In an ongoing battle between free speech and rap music, it has now been revealed that the Supreme Court will not hear Taylor Bell AKA T Bizzle’s case, therefore leaving the 2010 high school suspension in place and causing the line between art and reality to become worryingly crooked. This comes soon after Atlanta greats Killer Mike, Big Boi and T.I. all called for a re-ruling on his early case, providing a 34-page brief on the issue.
The suspension was placed in relation to Bell’s song, which condemned two coaches over allegations of misconduct towards female students; an allegation yet to be refuted. Despite recording the track in a studio outside of school over the 2010 Winter break, they claimed that the vulgar content threatened the coaches and therefore was linked back and deemed unreasonable.
In The New York Times’ original article T Bizzle defended his free speech saying, “These coaches are basically assaulting the children, even if it’s verbally.”
Killer Mike touched on this in his op-ed Free Speech – Unless It’s Rap?, saying, “If your child attended a school where male athletic coaches were accused of sexually harassing female students, would you want school administrators to investigate the allegations or punish the young man who made them public?”
Where is the line between art and reality, free speech and persecution? Using Killer Mike’s example, no one questions songs like Bob Marley’s I Shot The Sheriff, but when the same lyrical content is reflected in hip-hop it is somehow a problem. What gives someone the right to say that an artist can be punished for his or her work? Without this Supreme Court case, we’ve just been left hanging.
We are yet to hear responses from Killer Mike, T.I. and Big Boi, but no doubt they will be disappointed on the verdict.
Image via Rolling Stone
Killer Mike continues to become one of the best musicians/activists of our modern time, and has once again joined Bernie Sanders at a rally in South Carolina, where he delivered yet another powerful, political speech about why he is voting for Sanders.
Recently, a young Black woman interrupted a private event where Hillary Clinton was speaking, to demand an apology for mass incarceration of African Americans in 1996, and to bring up actual quotes that Clinton has said in the past. Holding a sign that says “We have to bring them to heel”, the girl walked in front of everyone to hold up the sign, before addressing Clinton directly asking her to apologise to Black people. Unfortunately, she was disregarded entirely and was dismissed by Clinton, as the surrounding people hissed at her and told her she was being rude. Actual hissing noises. After that, she was escorted out by security, with Clinton saying, “Now, back to the issues” as if to say the girl’s questions weren’t an issue at all.
Naturally, when footage of this surfaced online, people went ballistic and Clinton was put under further scrutiny as to why she treated this peaceful protestor the way she did. Killer Mike especially, wasn’t having any of this.
Comparing the incident to another one involving Sanders and two Black women protestors, where Sanders actually shook their hands and let them speak whilst he stood to the side, Killer Mike (real name Michael Render) said “The proof is in the pudding every time.” Render also went onto draw attention to the fact that 51 years ago, Sanders actually chained himself to a Black woman in a protest against segregation, which is an astounding move even now let alone back then.
“If I could find a picture of you from 51 years ago chained to a black woman, protesting segregation, and I know that 51 years later you’re willing to fold your arms, hold your head and listen to two black girls yell and scream – rightfully so – as opposed to telling them to ‘shut up’ after you’ve read your own words… as opposed to someone who will tell you ‘later’, when it comes to your children dying in the streets, I know that the only person that I have the conscious to vote for is Bernard Sanders. I know that the only person my logical beautiful black mind will allow me to vote for is Senator Bernie Sanders.”
Take a look at the footage for yourself below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G4RFH2Qo1E
Read more:
Killer Mike Pens Op-Ed “Free Speech – Unless It’s Rap?”
Killer Mike Speaks Out About Sexism In The Music Industry
Image: NME
Back in last December, Killer Mike, along with Big Boi and T.I., co-wrote and signed his name to an amicus brief calling for a reruling on the case of Bell v. Itawamba County School Board. The case in question concerns Mississippi high school student Taylor Bell, who was suspended in 2010 as a direct result of a rap song that he wrote and recorded. The song accused two of Bell’s coaches of sexual misconduct, following confidences made to Bell by fellow female students. Bell posted the track on Facebook, but he never actively performed or aired the song within the school itself.
Killer Mike (real name Michael Render), award winning rapper and community activist, has now co-authored an op-ed, along with University of Richmond associate professor, Erik Nielson urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. Though more than one complaint is made as to the handling of the case, including the shocking lack of proper investigation carried out by the school authorities, the op-ed also strongly suggests that Bell’s concerns were dismissed due to his expression through rap.
“If your child attended a school where male athletic coaches were accused of sexually harassing female students, would you want school administrators to investigate the allegations or punish the young man who made them public?”
Opening with this pertinent question, the piece goes on to illustrate how Itawamba County School failed to take Bell’s concerns in a serious light. Highlighting Bell’s spotless disciplinary record, the op-ed also mentions that Bell was convinced that any complaint against the coaches to the school would “fall on deaf ears”. It is a familiar story of a student feeling powerless against the authority of adult figures. It is also worth noting that the female students who originally confided in Bell affirmed the allegations in sworn affidavits.
Though initially the song was overtly brushed off by the school, with one of the coaches in question stating that he thought it was “just a rap”, the track has become the point of contention since Bell appealed his punishment. Killer Mike and Nielsen argue that Bell was not punished for making those allegations, but for choosing to express them through the wrong medium.
Image via Instagram
“As we argued in an amicus brief filed on Bell’s behalf — a brief that has drawn the support of numerous scholars and well-known rap artists alike — Bell wasn’t being punished for making threats against school employees, even if that was the school’s justification. Instead, he was being punished for using the wrong art form, rap music, as his voice of protest.
“Rap, which grew out of black and Latino communities that were facing urban decay at its worst, has been contentious, sometimes polarizing, for as long as it has existed. No doubt, this is in large part because of rappers’ willingness to confront institutions of power and openly defy social conventions with language that is provocative, even offensive, to some.”
The op-ed continues to illustrate how the kind of language used by Bell was no different from that of platinum selling rapper, citing Eminem, Nas and Jay-Z as examples. The piece appeals to its audience’s common sense, reminding us that despite what they might spit down the mic; we know that none of the claims made by the rappers are a true testament to their intended behaviour. Drawing parallels between violence in rap and other art forms, it states, “Likewise, we don’t assume that Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King or Johnny Cash carry out the (sometimes extreme) violence depicted in their art — because we acknowledge it as art.”
Pulling together the disparate facts of the initial dismissal of Bell’s recording, followed by the citation that, in fact, the song “threatened, harassed, and intimidated” school employees, forms the crux. The op-ed submits that in drawing on the “traditional” themes and styles of rap, Bell’s real message is eclipsed by perceived truisms attached to the genre, and particularly to young men of colour who do not have the affirmation of fame to vouch for their art.
“But as we have noted before, rap is often denied that respect, particularly in the criminal justice system, where amateur rappers, almost always young men of color who lack the name recognition (and bank accounts) of their professional counterparts, are routinely prosecuted for their music, either because people believe that rap should be read literally or because they just don’t like it.
The administrators at Itawamba Agricultural High School just didn’t like it. Although they maintain that the song was “disruptive and threatening,” none of them acted as though the song were a real threat; even the Fifth Circuit denied that it rose to the level a “true threat” (a category of speech not protected by the First Amendment).
Instead, what’s clear is that people were offended by Bell’s brazen attempt to stand up for his fellow students. During Bell’s hearing before the school’s Disciplinary Committee, one committee member made the school’s motivations clear, telling Bell, “Censor that stuff. Don’t put all those bad words in it. … The bad words ain’t making it better.”
Image via PPCorn
Killer Mike visited Real Time With Bill Maher this week, where they discussed Beyoncé’s Super Bowl half-time performance among other issues.
Beyonce’s performance of her new track Formation gained a lot of controversy, with some accusing it as being polarising and anti-police. New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani has described the performance as “ridiculous,” saying it was “outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers.”
Mike goes on to explain the message behind her performance. “Let me start by saying this: White people, it’s not always about you.”
“When you hear her talk about the record, she says like first, ‘I’m not in the Illuminati.’ She’s talking to other black people saying, ‘Look stupid, because I’m not at Ferguson when you want me to be doesn’t mean I sold you out.’ And then the rest of the first verse is her telling other black people, ‘I like being black, this is the type of black I am. I like the fact my daughter’s black, I like my old Michael Jackson nose, I like my child with an afro. I like me.’ White people, that conversation wasn’t even for you.”
He linked the performance to black history as taught in school, specifically socialist group Black Panther Party who fought for self defense against the minorities. “The Black Panthers were a socialist group for any downtrodden people, and at that time, they happened to be black, but they said for all people.”
The other panel members, Ana Navarro, Josh Green and Margaret Cho, all chimed in on the conversation. Green looked at those angered by the performance, explaining, “The image of dancing black militants is like their nightmare come to life, and right in the middle of the big game that every Republican is watching.”
Cho remarked, “Black pride doesn’t have to take anything away from white culture. I think this is what Black America needed. It’s what all of us needed.”
During the show, they also spoke about the legislation of marijuana, the war in Iraq and supporting Bernie Sanders.
Watch Mike’s passionate message below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbClS086tdQ
Image: Pitchfork
Continuing conversations that took place last year, Killer Mike (Run The Jewels) joined US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders once again as part of a panel to discuss the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Aired through a live stream, Sanders was also joined by activist and academic Cornel West, and former Ohio state senator Nina West.
Centring on the philosophy of Dr. King , and the state of US society, naturally the discussion continually related back to Sander’s own campaigns and beliefs. Debating racism and inequality, and relating these issues back to the political model that does not serve a whole community, the panel also touched on crime, policing, the prison systems and even healthcare. Challenging the US government to deliver reforms that do not simply benefit Wall Street, Nina West proffered the African proverb of “I am because we are,” illustrating the power, and importance, of a community voice.
Introducing himself under his real name of Michael Render, Killer Mike explained that his rap name “is what my dumb friends called me in a rap battle once, and it stuck.” He listed the men and women who have mentored him, sketched his own experiences concerning the issues at hand, and discussed the teachings of Martin Luther King.
“I know that they killed a man named Martin Luther King, but they did not kill a philosophy,” he said, raising his own experience of growing up with his father as a member of the police force, and his family’s life during Ronald Reagan’s presidency.
Killer Mike’s career has been continually influenced by his own political concerns and beliefs. Touching on issues of race and inequality in his music, Killer Mike is also known as a vocal social activist. Recognising his responsibility to speak out for African Americans, he has commented on controversial and unlawful killings, particularly the incident of Michael Brown’s death in 2014. He has also penned a number of articulate and thought provoking op-ed’s for various publications, including a piece for Okayplayer talking about the message of Martin Luther King.
While the endorsement of Sanders is a little hyperbolic, it nevertheless highlights the topics at hand. There’s no getting away from the political bent behind the exercise, but the translation of Dr. King’s legacy is an interesting one. As America stares down an uncertain 2016, and many are bracing themselves against the disturbing sense of backsliding, Martin Luther King’s philosophy and teachings are perhaps more needful than ever.
Watch the video of the panel discussion below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hgnbholp7g]
Comics and hip-hop have long been intertwined, with legendary label marvel at its core. Last year saw Marvel step up their hip-hop A game, releasing a full series of variant comic covers, inspired by famous hip-hop albums. This week, the company released a choice selection of its variant covers in a collectable book, and they’ve enlisted one half of the Run The Jewels, Killer Mike, to provide the foreword.
Run The Jewels have been lucky enough to receive not just one, but two themed variant covers – one of Deadpool, and one of Howard The Duck.
In his foreword, Killer Mike speaks of his own passion for comic books, and the connection that he has forged with some of the timeless and iconic characters within the Marvel universe. The intro is as follows (originally on Fuse):
“I have two dads, both of whom played a significant role in raising me: my biological father—a conservative, pro-gun cop—and my mom’s husband—my “dad,” a liberal man of the arts with an amazing collection of records and comics. He was the one that introduced me to comics. I still remember when he gave me first copy of Uncanny X-Men. Seeing Storm for the first time—a beautiful, powerful, dark-skinned woman that looked like my mother with a Mohawk—I was instantly drawn to her.
Comics became that thing for my dad and I that was ours. Going to Atlanta’s West End Mall with him became the highlight of my week. We’d get donuts at the Krispy Kreme, chill at the comic book store next door for hours, then catch a movie at the dollar theater. So when I first got news of Marvel Comics’ Run The Jewels variant covers, my dad was the first person I thought of and the second person I told (wives, bruh). To go from sharing comics with your dad to seeing something you’re a part of actually on a comic, to seeing those covers lay the groundwork for something as big as Marvel’s Hip-Hop cover initiative is unreal. Two things I love combined? It doesn’t get any cooler.
Without question, Marvel’s Hip-Hop variants are cool because they show how far-reaching Hip-Hop’s influences has grown, but they’re even cooler when you how perfect the pairings for the covers are. Choosing Nas’ Illmatic cover for Miles Morales’ debut in the Marvel Universe proper couldn’t have been more on point. The two Wolverine covers that flip DMX’s Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood and Ice Cube’s Death Certificate—awesome! Kamala Khan taking cue fromThe Miseducation of Lauryn Hill—fitting. Outkast’s Aquemini for the Inhumans—next level. I mean, think about that last one: In the Marvel Universe there used to be two basic players: traditional super heroes (Avengers, Spider-Man) and mutants (X-Men, Wolverine); in Rap, the conversation was originally dominated by East Coast and West Coast, then Outkast came along and cemented the South as a legitimate third force to be reckoned with. Just like the Inhumans are doing this year.
Another impressive thing about these covers is the range of artists/albums chosen. Lil B’s Blue Flame cover?! Says it all. The Sugar Hill Gang, Tupac, A$AP, Kendrick, ScHoolboy, De La, Wu Tang, Wiz, Public Enemy—hell, they even figured out how to use Vanilla Ice’s cover in a way that made perfect sense! The age of Internet lists has shows us how difficult it is to please everyone, but Marvel manages to represent Hip-Hop in every one of its various incarnations since its glorious inception. This was no small feat. This was clearly done with love and the type of responsibility we could only hope more people take cue from when representing such an influential art form in my life. Not to mention they look cool as $#!#!”
Marvel’s editor-in-chief Axel Alonso talks about the project at New York Comic Con 2015:
At the US presidential campaign begins to really heat up, endorsements from likeable public figures become more important than ever. Killer Mike has often spoken about his unwavering support for Bernie Sanders, and used his recent interview with Stephen Colbert to once again bring home the reasons why Sanders should be in the Oval Office in this next election.
“Bernie Sanders is the only politician who has consistently, for 50 years, taken that social justice platform [from Martin Luther King] into politics and right now we have an opportunity to elect someone who is directly out of the philosophy of King-ian non-violence. We can directly elect someone who cares about poor people; cares about women, gay, black rights; cares about lives that don’t look like his. This opportunity in history is not going to come in another 20 years,” he said. “So, if we do not take this opportunity right now, we’re going to be sitting around a campfire, mad because they nuked the world to hell, I’m afraid.”
The knowledge bombs didn’t stop there though. When Colbert asked Killer Mike (real name Michael Render) to weigh in on how many White Americans are beginning to realise just how bad it is for African Americans in their country, Mike replied, “If white people are just now discovering that it’s bad for black or working class people in America, they’re a lot more blind than I thought, and they’re a lot more choosing to be ignorant than I thought.
“The same problems we’re discussing today, we discussed in 1990, 1980, 1970 and 1960.”
The interview, although only 6 minutes long, had enough palpable knowledge and wisdom courtesy of Mike that it goes to show just how switched on and educated he is when it comes to America’s civil rights issues. Here’s hoping audiences took at least some of it on board.
Atlanta rappers Killer Mike, Big Boi and T.I. have provided information in a 34 page brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
The legal proceedings concern a young Mississippi rapper T-Bizzle (born Taylor Bell) who was suspended from high school for recording a song containing lyrics which alleged that two of his gym teachers were guilty of sexual misconduct towards female students.
Railing against the injustice of the unwanted advances Bell laid down lyrical line “Looking down girls’ shirts/drool running down your mouth.”
“Going to get a pistol down your mouth” the rapper added.
The actual suspension occurred in 2011, but the school’s decision to punish Bell for his art has triggered a First Amendment case. The rapper and his support team have essentially been battling it out in U.S. courts ever since, challenging the meaning of ‘free speech’ in a legal and ethical environment.
The court document opened in defence of the rap genre. “It probably is worth noting that he has never actually killed anyone,” stated Run the Jewels co-founder Killer Mike.
Mike also compared lyrics from rap songs to those in other genres, pointing out that there are violent, aggressive and accusatory lyrics in songs like Johnny Cash‘s Folsom Prison Blues (“I shot a man in Reno/just to watch him die”) and Bob Marley‘s I Shot the Sheriff, that are not placed under the same critical scrutiny as hip-hop.
Mike has been a vocal commentator on how the U.S. legal system has mistreated fellow artists, penning a heated opinion piece on the topic in 2014.
The case was previously rejected by an appeals court which found the lyrics ‘vulgar.’
Notably, female students from the school have actually provided sworn legal statements attesting to the sexual misconduct the song described.
The Supreme Court will convene in February to decide whether to hear the appeal in full.
While Australian musicians do not enjoy as strong of a legal right to defend freedom of speech, a finding that the suspension was unlawful would be a victory for rappers world over.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-S9mtYowPY
Read More: Killer Mike dines with Bernie Sanders
Last month, after dining out in Atlanta, Killer Mike delivered a powerful speech endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders, in which he proclaimed Sanders the “next President of the United States.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1SHfv3EDHg
Now, a six-part interview from the same day has emerged between the Run The Jewels rapper and the Senator.
Slouched in a barbers char in Mike’s own SWAG shop, with his top button undone and tie askew, Sanders answered questions on a variety of topics, including Cannabis, Gun laws and voter ID laws. Watch each part of the the conversation below:
On Economic Freedom
“You can go out and give a speech, but you don’t have any food in your stomach. You don’t have a house, a roof over your head, no education… Are you really free? We can do infinitely better in providing rights to our people. You have a right, regardless of your income, to health care. You have a right to education. And in 2015 you should have the right to free tuition in public colleges and universities if you have the abilities.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCnrQZbqIQU
On Social Justice
“I didn’t get into politics to try and figure out if I could be a President or a Senator. I got into politics because I give a damn. I do think that it is an outrage that we have people sleeping on the streets in this country. That 51% of African American kids are unemployed or underemployed.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgzkTp_41G4
On A Rigged Economy
“Almost all of the new wealth and income is going to the top 1%. The folks who have the money, they want political power. The media does an awful job in educating people about the reality of what is going on.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huuLU9ma1hU
On Free Health Care
“You go 50 miles to the Canadian border. In Canada, everybody has healthcare. It ain’t a big deal. Go to the UK, everybody has healthcare. Go to Scandinavia, go to Germany, go to France, everybody has healthcare. Why are we the only major country without healthcare?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI7m1qFfiXA
On Donald Trump
“People are angry and frustrated, and someone like Trump comes along. And he says ‘You’re angry and frustrated? It’s that black guy. That’s the guy. They’re criminals and they’re rapists. We’ve gotta keep them out. It’s the Muslim across the street, that woman with the thing on her head. That’s your enemy.’ You play on people’s fear and anxiety.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk8OYHcHBX8
On When People Vote and Guns
“Democrats win when people vote. Republicans win when nobody votes…In my state what a gun means is that you are a hunter…do people have a right to own weapons? Of course they do. But what don’t people have the right to do? Should somebody who has a criminal record or a record for beating up his wife be able to get a gun? I don’t think so. What you need is enforced and strong instant background checks.”
The presidential election will take place on November 8th 2016 with either Senator Hilary Clinton or Senator Sanders set to represent the Democratic Party.