Jasiri X: What if the Tea Party Was Black?
Posted by Mike E on July 15, 2010
Lyrics:
“A few months ago, Tim Wise wrote a widely circulated article called, “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black ” which challenged America to take a close look at the hypocrisy of the Right Wing. Now, a Pittsburgh rapper is accepting his challenge in true Hip Hop form. Jasiri X has released a video called “What if the Tea Party was Black.” The Hip Hop artist says that he got the idea when Paradise,a member of the pro-black rap group X-Clan, forwarded him a copy of Wise’s article.
“‘I saw the article and I liked the concept,’ says the rapper. So Jasiri hit the studio with producer Cynick Lethal while Paradise grabbed his video camera and they went on their mission to defeat the Right Wing propaganda machine.”
Kasama note: This gives a sense of how a political idea can go viral within the culture, and how a political article (skillfully crafted, aimed and placed) can unleash all kinds of activism and creativity.
Lyrics
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
What if Michael Baisden was on ya FM dial
For 3 hours every day calling the president foul
Would they say free speech or find evidence how
To charge him with treason like see he’s unamerican now
What if Minister Farrakhan prayed for the death
Of the commander in chief that he be laid to rest
Would they treat it as the gravest threat or never make an arrest
Even today he’s still hated for less
What if President Obama would have lost the election
Quit his job so he could go talk to the left and
Bash the government for being off of direction
Fraught with deception
And told black people they want all of our weapons
And we want our own country and called for secession
Would he be arrested and tossed in corrections
For trying to foster aggression
Against the people’s lawful selection
Our questions
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
What If black people went on Facebook and made a page
That for the death if the president elect we prayed
Would the creators be tazed and thrown in a cage
We know the page wouldn’t have been displayed all these days
What if Jeremiah Wright said that everybody white
Wasn’t a real America would you feel scared of him
If he had a militia with pictures that depict the president as Hitler
They would kill and bury that
Wait
What if Cynthia McKinney lamented the winning of the new president
And hinted he wasn’t really a true resident
With no proof or evidence
Would the media treat it like a huge press event
They would have attacked whatever group she represents
They would have called her a kook on precedent
And any network that gave her due preference
Would be the laughing stock of the news so our question is
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
Otto said
Great!
Mike E said
It is well done, and a good piece of agitation: on the point that the media and the superstructure treat the right-radical, racist Tea Party with kid gloves, undeserved respect, and defacto promotion.
The other thing that jumps out though (especially in the fine print of this rap) is how very pro-government many radical Black folks have become…. and how much they have adopted troubling assumptions as their shield (about “the troops,” or the need to respect the presidency as an institution, etc.)
It is done in order to tweek and expose the right. It twists the values and claims of a system around (does the right still respect the white house if a black man is in it? does the media treat someone as “irresponsible” and “outside the mainstream” if they are coming from the lunatic right?)
But still, you gotta say about this “some sharp agitation against the right, some very fuzzy views on key matters of state and power.” And that is the situation in existing politics right now, among many Black people and among many progressives.