Kalistani Major History

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Political Left Enters Hip Hop Arena
Ejército de los Pobres hits hard with strongly anti-capitalist message
Sulari, Suldanor
August 9, 5372


Ejército de los Pobres bends largely apolitical hip hop scene to the sharp left

The day August 3rd, 5372 dawned peacefully over Sulari. It was like any other day in the southern metropolis: People were headed to work or school or the store. Little did they know that at precisely 9am, the Radio 1 DJ was going to drop the needle on a new track from the Dana political hip hop trio known as Ejército de los Pobres, or the Army of the Poor. At that moment, directly following the station identification at the top of the hour, the only voice heard was the grating voice of the man quickly being called the Clown Prince of Kalistani Hip Hop, Marcus Terrell, also known as Tastee T. The song which followed his one man hype job was known as "EP Numero Uno", and is from Ejército's debut album "Profits of Rage". It is a track that the band offered to demonstrate Chad Rock's lyrical skills. The backing track, with a funky drum break and a drone is minimalist and sets the band's image as a braggadocious fundamentalist hard core hip hop band, while referencing both Golden Bear's Football and IMC's album "kung-fu theatre".

The band, which consists of Tastee T, MC Chad Rock, and DJ T-1000 hails from Dana, and are on a mission to bring revolution into Hip Hop. "We grew up listening to the Addisjah Scene," said Chad Rock. "They were conscious in the sense that they talked a lot about what was going on in their neighborhood. But I grew up in a Socialist house in Dana. Tastee and I met in the NSP. And T-1000 is a member of the Militia. The Hip Hop that we have doesn't have a lot of really strong Leftist content, and there is definitely people who need to hear this, to wake up. We live in a world where Ordosocialism is regrettably a thing. What is to stop those degenerate attitudes from making their way to Kalistan and infecting people here like a disease? People are asleep. We need to wake them up."

While Ejército de los Pobres is considered both hardcore hip hop and political hip hop, the content of Chad's revolution, which they reference frequently in their music, is kind of vague. "Kalistan is one of the most non-revolutionary societies I have ever seen," said Chad Rock. "That complacency can be taken advantages of. So when I talk about revolution, I am talking about a renewal, revolution: going back to the beginning and refreshing the promise of the Socialist Party of Kalistan. When we talk about revolution, we are talking about a recommitment to the needs of the poor in this society. We can't pretend anymore that we don't see the slums, the vast green spaces in our cities where renewal came through and destroyed whole blocks but nothing new was built there. We are talking about a Government that is of the people, not separate. Keep your promises or there will be problems. We hear it all the time, we see it in the people who come to our shows. People, especially the poor folks in this Republic are sick of this. And we want a new way of things in Kalistan."

Thus far, Ejército de los Pobres has created a mix of hard core beats and political lyrics, and party themes. On their lead single, the band is light on the politics and more on the bragging, but the political and social content is spread widely on the rest of the album. On their track "The House is Now on Fire", which is arguably the best track on the record, Chad Rock paints an allegory of social revolution as a raging college frat party, which get so wild that the place burns down. "Rejected and accepted as a Communist/Claim to fame to my name, as a terrorist" is a lyric referring to the the direction the group ostensibly advocates for social renewal. "We have to hide the message in the beats: People ain't trying to hear communist propaganda on their radio," said Chad Rock. "But you see, you hide it in slamming funky beats, and make people think its about one thing, when its really about another thing, and you don't turn people off right out the gate. They'll listen to it: The people who know what its about will really listen to it, and the ones that don't will listen to it again and again and again, and they'll get it eventually. Our music is political and social. But we can't just hit people over the head with it right out the gate."

For the people listening to the radio at 9 AM last Tuesday when the record hit the airwaves, the result was instantaneous. "What a kick in the junk," said Megan Howard, mother of three in Dulnerstaad. "I felt like the radio was punching me." Martin Greene of Vrassa City said "I am not sure what they are upset about, but they really seemed kind of mad." But younger listeners seemed to be more in tune with the sound of Ejército de los Pobres. "Man, I don't think I've heard Hip Hop that hard in maybe my life. The Addisjah folks make great production, but they have a specific way of rapping that sort of leaves me in the dust. I can't keep up with it all. Ejército de los Pobres just comes straight out. The lead MC's voice is powerful." Many people we talked to praised the lyrical delivery. "I bet when they get away from that drum machine and start putting together samples they are going to become legends," said Brian McDowell of Kaliburg. "My mom didn't like it. We were on the way to school when it came on the radio and she wanted to turn it off immediately, but I turned it back on and then played it again later."

For now, Ejército de los Pobres's whose record "Profits of Rage" is out on LCR, will tour the Suldanor and Ananto to build an audience. "You got the warning shots," said Tastee T. "Stay tuned Boy! We're coming with guns blazing." Chad Rock was more measured than his perpetually amped up hype man and creative partner. "Revolutions take time. But we're gonna test the theory here about whether music can change the world. My money is on yeah, it can." For now, check out Ejército de los Pobres' single "EP Numero Uno" from "Profits of Rage." Expect more from this Dana band.

[Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHiq29QdYgg]