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I Mix What I Like! a Mixtape Manifesto by Jared A

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I Mix What I Like! a Mixtape Manifesto by Jared A JARED CULTURAL STUDIES / AFRICANA STUDIES $14.95 | £11 In the proud tradition of Fanon, Cabral, Malcolm X, and Steve Biko, BALL Jared Ball speaks in the voice of the decolonial Other, ofering a much- needed mind transplant to anyone preferring to ignore the liberatory potential inhering in the hip-hop phenomenon of mixtape.—Ward Churchill / Author of A Little Matter of Genocide With this book, Jared Ball correctly and cogently posits hip-hop in its I rightful place—as the most important literary form to emerge from the MIX 20th century.—Boots Riley / Te Coup Te value of a committed, revolutionary Ph.D. with an ear for the WHAT truth and skills on the mic and turntable? Priceless.—Glen Ford / Executive Editor of BlackAgendaReport.com I In a moment of increasing corporate control in the music indus- LIKE try, where three major labels call the shots on which artists are heard and seen, Jared Ball analyzes the colonization and control ! of popular music and posits the homemade hip-hop mixtape as an emancipatory tool for community resistance. I Mix What I Like! is a revolutionary investigation of the cultural dimension of anti- JARED racist organizing in the Black community. A MIXTAPE BALL Blending together elements from internal colonialism theory, cul- tural studies, political science, and his own experience on the mic, Jared positions the so-called “hip-hop nation” as an extension of the internal colony that is modern African America, and suggests that the low-tech hip-hop mixtape may be one of the best weapons MANIFESTO we have against Empire. Jared A. Ball, PhD, (a.k.a. Te Funkinest Journalist) is the host of FreeMix Radio, and associate professor of communication studies at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. WWW.AKPRESS.ORG WWW.AKUK.COM WWW.IMIXWHATILIKE.COM IMixWhatILike_cover_FINAL.indd 1 4/28/11 3:54 PM ADVANCE PRAISE FOR I MIX WHAT I LIKE! Jared Ball’s carefully constructed narrative draws upon an extraordinary range of analyti- cal and evidentiary sources to provide a concise explanation of the mixtape movement. Simultaneously, he uses this history to illuminate how the media promotes ideological interests, and how those interests serve not simply the corporate bottom line, but the much larger political objective of assigning each of us our “place” in society. I Mix What I Like! serves as both an example of emancipatory journalism and a model for emancipated thinking, without which we will be consigned to struggling for a kinder, gentler subju- gation rather than true human liberation.—Natsu Taylor Saito / Author of Meeting the Enemy: American Exceptionalism and International Law Jared Ball is one of the most important activist intellectuals in the United States. His book is powerful and provocative‥‥ Unlike President Obama, Professor Jared Ball is commit- ted to revolutionary change in America. His book provides an insightful analysis and critique of culture, media, and African American politics.—Ollie Johnson / Department of Africana Studies / Wayne State University Dr. Ball has created a twenty-frst century Black radical manifesto that samples and re- mixes the best of the radical and anti-imperialist tradition. I Mix What I Like! recognizes the colonized nature of contemporary Hip Hop and the colonized context of the people from which Hip Hop emerged. In the tradition of Noam Chomsky and Public Enemy, Jared Ball brings the noise to the status quo and lays out his vision of Mixtape emanci- patory journalism as the liberatory mass medium for today and the future. I strongly recommend this work for all those interested in refecting upon the theory and practice of struggling for social justice in today’s America.—Dedrick Muhammad / NAACP / Author of Understanding Racial Inequality in the Obama Era One way to prevent the appropriation of a revolutionary culture—one that expresses the desires and visions of the oppressed to fght for liberation and self-determination—is to smuggle the word as if it is a liberatory tool, replicating the clandestine, anti-colonial and resistant drum of the maroon. Jared Ball’s concept of “mixtape radio” follows that tradition with an irreverence that we so sorely need.—Claude Marks / Freedom Archives Jared Ball’s work conveys the ultimate reality about hip hop: that there is no nation space in hip hop but that which exists for revolutionary music for the Africans and African and Indigenous oriented colonial Spanish speaking peoples (misnomered latinos). Te strength of the colonial argument presented places whites as settlers in hip hop. Load the audio clip and bust a shot for freedom!—Mark A. Bolden / Te Fanon Project Dr. Jared Ball’s impressive book is a bold undertaking in which he critiques and ulti- mately distances himself from the prevailing assumptive logic found within pop academic circles. To be sure, Mixtape Radio does not ofer itself as a panacea for the oppressive structures he addresses. Te revolutionary power of this book lies in its capacity to inter- rogate staid constructs of thought and re-pose vital questions pertaining to “emancipatory journalism.” For the power to pose the question is the greatest power of all.—Frank B. Wilderson, III / Author of Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid I Mix What I Like! is a brave and necessary book that focuses the conversation about hip hop (and politics) beyond the limitations of 90% of published materials on the subject. Once again, walking the walk, Jared Ball ofers a provocative, though not surprising, piece of work that shifts the debate into a much-needed direction.—Shaheen Ariefdien / Former member of the pioneering South African hip-hop group Prophets of da City Like a classic—cassette recorded—Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, circa early 90’s New York City, Jared Ball’s manifesto is a raw, uncut, ground breaking contribution to a new frontier of critical thinking and critique within Hip Hop discourse. Too many, are stuck on ‘repeat’ and ‘ain’t sayin nothin’! Love it or hate it, Jared Ball’s work is necessary and vital for the cultivation of tradition and responsibility. Strong arm the system, grind mode heavy, “Let’s Get Free!”—Carlos REC McBride M. Ed. / TRGGR MEDIA Group Here, Jared Ball takes us back to the value of polemic and the revolutionary new knowl- edge-base of worldwide anti-colonialism before it was driven underground by counter- revolutionary repression. I Mix What I Like! is terribly thoughtful, terribly original—a joy for the “wonder-ground,” and a political-intellectual terror for the overlords.—Greg Tomas / Author of Te Sexual Demon of Colonial Power and Hip-Hop Revolution in the Flesh Jared Ball is determined to rescue hip hop and left activism from increasingly subversive corporate control. Tis book is a manifesto that needs to be read, argued about, and yelled from the rooftops. Let the bricks fy!—Todd Steven Burroughs / co-author of Civil Rights Chronicle Te Funkinest Journalist breaks it all down for all servants of Soul/Funk music and Art in the 21st Century. His Mixtape Manifesto explains what we are up against battling corporate empires that control the coveted consumer-merchant access points, and ofers us an option to distribute, connect, and popularize our culture.—Head Roc / “Te Mayor of D.C. Hip-Hop” I MIX WHAT I LIKE! A MIXTAPE MANIFESTO I MIX WHAT I LIKE! A MIXTAPE MANIFESTO BY JARED A. BALL I Mix What I Like! A Mixtape Manifesto By Jared A. Ball © 2011 Jared A. Ball Tis edition © 2011 AK Press (Oakland, Edinburgh, Baltimore) ISBN: 978–1–84935–057–0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2011920475 AK PRESS AK PRESS 674–A 23rd Street PO Box 12766 Oakland, CA 94612 Edinburgh, EH8 9YE USA Scotland www.akpress.org www.akuk.com [email protected] [email protected] Te above addresses would be delighted to provide you with the latest AK Press distribution catalog, which features the several thousand books, pamphlets, zines, audio and video products, and stylish apparel published and/or distributed by AK Press. Alternatively, visit our web site for the complete catalog, latest news, and secure ordering. Visit us at www.akpress.org and www.revolutionbythebook.akpress.org. Printed in Canada on acid-free, recycled paper with union labor. Cover illustration by Joe Widener | Layout and Interior by JW & KK. Por mis niñas Maisi y Marley. No hay razon mas grande para luchar. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments 1 A Prefatory “Note to the Reader” 3 Introduction 9 Table I: Te Colonial Pyramid 18 Chapter 1: Te Colonized Rhythm Nation 19 Table II: Te Colonial Music Model 46 Chapter 2: Media as Ideology, Culture, and Colonialism 47 Chapter 3: Education and Conceptual Boundaries 57 Chapter 4: Journalism and Conceptual Boundaries 65 Chapter 5: Revisiting the Corporation and Cultural Industry 71 Chapter 6: Te Politics of Popular Culture 75 Chapter 7: Intellectual Property, Copyright, and the Ownership of Tought 81 Chapter 8: Payola and Playlists 91 Chapter 9: Washington, D.C.: A Case Study in the Colonizing Function of Radio 95 Chapter 10: National Public Radio as Fanon’s Radio-Alger 113 Chapter 11: Managed Outcomes 117 Chapter 12: Te Mixtape and Emancipatory Journalism 121 Chapter 13: FreeMix Radio: Te Original Mixtape Radio Show 135 Chapter 14: White Liberalism and “Progressive” Journalism 141 Conclusion 149 Selected Bibliography 157 Notes 165 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Much love and thanks to my wife Yari and my mother Arnette. Tank you to my godfather Tom Porter and to my entire extended blood and political family.* Tank you to the D.C. hip-hop community for your in- spiration and support. Tank you to the many great elders and ancestors whose work is and is not mentioned here.
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