"Afro-Punk" Brings A Chord of Fresh Air

By James Hill, BET.com Staff Writer
Source: http://www.bet.com/articl...37,00.html

Posted July 16, 2003 -- Director James Spooner dedicates his insightful documentary "Afro Punk" to "every Black kid who has ever been called a nigger. And every White kid who thinks they know what that means."

So what is a Black punk rocker? You've seen 'em. Maybe you went to school with them. Maybe you are one. The Black kid who wore ripped clothes and combat boots instead of Girbaud and Hilfiger. His hair wasn't faded and his backpack was filled with stickers of skulls and anarchy signs. His friends were mostly White kids who dressed the same and they all listened to groups like Bad Brains and Fishbone instead of Kwame, Wu Tang or Mary J. Blige. Sound familiar? If not, the wonderfully open and efficient documentary "Afro-Punk" is a great introduction.

So where does the Black punk kid come from? Not surprisingly most of the folks interviewed here share the same background -- living in all-White neighborhoods, going to all-White schools and having all-White friends. All recount feeling alienated. Not that they were loners necessarily, but that when it came to being accepted by Black peers, they found they were ostracized for their spiked hair and pierced faces.

Ryan Bland, from Beaumont, Texas, whose brown forearms are tattooed to an even black, says, "I feel like a lot of Black folks have tunnel vision about what Black should be. And you can't stray outside of that. It's wrong. Taboo."

For those who know anything about the punk rock scene, it is specifically this type of alienation, this brand of singularity that feeds a culture built on teen-ageangst. And what better candidate than a Black kid who not only feels isolated from the larger White culture he lives in but from his own Black peers who labels him a "devil worshipper" and "fag?"

Spooner not only understands the natural one-to-one relationship between the American Black experience and the tragic-outsider pose of punk rock but how the historical appropriation of Black culture via music has largely affected not only White punks but Black punks.

In the film's opening moments, Spooner highlights the quote "outside of society, that is where I want to be" from the song "Rock N Roll Nigger," penned by a White poet who wanted to identify with the Black experience. Written in the late '70s, "Rock N Roll Nigga" only highlights this country's understanding of the Black race as contrary, opposite the norm. Consequently, it is these attributes that make Black culture so appetizing to White teen-agers looking to rebel. What we are seeing now with hip hop has been done before with jazz, blues and rock.

The most interesting thing about this movie is not it's look at a subculture or its historical perspective on music, but how these Black kids navigate race in a White scene of which they have elected to be a part. Many of them have never dated a Black person. Most admit to straightening their hair (although most are now rocking dreads, afros and baldies) and even thinking that being White was cooler than being Black. However, just because they realize that they don't fit in with the popular definition of "Black," doesn't mean that they settle for being White wannabes either. These punk rockers are the great-grandchildren of W.E. B. Dubois's double veil theory.

"I'm not like you," Mag Delena (who plays in a band named Yaphett Koto) announces to an anonymous White listener. "It's an insult to say that we're all the same. I am different."

Fed up with being deemed the "safe Negro" as well as the false sense of colorblindness in the punk scene, Nicole out of Chicago, comments, "[People say to me] 'There's no Black, there's no White, we're only human.' Yea that's you not acknowledging your f***ing White privilege."

Perhaps the best example of this racial/social dichotomy is the group Cipher, headed by Howard University graduate Moe. With his locked hair pulled up in a woven hat, he finds no problems identifying as Black and punk and uses his music to bridge the perceived gap. In the film's most humorous moment, we watch him scream a painful song about the middle passage as the White audience sings, thrashes and jumps to the beat. Afterwards the audience is interviewed and admits that while they really have no idea what Moe is singing about, they wish they "had a better understanding."

This doesn't really bother Moe. White ears are not his goal; it's the Black ones he's after, a formidable goal that he refuses to change his music for. "I could just be like, 'Let me drop a beat over it so you can understand it,' but I'm not going to do that." As San Antonio-born rocker Stacy Williams says, it's the "jiggy Negroes" she wants in her audience. "It's never hard to get a White audience. Ministering to our own community has always been the hard part. It's folks on my block that need to hear my music."

Amen.

Find out more information about screenings and go inside the documentary at www.afropunk.com

People were hiding that issue as if it was a dirty secret, I'm glad somebody shed lights on that issue. So many of them are in my university and so many of them feel like "outsiders" becoz of that bullshit.

this is absolutely wonderful...

when i wuz in high school i had lotsa punk & goth friends, wore combat boots and dog collars, and some of the other blacks in my school kinna looked down upon me for that.

"she thinks she's white, look at her, blah blah blah..." no fuck-heads, i don't think i'm 'white'. i think i'm me.

i've had friends in the past who are black n'punky like myself and they weren't ashamed of who they were at all, nor should anyone be.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You don't look like an Afro-Punk you seem pretty much,,,normal sistah I suppose!

Well I kinda know what you're talking about(I don't fully relate to it tho) but I've neva had any problem with "diffrences" at all cuz MOST of the time "different is cool",,and you know who holds the prime example of what I'm talking about

Harlepolis said:

if you mean like i don't have the piercings and all that, then yeah. i say you don't have to be all super-decked out in chains n'shit in order to be considered as such...it ain't about the looks, it's all about whatcha feel.

i consider myself more of an amalgam of things, i guess...hard to explain.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You don't have to, I know exaclty what you mean you would get long with my sista fast like this *fingasnaps* since both of you have the same vibe/same tastes(She's a blondie fanatic too, thought u should know ),,,believe it or not many times she was accused of being "White, pro-white" how ever you put lol I was too but not as ugly as her.

I went to a predominately black & hispanic high school in inner-city Los Angeles (an area popularized by "Boyz N The Hood," Ice T and the like) I used to be friends with these kids who wore all-black clothes, black combat boots, chokers, black fingernail polish, and rock band patches on their backpacks. They were black and hispanic kids and they loved rock music. I remember they had a love for Slipknot, Metallica, Deftones, Korn, etc. (even Rock 'N' Español -- I first heard of Shakira's spanish-language albums by these kids 3 years before she "sold out" to get mainstream MTV acceptance) at a time when a majority of the kids at my school were into Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Tupac and whatever was bumping on Power 106 or 92.3 The Beat (that's what the station was called at the time). They even formed my school's first Rock/Alternative club. People didn't hate on them because kids at my school pretty much did what they wanted to do and didn't apologize for it. This documentary made me think of them. People like to easily categorize black kids like they're only into rap and basketball, but I know so many kids who don't even work on that type of frequency.
[This message was edited Wed Jul 16 14:11:43 PDT 2003 by JANFAN4L]

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

i got that a lot too, babysnaps

when i was in h.s., i wore a jacket that had chains running across a british flag with prince buttons all over the front. i hung with both the goths and punks too. i hated being locked into one group because of the color of my skin. by then i was just like f-it. i'm going to be me.

I saw that documentary at the Black Film Festival in SF over a month ago. What stood out to me was that many in the documentary were brought up in a suburban environment, which also has a huge influence as to how they feel about being accepted in social circles. There was one AA young woman who talked about how she was basically told by her mom not to date black men and listed all these stereotypes. You know her mom has influenced her thinking alot. If you can find it at a film festival in your city, I highly recommend checking it out.

Well guess what. Consider your fellow orger, New Wave Forever as the black punk rocker. When I was in High School I got into that phase by listening to old school stuff like Sex Pistols, Talking Heads and the Clash (the band that changed my life). But I did get a lot of flack for "selling out". But it wasn't like I was a conformist to begin with. Rock has always been apart of me and always will. So to all you other Alternative brothers ands sisters out there I say,

BE YOURSELF AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART!!!

funkyslsistah said:

the thing with me that's strange is that i wuz born and raised in the inner-city of des moines, iowa...my folks simply couldn't afford to live in the 'burbs and all that.

i got hip to punk, ska and new wave cuz i always listened to kdps, a college radio station in des moines. they played everything under the sun--ramones (i fell in love with 'em when i first heard "blitzkrieg bop" on there), the clash, x-ray spex, misfits, and some hardcore punk bands as well. in fact, there wuz this one punk show that i listened to religiously every wednesday night and i always taped songs from there.

if there's a screenin of afro-punk here in mpls, i will definitely go see it. it's been a while since i seen a good documentary as it is.

You listen to music you grow up with--that is the thing I notice. Whatever it may be. I do notice that black folks racialize music tastes way too much. Everybody should experience and listen to all forms of music. Without an all-around musical experience, then you cannot call yourself fully formed. Prince music is good with this, because he goes all over the map with his sound. And punk being liked by blacks should make sense anyway, because anger knows no color, and punk is good at getting out that anger--anger in the music, that is.

The thing I always get from black folk about rock is that it doesn't have a good beat. Or that you cannot groove to it. Do you have to groove to everything? Banging your head is grooving; just a more mundane form of groove. Even Hendrix has a limited black audience.

People are called "sell-outs" when they like rock over black music. But how many black Americans listen to African music? Usually, only white liberals keep that music in the mix. African music is very rock oriented and guitar based. It is almost folky. Blues is black, but look at the audience for it now--mostly white. Jazz the same way.

Ice-T was dissed for Body Count, but he gently told his detractors to suck his dick. That's more the spirit.

Just enjoy everything, and learn to like all forms of art. Good for society as a whole, and good for racial togetherness.

Punk on Afro-moshers.

i had those same experiences in school. i didn't necessarily dress 'punk' but but believe me it was very eccentric. there were a few black kids at my school and they thought i was acting white because i didn't hang out in their circle and such, but i knew better, i mean was i supposed to make friends with them just because they were black? ugh. i go to a predominately black school and there are blacks who play rock music, listen to punk or whatever. rock music comes from black people anyways so why can't we listen to it and participate?

Just avoid polka.

funkyslsistah said:

I know those feelings. Although I pretty much socialized as black, I grew up in a predominantly white school and had a lot of white friends, and musical/cultural influences that could be characterized as "white." It's hard going to navigate between circles and cultures of different races. My parents kept me and my sibs very level-headed in that department, knowing full well that if they brought us up in a "majority" environment, we would be influenced by it. But a strong family is the ultimate factor in one's self-identification: be it black, white, "me," or a combination of the three.

Yet as I got older, I felt more comfortable because I found more black folk who had similar experiences. So to kids struggling with these issues, let me say: you're not alone. be yourself, and be proud. that to me is the definition of "black."

Freedom of expression is a beautiful thing.

Isn't it funny that a lot of black people who have been through these experiences gravitated to Prince?

In a way, Prince was a model of black pride to me because he was never afraid to embrace his otherness and he was proud of who he was. He didn't care (too much) about what people said about his music, his look, his women, etc. At the end of the day, he was a black man and he was proud of it. At the same time, his music pushed us to look beyond race.

In a way, Prince let Morris Day be the black man Prince just could never be.

2freaky4church1 said:

You may have a point there. Morris was, in a lot of ways, P's alter ego -- a funky, cool, playa-playa cat. But post-Mowis, P did alright by his darn self.

2freaky4church1 said:

You just exhibited what the author said: "tunnel vision about what a Black person should be. And you can't stray outside of that. It's wrong. Taboo", as James Hill said.

Nah, I'm right.

I think this is really sad...people trying to be something they NEVER will be. I believe a reality check is in order.

The irony of this whole thing is black people where the creators of rock n roll, so why shouldn't they have the right 2 make any contributes 4 2day


Just so y'all know rock n roll is a black thing, always has been and always will be.
[This message was edited Thu Jul 17 7:39:27 PDT 2003 by DigitalLisa]

DigitalLisa said:

True.

2freaky4church1 said:

Nah, you just like to stereotype. Like some of the people talked about in the article.

okaypimpn said:

okaypimpn, are you saying these kids want to be white?

okaypimpn said:

what do you mean never will be? they awready are, far as i'm concerned.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

To namepeace as well...

I just don't see the big deal in trying to befriend a culture in order to "fit in." I'm not saying that all black people should listen to R&B or hip-hop or so-called "black music" because (as someone stated earlier) ALL music is black music, but what's the big deal in trying to be "punk." The shit is just lame to me, but to each their own.

okaypimpn said:

ya just contradicted yourself there a bit--you say all music is derived from black music, yet it seems like you're also sayin, "do whatcha want, but you can't be punk & black!" which is it?

nobody's tryin to 'fit in' to anything here. i don't like the punk genre cuz i wanna be 'hip' and wanna fit in...hell, i don't fit in as it is. what do you suggest one does? be themselves? cuz that's just what folks are doin, basically.


mine!!!