Killer Mike of Run the Jewels
When it comes to individual expression there are no rules, no gospel that’ll illuminate the righteous path. No burning bush or voice from the heavens. That’s the challenge, finding your own way. In most instances we thrive when our voices are heard, but does a privilege that meaningful need to abide by a social principle?
For the altruistic the ideal answer would be ‘yes.’ But what is it that compels an artist to speak out on one travesty and not the other? Why did Run the Jewel‘s Killer Mike write op-eds on Billboard and give on-stage rants following the Ferguson Grand Jury decision and the death of Eric Garner, but stay relatively silent on similar cases like Cleveland’s Tamir Rice? Nor explicitly write a Run the Jewels lyric around it? Conversely, why did Kendrick Lamar explicitly write a lyric around Trayvon Martin, and not any other case, in his latest socio-political powder keg, “The Blacker the Berry?”
Last year Nas sat down with Michael Eric Dyson, university professor at Georgetown, and made a compelling point:
“The socially conscious stuff can come off as preachy,” he said. “…some people stay away from that. It’s not their bag, but they still have some kind of artistic responsibility to do more than what’s the latest trend.”
The operative word is trend. Many entertainers, especially in the mainstream, base their social responsibility around popular opinion and how it’ll effect their image as a whole. “I’m more concerned about rappers speaking up on issues off records than on them,” says New York-based rapper and author Jay Mumford (a.k.a. J-Zone). “The records are entertainment, but too many artists are trying to protect their brand/bank account when it comes time to really make a statement. Jay-Z having no comment about Barney’s was a good example of that.”
Jay-Z’s silence towards an obvious case of racial profiling is troubling. He’s one of the most influential rappers of all time, and a gesture from him would be huge — but nill. This verses Joey Bada$$ who’s welcomed the responsibility. His most recent video for “Like Me” is a prime example. He shines a light on police brutality, threading bouts of racial profiling in the lyrics without batting an eye:
So where and how do artists handle social responsibility? The perspectives vary.
“I don’t think a lyricist should adhere to anything that they don’t actually believe in,” said Michael Eagle II (a.k.a. Open Mike Eagle) when asked if lyricists should be more socially conscious. “I charge corporations and consumers with that responsibility. Lyricists are only responsible to their own truth.”
LA-based artist Open Mike Eagle — who is never shy about voicing his opinion (as heard on albums like Unapologetic Art Rap) — has a valid point, lip service can only go so far. We’ve all been on the receiving end of insincere apologies and seldom does it rectify anything. In most cases it only makes matters worse.
Michael Eagle II (a.k.a. Open Mike Eagle)
What is up for debate is truth — that truth can be as much an abstract as fiction. In that sense a truth — when absolved from checks and balances — can be as destructive as a lie. The scales have been out of balance for so long that it’s hard to take anything at face value anymore.
J-Zone who wrote the no-holds-barred book Root For The Villain: Rap, Bull$hit, and a Celebration of Failure shares a similar sentiment with Open Mike Eagle. “You see ball players doing Read to Achieve commercials because the NBA feels they should be role models,” said J-Zone. “But the players go and misspell words on social media.”
“Artists were lined up with Rock the Vote and weren’t registered to vote. It seems disingenuous. Be who you are, but on the same token I don’t think any artist is completely negative or positive. Ice Cube was conscious and a hoodlum at the same time on his early records. We need to see that entire range because that’s the most realistic view — the full one. I think the biggest issue is there’s such a lack of balance in rap as to what receives media attention. The negative is the only side making headlines because images of young black males doing negative things fuel that corporate train that took over hip-hop. People are fed a line that says positive or conscious hip-hop won’t sell.”
Jay Mumford (a.k.a. J-Zone)
Capital has played a big part in rap’s shift from political forum to opulent circus. It embraces excessive wealth, the need to get mine and now at all costs. A majority of mainstream rap is manically obsessed with this idea, leaving little room for insight and sense. In recognizing this trend it is possible to see reform, but only when that focus is redirected towards equilibrium.
“I feel two ways about social responsibility when it comes to hip hop,” says Michael Tumbarello (a.k.a. Baje One of Junk Science, a group that takes pride in its conscientious approach to rap). “Part of me feels that the only social responsibility that rappers have is to make the best art they can make. It’s been my experience that this music sets people free, so make good music, and more people will [be] free. Now on the other hand, I appreciate what Q-Tip said in his recent — and necessary — lecture to Iggy Azalea. He said that hip-hop can never detach itself from being a sociopolitical movement.”
Michael Tumbarello (a.k.a. Baje One of Junk Science)
Paradox is inevitable in this scenario. Culture loves variety and hip-hop is no exception. It’s important however — as Baje One and J-Zone eluded to — to find that balance. And in mainstream rap, the most visible of its kind, there is little of that going on. An equal give and take is essential, and without it things can go awry. That imbalance has manifested in ways that are hard to quantify, but it’s clear that there is little room for genuine altruism.
“Hip-hop carries a wide range of talents,” added Jacksonville-based lyricist and advocate for social enlightenment, Tough Junkie. “Those talents are normally focused in those fields. Most mechanics are not talkers, and a lot of service sales people don’t fix machines. In this case, we have lost the voice for change. We have the audience. We have the mics and speakers. We don’t have the message. Thus, we don’t have any control or power. It is on us to be leaders.”
Tough Junkie
It’s true, an artist can only be responsible for themselves not their fans. To expect anything more would be impractical if not impossible. But with the scales being so lopsided, is it now time to demand more from our artists? Maybe, maybe not, but the conversation is certainly worth having. And as Tough Junkie stated, it’s time for a leader (or leaders rather) to help facilitate that discussion. Maybe then we could get a complete portrait of a genre that is so often misunderstood.
