Fred Hamption on Music, Culture, Politics...

[brianold]

here's an excerpt about him discussing Hip-Hop and black music in general and how we should act regarding supporting or "hating on" music in the community. I gotta agree with him. We talk about Unity, but what is unity if we are not united under solid values and principles? That's why the Millions More Movement to me is somewhat of a joke, or why it's being hung up at least and dismissed by young folk... it ain't nothin new! We can sit on a panel together all we want, but unless we are willing to argue and discuss and iron out our differences and/or compromise for a common good... unity is (i won't say worthless but it's) not worth much.

------------------
Fred Hampton Jr. tells WW
‘We respect no colonial borders’
Published Apr 1, 2006 1:01 AM
FULL ARTICLE HERE

WW: How did you end up hooking up with Dave Chapelle?

FH: You wouldn’t believe it. Ha ha ha! I give Dave Chapelle a clenched fist. As opposed to giving it four stars, I give it 10 broken prison bars. I’m saying that because that’s a tool we use in campaigns, the Mumia Abu-Jamal campaign and so many other campaigns. And it’s important that we have forces like this. Regarding the POCC code of culture, I think back about hearing stories about how Richard Pryor when he came through Chicago New Years Eve 1969, I believe it was, how he came in with Chairman Fred, gave a donation to the BPP and everything. About the movie, what the clip was based on, I will say this—a lot of people thought it was scripted out like that. The people didn’t think we were going to make it inside the movie set, but it happened. You know, we made it happen.

WW: You ended up being on the poster.

FH: We got on the poster and Dave Chapelle, he loved it, the piece. He respected the business. He’s at the point, he’s talking about coming here himself to support the Chairman Fred Hampton Street Party, so he’s family. It wasn’t scripted out like that. I’m not just saying that because I was in it—it’s a fine piece of propaganda and we need to use it like that. We need to up the ante. Ludachris just mentioned Chairman Fred Hampton in that movie “Crash” of his own volition. That was some serious troubles that we had with him at the Hip Hop Summit. We have to reward those who do the right things, and repercussions for those that don’t. Movements, streets make the music, music don’t make the streets. I know James Brown had a whole different song planned at first. There were movements in place, forces like H. Rap Brown (aka Imam Jamil Al Amin) who got ahold of James Brown and told him, literally, we ain’t havin’ that type of garbage. He turned around and came out with “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.” He couldn’t have pulled that stunt he pulled in that “Rocky” movie with those red, white and blue drawers talking about “Living In America,” not in the sixties. So we say reward those who do the right thing, repercussions for those who don’t.

We have to support those such as Dave Chapelle, Erykah Badu, Miss Saigon in New York, Mos Def, Common, so on and so forth. We callin’ the question. To those who have no points of unity with the struggle, our position is: There’s too many brothers in Sing Sing for us to be talking about some bling bling. They ain’t gotta be front-line freedom fighters, but they gonna have to play some points of unity in the struggle.

In fact, at one point, Twista’s manager had told me when we were on his video set, he was explaining to me that artists all over the country are talking about us, the work we’re doing, but we don’t want to make no videos up here. And I said, why is that? They’re too much on the LA, Atlanta, it’s gonna cost too much, too much requirements. Let the record reflect, man. I said, let me ask you a question: If y’all are not doing these videos out here in this community, how is that affecting the community? What benefit are you to the community? We are calling these cats to question just like we’re calling every other institution to question. If it ain’t meeting the needs of the community, if it ain’t serving no purpose to the community, it don’t even need to be in the community—that’s it. That’s the position we take with any institution, artists, venues—anything. That’s how we get down. We don’t deal with liberalism, we call the question. All those who are down with us, all our allies, we got their back, we love them. Rewards for those who do the right things, repercussions for those who don’t.