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 Saul Williams Interview
interview 0170 added 12.01.04 words: Nikesh Shukla
technical:
QED
SAUL WILLIAMS: MOTHER EARTH’S
PRIVATE NECTAR STOCK
Saul Williams, the supreme intellect, the poetic visionary and the multi-tasking
workaholic has been working hard over the past few years. Touring has given way
to ploughing the theatre boards to EP releases, to music production to the writing
and publishing of his last set of poetry “,said the shotgun to the head”. There
is nothing, it seems, that artistically this man won’t try his hand at.
“,said the shotgun to the head” is an apocalyptic study of the human emotions
and sheer despair at the world events around us as well as the possible
destruction of the human race, through anonymous men in suits with fingers on
buttons. It is a near stream of consciousness based around a countdown to 10, as
if filling in the gaps between each crucial second as we tick away closer and
closer to destruction. This poetry release goes hand in hand with last year’s
“Not In My Name” release (Big Dada), which was a spoken word testament to
activism and voicing opposition to the establishment. Backed with two new rap
songs and a bunch of mixes, Saul was able to sum the anti-war movement as well
as articulately state valid reasons for the West not being allowed to police
other parts of the world. It was a pivotal release in a historic year. Over a
series of e-mail exchanges I asked him to let us into his mindset on current
world events as well as the current dire state of Hip Hop.
What, in your view, is the
next evolution necessary for Hip Hop to keep sounding fresh?
 I
believe that what is lacking from Hip Hop in it's current commercial state is
the same thing that is lacking from American culture at large: a firm belief and
grasp in the power of imagination and visualisation simply stated, there seem to
be few visionaries apparent in the main stream. Too many aim to appeal to the
existing aesthetic and too few have the courage to aim at creating a new
aesthetic. One that appeals to a wider realm of beliefs and understanding. Andre
3000 serves as a primary example of a Hip Hop artist in the spotlight who delves
into visualising a new aesthetic rather than appealing to what is already there.
And his faith to step out into uncharted ground has actually rewarded him with
the benefits of staying high on the charts. Because, the fact of the matter is,
that whether people realise it or not, have the ability to articulate it or not,
they are hungry for something new. Something that speaks to them on levels they
have never been spoken to on. And how would they know to ask for it when they
hardly know what is truly to be discovered within them? How many people are
actually surprised at themselves at how much they like "hey ya"? And that is
exactly how malnutrition works. The person who lacks protein or vitamin b in
their diets cannot taste the absence of these essential nutrients in the food
they eat. At the end of their meal they feel as full as the person who has had a
well-rounded meal. But silently their body yearns for the nutrients to support
itself and if it doesn't somehow get them, it slowly begins to create disease.
"...it was fun to write the material on the Not in Our Name EP. I wrote that
stuff because I needed to read it. I said it because I needed to hear it..."
Unfortunately, people simply consume what is given to them: food, music,
programming. So the distributors of these essentials are in positions where they
must be mindful of contributing to the balanced diets of society. The American
diet is imbalanced. We are fed fear, consumption, dog eat dog tales of might and
power lacking of any social responsibility, and lies. Hip-hop reflects that. But
there is also a great shift that's happening. A shift towards balance. And Hip
Hop has and will also reflect that.
What current projects are
you working on? Do you have any plans to do more music albums?
I am currently working on my new album which is scheduled for release here in
the states this coming summer.
What is more important: the
written word or the spoken word?
 I
believe that the written word and spoken word both have a great deal of power.
The power of the spoken word is that of calling things into existence. Sound
vibration effects reality. In fact, it shifts it. Some would say that we call
our reality into existence. Another way of saying that is "you get what you ask
for". So that, a need for mindfulness when speaking or asking is essential (add
that to beats, DJs, constant rotation, speakers, tweeters, woofers, and
increased decibels of sound and increased mindfulness is suggested).
"...I believe that the written word and spoken word both have a great deal of
power. the power of the spoken word is that of calling things into existence..."
Written word is powerful because it helps consolidate thought. Also, written
word is often bound (into books, or simply bound to happen). Written word takes
the power of word into the solidified chambers of the mind which is only
accessible through the retina, thus creating a new level of real"eye"zation (I'm
makin' this shit up, perhaps a bit inebriated by the 5 discs in the changer:
Illmatic (Nas), In Utero and Nevermind (Nirvana), Pre-millenium Tension
(Tricky), African Space Craft (Keziah Jones)).
Tell me about what inspired
“, said the shotgun to the head”. The “not in my name” release was the
soundtrack to a lot of protest and demonstrations this year, in light of the
Iraq “war”… did you intend to be the voice of the resistance or were you just
“voicing your opposition to the war”?
Said the shotgun to the head was simply inspired. I didn't know what I was
writing until I was halfway through and I was in no real rush to find out. I
simply wrote to empty myself and when I found myself filled I wrote again. After
9/11 (2 years after I had begun writing) things became a bit more clear.
Literally. Kamikaze means divine wind in Japanese. So when American newscasters
spoke of kamikazes I simply inserted the meaning of the word "kamikaze" into
what I heard them saying and heard something completely different from what they
intended and, thus, chose to follow the pathway to meaning and understanding
rather than the pathway of intention (I believe some people call that the road
to hell). Meanwhile many of us became disoriented by the agenda of the American
government and the media. Well, "dis-oriented", literally means, turned away
from the east. Why would I do that? I kept writing. It was fun to write, just as
it was fun to write the material on the Not in Our Name EP. I wrote that stuff
because I needed to read it. I said it because I needed to hear it.
"...I believe that what is lacking from Hip Hop in it's current commercial state
is the same thing that is lacking from American culture at large: a firm belief
and grasp in the power of imagination and visualisation..."
There is a lot of
pre-apocalyptic despair invoked in the book, is the world nearing meltdown? The
book works on a countdown, ending with “ready, aim, fire, water, earth, wind”.
Do you feel this is a positive hopeful end or a possibly pessimistic end?
 The
book is a countdown to zero and back to one. The end makes way for the
beginning. The survivors of the downfall of the west are those who invested in
love. The book is more so a prologue to the new age than it is a poem of
pre-apocalyptic despair. And the ending is beyond optimistic, simply because the
book doesn't end where the words do.
What happens now? With such
worldwide opposition to the war being met with a complete wall of silence from
the powers that be… what is the next level of protest that can reach our “world
leaders”? George bush is presently in London to meet Blair, is there any advice
you’d give to any members of the stop the war coalition to make a scene?
There is no reason to be disillusioned by the current state of affairs. The
global society has been involved a beautiful evolutionary process of cleansing
itself. More and more people are informing themselves beyond what is simply
given them by the media. More and more people are taking it upon themselves to
balance their own diets. More and more people are voicing their opposition to
the current powers that be, whether that be in politics, music, wherever. More
and more people are realising that they have just as much power and talent to
add their voice to the melee. More and more people are realising the powers of
being and realising that those powers will always trump the powers that be. They
may not be able to articulate it, but they feel it, even when they doubt it. And
they only doubt it because they have been programmed to. But shift is still
occurring there is a major cleanse going on within the psyche and spirits of
humanity and our world leaders are simply the toxins coming to the surface. But
they know their time is up. Some of them will willingly surrender: allow stocks
to go public, provide health care for their work force, release their last album
and publicise it as such, while others will fight to the (or rather "their")
finish. Let it be.
And there we leave, Saul lost in thoughts and myself lost in a whirlwind of
words and imagery and somewhere in the chaos of it all, I’m left with a positive
smile on my face. Inspiration comes at strange times and lends its name to odd
projects. The next project, whatever it may be, from Saul, is eagerly
anticipated. Don’t let the stereotype of navel-gazers and Anticon-fans being
into poetry, get the book because it may give you some space to place yourself
in the centre of these fast-moving world events… The total and perspective
vortex may seem huge sometimes, but with artists like Saul Williams, we know we
are together in our isolation.
Respect,
-
Nikesh Shukla
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