ALL ESSAYS/WRITINGS/PUBLICATIONS PRESENTED ARE COPYRIGHT/PROTECTED 

AND THE SOLE PROPERTY OF

ALAN LECHUSZA

coffee & eagle feathers productions

NO UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OR DUPLICATION WITHOUT THE EXCLUSIVE PERMISSION 

OF THE AUTHOR

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

alan@blackphonerecords.com

Native Hip Hop

published by the American Composers Forum (ACF) March/April 2004

All This and Frybread Too?!

Contemporary Native Music in Postmodern Society

By Alan Lechusza

From the first guitar screaming, powwow drum influenced sounds of XIT and Red Bone in the 1970s, Contemporary Native music reached audiences all across Indian Country.  The 1980s brought new Native artists onto the “concrete rez” who were beatin’ a different drum.  Funkdoobiest and Litefoot signified upon their Intertribal heritages and Hip Hop paving a new way for urban Natives.  Don Pullen reached out, or rather back, in the 1990s across his own personal history to respect his own Native culture, illustrating that Jim Pepper’s spirit would remain and that there are other Native jazz artist making significant marks on the world stage.  Cross cultural dialogues and appropriations serve to help re-present and express a contemporary Native artist within multiple genres of music.  The added strength of contemporary Tribal influence, as well as Inter-tribal and Multi-tribal influence, is exemplified in the fluid dialectic which capitalizes upon contemporary forms of expression.  Just as contemporary Native identity expresses itself along a continuum, so do the creative forms utilized by the different contemporary Native artists function to express a highly rhizomatic form of Native music.  Traditional and urban sounds are incorporated to extend a Native identity which no longer is limited in it’s location of culture to a singular, homogenized or stereotyped Native (American). 

The historical construction and controlled perspectives of Native music negates a contemporary position and place of the Native artist.  Native music far exceeds the romanticized “Native American Flute Music” and reaches well beyond the powwow arena incorporating Rock, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, Hip Hop, Punk, Electronica, etc. which are collaboratively engaged and dynamically expressed.  Native artists such as Indigenous, John Trudell and Graffiti Man, Bill Miller, Native Roots, Shadowyze, WithOut Rezervation, Black Fire, etc. actively utilize music as an agent to signify a complex contemporary Native identity.  These and similar Native artists dynamically present in order to re-present Native signifiers (i.e., contemporary and traditional powwow dance/song structure/culture, Native cosmology/philosophy, Red Power Political ideology, urban/”rez” binary, etc.) within their works which challenge and question the “Grand (Native) Narratives” (i.e., poverty, stoic and ignorant persona, the “drunk Indian”, laziness, high adolescent birth rate, the absent father, socio-political segregation and racism, etc.) similarly as they dislocate the fractured and marginalized view of the “helpless Indian”.  The essentialized “Noble Savage” within a musical arena is then deconstructed and re-influenced through popular musical forms which resound through the urban and rural Native centers.  As the (post-)modern world operates within the dynamic of hybridization, cross cultural connections and appropriations contemporary Native artist reflect these perspectives shaping and defining a Contemporary Indian Country.

Different musics allow for different Native perspectives and identities to be constructed.  A singular Native voice no longer screams through the romantic night; a lone drum beat is not the sole signifier.  Whether it is Reggae or Punk; Hip Hop, or Freely Improvised Musics, Native artist absorb these genres through a dynamic cultural continuum which reflectively illustrates the complexity of Contemporary Native Music.

paper presented to the Western Humanities Alliance Conference, October 2003 Salt Lake City, Utah

Raps to Remember; Raps to Represent

The Construction of Contemporary Native Memory in Hip Hop

“…I haven’t taken any actual stories directly out of telling, but I borrowed metaphorically storytelling.  And I’ve done it in the city, which is immediate and present and it’s a new life, a new way to imagine one’s consciousness as an act of survivance and we must begin to tell new stories…”(Gerald Vizenor)

 “Those of us who are Indian understand that it is the telling of stories, our very breath, that brings forth tribal identity and defines our purpose.  The elder woman of my family nourished themselves through the telling and retelling of stories…The women…overcame…urban demands through the telling and retelling of stories…[T]hey [are] a way of establishing a connectedness between the universe and ourselves.” (Kathryn Lucci-Cooper – Genocide of the Mind) 

My presentation will focus on how Native Hip Hop functions as agency to re-present a form of contemporary Native identity.  I will outline how contemporary urban Native identity is constructed and re-presented dynamically utilizing older traditions within post-modern formats to create new traditions.  I will further illustrate how Native memory is constructed, negotiated and problematized through the fluid engagement of tribal, inter-tribal and multi-tribal Native identities and articulated within Native Hip Hop. 

Motion for Native people is not uncommon.  From the first forced diaspora of Native people within these United States, c. 1830s (Donald Fixico) to the inception of the Indian Relocation Act (IRA) of the 1930s, Native people have been moved from established reserved locations into urban centers such as Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Oklahoma, Seattle, San Francisco, etc.(Fixico, Ward Churchill, Joan Nagel, Vine Deloria Jr.)  Native people continually are faced with assimilation campaigns designed to eradicate and eventually terminate Native people (Ward Churchill).   Upon first arrival to the urban centers Native people were exposed to other forms of creative expressions from cultures both Native and non-Native.  The urban centers presented the location for a dynamic exchange of Native cultures for the growing Native population (Fixico, Nagel) thereby leading to a resurgence and re-presentation of Native traditions and cultures (Nagel).  Influenced by the largely stereotyped plains Native cultures a re-vival of the powwow tradition began which then lead to the ultimate creation of the “inter-tribal” powwow (Russell Means).  These social gatherings served the urban Native as a point of articulation to re-present their “tribal” identities both real and imagined (Benedict Anderson).  Further enhanced by the growing Red Power Movement of the 1970s, the inter-tribal powwow developed into a location where Native people could construct, de-construct and re-construct their own personal, and family, Native culture(s) within an empowered environment established to bread community awareness (Means, Nagel).  Native people now had an arena where their cultural artifacts were in sovereign control.  This critical investigation and ultimate re-presentation of identity for urban Natives begs the not so simple question; what is a contemporary Native?  Through active appropriation of Native and non-Native artistic expressions the image of the “contemporary Native” was presented as one who has engaged both imagined older (traditional) signifiers and constructs newer (contemporary) cultural and identity signifiers (Nagel). Through the free-form, dynamic exchange and creation of dance styles, regalia, songs and drum styles, etc. “newer” (contemporary) Native identities began to become present.  It is here, within this newly transformed powwow arena that the singular locations of culture for Native people yielded the development of “inter-tribal” and “multi-tribal” identities.  These identities aid the contemporary Native as cultural points of articulation which are not static but are fluid and allow the individual to re-present their Native identity along the three part continuum of: Tribal, Inter-Tribal and Multi-tribal identities (Alan Lechusza). A Tribal identity refers to a specific location of Native identity constructed through family history, heritage/identity and often identified as ones “tribal enrollment”.  An example would be a family who identify wholly as being Dineh.  An Inter-tribal identity refers to the merging of two or more Native identities/cultures and histories within a singular person.  This articulation became much more present following the before mentioned second forced diasporic motions of Natives into the urban centers where inter-tribal mixing became more prominent.  An example would be a person who identifies themselves firmly as being two, or more, different tribal identities, i.e., Luiseno and Maidu.  A Multi-tribal identity refers to the further juxtaposition of Native identities within a person articulated by different Native cultural appropriations capitalized upon to define a person’s Native identity.  An example would be a person who is Mescalero (Apache) and participates as a powwow grassdancer, a dance style neither traditional nor indigenous to Mescaleros.  (Lechusza) These locations of culture are by no means simple but rather engage within a dynamically complex rhizome (Deleuze and Guattari) which is constructed, de-constructed and continually re-constructed for Native people on an individual basis. 

The complexity of these identities appears within the free exchange of Native signifiers which “urban Native identities” incorporate.  As urban Native people (a.k.a, “city redz”, “city skinz”, “urban skinz”, etc.) searched their collective and community memory for points of cultural definition the powwow arena became an increasingly important signifier.  New dance styles and songs which contained contemporary narratives emerged as both Native and non-Native genres were learned, appropriated and influentially expressed.  Joan Nagel describes these forms of cultural and community revival as supportive points for the construction of a “new” Native identity and ethnicity (Nagel).  Within the urban centers the location of culture was no longer isolated but hybriditally influenced, encouraged and dynamically re-presented.  This is noted by the concept of “survivance” discussed by Gerald Vizenor as well as the “education of (and beyond?) the reservation” presented by the music producer and activist Robbie Bee.

As urban Native people began to express their complexity of identity certain themes began to repeat themselves.  Native people, both on and off the reservation system, desired to define themselves within and by their own voices.  This lead to the development of what I refer to as the “grand (Native) narratives” which largely encompasses such themes as: Health Issues (diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.), Teen Pregnancy, Substance Abuse (alcoholism, drug addiction, etc.), Stereotyping/Racism, Poverty/Marginalization (low statistic figures, desperate income situations, etc.), Land/Mineral/Water Rights, Genocide/Colonialism/Activism, Education/Language Preservation/Traditional Views, and Women’s Roles.  These (Native) narratives function as the new signifiers for urban Natives in order to create and re-create an active sense of Native identity.  As multiple forms of expression were engaged, Native people looked to popular non-Native forms of expression (i.e., music, dance, theatre, etc.) as agency, transforming these performing arts with their narratives to re-present the complex contemporary Native identity.  This action became very important to the urban Native as the concept of being an “Indian” was no longer static, fractured, historically constructed nor stereotypically defined.  Urban Natives, then, were in a position to remember and re-create their Native heritage(s) by their own standards and means.  However, the histories and cultural traditions (i.e., the “old ways”) which many urban Natives embraced were often fractured and connected by a marginal sensibility of traditional culture (Nagel, Churchill).  Urban Natives were left with the realistic and metaphorical concept that they were WithOut a Rezervation.

A sympathetic ear was found within the urban centers for Native people in the Chicano and African American communities.  These Indigenous, marginalized, stereotyped and diasporically constructed communities offered the forced relocated Native a place of cooperation, cultural exchange, political encouragement, etc. (Churchill, Means, Fixico).  Cultural artifacts were not only exchanged but also repeated.  Urban Natives capitalized upon these forms as cultural agency re-presenting them with their own Native voices/narratives.  The Black Power Movement of the 1960s becomes a workable model for the Red Power Movement of the 1970s (Nagel).  Rock and Roll as well as R & B of the 1950s/1960s becomes the model for Native Rock and Roll in the 1970s.  Hip Hop of the late 1980s becomes the model for Native Hip Hop in the 1990s.  As discussed by Hip Hop scholars, the three major components of Hip Hop culture; DJ-ing, Breakdancing, and Grafitti (Tricia Rose, William Eric Perkins, et al) established by the African American diasporic communities were then acculturated by the urban Native.  These active points were influenced by the urban Native “experience” (Susan Lobo and Kurt Peters) and re-presented to Native youth. Young urban Natives then deftly applied their own signifiers to this popularly growing culture where; breakdancing finds its location within the powwow arena; MC-ing becomes the active agent for the grand (Native) narratives; graffiti appears within contemporary Native visual arts (Lechusza). 

Incorporating Hip Hops theoretical concepts of Cut & Mix (Rose), Sermonization (Jon Michael Spencer) and Repetition (Rose), urban Natives applied their complicated presentations of identity within this fluid form and culture in order to re-present the urban Native by Cutting and Mixing tribal identities together (i.e., tribal/inter-/multi-), Sermonizing within raps and Repeating their voices and newly constructed stories.  Robbie Bee’s “education of the reservation” finds a new school within such artists as: Funkdoobiest, WithOut Rezervation, New Breed, Shadowyze, Litefoot, etc. who utilize and capitalize upon the energy, social consciousness and visibility of this genre in order to create a dialogue for an Indian audience.  Urban Natives engage Hip Hop as a means to construct, de-construct and re-construct not only their historical and contemporary Native memory but also to challenge the location(s) of their culture(s)

As mentioned earlier, urban Natives dynamically engage a cultural continuum which is in constant flux.  Therefore, no one presentation of Native identity is applicable for a Native person.  Hip Hop offers urban Natives an opportunity to re-present their imagined sense of culture and heritage in an artistic forum.  Native people were offered an opportunity to question their Native heritage(s) by cutting and mixing as well as repeating different Native signifiers.  The pan-Indian movement of the 1970s maintained this concept yielding what some recent Native activists describe as the continued “demise of the Indian” (Means).  The concepts of cut and mix, sermonizing and repetition offered urban Natives the liberty to no longer essentialize an “Indian identity” but rather to critically question their Native heritage(s), culture(s) and how these identities are remembered within the urban centers.  With the art of sampling Native Hip Hop artist are able to cut across the lines of history in order to re-present a complex view of where and how they remember their culture(s).  [play Funkdoobiest “Tomahawk Bang” track and discuss].  Scratching as well as the function of the “beat” presents an interesting point of cultural memory.  The Hip Hop group WithOut Rezervation utilizes scratching in order to disguise and negate the use of profanity within their work.  [play WOR track “To All The Sell-outs” and illustrate].  This example illustrates a respectful motion from a younger urban Native generation toward an older Native generation.  Further, in the example “Born @ 18” by the same group, the drumbeat is incorporated as the literal “heartbeat of the people” (Tara Browner, Means, Churchill, et al) and creatively utilized in a repetitive, syncopated manner referencing a “breakbeat” as well as one of a literal “heartbeat” [play WOR track “Born @ 18” and illustrate]. 

As previously mentioned, there is a close connection to the origins of Native Hip Hop with that of the Chicano Hip Hop communities (Perkins).  Noting this, it is not uncommon for Native Hip Hop artists to offer a “shout”, “tribal shout” or “shout-out” to different Chicano/Mexican organizations or use Chicano Hip Hop artists within their work to signify an origin or relation.  WithOut Rezervation presents a “shout-out” to the Aztlan Nation in the closing of their song “Born at 18” [play example “Born @ 18” and illustrate].  Litefoot goes a little further by adding the “old school” O.G. and originator of Chicano Hip Hop, (Kid) Frost, on some of his selections [play Litefoot example “On A Mission” and illustrate].  To challenge the stereotyped image of the “Indian woman” the New Breed presents the “silent, docile, harmless and exotic” Native woman (Devon Mihesuah) with the distinguished position of being the voice which speaks words some may not be ready to hear coming from a Native woman and doing so without first being spoken to.  Misty “Lady Poet” Potts details her position in Hip Hop as one closely related to the signifyin’ monkey as noted in African (American) lore.  “Lady Poet” presents insights, both subtle and direct, to the situation which the narration and new stories are expressing.  Further, she is the only female Native rapper who includes profanity consistently within her raps regardless of the text [play example from New Breed “Can I Get A Witness?].  A political choice on the part of the group?; the “poet”?; or is this Hip Hop group living up to their surname as truly being a New Breed.

I have outlined here the origins of the Native forced diasporic motion which lead to the construction of a contemporary Native identity.  The complexity of these fluidly dynamic identities (tribal/inter-/multi-) allow urban Native to continually re-present, construct, de-construct and re-construct their Native identities without foregoing the larger articulative point of being a Native person.  Within the expressive and performing arts Native artists have been able to imagine and re-imagine their histories, narratives and ideologies as Native people.  Through the constant repetitive activities of storytelling and creation of new works embraced with older remembered works, urban Native people are able to negotiate their dynamic identities.  Influencing and borrowing Hip Hop culture and it’s techniques has enabled the younger generations of urban Natives to further question and re-present new stories and histories within a context that challenges both their creative abilities as well as their understanding and knowledge of the grand (Native) narratives.  With the critical tools of cutting and mixing, sermonizing and repetition, these younger urban Native artists can re-investigate their own realized knowledge and contemporary location(s) both physically and metaphorically.  The ability to embrace the “education of the reservation” as well as functioning WithOut Rezervation leads to the manifestation of a New Breed which is carried along by more than one Litefoot.  So it is then that these younger urban Native Hip Hop artists take note of what the grandfather of Native Hip Hop, Tyrone Pechanco of the group Funkdoobiest says when he expresses; “…when you hear my tomahawk go “bang” do your ‘thang…whatever it is….whatever it is….”

Reference Notes

Text examples from:

Tricia Rose (turntabling, repetition, cut & mix principles, etc.)

William Eric Perkins (cultural connections in hip hop)

Ward Churchill (forced diaspora of natives in the u.s.)

Jon Michael Spencer (sacredness of rhythm, literary constructions, retainment of culture within music)

Russell Means (personal interview august 2, 2003: San Jose, NM)

Tara Browner (drum as heartbeat, powwow culture, etc.)

 Joane Nagel (construction of community, culture and identity within the urban/rez centers, subtribal/tribal/supratribal identities and articulators, construction of contemporary identity)

Alan Lechusza Aquallo (unpublished writings on contemporary native hip hop and the construction of native identity)

Gerald Vizenor – Quote from “Genocide of the Mind”                       

Kathryn Lucci-Cooper – Quote from “Genocide of the Mind”

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Paula Gunn. Off the Reservation, Reflections on Boundary-Busting, Boarder-Crossings, Loose Canons. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998.

Alvarez, Michelle. WithOut Rezervation. News From Native California. Vlm 7, No. 4 Fall/Winter 1993/94. 12 – 13.

Anderson, Benedict. Immagined Communities, Reflections on the Origin and Spred of Nationalism. London/ New York: Verso, 1983.

Appiah, Anthony Kwame and Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. (eds). Race into Culture: A Critical Geneology of Cultural Identity.  Identities. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 32 – 63.

Ards, Angela. Rhyme and Resist: Organizing the Hip-Hop Generation. The Nation (July 26/August 2, 1999): 11+

Arlyk, Kevin. By All Means Necessary – Rapping and Resistence in Urban Black America. Globalization and Survival in the Black Diaspora – The New Urban Challenge. Charles Green (ed). New York: State University of New York Press, 1997 269 – 287.

Baker, Houston A., Jr. Black Studies, Rap and the Academy. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Bartlett, Andrew. Airshafts, Loudspeakers, and the Hip Hop Sample: Contexts and African American Musical Aesthetics. African American Review 28.4 (1994): 639 – 651.

Basu, Dipannita and Pnia Werbner. Boostrap Capitalism and the Culture Industries: A Critique of the Invidious Comparisons in the Study of Ethnic Entrepreneurship. Ethnic and Racial Studies 24.2 (March 2001): 236 – 262.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London/ New York: Routledge, 1994.

Browner, Tara. Heartbeat of the People – Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-wow. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2002.

Browner, Tara. Making and Singing Pow-wow songs: Ethnomusicology v.44, n.2 (Spring/Summer, 2000):214.

Born, Georgina and Hesmondhalgh, David (ed). Western Music And Its Others, Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music. Berkley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 2000.

Churchill, Ward. Acts of Rebillion: The Ward Churchill Reader. New York/London: Routledge, 2003.

Churchill, Ward. Indians Are Us? Cultural Genocide in Native North America. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994.

Churchill, Ward. Fantasies of the Master Race, Literature, Cinema and the Colonization of American Indians. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1992.

Churchill, Ward and Vander, Jim Wall. Agents of Repression – The FBI’s Secret War Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement. Boston: South End Press, 1990.

Connell, John and Gibson, Chris. soundtracks; popular music, identity and place. New York/London: Routledge, 2003.

Costello, Mark and Wallace, David Foster. Signifying Rappers: rap and race in the urban present. New York: Ecco Press, 1990.

Debo, Angie. A History Of The Indians Of The United States. Oaklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970.

Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix. A Thousand Plateaus; Capitalism and Schizophrenia. Minneapolis/London: University of Minnesota Press, 1987.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. We Talk, You Listen: New Tribes, New Turf. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1970.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. Custer Died For Your Sins – An Indian Manifesto. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1969.

Dyson, Michael Eric. Performance, Protest, and Prophecy in the Culture of Hip-Hop. The Emergency Of Black And The Emergency Of Rap. Jon Michael Spencer (ed.) spec. ed., Black Sacred Music: A Journal of Theomusicology, 5.1 (Spring 1991), Duke University Press: 12 – 24.

Evelyn, Jamilah. The Miseducation of Hip-Hop: Are Today’s Faculty and Administrators Simply Out of Touch? Or Has Today’s Popular Music Truly Conquered the Minds of A Whole Generation?. Black Issues in Higher Education 17.21 ( December 7, 2000): 24+

Fixico, Donald L. Termination And Relocation: Federal Indian Policy, 1945 – 1960. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986.

Fixico, Donald L. The Urban Indian Experience in America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.

Forman, Murray. Represent’: Race, Space and Place in Rap Music. Popular Music 19.1 (2000): 65 – 89.

George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.

Gracyk, Theodore. Rhythm And Noise: An Aesthetic Of Rock. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 1996.

Henderson, Errol A. Black Nationalism and Rap Music. Journal of Black Studies 26.3 (January 1996): 308 – 339.

Hertzberg, Hazel W. The Search For An American Indian Identity: Modern Pan-Indian Movements. USA: Syracuse University Press, 1971.

hooks, bell. Gangsta Culture – Sexism, Misogyny: Who Will Take the Rap. Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. New York: Routledge, 1994. 115 – 123.

Igliori, Paola.  Stickman – John Trudell – poems, lyrics, talks, a conversation. New York: Inanout Press, 1994.

Iverson, Peter. “We Are Still Here” American Indians in the Twentieth Century. Illinois: Harlan Davidson, Inc. 1998.

Jones, Blackwolf and Jones, Gina. Listen To The Drum: Blackwolf Shares His Medicine. Minnesota: Hazelden, 1995.

Kroeber, Karl (ed.). American Indian Persistence and Resurgence. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 1994.

Lavine, Smadar and Swedengurg, Ted (eds). Living With Miracles: The Politics And Poetics Of Writing American Indian Resistance And Identity. Displacement, Diaspora, And Geographies Of Identity. USA/London: Duke University Press, 1996: 26 – 40.

Lechusza, Alan. The Good, The Bad, The Born at 18 – A Deconstructive View of Native American Identity Through the Song “Born at 18”. (unpub.), 2002.

Levine, Lindsay Victoria. Women in Native American Indian Music. Ethnomusicology 38.1 (Winter 1994):175.

Lippard, Lucy, R. Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990.

Lobo, Susan and Peters, Kurt (ed). American Indians And The Urban Experience. London/Oxford: Altamira Press, 2001.

Lobo, Susan and Talbot, Steve (ed.). Native American Voices – A Reader. USA/England/Canada/Mexico/Australia/Spain/Denmark: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998.

McLeod, Kembrew. Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened with Assimilation. Journal of Communication 49.4 (Autum 1999): 134 – 149.

Mihesuah, Devon A. American Indians: Stereotypes & Realities. USA: Clarity Press, 1996.

Mihesuah, Devon A. (ed.) and Whitt, Laurie Anne. Cultural Imperialism and the Marketing of Native America. Natives And Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. 139 – 172.

Mihesuah, Devon A.(ed). Repatriation Reader: Who Owns American Indian Remains?. USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.

Moore, MariJo (ed.). Genocide of the Mind; New Native American Writing. New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press/Nation Books, 2003.

Nagel, Joane. American Indian Ethnic Renewal – Red Power And The Resurgence Of Identity And Culture. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996/1997.

Ogg, Alex and Upshal, David. The Hip Hop Years – A History of Rap. New York: Fromm International, 2001.

Perkins, William Eric (ed). Droppin’ Science: Critical Essays On Rap Music And Hip Hop Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.

Snead, James A. Repetition as a Figure of Black Culture, from Robert G. O.Meally (ed). The jazz cadence of American culture. New York: Columbia Univeristy Press, 1998.

Spencer, Jon Michael (ed). The Emergency Of Black And The Emergency Of Rap. Jon Michael Spencer (ed.) spec. ed., Black Sacred Music: A Journal of Theomusicology, 5.1 (Spring 1991), Duke University Press. 12 – 24.

Storey, John. Inventing Popular Culture; From Folklore to Globalization. USA/UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2003.

Rhea, Joseph Tilden. American Indian. Race Pride and the American Identity. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997. 8-38.

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary American. Hanover & London: Wesleyan University Press, 1994.

Sarris, Greg (ed.). The Sound of Rattles and Clappers – A Collection of New California Indian Writings. Tuscon & London: The University of Arizona Press, 1994.

Sounds Of American Records (S.O.A.R.). Product Catalogue. Albuquerque: New Mexico, 2002.

Strickland, Reggard. “Beyond the Ethic Umbrella and the Blue Deer: Some Thoughts for Collectors of Native Paintings and Sculpture”. Tonto’s Revenge: Reflections on American Indian Culture and Policy. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,

1997. 63 – 77.

Vander, Judith. Song-Prints: The Musical Experience Of Five Shoshone Women. Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Vaughn, Alden T. Roots of American Racism, Essays on the Colonial Experience. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Vickers, Scott B. Native American Identities; From Stereotpye to Archetype in Art and Literature. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1998.

Vizenor, Gerald. Manifest Manners – Narratives on Postindian Survivance. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1999.

ARTICLES and INTERVIEWS

Lisa Heller, Breakin down (stereotypes) with “tribalistic funk”, Arizona Daily Wildcat, 7 Mar. 1996, sec. 1:15.

Russell Means, Personal Interview by Alan Lechusza. August 2, 2003, San Jose, New Mexico.

Errol Nazareth, They’re on the Worpath, Toronto Sun, 11 Aug. 1995.

Mick Skidmore, Plundering the Vaults, Relix Magazine Jan/Feb. 1999:26.

Niel Strauss, THE POP LIFE; Native Genre Takes Pride Of Place at The Grammys, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2001, late ed.:E1+.

Susan Walker, Pow-wow drum true heartbeat of first nations, The Toronto Star, 3 Aug. 1994, final ed.:D1+.

DISCOGRAPHY

The included discography here reflects on the artists which are discussed directly within this essay.  This is by no means to be understood as the only Native hip hop recordings commercially/independently available. Two major source sites which contain most of the commercially available Native hip hop recordings by various artists are Canyon Records and SOAR.  For other artists and the availability of their recordings please check these record label websites.

Funkdoobiest, Which doobie U B?, Atlantic, 1993.

Litefoot. Good Day To Die, Red Vinyl Records, 1994.

New Breed. The New Breed, Soaring Eagle Records, 1996.

WithOut Rezervation, Are You Ready For War?, Canyon Records, 1994.

syllabus used for Contemporary Native Music class at the University of California, San Diego (Summer Session 2002):

The Music of Native America

Syllabus/Course Outline

Instructor: Alan Lechusza Aquallo

Email: alzoe@hotmail.com

Music 80, Sect.ID 442072, Summer Session #1; July 1 – August 3, 2002

Monday – Thursday; 5 – 6:20pm, Mandeville 127

University of California, San Diego

This course will examine how the different Indigenous people of the North American continent (Native People) use music from different genres to create and complicate a sense of identity.  We will be dealing specifically with the construction of a contemporary Native identity as it has been complicated within the post-War era, c. 1940s – present.  In viewing the music of Native People we will be examining cultures which are in constant flux and motion. An in-depth investigation of the powwow and its surrounding culture will serve as a tool aiding to the deconstruction and re-construction of a pan-Indian identity.  A critical look at representation/re-presentation in film and video, of, by and about Native People, will help us to better understand the multiplicity intrinsically located within tribal, inter-tribal and multi-tribal identities. Further, this genre will also serve by assisting and directing a critical inquiry toward issues such as: stereotyping, racism, segregation, hate-related issues, authenticity and how these are understood, developed and maintained by the dominant society and various Native communities alike.  There will be a close reading of works by various authors, both Native and non-Native, who present and complicate the issue of Native identity. To better understand how history, from a Native perspective, is developed through a complex strata structured by a multi-generational consciousness, there will be various guest speakers, from different tribal backgrounds and histories, who will present both a historilogical as well as contemporary view of Native identity.

As the materials covered for this course extend from a number of different sources, there is no single text which is required for the course.  However, there will be daily/weekly readings which will be required for each discussion.  These readings can be found in a bound copy located at the Reserves Desk in Giesel Library (first floor).  The materials are to be gathered and incorporated not only for the specific class section and/or issue(s) which they directly address, but also are to be utilized within the weekly journal writings.    Further, in dealing with the multitude and complicated information which will be covered within this class, it is critically important that all the work disseminated, regardless of form, be maintained as well as comprehended in as clearly a manner as possible.  Attendance is of equal importance not only for class discussions, but also for individual educational enhancement.  Any absences which can be avoided are strongly encouraged. Those absences which are unforeseen will be addressed on an individual basis.

Any material missed by students is the sole responsibility of the student to obtain.  Office hours for this session are:

Tuesdays; 4 – 5pm; Mandeville B-131

All other times by appointment only

There will be daily/weekly readings, listening assignments and journal writings on various subjects and/or questions, to be announced weekly in class.  These journal writings are to be collected on the final meeting day of the week (Wednesday July 3, Thursday July 11, 18, 25, August 1, 2002) at the end of class.  These journal writings will then be graded and returned at the beginning of the following class meeting (Monday July 8, 15, 22, 29).   These writings will illustrate student comprehension and incorporation of the various materials covered and serve as a creative point for students to broaden and challenge their perspectives of this highly politically charged subject.  These journal writings, along with weekly listening quizzes and attendance, collectively will be used to determine the overall grade marks for each student.  The break-down of the percentage is as follows:

Attendance – 25%

Journal Writings – 25%

Weekly Readings/Critiques – 25%

Listening Quizzes (total of 5) – 25%

MIDTERM – Monday July 15, 2002; 5 – 6:20pm

FINAL EXAM – Saturday August 3; 2002. 5 – 7:20pm

Though exam times are listed here, the actual process of examination will be discussed in detail during the first class meeting.   

Course Outline:

Week 1 ( July 1 – 3, 2002): Introduction

This week will be devoted to an overview of the history and relationship, as it has been developed through history, between the United States government and the different Native people of the North American continent.  Within this section, we will be introduced to the theories and practices, from a critical perspective, which we will develop and use for the remainder of the session. 

Terminology

Governmental Policy and the Native Communities – a quick overview

Location and Relocation Policies

Discussion of Music Genres/Styles (film music, rock n’ roll, punk, jazz, hip hop, reggae, new age and traditional music)

Stereotypes, Identity, Representation/Mis-Representation and Genocide

The Powwow Culture

Film(s): Incident at Oglala (The Leonard Peltier Story), Into the Circle, Dance Me Outside, Black Robes, Opening Ceremony 2002 Winter Olympics, Harold of Orange

Question:  What is the importance of the powwow culture?  How do Native people construct a sense of identity within a highly pluralistic society?  Is there one singular notion of Native identity?  Is there a pan-Indianness in contemporary Native society?  How has the politics of the 1960s/70s played into the development and construction of a contemporary Native identity?  Use the readings, films, guest speakers and musical examples to defend your position.

Week 2 ( July 8 – 11, 2002): Rockin’ the Rez!

This week will focus on how music from the rock, jazz and blues paradigms have been utilized and recontextualized by different Native artists from a historical perspective to contemporary times. 

Rock and Roll

Blues

Jazz

Punk

The Political Activism of the 1960s/70s

Film(s): Powwow Highway, Smoke Signals, Jim Pepper video, Thunderheart, XIT video

Guest Speaker/Performer: Victor Peralta and Roy Robinson

Question: How do Native people use these different forms to shape a contemporary sense of identity?  Has this always been the case?  What factors in history have lead to such current developments?  Is there a singular view, a pan-Indian view, shared by Native people with regards to these musical genres?  Use the readings, videos, guest speakers and musical examples to defend your position. 

Week 3 ( July 15 – 18, 2002): Hip to be Red

This week will focus on the Native hip hop culture and how this genre is rapidly growing among Native people. 

Hip Hop

Reggae and Dub

Turntableism

Identity Issues

Film(s): Grand Avenue, Lakota Woman, Indian in the Cupboard

Guest Speaker/Performer: Trio-logic

Question: Why would Native people be interested in Hip Hop?  Is there a correlation between the usage of Hip Hop by Native people and the African-American communities?  What characteristics are visible within the different Native Hip Hop artists?  Does this genre present a singular or pluralistic view of Native identity?  Use the readings, videos, guest speakers and musical examples to defend your position. 

Week 4 ( July 22 – 25, 2002): The “New” Age Native

This week will deal with the developments of the New-Age “Shame-man” and the romaticization of the Native and how this is exemplified through music. 

“Playing Indian”

New Age Music – non-Native AND Native works

The Native American Flute; Sexual politics and gender issues

The Romanticization of the Native

The Repatriation of Native Music

Film: Songs from the Painted Cave (Robert Mirabal), Dances with Wolves

Guest Speaker/Performer: Native Flute Ensemble

Question: What is meant by “Playing Indian”? Would you say that this is an imagined/constructed sense of identity or a real sense of identity? Is this form only utilized by non-Native people?  How would Native people been seen as being a “shame-man”?  How does New Age romanticization play into each of these areas?  How is identity then complicated by the New Age romaticization? Use the readings, videos, guest speakers and musical examples to defend your position.

Week 5 (July 29 – August1, 2002): Conclusion – “Who Ya Talkin’ To?”

This week will be devoted to critical inquiry into the different genres and multiple Native identities which have been presented.  It is here that we try to locate a “central” notion of a contemporary Native person and how this image is either understood, imagined or re-imagined. 

Film music/ “scoring the Indian”

“Tribal Sounds?”

Identity Issues

The oral/written traditions

The Powwow Culture revisited

Film: Smoke Signals, Navajo Blues, Into the Circle, Harold of Orange

Guest Speaker/Performer: Sau-ii

Question:  What is meant by “scoring the Indian”?  How has the concept of identity for Native people changed?  Is there one singular point and focus of identity for the Native person?  What are the needs and usage of the urban and reservation identities and how are these locations used to construct a sense of identity for the Native person?  (Within each of these sub-questions here you should also include the discussions which were presented in the question for week 1).  Use the readings, videos, guest speakers and musical examples to defend your position.

published paper: coffee & eagle feathers productions 2001/02

The Good, The Bad, The “Born at 18”

A deconstructive view of Native American identity through the song “Born at 18”

By

Alan Lechusza

I. Introduction

This paper discusses, analyzes and deconstructs the song “Born at 18” as recorded by the hip-hop group WithOut Reservation (WOR) and demonstrates how the music and text together work to develop a sense of identity both for urban and reservation native[i] people alike.  With an unfolding discussion of the contemporary powwow culture, it will be clear how this tradition has helped shape a cultural (native/non-native, urban/reservation) understanding and identity of native people (urban and reservation).  Though the discussion of the powwow tradition is not a comprehensive one (as this is not the intent of this paper) it is important to see how powwow culture as a particular cultural artifact/tradition has lent itself to the ever changing cosmology of the contemporary (urban/reservation) native person.  I also consider the impact of the second major relocation (Relocation Acts c. 1948-1952)[ii] of male indigenous/native people.  How did this forced removal of men from the reservation system to the urban centers help shape a “contemporary” view of native people (insider) and how this view may be misrepresented/misunderstood by the dominant society[iii] (outsider) to continue a means/act of colonialism and (contemporary) genocide upon native people?  A brief discussion of the “urban indian centers” and how these centers historically have contended with the extended issue of native identity to include, in recent and contemporary times, three distinct forms which I refer to as: tribal, inter-tribal and multi-tribal. These three components come together to work within a system which I refer to as the binary cultural understanding.  This binary is the development of native people from the reservation system into the urban/metropolitan centers and how they create an extended sense of identity.  It is with the song “BORN AT 18” by the native american rap group WithOut Rezervation (WOR) that I illustrate this binary cultural understanding through a multi-layered analysis of the text, music and identity issues presented within the work.  

II. Whose Identity?

I identify two distinct forms of identity from which native people use to help shape their own personal (self) identity, those being: an urban (indian) identity and a reservation (indian) identity.

A reservation (indian) identity is directly constructed and maintained through, and by, history and tribal traditions.  Together, these elements work as the oldest understanding and forms of identity for native people. Recalling that the history of native people is an aural history, it stands to reason that the only visual and “connected” sense of identity which native people (in contemporary times, c. 1850s-present) would have, would be one of, and from, the reservation system within the United States.  This system of controlled space and environment, established by the U.S. government, for native people is directly equated with a “way-of-life” that is full of dismal conditions, despair and death.[iv]  And yet this system creates one of the oldest memory/representations which contemporary native people have to recall, build upon and from which to develop a sense of identity.

An urban (indian) identity is directly constructed by: 1.the association which native people have through their contacts with the dominant society, 2. the forced relocation of native people to the urban centers (c. 1948-52) which, consequently, yields the development of an inter-tribal identity, and 3. a continued need/desire for  contact/relationship with ones own native belief systems and ideology.[v]  Given this, it is quite possible for a native person to live and exist within the urban/metropolitan centers and maintain a life which may be seen as “non-indigenous”.  This same person can then, during powwow season, attend a powwow, or other native gatherings, and re-connect, associate, and relate with their native “ways”, thereby identifying themselves as being a complete native person[vi].  This is a common occurrence in our modern times. There then becomes yet another component to be addressed on the continuum of tribal identity; the “urban indian”.  This is the native person, quite similar the one just described, who identifies with being a native person holistically, but who co-exists within the urban/metropolitan centers and maintains an active lifestyle within the dominant society[vii].  Regardless of where a native person originates, (i.e.,relocated to the urban center, born in the urban center, etc.) they still identify themselves with the reservation system.  This is such an important part of the cultural understanding for the contemporary native person that, even if a native person were to have no prior contact with the reservation system (i.e., born within the urban center), they will still identify with the reservation as a location where an “authentic” native/indian identity is created[viii].  This internal need for, and general understanding of the “reservation indian” as the marker and creator of an authentic “indian” identity, by native people themselves, is so powerful that this is one major reason why so many urban indians will create a relationship with the reservation system (fictitious or real) through extended means, within and outside the urban centers, and will foster these connections so as to maintain a self-appropriated sense of native identity and reality.[ix]   Still, there is room for negotiation as to what kind of an urban indian identity we are discussing. 

The urban/metropolitan areas are for some, and most, native people seen as being the “concrete reservations”.  With the second major relocation acts (c. 1948-52)[x] the United States Government relocated native men to the urban centers in the hopes that they would assimilate into the mainstream (i.e.,dominant society) and that the “indian problem” would be solved.  Once the governmental help discontinued, native people were forced to find recluse within the ghettos and to develop their own ghettos where they would be able to find some companionship (i.e.,related identity).  As the economic factors worsened for the native people and more people were brought to the urban centers, the “indian problem” did not cease, but rather developed into a complex one to which the urban/metropolitan centers now had to contend.  This led to the advent of the “concrete reservation” (i.e.,urban indian ghettos) where native people began to see the same problems and conditions which they had “back-at-home” on the reservation.  This mentality of death, demise and despair (already in the native memory from the reservation system now being further developed in the urban centers) developed into militant attitudes brought on, and championed by, AIM (American Indian Movement) and the Red Power Movement (c. 1968-70’s).[xi]  People active within AIM and the Red Power Movement were concerned with the constant dismal care which native people were experiencing and living with in the urban centers, and reservations systems, as well as the perpetual stereotyping and racism which the dominant society continued to foster.[xii]

This then would bring up the question, what is the “true” meaning behind the statement “born at 18”?[xiii]  This reference encapsulates all forms of identity for native people, regardless of where they originate. “We were born at 18, and what that means, a child screams, with a life of no hopes and no dreams…”[xiv].  The statement, simply put, refers to the poverty stricken conditions which native people will have to contend with as they are born into this world within the urban (“concrete”) and rural reservation systems[xv].  It refers to the high teen pregnancy rate which native people have (i.e., a girl who just turned 18 years old delivers a child).[xvi]  It brings up the basic understanding that the older generations of native people would want to see the younger generations survive, albeit in urban or rural reservation systems, while (silently?) acknowledging that there will be great difficulty in whatever survival the younger generation will have (“…cuz we fight and fight to make it through a single day, but you know that’s life on the rez…”[‘concrete reservation and reservation system][xvii]) in life.[xviii]  This statement brings into light subtly, yet still clearly known and recognized, that native people today continue to be subjected to forms of stereotyping, racism, segregation, etc. by the dominant society (“….cuz their people won’t let my people be, another form of a racist society…”)[xix]  This given text is  used, as a tool to construct identity, by all native people, regardless of location, to develop an early pan-indian and multi-tribal sense of being which native people will then carry with them throughout their days (“…so peace and shouts out to the red nations, to, those with and, without rezervations, aztlan nation, and all our, relations,…”)[xx].  This statement can then be seen as a basic form of identity which native people have and is one that functions in a very complex binary sense (local/global, urban/reservation, young/old, male/female).

III. Text

The text (lyrics) of the song develop a complex strata of understanding which can be seen in three distinct categories I label as: 1. Militant views (a, subtle, ideological context, relating to the militant views, toward the U.S. government and dominant society, and how these two factors helped to create these militant views post 1960’s), 2. Despair, Death and Demise (showing a general sense of negativity toward, and from, the stereotypical/racial views of native people by the dominant society) and 3. Optimism (created by, and from within, a contemporary/pan-indianess sense of identity).[xxi]  Given these three generalized categories we can look at the first verse of the song and see how the text clearly unfolds these ideas.

“Born at 18, not  a dream, an evil scheme (1)

America’s way to keep ovr people triple teamed (2)

But we’ve been through this damn thing before

They try to knock us out but you know we always

Come back for more(3)…” [xxii]

Each line of the verse gives a basic understanding of these categories which helps establish the context of the work.  The term “triple teamed” (verse 1, line 2) I read as being a reference to how the U.S.government, and popular (mis-)representation, have viewed native people.  It also illustrates a point of how the U.S.government, and dominant society, continue to wage a form of genocide upon native people.[xxiii]  This is exemplified by: 1. Laws (those historically proposed as well as accepted by the U.S. government to develop and propagate the genocide which continues today), 2. History (by developing and maintaining racially centered and stereotypical views of native people, thereby further erasing the native perspective from history), and 3. Popular representation/understanding (stereotyping, racism, segregation, etc. which has been maintained, developed and enstrengthened into contemporary times by the misinformed populace).  With this reading the remainder of the song’s text unfolds clearly and shows just how the text works within these three areas equally to establish an understanding of contemporary native thought both in an optimistic sense and one which is directly reflective of the aggressive militant views post-1960s.[xxiv]

What stands-out as a striking point here is the use of English.  WOR chooses to solely use English for their “raps” and completely negate the use of their native language(s).  What is the significance of this point?  One reason would be that the members all come from the urban center themselves, namely Oakland, California.[xxv]  If they were to use their native language(s) they would openly be negating certain members of their extended community, who mainly identify with English (i.e., other urban native people who may have a dislocated sense of identity from their traditional ways or who are not fluent in languages other than English, but who still identify themselves clearly as a native person).  Further the cosmology of the group is one which is “inter-tribal”. This is exemplified by the different and distinct tribal backgrounds from which the men originate; Dine, Tohono-Akimel O’odam and Paiute Pit River.  There already exists within the group a large diversity of linguistic bases; English, then, is the group’s common language.  Further, in using English as their main language, the group can then “speak” to a non-indian audience who may be sympathetic to their views. 

In mentioning here the inter-tribal recognition of the group, this factor alone seems to be one which can further be developed toward a sense of identity.  As seen through the lens of the contemporary powwow circuit, the idea of an inter-tribal understanding has become a mainstay within the community. During and after the second major relocation period (c. 1948-52), when men, and only men, were removed from the reservation systems and placed within the urban/metropolitan centers there came a strong sense, as well as a need, for an identity[xxvi].  Tribal identities, which never “mixed” together, suddenly came to relate to one another as this forced relocation helped to shape a “new” inter-tribal mentality, understanding and negotiation of ways and traditions.  Men would gather in the urban indian centers and exchange their cultural identities freely and openly.  A major component of native identity came, after the Ghost Dance in the late 1800’s, in the forum of the powwow[xxvii].  Though this tradition has been extremely active for generations, the “powwow culture” was now to become, in contemporary times, a culture in flux.[xxviii] With the now inter-tribal mixing of native people in a local (i.e.,urban) environment there now came a new addition, and extension, of the powwow tradition. This modern approach, sharing and understanding of the powwow tradition and culture now lead to the development, in a pan-indian sense, of all the customs and protocol of the contemporary powwow.  This then paved the way for inter-tribal, mix-blood and full-blood people to relate equally and traditionally as they deemed necessary.[xxix]  

Given all of this, we now view the group in question, WOR, to see a development of multi-tribal identity which has become significantly nurtured within and from the urban/metropolitan centers.  This multi-tribal identity is further removed and problematized from a “mix-blood” identity in that the mix-blood identity is one which, generally, is related completely within a single person. For example, a person who is Anishnaabeg and Lakota will, generally, identifies with both tribes equally.  The multi-tribal sense is one where a group of different native people share a common sense of identity even though each person can be mix-blood or full-blood (i.e., as seen within the different tribal representations within WOR).  Given this understanding of multi-tribal identity, contemporary native people from the urban centers, will be more apt to identify with this larger pan-indian identity.  This perspective then is adopted by the native community at large, as one which is becoming more “realistic” and further exemplifies the changing and developing native identity in these post-modern times[xxx].  This understanding now lends itself to reason why and how the group WOR can have an extended understanding of their music and text beyond a (local) tribal and (local) urban representation to encompass and go beyond such (recognized?) boundaries as to embody both the urban and the reservation people.

IV. Music

In viewing the music for ‘BORN AT 18’, WOR presents two major musical areas that require close examination: 1. the significance of the drum (viewed in both powwow and hip hop cultures) and 2. the significance and usage of the female voices/samples.

To begin with, the drum is viewed by native people indigenous to the North American continent, as the “heart-beat” of the people[xxxi].  The drum is the “center” of the community and sounds the “pulse” (i.e.,heart-beat, blood flow, etc.) of the people.  This is exemplified in native creation stories/ceremonies and is continued in practice through contemporary times.  Without the drum, both symbolically and actually, there would be no native people.[xxxii]  The use of the drum by WOR, as being re-presentational of the “heart-beat” of the people, takes on a completely different light if we view it with respects to the basic “beat”.  Taking into account the notion of the heart and the rhythmic pulsation of the beat, WOR capitalizes this concept and further augments the basic “drum and bass” pattern to emulate and recall a humanistic representation within the musical context.  This concept lends itself quite nicely to the paradigm of hip-hop in that a basic requirement of hip-hop is the regular and rhythmic pulsation of the beat.  This is directly related to the regular drum beat(s) as seen within contemporary powwow music(s) and one which, almost certainly, the members of WOR would recognize[xxxiii].  Therefore, given that this dualistic understanding of the music, hip-hop and powwow, as viewed from a multi-tribal perspective, one will recognize a  relationship between the two musics are not different, but rather quite similar. It is from the use of these musics together which aid in the shaping of a contemporary native identity.   We can take this discussion of the use and re -presentation of the drum even one step further in investigating the drum itself. 

Powwow music requires two basic components in order for the music to be presented and the actual act of the powwow to continue: a drum(s) and singer(s). Though you can not do away with either of these elements, without the drum there is no powwow.  Again, the drum is the heart-beat of the people. Its importance for the powwow encompasses cultural recognition, memory of history, transcendence of traditions and, more importantly, an identity for the people.[xxxiv]  There needs to be a physical element, the drum, present in order for the community to continue.  In a technologically enhanced environment there need not be any “physical” drum present.  The drum can be obtained electronically. The presentation and re-presentation of the drum is now viewed in a contemporary cultural binary form, that being an electronically manipulated and/or created drum beat versus a visceral, physical drum beat created by a powwow singer.[xxxv]  WOR draws upon this binary cultural understanding (powwow music and hip-hop) to re-present the drum (the heart-beat of the people) in a more contemporary sense and manner for people who identify with the reservation lifestyle (tribal), those who identify with the urban lifestyle (inter-tribal) as well as a combination of the two (multi-tribal). Given this reading, the drum as the heart-beat of the people continues to be as such, in these post-modern times, as well as developing in a fluid nature to reach and identify with a larger native and pan-indian population.  It is this recognition of the drum within both these contexts which gives agency to the community (urban and reservation) to strengthen in future times.

Another point recognized within this work is the use of female voices/samples. A traditional as well as pan-indian understanding of the female is one which encompasses and helps define every aspect of the community.[xxxvi]   First, and foremost, it is important to remember that not all native people come from a maternal community understanding. There are native communities which are paternal in their cultural understanding, for example, the Yaqui community. Still, for many native people the female is viewed as the strongest person within the community.  This is exemplified in the fact that the female is the one who continues the link of the community through the act of childbirth.  The female is, in the truest sense, the “center of the community”.  The female role is quite complex in that the female is: the mother of everyone (as understood by the native community), the giver/sustainer of life (through the birthing process), the one who continues the traditions/laws (as an elder spokes-person, historian, storyteller, etc.), as well as many other roles simultaneously.  In the powwow tradition, albeit northern or southern style, the female is not to be near the drum[xxxvii] but rather will stand behind the (male) singers who are seated at the drum.  This placement of the female here (i.e., “standing”, “behind the male”, etc.) is not one which is to be problematized, for this is a protocol within the powwow tradition.  What is important here is the placement of the female voices within a song.   The male voices begin the songs in the middle to very high register.   As the male voices drop down into a lower tessitura, the female voices enter, quite strongly, over the male voices in a high vocal register.  This manner of singing, for both men and women, is seen in both the northern and southern styles of singing.  Further, while there are vocal exclamations which the male singers uses during different songs to heighten the emotional impact of a song, the most heart-felt vocal exclamations, “lulu’s”, are reserved for the female voices.  Lulu’s are high wailing cries which the women execute in an improvisatorial fashion.  They are commonly heard at the end of a song. Given the heightened emotional impact of this vocal technique, lulu’s are generally reserved for a time of either extreme joy or sorrow and are performed by both young and older women alike.  An understanding of the placement of the female voices is critically important to the work presented by WOR, in that the group specifically chose to use a sample of female singers, not male singers, and placed this sample at the beginning of their song.  In doing so, WOR specifically draws upon a collective powwow understanding and placement of the female voices within a song and reverses this role to draw attention to the meaning of the song[xxxviii].  WOR then continues to bring the sample of the female voices back time after time within the work to continually present this female role as one of importance, consistency, strength and an archetype unity for the native community.  WOR plays upon the binary cultural understanding (urban and reservation) by using a small sample specifically of female voices and places this sample, not only in a “looping” or repetitive pattern, but at the beginning of the song to further enhance all of the above mentioned qualities.  These combined elements together allow native people all across the binary cultural understanding (powwow/hip-hop; urban/reservation) to identify with such a significant action and representation.  This motion by WOR to use and place the female voice samples at the beginning, and reoccurring, through out the song does help to develop a sense of identity, as mentioned above, not only for women but also for men.  Though this action and placement of the female voice samples may seem like a little point through the lens of the dominant society, this action presents itself as rather striking to the native community as the true meaning of ‘born at 18’ would thereby be addressed in a subtle, yet poignant manner.  The true power behind the statement ‘born at 18’ returns full circle, as the female voices are presented in the primary position within the work. This would then be an understood, however subtle, action to describe a sense of identity for the native communities across the binary cultural understanding.  A native person from the reservation system would have a direct identificational connection to the actual meaning of the phrase “born at 18”, while an urban native person would have a re-connected association with the phrase.  Therefore, seeing as how this phrase, “born at 18”, is an understood pan-indian statement, regardless of where the native people are located, they will have a direct reaction and relationship to this specific statement.  The focus on the female voices will only amplify the already understood placement of the female as the center of the native community.

V. Conclusions/ Further Research

The native person (urban and reservation) is quite a complex person and existing within these contemporary and (post-)modern times only extends this concept.  I have shown how, through, by and from the song and statement “BORN AT 18” just how a binary cultural understanding can and does exist for the contemporary and (post-)modern native person.  This duality which is shared by native people to develop, create and understand their own identities, albeit tribal, inter-tribal or multi-tribal, is an extremely complex issue and one that needs to be addressed not only from the “insider” (native) perspective, but also from the “outsider” (dominant society) perspective as well.

Further areas of research would then include a more investigative look at other forms of music (i.e., metal-genres, punk, jazz-genres, turntableism, etc.) and how they develop a sense of identity for the native community.  This paper focused on the issue of identity for native people without specifically addressing any particular age group.  The multi-generational differences, in viewing music as a means of developing an identity, is still an area that needs to be further investigated.  Most importantly here is the development of a contemporary and (post-)modern native youth identity and how this understanding of identity is developed through the lens of music.   With all of this is comes the issue of stereotyping within and through music and how native people either encourage this concept or rebel against the mainstream/dominant societal contemporary and (post)-modern representation of native people.  Is there a life for the native person after “flute and drum” music? And with this, is there such a person as the “contemporary and (post)-modern” native person?  If so, how does this person relate to and re-present him/herself through music?  Areas such as these need to be critically addressed if there is to be a post-binary cultural understanding (i.e., beyond the urban and reservation means of representation). This would include perspectives of the native community as well as those of the dominant society and can be seen already developing within the works of Gerald Vizenor.[xxxix]  Only here can the issues of stereotyping, racism, segregation, and hate related issues, etc. be directly confronted and abolished.  Through a critical investigation of the music which people, from a multitude of cultural backgrounds, use to create a sense of identity, albeit simple or complex, we then can begin to see just how similar the creation of an identity is for people in our ever changing globally societies. It is from this point that we can begin to witness, negotiate, develop and re-present a deeper cultural understanding of all people.

APPENDIX 1

BORN AT 18

(WithOut Rezervation. Are You Ready For W.O.R.?. Arizona,Canyon Records, 1994.)

****PLEASE NOTE****

The bracketed numbers here refer to the larger outline of sections which the text represents: 1. Militant views, 2. Despair, Death and Demise, 3. Optimism.  These sections are marked, by their appropriate number, at the beginning and end of each section. The parenthetical numbers refer to smaller sub-sections within the larger sections.

Born at 18, not a dream, an evil scheme (1)

America’s way to keep our people triple teamed (2)

But we’ve been through this damn thing before (3)

they try to knock us out but you know we always

come back for more

It’s not to say that I like it that way (1)[1]

cuz we fight and fight to make it through a single day

but you know that’s life on the rez

original plan was a land that left us for dead

makes you wanna ask why it hasta be like that

cuz I stand for my culture must I stand with a gat (1)

but you know they wouldn’t have any other way

so I’ll say it’s hell to be born today [1]

We were born at 18, what that means [2]

a child screams, with a life of no hopes and no dreams

it’s their plan to keep the good people down

without a sound, six feet underground         

but you know that we won’t go out like that

cuz we’re too damn strong it’s time to take our sh**

back [2]

but like you heard from the first verse  [3]

the battle’s on, on ‘til the break of dawn

cuz their people won’t let my people be     

another form of a racist society

to think their culture’s better than mine

but I’ll drop a rhyme justa make you change your mind

cuz they know what we got’s just to strong

that’s why they always try to do my people wrong

make us struggle and fight just to stay alive  [3]

over they years so many of my people died (2)

but you know that’s life when your born at 18 (2)

cuz America always tries to end our dream [3]

but they can’t cuz the strong will survive

stay alive, I got posse on my side  [3]

Last verse one time I’ll kick a funky rhyme  (3)  [1]

for my people with the guts and strength justa stay

alive

cuz they’ve tried and lied for 500 years

keep my people in fear but no where near

knocking us out with their genocidal blows

but here we stand true and we’ll take you on toe to

toe

but you should know not to mess with the red bro

on the flow, one true Navajo

but this rhyme is going back to my people

Lucky that we’re stronger than the white man’s evil

our strength, lives, culture, pride

we were just too tough for them just to push aside

but they tried with all their might anyway

and I’m here to stay and I’ll make’m pay   [1]

cuz there’s one thing about being born at 18   [3]

you can’t fade my people cuz we’ve seen everything

so peace and shouts out to the red nations, to             

those with end

without reservations, aztlan nation, and all our

relations,

the creator for this grand creation   [3]

APPENDIX 2

See included copy of the recording.

WithOut Rezervation. Are You Ready For WOR?. Arizona, Canyon Records(CR-7035), 1994.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Paula Gunn. Off the Reservation, Reflections on Boundary-Busting, Boarder-Crossings, Loose Canons. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998.

Alvarez, Michelle. WithOut Rezervation. News From Native California. Vlm 7, No. 4 Fall/Winter 1993/94. 12 – 13.

Anderson, Benedict. Immagined Communities, Reflections on the Origin and Spred of Nationalism. London/ New York: Verso, 1983.

Appiah, Anthony Kwame and Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. (eds). Race into Culture: A Critical Geneology of Cultural Identity.  Identities. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1995. 32 – 63.

Ards, Angela. Rhyme and Resist: Organizing the Hip-Hop Generation. The Nation (July 26/August 2, 1999): 11+

Baker, Houston A., Jr. Black Studies, Rap and the Academy. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1993.

Bartlett, Andrew. Airshafts, Loudspeakers, and the Hip Hop Sample: Contexts and African American Musical Aesthetics. African American Review 28.4 (1994): 639 – 651.

Basu, Dipannita and Pnia Werbner. Boostrap Capitalism and the Culture Industries: A Critique of the Invidious Comparisons in the Study of Ethnic Entrepreneurship. Ethnic and Racial Studies 24.2 (March 2001): 236 – 262.

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London/ New York: Routledge, 1994.

Browner, Tara. Heartbeat of the People – Music and Dance of the Northern Pow-wow. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2002.

Browner, Tara. Making and Singing Pow-wow songs: Ethnomusicology v.44, n.2 (Spring/Summer, 2000):214.

Born, Georgina and Hesmondhalgh, David (eds). Western Music And Its Others, Difference, Representation, and Appropriation in Music. Berkley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press, 2000.

Churchill, Ward. Indians Are Us? Cultural Genocide in Native North America. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1994.

Churchill, Ward. Fantasies of the Master Race, Literature, Cinema and the Colonization of American Indians. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1992.

Churchill, Ward and Vander, Jim Wall. Agents of Repression – The FBI’s Secret War Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement. Boston: South End Press, 1988, 1990.

Costello, Mark and Wallace, David Foster. Signifying Rappers: rap and race in the urban present. New York: Ecco Press, 1990.

Debo, Angie. A History Of The Indians Of The United States. USA: University of Oklahoma Press, 1970.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. We Talk, You Listen: New Tribes, New Turf. USA: The Macmillan Company, 1970.

Deloria, Vine, Jr. Custer Died For Your Sins – An Indian Manifesto. USA: The Macmillan Company, 1969.

Evelyn, Jamilah. The Miseducation of Hip-Hop: Are Today’s Faculty and Administrators Simply Out of Touch? Or Has Today’s Popular Music Truly Conquered the Minds of A Whole Generation?. Black Issues in Higher Education 17.21 ( December 7, 2000): 24+

Fixico, Donald L. Termination And Relocation: Federal Indian Policy, 1945 – 1960. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1986.

Fixico, Donald L. The Urban Indian Experience in America. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2000.

Forman, Murray. Represent’: Race, Space and Place in Rap Music. Popular Music 19.1 (2000): 65 – 89.

George, Nelson. Hip Hop America. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.

Gracyk, Theodore. Rhythm And Noise: An Aesthetic Of Rock. Durham/London: Duke University Press, 1996.

Green, Charles (ed). By All Means Necessary: Rapping and Resisting in Urban Black America. Globalization and Survival in the Black Diaspora: The New Urban Challenge. New York: State Univeristy Of New York Press, 1997. 269 – 289.

Henderson, Errol A. Black Nationalism and Rap Music. Journal of Black Studies 26.3 (January 1996): 308 – 339.

Hertzberg, Hazel W. The Search For An American Indian Identity: Modern Pan-Indian Movements. USA: Syracuse University Press, 1971.

hooks, bell. Gangsta Culture – Sexism, Misogyny: Who Will Take the Rap. Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. New York: Routledge, 1994. 115 – 123.

Igliori, Paola.  Stickman – John Trudell – poems, lyrics, talks, a conversation. New York: Inanout Press, 1994.

Iverson, Peter. “We Are Still Here” American Indians in the Twentieth Century. Illinois:Harlan Davidson, Inc. 1998.

Jones, Blackwolf and Jones, Gina. Listen To The Drum: Blackwolf Shares His Medicine. Minnesota: Hazelden, 1995.

Lavine, Smadar and Swedengurg, Ted (eds). Living With Miracles: The Politics And Poetics Of Writing American Indian Resistance And Identity. Displacement, Diaspora, And Geographies Of Identity. USA/London: Duke University Press, 1996. 26 – 40.

Levine, Lindsay Victoria. Women in Native American Indian Music. Ethnomusicology v.38, n.1 (Winter 1994):175.

Lippard, Lucy, R. Mixed Blessings: New Art in a Multicultural America. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990.

Lobo, Susan and Talbot, Steve (ed.). Native American Voices – A Reader. USA/England/Canada/Mexico/Australia/Spain/Denmark: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1998.

McLeod, Kembrew. Authenticity Within Hip-Hop and Other Cultures Threatened with Assimilation. Journal of Communication 49.4 (Autum 1999): 134 – 149.

Mihesuah, Devon A. American Indians: Stereotypes & Realities. USA: Clarity Press, 1996.

Mihesuah, Devon A. (ed.) and Whitt, Laurie Anne. Cultural Imperialism and the Marketing of Native America. Natives And Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians. USA: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. 139 – 172.

Mihesuah, Devon A.(ed). Repatriation Reader: Who Owns American Indian Remains?. USA: University of Nebraska Press, 2000.

Perkins, William Eric (ed). Droppin’ Science: Critical Essays On Rap Music And Hip Hop Culture. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996.

Rhea, Joseph Tilden. American Indian. Race Pride and the American Identity. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1997. 8-38.

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary American. Hanover & London: Wesleyan University Press, 1994.

Sarris, Greg (ed.). The Sound of Rattles and Clappers – A Collection of New California Indian Writings. Tuscon & London: The University of Arizona Press, 1994.

Strickland, Reggard. “Beyond the Ethic Umbrella and the Blue Deer: Some Thoughts for Collectors of Native Paintings and Sculpture”. Tonto’s Revenge: Reflections on American Indian Culture and Policy. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press,

1997. 63 – 77.

Vander, Judith. Song-Prints: The Musical Experience Of Five Shoshone Women. Urbana/Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1996.

Vaughn, Alden T. Roots of American Racism, Essays on the Colonial Experience. New York/Oxford: Oxford Press, 1995.

Vizenor, Gerald. Manifest Manners – Narratives on Postindian Survivance. Lincoln and London: University of Nebraska Press, 1999.

 Without Rezervations:

Hip Hop in the Native American Experience

                                                          Course Syllabus       

Summer Session II (August 2 – September 4, 2004); Course# 504020

MWF 6 – 7:50pm (Mandeville B-152)

Instructor: Alan Lechusza Aquallo

A critical investigation of hip hop music and culture as it is incorporated by different Native (American) communities.  A large focus of the class will be on the urban Native experience and how this hybridally constructed identity has impacted and re-acculturated the major concepts of hip hop theory and practice.  We will see how hip hop culture has been dynamically incorporated and re-presented to both the Native and non-Native communities.  The class seeks to understand the complexities which coexist between hip hop culture and the Grand Native Narratives and how these are articulated by different artist.  Further, we will look at other local and global surrounding communities who have utilized hip hop as a means of cultural articulation.  A lecture/discussion approach will be used as the class format which will be augmented by the incorporation of multi-media resources including films and guest speakers. 

As the materials covered for this course extend from a number of different sources, there is no single text which is required for the course.  However, there will be daily/weekly readings which will be required for each discussion.  These readings can be found in a bound copy located at the Reserves Desk in Giesel Library (first floor).  The materials are to be gathered and incorporated not only for the specific class section and/or issue(s) which they directly address, but also are to be utilized within the weekly journal writings.    Further, in dealing with the multitude and complicated information which will be covered within this class, it is critically important that all the work disseminated, regardless of form, be maintained as well as comprehended in as clearly a manner as possible.  Attendance is of equal importance not only for class discussions, but also for individual educational enhancement.  Any absences which can be avoided are strongly encouraged. Those absences which are unforeseen will be addressed on an individual basis.

Any material missed by students is the sole responsibility of the student to obtain.  Office hours for this session are:

Mondays; 5 – 6pm; Mandeville B-131

All other times by appointment only

Assignments and Grading:

There will be daily/weekly readings, listening assignments and journal writings on various subjects and/or questions, to be announced weekly in class.  These journal writings are to be collected on the final meeting day of the week (Friday August 6, 13, 20, 27 and September 3, 2004) at the end of class.  These journal writings will then be graded and returned at the beginning of the following class meeting (Monday August 9, 16, 23, 30 2004).   These writings will illustrate student comprehension and incorporation of the various materials covered and serve as a creative point for students to broaden and challenge their perspectives of this highly politically charged subject.  These journal writings, along with weekly listening quizzes and attendance, collectively will be used to determine the overall grade marks for each student.  The break-down of the percentage is as follows:

Attendance – 25%                             Weekly Readings/Critiques – 25%

Journal Writings – 25%                    Listening Quizzes (total of 5) – 25%

MIDTERM – Monday July 15, 2004

FINAL EXAM – Saturday August 3, 2004

Though exam times are listed here, the actual process of examination will be discussed in detail during the first class meeting.  

COURSE OUTLINE:

I. Introduction – This week will present the theories, histories and methodologies used to construct a contemporary Native identity and its negotiation through the musical agent of Hip Hop.

II. Foundations: The Urban Centers and Powwow Culture – This week will investigate how the forced diasporic motion of Native people to the urban centers lead to the hybridization of Native/non-Native musics and to Hip Hop as a point cultural agency.  A further detailed look at how Powwow culture functions as a point of culture and pan-Indianness for the “urban Indian”.

III. Identity Constructed, De-constructed and Re-constructed; Tribal, Inter-Tribal and Multi-Tribal Identities – This week investigates three forms of Identity (Tribal/Inter-tribal/Multi-tribal) and how they are incorporated through style, aesthetics and cultural representation to develop and complicate a sense of contemporary “Indianness” and how they are presented/re-presented in Native Hip Hop.

IV. Survival through Hip Hop: Youth Identity and the Generational Divide – This week investigates how Native youth use the 3 main elements of Hip Hop culture (graffiti, breakdancing, MC-ing) to construct a sense of resistance and contemporary narrative and a critique of society. 

V. Signifyin’ Culture, Resistance and Struggle in Lyrics and Rhythm – This week examines how culture is constructed and signified in Native Hip Hop with attention focusing on stereotypes, gender issues/sexual politics, oral traditions and the construction of personal/tribal histories through lyrics and rhythms, and socio-economic political conflicts.

VI. Conclusion – This week will present a summation of important points and a look at the similarities and simulacrum in other popular musics and their relationship to the Native communities i.e., rock, reggae, jazz/experimental musics, electronica, etc.

Other Syllabusses used for various music/cultures classes.  PLEASE NOTE: These syllabusses do include the college/university where they were used and the dates listed may no longer directly apply to the current course.  Check the on-line catalogue for each college/university listed for the most accurate and current listings.

San Diego City College

Music 111 – Syllabus

Text: Introduction to Jazz History, Megill, Donald D. & Demory, Richard S., Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey, 6^th ed., 2004.

Study guide for Jazz History (Music 111) (Packet)

Alan Lechusza, Office TBA, 619.895.4302, alzoe@hotmail.com

Content:  A survey of the history and development of jazz in the United States.  Toopic include the origins of jazz and the various styles which have developed in this century.  Also covered will be the outstanding performers and composers within the various genres/styles.

Goals/Objectives: To understand the influences which lead to the development of jazz.  To learn the characteristics which create the different eras of jazz and learn how to aurally distinguish these differences. 

Class Format: Lecture/discussion of the topics listed within the syllabus.  Class meetings will closely follow the information presented in the text.  However, some outside information will be covered and discussed. 

Writing Assignments: 2 two-page CONCERT REPORTS each worth up to 15 points (30 total) are required for the 4 page assignment.

Attendance Requirements: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting.  District Policy states that “students must be dropped following unexcused absences equaling 12% of the scheduled class hours.”  In this class, 12% equals 4 class meetings.  In addition to this 3 tardies will equal 1 absence. 

Drop/Withdrawal Process: The S.D.C.C. catalog states that “It is the student’s responsibility to drop any class which should not be on his/her study program.”  All students on the class roster after the withdrawal deadline (TBA) will be given a letter grade.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.

Student Responsibilities: The S.D.C.C. catalog states that “No student may interfere with a student’s opportunity to learn.”  A student will be dropped from the class if they exhibit behavior which prohibits or impedes any member of the class from pursuing any class assignment, objective or learning opportunity within the classroom.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.

Method of Evaluation: 3 Test (143 points), 2 Concert Reports (30 points); A = 156 – 173; B = 139 – 155; C = 122 – 138; D = 105 – 121; F = 0 – 104.  No make-up test will be given unless a student presents a written excuse from a doctor or the court, including the name and contact information (i.e., phone, email, etc.) of the person issuing the excuse.  Missing the final will result in a test score of a zero.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.  One additional 2 page Concert Report may be submitted for extra credit, worth up to 15 points.   An additional 15 extra credit points will be awarded to any student who misses 3 or fewer classes.  NOTE: No excused absences will count for this extra credit.

YOU NEED NOT NOTIFY ME IF YOU ARE GOING TO MISS A CLASS SESSION.  HOWEVER, YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL COVERED DURING THAT SESSION.

PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU NEED A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION FOR A DISABILITY.

San Diego City College

Music 111 – History of Jazz

SYLLABUS (Fall Semester 2004)

Instructor: Alan Lechusza

alan@blackphonerecords.com

coffeeandeaglefeathers@blackphonerecords.com

619.895.4302

Roots and Blues:

Aug. 31 – Sept 2: Origins of Jazz

Sept. 7 – Sept. 9: Work songs/ Field Hollers

Sept. 14 – Sept. 16: Country Blues/The Black Church/The Delta

Sept. 21 – Sept. 23: Urban (“City”) Blues/Women in Blues

Sept. 28: TEST #1 – review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

Blues becomes Jazz:

Sept. 30: New Orleans/ “Trad Jazz”/Ragtime

Oct. 5: The Urban Blues: Chicago

Oct. 7: The Urban Blues (con’t): New York City

Oct. 12 – Oct. 14: Piano Styles/The Stride School/Boogie Woogie

Oct. 19 – Oct 21: The Jazz Soloist: Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, etc.

Oct. 26 – Oct. 28:  The Development of Swing: Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Kansas City, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn

Nov. 2: TEST #2 – review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

***CONCERT REPORT #1 DUE IN CLASS***

Be-bop:

Nov. 4 – Nov. 9: The Development of Be-bop: Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Max Roach, Charles Mingus

Nov. 11: West Coast Jazz and the “Cool” School

Nov. 16: Miles Davis (early – mid career)

Nov.18 – Nov. 23: Third Stream and Improvisation ( U.S. and Europe)

Nov. 25: Charles Mingus

Be-Bop and Beyond:

Dec. 30: Experimental Styles: Eric Dolphy, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra

Dec. 2: John Coltrane

Dec. 7: Early “Free Jazz”: Rhashan Roland Kirk, Cecil Taylor, Horace Tapscott

                               Carter/Bradford, AACM, BAG, Archie Shepp, Albert Ayler

Dec. 9: Fusion: Rock and Jazz/Mahavishnu Orchestra, Electric Miles, Steve Coleman

Dec. 14: Global Jazz (aka: World Musics): Oregon, Jazz and Hip Hop

Dec. 16: FINAL EXAM – review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

****CONCERT REPORT #2 DUE AT THE TIME OF THE FINAL****

**NOTE** The Final Exam will start promptly at the designated time and location which is specified and listed for the class.  Late arrivals will not be accommodated for the allotted time.

San Diego City College

Music 100 – Syllabus

Text: Understanding Music Yudkin, Jeremy, Pearson Prentice Hall,

New Jersey, 4^th ed., 2004/05.

Study guide for Into to Muisc (Music 100)  (Packet)

Alan Lechusza, Office TBA, 619.895.4302, alzoe@hotmail.com

Content:  A survey of the history and development of music from the Western world.  Topic include the elements of music, musical form, musical instruments, musical media, world music as well as a chronological study beginning with early Grecian music through Contemporary practices. 

Goals/Objectives: To become aware of the fundamentals of music through reading, lecture, discussion and active listening which will then develop an intellectual and aural understanding of music.  To gain a historical perspective of music as it has, and continues, to develop through Western civilization.

Class Format: Lecture/discussion of the topics listed within the syllabus.  Class meetings will closely follow the information presented in the text.  However, some outside information will be covered and discussed.  There are 5 tests which will follow each unit of study (dates listed below).

Writing Assignment: 4 two-page CONCERT REPORTS each worth up to 20 points (80 total) are required for the 8 page assignment.

Attendance Requirements: Attendance will be taken at the beginning of each class meeting.  District Policy states that “students must be dropped following unexcused absences equaling 12% of the scheduled class hours.”  In this class, 12% equals 6 class meetings.  In addition to this 3 tardies will equal 1 absence. 

Drop/Withdrawal Process: The S.D.C.C. catalog states that “It is the student’s responsibility to drop any class which should not be on his/her study program.”  All students on the class roster after the withdrawal deadline (TBA) will be given a letter grade.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.

Student Responsibilities: The S.D.C.C. catalog states that “No student may interfere with a student’s opportunity to learn.”  A student will be dropped from the class if they exhibit behavior which prohibits or impedes any member of the class from pursuing any class assignment, objective or learning opportunity within the classroom.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.

Method of Evaluation: 5 Test (350 points), 4 Concert Reports (80 points); A = 387 – 430; B = 344 – 386; C = 301 – 343; D = 258 – 300; F = 0 – 257.  No make-up test will be given unless a student presents a written excuse from a doctor or the court, including the name and contact information (i.e., phone, email, etc.) of the person issuing the excuse.  Missing the final will result in a test score of a zero.  There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this process.  A total of 3 “critiques” may be submitted for extra credit with each “critique” worth up to 10points.  NOTE:  A “CRITIQUE” is 1 full written page which a “CONCERT REPORT” is 2 full written pages minimum. 

YOU NEED NOT NOTIFY ME IF YOU ARE GOING TO MISS A CLASS SESSION.  HOWEVER, YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MATERIAL COVERED DURING THAT SESSION.

PLEASE NOTIFY ME IMMEDIATELY IF YOU NEED A SPECIAL ACCOMMODATION FOR A DISABILITY.

San Diego City College

Music 100 – Introduction to Music

SYLLABUS (Fall Semester 2004)

Instructor: Alan Lechusza

alan@blackphonerecords.com

coffeeandeaglefeathers@blackphonerecords.com

619.895.4302

Introduction and Concepts: Aug. 30 – Sept. 13

-Overview of class: text/assignments, class expectations, concert reports/etiquette, etc. 

-CHAPTER 1: General discussions and concepts

-World Music: General discussions and concepts

-FOCUS: Specific world music instruments and performance practice (TBA)

-CHAPTER 2: General discussions and concepts

-The Orchestra: Specific instruments of the orchestra (TBA)

-CHAPTER 3: Dukas: Fanfare from “La Peri”; Schubert: Gretchen Am Spinnrade; Mozart: Trio from Symphony #18 in F Major (K. 130).

-Hydan: Minuet and Trio from Symphony #47; Harris: Crazeology; Casulana: Madrigal – “Morir No Puo Il Mio Cuore

Sept. 13: TEST #1 – Review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

The Middle Ages, the Renaissance Period and The Baroque Era: Sept. 15 – Oct. 4

-CHAPTER 4 The Middle Ages; Kyrie; Beatriz de Dia: A Chantar

-Perotinus: Viderunt Omnes; Machaut: Doulz Viaire Gracieus

-CHAPTER 5 The Renaissance Period; Fortunatus: Plainchant from “Pange Lingua”; Desprez: Kyrie from “Pange Lingua”

-Palestrina: Super Flumina Babylonis; Morley: Two English Madrigals; Gabrieli: Canzona Duodecimi Toni; Susato: Ronde and Saltarelle

-CHAPTER 6; The Baroque Era

-Monteverdi: Orpheo’s recitative from “Il Orpheo”; Purcell: Dido’s Lament from “Dido and Aeneas”

-Corelli: Trio Sonata; Vivaldi: Spring from “The Four Seasons”

-J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; 1^st Movement from the Brandenburg Concerto; St. Matthews Passion

-Handel: Giulio Cesare, Act III, Scene 4; Halleluja Chorus from “The Messiah”; The Baroque Orchestra

Nov. 4: TEST #2 – Review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

The Classical Period: Oct. 6 – Oct. 25

-The First Viennese School (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), Pergolesi: La Serva, “Duet” Act I

-Mozart: 1^st Movement from Symphony # 40 in G Minor (K. 550)

-Mozart: 2^nd Movement from Piano Concerto (K. 467); Haydn: Theme and Variations from “The Surprise Symphony”; Minuet and Trio from Symphony # 45; 4^th Movement from String Quartet, Op. 33, No. 2

-Chamber Muisc, Opera and the “Modern” Orchestra

-CHAPTER 8: Beethoven: Andante con Variazioni for Mandolin and Harpsichord

-Beethoven: Symphony #5 in C Minor

-Beethoven: Piano Sonata, Op. 109

Oct. 25: TEST #3: Review in Class: Worksheets in Class Packet

FOUR CONCERT REPORTS DUE!!!!!

The Romantic Era, Nationalistic Music and the Movement toward Modernism: Oct. 27 – Nov. 17

-CHAPTER 9

-Schubert: Der Tod und das Madchen; 2^nd Movement from Quartet in D Minor (Theme and Variations); Quintet in A Major (D. 667) “The Trout”;  Die Forelle (“The Trout”)

-Berlioz: 1^st Movement from Symphonie Fantastique; Felix Mendelssohn: 1^st Movement from Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64; Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Lied from “Songs Without Words”

-Chopin: Prelude in E Minor, Op. 28; Waltz in D flat Major, Op. 64; Robert Schumann: Traumerei from “Kinderszenen”; Clara Schumann: 3^rd Movement from Trio in G Minor

-Liszt: Transcendental Etude; Hamlet

-Verdi: Othello (excerpt); Wagner: Prelude and Liebestod; The Ring Cycle

-Smetana: The Moldau; Tchaikovsky: 1^st Movement from Symphony #4; Brahms: Lullaby, Op. 49, No. 4; Puccini: Un Bel Di from “Madama Butterfly”

-Janacek, Mahler, Shostakovich: selections TBA in class

Nov 17: TEST #4: Review in Class: Worksheets in Class Packet

The 20^th Century and Contemporary Musics: Nov. 22 – Dec. 8

-CHAPTER 10

-Debussy: prelude a L’apres-midi d’un Faune; Stravinsky: 1^st Movement from Concerto in E flat for Chamber Orchestra; Le Sacred du Printemps

-Schoenberg: Theme and Sixth Variation from Variations for Orchestra, Op. 31; The Second Viennese School (Shoenberg, Berg, Webern); Ives: 2^nd Movement from Three Places in New England; Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man; Appalachian Spring

-Gershwin: Bess, You Is My Woman Now from “Porgy and Bess”; Bernstein: Make Our Garden Grow from “Candide”; Symphonic Dances from “ West Side Story”

- Joplin: The Maple Leaf Rag; Bessie Smith; Florida Bound Blues; Fats Waller, Meade Lux Lewis, Art Tatum: selections TBA in class

LAST DAY TO TURN IN EXTRA CREDIT CRITIQUES

-Louis Armstrong: Hotter Than That; Duke Ellington: It Don’t Mean A Thing; Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson: selections TBA in class

-Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie: Little Benny; other selections TBA in class

Dec. 13/15: FINAL EXAM – Review in class: Worksheets in Class Packet

**NOTE** The Final Exam will start promptly at the designated time and location which is specified and listed for the class.  Late arrivals will not be accommodated for the allotted time.

Syllabus

Music 126/Ethnic Studies 178

The Blues: An Oral Culture

Fall 2004

University of California, San Diego

Tuesday and Thursday 12:30-1:50pm

Warren Lecture Hall 2005

Instructor: Alan Lechusza

Office: B-131 ( Mandeville Music Center)

Office Hours: Wednesday  2:00-3:00pm (or by appointment)

E-mail: alzoe@hotmail.com

Teaching Assistants:

Tucker Dulin (tucker@ucsd.edu) Don Nichols (nicholspercussion@yahoo.com) Jude Weirmeir (jweirmeir@aol.com)

TA Office Hours/Location:      TBA

Course Objectives:

This course will investigate the development of the blues from its beginnings to the present day.  Students will learn to understand the history of the blues in terms of changes in musical techniques, social values and to recognize music as a site of celebration and struggle over relationships, contexts and ideologies.  Students will increase their ability to hear differences among various performers, styles and related genres as they relate to a “blues culture”.  Students will then critically engage these works in an active means to better understand the impact which a blues culture has had upon American popular culture and music.  Further, students will unpack relevant issues and laws of U.S. history as it affects and is affected by the musical activities from a blues and popular cultural stand point.

Course Summary:

The blues made audible the struggles and the resilience of African Americans and its sonic history is inseparable from broader historical and social forces such as the legacies of the slave trade, the dehumanizing conditions of the Jim Crow South, and the urbanization of a largely rural black population. The blues took on additional meanings as it re-emerged first in the 1930/40s as part of a “leftist” trend in liberal politics and again during the socially conscious counterculture of the 1960s.  Since that time the blues has continued to infuse and re-infuse American and global popular musics.  Therefore, this course will situate the blues within a broader critical context of the politics of race, class, and gender, and of the institutional arrangements that have and continue to shape contemporary music making.

We will use a wide variety of readings, sound recordings, and videos to help us trace the development of the blues from its roots in Africa as well as in the spirituals, work songs and field hollers of the antebellum South, through its initial flowering in the Mississippi Delta to its eventual emergence as a form of mass culture.  We will further explore how the blues has influenced many forms of American music including jazz, country, rhythm and blues, zydeco, gospel, rock, and hip-hop. 

Required Texts:

Course Reader containing all of the assigned articles is available for purchase at Cal Copy – 3251 Holiday Ct. #103 (behind the Mobil station at the corner of La Jolla Village and Villa La Jolla).

Grading:

The course is divided into two units of equal weighting.  For each unit, students will be assigned a set of take-home essays (2 or 3) and will take a concluding in class exam.  Students are also required to attend one blues or blues-related concert during each unit of the course totaling 2 Concert Reports (see details below).  Exams will involve a variety of questions covering lecture materials as well as all reading and listening assignments.  There will be a significant listening portion to each exam.  Essay questions will be given to the class approximately one week prior to due date.  Essays will generally involve a concise summary of, and detailed commentary on, one or more topics presented during the unit.  Students are required to reference the assigned readings and follow style guidelines to be discussed in class.

There are no make-up tests for missed exams except under the most unusual circumstances.  These situations will be addressed and reconciled on an individual basis.  Appropriate contact information and documentation will be required prior to or no later than one class period after the exam and must be accompanied by written evidence (i.e., a note from a doctor, with his/her name, address and phone number).

• UNIT I 50 % - Exam 25%, Essays 15%, Concert Attendance 10%

• UNIT II 50% - Exam 25%, Essays 15%, Concert Attendance 10%

Grading Scale:

98-100 A+	88-89 B+	78-79 C+	68-69 D+	59-below F
92-97 A	82-87 B	72-77 C	62-67 D
90-91 A-	80-81 B-	70-71 C-	60-61 D-

Integrity of Scholarship:

Please be aware that plagiarizing (or other forms of academic dishonesty) can and will result in an “F” for the course which may lead to further disciplinary action by the University.  (For more information see the section entitled “UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship” in the UCSD General Catalogue.)

Listening (Digital Audio Reserve - DARP):

Listening to a wide variety of the blues and other related musics is an essential part of this course.  All of the listening examples will be on reserve on the DARP system (http://dar.ucsd.edu/) as well as in the Music Listening Room in the Geisel Library (first floor).

Please Note: The access to DARP is restricted to UCSD IP addresses. You can only access the required listening materials from computers on the UCSD network, including dial-in accounts provided by ACS Office of Network Operations (ONO).  Please visit the Remote Access page on the DARP website for more details and links to instructions on how to configure your browser for remote access.  You may also use computers located in the Audio Reserves section of the Music Library (first floor, Geisel Library) or those in many other computer labs around campus (there is a list of these labs on the DARP home page).  If you have any questions about using DARP please contact Audio Reserves in the Music Library (858-534-8074).

Attendance Policy:

As there are no discussion sections for this class, students are expected to be at every class session.  It is the responsibility of the student to gather any information from a missed lecture. 

Concert Attendance:

Students are required to attend one blues or blues-related concert for each unit of the course, totaling 2 concert reports, and hand in proof of attendance (i.e., a ticket stub, concert flyer signed by the artist or venue, etc.) attached to a one page (12point Times Roman font, single spaced) description of the event.  Concerts of interest will be mentioned in class.  Please share with the class information on any events that you feel may be important or particularly relevant.  **NOTE** Students are not limited to the concert events which are mentioned in class. 

Class Schedule:

All reading and listening assignments should be completed prior to the scheduled class meeting time.

Unit I September 23 – Introductions/Course Overview 28 – Defining the Blues: African American Aesthetics and Oral Culture 30 – Africa and the Roots of the Blues October 5 – Rural Blues in the South 7 – (continued) 12­ – Robert Johnson 14 -The Ritual (and Cycle) of Minstrelsy 19 – Women and the Blues 21 – Jazz and the Arranged Blues 26 – Leadbelly and the 1940s Blues Re-vival 28 – UNIT I EXAM/ESSAYS DUE IN LECTURE

Unit II November 2 – Chicago Blues 4 – Blues Rocks On! 9 – (continued) 11 – The 1960s Blues Re-vival 16 – Psychedelic Blues: Jimi Hendrix/Janis Joplin 18 – (continued) 23 – Modern Jazz and the Blues 25 – THANKSGIVING (No Class) 30 – Hip Hop Culture and the Blues Impulse December 2 –  (contined)/Contemporary Blues ESSAYS DUE IN LECTURE UNIT II EXAM – Thursday Dec. 9, 2004 11:30am – 2:30pm

Essay Questions used during the tenure of this "History of the Blues" class (UCSD, 2004):

Music 126/Ethnic Studies 178

The Blues: An Oral Culture

Essay #1 Questions

Select two of the three questions below for your essays.  In answering the questions you may use the course reader, lecture notes, DARP listening examples, etc.  You are to use in text citations (Palmer, 126) with the pages corresponding to those of the course reader.  A “works cited” page must accompany your essays as every source which is used must be cited. You written answers should be 2 – 3 pages of complete writing, not including the “works cited” page.  Use a double spaced Times Roman (12point) font for your response.  The essays will be graded according to how the information from the above mentioned sources are incorporated within your response.  Do not labor over smaller details, but develop your responses in a clear and concise manner making sure to address the questions completely and noting your sources specifically.  The essays are due at the beginning of class: Thursday October 28, 2004.  NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.  Be sure to include your name, student ID number, email address and course listing (i.e., Music or Ethnic Studies) at the top of your essays.

#1.  Trace the developments of early blues through the salve trade/Black Atlantic into the Delta region.  Be sure to discuss the difference between the concept of the “house slave” and “field slave”.  You may want to discuss the three different areas where the slave trade focused upon which contributed to the characteristic retentions which we have noted in the earliest developments of the blues.  Further, you may wish to comment upon the agricultural and social impacts which this region had upon the music and how spirituality was “masked” and “articulated” through different means to create a complex form of the early blues.

#2.  Compare/Contrast the styles of Charley Patton to those of Robert Johnson.  You may want to discuss their musical expressive developments as well as their “legendary” characters.  You may want to discuss how they differed in their approach to the 12 Bar Blues form and how this mobile form offered a fertile ground for each.  A discussion of how their lives and careers “transformed” over time and in “imagination” from a popular standpoint may be helpful.

#3.  Discuss how women in the blues were viewed and how they contributed to the codification of the 12 Bar Blues form.  What is meant by an arranged form of the blues? How did these different women use text to create a place of resistance and social commentary?  Is this similar to that which we have noted from the men?  How did these women spur the blues into a solidified position and one that has become immersed within our popular understanding of the blues?  How did these women resist and utilize the TOBA and race records industry to create a larger voice for their work?

#4.  How has the minstrel show changed, evolved or become diluted into American popular culture since its origins?  Discuss some of the issues presented in minstrelsy.  How has a complex view of the minstrel lead to a stereotyped view of the “black” artist and how has this image been appropriated by “white” artists? 

Music 126/Ethnic Studies 178

The Blues: An Oral Culture

 Final Exam Essay Questions

Select one of the three questions below for your final exam in class essays.  In answering the question you may wish to cite information from the course reader, lecture notes, DARP listening examples, etc.  This may help you with your writing and essay as a whole.  Your written answers should be 3 – 5 pages of complete writing, but you may use as much space as your blue book offers for the response.  Please write legibly and clearly as this will aid the grading process.  The essays will be graded according to how the information and portions of the question are addressed your response.  Do not labor over smaller details, but develop your answer in a clear and concise manner making sure to address the questions completely and offering examples when possible.  The essays are due at the end of the final exam: Thursday Dec. 9, 2004 ( 11:30am – 2:30pm).  NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.  Be sure to include your name, student ID number, email address and course listing (i.e., Music or Ethnic Studies) on the front of your blue book.  Good Luck!

#1.  In this second part of the class we discussed how Chicago was critical to the overall development of the Blues and encouraged a newer outlook on the Blues.  Trace the factors which helped lead to the migration of the Blues into the Northern States, specifically addressing Chicago and the origins which this urban center had upon the Blues.  You may want to address the musical factors which developed in this location and how they were viewed in different centers throughout the U.S., namely New York City and Kansas City.  You may want to address the further evolutions which lead to Rock and Roll which came out of this urban development of the Blues.  An inclusion of the economic and social understanding of the Blues by a youth culture will further help your essay.

#2.  The issue of the collector was one which was addressed in a number of different fashions in this second part.  Discuss how this view of the collector and the “paradox” which is presented with in the Blues.  How is the Blues re-presented through this form of understanding?  What is meant by folklore and folkloric and how do these apply to the Blues?  You may want to address the concept of the text and how these are understood in a multiplicity of manners within the Blues both from the “insider” and “outsider” perspectives.   A further discussion of the Blues as a “living” form may further help your essay.

#3.  Chuck D. stated that rap music/hip hop culture is the “CNN of today”.  How is rap/hip hop culture the next “logical step” in the evolution of the Blues?  What is meant by the concepts of: Cut & Mix, Sermonization, Repetition, Layering, “in the Red”?  How are these applied to the Blues as it is viewed in hip hop culture?  With this further extension of the Blues, how has the notion of text become more complicated and de-centered?  You may want to discuss the connections between the origins of the Blues and how they are re-presented within hip hop culture.