Radical Music Videos: Miriam Makeba

South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba passed away yesterday.

RIP Mama Africa.

Radical Music Videos: Lisa Stansfield

I love Lisa Stansfield! She is another so-called "blue-eyed soul" singer who had a string of hits back in the 1990s. "Never, Never gonna give you up" is my favorite song.

Radical Music Videos: Issac Hayes

My favorite Issac Hayes song, Walk on by.

RIP Black Moses

Radical Music Videos: George Michael

A group of us will be seeing George Michael in concert tonight. Say what you will about him, this man still has it.

Asked in a recent interview about reading the tabloid reports about himself:

"No. Nothing you read about me is true. If there isn't a picture of me and if I haven't been arrested, it's not true..."

Spoken like a true gentleman.

Radical Music Videos: Dusty Springfield

Dusty Springfield made a name for herself as a so-called "blue-eyed soul" songstress back in the day. Here is one of my favorite Dusty songs.

Radical Music Videos: Sylvester

Happy Pride, Everyone!!!

Lets groove to Diva Sylvester

Radical Music Videos: Burning Spear

If you don't know who Burning Spear is, you better ask somebody - right quick. Here he is performing in Kenya "Africa Jah Na Dead" for your Memorial Day listening pleasure.

Radical Music Videos: Benjamin Zephaniah

In this "Empire Writes Back" edition, Howard University professor R. Victoria Arana recentley gave an interview with Foreign Policy in Focus on British post colonial literature and its impact.

From Foreign Policy in Focus:

E. Ethelbert Miller: Briefly describe the political, social and economic issues that have shaped the literature.

Arana: Scholars have conveniently labeled this particular “boom” a case of the “Empire writing back.” The first wave of black British writers (from 1950 though the 1980s) considered themselves post-colonial and addressed issues relating to colonialism, its cultural legacies and hang-ups. Those British-born writers publishing in the 1990s and 2000s, however, tend to think of themselves as more forward-looking, more concerned with contemporary life in Britain and their connections to people all around the world, not even necessarily to the countries from which their forbears emigrated...

...Miller: How do black writers in Britain approach their writing while living in an empire that has seen a political decline?

Arana: The fact of the decline per se for many is seen as a plus since it means that the empire is not over-lording and exploiting colonies in the old ways. Benjamin Zephaniah, for example, an edgy, radical poet from Birmingham with a huge following in England, was offered an Order of the British Empire, a highly coveted honor, and he flatly turned it down, quipping that the Queen must not have been reading any of his poetry before deciding on the award or he certainly would not have been named. His rejection of the title hasn’t hurt him with the establishment; he is a regular recipient of generous prizes and travel funds to visit foreign lands as a cultural emissary of Britain...

Meanwhile in Trinidad, apparently there is no love for V.S. Naipaul.

From The New York Times:

...In the nearly six decades since Naipaul left for England, the relationship [between Naipaul and Trinidadians] has taken on the character of a bad marriage, with Trinidad setting Naipaul up to spurn it and Naipaul obliging. When asked about Naipaul, Trinidadians will first talk not about his books, though they are widely read in schools here, but about the idea that he has turned his back on the country. “He’s a bit salty about being Trinidadian,” a local bar owner and guide said when I asked him to show me Naipaul’s ancestral home. Others put it less diplomatically: “He hates Trinidad” was a common refrain...

Speaking of Zephaniah, who we have much love for here on this blog, check out a classic music video by him:

Radical Music Videos: The Roots

The Roots were in town last night to support their tenth studio album, Rising Down. The music was tight and the lyrics were thought-provoking as usual. Black Thought is the greatest MC in the world, dropping rhymes like there was no tomorrow. Whoever said hip hop was dead?

Check out their classic video, Proceed, right about now.

Radical Music Videos: Mutabaruka

In honor of National Poetry Month, lets give it up to the revolutionary Jamaican dub poet and DJ Mutabaruka. He has been doing poetry on social injustice and Pan Africanism for over 20 years. A really cool guy who you can check out at Asylum in Kingston, Jamaica once in a while spinning African party grooves. Check him out doing 'Dis Poem' on Def Poetry Jam below.

Radical Music Videos: DJ Spooky

Since I am still on a "tech high" from 08NTC last week, I thought it would be appropriate to have avant garde hip hop genius DJ Spooky included in Radical Music Videos this time. In the video below he received an award at Riverside Church two years ago for using his music and technology to address globalization and human rights abuses worldwide.

Radical Music Videos: Parliament Funkadelic

Parliament Funkadelic is legendary, enough said. They have revolutionized music with their funky beats and flashing stage costumes. Their music lives on today through some of hip hop's best artists. Check out this 1978 concert footage where they perform one of my favorite songs, Mothership Connection, with a performance from the late, great Glen Goines.

The lyrics "Swing down, sweet chariot" paraphrase the traditional spiritual "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," which is sung primarily in African American churches and has references to the Underground Railroad. Many music critics have said over the years that this song is a reference to the continued struggle of African Americans, and that "the motherhsip will take us to a better place one day."

Radical Music Videos: Mos Def

While I did diss Mos Def in the previous post, I do think he is a great social activist and uses his music to put out his views. Check out his video about Hurricane Katrina. I think both Mos Def and I can agree that the aftermath of the worst natural disaster in US history was handled very badly by the Bush Administration.

Radical Music Videos: Erykah Badu

Erykah Badu, the queen of neo-soul, is back with her five studio album, New Amerykah, coming out later this month. Badu made it fashionable again to be a talented singer without having to dance half nake in a music video. Her sould has been comparable to the late great Billie Holiday. Check out her new video below, which seems to be her homage to her favorite vinyl covers:

Radical Music Videos: Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco is a breath of fresh air to the ever disgusting, misogynistic, homophobic, bling-bling corporate bulls**t that passes for hip hop today. His first album, the critically acclaimmed Food and Liquor, not only took on corrupted rap, but also HIV/AIDS, immigration and the War on Terror. His new album, The Cool, does the same social commentary. I bought it yesterday and highly recommend it.

From Foreign Policy in Focus - Top Ten Foreign Policy Tunes

The most explosive track on the album is the brilliant, “Little Weapon,” which shows how the U.S. government recruits people from communities under attack at home to go fight in wars that the United States has started abroad. Every counter-recruitment activist in this country should use this song:

I killed another man today,
Shot him in his back as he ran away,
Then I blew up his hut with a hang grenade
Cut his wife’s throat as she put her hands to pray…
Then there is the soft, subtle ballad, "Intruder Alert" that articulately conveys what is at the heart of the immigration issue and places the immigrant as the victim and not the United States,

Famine stricken his home, land and no social standing,
In the economic pecking order, emergency relief,
Distribution systems is in disorder, he's checking water, making sure,
It's safe enough for his daughter to float across in,
The boat he built, hopefully strong enough to support,
Praying border patrols don't catch her,
And process and deport her, before she reach the shore,
Of the land of the free, where they feed you,
Treat you like equals, deceive you, stamp you,
And call you illegal.

Check out "I Gotcha" from the last album

Radical Music Videos: Dead Prez

Dead Prez has been around for years pointing out social injustice through 'revoluntionary but gangsta' stylings. Check out their legendary performance in 'Dave Chappelle's Block Party.'

Radical Music Videos: James Brown

Last Christmas the world woke up to the news of James Brown's passing. Brown's legacy in music and society is indelible. His dance techniques can be seen in artists that came after him - Michael Jackson, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears - just to name a few, and his sound is the revolutionary predecessor to hip hop. Brown was also a socially conscious artist, as can be seen in his Soul Train performance of "I'm Black and Proud."

Radical Music Videos: Jamiroquai

I mean, who doesn't like Jamiroquai. They have been on the forefront of the success of acid jazz and cool beats for two decades. Plus, Jay Kay is probably the only white boy who can throw it down on the dance floor. Check out these two videos. Jamiroquai is one of those bands better seen live if you ever have the chance to see when they come to your town.

Radical Music Videos:Madonna

Another artist who needs no introduction. Madonna is both revolutionary and entertaining because she has stretched the boundaries of sexuality while providing providing greats beats to dance to for over 25 years. Love her or hate her, she has made a place for herself in pop culture history. Below is her performance of "Erotica" from the 1993 Girlie Show in Australia.

Radical Music Videos: Bob Marley

I don't think this man needs any introduction. Bob Marley is both revolutionary and entertaining. The following video is Marley's historic performance at the One Love Peace Concert where he brought up to the stage two of Jamaica's notorious political rivals, Michael Manley and Edward Seaga. This concert was held during a political civil war in Jamaica between opposing parties Jamaican Labour Party and the People's National Party. A great performance indeed!