Last week’s radio show, my first back in-studio in a few weeks, was fun. Began with ‘Moroccan grime’ aka the standout track from Fnaire’s (not very good) new album which sounds like it was produced by Wiley in 2005. Check it, and lots more new heat:

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[DJ Total Freedom, Paper Mag]

And this Wednesday, July 18th, we’ll have special guest artist Ashland Mines aka DJ Total Freedom in from Los Angeles!

Total Freedom was responsible for my favorite club DJ set last year – we played together at the Tormenta Tropical 4-year anniversary in LA and it was one of those rare sets were every song was a gem that I hadn’t heard before, exquisitely mixed and sequenced. Sometimes it can be very hard for non-DJ types to understand why (or how) a certain DJ is good at what they do; but on the flip side sometimes you can catch a tiny piece of a musician’s set and that’s enough to be wowed. Plus, when I DJed Wildness back in 2009 and spent a few days digging around the cumbia stores in downtown LA, everybody was like, “oh, you need to talk to Ashland.”

Ashland’s in town for Blasting Voice, his installation-performance-piece at Suzanne Geiss gallery: “on nine nights throughout the show, this stage will be activated by 27 performances — both linguistic and non-verbal, acoustic and electronic — exploring poetic and formal dimensions of amplification.”

From 8-9pm on WFMU this Wednesday, Total Freedom will play some tunes from his upcoming compilation, and we’ll talk about Blasting Voice, what’s going on in LA, thee olde arte of DJing, Monster Energy Drinks, Discos Barba Azul, and more.

Wednesday’s radio show with special guest DJ Javier Estrada is now streaming! El programa de este miercoles con la participación especial de Dj Javier Estrada ahora streaming!

We go in deep, with Javier explaining why he made 430 songs in the last three years & gave them all away for free; an introduction to the legacy of cumbia in his hometown of Monterrey Mexico and how that manifests itself in his remixes, making crowd-pleasing norteno aliens, talk of indigenous gods, and lots more. Bilingual to boot.

Vamos en profundidad, con Javier explicándonos por qué produjo 430 canciones en los últimos tres años y las ofrecio gratis; dándonos una introducción al legado de la cumbia en su ciudad Monterrey México y enlazándolo con sus remixes, norteños que comunican con los aliens, beats que hablan de dioses indígenas y mucho más. Bilingüe hasta la médula.

The evening ended with a fantastic LES rooftop hangout: Rotterdam’s Munchi, Javier, Bass Squad, and myself — incredibly, it was the first time that Munchi and Javier had met IRL! And Munchi and I finally had our breakcore conversation…

Last week’s radio show, In Praise of the Airhorn, is now streaming:

And I’m pleased to announce that prolific Mexican producer DJ Javier Estrada will be my special guest on tomorrow’s radio show. The young powerhouse from Monterrey is one of the most interesting beatmakers around right now, and I’ve got a coupla thousand of words-in-progress on why… Coming soon.

Until then — tune in tomorrow to catch DJ Javier Estrada live from 8-9pm EST, on WFMU! We’ll be talkin in Spanish with simultaneous translation by Talacha so all you monolingual gorillas can enjoy.

The radio show comes on the eve of Estrada’s NYC debut. We’ll have some tix to giveaway for his Thursday event with A Tribe Called Red.

originally posted at Mudd Up!

F79 NewMusic featured

[Philip Glass photo by Gabriele Stabile for The Fader]

I interviewed Philip Glass for the current issue of Fader magazine. You can read it here. We talked at length about the importance of artistic & economic independence, ideas on digital language underpinning his work, driving a cab to cover health care for his collaborators, and how many hours of sitting-at-the-piano composing constitute a good day for him. What can I say? The man is an inspiration.

Philip is the coverboy for this, the Icon issue, so Glass fans will find a lot more in the magazine — but even if you’re not familiar with his music, the interview shares some powerful insights about autonomy & integrity, especially in wake of May Day #OWS.

excerpts:

Dressed in a long sleeve black T-shirt and blue jeans, Philip Glass eases onto a couch in a corner room of his spacious Dunvagen studio. A few blocks away are the SoHo buildings where, nearly 50 years ago, Glass staged concerts in derelict lofts to air his maddeningly beautiful ideas about sound and rhythm. His venues have grown but still there’s a feisty independence and curiosity about him.

Running a hand through his trademark rebellious curls, Glass says, “We’re stealing this office for the afternoon. But it’s okay. I pay the rent.” The joke rings true: Glass is the boss around here, he just doesn’t act like one. The soft-spoken composer often slips from “I” to “we” while talking, the habit of a lifelong team player. Listening to him feels like hearing a cabbie hold court—naturally social, disarmingly unpretentious, happy to share observations on a pathway that is more important than the destination.

F79 COVER 620x413 Double white

How many hours a day do you work on music?

Well, it depends. A good day for me is eight to ten hours. An excellent day for me is 11 hours. A bad day is three hours. My bad days are most people’s good days. I go much further than them. Like, I was up this morning early, I took my kids to school, I spent two hours working, I’m talking to you, I’m going to go home, I have another meeting, then I’m going to work probably three to six, then I’ll be up to five hours, and then it’s six o’clock, then after dinner I’ll work another two or three hours. So this will be a seven or eight hour day.

As things become more financially difficult for someone of your stature, how applicable is your pathway for a younger generation?

In terms of the physical ways of working, there are a lot of new things that have happened in my lifetime. I’m talking about the digital technology that is available. I’m still writing with pencil and paper, let’s put it that way. A lot of composers are now working directly with computers. There’s a big change, both in music and in other areas too: in photography, projection, performance. We’re living in a digital world. However there are many things I do which are applicable. For one thing, develop an independence of work. I’m not connected to institutions, I’m connected to live performance and to working collectively. This is very much a part of my generation. We were not what you call “the establishment.” This independence made it possible for me ?to do things that were unusual, that people hadn’t done before. The idealism that was part of the way I worked—working really and truly for the development of a new language of performance, of music, without regards to a successful career or a commercial career of any kind—you can still do that!

I had wonderful parents. My mother was a school-teacher and my father had a small music shop—he didn’t make any money. So I didn’t have a family fortune behind me. I had my energy, and I had other people. When young people today ask, “How do we get started?” I say, Look around and find people your own age. Work with your own generation. Make alliances among artists of your own time and these will be the people that you’ll work with. Don’t expect help from the older ones, they’re not interested.

It’s been over a year since Jeremy Harding called the one they call Di Genius to set up an interview for me. Stephen McGregor is, of course, the son of famed artiste Freddy McGregor, but he built his own lane producing some of the most innovative dancehall of this millennium, taking over his fathers Big Ship studio and turning it into a hit factory. His style melded perfectly with upandcomer Mavado – whose “Weh Dem A Do“- made me start checking compulsively for Stephen’s productions around 05/06. I have great video of him and his crew going off to unreleased Shadetek riddims and talking about why he keeps an open bible on his mixing desk- but until I get around to editing that shit- enjoy the interview tracked out by question below and stay locked for interviews with Ward21, Natalie Storm + more.

When your working on new projects – do you distinguish between what will be big in the Jamaican market vs the foreign market?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_Question-1.mp3|titles=DiGenius_Question 1]

Wa Dem A Do- which is the first riddim you built that I heard in NY- has this crazy cinematic density- but since then it seems like you have been hitting on all bases- why move away from the sound you built?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_DiGenius_Question-2edit.mp3|titles=DiGenius_Question 2]

Who are contemporary producers that you look up to? I hear neptunes and early timbaland, but who else are you checking for?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q3.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q3]

Are there young producers or other producers that you work with, or is it just vocalists that you keep in your camp?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q4.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q4]  

Whats the deal with the Island Pop sound that is dominating the radio right now in JA?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q5.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q5]

What do you think about the fact that anyone with a computer can download a cracked copy of Fruity Loops and start building riddims ?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q6.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q6]

How much do you think radio payolla affects what tunes get big or make it onto rotation?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q7.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q7]

You’ve pretty consistently had your riddims on the charts for the last couple years- how many riddims are you building a week, and how many of those ever get voiced?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q8.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q8]

Can you describe the process from building a riddim to finishing a riddim pack goes?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q9.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q9]

Is there anything outside of hip-hop and dancehall that you check for? Are you listening to trance and house directly or just hearing their influence through rap?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q10.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q10]

Do you think your work ethic seperates you from other producers, or young musicians?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q11.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q11]

Some artists claim not to listen to the radio or other media- but you say you like to keep up with whatevers new?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q12.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q12]

What’s your process when you start to build a new riddim?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q13.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q13]

Besides Jeremy (who manages Stephen)- whose the team at bigship and Di Genuis recordings?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q14.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q14]

Given your success as a producer- why push to voice more of your own riddims?

[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DiGenius_q15.mp3|titles=DiGenius_q15]

Since you all loved up that last footwork / juke post I made I figured I’d share a video piece that Wills Glasspiegel who did the audio I posted did, I assume on the same trip to Chicago.  Some of the material is the same but since it’s about dancing the visual is pretty key: watch those feet work!

Also Wills was nice enough to make the audio in the original post (below) downloadable for those of you who requested it for your filez.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqGSxAh8cJM[/youtube]

Also Traxman who’s in the piece will be playing in NYC this Friday at an underground party at an undisclosed location in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  Also Total Freedom from LA!  Looks like there will be some footwork dancers there too.  Shout to Azizaman for putting it together, looks dope.  FB event here w/ info.

I am not involved with this but am showing it a bit of promo love because I remember what it was like trying to bring Grime artists to NYC when no one knew what it was but I just loved this new crazy music and wanted to share.  It ain’t easy! If you like this kind of stuff vote with your dancing feet.

 

IMG 0068

Let’s take things up a level. Let’s get glossy.

The November issue of WIRE magazine has Rupture on the cover lookin’ all grown and sexy.

Congrats! Go buy that shit! They say: “Peter Shapiro meets prolific producer Jace Clayton to hear about post-colonial Bass music, The Shining remade in Dubai and Sufi Plug-Ins.”

IMG 3798

[Downliners Sekt – Picture by Fric Lopez / Postproduction by Gerard Franquesa]

A week from today, tune into Mudd Up at 8pm EST to catch a special show, recorded on-location with the mysterious Barcelona-based duo Downliners Sekt, who make “soul-filled gospel hymns for a technological apocalypse.” We will learn new myths about Portbou , enter the world of gypsies who sell fake gold teeth, and hear some unreleased Sekt material… Their past several releases have been availalble on vinyl and as free downloads. See you down the line…

[audio:http://negrophonic.com/mp3/04 hockey nights in Canada.mp3]

Downliners Sekt – Hockey Nights in Canada (Meet the decline)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv0yeJWiSTQ[/youtube]

Storm  Saulter is one of Jamaica’s most prominent young film-makers . With the panoptic gaze of interchangeable dancehall djs staring down from Digicell and Lime Tv advertisements, the hype cycle of radio and the frantic rotation of fashion and dance moves you couldn’t  be blamed for not realizing that Kingston has a thriving if limited independent arts scene. The best and brightest all seem linked to  Edna Manley – but Storm actually finished up film school in the states. After seeing his latest video for Tarrus Riley, and sitting in on a press screening of his full length Better Mus Come I sent over some questions about Jamaican politics, the challenges of independent film making and what drove Storm to leave behind the opportunity and infrastructure of Los Angeles.

T: You were born in Jamaica, but went to film school and worked in Los Angeles, given how limited the Jamaican film industry is, why return to the island to work?

S: It seems better to start a movement and build it from the beginning than to be just another person trying to make a statement in the same space as thousands of others trying to do the same thing.  We are defining new Caribbean cinema with the work we are doing now. Lots of young people (and a few older ones) in Jamaica and the region are seeing filmmaking as a real and exciting possibility for them right now. Better Mus’ Come is the beginning of a real movement.

T: The space you work in is shared by a bunch of other young filmmakers- can you tell me a bit about the space,  who is there and how you all came to work together. What is the ethos and purpose of New Caribbean?

S: I share an office with my brother Nile Saulter, Joel Burke, and Michelle Serieux. We are all filmmakers and we collaborate on all our projects together in different capacities. Directing, Producing, Cinematography, Editing, Writing. Our office is at 10a West Kings House Road, Perry Henzell’s home and production office during the creation of “The Harder They Come”. We share the property with a number of Directors and Producers. Ras Kassa, Ras Tingle, Jay Will. It is unquestionably the home of Jamaican filmmaking.
For more on New Caribbean Cinema go to www.newcaribbeancinema.com

T: Both the Tarrus video and Better Mus Come seem to deal with a similar type of historical amnesia- the way that systems of power attempt to limit certain types of information and stories in order to be able to continue propegating themselves. How do you see your work in creating new historical narratives or re-examining power?

S: Better Mus Come has had such an explosive impact in Jamaica because it is telling a story that we all know of, but we never knew the details. We would hear our parents speak of the 1970’s, The Cold War era, when Kissinger came to Jamaica and threatened Michael Manley and Jamaica with annihilation if we didn’t step away from Cuba. The beginning of this gang war tradition. There is a reason we were not taught this in school, so that events like the Tivoli massacre would seem like a new development that needed to be solved using brutal force by the Police and Military. But this is not new, it has only evolved from the same source. I guarantee you that many more of these ‘hidden’ stories will be told by this generation of filmmakers. And to be able to do so is empowering to the artists and the people.
READ THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW AFTER THE JUMP
(more…)

Over on Alt1040, Geraldine Juárez asks me smart questions about the ideas behind Beyond Digital: Morocco. I do my best to answer. En espanol para que los güeros aprendan!

Auto-tune más allá de lo digital – excerpt:

ALT1040 – ¿Es el espacio post-digital el extremo físico del internet? ¿Como defines post-digital?

DJ Rupture: Es importante pensar en tiempo post-digital o post-internet. Y para mi este tiempo es lento lento… todo lo opuesto a un meme (#sheen, #egypt etc… ) El tiempo y/o la velocidad del internet, creo que es una velocidad/tiempo muy rápida, muy capitalista; no solamente es hoy sino ahora mismo, fast-food al máximo. Y yo estoy bien metido en el matrix, ya sabes…

Los espacios post-digitales ¡tienen que ver con la lentitud!, con dar espacio a una idea (o “meme” LOL) , para darle más atención a mucho tiempo. Los contextos son super importantes… no solamente para entender mejor cómo funciona una canción o un género. Los espacios post-digitales tienen que examinar metodos de distribución (on y offline). para poder formar un ejemplo que sea actual.

Todos esos apagones del internet en Egipto y Libia sirven para recordarnos que ese ciberespacio no es un ideal flotando ahí arriba con los angelitos, cubriéndo nuestro planeta con lindas ideas e información… es también cables, túneles y nodos de control concentrado que se puede apagar, o filtrar. Como tú dices, ¡el internet siempre ha sido material!

Quizás lo post-digital tiene que ver con mirar al internet y el mundo digital desde una perspectiva de escasez y precariedad, donde no tienes el lujo de no pensar en su infraestructura.

Last week a link started floating around to DL the entirety of Lil B’s myspace tracks. Notoriously, B made over 100 profiles and filled them each with a few based freestyles. The 2.5 GB, 676 track, multipart collection (and 20 page tracklist)wasn’t compiled by the based god himself though- it is the work of an obsessive completist and digital archivist named Andrew Dickson. I found Dickson on twitter and quickly realized that his myspace collection wasn’t the first, or even the most ambitious of his archival projects. What drives fandom like this? Why share with the world a prized collection that any Master Chef would be proud of? I hit him with some questions to find out.

T: What other completist type zip folders have you created/curated and posted?

D: I’ve made quite a few and the majority of them are collections of compilation & remix tracks. The only time I ever thought someone would be interested, however, was for my first Hip Hop-related one (a Jay Electronica compilation). The first one ever made was for Aphex Twin, but I’ve done them for (as you said) Lil Wayne, Animal Collective, The Velvet Underground and a few others.

T: Why do this sort of work? How do you understand this sort of archive – when obviously anyone could spend hours dling and parsing through the internet. part of the joy for master chefs seems to be chasing down and completing things themselves, ie spending a lot of time on hulkshare and maybe even arguing numbers re: releases/unreleased leaked whatever based tracks.

D: The initial reasoning is always because I want to complete my own personal collection for whatever artist happens to be the focus. I have quite an organized, lengthy collection of music, and the primary focus in acquiring music has always been ‘the studio album’. As I get more into a band, I want to really hear everything they put out, and I normally spend some time searching and researching just where their material has all gone – normally there are loads of studio tracks that were never officially released on an album. Rather than just downloading a bunch of separate .mp3s, I try to compile and organize them where-ever possible. The idea of sharing them with the internet came from the idea that I’m pretty sure most fans wouldn’t mind one, well-sourced download for, say, all of Lil B’s rare myspace tracks. I completely understand the joy that comes with ‘searching’ for secret tracks, but I also understand that in the future, many of these will be lost. Thinking on it now, I guess you could say future fans of an artist would benefit the most from a time like this. Look at Harry Smith’s collection – after the depression, all this old folk music was lost and the only reference any one had was his collection of 78” records.

Hit the jump for a grip of DL links and the rest of the interview
(more…)

Did today happen? Does adulthood exist? All I know is that it’s snowing, again — or maybe it never stopped. The last time I was this tired I was walking through a forest after a show and before the airport. Mudd. Deliciously low visibility. A river. Nature has so many things without off switches. We passed a homeless guy pushing a cart.

Last night’s radio show, now streaming, featured a very informative Benjamin Lebrave from Akwaaba Music.

you can subscribe to the Mudd Up! podcast for downloadable versions, issued a week after FM broadcast: , Mudd Up! RSS. Also useful: WFMU’s free iPhone app. We also have a version for Android (search for “WFMU” in the marketplace).

cross-posted to Mudd Up!

Check the latest issue of BOMB magazine for an in-depth interview with Kevin Martin AKA The Bug. BOMB has just upped an excerpt & audio clip. Here’s an excerpt of the excerpt:

Jace Clayton: You told me this anecdote: you were at a dub night in London; it was lit by one lightbulb. That’s how I remember you describing it—

The Bug: Oh, yeah. That was again a very pivotal moment for me. Just after I moved to London I went to see Iration Steppas and The Disciples do a “sound clash” together. I didn’t know what the hell to expect. It was at a warehouse in the East End. Literally, there was a sound system on either side of a quite small room with a lightbulb hanging above each, no stage, the audience trapped in the middle, and this head-shredding volume and over-the-top psychedelia. Every mix that each producer was playing would get more and more out-there. At first you would think, Oh, this is a nice reggae tune, and by the end you’d be thinking, Holy shit, this is electro-acoustic madness! People were looking stoned, shell-shocked, or both by what was hitting them. (laughter) It almost altered my internal DNA and how I appreciated music. Before I moved to London, I’d seen a very early Swans show and had realized just how much I loved physical impact in sound.


Photo by Niall O’Brien. Courtesy of Ninja Tune.

JC Funny, every time we’ve played together I’ve always tried to leave the building when you were sound checking. It’s massive volume and you take it so seriously; oftentimes if the sound guy is not up to speed, you’ll let him have it. Can you talk about the importance of getting the sound you want in a live situation?

TB Boy, I guess I’ve got a bad reputation for being a bit finicky and demanding. Once you’ve had the experience of what music can be like, if you are a perfectionist and obsessive (like I realize I’ve become), you don’t want to compromise. I don’t follow the idea of making any type of compromise in my life, and definitely not in my music: music is my life. If you’re happy to shut up and let someone water down what you want, then you really shouldn’t be making music. It’s not important enough to you, you know? I believe in a hard-core mentality. Any art should be a pure reflection of the intention of the person making it, and any degree of compromise along the way is just going to lessen the impact of what that person is trying to do. As far as I’m concerned, the physicality of sound is crucial; it takes you beyond intellectual discourse, to very primal, psychological confrontations. I like what it can do to you: it can be seductive, it can be sexy, it can be aggressive, it can fuck you up, it can flatten you, it can wake you up. Intense musical experiences have changed how I live my life, full stop. To some people this may sound a bit over-the-top. My passion is music, and that is reflected in how I approach the live arena. Now, increasingly, when record sales are shrinking, it’s important to leave a statement, to walk away having done something memorable. Volume in itself isn’t memorable; anyone can turn the volume up to 12 and crush someone with it. That’s not impressive. It’s the constructions within the music that are important.

(partial synthesis of posts on Pirate Antropologies)

Just over a week ago, as I settled onto a couch in MC Doca’s living room, a Globo News reporter announced that funk MCs had been sent to prison for apologizing crime. A YouTube video of MC Ticão and MC Frank singing about how FB, the dono (owner) of the recently police-invaded Morro de Alemão was hiding out in rival faction Rocinha. The report next showed an armed blond police woman–with heavy makeup and perfect hair–shouting and banging on an apartment door. The camera revealed two shirtless, tattooed MCs, Frank and Ticão, who are brothers, blinking away sleep. Cut to a table with a watch, a ring, and a few chains. “The police encountered various gold chains” the reporter intoned. Tremendously successful MCs with gold chains?!? How incriminating!

MC Smith, MC Max, and MC Didô had also been imprisoned. They also lived in the two communities recently occupied by the police: Morro de Alemão and Villa Cruzeiro. The deputy accused the MCs of using the Internet to share music making “apologizing” crime and criminals, forming a gang (with the other MCs), associating with traffickers, and doing “marketing” (yes, she used the English word) for drugs and criminal factions.

Next the report announced that MC Galo of Rocinha had been arrested in a traffic blitz in Leblon. He had an arrest warrant for marijuana possession from 1998 and for singing “proibidão” (“very prohibited” music). The police evidence? A YouTube video of Galo singing in Leandro HBL’s and Diplo’s Favela on Blast. None of the press using the clips contacted Leandro to ask permission. And whenever Leandro has used Globo’s footage, he’s had to pay. A lot.

The video, which Globo used, is Galo’s top hit on YouTube.  The clip, they chose, compares the hard life of the MC to the hard life of a drug-seller. It’s not, even “proibidão.” So, why did Globo weave Galo–who had been arrested a day earlier–into the story? Perhaps to build sentiment against Rocinha, a community speculated as a target for police invasion and “pacification.”

Predictably, none of the reports look at the roots of “forbidden” funk–which refer to drugs, violence, and criminal factions. A common story among funkeiros goes that in the mid-nineties when the various judges prohibited bailes funk in clubs, typically in working class suburbs, the parties and the music moved into favelas. Farther away from police repression, some bailes began to be financed by criminal factions. At the same time funk’s base in Miami Bass & freestyle evolved into the Candomblé- and samba-influenced tamborzão beat.

I visited the MCs in prison yesterday along with MC Leonardo, the president of APAFUNK, and DJ Marlboro, who’s credited with recording the first “funk carioca” album in 1989. We met with the MCs in a classroom above the underground prison. After one guard allowed us to enter with cameras and voice recorders,  another returned to confiscate the camera and voice recorder of two human rights reporters. I hid my point-and-shoot camera. Until the guard came back shouting, “The meeting is over! Stop singing. No cameras!”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEZtdKteKm0[/youtube]

When asked if he ever expected to be jailed for his songs, MC Smith responded, “This is a political game that’s happening in Brazil now, so yes…. Ivete Sangalo lives in Bahia. And what’s that? Carnaval, carnaval ‘fora da epoca’ [out-of-season, all the time] and she sings about what happens. And I live in a community that was taken over by the state… one of the most dangerous in the world. And I live in a community with a high risk of violence, a criminal base, high rates of prostitution. And therefore I’ll sing what I live. And what I think. This is freedom of expression. Not only me, but for Max, Ticão, Frank, Didô.”

When will the criminalization of funk carioca stop? People point out how City of God is “proibidão” that was Oscar-nominated. Yet, funk suffers prejudice unlike high-class art. After the police invaded Vila Cruzeiro and Morro de Alemão and failed to capture “bandits,” it seems that they chose easier targets: MCs with “proibidão” videos on YouTube.
[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Funk-Se-Quem-Quiser.mp3]
MC Galo-Funk-Se Quem Quiser (words MC Dolores)
[audio:https://duttyartz.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Aqui-o-Bagulho-é-Doido-2.mp3]
MC Smith e MAG- Aqui o Bagulho é Doido

"ABC of Citizen Jail: Graduating Citizens"
"Suffering and Smiling"

TC reached into the roots of one plants on the table. “It’s a baobob,” he told me, “My daughter brought me some seeds from Africa. This tree is also the symbol of Rede Mocambo.” In Portuguese “rede” means network, and “mocambo” is the traditional, thatch building of quilombos, maroon communities of escaped slaves in Brazil. Quilombos continue to this day. TC heads Casa Tainã, a cultural center and initiator of the Rede, in a “modern quilombo” on the periphery of a small city in the interior of São Paulo.  TC told me that he plants a Baobob sapling in each “quilombo” which is part of Rede Mocambo.

The project started when Casa Tainã gained partnership with state-backed Digital Inclusion programs with access to technological resources and computers, and began to set up Internet telecenters in quilombos in the Southeast of Brazil. From these social, knowledge, and material exchanges, a “Quilombo Network” began to take root. Now the Rede extends through almost all the Brazilian states (even though not all quilombos have Internet yet because some don’t have electricity).

How do you get computers to the projects? I asked. “With old computers we practice ‘meta-recycling,’ transforming the computers to give them a new life” Robson, also of Casa Tainã told me. In the quilombos they show them how to practice metarecyling, to install free software, to access the Internet, and to make a video or to record a song. And “the quilombo production will then circulate on the ‘rede,’ the Internet.”

TC said that “this network was created as a tool to fight for and ensure our rights. Communication in a network generates greater understanding of quilombo and black struggles. We have to use the new open technologies to construct with them.”

Robson added that the Rede’s goal is also “to discuss the right to land, the right to religion, the right to culture, not hierarchical culture, but horizontal…. And the goal of the network is to think of a new cartography of African identity.”

“And in terms of cartography,” Robson continued, “The baobob connects all the quilombos in the network to Africa. It’s a remembrance of who they were before slavery, when we were kings and queens.”

TC told me that he also brings seeds from each of the quilombos that he visits to plant back to Casa Tainã and in other quilombos in the network. He had just returned from a regional Rede Mocambo Encounter in Northeastern Brazil. Cacao pods from Quilombo João Rodrigues in Bahia were drying in the sun.

“Palmares was destroyed by cannons. Now the big cannon is the media. But with decentralization of the means of communication and with new open technologies, we also have cannons. Imagine if Palmares had had the Internet. We have a tool for revolution,” TC.