Equality, Music, and a Less Agressive World. My Empire review.


Tuesdays are for Tunes that's why I promote the hashtag Tunes4UrTuesday.

Today we need to talk about more than just good tunes though. Today we will be discussing the song Empire. Empire is one of my favorite recent releases from the Hip Hop / Rapper, Real Talk-Story Teller Uniqme, Empire is off Uniqme's latest album Born 2 Do It.
Empire is not just a run of the mill rap song though, it's not a cheap synthetic sound with a nasally rapper singing about booze or getting hoe's, money or drugs. Empire is about the real life situations that Americans often people of color (POC) face every day.

Empire hits you with that 4 to the floor old school reggae type vibe with instrumental hooks really jumping into that hiphop ride. The beat itself will make you  dance around but the story will get into your brain and make you think about things outside yourself, at least that is what it did for me.

Before we get any further into the song though I wanna talk about somethings going on in my life, why this conversation is so important and why music and art like this must be made.
I'm not wearing rose colored glasses and this is not a fluff piece, to make you feel better about yourself. Today we are gonna get real.

Last Friday morning my best friends daughter was parked on the side of the road. A police officer on his way to an incident came around the corner and hit their vehicle head on killing my 17 year old goddaughter Adrianna (AJ). 
While this was very much an accident, and the officer is solely responsible for her death the rumor mill has been running rampant with people trying to blame my AJ,  as they do not want to accept that an officer killed a child.
I am struggling with this mentality as the facts in this case are very simple and there is no question as to the officers responsibility yet still the community seeks to victim blame. 
This is the same type of victim blaming behavior that we see regarding the brutal murders of POC and people with a low socioeconomic status (SES) on a regular basis by police officers and others in or around law enforcement.

I'll be real honest here, yes, I have experienced some horrible things in my life but the simple fact exists that as a white woman in America I have a certain amount of privilege which allows me to be shocked and hurt by the communities victim blaming regarding the death of AJ. This feeling is not a privilege many get in this life anymore and  many POC are afraid every time their children leave the house, this is not OK!!!!!
We are spoon-fed the lie that this is supposed to be the land of equality where justice is served to the actual perpetrators of violence and ill intent. As Americans we proudly wave our constitution like a flag at sea and we scream equality, equality, but in reality this has never been the case, especially for POC. You see many POC were by law still property at the time the constitution was written and therefore not included as man, but property. This dangerous wording has been used to justify the allowance of abuse by those in power which has carried over into todays society in the way we treat one another and the things we are willing to hold each other accountable for.

Very simply put, We are a nation of colonizers that created the police system and governing bodies to oppress and enslave POC and those with lower SES for over 500 years, and unless we stand up together this is never going to change.
It might look different but oppression by any other name is still oppression.
No more victim blaming!! 

With the current regime continuing the lie that POC are more violent and aggressive we are once again seeing the rates of violence by police increase on POC, and poor communities.
Thankfully artists like Uniqme and others are beginning to step up and tackle this subject with the non sugar coated real-ness that is desperately needed to problem solve this dire situation and make a change. Hopefully by utilizing the voices of artists that can reach a broader population we may one day rely on our police departments to serve and protect all instead of treat some as if they are more dangerous simply by the color of their skin, shapes of their bodies, smell of their clothes, or how many cigarettes they sale.

People should not be murdered for cigarettes or jumping the subway bar, people should not be murdered for being brown and getting out of their car, people should be allowed to live without all this fucking cruelty, are you listening to me, do ya know what I mean?
People should be seen for just being human beings! -The Pueblo Poetess, 2018.

As the trigger warning transitions from the screen the words
"Wherever there is struggle, there is injustice" "Uniqme"
become the visual focus and you are immediately made aware that while this song articulates the experiences of POC especially black men the artists acknowledge not only do we have a racist based police brutality issue in America we also have a serious lacking of accountability by the Government, law enforcement, and many of the people that live here.
The artists are aware that injustice is not limited and there is injustice all across America and the world. Empire is their Story.

Empire is brought to you by Inlighten Music Group (IMG) and Uniqme. Empire also features the on the rise Dope-ass Lyricist Spec-illest, and long time almost always smiling Story Teller Good Vibe Sharing Reggae Man Kali Ranks.

If you have a strong stomach and can handle graphic images of brutality and our many brothers and sisters that have been murdered by a corrupt system with no accountability paired with a dope ass beat and three amazing lyricists than I suggest you check out the Empire music video on YouTube. If you'd rather hear the message and be a part of the movement without the visuals I recommend
You pick up a copy of Born 2 Do It, sold at most musical outlets. I got mine through Amazon for less than $6 and I love the whole EP. Go do your thing and grab it up. Let's Go.

This has been your Tunes4UrTuesday, with The Pueblo Poetess.

https://www.uniqme.org/

https://twitter.com/IAMUNIQME

https://youtu.be/ADdfOPftBBM

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYNPByWBhv-ktFUuO0X5kg

https://www.youtube.com/kaliranks

https://twitter.com/KaliRanks

https://twitter.com/spec_illest



Author - The Pueblo Poetess.
The Pueblo Poetess is a Poet,
Singer-Songwriter, Blogger, Photographer,
Curve Model, Entertainer & Goddess.
Sometimes I use to many run on sentences.





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