3.18.08 Rap Music in Aftershock of Black Power-Mark Reeves

                                                                Agenda

         This is your producer host Dedon Kamathi with Brotha Kamau, Sista Arissa, Derrick and Jose with Freedom Now a Tues weekly Pan African and Internationalist radio journal. On this 5th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq we wish to dedicate our program tonight to the Iraq Freedom fighters in general and the Baathist Revolutionaries in particular.

The Baathist movements of Syria and Iraq whose historical objective of a democratic, secular society where the wealth of the nation would be redistribute to the masses of the people, where women had full equal rights and opportunities before the US invasion, where there was religious freedom and tolerance, where poverty had been eliminated even among the rural marsh land peoples. All of this and more has   been brutality assaulted by US Imperialism which seeks to create another client state in the region and support religious zealots who would role back the gains of the Baathist revolution. We Pan Africanize have a long history of diplomatic relations with the Baathist Party and will continue to support the Pan Arab Revolution.

  Hence we want in particular to pay homage to all the civilians and warriors who have paid the highest price to defend their national integrity in the face of US efforts at global hegemony. We say victor is certain as demonstrated by the victories in Vietnam, Algeria, Guinea; Cuba the list is long...

  Stay tune for our agenda here at Freedom Now.          

                             Freedom Nows agenda for this Tues March 18 is a interview with Marcus Reeves the author of  Somebody Screaming -Rap's Music Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power". I was intrigued by the juxtaposition of Black Power to Rap music for in all honesty I looked at both as part of a cultural continuum. So tonight we have open telephones as we explore this thesis of Rap being an reaction to or an after shock of the Black power movement.

  We will have Sista Arrisa with our African Drumbeat historical calendar, Brotha mateef with the Raising the Bars prison segment for the locked down political prisoners and  Talamn Acey with our spoken word highlight and a interesting clip from Dick Gregory, Comedian and Human Rights activist. All in a music mix including Xclan, Brotha Moe, Burning spears, RGB collective, Zap Mama . So stay tune grab a friend for another journey into Freedom Now and  as always we stand ready for the revolution.

Mark Reeves  author of : Somebody Scream ! Rap Music's Rise To Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power"