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Metaphor for thought: Hip Hop has become a universe of planets as such, we have Gangster Rap, Trapp, Crunk, Christian Hip Hop, Latino Hip Hop, French Hip Hip, UK Hip Hop…the list is endless. Life on each planet has developed growths of their own kind, but no matter what development they’re representing its still born from one mother, the creator of Hip Hop music.
Question: What happens when one growth decides to take some time away, will they be accepted after so many years of developments within the universe?
Nina Carmela speaks to Brother J of X-Clan about the acceptance within the Hip Hop industry and the lack of knowledge obtained within this music genre to date. The block parties became a regular activity and battles became more of a promotional tool in aim to represent talents across surrounding areas, From this transition Shaft introduced Brother J to Architect, also member of X-Clan, who at the time was managing a Hip Hop club called Latin Quarters, “he went from managing the club to be becoming a manager or producer for groups, and Professor X who has now passed away formed a crew and it was the Blackwatch Movement. Shaft told Architect that he got a partner in Brooklyn (myself) who can spit some rhymes and he’s more like a poet. I was talking about street knowledge, talking about what I saw, you know when I ride the iron horse, the trains the subways I can tell a story of so many other things rather than ego tripping,” from there Architect helped J record a demo for Professor X’s Lumumba Company and this later led into all 4 of them combining X-Clan as the musical correspondent of the Blackwatch Movement.
This is the Black Nationalist movement which is about raising social awareness to all communities but making it appeal to the younger generation, and what better way to do that then through Hip Hop music. Lumumba Carson aka Professor X the son of Sonny Carson was the spokesman of Blackwatch, and with Brother J’s musical street knowledge it made far too much sense for these powerful minds to unite,
Although Brother J was just 16 years of age when he joined the Blackwatch Movement, his young mind was preserved in taking up all this politic knowledge and putting into music. They dropped their first project in 1989, ‘To The East Blackwards’, through Island Records and later represented ‘Xodus’. Unfortunately X-Clan members parted in the mid-90’s, but it was a positive departure, “the era had changed and everyone didn’t agree that we had retreat to get better and I felt that at the time we had master equipment. Pro tools was coming out, I think it was sound tools at that time, people were battling against analogue and going into this digital era. I felt that we had to go and master that and improve our music and stop giving away our funds to sample beats. It’s expensive to create the kind of albums that we do, the kind of album that X-Clan did in 1990’s is like a Jay-Z type of thing. He can afford to pay for all them samples and its like now it’s outrageous to do a project like that and expect to get paid"
He saw the changes within the music industry and with the popularity of X-Clan as artists were recognised the people they brought into their homes were only there to put demo tapes on their tables, not respecting the Blackwatch movement Whilst continuing to help create a difference within society, Brother J formed the Dark Sun Riders in 1994 where they released the ‘Seeds Of Evolution’ project also through Island Records. Being one of the founders beside Sugar Shaft of X-Clan, this was his way of still representing the presence of both X-Clan and the Blackwatch Movement. 2006 saw Brother J introduce X-Clan to the new millennium of Hip Hop, and released the new album ‘Return From Mecca’ in January 2007 through Suburban Noize. But how have the newer generation of Hip Hop listeners reacted to X-Clan music?
Bringing Brother J back into the reality of today’s music industry, he does recognise the missing importance of the power of music, and that’s spreading knowledge as well as bouncing to a beat, But having said all of that, not many conscience rappers like X-Clan are hitting NO 1 positions in the charts but are they even given a chance? The last 3 years have witnessed live performances at the likes of the HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Legends Of Hip Hop Concert, Damian Marley’s Jamrock tour, Jurassiac 5’s Feedback tour, Public Enemy’s Beats To Mecca tour and the Myspace Featured Artist Of The Week concert. Maintaining the success to date, Brother J is working on the next project, ‘Softmore Tour’, and is releasing ‘The Weapon X-Files’ DVD and soundtrack in November,” it will be the story of Brother J and the transition from New York to California, showing some of the travels and tours. There’s been so much activity that I don’t think people really knows how active we’ve been so we wanna take them through that journey. We wanna keep pumping material and being independent we don’t have to be held back or restrained, the only way your gonna compete in this market is to keep dropping new material for people to grasp on".
How can they be balanced? “I don’t wanna erase the Nellys, because after there was a Stevie Wonder there was a BB King, you know talking about being pussy whipped or being in a situation where he lost his woman because she was cheating on him. You know there is always a sexual connection in black music that can be coded better; you look at Prince for years as a super freak for music, such a genius. He talks about sexual things and its on pop radio, he’s coded his situation enough to say adults understand me and children can do a melody with me. We’ve lost that and now we are just straight rude with our situation, so now showing how the chemistry can penetrate the radio waves, man we gave them stuff from ‘Return From Mecca’ that they should have been playing. They should have been playing ‘Codes Reunited’ and ‘Our Prison’ on radio, these are songs that are made for the people who can have a melody and also give you information. when you talk about nominating people for awards, its about changing, its about giving something new, we haven’t been given that respect yet, its slowly growing but I think the 2nd project will put the stamp on it and make sure that the quality is continuing and consistent. Its deep, it is a pressure and I’ll tell you that as an artist."
As the interview comes to an end the anticipated question has to be asked, and as expected Brother J gives a passionate response.
When will you be blessing the UK with your presence?
Music is one of the most powerful tools that can reach out to millions, so artists need take advantage of that tool and help create a better place for our following generations. It doesn’t matter which day or age an artist begins to pursue musical ambitions, if the music is kept diverse then individual style and flow will shine through this as it will be compromising with everyone’s musical preference no matter what day or age or political views.
Stay updated with Brother J and X-Clans movement at the websites listed below
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© ukhh.com 2007
Brother J Interview
Brother J began to pursue his musical interests at ‘block’ parties in Brooklyn, where him and some friends would play about on turntables entertaining their neighbourhood friends. Hailing from Flatbridge New York and being too young to hit the local clubs, the entertainment would be provided right by your very own doorsteps, “everyone would gather and dance and hear all the new songs and what not, this was all before Hip Hop was popular on the radio” it wasn’t long before J became one of the ‘neighbourhood hero’s’, “it was my escape to be one of those trusted local urban heroes so 2 speak, you know, that was my goal and I achieved that. I became one of the block party DJ’s of that area and that’s how I started to learn how to expand to rhyme. I started DJ’ing behind people rhyming and beat-boxing, it taught me different styles”
Brother J’s passion for the whole creation and importance of the Blackwatch Movement isn’t unnoticed, “I know that a lot of people missed the presence of Blackwatch but as I remind them the era has changed. In the early 90's people were like how the early 60's were, you know when people were trying to understand how to fight for their lives so we were putt in the middle of that, so I know they missed that sense of movement in this new millennium. But it has to be different now, you can’t keep doing the same thing that continues to sail us. An era of 3 or 4 years where everybody is so positive and so strong, and then it fizzles out and we just totally dumb out to something totally opposite” J begins to discusses the history of the lyrical contents, “You’ve seen it through the pimps, the pimp era of the 70's and 80's, you see in the 90's where it was conscience and then now it has flat lyrics, like degrading woman and just talking about death and killing and all of these other things. We always do good then we slip back and my thing was I didn’t wanna continue to repeat that so Blackwatch became more of an information alias where we now have ministers who report what’s going on around the world, more so than people trying to join and recruit we encourage people to join there local community centres and there activist organisations in there hood and improve them instead of trying to reach somewhere else to join you feel me?"
J continues to explain “I’m not dropping this for anything else I’m trying say look stop acting like a slave and act like a free person, too many of our ancestors have died just achieve the freedom in speech and we’ve wasted time by dissing each other. There are so many things in the world to talk about man, I mean even with myself I don't choose to talk about politics, that’s corny, what kind of a person wants to go to a party and hear that? People can still enjoy themselves and still get a message of empowerment through music; empowerment does not mean to degrade another person no matter what kind of job they’re doing. I think its for spiritual uplifting that we can look back in a history to where the drum was free, there was a communication tool where we can talk about things like that in a rhythmic way. X-Clan has a unique signature of doing that without making you feel like you’re in front of geographical TV or something"
Suburban Noize has currently joined KOCH Records, the home of Diplomat Records, so this will advance the X-Clan’s marketing strategies and help push independent releases that much further, 
Conclusion: The difference between this ‘Hip Hop’ universe and our universe is that these planets can mix at any time without a cause for concern, there’s nothing holding it back from experimenting in each others growth. Keeping this metaphor in mind, it’s the same when it comes down to what they’re trying to represent through their music. Just because you’re from the ‘dirty south’ it doesn’t mean you have to keep it Crunk, just because you were brought up in the ‘ghetto’ it doesn’t mean you are a rapper or you can’t have a better life, or just because you can rap it means you’re a gangster…lets move away from the stereotypes.
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