Local protest rap uses audio from Kanye West, Mayor Nagin, Parish prez
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
In less time than it took vacationing President George W. Bush to mobilize relief to Hurricane Katrina victims, local rapper Woo Child (aka Mark Scott) penned, recorded and fired a protest song at the widely ridiculed commander in chief.
Woo Child cleverly declares the president “Guilty” (the title of the poignant Tek N Clips-produced track) by spitting in the first-person perspective of Bush himself.
In the second verse, he drops: “Let’s get the spin-machine going, label them refugees, make them less than citizens/ so it ain’t affecting me/ show the worst of the worst, globalize the looting/ but don’t show the dead bodies floating in the sewage/ don’t show the mothers searching for baby supplies/ or the vast majority taking what they need so that they can survive.”
Along with Tek N Clips’ soulful track, “Guilty” is charged with hip-hop superstar Kanye West’s recorded audio, as he flipped the script to assert that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” during his appearance in a recent live NBC telethon for Hurricane Katrina victims.
No love lost there: artists like West, Woo Child and Chuck D (who dropped a Bush dis last week) have been keeping it real in the face of the right-wing establishment since hip-hop introduced itself to the powers that be years ago.
Woo Child spits these lyrics in President Bush’s face in the first verse.
“Black faces pleading, thinking they’d been abandoned/ hacking through the attic, stranded/ they could understand that/ incompetence starts from top and works its way down/ you knew it when I was elected, nothing left to say now.”
In the second verse, Woo Child busts these sentiments about Bush’s efforts (or lack there of): “Keep dehumanizing the survivors/ talk up the lawlessness to keep my hide up out the fire/ Cause I could have sent troops, they not all in Iraq/ stop the foolishness/ I ain’t calling them back.”
The hook is an melodically emotive, child-like female chant, conceding, “I’m guilty.”
The song’s intro and outro are even more powerful. The record begins with audio of New Orleans Mayor Ray “Excuse my French” Nagin cussing up a storm about the “chopped and screwed” rescue pace of FEMA and the Bush administration.
Woo Child saved the best and most powerful blast for last. It’s the heartrending account of Aaron Brousard’s (president of the Jefferson Parish in Louisiana) colleague’s elderly mother dying after days of empty promises that help was on the way.
Speaking of promises, President Bush fixed his mouth Friday to say that along with rebuilding the Gulf Coast he will correct poverty born of racial discrimination and end inequality.
Check this verbatim song and dance by the prez:
“The greatest hardship fell upon citizens already facing lives of struggle: the elderly, the vulnerable and the poor. And this poverty has roots in generations of segregation and discrimination that closed many doors of opportunity. As we clear away the debris of a hurricane, let us also clear away the legacy of inequality.”
Word? That’s what up, huh? Those words could come back to hurt the Republican presidential campaign if Democrats battle tenaciously.
After all, if President Bush doesn’t make good on these promises (and several people are saying he won’t), he’ll have a lot in common with his rap enemies, specifically studio rappers, who rap the rap, but don’t walk the walk.
If the Republican controlled House drafts and passes bills and he keeps his word, let’s hope he isn’t on vacation when it’s time to sign that unreal legislation.
“Guilty” can be heard and downloaded at woochild.com
Free hip-hop journalism workshop
Young people between the ages of 12 and 16 years can check a four-week hip hop journalism workshop, the Corner Pocket Magazine Program (CPM). This free, four-class workshop will be held on Saturdays at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Oct. 22 to Nov. 12.
The workshops are presented by Urban Artists Alliance for Child Development, Inc. (UAACD).
Students will meet on Saturday mornings from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Students can expect to engage in a multimedia lecture, editorial sessions, research, article preparation and writing.
UAACD will provide a continental breakfast, plus a notebook, paper, pencil, and computer access as made available by UM-St. Louis.
Email MK Stallings at mkstallings@uaacd.org or call (314)516-4833 for an electronic application. Applications are also available via fax. Space is limited to twenty students. Enrollment closes Oct. 1.
