Harvest Blaque Earshot Blog 1 Still Fighting The Power

As we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 's birthday this year, let’s remember that his dream wasn’t quiet, it was courageous. It spoke truth to power, it challenged systems, and it called everyday people to rise into their better selves.

We see now more than ever a poisonous uprising of defamation, treason, and violence against people of color but we know that isn't anything new nor is it who we are. I hope that we still can muster up the courage to see the best in each other and to love our neighbors  as we love ourselves.

Hip-Hop, at its best, carries that same energy. It tells the stories that don’t always make the history books.  The voices of the disenfranchised and societies so called rejects were brimming with unique energy to tell the stories rarely seen and heard. It gives voice to pain, resilience, protest, and hope.

This week , let’s celebrate Dr. King not just with quotes or holidays but with action, compassion, and intention. Our voices are the conduit to a revolution.

Today I want to take a closer look at Public Enemy's classic controversial fearless  haunting hit " By The Time I get To Arizona". Public Enemy made "By the Time I Get to Arizona" as a fierce protest against Arizona's refusal to recognize Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a paid state holiday in the early 1990s, with the song and its controversial video calling for action against the state's perceived racism and Governor Evan Mecham.

The title references Isaac Hayes's song "By the Time I Get to Phoenix," and the track, from the album Apocalypse '91... The Enemy Strikes Black, served as a potent rallying cry against racial discrimination.  You can check the link to this video below and feel the melodic poetic rage spoon feeding you the revolution.  

This song is potent and fearless and needs to be reiterated and heightened as we navigate the  blatant  misery and disrespect. We are dealing with an administration that is trying to indoctrinate fear but it is only feeding itself poison trying to make you sick.

I love this country,but the leadership, or lack thereof, is on a path of implosion. We say we love winners, but there’s a big difference between truly winning and simply looking good while losing.

We’re often captivated by shock and awe, but real change starts in our own neighborhoods. Political rhetoric has overstayed its welcome. This is the season of the doers.

I kick off this first blog by saying to you let’s listen deeper. Love louder. Build bridges where walls were planted. And let our creativity be a form of service, one that uplifts, educates, and unites.

The dream is still alive. The work is still ours. And the mic like the movement belongs to the people.

-Bryan "Harvest Blaque" Hancock