THE
FLIP SIDE
An
Interview With The Average . . . Or Maybe Not? |
Has
the thought ever crossed your mind when you saw that brotha listening to
Smashing Pumpkins?
What is he thinking? Not
that it's something wrong, but do many of our views it's norm for
a white kid to listen to rock and a black kid to listen to rap. And
when something doesn't fit just right - we look. Well, I had the
chance to ask so I did:
Interview of Jermaine Peguese by Mahogahni |
Questions |
Response |
Gimmie your 411: Who you are, age, where you're from, where you live now,
and what do you want to do in life: |
I'm Jermaine. 22
years old. I grew up in Brooklyn, NY and lived there until I was
19. My parents moved to Mesa, AZ at that point and I suppose I
moved with them. I was already in college at that time at UVA in
Charlottesville, so I only lived in AZ part time. After
graduation, I got
lazy and decided to stay close to where I was. Which put me in
Richmond as of June 2000. I like it here. It has the better
qualities of all the places I've lived put together. As far as
life goals, I'll I really know for sure is that I'm looking forward to
being a family man. Husband,
father and grandfather. Everything else is negotiable. |
How
do you identify yourself? IE - In general when I talk to a group
of people I say that I am black because that's the term place on us but
personally, I feel no one is black because I have to meet someone who is
that color. At the same time, how can we really be viewed as African
Americans - I mean do you know your African Ancestors? I don’t and the
trace to find them has been
excruciating. (Readers - please go to Intellectual
Stimulations to make comments - cuz I know you got some now!)
I really have to agree
with that comment, I think that’s part of my reason for thinking that. I once spoke to an African man and he told me I was not
African American because I did not know who my people were, I’d been
here too long. |
I go with Black.
For one, it's much shorter to say and I'm not really that hung up on
such things as PC terms. I know what someone's trying to say even
if they can't figure out the right terms to say it. I tend to
stray from the African American term, but not so much because I'm out of
touch with my ancestors (which coincidentally I am - slavery makes
following your family tree backwards kinda difficult), but more because
I think terms like
Irish American, Italian American and Chinese American promote separatism
amongst Americans.
We've been a country for
well over 200 years now and I
think it's a fair time to begin identifying with it. We may all
look differently and have ancestors from different places, but, truly, I
don't think any of us would fit in as well there as we do here. So
I consider myself American without a prefix. But as for your
question, my race is
Black. |
And in identifying
yourself - does the culture shape what you are? If say I was mixed
and I appeared more caucasian than "negroid", you could
probably
still identify me because of the music I listen too (dancehall, hip hop,
R&B) - you would lean more to saying I was black because of who I am
with. |
I feel, especially in more modern times, that
culture and race are becoming more and more separate entities. We're living in a world with mass
global
communication systems. A person, specifically in America, has
access to almost anything else that everyone else does. Therefore, who you
are and what you do have now become entirely your choice. Commercial hip
hop has
as large of a white audience as a black audience. You don't
have to live in New York to hear the new songs anymore or see the way your idols are
adressing. (Sorry for rambling, but I was a sociology major, and
things like this are all I think of all day.) Personally if you were of
mixed
race I would say that you are half this and half that, and your choice
of culture would be a separate issue in my mind. |
How do you live? IE - your music, your
lifestyle? |
Tough question. Not really sure what you're
asking. As far as music, I'd call myself a hopeless rock boy. My lifestyle doesn't really have
much todo with that I don't think. I guess I do what most guys my age do:
Playstation, cable, hang out with friends. Not much of a going out
at night person. I never go to clubs. I'll only go to a bar if
someone begs and begs me to. I do lots of writing when I want to be creative.
I'm currently working on a screenplay with my friend Ian. Very boring
stuff I
think. No smoking, no drugs, some drinking. |
Being
that you don't share the music interest and probably lifestyle of most young black men in your peer group do you think that has any affect
on
how you view those in your peer group - both white and black?
|
Not really. I think a person can live their
life they way they choose to and we're all different in that respect. What does make me look at
a person differently is when I think they're not making a choice.
For example, if a white kid listens to the Backstreet Boys because that's
what
they're "supposed" to listen to, it makes it harder for me to
respect that decision since they didn't really choose it. They just chose to
fit in. If he tried acid techno and still decided to stick with pop, I'd have an
easier time accepting it. I also question priorities sometimes.
Like my
older brother buys of new clothes every week to "bling"
and spends almost the same on weed because Redman told him to. He lives with
my aunt instead of in his own place. He's what I call an example of
choosing
culture over common sense. He follows without thinking about
whether or not he should. And that's all the judging I do. |
Growing up, many black kids did not have a choice
of being the only black kid in their class, we received those stupid looks, and dumb questions
like
- "Do you have to use suntan lotion?", and in adult life many
of us choose not to put ourselves back in those situations - how does it feel going
to concerts and maybe being one of the only blacks there? |
It sucks ass! When I'm in a situation like
that, I usually don't notice since I'm not paying attention to race, but it does sting when someone
else notices for me. Very closed minded thinking. I recently went
to go see Cracker play a show in Charlottesville and was having a good time until
some dude asked me what a black man is doing listening to Cracker.
I replied, "the same thing you are." What an idiot.
I'm sure the band was happy to have me there. Most of the crowd was having a great time
singing along. So what difference did it make why I was there? The
same thing happens if I bring a white friend to a predominantly black convention.
I enjoy a good show as long as nobody asks me why I'm there. And
that's all I got to say about that. |
Because of your interests do you feel shunned by
the black community? If so do you date outside of your race and if you do is it because of the
way the black community tends to shun anybody who doesn't bling bling? |
I don't feel shunned. And normally I'm not
shunned. I find that black people can be some of the most understanding people in the world.
I get a lot of, "You're a weird kid, but if that's what you like, go for
it." White kids don't really shun me either. I'm glad to say that I
feel race relations are slowly slowly slowly improving in America to a point where
races can coexist and have things to discuss hat concerns them both.
I get the occasional shun from a person, but it's hard to respect them because
they don't really base their opinions on anything valid. So...
fuck them! I do date non-blacks. Hell, I date everybody. I don't think
I'm attractive enough to discriminate. Beggars can't be choosers you
know. But I'd never date anyone that wasn't comfortable dating me, black,
white or Inuit. As long as it's a non-issue, let's go. Oh, and if
a girl won't
date me because I don't bling bling, fuck her too - she's shallow.
I'll find someone that will date me, old t-shirts or not. |
So - did this new alternative music (I don't know
if it has a name but groups like Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit, etc) some people say it spawned
from grunge, I think this genre spawned from Hip Hop and the original mix of
Hip Hop and rock. What's your take? |
Let's be honest with ourselves. This is rap
music with screaming choruses and guitar feedback. They even quote old Rakim and Slick Rick
songs. I feel sorry for the kid that doesn't recognize it when he hears it
though. Like I knew a girl that hated rap, but loved the Beastie Boys and
Eminem. "You ever see Krush Groove, lady? You know the Beasties are
in it, right?" I think this is music for the rock lover that doesn't want to admit he
likes rap. I personally hate the shit. The raps are too weak
and the rock is too simple. |
And hopefully you can help me with this one, if
there are any groups like this with black artist, do you feel they get the same respect as their
white counterparts? |
There are groups like that. Sevendust,
Fishbone, and Shootyz Groove to name a couple. But they don't get too much airplay.
Fortunately there are some very popular black rockers like guys from Hootie, Sugar Ray and the
Dave Matthews Band out there that do get recognition without a lot of
flack for the type of music they choose to make. I personally like Local
H. Two guys, one black one white and the songs are pretty tight. |
In general, how do you feel about the state of
music and our (black/white/20 something’s) culture? |
Too broad of a question. I hate today's
rock. Too much screaming and similarity. The record companies just promote the same old sounds
and give them new faces. And the screaming? Are we really this angry
all the time? The problem is music makes too much money. I hate today's rap for
the same reason. Ja-Rule and DMX should never have been given deals.
It's a lot of grunting and barking about the same shit. Rap has not been good
since it became profitable (circa 1996). Before then, you had different
types of rappers who rapped about different types of things. Now it's all
hard
times, tough love, and streets. The only guy I respect anymore is
Jay-Z, because he's TALENTED. I used to love Tribe, EPMD, Master Ace,
early Wu, Big Daddy Kane, etc. The songs weren't all the same then.
And the rappers could rap! I think if more black kids allowed themselves
to like other kinds of music, DMX wouldn't sell half the albums he does. |
What are your favorite groups? And do you
listen to them for messages? |
Um... the Smashing Pumpkins and Oasis.
Hands down. No argument. I like Oasis because they rock consistently and have utter contempt for the
audience. The song writing is very melodic and Noel Gallagher
(their songwriter) is easily the best guitar player in the world. The man
is a
damned phenom. The Pumpkins... ohh... the Pumpkins. Now they
talk to me. Billy Corgan (their singer, songwriter, guitarist) writes the most
beautiful poetry I've heard in my life. And his ear for layering
guitars
together is unmatched. I listen to them because its so beautiful
it makes me want to cry. He is the voice in my head. |
Have you always listen to alternative? Do you
listen to rock? |
No, I started in about 8th grade. I was
always aware of it and liked the occasional song, but I always felt that it was for white kids. As
I got older, I sort of questioned why I couldn't. When I heard
"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, that was it. I was gone. Welcome to
grunge rock,
Jermaine. And after I bought my first Oasis album I was a truly
converted man. |
Who turned you on to it? |
See above question. One major turning point
was when one of my stepbrothers moved in with us. (short story: in 4th grade my mom
re-married and my stepfamily is Jewish. after the initial shock, we
settled in and became a loving Brady bunch.) I think I was in 9th grade or
so at the time. My older bro and I listened to the radio at night when
we went to sleep. One night it was my stepbro's turn to choose the
station. He chose a lite rock station. I liked it and the songs weren't the
same tired crap I had been hearing my whole life. The next night on my turn,
I kept the station where it was. Then later, I would flip the dial around
to try
different things every night. My older bro stuck with the rap
stations, but he wouldn't complain about the rock. |
If he listened back in the 80's... which is,
better, the rock from the 80's or the rock artists of the millennium? Do you think they have a message or is it just white boys
yelling in a microphone? |
See above. But I have listened to stuff al
the way back to the early 70's out of curiosity.
Nothing on earth beats 90's
rock. Hands down. The yelling songs I don't care for. They all have the same message. "Mom and dad!
Understand me! Society sucks!" I hate monotony - see my comments on DMX.
I prefer singing rock with mild yelling only when necessary. |
How do you feel about Lenny and Jimi? |
I think Lenny's hot. If I were a lady, I'd
be into him in a big way. Only like one song of his though. It's the most recent one. I
have no idea what the name is. Jimi I don't care for. Too much distortion
without melody. I don't dispute his talent; it's just not for me. I
also hate the
Beatles for the record. |
Do you listen to hip hop/rap - if so in what form
- underground? Commercial? Live? And if not, why not? |
Old school! That's it. 1993 and
earlier really. I college, I actually hosted a hip hop radio show. It was all old school and some new
underground, as my on-air partner (and ex-girlfriend) loved it. |
So where do you see rap/hip hop going? |
Wherever it's going, it's going without me unless
it begins to allow the artists to be different again. If I had to guess, I'd say it's
going to begin to incorporate more elements of rock. Follow my thought
process here. Rap originally would sample black music that had been made
years ago.
It started with obscure sampling, then became much more obvious.
It sort of asks, "Hey, remember this song? Well, you'll like it the
second time around." Now that rap has a larger audience, many of whom
used to be rock boys, it can begin to sample a broader stream of music. Puff Daddy
can't stop sampling old David Bowie songs already. I see a time where
your commercial hip hop music will use sounds from bands like Nirvana or Def
Leppard, because the music is good and the audience USED to like it,
right?
Now they'll like it again, except in rap form. Rap is going to
become too established, just like rock did and something is going to have to
replace it as the voice of the anti-pop culture. |
And this new "Neo" Underground
phase - (I'm not in a phase though) that's me in my writing, and in whom I deal with. People call me Angela
Davis, before my hair went into transformation, and I have a lot of
"70's" clothes - now they call me Erykah (because of my
headwraps). That shit burns me - WHY CAN'T I BE THE INDIVDUAL - okay enough of my venting. So do you think this neo
thing will just fade away? A bling bling will overrule? I think the
commercialization of Rap and POP has gotten to be ridiculous. I am
so
tired of booty shots and pastees in videos.
HOLD UP:
You said you can't be an individual if someone doesn't know you.
I beg to differ - I feel you can be an individual without someone
knowing you. If you do whatever you see on TV - you are mocking that
person. You
are flowing someone else.
If somebody says I don't want to go, and than you decide you don't want
to go you're following that person.
There are some people who are born followers. Some are leaders,
and those people are individuals because they are willing to break the mold.
I'm not either, I don't follow and I really don't want to lead anyone, I
just do me. So how is that not being an individual? If I am
not the same as you (regardless of if you know me or not) than I am different.
I am at
least independent from you. |
You can't be an individual because nobody knows
you yet. We describe things by comparing them to something that a person has already
experienced. "How's that bat taste? Like chicken."
It does suck, but until you're widely known, you're a shade of someone else.
Correction:
You are an individual. But, nobody will see you as an individual
until they know you. Until they know you, they'll just try to compare
you to something they know already.
Bling and ass shaking can't go on. Wanna hear
something cool? Rock did the same thing in the 80's. It became established like rap has now and rock stars
grew
long hair and put on make up and wore furs and played golden
guitars while models danced nude on stage with them. It's sort of a
celebration of having arrived and making it big. But what happened to those
giants?
America wanted something more subtle. Exit Motley Crue and limos -
enter Kurt Cobain, the sensitive, dirty young man who cries his songs about
self loathing with a tear in his eye. Grunge took it out. Same
thing is going to
happen to rap. It will stop being about the money and glamour and
become more about the human making the music. We're hungry for it
already. I
imagine it may evolve from spoken word poetry as well. It's just
what rap needs.
|
At the same time - do you think that this new neo
bohemian surgence is
ruining that underground affect? |
Nope. As long as there's culture, there's
counter-culture. Underground may change or become less subtle but it will never die. There's
too much demand. |
And Buttafly just has to know if you think
Marilyn Manson is satanic or whatever?
(For the record – Buttafly I told you.
He’s all gimmick!) |
Manson is a faker.
Do you know who Alice Cooper is?
Manson stole his gimmick and remade it for today’s
kids. I don't like his music and it's hard for me to respect an artist who stole his gimmick and won't own up
to
it. Kids shouldn't listen to it. Not because of the message,
but because he sucks.
I think I might want to add one thing. I
say I hate Manson for being a rip-off of Alice Cooper and not owning up to it. I then say I love
Oasis and hate the Beatles. It's widely known that Oasis is a Beatles
rip off band, so I may be called a hypocrite. But... Oases, unlike Manson,
do not
deny that they rip the Beatles off. They are in fact quite open
about the fact that they've modeled their band after them and even play a lot of
Beatles covers. It's not a lie like it is with Manson. And I
prefer Oasis to the Beatles because the Beatles were good songwriters and very
innovative for their time, but in my opinion, they don't play as well as
Oasis. I think Liam Gallagher is a better singer than Paul
McCartney and their sound is much more intense than that of the Beatles.
Therefore, I
can like Oasis and not the Beatles or Manson. |
Oh and one more thing - what in the hell is up w/
Michael? Did you see him on MTV? He had to pause at the end of his performance.
Someone said it's
because he's been doing it so long. I think that if Madonna can
still dance her ass off at 43 and w/ 2 babies - Michael who's been doing it
longer should kick her butt. That man needs to stop messing w/ his
health.
Okay,
maybe, but he still messing with his health.
|
I
like Mike. Always have. But the man has been off-stage since
1995. He's out of shape. Give him time, he's a professional.
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