May 20, 2003
Is There Room for Right-Wing Rappers?
Our DJ 3D (who is going out on tour this week with Prince Paul) played a nice little instrumental on the last show, by a group named Ugly Duckling. I hadn't heard of them before, so I did some googling to see what they are all about. The answers I found were not very pretty:
Ugly Duckling's Politics Are Even Uglier
Where I'm from—that'd be the German port town of Hamburg—Long Beach's Ugly Duckling are one of America's more noteworthy exports. Their videos are all over TV. Music magazines compare them to the likes of De La Soul, Black Eyed Peas, Jurassic 5 and Black Star...
...Ugly Duckling has toured most of the U.S. and hit 20 other countries. Here, Andy Cooper, one of the band's two MCs, joined Young Einstein and me in the abandoned garage beside the house. Taking note of the derelict surroundings, I asked if they've ever thought about leaving.
"Never!" Einstein said. California is home, and that seems a natural enough reason to stay, along with family, friends and the sun.
But why not move to Europe, where the band's fame might bring them big euros?
This is where my conversation with Ugly Duckling, a band I've admired from another continent, went suddenly south—or rather rightward. It turns out Ugly Duckling are standard-bearers for conservatism.
"I don't want to pay 50 percent of my income to the government. I don't want to be controlled by the state!" Cooper said.
I was taken aback. I paused. I looked around. My English isn't perfect, and I wanted to diplomatically point out that the band doesn't have much to show for its reliance on the American marketplace.
Wouldn't it make sense, I asked, to pay more taxes for a better social welfare net and an innovative health-care system?
"No, it wouldn't!" Cooper said. Innovative health care? When Americans are sick, they go to "the doctor and pay him cash!" Social welfare? "Why should the government give unemployed people an apartment and some money to stay alive?" Cooper asked. "It just makes the people unproductive! They should get out and find a job."
Well, I offered in halting English, maybe it's harder for people to find a job once they're homeless. Ugly Duckling didn't want to hear it. "You can just write down the address of your homeless shelter on the job application," they offered...
Are any of you guys familiar with this group? Hopefully somebody can tell me this is some sort of Onion-style joke.
But if this is really what they are about, do these guys have any chance of being accepted with these politics? Should they be accepted? Would it be wrong for them to get reverse dixie-chicked by hip-hoppers because of their politics, if the music itself is on point? Or do they deserve to get dissed?
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On another note, I haven't had time to post much in the last week as I was preparing for our fundraising special last Saturday (big thanks to everyone who called in and pledged, we raised an admirable $2,115). And I'm getting ready for a trip to Florida this weekend, so I may not have much time to get in here until I return. Until then I hope you'll stick around, I really appreciate your visits and your comments.
Posted by jsmooth995 at May 20, 2003 06:49 PM
I guess the question is: Do we presume that hip-hop's politics are socialist in general? Does hip-hop have a true political slant?
And the article is skewed a bit, the writer sees his political questions as political but do the members of the group? Or are they just big-upping America to Foreign Press?
Is it any different than Petey Pablo remixing Raise Up after 09.11 to show his patriotism?
I don't know...it doesn't sound like they are necessarily a "consciousness" hip hop group. Do they espouse a certain political philosophy on wax or were they just answering some questions in a way that the writer didn't expect?
Posted by: Jason at May 20, 2003 07:16 PM
We've had Ugly Duckling on our station's spin list for at least the past year. It's good music... underground hip-hop with a hint of latin music. Can't say I know much about their political beliefs.
Posted by: Jon at May 20, 2003 10:39 PM
Yeah, the writer was being a little melodramatic, and although the "get a job" comments are clueless lots of rappers have said just as bad or worse.
But I think what makes this come across differently than Petey Pablo's sad attempt to extend his 15 minutes, for example, is that they are suburban white(?) guys working within a predominantly urban Black/Latino medium, who are taking a stance that basically places them as Haves passing judgement on Have-Nots.
Posted by: Jay Smooth at May 20, 2003 10:58 PM
They're bland, anyway.
I'm telling you: my coast is full of wack bastards, myself included.
Posted by: Soul Khansensicus at May 21, 2003 01:41 AM
I've seen them last summer. They've opened up for PUTS and J-Live. I actually own one of their CD. I think the report got too serious with his/her questions. As far as I know, Ungly Ducklings are bunch of funny guys making fun music. If I remember Andy Cooper correctly, I think he was probably just kiddin' around. I think if you have seen them, talk to them, and listened to their songs, you'll know that they are far from being political. When interviews appear in text, it is hard to know what the setting was, tone of person's voice, demeanor, and ect. So if the report is somewhat biased, then what ever they might have said might have came out the wrong way in text. I really doubt that Andy was serious about it.
Posted by: Dj Musashi at May 21, 2003 10:34 AM
I think hip-hop can and should be pretty open minded politically. The first part of their statement that the author was taken back from was "I don't want to pay 50 percent of my income to the government. I don't want to be controlled by the state!" Many rappers complain about the tax system and I think being upset about high taxes is not that unreasonable (KRS-ONE's "Pimps and Hoes" comes to mind). The second part of Ugly Duckling's statement was just ignorant. I don't think the government should provide health insurance but saying the homeless should be kicked out of homeless shelters is ignorant and naive. I believe their is some room in the political spectrum for a diversity of thought in hip-hop. Didn't LL Cool J endorse Patakin in the last election?
Posted by: Cal Ulmann at May 22, 2003 01:30 PM
Greetings Railpeople -
All I gotta say is...
Let these idiots talk. The more they say, the more we can make fun of their stupid comments.
If they wanna take their beliefs to the next level,
we can get into something a lil' more physical. I wish one of these COWARD types would finally Stand-Up and REALLY fight for what they believe in... Instead of simply talking all that "isht". If they believe all the crap they're fed by the MAINSTREAM MEDIA, why don't they go join the U.S. Armed Forces and fight. Hopefully, they'll come back in bodybags!
I say to these cowards, "Walk the WALK"... Like us folks did on Feb 15th in NYC.
We didn't back down from smart-ass cops who violated our RIGHT TO MARCH.
We busted some ass. There's a lot more where that came from, too.
TRU DAT!
Posted by: "D" Sooch at May 28, 2003 02:36 AM
Right, because being right-wing politics are obviously mainstream and saying what you believe to a community that will more than likely not agree with your views is cowardly. Did I miss something? You must not actually watch or read any mainstream media so I wouldn't go off on that tangent.
If you actually believe in the rights of people to bear their own opinion then you should have no problem with Ugly Duckling. They don't use their music as a vessel to display their personal politics, they just have their own views the same as anyone else. Of course there is room for right-wing rappers, that question is a joke. And if you disagree give one reason why that wouldn't contradict exactly what you believe in. Should they be accepted? Anyone should be accepted. I'm more of a right-winger politically but if a talented band or group makes music with integrity and without exploitation, I will support it regardless if they don't push their agenda to earn gains.
I don't think what happened to the Dixie Chicks was wrong, so if that happened to Ugly Duckling I wouldn't think it wrong...but it won't happen, the situations are totally different and UD didn't put out a cover to earn more fame. Out.
Posted by: SAmmy Z at May 30, 2003 07:03 PM
The question of their politics is rather irrelevant, by itself. What was done to the Dixie Chicks was gross misuse of media company's muscle. If Jordan's politics is capitalism and conservatism would that make him a lesser basketball superstar. Judge the group on their artform, Rap and Hiphop. If they are good and get publicity then they will flourish. Notwithstanding, the genre of Hiphop covers many topics form social plights to getting play; this was the black experience when Hiphop was a child. As an adolescent, Hiphop will encompass new ideas as new people embrace it. We can suffocate ourselves and restrict to the realness of our street, but we will never grow. If they do a political song that doesnot agree with your politics - do not buy it. We have a free market system.
Posted by: Jack at July 26, 2003 10:26 AM
hip hop culture , although its not discriminating any tendency or idea, it should be considered as a left wing movement because of the conditions it came out from.
Besides left wing ideas are the only ones that stand for our rights. Latinos, blacks, and other groups of people that have been oppresed by the system.
Que viva el che
Posted by: Camilo at October 20, 2003 07:52 PM
It definatly is not a left wing movement. It may have started that way but people get greedy. Most rappers arent socialists, if they were, they wouldnt be rapping about the glorys of capitalism. They are all tools of mainstream media, that turn this generation to the right wing and its bullshit.
Eye for an eye *****
Posted by: Jon at December 30, 2003 12:16 PM
Fuck Che, the fucking Stalinist. Thinking Che Guevara is cool is no different than thinking the same of Josef Goebbels, aside from the fact that it's popular to wear Che t-shirt. Supporting Communism is morally equivalent to supporting Nazism.
Whether blacks and latinos have been "oppressed by the system" is a question I don't care to answer, but you can rest assured more Cuban blacks and latinos have truly suffered, have truly been oppressed under the brutal dictatorship Che served than in the United States. Get a clue.
Posted by: Netzach at January 15, 2004 02:49 AM
Saul Williams said 50 Cent is a Republican.
Posted by: eric at January 15, 2004 03:17 AM
OMG, a Republican rapper? Get out the attack dogs! Get your gats! Holyfuckingshit the world is gonna end!
Get over it, simp.
Posted by: tom sherman at April 26, 2004 04:40 PM
Tom, I'm not sure why your knickers are in such a twist. Pretty much everyone else in here said they don't think it's a problem.. are you just reacting to the stereotypes inside your head instead of actually reading?
Posted by: Jay Smooth at April 26, 2004 06:11 PM
I LOVE RAP MUSIC MORE THAN ANYONE, I LOVE TO LISTEN TO IT. JADAKISS USED TO BE MY FAVORITE TILL HE STARTED BASHIN BUSH. I THOUGHT HE WAS THE HARDEST RAPPER OUT THERE AND WOULD FIGHT TO THE DEATH LIKE HE SAYS IN HIS RHYMES. BUT NOW I THINK HE IS A PUSSY FOR THE THINGS HE SAYS. ALL OF THE RAPPERS ARE SCARED, I STILL LOVE TO LISTEN TO THEM BUT I THINK PETEY PABLO IS THE ONLY ONE THAT WOULD FIGHT FOR THE COUNTRY
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