Brother Ali on hip hop and racism: “‘hip hop’ is code for ‘black men’”
Last November, Brother Ali performed at ‘Nuff Said in Antwerp. Kif Kif asked me to interview the respected underground hip hop artist and activist. During his career of more than 20 years, he released eight albums, spoke at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and took mentorships from hip hop legends Chuck D and Rakim. Part two of the series: hip hop and racism.
By Femke Hintjens
These two articles reflect only a small part of our two-hour long conversation. In this article I’m talking to Brother Ali about his fight against racism and other forms of discrimination.
Do you use your music as a form of activism against racism?
“So, I am albino and my parents are white. I had a lot of difficulties when I was little. My parents both died pretty young, our family was split up and we moved a lot. My family life wasn’t very stable. The stable people in my life were black families, friends and my religious community. I learned about culture by being in that community. I didn’t listen to Hip Hop music and then got interested in black people. And there are different ways in which that engagement can happen. With a white person coming into black culture; what’s the difference between appropriating it and genuinely revering and serving it? It is really about: ‘do you take or do you give?’ And it happens on a spiritual level.
With a white person coming into black culture; what’s the difference between appropriating it and genuinely revering and serving it? It is really about: ‘do you take or do you give?’ And it happens on a spiritual level
When I started to become a professional artist, the majority of people that would show up for the concerts were white. They weren’t interested in Hip Hop, it didn’t speak to them until they saw somebody that looked like them doing it. And so, the first few years I felt a lot of tension about that and I didn’t really like it. So I believe that it is my job, along with making good music and expressing myself, to talk about the way that I see race. There are people that think albinos are black. I’ve had police officers pull a gun on me and say on the radio “six foot black male…” So, I’ve had a very unique experience. The fact that white people listen to me means that I have something to share with them. I tried it in all different ways, from being very militant and angry to just talking about meaning and love, and sometimes I just tell my own personal stories. But in all of that, I am really just sharing what I see and what I know. And I see race in everything. I think that is one of the main reasons why I never became a mainstream artist. Also, the times I was invited to be on tv I chose to do really controversial songs. Most white people don’t want to hear or talk about race. Even to somebody that looks like them. The second I say something about race, they say like ‘you are racist, your fans are white.’ Or ‘why do you hate yourself?’ The white people that listen to me now, those are the people that really want to talk about it.”
What should (Hip Hop) culture be aware of on ableism?
“I don’t really think about it to be honest, maybe because I can’t. This question is a tough one for me. It definitely impacts my life, there are things people do that I can’t do or that are really difficult for me to do. But I don’t think about it as a structural impediment. And also, to me it just doesn’t feel like it needs the same structural attention as racism or sexism. I think having a disability is just something that happens in life. There are probably some disabilities that are caused by structural reasons, like people not having the same access to medical stuff. But I don’t feel like we are being held out structurally. There are organizations for albinos. They never invited me and sometimes they tell me to stop saying albino. They say: you have to say ‘person with albinism’. But I grew up my whole life as an albino, so that is what I am going to say. It is not like the n-word!
The framework we have around anti-blackness and indigenous people doesn’t apply to disability, gender or sexuality. Because what happens with anti-blackness is very unique and specific. So, applying that same thinking feels like a type of appropriation to me
It is something that I see white people do. They take the framework we have around anti-blackness and indigenous people and apply those exact same frameworks when we talk about disability, gender or sexuality. And it doesn’t apply. Because what happens with anti-blackness is very unique and specific. So, applying that same thinking feels like a type of appropriation to me. It makes me feel like I am suppressed too. Yes, I am legally blind, but the fight around correcting racism doesn’t apply to the challenges I have.”
For Kif Kif I wrote a series of articles about pioneer women in our local hip hop scene. This was an initiative regarding TheKeepers project founded by Akua Naru about the underrepresentation of black and brown women in Hip Hop. Being active in Hip Hop myself, I also get a lot of questions about sexism and Hip Hop. And I feel conflicted because we live in a patriarchal society, why do we only point out Hip Hop? Do you think that Hip Hop is problematic towards women?
“These are tricks that liberal white people do to point the blame at other people. When white people say Hip Hop, that is a code for black men. And a stereotype about black men is that they are misogynist. I don’t think it is true at all. The Hip Hop community I grew up in always had women and they were always naturally part of everything. There were less women, but they were as powerful and great. That changed when white people took over the Hip Hop industry. They decided the same way: there is only a certain type of black man if you are going mainstream, and as a woman we have to experience you sexually. When Hip Hop was in control, there were some women that talked about sex like Lil’Kim, but you didn’t have to do that. And now it feels like a requirement if you want to be mainstream.
That’s what white liberals and progressives do, they put the focus on other people and want to be the savior
I feel the same way when they were saying Hip Hop is homophobic. White people always do this, saying to others: your culture is homophobic. Macklemore made the song with the lyrics ‘If I was gay, I would think Hip Hop hates me.’ Macklemore comes from a catholic community. He should talk about the catholic church and homophobia. That is what white liberals and progressives do, they put the focus on other people and want to be the savior.”
To finish, I want to know who is your favorite female Hip Hop artist of all time and now?
“At the moment it is Sa-Roc. She is also my friend; I love her so much. But I also really love MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Rapsody, Ill Camille, Sampa The Great, Brittney Carter, Medusa, Mumu Fresh and Jean Grae, who doesn’t make music anymore, but she is incredible. There are a lot of dope ass women that are great at what they do.
But the objective best is Lauryn Hill. She is no doubt the dopest. She is one of the greatest mc’s of all time, both as a rapper and as a singer. She just didn’t make a lot of music. She stopped making music and that is the only reason why she is not the goat (greatest of all time). But the little bit of music she made has made a lot of impact.”
Femke: “I totally agree!”
Photo © Nisran Azouaghe
