HOLLY/EBBTIDE
MC Geologic addresses a packed PUB with articulate vocals and a positive message.
Staff Writer
Blue Scholars are breathing new life into a genre of music that has been beaten to the brink of death. The Seattle duo is on a mission to alert American citizens of political, racial and class issues that are commonly overlooked.
On Thursday, January 26, the band, which consists of one DJ and one emcee, performed in Shoreline Community College's (SCC) Pub. The visit was a part of this year's multicultural week. After performing for about half an hour, Geologic (vocals) and Sabzi (DJ) led a group of about 30 students and faculty in a discussion about multicultural issues.
The discussion topics ranged from misogyny to police treatment of minorities. Sabzi says that Blue Scholars' role in the cultural movement is all about making people aware of the issues.
“No album, no collection of albums from one artist is going to stop the war,” Geologic stated. But Blue Scholars is determined to create change by causing listeners to think about important issues. In it's music, the group brings national and international issues home by relating them back to problems faced by citizens of the Pacific Northwest.
The lyrics approach historical social issues in Seattle, such as the stealing of the city from Chief Stealth's tribe and then naming it after him. It also speaks of the city's high suicide rate, the minority workers who were forced to build the city on unlivable wages, and the city's ever-constant rain.
HOLLY/EBBTIDE
DJ Sazbi spins original beats and sings back up vocals.
When asked about issues in the hip-hop culture, the band was hesitant to address the problem as just being in hip-hop.
“Culture is a reflection of the state of the mind of the people who are practicing that culture,” Geologic said. He says that we can't just say that it is happening in hip-hop, it's a problem with people in general. “It's not one man's fault that misogyny exists, or that racism exists,” Geologic said.
They also spoke about identity, and how one person's own sense of identity can affect the way that they view the rest of the world. “Identity is more action than theory,” Geologic says that it's about putting who you are into action instead of just saying who you are.
Many times during the discussion they insisted that the best way for to develop your own beliefs and opinions is to discover the world around you. “Observing reality will inspire you to start thinking,” Sabzi stated.
When faced with the question of what a good solution could be to America's social issues the musicians maintained that [America] is too far away from change to decide upon a solution. According to Sabzi, first and foremost we must focus all of our efforts on alerting people and making them conscious that society right now is not working.
“The last thing you want to do is make somebody feel bad for doing something that they don't know is wrong,” Geologic says, “be critical, recognize the privilege, don't judge people for their ignorance.”
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