Rhymes For Treason
The Welfare Poets
Order from <http://www.welfarepoets.com>
REVIEW BY NORM DIXON
In the mid-1990s, Hector Luis Rivera and Ray Ramirez — musicians, poets and political activists just graduated from Cornell University in New York City — renamed their "political, poetic" band the Welfare Poets: "We talked about it and decided to [redefine] the negative meaning of welfare to fight for the welfare of huerfanos [orphans] of the world — those that suffer under capitalism."
Since 1990, when Rivera and Ramirez formed what became the Welfare Poets, the band has evolved and expanded into a collective of activists, educators and artists who put their great music and powerful lyrics at the service of struggles against US imperialism and war, against racism and police brutality, in support of campaigns to release political prisoners in the US, in support of community struggles around housing, environmental justice, and most centrally, for the independence of their homeland, Puerto Rico, and the removal of US military bases from the US-colonised island.
The Welfare Poets cite musical-political inspiration from Bob Marley and the early-1970s African-American agitprop jazz-funk lyricists the Last Poets. They also draw political inspiration from, among many others, Malcolm X and Puerto Rican liberation fighter Don Pedro Albizu Campos (both of whose portraits adorn the covers of Rhymes for Treason).
As Ramirez told an interviewer for View in Color (available in full on the group's website), the Welfare Poets follow the advice of the African saying "The job of the poet is to expose the king in his nakedness". Rivera added: "It is time to decide [whether to] contribute to the liberation of the peoples, alleviating ... oppression, or be complicit in it. Because in the richest country in the world, like in South Bronx, there's an unbelievable amount of babies being born dead and dying" because of racism and poverty. "We got to make it together. Like music, everyone has a part to play. Each instrument has a part to play to make it nice ... [Our music] is not just for entertainment ... We got to talk about what's happening here, otherwise we will be anaesthetised."
It is that mission that has led the Welfare Poets to play at many protests and demonstrations, including the massive 500,000-strong February 15, 2003, New York rally against the US attack on Iraq. Of course, they have also been stalwarts at protests against the US Navy's occupation of Vieques island in Puerto Rico.
Ramirez and Rivera know the source of the problem and its solution. "America is not a democracy, this is fascism", Ramirez told View in Color. "And democracy can only be reached at the heart of socialism ... [The US has] only one party, the party is money, and they have a party all the time. [Capitalism's] values, like individualism, are in contradiction to brotherhood and sisterhood, and understanding. These are the values that are keys to democracy."
"Democracy is about participation", Rivera chimes in. "Like you see in Cuba ... everyone participates." Rivera attended the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students in Havana in 1997. "You have to ask why is there a [US] blockade against Cuba? ... What has Cuba done to the United States? ... The blockade is there because Cuba is right, it is just... Just see Cuba's record helping people around the world. Like the struggles in Angola, South Africa, Namibia. Cuban people without any idea of their individual self go to support these other people. There's a spirit of humanity. I think Che personified that best. His destiny was not to stay in Cuba, not to stay in Argentina ... not think about himself, but to think about what needed to continue [to be done] everywhere around the world. That's the spirit of selflessness, that's socialism.
"[I visited Cuba] to learn from people ... who have [made a] revolution and are keeping it alive, and creating a different society from this Babylon ninety miles away ... Cuba's not perfect, but it's a change from this place. This place is the richest country [in the world] but it's not doing the things Cuba's doing. That says it right there ... [It is] astonishing to me that [the US] has money coming out of its asshole and it refuses to take care of its poorest.
"Then think about Cuba, which has absolutely nothing. It has a full blockade going on, people can't get fucking anything. Yet they are still willing to take care of their poorest. Can you imagine what would happen in this country if things ever got tight? You think we're evil to our weakest and poorest members now? We'd be marching 'em into camps."
The Welfare Poets' just-released second album, Rhymes for Treason, showcases their magnificent fusion of hip hop and horn-laced Puerto Rican and other African-derived Latin and Caribbean rhythms, with scorching, challenging political lyrics.
"Inspiration", "Subliminal" and "Rhyme for Reason", the three opening tracks, appeal to young hip hop artists to return to the roots of the art form, when hip hop was the oppressed communities' voice of resistance, exposing racism, police brutality and the hypocrisy of rulers. The relentless "Subliminal" hits out at the capitalist co-option of hip hop. The laid-back "Rhyme for Reason" urges "modern-day griots" to wake up and speak out against the post-9/11 attacks on civil liberties under the guise of "anti-terrorism" laws.
"Drop the Bomb", "Bomba Sin Plena" and "Se Acabo" are salsas that focus on aspects of the long frontline struggle against "US environmental and military terrorism" in Puerto Rico. "Drop the Bomb" is a historical look at the struggle that forced the US in 2003 — after six decades of mass mobilisations and mass civil disobedience — to announce the withdrawal of US Navy bases from Vieques.
"Bomba Sin Plena" points out that political prisoners remain in US federal prisons, jailed for their participation in the Vieques struggle. "Se Acabo" highlights the case of Maria de Lourdes, vice-president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, locked up for taking part in civil disobedience actions.
"Sak Pase", a cha cha mixed with hip hop, explores the revolutionary history of Haiti, where the first free black state in the Western hemisphere was established in the 1790s. It is a stirring call to "liberte a Ayiti [Emancipate Haiti]" from the brutal US-backed forces that staged a coup in February 2004 against President Aristide and his Lavalas party. The song links Haiti's past revolutionary struggles with those of today.
"The Media" slams the lies of the capitalist media, linking its misrepresentation of peoples' struggles around the world and support for US war policies to the fact that it is dominated by huge multinational corporations. The title of the rootsy, percussive "No War" is self-explanatory. "Resistance" is a battle cry for unity in the militant struggle against capitalism and its crimes.
The main disappointment of Rhymes for Treason is its failure to provide full lyrics for the politics-packed songs, in particular the lack of translations of its Spanish-language tracks.
The Welfare Poets have an excellent website at <http://www.welfarepoets.com>, which contains free MP3s to download, from Rhymes for Treason and their first album, Project Blues. There are also interviews, some lyrics and much information to explore.
From Green Left Weekly, July 13, 2005.
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