american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
american political poetry in the 21st century - STIBA Malang
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CONTESTATORY URBAN AGENCY 159<br />
agency—notably <strong>the</strong> Whitmanian tradition, here closely allied with<br />
<strong>the</strong> tradition of west African griots—Lif departs from J-Live <strong>in</strong> his use<br />
of an authoritative, confrontational figure of voice. If J-Live is careful<br />
to say 9/11 was tragic, Lif—as Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) once<br />
wrote <strong>in</strong> “Black Art”—writes “poems / like fists” 2 that make nei<strong>the</strong>r<br />
qualification or concession. In <strong>the</strong> song, Lif works aga<strong>in</strong>st an artificially<br />
constructed consensus that prohibits dissent. Like J-Live, he<br />
critiques American capitalism, but more venomously. Lif claims that<br />
<strong>the</strong> role of <strong>the</strong> current adm<strong>in</strong>istration is to <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>the</strong> rich’s wealth<br />
and to protect American monetary <strong>in</strong>terests—“<strong>the</strong>ir only function is<br />
to keep <strong>the</strong> funny money where it’s at.” 3 After a history lesson on U.S.<br />
<strong>in</strong>terests <strong>in</strong> Afghanistan, Lif questions <strong>the</strong> U.S. <strong>in</strong>tervention: “Bush<br />
disguises bloodlust as patriotism.” This base substitution “demonizes<br />
Afghanis / so Americans cheer when we kill <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>nocent families.”<br />
The brutal, unapologetic imagery reaches a denouement <strong>in</strong> a recontextualization<br />
of 9/11: “You can wave that piece of shit flag if you<br />
dare / but <strong>the</strong>y killed us because we’ve been kill<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m for years.”<br />
Here Lif seeks to underm<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> flag, represented follow<strong>in</strong>g 9/11 as<br />
a symbol of American unity and freedom. The flag, for him, is not a<br />
symbol of <strong>in</strong>nocence. Instead, it shrouds kill<strong>in</strong>gs and justifies fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
kill<strong>in</strong>gs. Unlike J-Live’s lamentations for <strong>the</strong> 9/11 dead, Lif’s lyrics<br />
contest any declaration of American <strong>in</strong>nocence. He attempts to reveal<br />
<strong>the</strong> duplicity of American imperial identity and to attend to socioeconomic<br />
conditions <strong>in</strong> Muslim countries partially created and susta<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
by American foreign policy.<br />
In “Home of <strong>the</strong> Brave,” Lif assumes a voice common <strong>in</strong> hip-hop,<br />
especially <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>political</strong>ly conscious late 1980s and early 1990s.<br />
First, he references black historical figures and compares himself to<br />
<strong>the</strong>m, rapp<strong>in</strong>g that he has <strong>the</strong> “m<strong>in</strong>d of Mandela and <strong>the</strong> heart of Rosa<br />
Parks.” After establish<strong>in</strong>g this activist revolutionary l<strong>in</strong>k, he moves to<br />
an agenda to dispel illusion. When he raps “here’s what your history<br />
books won’t show / you’re a dead man for fuck<strong>in</strong>g with American<br />
dough,” he engages an emcee<strong>in</strong>g tradition that flows through Chuck D,<br />
KRS-One, Paris, X-Clan, Poor Righteous Teachers, dead prez, Talib<br />
Kweli, and o<strong>the</strong>rs. A substantial part of hip-hop’s contestatory urban<br />
agency is its truth-teller function. Many rappers feel charged with <strong>the</strong><br />
role of liberat<strong>in</strong>g listeners from lies and illusions perpetrated by <strong>the</strong><br />
government, corporations, <strong>the</strong> military–<strong>in</strong>dustrial complex, public<br />
school curricula, and <strong>the</strong> police. They redress historical <strong>in</strong>accuracies<br />
that slight black achievement and educational imbalances that ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><br />
racial <strong>in</strong>equalities and <strong>the</strong> “official story.” Part of this technique is<br />
an occasional <strong>in</strong>dulgence <strong>in</strong> conspiracy <strong>the</strong>ories, many of which are