FROM AFROS TO SHELLTOES BLOG » Other Side Of The Game

Ed Garnes Raphael Saadiq Tboz On Sept 11 And Why Soul Music Will Never Die

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:43:25 +0000

The following joint is an exclusive excerpt from award winning writer Edward M. Garnes, Jr.’s long awaited collection Other Side of The Game: Rare Testimonials On Music & Black Cultural Production to be published by Home Grown in 2009.

Ed Garnes , Raphael Saadiq, & Tboz Talk, Going Solo, September 11, Tony! Toni! Tone!, And Why Soul Music Will Never Die

By Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

photo:www.myspace.com/shannonmccollum

When news broke that Raphael Saadiq’s first solo album, post Tony! Toni! Tone! , was droppin’, I was at the record store coppin’ Instant Vintage, which would later be nominated for five Grammy awards, like dope fiend Pookie in the movie New Jack City. Saadiq has always embodied the honest funk and feel good lyrics reminiscent of the jams that filled my Aunt Bobbie’s Vicksburg, Mississippi juke joint; in all of it’s gut bucket soul splendor. Immediately after hearing Saadiq’s tear jerking collaboration with TLC member T-Boz, on the negro spiritual “Different Times”, I was working the phones for a group dialogue. For well over an hour, I moderated a very candid discussion ( like old friends sippin’sweet tea) tracing the evolution of Saadiq, breakup of supergroup Lucy Pearl, and why soul music will never die. Tell a friend and dust off your record player!!!!

TBOZ: Coming from Oakland and playing in gospel groups, talk about how your style has developed over the years

SAADIQ: I think my style developed not only playing church music but more less mixing it with talent shows in high school. Over the years, my music fell into both genres gospel and more secular music mixing hip-hop and different flavors of R&B. After a while, it just sorta came together and that is what kinda makes it commercial.

ED: You have always been an unconventional artist across the board. Explain the process of not really sticking to the formula that everyone else is stuck on in contemporary R& B.

SAADIQ: I never look at my material or music as me being different. It is really the only thing that I know. I just really didn’t follow any trend. I just followed what I really liked, and I am just glad that people like you and TBOZ like it. When I saw people digging it, it gave me the courage to stick to my guns and do what I wanna do. When New Jack Swing was out, it was hot and I loved it and Teddy Riley. I bought it and listened to it, but I just kept doing what I was doing. Whoever came out, I just held on to my guns. And I guess that is against the rules, but it’s how I did it.

TBOZ: You stick with whatever works. If it’s not broke don’t fix it. Going more into your musical background, how did you learn to play instruments?

SAADIQ: My father always had an instrument in the house like the Jacksons except he didn’t whoop us. He would sit the guitar in the corner and he was a working man so he didn’t really play much in front of us. My brother picked up the guitar first and then I was second. I have a ton of brothers and sistas and some of us played piano and some guitar. And one day I started playing and everybody started looking at me like I could play. I just got excited from people making me feel like I was doing something at an early age. I kept playing after that.

TBOZ: You have a natural God given talent.

ED: I know that Larry Graham was a big influence on you and that a baseline from a Marvin Gaye song made you gravitate towards the bass. Describe the process of knowing that the bass would be the instrument you would focus on.

SADDIQ: We were going fishing one day and I was listening to this tape of a song by Marvin Gaye, “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You”, and the baseline was all over the place. I didn’t know then what instrument it was, but once I touched the bass guitar and figured out it was the instrument I gravitated toward it. Larry Graham is like one of my idol bass players. He was like the corner stone for Sly and the Family Stone and allot of people don’t know that. Sly was the hot thing but without Graham…. he made Sly.

Click Numbers Below To Read All Five Parts Of Interview

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Ed Garnes Femi Kuti Talk Music/Freedom

Outkast And How Hip Hop Became A Southern Thang

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:00:49 +0000

The South Got Somethin’ to Say

By Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

Hip hop journalism aint dead. And it surely lives in the south. Roni Sarig’s tome Third Coast: OutKast, Timbaland, and How Hip-Hop Became a Southern Thing is one of few books to trace southern musical roots from Mc Shy D to booty shake. Whether delineating the class dynamics of southwest Atlanta– giving birth to the funk and uninhibited creativity of Outkast– to detailing how black cultural traditions have defined America, Sarig’s work stands as an accessible cultural history sure to please die hard fans and intellects looking for the big picture. In this candid exclusive with Sarig, Ed Garnes gets his take on censorship, southern misconceptions, and the future of hip hop journalism.

In a market with hip hop publications for days your standout historical narrative examines hip hop from a socio cultural framework. Who exactly was your intended audience?

I tried to offer a little bit for everyone. It is kinda between two worlds…more big picture and academic written on a level with language that could be a textbook and also a book I hope connects with fans. In my mind, I was always trying to get a document that would be in the library and last so people could look to learn a real history. A lot of times, books (solely) for fans can be lightweight and not see the big picture

Your book shatters long standing cultural identity myths by illustrating the rich diversity amongst southern blacks. What major misconceptions did you aim to unpack with your collection?

There is always a tendency to view groups as all the same, and this is never true, especially in Atlanta.

What was interesting , as a former northerner and white person living in the south covering culture that is predominately African American for 11 years, is that the black community in Atlanta is stratified into two separate worlds ( the wealthily ,educated, and successful and folks struggling to get out of poverty) that never really touch each other.

What people miss when they associate the south with rednecks and white supremacy is a lot of what makes southern culture in black culture. Rather than thinking of the south as this ugly place of whiteness, we should look at the south place of rich black culture. I hope that my book changes those negative assumptions and associates the south with a positive picture.

photo credit: www.myspace.com/shannonmccollum

How important was detailing the history of Atlanta based legends like MC Shy D, Kilo, and Tony Rock who laid the foundation for the creativity we later see from Atlanta artists like Outkast?

Many people associate bass music with Miami, rightfully so, but a lot of the successful bass music that crossed over into the pop charts were Georgia based music groups. Obviously Outkast, TI and others have taken hip hop far beyond bass music, I think it is important to recognize the history of bass particularly, as a foundation. lil Jon and Ying Yang twins make music–changed around– still based on a bass music sound.

With crunk dominating the billboard charts where is the future sound of Atlanta headed….where does Atl go from here to continue it’s grip on the charts?

The biggest trend out of Atlanta has been snap music, which is almost a deconstruction of hip hop music as it gets simpler and simpler. Many have criticized snap for being disposable. I think snap music is fun and worthy music, but it ‘s getting more basic and may not get any bigger.

It think Atlanta hip hop has to go another direction and continue to grow like Gnarls Barkley whose music is really the future of hip hop….much more song oriented and much more musical .

Though I mention Outkast’s fall with Idewild and Andre 3000′s statements that he did not want to rap anymore, all of Andre ‘s recent appearances {on tracks by artists like UGK and DJ UNK } say to me Outkast is back into things and may come back with something even better than before. I would not write them off as much as I may have implied in the book.

Recent attacks on hip hop have challenged freedom of speech. What are your thoughts on the censorship debate seems?

I don’t think that the answer is telling rappers that are not allowed to use certain words…that does not seem fair or even enforceable.

Do people have the right to say what they want? Of course they do. Do companies have the right to legally sell anything that can be bought under our system of capitalism? Yes. But beyond the law, we have to get to the human question. What is our responsibility to respect each other? What is said on hip hop records is a reflection on the culture artists are coming out of….their reality. But that does not mean everything should be fair game!

Everyone has to ask themselves is the language that I use uplifting my community and society or is it not? It’s a good thing we live in a free society, but the downside is .. it is up to every individual to make that choice ..sometimes people don’t make the right decision.

What is the future of hip hop journalism?

As far as books, we are starting to see an emergence of serious hip hop writing like Jeff Chang’s Cant Stop Wont Stop which adds a cultural perspective in an intelligent way. There is coming to be time where hip hop is mature enough to now reflect on the past and understand it from a distance. So I think we will see more sophisticated writing.

It’s really just an issue of thinking deeply about the music. Artist themselves are not thinking too deeply about the music, which is ok, it is not necessary their job…I think it’s the writers job to challenge the artist and think deeply.

In terms of journalism, it’s tough because you are trying to sell to kids….if you give them work that is too conceptual or too artfully written it’s gonna be a hard sell.

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads, and holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).

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New Black: Tastemaker Kenny Burns Gets Dreams Out of Layaway

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:49:34 +0000

Editor’s Note: No story I have ever written caused as much controversy as one I wrote on Kenny Burns. While it began a fruitful relationship, it effectively ended another. Why, because we (black folks that is) are anchored in our own self hate. Case in point, a joint I did on Burns was butchered by an editor of my same race because they folded under pressure from a mainstream publication who found it hard to comprehend Burns’ success was really real. It became clear that why this publication could celebrate black folks at their worst, cover stories on brothers getting locked up or runnin’drugs, it would never fully embrace us at our stereotype crushing best. Success can ignite the insecurities of others. So I did the unthinkable at the time, gave them the two finger holla (PEACE OUT) and never looked back. So for your reading pleasure, peep the joint below free from editorial shackles.-- Peace Ed G.

The New Black: Tastemaker Kenny Burns Reps A Hip Hop Aesthetic

By: Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

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Whether you call it power, juice, swagger, or confidence, savvy businessmen Kenny Burns wields the kind of influence that not only cuts checks, but also leaves him wide open for criticism as value police question the opulence and character of a hip hop generation under fire like never before. But being flashy does not mean the young father absolves himself of social responsibility.

“The negativity should be exposed. But I am more than just some dude who throws parties. I understand struggle and the need for inspiration. Money can’t be the goal ( I left a fat check at Roc A Fella). It has to be about passion. My goal is to provide a cool ,relevant, and approachable role model that youth can aspire to…and use my power and influence and educate a new generation. I’m not a greedy dude…I share with my people,” says the love machine whose personal mantra centers on a simple credo “hate is the new love.”

In many ways, his intrinsic value of self assurance, that has industry heavy weights like Tracy Edmonds taking notes, has become a critical adaptive strategy necessary for traversing a fickle industry where individuality and forward thinking often breed contempt.

“There aren’t many leaders in the world; that is why there is a lot of hate. Hate is the new love because if folks are paying that much attention to you that is a sign of affection. I’ve been hated on since high school, and it’s taught me a lot about people. You have to reverse it. Hate can’t stop luv. That is why love is tattooed on my back. If I could attribute anything to my success, it’s the luv I had from my mamma and aunties,” replies the head strong visionary whose success regularly ignites the insecurities of others.

The 15 year industry tastemaker, fashion fresh prince, and music mogul known for being the flyest and smartest cat in the room, could have easily taken that good government job many baby boomers saw as the ultimate freedom pass to self sufficiency.

“People are out here living for other people. I suggest you live for yourself and nobody elses. If I had listened to my grandma when things got rough, I would have been working at Fedex or UPS right now,” says the D.C. native.{/column1}

{column2}

But Burns is hard headed, in the most progressive ways possible, and trusted his unshakeable instinct to ascend to VP of Roc A Fella records mentoring Kanye West, launch a clothing line with Ryan Glover, Ryan Kenny, allowing hip hop heads like Common and Jay Z to get their grown man on in French cut button down shirts, found his own record label Studio 43, and become the leading spokesman of a “new money” consortium remixing popular culture.

For the uninitiated, Burns is a “lifestyle specialist” adept at forecasting trends well before a hibernating status quo has a clue. Just as Harlem Renaissance artists, businessmen, activists, and politicians appropriated the term “New Negro” to challenge conventional notions of black identity, Burns represents a cooler offspring “The New Black,” a cultural armor defining a new space of creative expression and personal agency. He’s a dream merchant who brokers deals on Madison Ave, throws A list parties at Miami’s Versace Mansion, yet never loses cool points at the local barber shop.

“My new lifestyle coffee book (featuring photography from Johnny Nunez, Ben Rose, Midnight Socialite and art direction from DL Warfield) is called “The New Black.” In society, they are always looking for “The New Black.”.I am that voice. I don’t think there is anyone who carries the weight I carry in the community where there is no voice from a black man’s perspective. If I can make a nation of throw back jersey wearers change there clothes (I had hood dudes wearing salmon colored button ups) that’s self motivation on the highest level…imagine what I could do with my face on TV everyday,” quips an animated Burns detailing the impact of his latest intellectual property, a frank television program named The Kenny Burns Show, poised to give late night talk an ultra hip hero.

Besides the highly anticipated Kenny Burns Show, hosting the Black Poker Stars Invitational, featuring celebs including Nelly, Fazion Love, Kevin Hart, Eva Pigford, just may provide the quick witted personality his latest cultural quo; television star.
{/column2}

Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads, and holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University . His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

The Kenny Burns Show Is Crucial

CHRISETTE MICHELE ON BEING A LADY

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:07:17 +0000

OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME:

CHRISETTE MICHELE

The following joint is an exclusive excerpt from award winning writer Edward M. Garnes, Jr.’s long awaited collection Other Side of The Game: Rare Testimonials On Music & Black Cultural Production to be published by Home Grown in 2009.

PHOTO: www.SANDRAROSE.COM

Chrisette Michele has been here before. Inheriting the vulnerability and matchless vocal character of queens like Billie Holliday and Phyllis Hyman, she plainly personifies loves vacant assurances as well as its soul stirring potential. Michele’s musical gifts vacillate between the sonic mysticism of smoky jazz clubs and the boomin’ system vigor of hip hop. In this exclusive with Ed Garnes, Michele represents for everyday sistas.

ED: As far as your musical contributions, what do you feel will be your legacy?

CHRISETTE MICHELE : A great female writer and a great female producer. You don’t hear about too many great female producers …and I want to be a great one.

There is always infighting between “underground” and “mainstream.” Grammy nominations can keep critics at bay. How does acceptance on a mass level feel?

CHRISETTE MICHELE : I have a lot of friends like Raheem Devaughn, Leela James, India Arie, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott who have all begun to make the step into the mainstream…but still singning something that is very true to them that many other people sing about. So I am just excited to be in the company of so many great people..it means the world to me.

When you hear your music, that sista or brother riding the train to the 9 to 5 relates because you speak on a very human level. How important is making that deep connection with your audience?

CHRISETTE MICHELE : It is an important part of what I do. Actually when I write, I have conversations with people…and try to turn those conversations into songs just so I am always relating with whom I am speaking to.

The first album blew up. But great artists have the ability to evolve. What can fans expect as far as your artistry?

CHRISETTE MICHELE : I definitely think my second album will have me and my brother become noted producers. I am really excited to showcase what I have in my head.

In the media, especially for black women, there are some very demeaning images. Your image seems in direct contrast to the mainstream. What is your message for the everyday sista looking to be empowered ?

CHRISETTE MICHELE : Being a “lady” means a lot to me. The word “lady” embodies many things if you look in the dictionary or throughout history. Look at “ladies” from our past and right now. And, if you decide to call yourself a “lady”, that means you have a lot to live up to. Also “ladies,” get a job… a very good job.

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Ed Garnes Traces Anthony David’s Rise Circa 00′

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 17:56:59 +0000

Other Side Of The Game: Soul Singer Anthony David Traces His Musical Roots (2000)

By Edward M. Garnes, Jr.

Throughout his childhood in Savannah, GA he had displayed his consummate skill as an artist, churning out poems and screenplays, and acting in numerous productions in his community. But after performing in an Army benefit while a soldier, he realized that he could actually sing. Apprehensively, on the fire escape of his West End Atlanta abode, Anthony David began the laborious task of reading chord books and finding his voice – his signature sound. Right up the street from prestigious Morehouse and Spelman Colleges, in the city too busy to hate, he struggled to find that beautiful place where instrumentation and inspiration meet.

The first person he met on his journey, India Arie (who is now signed with Motown records with a slated March 2001 debut), would soon become his sister in soul. “I was getting out of my car at the Underground in Atlanta and I saw her and her friends. We became close over the years. We liked the same music and we kinda grew together.”

Hooking up with his musical mentor and guardian angel, Lazz, helped to further cultivate David’s gift. Standing a slim 6 feet tall, Lazz is the cool cat on the corner who use to bump Stylistics tunes in an age when ‘art for art’s sake’ was an everyday thing. “Lazz gave me a $10,000 music education in three months. He set a great foundation and taught me how to learn from other people. Like an angel, whenever he was around, things just seemed to work out. I gotta keep that power in reserve.”

Five years removed from his first guitar lesson and decked out in an Adidas pullover, loose-fitting jeans, and sneakers, Anthony David looks more like a high schooler on his way to class than a seasoned soul stirrer creating underground buzz and hosting open mike nights at poet Jessica Care Moore’s storefront in downtown Atlanta. Moore, who rose to national acclaim after her poetry mesmerized the notoriously brutal Apollo audiences for five straight weeks, is creating a new Black Renaissance in the dirty south. She and her husband, poet Shariff Simmons, packed up and brought their energy to Georgia. Moore Epics has quickly become to Atlanta what the Nuyorican Café and Lennox Lounge are to New York, and David is an intricate part of the building process.

“Me and Jessica are on the same vibe – like Saul Williams and Shariff, who she published. I would go to New York and we’d run in the same circles. I had been trying to do an open mike thing, and she gave me a chance.” And he is taking full advantage of the house that Moore built. In an incense haze, sitting on stage with guitar in tow, Anthony David doesn’t just sing. He testifies. He transcends.

The best exemplar of his unique voice is the groovy plea of “Cold Turkey,” in which he employs a catchy hook as a fiending lover attempts to exorcise his love jones. The lyrics plead, “Cold turkey/ feelings don’t go away so easy/ Just a little more time/ and I swear I’ll leave you alone,” leaving audiences empathetic and mesmerized by David’s sincerity.

“Eyes Closed” is a boastful ballad of a superman lover “I can do it with my eyes closed/ ‘cause I know how to treat a women with my hands behind my back/ I can keep the good loving coming.” Another tune, “Backstreet,” is a poignant social critique that infuses the singer’s political consciousness like a millennial “What’s Going On.” David readily admits that his work is a sharp veer from Billboard’s Top 40, and credits a soulful narrator for giving him the license to do his thing.

“I am slightly to the left. I could never sing anyone else’s songs or stuff I heard on the radio. But when I was introduced to Bill Withers – as I cultivated my work – it gave me confidence and something to relate to. If he could do it like that, then I could too.”

This modern day crooner is a redeemer who belts blues with an old school sensibility, and his craftsmanship as songwriter conjures up the liberating effect of unconventional singers like Withers, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. Yet, David is the Scottie Pippen of soul, the all around cat who is just as comfortable busting a flow as he is singing a ballad. A hip hop theologian, he blends rhymes and riffs like the ground-breaking and Bob Marley-influenced mainstream marauder, Lauryn Hill.

Like the work of all great artists, his emotional compositions detail what it is like to be human. To hurt…to love…to live. ” I like being human. Many of my songs come from everyday conversations. I soak up the influence for a little while and really don’t mess with it until it really comes. Until I feel it,” David explains. It’s this attention to detail, this respect for the craft, that sets artists like Anthony David apart from the norm. With descendants of soul like the flower child Erykah Badu and the buffed D’Angelo (and more recently, poet/vocalist Jill Scott, and funky child, Musiq) ripping billboard charts, taking home Grammy awards and thriving in the mainstream, perhaps timing couldn’t be better for Anthony David’s rise.

But David is quick to point out that soul never died. It’s recent popularity can be attributed to the consumers’ ever-evolving taste. “It’s always been there, even in the ‘80s with Prince and Cameo. People just weren’t receptive and didn’t pay attention. People are getting tired of stuff that doesn’t seem to be cared about by the people that make it. Consumers are getting smarter and demanding a better product.”

And David is right. Groups like Toni!Tony!Tone!, Mint Condition, and The Roots had been putting it down in obscure, smoke-filled, underground clubs before live music from actual bands got consumer stamps of approval. Like any other business, music is competitive, and persistence pays off. You may have to pour out your soul for years, playing small venues, sharing your gift, before industry insiders ever take notice. You might even have to play on your fire escape in front of no one, in anticipation of your big break.

The prospect of being a struggling artist was not the sexiest of career choices for David. People were unreceptive to authentic soul, yet David always believed. He put in the work. He moved beyond despair. And when asked what the secret to his growing success is, he steadfastly replies, “I loved music even when music didn’t love me.”

David has a new album slated for independent release in the spring of 2001.– The End

[end_columns]

Ed Garnes Femi Kuti Talk Music/Freedom

Edward M. Garnes, Jr. — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:31:17 +0000

Give Us Free

Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti liberates us all

By Edward M. Garnes Jr.

The following interview is an exclusive excerpt from award winning writer Edward M. Garnes, Jr.’s long awaited collection Other Side of The Game: Rare Testimonials On Music & Black Cultural Production to be published by Home Grown in 2009.

Femi Kuti is what happens when the rhythms sections of James Brown, George Clinton, and James Brown all aim at redemption. He’s the soul prince of Afrobeat, a polyrhythmic blend of jazz, funk, and African percussion driven into international acclaim by his late father, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti. The award winning Nigerian musician has kept his family legacy in tact while defining his own musical space with classic songs of freedom and spiritual transformation including “Black Men Know Yourself,” “Beng Beng Beng,” “’97,” and “Wonder Wonder.” Besides inheriting his father’s musical soul, he also shares his inclination towards issues of social justice as the revered composer is known for challenging African politics and speaking out on the international AIDS crisis.

Celebrating his Definitive Collection release, Kuti talks freedom, black music, and second slavery in a rare interview with Ed Garnes.

ED: I have admired how you have never taken the bait of others who want you to compete with your father’s legacy. Speak to how you a spent a career forging a distinct musical identity of your own; yet incorporating some of the spirit of his work.

KUTI : This question comes up very often. In Africa, we don’t look at father and son relationships as rivals. We see our fathers as our teacher, whether or not it is to our sons or daughters. In a way, it then becomes a tradition in which to follow in our fathers footsteps. This is not dissimilar to the griot culture where stories are passed on from adult to child and so on. All we are doing is carrying on the message my father started to create a more fair society for everyone.

ED: Though you grew up listening to the Motown sound of the states, what about jazz (Miles and Coltrane) spoke to you? What were other key influences in your musical development?

KUTI : I really grew up listening to Jazz rather than Motown. Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and even Dizzie Gillespie.. you can’t beat these artists. Obviously, I listened to other artists such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, KC and the Sunshine Band, but ultimately, I always go back to pure jazz. I have also started to listen to more of my fathers’ music which again I find quite inspirational. When I did my last studio album, Fight To Win, the record company at the time put me in touch with Mos Def and Common. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but ultimately, I am totally ensconced in afrobeat. My new studio album is pure afrobeat. Who knows what will influence me next.

ED: Afrobeat is a mix of many forms of music out of the black experience. Your music has a “soul force”. How have you been able to make Afrobeat popular amongst folks in America who grew up with R&B, Soul, and Hip Hop?

KUTI: I don’t know – afrobeat is a very joyous music and I think people pick up on the beat and you can’t but help yourself to dance and enjoy yourself. I think music is what you feel not what you are influenced by. Look at Latin music, salsa has a beat that can be quite infectious although it is sung in a different language!

ED: Music can often affect the values by which we live and die. You have always mixed social commentary and politics in your work as well as worked towards issues of justice and freedom outside of just music. How do you see your role as an artist?

KUTI: My father got it right “Music is a Weapon” and we have to use it carefully. I write about things that I feel passionate about. If this message (in the music) gets across and makes a difference, then what a bonus. People need to enjoy the afrobeat experience, but they need to also take a message away with them.

ED: You have long been an activist on the AIDS crisis in America and abroad. Why do you feel there has been so much cultural miscommunication about the real effects of disease and AIDS’ origin? What are some strategies you have found useful in spreading AIDS awareness?

KUTI: AIDS is a massive issue all over the world; especially in Africa. AIDS in Africa is definitely being spread due to ignorance. A lot of it has to do with the church and how they are against using contraception. We need to talk more openly about the whole issue and to educate people. In 10 years, there will be massive crises. For example, I went to Zimbabwe and there are so many orphans and elderly people. This has huge repercussions on the future of these countries.

ED: Speak to the concept of “second slavery” and practical ways black folks can achieve liberation and personal freedom.

Slavery is not over yet. It has taken new forms, that’s all. For example, England celebrated, this year, the abolition of slavery, but it’s a total hypocrisy! Over the last five centuries, Africa has never been given the chance to rule itself. During the independence era, Europe and the United States set up and supported the governments who respected their interests. Yes, slavery has disappeared but the attributes of slavery have not gone. Africans continue to work in offices for the West today, they wear western clothes, and they become Christians and Muslims. The American and European multinationals help themselves to our natural resources as and when it suits them. They pump our oil and enrich a handful of individuals who enslave their people. That’s what I mean by second slavery.

Can I change any of this… N’Krumah tried, Marcus Garvey, Malcom X, even my father. We can’t give up. We need to keep on trying. My son needs to and his son needs to until we start to see the change that we want.

About Ed Award winning writer, educator, counselor, and activist Edward M. Garnes, Jr. is the founder of From Afros to Shelltoes: Art, Action, and Conversation, a nationally acclaimed series of cultural productions confronting the social divide between elders and hip hop heads, and holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and a M.A. in Counseling from Michigan State University. His seminal essay, ” Sweet Tea Ethics: Black Luv, Healthcare, and Cultural Mistrust,” currently appears in Not In My Family: AIDS in the African American Community, a 2007 NAACP Image Award nominated collection edited by Gil Robertson. (www.afrostoshelltoes.com).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Shannon McCollum Conjures Gordon Parks

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:30:23 +0000

I met Shannon years ago working on a story for an Atlanta publication. I could tell you how dope he is; but read the classic joint (so dope it became Shannon’s official bio) and peep the video to see for yourself.–Ed

OTHER SIDE OF THE GAME

Internationally Acclaimed Photographer Shannon McCollum Conjures Gordon Parks

by Edward M. Garnes Jr.

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In the height of ATL’s midday rush, everyone from round-the-way girls to the elitist upper management types marvel at the life-like depiction of Lenny Kravitz. The image is more addictive than the over-priced coffee hawked at the quaint Little Five Points spot. But this is how most people experience the work of Shannon McCollum – by simply living. Anyone can shoot images. McCollum embodies experiences.

The self-taught artist inherited his proficiency from his father (a former photographer for The Atlanta-Journal Constitution) whose images of Nelson Mandela, Earth Wind & Fire and Muhammad Ali adorned his childhood home. “My father is a photographer and it was always in my family. My dad gave me a camera, all the lenses I needed and all the film I could ever use. I don’t have any schooling, but I’m an aggressive learner,” McCollum recounts. After 15 years of blood, sweat, and film, the silent rebel was launched into international acclaim while MTV captured him shooting exclusives of Gerald Levert’s daughter, Carlysia, on the reality show, Sweet 16.

Navigating beyond industry politics with an infectious southern charm and keen cultural eye, McCollum’s candid portraits have traced the evolutionary genius of funk mavens OutKast, captured the elusive flair of Erykah Badu, confirmed John Legend’s cool, reaffirmed The Last Poet’s necessity, and redeemed the Notorious BIG. His intimate masterpieces have blessed the pages of the coveted publications The New York Times, Rolling Stone, XXL, Boston Globe, Vibe, and Black Enterprise.

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McCollum has an uncanny foresight to identify and document up and coming artists who become musical icons that drive our culture. From the beginning of OutKast’s career as southern artists with a couple of radio-friendly regional hits to becoming multi-platinum global phenomena, McCollum recorded their evolution.

Considered the Gordon Parks of Hip-Hop, McCollum has shot Goodie Mob, Brian McKnight, Jermaine Dupri, P. Diddy, Wu Tang Clan, Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson, Cicely Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., to name a few.

Absent of pretense and an ultra fabulous method, McCollum is the visionary of choice among underground kings and modern day musical legends. Just as Langston Hughes penned verses for everyday people, McCollum’s legacy is anchored in the heart of common folks who appreciate his endearing productions.

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