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You can listen to this interview by click HERE:
*http://odeo.com/audio/16520503/view
<http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vb2Rlby5jb20vYXVkaW8vMTY1MjA1MDMvdmlldw==>*
*N*ew Orleans has long been a music capitol here in the US. It has
been home to all sorts of jazz and blues greats ranging from the
*Meters *to the *Neville Brothers *to *Louis Armstrong* to *Wynton
Marsalis *to *Fats Domino*. Yes indeed New Orleans has always spoken
to us through her music.
In recent years New Orleans has reached out to us through Hip Hop.
there's been a long list of rap stars that have continued in the
tradition of bringing attention to New Orleans' music heritage. Among
the more notables are *Juvenile*, *Lil Wayne*, *Master P*,* Silk the
Shocker*, *Mystikal*, *Mia X *the *Cash Money Millionaires* with
*Baby*, *BG*, *Manny Fresh* *Turk* and many more.
Like most areas that have a roster of superstars there are those who
are lesser known as far as the mainstream is concerned yet very
popular amongst the common folk in the hood. In New Orleans that would
include acts like *Truth Universal*, *DJ Jimi,* *54th Platoon *and the
man who lead the big march to kick off the historic International
Tribunal for Hurricane Katrina and Rita-*Sess4-5*
Coming straight outta of the ravaged 9th Ward Sess 4-5 brings energy,
a strong sense of conviction and determination to the table when he
walks in the room. He's seen a lot and lost a lot over the past two
years but like most people from New Orleans, he's focused on moving
forward. We sat down with him the day during the second day of the
Tribunal and he gave us some keen insight into the ins and outs of the
Big Easy.
We kicked things off by talking about Sess' home base the 9th Ward. He
talked about the type of communities that existed there before
community. He said in spite of the poverty the NO's largest and most
populated ward was thriving. There was a strong sense of family and
culture. He noted how the upper 9th Ward was full of apartments and
had two public housing units while the lower 9th ward contained
thousand of home owners. Two years after Katrina houses remain in
shambles for the world to see in a place that is pretty much a ghost
town.
Sess explained that new Orleans folks have a spirit that helped them
cope with the disaster they all face. Many of the people he knows have
lost loved ones to the floods on top of losing all their possessions,
however, for most people its about picking up the pieces and moving
onward and upward. This is happening in the face of outrageous
government neglect.
"There's no time to mourn", noted Sess when you have oppression all
upon you". People in New Orleans are about the business of survival.
During our interview we talked about the role some of New Orleans
rappers played in the ongoing repair efforts. Sess noted that we can't
expect people like *Master P* or *Baby* to shoulder the entire load.
Many of them have family and friends that they been helping out.
However, Sess noted that he wished they used their celebrity more
effectively. He looked at the efforts that *David Banner* put in the
rebuilding of Mississippi and wished that some of the big names
could've done newsworthy projects that would've better shined a light
on those left out of the rebuilding efforts underway within New Orleans.
Our conversation expanded beyond rap stars as we discussed the types
of contributions or lack of contributions put forth by those parent
companies that distribute artists like Master P or Cash Money. It was
noted that record labels have made billions of dollars off the music
coming out of this region. The question that was raised was how much
money did any of those major labels put towards recovery efforts? What
sort of big events did these labels put together?
For example David Banner worked tirelessly and with little outside
help to put on huge benefit concerts for Mississippi. Did we see
anything similar being put forth by big time executives and label
owners like *Clive Davis*, *Jimmy Iovine*, *David Geffen*,*Lyor Cohen
*, *Rolf Schmidt-Holtz*,* Doug Morris* and others who may own huge
catalogues of artists coming from New Orleans? How much money did
these companies give? What have they done to help restore the region's
musical heritage and was it comisserate to the type of profits they
made over the years?
Our discussion than switched to the role of established Black leaders.
Sess 4-5 eloquently addressed the question as to how such catastrophe
could take place in a city that is pretty much Black run. N.O. has a
Black mayor, Black police chief and other key individuals who run the
infrastructure of the this city. How could the aftermath of Katrina
happen on their watch?
Sess 4-5 noted that many of those in power see their position as
stepping stones to bigger and better things. Getting down and dirty to
help uplift the people could be a career killer for many of these
Black elected officials who tend to cater to white and corporate power
bases. Sess concluded that many of those in office were about the
business of looking out and protecting their own interests versus the
interests of those most in need. The real heroes of the day were young
brothers who stuck behind risking life and limb.
Our conversation next focused on the relationship between the police
and poor Black folks in New Orleans. Sess broke down the politics
behind how the police department works. It has long been corrupt. He
said they have quotas that need to be met in terms of arrests.
Officers have an incentive to go out and put cuff people because if
they meet a certain number they get bonuses. The end result is New
Orleans having one of the highest incarceration rate in the world. In
addition it has the highest percentage of people with misdemeanors
getting locked up. He noted that any little thing including littering
or expired tags can get you jail time in new Orleans.
Sess 4-5 went on to add that the city's economy is based upon tourism
and incarceration. He then went into detail as to how one person
getting arrested in a family can quickly drain resources while
fattening the wallets of those who run the city. He talked about how
residents have to pay for drug tests, court costs and every other
service connected to their punishment.
Sess noted that up to 80% of Black males sooner or later will get
arrested in New Orleans. The cops make it their business to enegage
young brothers and make their presence felt. He himself has been
arrested more than 30 times. You will get popped sooner or later for
any little thing.
We then discussed the classism and ethnic heirarchy that exists in New
Orleans and how even to this day in 2007, there is still a ruling
class that rallies around skin color, with light skin Blacks or
Creoles dominating the top echelons of political and business arenas.
Its almost like New Orleans has a caste system that dates back to slavery.
Sess broke down how Katrina and the large scale displacement has
impacted electoral politics. With so many Blacks removed from the
city, the GOP for starters now have a fighting chance and a much
stronger influence in city politics. Sess 4-5 also gave a run down of
the Presidential race. he notes that none of those running have really
made their presence felt and even if they did at the end of the day
Black people would lose because all of them including Hillary and
Barack are carrying out agendas for a power base that doesn't have the
best interest of poor Blacks.
We concluded our discussion by focusing on Black-Latino relations
which have intesified during the reconstruction efforts. Sess noted
that many of the immigrants arriving from Mexico are getting played by
white developers who are paying them below market low wages in an
attempt to lock out Black folks who have long been unionized and
staples in the construction industry. On top of that these immigrants
are getting abused. He also noted that many Latinos are now subject to
being new targets for an aggressive police force that works on quotas.
He said it would be best if Black and Brown came together and fought
for a living wage.
Sess-4-5 is currently finishing up his new album called 'The Louisiana
Purchase'. He has his own record label called 'Nuthin But Fire' and he
owns a record store. His video Blackman has caused a buzz.
..
*powered by BREAKDOWN FM & ODEO*
<http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vb2Rlby5jb20vYXVkaW8vMTY1MjA1MDMvdmlldw==>
*Peep this video from Sess 4-5*
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQvG_USw0B8
<http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL3dhdGNoP3Y9T1F2R19VU3cwQjg=>*
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_______________________________________________
Mellon Myers Undegraduate Fellowship Program at Macalester (http://macmmuf.org)
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