Rev Left Radio - Power Struggle: Hip Hop For the People!

Episode Date: June 8, 2022

Nomi (aka Power Struggle) from the Beatrock Music label, joins Breht to discuss his latest album "Aspirations", the role of hip hop in both of their lives, its influence on their politics, their favorite albums and artists, revolutionary politics, working shitty jobs for shitty pay, embracing the working class over personal ambitions, and much more! Check out Aspirations here: https://powerstrugglemusic.bandcamp.com/album/aspirations Check out Beatrock Music here: https://beatrockmusic.com/ Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

And Ombuds An old veteran gold medals and Denison told me don't settle by selling off your melon and make money and spend it. In medicine, Armageddon is here. Donald Trump was evidence. Heaven will let the haters invade. Safe space to see racists from neighborhoods. Put us in glass cages. Wages are no good.

Water is all tainted. Natives are all hood. Trump is still sacred. It booms like shrooms in rooms with art students. Groomed by institutions trying to not sound stupid. Fluid is the music that sues the melancholy. I want to throw a party like Ho Chi Men and Bobby. Trying to recreate, 1968.

Youth were on five. light candles on a cake my bones ache like cranes left out in the rain if you i see my name say it simple and plain uh i was struggling we know we know who it how a struggle bring the passion we don't quit how to fight for we know who we how struggle is the anthem Free them all and tear the walls down Bringing you that raw sound Fist up like a South car Round one starts when the bell rings

Kings get wings like Crip nip at them tears sting When they fall down St. Ball Bound Back to my hometown homeboy Get a tight hug and a strong pound Wrong crowd teach you how to fight And make a weed pipe party and a rave

Listen in the delight Coove is in the heart Writing rhymes on bar Back to the bay when my politics start Adopted by the scope Excelsior to DC Built mass Orbs for the people

To be free Things fall apart When ideology weak Sometimes I'm writing An apology speech Sometimes my music Avantgard niche Sometimes I need music

To breathe I will struggle Bring a hardcore We know I was struggle Bring the past I was struggling What you fight for

We know How a struggle is the handful We know We know Oh, cool, we know a way, I was struggling, bring your passion. We know, we're struggling what you fight for. We don't know, how we're struggling is the anthem. Chin affected the generation of giants who generated the signs of rhyme.

Sun and moon keeps shining, sign in the dotted line, come out of find the culture. Hiding from flying vultures, want to disrespect your altar. The ancestors, OGs, the homies, the 40s, tattoos, 40 nights of rosaries. Bahamas of Jesus, do more than paid dues. city on hip hop just like phase two who the fuck raised you to be greedy and evil to colonize people and shit on them like seagulls through the eye of the needle and of the kingdom of guard most rich men are devils who exploited us all they built walls made a steel because they weak at the core they never knew love so they fiend it for war if life is a pawn hope these rhymes cause a ripple when the people

have power race the hammer and the sicker uh-uh power struggle bring the hardcore we don't So we don't quit. I would struggle with you fight for. We know. I would struggle is the anthem. We don't know. I would struggle bring the hardcore. We know how I will struggle bring the passion.

Who will struggle with you fight for? I will struggle is the answer. So here we are with this theory, that's our revolutionary theory, that needs revamping. Who will do it? Who will take the sacrifice? Which one of you will step into? of you will step into history and make history or take history.

Don't let them redefine history. Don't let them erase us out of history and redefine it. That's what's happening in hip-hop today. That's what's happening. Hello everybody and welcome to Rev Left Radio. On today's episode, I have on my friend Nomi from the hip-hop group Power Struggle, based in the Bay Area and he just released an album

called Aspirations very political, very good even sampled some Rev Left content in there so on the song My Anxiety which will probably play in this episode at the very end of that song it's actually my voice sampled talking about anxiety and depression

and their relationship to social conditions so it was really cool to be featured on such a dope-ass you know, revolutionary album, a hip-hop album. And so I was very, very blessed and honored to be able to be featured on it. And I knew I wanted to have him on just to talk politics in general, just to talk hip-hop in general, but also to promote this album. I know there's a subsect of Rev Left listeners who, you know, really like the outro

music because it's a great way to discover new music and discover new hip-hop artists in particular, which I'm always very hip-hop heavy in the show and in my personal life, that's the genre of music I enjoy the most. And so whenever I can promote some underground or more independent artists, I always take the chance to do so. So in this conversation, we talk about, you know, the Philippines, we talk about hip-hop, we talk about favorite albums, you know, huge influences on our love for hip-hop. We talk about the Midwest hip-hop scene and like the Minneapolis-St. Paul explosion in the late 90s, early 2000s. He grew up in St. Paul and was a part of that scene before moving to the Bay Area. And I know many of you reach out to me on a pretty

constant basis, particularly thanking us for introducing you to Bamboo, who is, of course, a friend of Nomi's, a fellow artist on Beat Rock, et cetera. So this is really cool to be able to have on Nome when he kind of talk about, beat rock in particular, but hip hop in general, and I really think people will get a lot out of this episode. So without further ado, here is my episode with Nomi on his newest album from Power Struggle entitled Aspirations. And throughout this episode, we'll be playing music from the album as well. So you'll be able to hear songs from the album in between the discussion that me and Nomi have. Enjoy it. Hey everybody.

This is Nomi from Power Struggle, Bay Area hip-hop group. Delighted to be here. Excited to talk about my new album and just appreciate all the work that goes into the show and all the folks that are listening. Hell yeah. It's an absolute pleasure to finally have you on the show. I know we've been sort of friends behind the scenes, follow each other's private Instagram accounts and whatnot. and we've touched bass a lot and you actually reached out to me for this album because you wanted to use one of a little piece of my talking on this show related to mental health and social

conditions in one of your songs which listeners will be able to listen to throughout this episode and I was very, very honored to be able to be a part of that. So yeah, I thought you have you on, talk a little hip hop, talk a little politics and see where it goes. So how are you doing today? I'm good, man. I'm really good. I'm really honored in, you know, to be.

be a guest on your show. You know, I think this show has really been, just to give you some props and whoever works on this, you know, it was really like a place for grounding for the last couple of years, especially during the pandemic, especially in around, you know, 2020, 21 when we were in the throes of like being isolated and even like scared to like work with our folks and work with our community because, you know, the threat level was like that. And so with the virus and so, you know, listening to this show was really helpful in kind of like just having a space to listen to a political framework to help folks kind of understand the conditions that we were living under. So I really appreciate being here.

And I think, you know, it's just such a great platform for kind of unity building. And I know, you know, that's a broad statement, but I think it is something that's really necessary at this point. particular moment. Yeah, well, thank you so much for that, man. It means the world to me. I don't always know the impact that the show has, and sometimes I can get sort of negative and down on myself. So hearing stuff like that is very encouraging. And that's what we're here for, you know, to make people at the very least feel less alone in very alienating times. So, yeah, let's get into it, though. I know you and I share a deep love of hip hop, you as an artist and a listener, me primarily as a listener but let's let's kind of talk about that and start the conversation there what got

you into hip hop as a fan and who were some of your early influences you know so i i think i like it's important to like you know tell the whole story and part of my uh kind of genesis into hip hop really started with with punk and skateboarding right and i think those that kind of genre and culture um also being kind of rooted in kind of rebel thought, you know, help kind of make the connection to hip hop. But I really started in middle school, you know, listening, you know, moving away from pop music and pop culture through kind of like the punk kind of movement. And some of my early shows were going to, you know, shows like Fugazi, groups like the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr. I mean, not necessarily punk, but like that kind of 90s, you know, grunge and punk era.

But what really kind of brought me into hip hop was two things. One was skateboarding. So, you know, back in the day in the 90s companies like Plan B, they had really dope skate videos that had a lot of hip hop primarily from the coasts, right? And so I think when I heard Method Man's to Cal, it was a Plan B video. I can't remember which skater it was. maybe this is Rodney Mullen or something, but I was just like, wow, this is just really dope. And I think that kind of was the first piece of music that really wanted me to, like, connect more or kind of bridge me more closer to hip hop.

But there was also kind of like the cultural and environmental settings, you know what I mean? I grew up in inner city, St. Paul, Minnesota, and a lot of, like, you know, your peers and classmates were listening to hip hop, my oldest sister. was, who was early kind of like late high school age, was listening to a lot of KRS 1 and was kind of showing me a lot of the Tommy Boy albums. And that really sparked my interest because, you know, the artwork was really compelling and even just kind of like reading through the albums and listening to the albums was super compelling as well. So that was kind of like my introduction to hip hop. And then, you know, as I got more into the music, I also got into graffiti writing for a while. It wasn't super, you know, like, I wasn't like a graffiti king.

I wasn't a toy either, though. But, you know, went out there and, you know, dabbled in that kind of realm. And it kind of naturally segued into rapping because, you know, a lot of our, being my peers, my homies, we would end up, you know, going out to bomb or whatever, or just to hang out, and we would just, you know, smoke some weed, kick it, freestyle. And that love for freestyling and the music really kind of, you know, bridged me to writing music. Yeah. That's fascinating. So you grew up, are you located in the Bay Area now, but you grew up in St. Paul?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I've been in the Bay Area for about 17 years, but I grew up. in St. Paul in Minneapolis for about 15 years, like from when I, in the U.S., yeah. Yeah, so actually, I think it was on your Instagram kind of recently, you posted something about cess and the underground hip-hop scene coming out of Minneapolis, and now, you know, that was at the turn of the millennium a lot, but I was a little younger. I was born in the very late 80s. So I remember, and I've only lived in Nebraska, Montana, sort of the region, where Minneapolis hip-hop, St. Paul hip-hop came out of. And so you felt a very close connection

to a lot of that hip-hop scene because Omaha, it has its scene, but it wasn't breaking onto the national stage. But, you know, you kind of had a little camaraderie with Minneapolis, St. Paul folks, because we're in the same region. We sort of have the same sort of, you know, lifestyles with the heavy winters and whatnot. So I always, I was very drawn to that. scene as, especially as a late teen, early 20 something, what, what influence did that scene have on you? Or were you leaving at the time when that was really popping off? Or what's your relationship to that whole movement? So I feel like I was a part of a really great era. It was like around the late, late 90s to early 2000s, right? And, you know, I think my my Instagram tweet or

post was like, you know, before there was a rhyme series, before there was atmosphere, before there was brother Ali, before there was Idea, there was SESS. And Sess was, and this is by no means a diss, because, you know, Idea was actually a really good

friend of mine in high school. And I, you know, I knew brother Ali and atmosphere and all, you know, toured with those cats and have a high regard for them. But I'm just acknowledging that there was this rapper named Sess who was part of this who called Abstract Pack, who came out of St. Paul instead of Minneapolis,

Minneapolis always gets all the attention, who really like the most amazing MC of that era and influenced, I think, so many people, especially idea. And so I just wanted to recognize him and kind of related to your question around, like, what was that like? You know, it was a different time, and it was way more cutthroat, you know, back in the 90s. I think that, you know, I, you know, I, I don't want to be the old man hater, you know, these kids these days.

But, you know, I think that at that time, you really had to fight for your position in the culture. You know, you had to, like, you had, like, being able to freestyle. And I'm not talking about, like, because different coasts have different interpretations of what freestyling means. Yeah. Off of the top of the dome, you know, that was a requirement, you know what I mean? Battling was a requirement, you know, back in the day. you know, me and all my peers would enter battles. And they were freestyle battles, not these written, pre-written battles.

You know, it was really like cutthroat. And then also, I think that, you know, in this era, too, this was like the 90s where if you got on stage and you were whack and I think this was universal throughout the country, you would get booed and you would get, like, taunted and everything, you know? And so that kind of experience, I think, really sharpened a lot of, like, MC skills of that era. And the standard, you know, like now kids, I don't want to say kids, but, you know, rappers these days, they rap over their, their own vocals, they, they don't, they're just

like lip singing some of the times and it's acceptable. And, you know, where I came from, that was, you know, you couldn't do any of that stuff. So, but, you know, I think the dope, really dope thing about the Midwest, you know, the Twin Cities, but the larger Midwest hip-hop community at the time was that because it was so isolated and because, you know, the kind of corporate music industry wasn't really fucking with what the Midwest was trying to do, that independence to kind of generate your own scene, your own, you know, music, your own strategies for getting out there, that really, real DIY kind of mentality was just embedded in folks and that hustle to get your music out.

And so I think that community was really built and was strong in the, in the 90s, early 2000s. But, you know, it was really interesting, too, though, I think. One thing that I think is important to bring out is that the scene also in many, many ways was very kind of racially polarized or divided, you know, when it came to hip hop and like people claiming what hip hop was and what it wasn't. And I think that as I got older, really kind of understanding those kind of contradictions was really helpful. But yeah, I mean, I think it was, you know, it was such an amazing time. And I'm kind of out of touch now with what the Midwest is doing since I've been gone for so long.

But I really appreciate those times. Matter of fact, I think we played a lot in Omaha. I bet, yeah. It was like, I think it was a VFW or something. Is that still there? It was like in downtown Omaha. Oh, that might have been done. Yeah, the venues, the classic venues of the 90s in Omaha were really sort of

destroyed in the early 2000s for various developing projects and stuff. And so new venues had to arise. So whatever was in the early, thousands in the late 90s is probably gone here in Omaha today it was a great venue though it was like really huge and even if the crowds like would come the kids that came through you know maybe it would be like you know on a one night 20 to 30 people kind of small like they they really vibed out you know so Omaha crowds were always really dope and and hanging out actually because we would always kick it with with people afterwards the folks in Omaha were really just you know hospitable and

and would always find us a place to crash. So I got a lot of love for Omaha. That's great. Yeah. Are you familiar with the Sokol Auditorium? Because I don't know if that might have been. That may have been. It was kind of like a downstairs and it was very like wide.

It was a big space. And it was like on a main street in downtown Omaha. It could have been Sokol because they had Sokol underground and Sokol above ground. I think that was. I think that was, yeah. Yeah, so it was right off like 13th Street, the corridor to downtown Omaha. It very well might have been that place. But yeah, for Omaha, you know, like when the Minneapolis-St. Paul scene blew up, like you said, there's this regional love.

It felt very much like, well, the east has their style. The West Coast has their style. You know, the dirty South has their style. Midwest was sort of, you know, like we, you know, they have people out of Detroit and these northern cities and stuff, which can be called Midwest for sure, appearing. I mean, Eminem in the 90s, of course. um but you know i i really think that that movement really like this is midwest hip hop and this makes us different from the coast and the south and i don't know it resonated a lot with with fans

uh here in omaha of like underground independent hip hop and stuff um and god you know the the album by atmosphere god god loves ugly just like hit at a really crucial time in my life as like a a teen struggling with depression and shit and uh that album in particular got me through uh so i always have like a soft spot in my heart for that entire that entire move and a lot of those artists, even though, you know, my interest in hip hop is sort of shifted away from kind of sometimes that, that style. But, you know, it's still, I got a lot of love in my heart for that shit, for sure. Yeah. I would love to hear your, your playlist. You know what I mean? Like, what's, what's, like, favorite, you know, musical influences?

Oh, yeah, we can talk a little bit about that. And I think actually this next, I have some answers to this next question. So we talk about some of our early influences, hip-pop artists we like. What albums in particular were important for you growing up? Oh, man. I think, I hate to sound cliche, but we're talking about the era, but, you know, the golden era of hip-hop, you know, that 90s, 2000 era, the boom-bap kind of influence, was really influential on me. And a lot of people, like, either try to like downplay that or they don't want to like be associated with that era anymore for some reason. But a lot those records were super influential and just some really kind of I think uh ones that were really

influential in terms of like helping influence like how I view my craft in like the art of storytelling uh I think is like clear blue skies by the juggernauts is one of my top five albums Breezy Bruin was is like one of my favorite emcees you know Commons resurrection I think was such an amazing and important album everything by outcasts smith and wesson boot camp click those were just like the the overall kind of vibe that they brought with their production you know nass's filmmatic such an important album and i think when i you know kind of drop all these groups you can when you listen to my music you'd be like oh yeah okay totally get it you know what i mean it's very into like lyricism and dense writing, you know, and I think that those albums kind of, for me,

if you can take those lyrics and read them out loud and they're still profound. You know what I mean? You can read them like spoken word or like a story or whatever, and it's still really profound. And I think that is what I was striving, or what I am striving for as the hip-hop MC as a hip-hop writer, is to, you know, for me, make things that are, what I, what I look at is timeless, you know. And so I think those records are really important. Like on the political kind of development sphere, I think, you know, I mentioned earlier, but KRS1, I think, was one of those cats that was always really breaking things down politically. And I'm not really hip to what he's about or doing these days,

But in that era in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s, you know, he was so prolific. But I think in general, hip hop is a black and African art form, you know, inherently made political music, right? The black community's ability to articulate their conditions, their experience, their history in music was so kind of empowering, I think, for other marginalized folks. And so, you know, that, like, inspired me and gave me the confidence and the insight to even look into my own experiences, my own life path and my family and my communities and tell my own stories or our own stories about our conditions, right? And so I think that, you know, there's like the albums that helped you build your craft and then there's those albums that really, like, helped you build. your ideological or you know worldview yeah absolutely and yeah for me as like a you know a white kid in Nebraska growing up hip hop I was very very into it and it was a hugely important radicalizing force for me in part because it gave me a window into the trials and tribulations

and daily grind of specifically the black community throughout the country and open my mind and ultimately my heart to that specific struggle. And as I look back on my political development, I didn't know it at the time, but hip-wop was absolutely essential for my radical political development. And, you know, plenty of artists I can talk about, but two albums in particular that really hit

at a very crucial time for me. I probably discovered them a few years after they were released, certainly in both these cases. But they were huge. And that is, of course, let's get free by Dead Perez. um that's that's an album i've listened to thousands of times in its entirety um and soul food by goody mob actually oh yeah was was huge for me that was more of a 90s clinton era uh hip hop

conscious hip hop shit so it's very interesting to go back and see you know their complaints uh during the the clinton era in particular uh right and so yeah but i always loved uh southern rappers as well at UGK. I had a big zero phase. Obviously, Outcast is classic and like the newer sort of outcast adjacent hip hop group that I would consider outcast adjacent is like Earth Gang. I think they come out of Atlanta as well. And they very much carry forward that outcast spirit, which I deeply appreciate. But yeah, let's get free and soul food were absolutely huge for me.

Did you have any engagement with those albums in particular? Definitely, definitely. You know, I didn't really make as much of the connection to the Soul Food album. I think, you know, for me, it was like the musical, musicality of that album. It's just like what is like top of mind, you know? I think I need to revisit that one. But, yeah, let's get free to me is, you know, and at the time when it came out in, I think, 99 or 2000, I didn't understand it.

You know what I mean? I wasn't, like, involved in, you know, movement or, you know, politics. And I really didn't understand it. I was like, this feels like public enemy or something. I get that. I get the black nationalism. I get like this revolutionary spirit. But I didn't understand the detailed kind of like political and ideological and organizational framework that they were presenting. Right. And so at the time, I was like, this is a cool album, you know, bigger than hip hop was like, oh, this bumps. But as I got more of, you know, involved, organizing and in politics, I really started to understand what they were saying in terms of like the kind of deeper things, like, you know, transformed this society, new, a socialist economy, like, I'm going to sample that. You know what I mean?

Those were like. Like ants in a colony. I really understand that. I didn't really understand what socialism was, you know, when I was like 19, you know. And so now, but in as I became an organizer, that album really was like my fuel, you know, like when I needed to pick me up and when I was feeling down about like where where was this organizing work going and just like a little funny anecdote uh you know I was like talking to a friend and they were they were kind of criticizing one of the members of dead press because

I think they've become you know just more kind of like you know like holistic health and stuff like that um and less kind of like in organizational politics and I was like hey man leave that person alone, yo, because that contribution, that record is a big enough contribution. They can retire and, you know, do whatever, open a yoga something or whatever. You know what I mean? I was like,

that album was so like precise, you know, in terms of, you know, revolutionary politics in our kind of more contemporary era. You know, I haven't heard stuff like that, like since, like that sharp since like the 60s or something, you know?

I follow a stick man from dead prez uh and he's he's awesome you know he's really cool he's a family man now uh but he's very much on the you know vegan workout every day you know stay fit stay healthy take care of your body um you know from which is totally fine people evolve people's focus shifts they made a huge contribution to hip hop and to the radical left in the united states with that album and many other albums of course but he's also very into uh to meditation and Buddhism and stuff. So I really, I actually enjoy keeping up with him and his stuff because it's like, you know, stay healthy, take care of your body and your mind, you know, meditate. And I thought,

I think that's cool. So there's many, there's many worst trajectories someone could take. Oh, no, yeah. I was a, of course, of course. Between me and a friend and I was just saying, you can't criticize, you know, either of these MCs because of just that one contribution they made, it was so profound, I think, for many people. Totally. Yeah, I completely agree. Art literature or cultural work in general is a necessary and decisive part of the revolutionary machinery and thus, without it a revolutionary organization or the entire movement would be ineffective. I was making albums while y'all was going dancing.

Burning all your earners, I was working on my passion. Rapping brought me here with this music to your ear with the message if you get it, then it's your turn. to steer. This vessel is a movement, more than just music. People in the street, when the heat, hell are ruthless, the culture. Craft work, the canvas, the dancer. Way the artist captures your pain and your laughter. People's propaganda defies the master narrative. Pain another picture that praises the proletariat. Motivate the masses to overthrow, the overlord, symbiotic relationship between pen and sword, one without the other, my brother, you got nothing. Standing like a statue

Built by the old Russians I ain't even fronting We celebrate in our customs Everything political Hit them with little substance Rebel artist agitation propagandists Dancing poet sing a paint our culture on the canvas Rebel artist agitation propagandists

Smash the apparatus Controlled by the fascist Rebel artist agitation propaganda Tell our story and it's glory and it's madness Rebel artist agitation Propagandists Singing songs for the working class masses I put that work before my well-being

Wasn't the healthiest decisions made I was stubborn, couldn't tell me shit Understand the pain and treat him like a human being He's not an activist but still of the community It ain't much without a mic or a pain brush Still showing love for a city that only hates us Sharing trades and skills so we could pay the bills And care less how these races feel

I had to ease the ego And put that pride in my pocket slow And learn the true meaning The people over profits though It's for those that gave their heart and soul And made the revolution Irresistible, the artist's role Relate the past to the now and the future dates

When we resist through the arts We communicate The poet flows with the streams of the river Delivered with the love And the hope that it gives us Still rebel artists agitation propagandis Dancing poets sing a panopin our culture on the canvas Rebel artist agitation propagandist

Smash the apparatus Controlled by the fascist Rebel artists agitation propagandists Tell our story and it's glory and it's madness Rebel artists agitation propagandists Singing songs for the working class masses This here is labor spending time behind the microphone The pen and pad up in the zone

Rocking sets away from home Kid got flavor chatting on the megaphone Hip hop workshop after school on neutral zone poems like parables to propagate the politic getting paid by colleges that never gave a scholarship save that salary to fund future projects with veterans and novices getting props by columnists beat rock music subversive on every verse antithesis to anything the radio has ever served word to the artist the organized the hardest creative content reflects a joy in hardship all the while organizing a mass movement like emery parts Ghani, we gotta do it, a conduit of Rev. Left aspiration. The gun, the book, the hammer the pen

to build a nation. Rebel artist, agitation, propagandist, dancing, poet, sing a pen, our culture on the canvas. Rebel artist agitation propagandist, smash the apparatus, controlled by the fascist. Rebel artist agitation propagandist. Tell our story and it's glory and it's madness. Rebel artists, agitation propagandists Singing songs for the working class masses Without cultural work Reaches the fighting spirit of the people And sharpens all weapons of the revolution

Without cultural work, the revolutionary movement would be sluggish and would even fail But I want to actually talk about beat rock music in particular. You know, your friend, your fellow artist, Bamboo, obviously is a huge influence for me and somebody that I've hopefully helped promote on this show for several years because, you know, his music was very, very important to me, especially as I, like, I came into contact with his music as I started moving into actual organizing. And it was, it had a lot of that, let's get free energy for me that I had, you know, several years earlier, it kind of replicated that and was a huge motivational and inspirational thing for me and still is. So can you talk about beat rock music, how and why it launched and sort of your relationship to the label and the rest of the artists? Sure. So beat rock

originally started as a clothing company. It was like an apparel in clothing company by this cat named Dave Arkell from Long Beach. And, you know, they had a store and we're just making really you know dope like uh kind of cultural and empowerment type of graphic teas so the bee rocks kind of label um uh head is uh this guy named fat gums and he and he just really you know was friends with dave and and appreciated uh just the aesthetic of their work and wanted to build like a music component of the company um and you know eventually you know the clothing company kind of you know moved on and the label kind of the music label came came out of that from from the clothing store and so in general you know it's a lot of just

like folks from the community from the hood that are just you know making good music that are active in different movement and organizing spaces that are you know in even just their own kind of endeavors. But I think the through line is that they all make music that's kind of empowering, you know, for a lack of words or that kind of breaks down the social issues that they're concerned about or that impact them and come from different experiences in terms of organizing or whatever.

So a lot of the artists, you know, there's too many, need to mention right now but um you know the way that the crew kind of operates uh it's it's very more feels more like a collective kind of arts collective versus like a formal label i mean there's still obviously the the economic and business management of that has to go into everything um but it's just really a dope space and crew to be a part of to support um each other's music uh because you know what what folks are saying needs to be said needs to be shared with with the world and with the communities out there and um i just really appreciate because i've come from different experiences that were more kind of like you know the official kind of record label

vibe and um and in the end a lot of you know those record labels were about dollars and cents you know yeah um about like their their revenue and i think that B rock is really a mission-oriented. I don't think, you know, I don't want to say that there's like a concrete kind of like statement that like all artists are like this, but I think we have a general vision and mission that it's like we want to make pro people music, you know?

And that, you know, translates just in the way that we kind of interact and support each other. Every year we have one big, well, since the pandemic, but we usually have like a big anniversary show. And the last one was in L.A. I think it was at the Echoplex and it was just huge and it was I think sold out. And it was like right before the pandemic locked everything down. So it was kind of a crazy way to close things out. But yeah, it's a super dope label. And I encourage everyone to check out all the artists, all the work that they put out. You can go to the website, www.b rock music.com.

And yeah, just check them out. Yeah, I'll definitely link to that. And yeah, Bamboo was the artist that got me into beat rock music, but then it opened up, you know, all the artists on that label, and I continue to enjoy their music. Obviously, there's a lot of highlighting of specifically Filipino artists. Is that something that is conscious, or is that just sort of the community you come out of in the Bay Area?

And are all the artists from Cali? Is it like a more localized thing, or do artists across the country get signed? No, you know, I don't really, I'm not really a part of, like the decision making on who gets brought in label. There's kind of a more executive kind of group for that. But I think it's more just kind of like natural. A lot of, I think all of the artists except for maybe GEOs from Seattle are from California. And I think it's just kind of based on that relationship, natural relationship building that happens.

I know they do get sent a shit ton of demos, you know, in the mail. and I don't know, like, who gets, you know, who gets listened to or what. So, you know, if you send one and you're like, what the fuck, man? Like, I don't, I can't answer that question. But, you know, I think it's just more of like a, you know, the natural kind of networking community building relationship. And then obviously artists, I think that there are artists that come out from our communities that, you know, folks are like, hey, you should check them out. And, you know, I think like the executive kind of group kind of like figures out, like, hey, you know, should we sign this person? But, you know, it works very much on, and it's not, it's not in a exclusively Filipino label.

I think just a lot of the artists happen to be Filipino because we kind of come from some of the same communities, you know, and have just like that working relationship. But, you know, there's, you know, folks, you know, from different communities that are representing. Totally. Is Gio the, the dude from Blue Scholars? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, hell yeah. I remember rocking Blue Scholars back in the day for sure. That's awesome.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, let's move more towards politics because obviously you are, you know, on the left. How did you get introduced to revolutionary politics? Has it always gone hand in hand with the music you make? And how would you identify politically today? So, you know, I feel like kind of like what I said earlier, like I feel like hip hop has always informed my political view because I think hip hop is always political. You know what I mean? Because it always reflects on race and class conditions, you know, in general.

And so, you know, even when it's talking about consumerism, it's still coming from a place of class because people are aspiring to like be ballers because they have had nothing all their life. You know what I mean? So to negate that is it's like stupid. But when I think it, you know, got more refined politically, my politics was really through the Philippine Revolution. You know, it's a 50-year-old revolution, longest revolution in Asia. And, you know, the national democratic revolutioner movement in the Philippines, to me always this was like the sharpest in articulating you know breaking down some of like the conditions that impact Filipino people in the homeland and globally right and so you know like the basic framework is like you know breaking down the three primary the three basic problems of the Philippines which is imperialism feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism and I know you've done episodes on this before so I'll tell the

Listeners to go look for those ones. But, you know, I think our role in, when I got involved or inspired by the Filipino Revolution was really at a moment when I came to the Bay in 2004. And I went to a concert. It was actually a punk show by this group, Escapo, which is a well-known Filipino, now defunct, Filipino punk band. And they had raw footage, leaked footage of the Hacienda-Louisita massacre that happened in 2004. And, or was it five? One of those two. But anyways, Haseanda-Louisita was a strike by sugarcane workers on the Kwonko-Ikino plantation,

Hasienda slash plantation in the Philippines. and, you know, the workers had been on strike for, I don't know if it was weeks or even months, but, you know, basically the Philippine police opened fire on the picket line. And so they, at the show, they were able to kind of show this raw footage. It wasn't even really kind of like, there was no like narration. It was just like, you know, we've got, you know, this was shared with us and we're trying to, like, educate people on the horrors, the human rights violations in the Philippines. And when I saw that, that was a very, like, eye-opening kind of moment, a critical shift in my brain of,

like, okay, what's happening in the world and, you know, what's my place in it? And so, you know, the kind of fast-forwarding, you know, the Philippine Rev has really been, You know, it has really explained a lot of even in my personal existence in terms of, you know, the story of my family's migration and people in my community and people that I love and how we ended up in the kind of condition and the situation we're in. And, you know, I think it also, you know, shows us how we play a decisive role, even if we're, you know, thousands of miles away. way in, you know, the heart of U.S. imperialism, how we play a decisive role in organizing to address the issues that are happening there in the Philippines to our, you know, fellow, you know, compatriots. What's happening to Filipinos in the migrant community, since, you know, we're one of the largest migrant communities in the world, worker, migrant workers, and then how

we relate to our allies and our communities here in the U.S. and how we can kind of build coalitions to address, you know, the many contradictions, the many issues that, you know, U.S. imperialism and capitalism put upon the people of the world. So, you know, I think that that framework really informed the kind of political trajectory of, of, of the world. of power strong as music, you know. And then I think, so there's like that aspect of like, you know, getting involved in a movement that informed like my politics. But then there's also the very personal of, you know, I'm a worker.

You know, I've been a worker all my life. I can, you know, one day I did a little fun activity and I was like, how many low-age jobs have I had? You know, and I think by the time I was like 30 or something, you know, I had had like already like 28, you know, and I've done it. I've done it all. You know, I've been a janitor. I've worked in construction. I've worked in kitchens. I've done retail. I've done, you know, like summer camps. You know, like every low age job you can think of, you know, I've done. I've worked in, you know, I've been a bus boy. I've been a bathroom matre d in New York City. You know what? Like the guy that like hands out men. You know, having that guy I like a posh club in Manhattan You know, so crazy All these things, you know, I worked in different

You know, office building So that kind of experience as a worker As, you know, my parents were workers And seeing what they went through To kind of like survive economically And then my own experiences Of what I went through To survive really influenced my music

in my politics. And then the third part, the third layer of that is really the on the ground organizing, right? And so I've had, you know, the opportunity to be a part of different, kind of like mass movement, mass organization kind of experiences. And so, you know, I think one of the most impactful for me that really helped really the development of how like power struggle music's kind of general themes is worker organizing. So I was part of organizing Filipino migrant workers, primarily a lot of caregivers in the care industry. And, you know, we formed a migrant workers group called Migrantte. Also did some youth organizing with migrant youth.

And really that organizing work also kind of influenced, you know, my trajectory and my politics and, you know, learning about the conditions of people and of migrants and working with them to address someone like their issues, you know, all of that kind of those three things played a really important role in kind of like the development of the identity of what partial music is. It doesn't go anywhere, ladies and gentlemen. You have to deal with your problems. If you can't do nothing else, deal with it. Because it's going to deal with you. I lose so many different people because they don't deal with their issues. So my only advice is please, please, keep it in front of you and not behind you. Innocent criminal, making the music lyrical, making the masses move like the state.

Something spiritual. Enter the cipher. Open the circle wider. rhetorical coral spitting gas on the fire life of a poet life of the party is stoic life is an empty bottle you can't let go of emo and awful gangster and lawful grimming and term in the bill but stuck in the muck like a fossil new generation new drama narration new world order the need for gratification know me got bars the homies got scars i'd rather be lonely under the stars playing guitar flailing my arms like an air dancer Grass cancer. Life is a trip. Life is a tip of the whip. Life on earth ain't shit compared to good drama to six. Post-colonial stress. Got my dome in a mess. The serotonin lack in the cortisol crack in my neck. That's a fire to flight release when no predator present. That's a stress where not even a threat is in my section. How you think the trauma affecting my best intentions? Better yet how it's shit to weigh my errors talk them lessons. Apart from aggression or art from progression. It blossoms. They say it's awesome, but only his face is being lawful. Props to the women and survive.

survivors of a salt who'd rather be in the stars than in the world forgot we are a commodity in the world involuntarily our diaspora made it possible for euro success so when the burrows we flex and erupted thoroughly impressing birds up to the essence we all paid our dues so our crabs in the bucket is loose that's the move I'm spinning out of control I'm digging deep in the hole I want to break from the mold I feel my heart's turning cold while you're tripping what why you tripping what why you tripping but why you're Why you tripping? Blood? Why you tripping? Serotonin are low. My anxiety, oh, alienated and pull me to survive on your own. Why you tripping, bro?

Why you tripping, bro? Why you tripping? The brown on my back, the map to the past. They cut us from class because of our class. I'm kicking my ass. You call me a spas and follow our traps. We're walking on glass. Talking fast, the moments don't last.

Money and ass and having a blast. Instead of planning for your future, you're blowing your cash. An angel may crash, emerge from the ash, if Phoenix will rise, exposing the lies, and tearing the mask. Ended the fast, the harvest is here, the hardest appears, ended up serving the years. We pouring our beer, pulling our hair,

police killing everybody, but the system don't care. Light up a flare and tell them we're here. Land of the loss, they burn in the cross, unboxing the bears. Drumming a snare, there's death in the air. Grow out your hair, I've got you, babe, like sunny and shit. Yeah, they criticize my heart. when I say don't read books but white men uh and it served me well the world's got better the verbs

is wetter the nerves must settle the blur is clearer the slurring lyrics emerge from hearing the birds and spirits and earth and fiercely working i'm on it splurge vendetta the dead and through metaphors metaphysically staying up on my crissie i'm in for letter laying low writing letters in my notes when no edits let it flow true story to move forward new glory new born from the ashes brown Phoenix for the bastards, uh, brown fetus needed no master. Bless the child and destiny give us answers. Bless the miles who divination will chant this. Bless us all while we're getting our demands on.

I'm spinning out of control. I'm digging leaving the hole. I want to break from the mold. I feel my heart turn is cold. Why you tripping, bro? Why you tripping, bro? Why you tripping, bro? Why you tripping? Serotonin on low.

My anxiety, oh, alienated and pulled me to survive on your own. How you tripping, bro? Why you tripping, bro? Why you tripping? The problems of addiction and even mental health more broadly are hyper-individualized and they're biologized. So it's like, you know, I'm depressed and anxious all the time. Well, that's because you have an imbalance of neurochemistry and this pill will fix it. But there's no sort of systematic approach to showing or to exploring how things like addiction, you know, diseases of despair and mental health issues like anxiety. and depression are tied to really rotten social conditions in many cases.

Fascinating, very well, very well said. Yeah, just it's incredibly interesting to hear all of that. And I'm with you. The jobs that I've worked, you know, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver, is a gas station attendant, dishwasher, maintenance guy, worked all the shitty jobs. So I feel you. It's a radicalizing experience if you are forced, especially I had a child at 19 while I was working these jobs as well. So that added an extra burden on my shoulders.

And if that, you know, hot house of low wage, destroying, soul-crushing work doesn't radicalize you. I don't know what will, you know. Right, right. And, you know, and I hope through my music, but in general, like, you know, I feel like the majority of us come from that experience. and we have to take pride in it, you know what I'm saying? And like, it has to be something that gives, like, nurses us, even though we hated those conditions. Because I feel like many people, you know, even like working class folks are like,

and especially in some senses of the hip-hop culture, are like, yeah, I work a regular, you know, low-age job, but I'm going to make it, you know, like this fantasy of like making it in America. and I'm going to be like this amazing rich and famous person like we need to embrace our working class experiences and look for a better vision of a better future but you know I just think that like we should be proud of being grunts you know absolutely yeah one of my first political awakenings is realizing like I'm a member of this class these you know these low wage workers on each side of me are my people what can I do to advance the interests of people that I know are good, hardworking people, people

that are raising kids, that are self-sacrificing, that are smart, you know, and like how do we raise these people up? And how do we also help them eradicate from their own minds that the fact that they're working a shitty job is not an indication of the lack of their character. But it is a structural system that puts certain people born to certain families in certain class positions. I think a lot of people have shame around the fact, like as you're alluding to, around the fact that they're forced to work these jobs and they would rather indulge in fantasies of becoming a billionaire than being like, hold up, what happens if I actually accept that this is my class position, look to the people around me and maybe start thinking about how we can get together for our shared interest instead of this individualist fantasy that I will be able to make it out and leave these people behind in the kitchens and at the gas station. and you know at the construction sites and and that's why i fuck with rev left radio you know exactly like that encapsulates everything i was feeling you know what i mean and and just you know briefly because i think this can go deep is like you know and i think that's like the through the culture

to hip-hop like that's one of our duties or our roles is to really like bridge that that kind of you know that framework you know that working class framework into it into building solidarity across the board you know and and i'm not i totally understand the criticism of like what is it called like um just broad left unity without like you know you know internet analysis totally get that but that should be like part of the task in building that right rev left unity you know absolutely yeah yeah could not agree more well let's let's go ahead and end this with a few questions about this album itself so so moving on to this this latest album aspirations what motivated you to create it what were you trying to do with with it

what were you trying to accomplish with it I know it had been a few years since you released an album like this so so yeah what were your thoughts going into this well you know I really appreciate this question I haven't really I didn't really think about it thoroughly but until you you kind of pose it to me and I think it's like it's really a assessment, you know? It's a personal assessment of where I'm at. And, you know, I've been organizing for about 10 to 15 years. I've been making music for 20 to 23 years. And, you know, I'm like 42. And at this stage in my life, where I'm at, you know, I got family, et cetera. I'm like, where am I?

You know, like, as part of our work, like assessment, in our organizing work, and everything we do is important. And so I think musically, this was an assessment of those, like, you know, that combining of cultural work and organizing. In one of, in the title aspirations is really like, in many of like the organizing circles that I've been in, one of the concepts that we often reflected on were like what are our aspirations is it revolutionary or is it petty bourgeois and that and i think that's kind of like a critical juncture that a lot of people experience especially as they get older right as they get into like nuclear families and they get into kind of like their careers or whatever um i see a lot of people like like, or they just get burned out or they have, um, kind of their own kind of mental health things that they need to deal with. And that's not a, you know, criticism on them. But I'm just saying that like there's, you know, a point of like, for me, there was a point where I had, you know, figure out like, what am I still trying to, you know, am I still aspiring to, you know,

commit to like revolutionary principles or am i going towards like a more individualist kind of petty bourgeois you know uh direction and i and so that assessment in the record i think comes out and then also you know has to do with like a lot of like just things that are happening at the time you know around the world and um but that's really the essence of what that title means and I think the album means and I think that everyone at a certain point needs to do an assessment of where they're at and hopefully that leads them to continue their their you know revolutionary work to move into that but um but in general yeah and that's why if you look at the cover uh which was done by a graphic design crew in the philippines called

on guerrilla, you know, it's kind of like a play on the, you know, the poker card. And so on top is the worker. And then on the bottom is like the war mongering capitalist, right, holding with a vomit and a stack of money. And so it's kind of like, where do we lie, you know? And I think that's an important question we all have to ask ourselves. And then once we decide, hopefully we decide on the worker's side, how do we contribute to that kind of, you know, proletarian worldview.

So, you know, that in a nutshell is kind of what the album's about. Absolutely. And in your song, a cultural worker, you really, you do this wonderful job of showing how everybody can have a role to play. Whatever your talents are, whatever your interests are, you can take that and you can put it in service of liberation of emancipatory politics and contribute in your own humble way. You know, nobody needs to be the next Fred Hampton or the next Malcolm X or the next Vladimir Lenin, but we all have a role to play. And yeah, that comes across in that song. And this entire album is incredibly inspirational. And I have, you know, moments where my heart rate increases and my fist clench and other

moments where, you know, tears come to my eyes. And I really appreciate that about this album. And speaking of that, what is your personal favorite track on the album and why? oh man that that's really hard uh because i think they're they all really you know this album is originally like 13 songs and because of the pandemic you know i just had nothing i it was like had a lot of time to just work on it and i whittled it down to these uh seven um because you know I just felt like these were like the most important like they lasted from 2020 on and so to me I mean, just to answer your question, I would say cultural worker is one of my favorites

because it really explains what I do. You know what I mean? It explains what this album is and what like this group is about, you know? And so that's one of my favorites, but it's hard for me to just say, I guess I'll say that's the one

I'd like to highlight, but it's hard to say which one is my favorite. I also really like organizing steadily, which features some really dope up-and-coming younger kind of emcees and also organizers. You know, I really wanted to put on people that were also part of, you know, movement building work. And then I really like the song, The Hammer, because I just think it just like, it kind of, you know, refers to like that kind of Midwest kind of hip-hop aesthetic. And to me, like, I just, I think every verse kind of capture is really important viewpoints and in parts of my life. Hell yeah.

Yeah, I love all the songs. They're all different. You know, it's not like the same song five times in a row. They're all different. They all play their role. The album is structured really well. I think Hammer is the greatest, you know, song for the outro track. And, you know, Power Strugglers the anthem is a great opening track.

So overall, I just, I just really love it all. and as a whole piece of art. It really is a cohesive, coherent album, and I love it. Oh, man. Thank you so much. That's an honor to hear that from you. Absolutely. And hopefully we can turn many more people onto it.

So other than your own, and this is like the last question or two, you know, it's nice to have a little recommendation at the end here. You can use this in any way you want. You can recommend newer, less well-known artist or albums, a artist on your label or just out of left field. artists. But yeah, can you toss out a few recommendations for people that want to basically get introduced to new dope music? Yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I really want to kind of like highlight, you know, I really thought about

the lesser known folks and not a diss to any of them. I just think that, you know, this is a pretty good platform to, you know, share these groups. And I think both for political and music aesthetic reasons, like they're amazing. So first of all, I would suggest checking out Silakbo, which is like a punk mixed with electronic group. And then I would check out material support out of Queens, New York. They're an amazing kind of punk group, and all of their content is super sharp. So material support. Check out bootleg orchestra.

They're from L.A. They're kind of like a mix of Cortis Head meets Radiohead, meets like with dope-ass politics. So check out bootleg orchestra. On our label, I'll check out Faith Sontia's album. It's like a hip-hop spoken word album, but the writing is phenomenal and really just touches on so many important topics. I would check out Sendai era from Seattle. That's S-E-N-D-A-I-E-A-I-E-R. Kind of a mix of the newer sound of like bridging that auto-tune with his.

with rapping, but with also really dope political content. I'll check on Amihon from the Bay. Obviously, Rebel Diaz, but I just don't think they get enough shine. And then Rhapsody is a rapper that I just really think is amazing, technical content-wise. I mean, there's just so many, but I'll just stop there. And then I highly encourage everyone to check out all the artists on our label, be rockmusic.com. Absolutely. Beat Rock is full of really talented, dope, unique artists, and I wrote down all those recommendations

myself, so I'll absolutely follow up on them, and hopefully people out there listening can follow up on a few of those as well, and give some love to really talented artists that might not always get the love they deserve. So, yeah, so thank you so much for coming on the show. Nomi, this is long overdue. Love talking with you. Love your music. Hopefully we can stay in contact. You're always welcome back on RevLeft Radio anytime for any reason. But before I let you go, can you just let listeners know where they can find your music? And I guess you've already answered the question of where they can find other beat rock artists and their music in general. Well, you know, again, thank you so much for this opportunity. You know, this is such

an important platform, especially in these very, very critical times, this very tragic week month in America. And we need this type of like broadcasting to combat the master narrative of how they think this world should be. So, you know, just big, ups and much love for having me on. Listeners can find all of our music on all the streaming platforms, you know, Apple music, Spotify, Band Camp, et cetera. You know, unfortunately, we got to go through the corporate systems to get it out there, but it's very accessible. Absolutely. And I'll link to as much of that in the show notes as possible to make it easy as possible for listeners to find as much of that music as possible. So thank you again, Nomi. This has been wonderful. Much

love to you, your beautiful family, your community, your fellow artists. Keep up the amazing work. Thank you, brother. You too. Same to you. But unless you take in action, your idea is stand nude. Crude as the oil that boils beneath the earth. It hurts support and work and not read what you deserve. Words I manifest every time I grab the mic. Lyrics that I write, a reflection of the life. The masses, the classes, the rough forward axes,

division of man like bulletproof glass. In the ghetto, the manifesto is often written by the wisdom of the women that survive the damn system. Contradiction higher, like water on a fire. Desire for something different. I aim to inspire. dream. I just try to stay awake. There was fire on the lake and my eyes are opaque. Everything I've seen, part of a bigger scheme. The hammer swings to bang it into shape. I don't even dream. I just try to stay awake. There was fire on the lake and my eyes are opaque. Everything I've seen, part of a bigger scheme. The hammer swings to bang it in the shape. Malcolm wasn't criminal, converted to a king. Fidel came from money, but a socialist within. Harriet is a slave who escaped the plantation. Went back to free of people. That's no exaggeration. Once upon a time spit a rhyme about the land in my hand held it's all, but the answer is to dance. Point of this reflection is to understand perception.

Truly change your world, break away from the present. Style, structure, revolution, motherfucker. Change from within is an illusion for a sucker. Ain't the type of brother to be divisive or supreme with them killers up in Washington be quoting Martin's dream. Revolution will be one when you break the ceiling. More Filipinos in power means more Filipino stealing. Dealing with the backlash like bombers overbag that aspired to be high. I'd rather roll with the rack tags

I don't even dream I just try to stay awake There was fire on the lake And my eyes are opaque Everything I've seen Part of a bigger scheme The hammer swings To bang it into shape I don't even dream

I just try to stay awake There was fire on the lake And my eyes are opaque Everything I seen Part of a bigger scheme The hammer swings To bang it into shape Urgent as a surgeon

When there's murder in the urban City that I live in Still got killings and it's hurting People that are working Attendance on their Sunday sermon. Magic mic is on while the cigarettes keep burning. Johnny Walker Black in a stack of playing cars tell the Filipino gits stay off the boulevard. Scores of migration can devastate a nation. Label exportation and family separation. Asians have the jungle force

to flee and leave the trouble. Move to America work a triple or a double. Cuttle up the phones when it's time to call home like DJ Fawns and his wife when we're practicing our songs. Artists analyzing errors of existence. Never criticized without all for any vision. Listen to the people as I tie past the margin in the valley of the beast we are often the one's starving. I don't even dream. I just try to stay awake. There was fire on the lake and my eyes are opaque. Everything I've seen part of a bigger scheme the hammer swings to bang it into shape. I don't even dream I just try to stay awake. There is fire on the lake and my eyes are opaque. Everything I've seen, part of a bigger scheme. The hammer swings to bang it into shape.

This album's dedicated To everybody We lost in 2020 And to everybody To survive And to everybody that's morning And to everybody that continues to fight Sorry

Nelvin The Model Thank you.