Download PDF Version Revolt Magazine, Volume 1 Issue No.4

narrative, like party at the end of the world,
warning: Fool’s Gold! You’re confronting the pitfalls
of the American Dream/illUZiON when your lyrics
go “money hoes and clothes everything that’s trite”
– but it’s also just a party scene. Hip Hop started
as a bloc party in the Bronx with DJ Kool Herc and
the b-boys, the cops tried to break it up, but hip
hop kept going, and much of the music is
for what I put out and how it’s received. Being able
to find that balance, that sweet spot where the
fun is taking up the same space as the message.
That’s the conflict an artist that has something
to say should have. How can people enjoy this
and how can I still express these points without
preaching, without it being like a fuckin lecture or
something. That’s the conflict I have with
what they want to do, we shouldn’t look to hip hop
right now to be a savior because hip hop’s not
saving anything even if it is positive! It has potential
too and anything has potential too so if you wanna
do something that helps the planet - do it. If Hip
Hop is influencing strong and positive decisions
then wonderful. Something I want to do as an
individual is express what I’m learning and how
I’m growing to help people. I do that NOT through
hip hop, no, just through music. Yo hip hop is very
limited right now. The state of mind in hip hop is
very limited. I like to say things that make people
question what they might value and not value
within society. I just influence a curiosity for life cuz
I’m curious I’m seekin I’m just putting out what I
see fit and I’m not wasting words anymore when it
comes to writing a song.
KC: So there’s your message, the party is the
vehicle, and lastly – yo you guys have a lot of
swag. You have a lot of attitude and confidence, it
only multiplies when you are together, it’s almost
performative. I mean for instance like Tupac, a lot
of people don’t know this but he actually attended
acting school when he was comin up in LA. What is
that? Can you talk about that? How is that part of
what you are doing, is it a tool?
Salomon Faye and Enasni Leber of THEillUZiON, photo credit Dakota Blue Harper.
still oriented around the party meme. In what ways
is engaging the collective more important than the
message, and how can we conceive of the party
environment as a generative, joyful and political
space?
EL: One thing I learned about in NYC is that when it
comes to a party, they are always sort of political.
It’s always political, it’s always everybody in NYC is
selling everything and that’s everywhere. Being at
our gallery Apostrophe we’re used to parties every
week and usually the same people come every
week, every week, and it’s like a ritual - yo - it’s like
church. You get to play a game of life every week.
You go to this party and you play life different every
week. Next week you come and you a boss. Next
week you comin and you ain’t doin much. People
want to pop bottles, they want to trip, they want to
pop a molly, they want to do all of that, they want to
be the man, what? Damn! Bag some bitches! It’s a
fantasy. It’s just not real life. That’s where the fool’s
gold comes into play, that’s why it’s in the video,
naturally, it all comes together.
SF: Catch it Bock Haus
RB: That’s also part of the illusion. Partying is
such a desirable thing, everyone wants to party,
it’s kind of the nature of humanity as a whole.
They want to have fun but I think it’s important to
inject something into that. It can’t just be all about
partying it has to have more meaning than that.
That’s what I get from the illUZiON. If you look at
that video superficially you think oh it’s a party
they’re having a good time da da da but then if you
really pay attention to the words and what is being
said than that is where the political aspect of it
comes in.
SF: straight up! I think it’s for us as artists about
being conscious of what we’re putting out and me
speaking personally I feel a sense of responsibility
everything I create because I’m speaking with
purpose and I want to be heard so I got to think
about my listeners and I know people wanna have
fun. They’re out smoking and drinkin and tryna
have a good time but at the same time let’s create
something out of this wonderful moment. Let’s
grow from it, let’s become stronger.
RB: The party is not the focus it’s just the vehicle
that you put it in.
KC: Many people have situated rappers within
terms of the West African Griotic tradition, a Griot
being a praise singer of a socially
marginal position with biting wit and political
commentary. He is the repository of the oral
tradition of the culture and he pays for his freedom
by a marginalization that follows him to the grave,
literally, he’s not permitted to be buried with the
regular folk of society. In the United States we
have the race issue, and often hip hop is seen
as a type of insurrectionary knowledge about
the true state of things that has pushed its way
through music when, barred from other outlets
such as mainstream News. Like Salomon when
you say “Last time I met a whore, met her with a
metaphor…” you’re making a social commentary
in a multiplicity of ways. Do you relate to the
role of the contemporary griot and do you feel a
responsibility when you rhyme to speak of and for
the unseen and unheard in our society?
SF: Aight, ok one right now I wouldn’t say hip hop
is being used to improve society, it’s just not. It
was at a time but right now I don’t even know what
hip hop is, but it’s cool. I identify as just being an
artist in general and an aspect of my expression is
hip hop so WORD. With that said I feel responsible
for how and what I say and how I come off as
an emcee, as a part of hip hop. However, I don’t
feel responsible for or think hip hop should be
responsible for socially anything. People can do
SF: I feel like it’s a developed confidence. I
wouldn’t have always been able to express myself
like this in an interview, in front of a camera, on a
microphone, in a performance. This is natural but
this is over time. I remember when I was scared
to rap in front of people, but I was different in my
room or in front of someone I’m close to. Now it’s
me naturally feeling close to everybody and being
at a level so comfortable with myself and aware of
myself and comfortable with who I am that this is
just what happens.
EL: Yea yo, what you see is what you get. I mean yo
like you develop habits and these habits become
your character and you need different characters
for different things. I’m me right now, I’m chillin, I’m
cool. If I need to be on point I’ll be on point. I might
go up to someone else and just be Joshua. It’s like
whatever.
SF: That’s where I feel like the art of personality
comes into existence. This is just our personality yo
and that has a big part to do with God.
EL: We pray a lot, we meditate a lot.
SF: We get lost
EL: We read a lot
KC: What do you read?
RB: Ancient Scrolls
EL: Fiction too, I like being creative and I like
creative books, man I just read -
SF: I didn’t like fiction until I read Clockwork
Orange. Aight, boom! Conversations with God.
DAMN Bro. I’ve been like unraveling this truth, you
know like moving the clouds out of the way and the
sunlight has been allowing me to see.
KC: Afrika Bambaataa calls the 5th element of Hip
Hop “Knowledge of self in the community” Does
this resonate with you? What is the significance of
the posse mentality to your work?
SF: Posse mentality?
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