Hip Hop Says
'Not In Our Name!'
by - Davey D
10/4/02 10:36:40 AM

With President George Bush getting an important resolution passed by the Senate earlier this week, the country takes another giant step towards war with Iraq. A lot of folks are not down with the idea and have been organizing and phoning their Congressional reps telling them to stand up and say 'No' to George Bush. Among the folks standing up and saying 'No' is Hip Hop artist Saul Williams. He recently put out a 4 song CD called 'Not In Our Name' which is not boldly reflects his sentiments against Bush's war policies, but its release also coincides with the massive rallies that are planned in US cities all around the country this Sunday October 6th. Here in the Bay Area they are expecting crowds of up to 20 thousand people to come down to Union Square in San Francisco. In New York City they are expecting similar crowds to converge on Central Park. For more info peep out: http://www.notinourname.net

Recently the Not In Our Name project took out a full page ad in the NY Times opposing War on Iraq. Among the signees were fellow Hip Hop artists Mos Def, Ozomatli and Rakaa Iriscience of Dilated Peoples. During the Public Enemy show in New York, Blackalicious announced on stage that they would be out at the Central Park Rally but I haven't been able to officially confirm their participation. Hopefully they not only tap them but also get a hold of J-Live to perform his song 'Satisfied' which speaks to this issue of war.

As for Saul Williams, here's an excerpt from one of his songs called 'September 12'

"ignorance is on tour, booking stadiums and more.
the days of hitler painted pictures patriotic with gore"

"you won't put it in you headlines.
people are we that blind? do we need a headline?...
if we only see what they want us to see,
we'll only be what they want us to be:
fighting in their army!!"

"it's not about retaliation,
your history of war does nothing more
than scar imagination"

"your blindfolded justice
makes you trust in fortuity.
like it's random. it's tandem..
. you teach to attack
and then question who planned them"

Folks are trying to get this song out for radio play.. So if anyone is interested, I will post up an MP3 copy of the Saul Williams CD as well as a number of other anti-war songs on my website www.daveyd.com. Feel free to download them and play them often or call or call 323 463-1295 for more info and ways to obtain your own copy.

"September 12th" is written by Saul Williams with music by Musa. The song "Bloodletting" is written and performed by Saul Williams The "Not In Our Name Pledge of Resistance" is written by the Not In Our Name Project and performed by Saul Williams. All tracks were mixed and mastered with the assistance of T-Ray. A special thanks goes out to Epitaph for making these advance radio copies available.

Lastly Call your congressman cause the crunch is on. Pls call Congressional Switchbd (800-839-5276 or 202-225-3121) ask to be connected to your Congressmen/women and Senators. Pls ask them to vote against the Bush Resolution which is NOW before Congress. We only have a couple days.