One thing that I’ve been discouraged by is the lack of antiwar music. It certainly is out there, but does not come close to what was seen during the Vietnam war era. Perhaps it’s because of the lack of awareness due to our consumption culture, reality TV nation, or lack of a draft. But for whatever the reason, so much music of today is petty garbage more concerned with the latest pair of sneakers or mommy and daddy problems than real world issues.
Lowkey, aka Kareem Dennis, with the help of M-1 of Dead Prez and Black the Ripper offers the most riveting critique of American foreign policy that I have ever heard in song form. In a truly beautiful and dark style, Lowkey holds no punches attacking American militarism gone awry and “Peace President” Obama. An ode to his honesty is the following, “I say things that other rappers won’t say ’cause my mind never close like Guantanamo Bay.”
Additionally, this man is no foreign policy lightweight. From pondering a possible “humanitarian” attack on Syria:
Drones over Pakistan, Yemen and Libya
Is Obama the bomber getting ready for Syria?
To the Obama administration’s coup attempt in Ecuador:
Did he defend the war? No! He extended more
He even had the time to attempt a coup in Ecuador
It’s clear that he digs deeper than what the establishment media spoon feeds the rest of society.
Personally, I am not a huge fan of rap. This song, however, blew my mind. It is a must listen.
[Note: some bad language and a cold dose of reality.]
rap is considered music?
Nice find. Although I'm not a huge fan of rap, I respect and enjoy all forms of art and can definitely find enjoyment from the message. I looked at the list and am surprised to not find Tool and A Perfect Circle in there more often. Especially pieces like the song "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rythym of the War Drums". Maynard is the one person in the music industry who I think is extremely aware of what's going on and has on numerous occasions made that apparent. Being a former west pointer might have something to do with that …
A beautiful piece, harkening back to the roots of the hip hop genre; it started out as a raw, politically charged genre. This is actually part II, part one is also very biting. Easily makes up for the lack of anti-war music since Vietnam; it encapsulates the moral indignation we all should be feeling at the atrocities carried out in our names and paid for by our money.
I especially like the essential point of the first song, before this one: the problem is the system, not the people running it. The system rewards these policies, so it matters not who is in the white house. I hope the next four years lead to bigger protests, maybe even some direct action.
http://rapgenius.com/Lowkey-obama-nation-lyrics
Video of the first part of the song is here. Damn good piece.
Well done. Very creepy Obama joking about predator drones at the end. He's also joking about pedophilia, no? His daugthters were "pre-teen" at the time. Who writes such stuff?
Probably the same guy who wrote Bushs WMD-joke ("Those weapons of mass destruction have got to be here somewhere").
Anyways… good to see that there still is some rap that does not celebrate Dollar Notes, Cars and Hot Chicks.
I just wanted to keep this topic alive a little longer.Here's something outta NYC I stumbled into:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u3JSEqNtlg&fe…
From Immortal Techinque: http://www.youtube.com/artist/Immortal_Technique?…
Definitely not mainstream hip-hop. His interview on RT was pretty good: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGUFBp9EqJw&fe…
Do you think the fact that we don’t hear more anti-war music, is because 99% of U.S. Media is controlled by 5 corporations? Since the FCC deregulated radio stations in 1996, we continue to only hear a censored playlist. Like the 1’s owned by Clear Channel. Not to mention that Media outlets own the do own & control the music industry.
Idk? It’s just a thought…
Greetings, and let me congratulate you. You've made a first step towards discovering the real rap that's hidden out there.
While I'm a great fan of LowKey, here's what I personally consider "the most riveting critique of American foreign policy that I have ever heard in song form":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXbCwq4ewBU
(all 16 episodes are awesome must-watch infotainment/dissentnews, but no5 is one of the best)