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- From: Blythe Systems <nytransfer@igc.apc.org>
- Newsgroups: alt.native
- Date: 28 Dec 92 23:29 PST
- Subject: Aztlan Nation:Radical Rap
- Sender: Notesfile to Usenet Gateway <notes@igc.apc.org>
- Message-ID: <1308200093@igc.apc.org>
- Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1308200093:000:5310
- Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!nytransfer Dec 28 23:29:00 1992
- Lines: 140
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- From: Blythe Systems <nytransfer>
- Subject: Aztlan Nation:Radical Rap
-
- /* Written 12:08 pm Dec 26, 1992 by mim@nyxfer.UUCP in igc:gen.racism */
- /* ---------- "Aztlan Nation:Radical Rap" ---------- */
- Subject: Aztlan Nation:Radical Rap
- From: nyxfer!mim (Maoist Intl'ist Mvmnt)
-
-
- Via The NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit
-
- from the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM)
-
- MIM Notes, Issue 69: October, 1992
-
-
- Radical rap calls for an end to the occupation
-
- by a comrade
-
- Culture is a powerful force -- under all modes of production --
- but as powerful as culture is under capitalism, revolutionaries
- must remember that it is not the cause of oppression. Oppression
- is caused by the imperialist structure which depends on economic
- exploitation for its survival.
-
- On this anniversary of the fifth century of genocide at the hands
- of a Euro-Amerikan elite, many oppressed groups are not only
- resisting oppression but fighting back -- especially in the
- cultural realm. The radical rap artists of Aztlan Nation are one
- such force.
-
- 'Til the Border Crumbles
-
- It all started out as a fight for the land, they took away Texas
- and began to expand
- The punk rednecks say "Remember the Alamo!" They don't want to know
- who I am, but I let them know
- I'm the M-E-X-I-C-A-N
- Take what I got, I'm gonna take it all back
- It took an invasion of millions to push the borders back
- But my people remain, and the reason I came is to spark a flame,
- we can't be tamed
- Coming live and direct from Aztlan so I lay upon your mind this phenomena
- I stand for the land, the land stands for me
- One day in the future, Aztlan will be free
- Until that day we must struggle, and keep on till the border crumbles.
-
- -- Aztlan Nation
-
- Aztlan Nation's agenda is to awaken the Chicano people to the
- reality of Aztlan, a territory that includes what is temporarily
- called the southwest region of the United States. In contrast to
- purely cultural movements, the group does not idealize Aztlan as a
- romantic memory, but instead assert that Chicanos and other
- oppressed nations are living in an occupied nation. By making the
- occupied territory more tangible to the cholos and cholas on the
- street, Aztlan Nation puts turf battles into perspective.
-
- MIM interviewed Chapo Zul, Minister of Information, to get a grip
- on Aztlan Nation's agenda.
-
- MIM: What is the main mission of A.N.?
-
- AN: We want to ingrain the land issue, give a direction to the
- anger that keeps people divided, this fighting over small turfs
- comes from the institutions that keep us divided, to fight over
- one block is ridiculous when the whole nation is occupied.
-
- MIM Who is your music aimed at?
-
- A.N.: It's aimed at gangsters and cholos, the so-called, the watta
- ya call it, the lumpen proletariat, that's where we are really
- getting our work done, . (it) makes them feel strong and proud
- again, a way of empowering the dispossessed.
-
- MIM: What is your relationship to gangster rap?
-
- A.N.: We are a part of gangster rap, we don't think there is a
- problem with gangs, joining a gang is a way of rebelling -- it's
- just misdirected.
-
- MIM: What has been the response from the masses?
-
- A.N.: The buzz is out, we are constantly selling all of our tapes
- and t-shirts, we are saying what the youth wants to hear,
- expressing and giving direction to the anger that is not addressed
- by mainstream rap.
-
- MIM: What is your view of the Chicano movement?
-
- A.N.: On the grassroots level there is a lot of good work going
- on, but there are problems with ageism, some corruption and
- infiltration . the leadership is not spending enough time with the
- youth, not responding to the anger.
-
- MIM: Your lyrics call attention to the fact that Aztlan belongs to
- the indigenous people, and calls for taking back the land. Are you
- aligned with any political party or ideology?
-
- A.N.: No, we're a rap group, that's doing something. We're
- throwing out ideas─people can either bite or absorb them and not
- act . spoken word is more powerful than armed confrontation, can
- make more ripples -- sometimes. We want no part of sectarianism,
- we're independent, we might be more down with some groups more
- than others but will do a benefit based on the cause, regardless
- of the ideology. If we object to something, like we're doing a
- Chicano festival next month, but THEY call it a Hispanic festival,
- well we'll still do it but in this case we call it an
- intervention, we will set the record straight on that.
-
- Aztlan Nation performs at car shows, nightclubs, colleges and
- community events in the Bay Area, Southern California and other
- western states. MIM recommends checking them out for some
- revolutionary hip hop that tells it like it is.
-
- Who is the real illegal alien
- Who is the real wetback
- They came from Europe man
- Who is the real wet back
- In two triple O we'll take it back.
-
-
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-
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-
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- MIM, PO Box 3576, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3576
- ---
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