With everything that's going on in the world these days I am wondering if us artists need to step it up and start doing like we used to. I saw a picture earlier of the civil rights movement in the 60's/70's, it showed Black Panthers and blacks (and even some whites) marching together in large numbers. Next to this picture was a picture of how things are TODAY in 2014. This picture showed much smaller numbers of people joined together combating police forces who use tear gas and bullets and electricity to "control" riots. What has changed?
I've been thinking that maybe artists have changed and maybe even perhaps people in general, the people who LISTEN to the music have changed. While many of us still care, there is still this silly and foolish idea that "it's none of my business". We are living our lives with these "not my problem" attitudes and "as long as it's not me or my family" type mentalities. Back in the 60's and 70's there were only a few artists that WEREN'T involved some way in the movement and this goes from rock stars to jazz legends to blues to motown and every genre of music there was. Every artist, from painters to musicians to filmmakers and comedians and poets was in some way using their tools of trade toward the greater good. Speaking to people and enlightening them to what exactly was going on. Guys like John Lennon were waking white people up and he and others like himself turned a lot of people on to groups like the Black Panthers.
While there are still artists now in 2014 that are men and women of the people, it doesn't seem like they're getting much of the attention that they should be. Losing out to non-artists who are in the industry just to make enough money to flaunt a bunch of ridiculous pieces of luxury and say "fuck you" to all of the people that even buy their stuff to begin with. Wannabe artists who cut each other down and sell their own people out just to fatten their own pockets. Artists who have much to say don't really get all that much play and have to hustle old school style just to get any attention. Little by little society is going down the damn drain and anybody with some sort of channel into the arts and who have ANY type of "following" or a connection with other people who have connections with other people and so on and so on needs to start putting all they've got into snapping the people out of this daze.
My question is this...
What if...
What if we set up a Woodstock like festival, (more like a live aid/live 8 festival) where we could have sites in numerous different locations across the United States and over seas, each of these concerts would feature artists from all walks of life, anybody who's got something to say can come out and say it as long as it is NOT any "beef" crap or any of that nonsense that can be left unheard for one damn day...
This event could bring artists together from the hip-hop neck of the woods that have these so called "beefs" and squash that junk and do away with all of that bullshit that is doing nothing positive for anybody. It would be a chance to finally achieve what hip-hop was originally meant to achieve. Restoring peace in the community (black AND white for once).
I watched the Dave Chappelle block party dvd and something like that is actually what I had in mind only on a grander scale. Musicians, poets, and even stand up comics will perform and we could also have filmmakers display videos (shorts) in between acts or whatever. Yo...and dig this...the shows will be put on live tv, for free...so people that can't be there can still watch, but not have to pay heavily to see it. I know something like this could be worked out and arranged with ease. The less money that changes hands as result of this event the better, you know what I mean? Aside from donations, maybe. I don't want to see any Woodstock 99' crap going on to ruin it.
How many artists would be willing to do this? For free at that? Would you be willing to donate your time and energy into making something like THIS happen? Or am I just a dreamer like John Lennon was?
