ktlight
10th February 2012, 09:18
Music Video with Scenes out of the Movie Picture "Malcolm X" with Denzel Washington.
SDF8Evb_jQw
"There was a time, circa 1991, when hip-hop wasn't all about bling and bitches.
Back in the day, the beat dropped and so did some Gil-Scott Heron-inspired wordplay, a call for justice in the inner city, and a shout-out to Malcolm X.
Founded by rapper Speech (born Todd Thomas), Atlanta collective Arrested Development belonged to that generation of the Golden Era. "Hip-hop had so many groups -- Public Enemy, X-Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, Arrested Development -- with a political aspect to them," he recalls. "They were on mainstream charts and not just underground."
Twenty years later and Arrested Development is still fighting for social change, political action, and black culture, even bringing the revolution to the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival tonight.
We spoke with Speech about millennial rap's lack of substance, his disillusionment with President Barack Obama, and why he'd vote for Ron Paul in the 2012 election.
Crossfade: You've been putting out a daily news digest. What is The Hoopla? Is there a definite activist bent to it?
Speech: I think it's a mixture. It's guilty-pleasure stories mixed with stories we think everybody needs to know something about.
The goal is to introduce people to certain stuff. There are activists who're already very hip to anything we're likely to put in The Hoopla. But then there are all different types of activists ... There are black activists, animal activists, environmental activists.
Our band is a combination of it all. Not all of us have the same interests. So this newsletter is basically a mish-mash of all these diverging thoughts.
One of The Hoopla's recent featured items was financial analyst Frederick Ravid's petition to "Tell Obama to Cease FDA Ties to Monsanto." What's so bad about Obama getting in bed with an agricultural corporation like Monsanto?
It's horrible because Monsanto is one of the worst companies as far as buying up seeds, copyrighting them, genetic modification, and all of this stuff. Our government being in cahoots with anybody who has any ties with Monsanto can only be horrible for our nation's food protection.
Are food issues and agricultural policies something you're deeply interested in?
Without a question. To me, it's obvious that all of us have to be interested. Because no matter what your political views are in life, we all have to eat. So when people start owning things that our god created and are totally meant for us to survive and live off, that's scary.
Monsantos is sort of the big example. I know there are other scenarios out there that are just as bad. But I think that's when it made me realize at least that every one got to be an activist on this issue, it doesn't matter what your political stances are.
How do you think Obama did in his first term?
Honestly, I'm disillusioned with, generally, politics. And I feel disillusioned with some things that Obama has done, especially with the wars. At the same time, I like him. I've met him and I like him as a person.
Most presidents that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime have not had any type of perfect record. And I feel for any president, because the way our government works and especially with the partisan rifts that happen, it's very tough to get anything accomplished.
I've really been refreshed by Ron Paul. That's probably been my favorite candidate lately. "
source
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2012/02/arrested_development_rapper_speech_obama_ron_paul.php
SDF8Evb_jQw
"There was a time, circa 1991, when hip-hop wasn't all about bling and bitches.
Back in the day, the beat dropped and so did some Gil-Scott Heron-inspired wordplay, a call for justice in the inner city, and a shout-out to Malcolm X.
Founded by rapper Speech (born Todd Thomas), Atlanta collective Arrested Development belonged to that generation of the Golden Era. "Hip-hop had so many groups -- Public Enemy, X-Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, Arrested Development -- with a political aspect to them," he recalls. "They were on mainstream charts and not just underground."
Twenty years later and Arrested Development is still fighting for social change, political action, and black culture, even bringing the revolution to the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival tonight.
We spoke with Speech about millennial rap's lack of substance, his disillusionment with President Barack Obama, and why he'd vote for Ron Paul in the 2012 election.
Crossfade: You've been putting out a daily news digest. What is The Hoopla? Is there a definite activist bent to it?
Speech: I think it's a mixture. It's guilty-pleasure stories mixed with stories we think everybody needs to know something about.
The goal is to introduce people to certain stuff. There are activists who're already very hip to anything we're likely to put in The Hoopla. But then there are all different types of activists ... There are black activists, animal activists, environmental activists.
Our band is a combination of it all. Not all of us have the same interests. So this newsletter is basically a mish-mash of all these diverging thoughts.
One of The Hoopla's recent featured items was financial analyst Frederick Ravid's petition to "Tell Obama to Cease FDA Ties to Monsanto." What's so bad about Obama getting in bed with an agricultural corporation like Monsanto?
It's horrible because Monsanto is one of the worst companies as far as buying up seeds, copyrighting them, genetic modification, and all of this stuff. Our government being in cahoots with anybody who has any ties with Monsanto can only be horrible for our nation's food protection.
Are food issues and agricultural policies something you're deeply interested in?
Without a question. To me, it's obvious that all of us have to be interested. Because no matter what your political views are in life, we all have to eat. So when people start owning things that our god created and are totally meant for us to survive and live off, that's scary.
Monsantos is sort of the big example. I know there are other scenarios out there that are just as bad. But I think that's when it made me realize at least that every one got to be an activist on this issue, it doesn't matter what your political stances are.
How do you think Obama did in his first term?
Honestly, I'm disillusioned with, generally, politics. And I feel disillusioned with some things that Obama has done, especially with the wars. At the same time, I like him. I've met him and I like him as a person.
Most presidents that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime have not had any type of perfect record. And I feel for any president, because the way our government works and especially with the partisan rifts that happen, it's very tough to get anything accomplished.
I've really been refreshed by Ron Paul. That's probably been my favorite candidate lately. "
source
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/crossfade/2012/02/arrested_development_rapper_speech_obama_ron_paul.php