose sound has come to proliferate the underground hip hop scene.
Usually, when the topic of gangster rap comes up, whether it be in casual conversation amongst it's own fans, or, as a topic of discussion between academic circles, the question of whether or not gangster rap has any "political" undertones is usually met with an emphatic "no". This conclusion is usually arrived upon, because, according to them, the world of gangster rap is almost universally devoid of any of the "power to the people", "we need to stop killing each other", and "fathers need to raise their kids" rhetoric that has patronized audiences since the 90's. And, according to their logic, if a song doesn't pursue that angle, it has no inherent political observations.
Needless to say, this is a viewpoint that Black Label Detroit doesn't agree with. Besides the fact that gangster rap ("Shit Talking" especially) is the most obvious and blindingly apparent conclusion of American exceptionalism and rugged individualism, the political aspects of "Shit Talking" are masked in the genre's omnipresent nihilism. To the critics of this viewpoint, I'd ask those of you to analyze the following verses:
"Fuck around and rob a white house for a stash of bricks/ Cause they flood the streets wit bricks and guns way back in '86"
Flint Metro rapper [NAME WITHELD]
"Most these cops crooked (fuck em), Fuck these hospitals, ambulance took an hour just to get to my nigga (R.I.P. Rez)/We was countin' bands, blowin' on the block chillin'/ Make me wanna hide out with the techs like a side-nigga"
Detroit Metro rapper [NAME WITHELD]
"How our songs in the city-they ain't booking us for shows?/ Yeah it's time for us to go yeah, it's time to hit the road/They don't wanna let us in? Shit, it's time to kick in the door"
Detroit Metro rapper #2 [NAME WITHELD]
(Editor's note: It was the editorial decision of Black Label Detroit to protect the identities of the featured artists, as well ass self-censor their song titles due to the unfair and predatory practice of law enforcement poaching articles featuring work produced by individuals who come from disadvantaged backgrounds in an effort to pursue indictments or any other such charges. Black Label Detroit categorically opposes and condemns this practice, and, out of an abundance of caution in the interest of the selected parties, this publication has opted to not provide any information that might directly or indirectly help any law enforcement pursue such tactics against them)
After reviewing the selected verses, this author would be very eager and supremely curious to know how any supposedly "knowledgeable" individual on the subject could reflect on these rhymes and still suggest that they're bereft of political any content... The politics that comes from the "Shit Talking" subgenre emanates from a sense of anger, vengeance, and the demand to be recognized for beating the statistical odds, and yet, still somehow feeling back the the entity you're adding a sense of culture to. One could easily imagine that, if they were to ask what the intention of these lyrics really are to the artists themselves, they'd simply suggest that they were only "being real" and didn't see the verses as inherently political. The opinion of this editorial isn't to suggest that the artist themselves are wrong, not at all. No, the point of all this build up is to illustrate how existing in the communities that breed this type of music is inherently political, some may realize it, and some may not. Speaking to the experience of coming from these places is an exercise of political expression; point blank. What may just appear like nothing more than a vulgar airing of personal problems on the surface, are, when you dig a bit deeper, is a viewpoint or critique of a hellish society, where you have to "go get it" before your the one who's "got", a dog-eat-dog existence.
So... what's the point of all this anyways? What the hell does obscure gangster rap, political activism, and identity have to do with each other? Is this author just trying to slap different concepts together in the desperate attempt of trying to form some vaguely coherent column to air his grievances? Hopefully, the information outlined in this report will convince the astute and intelligent readers among you that these hypothetical questions aren't the case. If this author has failed to prove this point so far, let him end with this conclusion:
The very reason why street movements and "insurgent" political entities have so far failed to truly ignite the public imagination, or, sufficiently scare the political establishment into recognizing the need to appease the underclass is because of the fact that no political party, organization, or, notable individuals have really reached out to the supposed "outcasts" of society. They're more concerned about talking for these communities rather than giving them a voice/or suggesting policies that would appeal to them. If the liberation fighter reading this report is genuinely interested in achieving some type of tangible power at any time in the near future, it's these masses of people have to be addressed, and their communities have to be placated. Any suggestion otherwise is denial and self-delusion.
Not only that, but through cultivating mass media in a way that appeals to these certain demographics (not by trying to "out-gangster" anybody, or putting on the persona of being "tougher" than them, instead, by making content that is as dark, as energetic, and as addictive to listen to as these "Shit Talking" artists) fighters for liberation could do more to advance our goals than any pointless protests put on by self-interested parties ever would. Only, the goal of our products wouldn't be to hit local radio stations or appear in ad campaigns for predatory businesses. It'd be to illicit the same response that rappers such as Tupac received from certain audiences such as the numerous examples of when parents would burn his CD's en-masse to protest his content. Boycotts, public denunciations by political officials, and media blackouts in the face of organic popularity would be a godsend to any artist who sought to rekindle the threads separating the needs underworld with the demands of activists political realm.
A successful revolutionary movement can only be built and will only succeed if it is built hand-in-hand with the individuals who fall "outside" of the class system. Until the day that happens, not only will disadvantaged communities continue to be disrespected and ignored by the powers that be, causing their residents to have to rely on less-than-respectable means to survive, but also "grassroots" movements will inevitably fall victim to eventual obscurity and irrelevance by the wider community because they don't actually represent their interests.
Ignore these conclusions at your own peril.
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