What up, fam? This is your man, Nyambezi. Some of you may remember me from a Bay Area,
CA Hip Hop group called ‘The
Subterraneanz‘. I’m a free agent
now, and doing the solo thing. I’m
getting involved with The World Can’t Wait
movement. Since you’ve come to this
website, I’m assuming you are politically conscious. Big Up! I want y’all to most def check out my
joints while you’re here, but I’m also going to point out some reasons why you
and your folks should think about getting involved. And as a rapper, I want to encourage you to
express your political views.
You may be frustrated by your
people’s lack awareness of the issues. I
can relate. Sometimes it’s hard to talk
about them, especially if it’s something that gets me heated! Here are a few of my top reasons why the
youth should be concerned about this illegitimate president and his radical
neo-con cronies.
The War in Iraq.
What’s good about the illegal, unjust US
war on this country which never threatened us?
Nearly nothing. Bush lied to get
us into it (an impeachable offense), and now we’re paying the cost in money and lives. To keep the war going, he has to put bodies
on the battlefield. You may have seen
military recruiters on your school campus making big talk about what an
‘adventure’ you’ll have if you sign up. They
won’t talk about the many thousands coming back dead or broken, or the mental
and emotional damage. They won’t tell
you the administration doesn’t plan to leave Iraq-
ever. They won’t tell you how there
aren’t anywhere near the amount of
soldiers needed to finish the job. All
they want is for you to sign up. And
when you do, you’re pretty much off to Iraq
or Afghanistan.
Domestic spying. So,
imagine that one day you call, email or text message a friend of yours, and you
just happen to use some word that raises a ‘security alert’. You could find your lines tapped! Do you realize the president is saying he has
the right to look and listen in on your private conversations anytime he wants
to, for whatever reason? It’s more than
just extremely wack- it’s completely against the law. Since it violates the US Constitution, it is also
an impeachable offense. The last
president to spy on US citizens in an utterly illegal way was Richard Nixon. You know what happened to him, right?
Repeal of abortion rights.
Okay. We all know that
teenagers are doin’ thangs. Teenagers
that have sex are in no way prepared to care for a child. When someone has sex- or is raped- and gets
pregnant, the decision whether or not to have the baby is often very
painful. But if Bush, his neo-cons and
their pals in the Christian Fundamentalist movement get their way, there won’t be any option. She’ll be forced to have the baby, or risk
her life in some grotesque ‘back alley’ procedure. What kind of parents can scared and confused teenagers-
nearly babies themselves- really make?
There are so many other reasons
to get involved- the right-wing takeover of the airwaves (talking about Clear
Channel, here), the collapse of public schools, the growing prison industrial
complex and criminalization of youth)
How?
Well- you could support an
organization like The World Can’t Wait– funds are greatly
needed, as well as people to make phone calls, send emails, pass out flyers,
design signs, march, drum, debate the issues, etc. There are also organizations that
specifically give a platform for self-expression. One I would personally recommend is Youth
Speaks (www.youthspeaks.org), a
non-profit presenter of spoken-word performances. Check the site for a local chapter.
I’ll take these last few moments
to build a little on self expression. I
believe the way we express ourselves in the world can be a subtle but powerful
way to make positive change. By joining
a movement like TWCW and doing some
of the things I listed above, you’re making a strong personal statement. The small decisions we make in our day-to-day
lives are forms of self-expression, and they have power beyond what we can see
in the moment. I think a good question
to pose would be: ‘what does my behavior say about who I really am and what I
believe in?’
On that note, I’m gonna call it a
wrap. If you have feelings about what’s
going on, do something about them! If you have art and/or words to express your truth about these times, by all
means come forward and exercise your First Amendment Rights! Don’t worry about it being wrong, not good
enough, not street enough, too street, any of it. As long as we hear from your authentic self,
it’s dope. Trust me. Matter of fact, I’ll put my time and effort
where my words are. If you’re a spoken word artist or conscious
rap lyricist that might be interested in being part of a World Can’t Wait
compilation CD, hit me up @ kyholm7@aol.com.
Express yourself!