Thirty-plus years in and detractors are still waiting for the plug to be pulled on the fad known as rap music. Some have been aggressive in the pursuit to the extent of taking active approaches to stunt and eventually halt the future growth of the genre and have identified a target that could topple the lucrative house of cards: gangsta rap.
“Blah, blah, violence, blah, blah, language, blah, blah, sex.” Those are the basic parts of their argument, and truthfully, there are some valid points, but the couterpoints are always ignored or swept aside.
Let’s take a different look at this. The artists have been programmed to defend what they do with the standard “We’re only a reflection of what’s going on in life” spiel instead of attacking the fact that they’re doing what they’re programmed and conditioned to do by those who green-light the contracts and sign the checks. Yeah, it’s they—the CEOs, COOs, HNICs or whatever they deem themselves—who practice something called “gangsta wraps.”
Check some of the synonyms for wraps (squashing, conspiracies of silence, packaging, binds); they’re all appropriate terms for what combined can be called racketeering. It seems that this is only condoned in the music industry. A perfect example of the gangsta wrap practice can be traced back to the very genesis of the genre of rap itself.
For some who weren’t privy to the music and cultural happenings in the Bronx and Harlem in the mid ʼ’70s, they were first made aware by the lyrics, “I said a hip hop da hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hoppa ya don’t stop the rockin to the bang-bang boogie.” That joint exploded across the globe, and unbeknownst to the world, things wouldn’t be the same again.
The energetic movement started by Black and Brown men in the Bronx was captured onto a recording by three young brothers, Michael “Wonder Mike” Wright, Guy “Master Gee” O’Brein and Henry “Big Bank Hank” Jackson, collectively known as the Sugar Hill Gang. As the forefathers of hip-hop recording with the birth of their platinum joint, you’d think they’d get the reverence and respect from at least the industry they birthed, but they didn’t even get that. Gangsta wraps at its finest. The music industry is riddled with these sagas, and while they are commonplace, if told correctly, they are still compelling tales.
The new film “I Want My Name Back,” the story of Wonder Mike and Master Gee, is a piece of work can perhaps impact the hip-hop industry as much as the group’s music does. Director Roger Paradiso views the film as more than a cautionary tale about the record business; he feels the underlying struggle is a metaphor for American capitalism, in which corporations steadily push, pull, bully and eventually break the little man. “For Mike and Gee, it was getting their names back.
For some, it’s getting their homes back, their cars back or even their lives back. We all have something that was taken, and we want back. That was the theme we used when promoting the film on the festival circuit, and it resonated. The reaction and energy was nothing but positive,” said Paradiso.
The theatrical run is done, and as of June 11, the film is available on DVD and in digital formats. But since then, a more significant opportunity has been presented to the group. Observed Paradiso: “You can’t ask for fame again; you can’t control that. You can’t guarantee a boatload of money; you don’t control that. But they’re now given opportunities to write and perform again. So they can control their work. They’ve recorded a new studio album that we’ll begin promoting very soon. The shows are coming in, so they’ve been given hope, which is all everyone needs.”
Wonder Mike and Master Gee, in conjunction with Maysles Cinema Summer of Music, the Marcus Garvey Park Alliance, Reel Harlem: The Historic Harlem Parks Film Festival, Ted Smooth’s Old School Jam and Harlem Hip Hop Tours, bring both the film and a performance to the public free of charge on Wednesday, July 10 at Marcus Garvey Park’s Richard Rodgers Amphitheater (behind Pelham Fritz Recreation Center, Mt. Morris Park West at 122nd Street). Things kick off at 5:30 p.m. with a DJ set by Ted Smooth. Wonder Mike and Master Gee will perform with Grandmaster Caz of the Cold Crush Brothers and, inadvertently, the Sugar Hill Gang (check out the flick to see how he fits). Hopefully, some surprise guest will bless the stage. I’ll revisit with an update. Over and out for now. Holla next week. Till then, enjoy the nightlife.