STOLEN CULTURE (Mumia Abu-Jamal) : LA IMC

STOLEN CULTURE

[Col. Writ. 10/29/01] Copyright Mumia Abu-Jamal

Every generation must, out of relative obscurity,

discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it.

--- Frantz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth

The current craze in rap/hip-hop music, commonly

called 'gangsta rap,' is widely criticized by middle-

class, and middle-aged, observers, who see the

music as (if they see it as 'music' at all!) nihilistic,

foul, negative, and profoundly anti-woman in tone.

It is this very negative response of the elders of the

Civil Rights and Feminist eras that further endears

it to the very young, who have few thrills in their

lives that are sweeter than upsetting their parents

and other elders.

However, neither the phenomenon called 'gangsta'

music, nor the related pimpology that is reflected in

popular music, comes out of the other. Both trends

arise from the commercial exploitation of Black

popular culture, and also from the political repression

visited upon Black America from the national

government.

In a recent discussion with a twenty-something who

was a new import to Death Row, the writer was

surprised by the young man's positive remarks about

pimps and pimping.

When several elder men asked him about his ideas,

and where they came from, they were further surprised

that the source for his positive views was a 1970s-era

flick called "The Mack," which glorified pimp life. He,

in turn, was truly surprised to learn that the movie

was a fantasy, and that in many communities, such

as his hometown, Philadelphia, the term, "pimp,"

was a term of derision; a put-down.

"You mean it wasn't really like that, ina old days,

like it was in 'The Mack'?", he asked, incredulously.

Such is the power of film, that a youngster can view

such escapist fantasy, and think it portrayed true life.

How many young rappers, who glorify pimp life

in their music, think the same thing?

There is another, far more sinister reason, explained

by Geronimo ji-jaga, the former Defense Minister of

the L.A. Black Panther Party, and former political

prisoner:

Huey Newton gave a lecture on that one time

and we had foreseen that this was gonna

happen. After the leadership of the Black

Panther Party was attacked at the end of

the '60s and the early '70s, throughout the

Black and other oppressed communities,

the role models for the up-coming

generations became the pimps, the

gangsters, the drug-dealers, etc. This is

what the government wanted to happen.

The net result was that the gangs were

being formed, coming together with a

gangster mentality, as opposed to the

revolutionary progressive mentality we

would have given them. So, by

eliminating or driving the progressive

leadership -- the correct role models

underground, killing them and putting

them into prison eliminating them --

all of these younger generations were

left prey to whatever the government

wanted to put them into.

[fr. Interview with H. Kleffner (1993)]

Therefore, the 'gangsta'-pimp twist has its origins

in economic, cultural exploitation, as well as

government, political repression.

Similarly, long-time readers of this column will

recall the tale of yet another young Death Row

denizen, who, although he possessed an acute

intelligence, knew absolutely nothing significant

about the Black Panther Party, even though he

was born, lived, and almost died in North Philadelphia

streets, perhaps a mile from where the old Panther

office stood, on Columbia Avenue (since renamed

after the late civil rights lawyer, Cecil B. Moore).

His most influential cultural consumption?

While he listened to rap, he was turned on the most by

the exploits of Cuban gangster, Tony Montana, of the

film, "Scarface." More young rappers were perhaps

deeply influenced by the obscene wealth accrued by

the immigrant cocaine dealer, than by the exploits

of other rappers.

The lesson here is that toxic cultural productions

further produces toxic cultural products, and while

one is lauded as powerful art, the other is damned as

dangerous doggerel. What is missed, however, is

that they are all intimately related.

For both art forms are based on what the late Dr. Huey

P. Newton (founder, Black Panther Party) called the

"illegitimate capitalists," or those who sought to acquire

capital through extra-legal means. And both reflected

U.S. populations that were excluded from well-paying

avenues of American economic life. One produces

the other.

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THEY ARE PLANNING TO MURDER MUMIA!!

SAVE THE DATE - DECEMBER 8TH - FOR MUMIA!

PLEASE PASS THE WORD!

"We are fighting the last battle to Free Mumia, and need support now

more than ever. We need donations of money, calling cards, copy cards,

etc. and we really need manpower. We need people to be in the streets

every day putting out information, demonstrating, raising money, and doing

whatever you can to help."

"Tell judge pamela dembe to hold an evidentiary hearing and a new
post-conviction relief appeal, to hear the confession of Arnold Beverly
and to let Mumia be at the hearings in his "trial". Tell mayor john
street to keep his promise and do what he can to help Mumia receive a

fair trial and to hold an independent investigation into the case. (you

can get a sample of both of these letters at http://www.freemumia.com)

pamela dembe: 1417 criminal justice center 1301 Filbert St. philadelphia
pa, 19107 Phone 215 683-7148 Fax 215 683-7150

john street: room 215 city hall philadelphia pa 19107
Phone 215 686-3000 Fax 215 686-2170"

PLEASE CONTACT:
International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ
P.O. Box 19709, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Phone - 215-476-8812/ Fax - 215-476-6180/
E-mail - icffmaj@aol.com /www.mumia.org
AND OFFER YOUR SERVICES!

Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:
    Mumia Abu-Jamal
    AM 8335
    SCI-Greene
    175 Progress Drive
    Waynesburg, PA 15370

!! PEOPLE GET READY !!

******************************************************
This column may be reprinted and/or distributed by
electronic means, but only for non-commercial use, and
only with the inclusion of the following copyright
information:

Text (c) copyright 2001 by Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights
reserved. Reprinted by permission of the author.
******************************************************

Mumia Abu-Jamal is the author of three books: 'Live
from Death Row', 'Death Blossoms', and 'All Things
Censored'.

Write to Mumia directly at:
Mumia Abu-Jamal AM 8335
SCI-Greene
175 Progress Drive
Waynesburg, PA 15370

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STOLEN CULTURE (Mumia Abu-Jamal)