1st of all, the info concerning Ish's plans comes from King Britt (aka
Silkworm) who was their DJ on the 1st record and a co-worker who is doing
studio stuff with Ish.
Secondly, part of the reason why the constant references to Brooklyn bother
me is that I know for a fact that none of them are origionally from Brooklyn.
Why is it that they are so ashamed of where they are really from?
Thirdly, there is nothing Marxist and revolutionary about focusing on race to
the extent that they do on the second record. To me they were more
revolutionary on the 1st record. On that record they mentioned Marx. That's
the 1st time I remember a rapper mentioning Marx. Also, I don't think that
there was anything revolutionary about what they talked about on the second
record. The obsession with race in the US is a distraction, a means of
separating people and focusing on bullshit arbitrary differences rather than
the real means of opression which are economic. The pose that they asume on
the second record is so much more fashionable than what they were on the 1st
record. I don't here anybody else giving them a hard time about their
message on the second record. It's true that they were less " threatening"
to a mainstream [sic. white] audience on the first one, but this in itself
does not make their message any more valuable.
Lastly, the term "happy rap" means absolutely nothing to me. I just want
artists to be REAL and I prefer positivity. DIG PLANS are obviously middle
class kids who are trying to be hard on the second record. Their rage seems
to be manufactured opposed to Public Enemy, for example, whose rage was
real. Or better yet artists such as Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Marley and
your example Sly Stone who had/have genuine rage and are also able to
articulate sensitivity and other parts of their humanity without worrying
about macho bullshit and making themselves VULNERABLE. Lyrically, DIG PLANS
became one dimensional on Blowout Comb. I agree with you, however, in terms
of the musical content. Blowout Comb is much deeper than Reachin'.
PEACE OUT!
Matt
KEEP IT REAL AND POSITIVE !!!!!!!!!!