Before launching into criticism of Downset, MIM wants to be clear: this demo is great, musically and politically. As a self-described "Los Angeles Hip-Hop Hardcore" band and as "an attempt to communicate [about] sexism, racism, misogyny, economic disparity and variations of ghetto and barrio frustrations," Downset's work invites comparison with rage against the machine. Downset is influenced by identity politics, so they hate this flattering comparison.
Identity politics can be roughly summed up as the idea that a person or group's political analysis and practice is less important than their identity. For Downset, the most important thing about rage against the machine and their lead singer Zack de la Rocha is not what they say about ghetto life or anything else, but the fact that rage talks about ghetto life without (according to Downset) having directly experienced it the way Downset has.
So in response to rage's lyric about gang life from Settle For Nothing, "I gotta 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name," Downset says on Anger!, "what does rage know about motherfucking South Central? Zack, what you know about a set or a sign? Fake motherfucker never even seen a nine." Not content with one dig, another of the five tracks on Our Suffocation says, "i'll do more than rage against the motherfucking machine."
In their zine, Downset's Rey Downset says they've changed their songs to eliminate these lyrics, but their statement on the topic only compounds and clarifies the content of their errors:
"What we have changed are the lyrics that aimed at a certain person and band that meant something to a generation of people. Before the fake accent that you could get only if you grew up in the ghetto, which he is far from being from.... I could say so much more, but one thing is for sure - me and others in this band are from a true history of hip-hop.... I know for sure no matter what that we will live in the shadow of this band. We will be compared to this band over and over again.... So I lay this to rest knowing how long I have been doing this. My sincere identity in the graffiti art hip-hop true school world. Knowing that I am from L.A. '818 Valle' and not from Irvine. I am from the barrio-ghetto and it means much to me and my identity...."
MIM says: Who gives a hip-hop whether Zack or Rey are from Irvine or from the 'hood? It's true that there is no better teacher than experience, but ultimately, a person's analysis needs to be judged on its own merits. MIM is glad that rage is not inhibited by identity politics, because they say many correct things about situations they have not directly experienced. For example, rage correctly supports the Maoist-led revolution in Peru, though it is unlikely they have ever been there.
Downset's identity-based approach limits it to talking about personal and local political issues, something they do well. Ironically, the band's best lyrics, in "Breed tha Killa," are reminiscent of rage's lyrics in "Settle for Nothing." Both songs call the murder of L.A.'s Black and Brown youth out for what it is: Genocide. Check it out:
"I said we got Brown and Black blood to the concrete/ Exposed to the systematic terrors and atrocities/ Generations of blood-soaked families/ Economic prison and self-hate is my birthright, see/ Fratricide, Homicide, Suicide, Genocide/ They want to kill the niggers and wetbacks silently/ Fueled by hate, fear and forced self-denial/ Black-kill-Black, Brown-kill-Brown L.A.-style/ They breeding them killers/ Yes, they breeding them killers./ Born in the middle of a motherfucking battlefield/ Denied human rights and the wounds won't heal./ Our mothers shout a suffocating painful cry/ As they watch generations of Black and Brown die./ Dignity defied by sacrificial death, / To die for the hood, that's all I have left./ The system at hand must see one thing clearer,/ The city of LA is breeding them Black and Brown killers/ Blood to the concrete, systematic terror...."
Another noteworthy Downset track is "Spoken Protest," which deals with the patriarchy's "rape ritual":
"rape. the raping of women is a physical manifestation of a society that continually propagates women's being sexual objects....With the high sexual imagery, we have suffocated and reduced women to a sexual commodity....tv commercials, music videos, magazines, billboards, movies, sexist music, pornography - all these forms of so-called entertainment and advertising methods exploit women constantly. in the name of our modern day entertainment, in the name of our corporate economy, we have reduced our female population's existence in modern day terms to be nothing more than sexual. they have been stripped of their humanity just to gratify the sexual and egocentric needs of our male-dominated society....Is so-called sexual revolution, is so- called sexual expression and so-called sexual freedom worth 2,000 rapes a day in our American culture? i say no it is no it is not...."
This song is unfortunately marred by an ending which suggests that putting more men in prison would be some kind of solution to the problem of rape. MIM says that the problem is not individual men, but a patriarchal system in which women as a group are not in control of government, media or society. Under such a system, a womyn's individual "choices," including the choice to have sex, are inevitably coerced by the patriarchy which holds state power.
MIM encourages Downset to go beyond the limitations imposed by identity politics and individualist analysis to take on an internationalist analysis of groups. We encourage our readers to listen to Downset and to struggle with them directly. To their credit, the band encourages such dialogue: "Criticize us, love us, hate us, all opinions are welcomed and we ask you to write us and communicate with us. Downset is a valid statement of our times and the struggle continues."
Contact Downset at P.O. Box 46130, Los Angeles, CA 90046.
At first glance this album shows promise; the cover is a man blinded by lies and gagged by the Amerikan flag as military vehicles patrol a dark fiery background. The name of the band sums up what Downset is about. The band comes from the barrio-ghettos of Los Angeles and brings a message of defiance for all of their people who have been victimized. The music is inspired by both hip hop and hardcore, and although the group hates the comparison it is often compared to Rage Against the Machine (see review of demo above).
The album opens up with the hit Anger! This song was inspired by the LA rebellion, and is a strong condemnation of the Los Angeles Police Department. The theme of street violence runs strong through the whole album as Rey criticizes the LAPD and other government forces, depicting the hopelessness of the kids growing up in occupied territory. Rey explains the song Breed the Killer:
"In my opinion gang violence is a direct offspring of a system that has failed in education, opportunities in jobs, welfare, prison systems, juvenile lockups and also a society that is on a total nazi-like moral degeneration etc. ... This is not a music video to me and this is not a bullshit rap song. This is a tragedy upon my people and it's nothing more than a holocaust."
MIM agrees that the U.$. government is currently carrying out genocide on oppressed nations all over the world including Chicanos in the occupied portion of Mexico that is Los Angeles. All of the things Rey criticizes here are part of the superstructure that perpetuates capitalism. These things will only change through a communist-led revolution that can eradicate the current economic substructure and replace it with a socialist system. The substructure is the economic system, defined by the current class relations. For example, the current economic system is imperialist capitalism in which the bourgeoisie owns the means of production and uses it to exploit the majority who are forced to work for them to survive. All aspects of the superstructure, including law, culture, education, and all other forms of human relations are defined by this economic system. Therefore, communists first target the substructure. Then under socialism we can replace the old superstructure with institutions that serve the people, rather than keep them down.
In My American Prayer, Downset points out the illegitimate creation of the United $tates, "The birth of this nation, birth of the systematic jack, from land grab to whips across black's back. No progress money means more humanity less." The song ends, " Red, White and Blue is gonna kill you!" The song focuses on the hatred between groups in the United $nakes and how it is ingrained in kids as they are growing up. But the song fails to provide an answer to this problem. By looking at the economic basis of the development of separate nations, we can see clearly that the white nation has oppressed other nations throughout history. While this does not mean we should hate white people, it allows us to take a scientific approach in our efforts to organize the oppressed people to overthrow the system of the oppressors. Towards the end of My American Prayer Rey shouts, "I don't believe in this hatred anymore!" This song addresses strife on a personal level. While it's good that people recognize racism and denounce it, it won't go away until we look at why it exists and attack the systematic problems that create it. The beginning of the song points towards historical facts which help define the different nations that exist within the United $tates. But Downset ends up trying to wish away (in a prayer) the conflicts that exist between nations rather than trying to eliminate them.
"About to Blast" is another song that looks at the tensions of the barrio-ghetto. "Well, I'm pointing my fingers at the ones who set up this game. This is what you've given us and that is what you've taken. Jail won't cure your given disease." Downset points the finger in the right direction, by blaming the corrupt system for the violence that the people face daily. They also say that prisons are not going to solve anything, since the problem is the system itself. "Realize as they dehumanize our lives that they construct a raging humanity with fury in their eyes. Welfare, the opportunity that disables the application of the generate crutch." As oppression and repression increase, the people will only become more revolutionary. The government knows this, and as Downset points out, welfare is one effort to diffuse the powder keg. Prisons and the police are the two biggest tools used to repress the revolutionary upsurge. MIM knows from the hundreds of letters we get each month that Downset is correct. The use of fascist repression in the prison system only serves to politicize people further creating a larger revolutionary base.
Ritual is a song that does a good job of exposing the patriarchy within the bounds of U$ society. "1 out of 3 [wimmin will be raped in her lifetime], and they say my sisters are free, incarcerated by hatred." However, the song ignores the enormous sexual exploitation carried out on the people of the Third World in the form of AIDS research, forced sterilization, and contraceptive testing.
Once again Downset turns to love and the rejection of popular ideas as a means of rebellion, rather than directing its energy towards promoting systematic change to eliminate the inequalities that promote aspects of the superstructure such as racism and misogyny. In an explanation of the song Rey said, "I do not feel like I have said enough in this explanation to have you fully grasp a woman's feelings as a rape victim but I can tell you that I believe that if we do not reconstruct our society's treatment of womanhood and try to stop and at least be objective to the exploiting propaganda we are exposed to everyday, that the savage and brutal rapes and treatment of women is an unavoidable occurrence in our modern times." This is a good example of why identity politics are a waste (see demo review). In this song Downset is able to take a strong feminist stand even though all the members of the band are male. MIM agrees with Rey that the destruction of the patriarchy will require the reconstruction of society and argues that gender inequality cannot be solved on an individual basis.
Downset is a band with a message, and it plans to keep it that way as shown in the song Prostitutionalized. This song criticizes superficial music and urges artists to realize the full potential of their work, "Is 'Doc Martin' more important than the movement, or is it so cheap that a passing style is what makes you sleep?" When Downset signed to Mercury and left the underground it changed its name from Social Justice as a mark of the changing times. But this song seems to be telling everyone that the group didn't sell out. Without Prostitutionalized, the rest of the album makes it pretty clear that Downset is still serious about its political mission. MIM encourages artists to realize the political content of their work.
Nothing is apolitical; all art reflects certain class values, which is evident in the way the ruling class chooses certain art to have value over other art. MIM's goal is to help strengthen and promote the political messages in proletarian and progressive art.
The title of this album seems to be asking why people didn't seem to grab a hold of the message in the first album. But on this second full-length, Downset. has lost some of its revolutionary politics. On Downset. the group criticized violence among the masses and hinted at violence against the enemy, but lacked an analysis of what must be done to change things. On "Do We Speak ..." the band has found its answers in god, love and pacifism. Certainly peace, love, and harmony are important ideals, but pacifism and religion are not going to create the conditions under which the ideals will be realized. This shift in ideals seems to have brought some softer songs to this album; although, others are as hard as ever.
The first song, "Empower," is about personal empowerment. Later on in the album we see that this inspiration seems to be coming from spiritual influences. If spiritual influences drive one to fight for the oppressed of the world then MIM won't complain, because we have revolutionary unity with all who do genuine anti-imperialist work at this stage -- whatever their motivations. But spiritual enlightenment is not a revolutionary goal in itself while people are starving. "Against the Spirits" is a song that claims our society is not in accordance with god's will. Rey says, "I will love God of "Zion" with all my heart and you will hate me for it!" "Sangre de Mis Manos" is a song that complains about inequality but again turns to god in the end.
Similarly, "Touch" is a song that looks to love in order to solve all our problems. Anger and hatred do not just stem from individuals: they are bred in our system that commits violence against the masses daily. Recognizing this, MIM shares the goal of creating harmonious relationships between people both as individuals and as groups, but looks towards revolution to make the necessary structural changes to do so.
"In Eyes Shut Tight," Rey lists some influences, "Strictly KRS, Public Enemy, Bob Marley, Mad ups to MLK and the infinite Gandhi." MIM also has respect for the musicians listed, however Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi were both pacifists that discouraged the rising of the oppressed and only served to keep them in their place where they suffered at the hands of occupying forces. To this day their influences continue to lead to more deaths and defeats of the masses.
In "Hurl a Stone," Rey says "and when we make honest truthful steps towards compassionate healings we will have no time to criticize because we will find ourselves the most sickening." In this song they seem to be saying that we must love each other rather than criticize. However, criticism of both self and others is an important tool in political education. Again, Downset. is looking towards personal relations as a means of making the world a better place to live in. The band ignores systematic struggle and say that putting an end to criticizing is a good way to change things. Sure, criticism for the sake of criticism is no good, but if we want to put an end to oppression, this isn't a battle we need to put a lot of effort into right now.
Downset. does have good things to say on this album. Fire criticizes members of the intelligentsia who pretend to care about the oppressed but in the end only work against them: "Out my face! Out my face! Pseudo-intellectual moderate steppin' to dis, On with the privilege shit-talking blood of my people you're mocking, If it came down to dying I would see that ass running, Say full belly-buster you willing to suffer and put your ass on the line and fool help me gets mine!" In the song Sickness, he says, "Poverty is the worst form of violence!" It is important to understand that poverty is violence committed by the capitalist class in a world where there is plenty for all to live a decent life. That is why when MIM speaks of WWIII going on right now we not only include those killed in low intensity battle, but also those who die of malnutrition and lack of health care which would be readily available under communism.
"Pocket Full of Fatcaps" is a catchy song that tells kids that graffiti art doesn't have to be about violence, but it can be political and cultural. "Graffiti writer ghetto culture provider. Fascist activist don't want me to exist. Propagated media hype. Stereo-type you try to make me look like the one with the "gat" and "knife". Lies after lies classist, racist, and mythical." In fact, things like graffiti art, hip hop and hardcore are often rejected as being unworthy culture by the mainstream because of the political content. The culture of the oppressed is always hidden by the oppressor.
"Ashes in Hand" takes a look at the decadent state of romance culture in our society: "Sex kills! We will look into the eyes of the other and lie and say that we love them. Then strip the innocence given and create destruction we will never truly comprehend. The ultimate act of sharing is reduced to the ultimate act of taking. Seconds of trembling flesh is not worth years of inner suffering...Frightening desires for dominant position when all we should be doing is loving!"
MIM maintains that all sex is rape under the patriarchy because of the fact that wimmin will not be able to truly choose to have sex until they are truly free. Downset. points out some negative aspects of romance culture and the power struggle that is involved in sexual relations under the patriarchy. But this song also accepts the aspects of our romance culture that tell people that there is one person out there that will make them whole. This is a reactionary, individualist view that supports selfish nuclear family structures and leads to loneliness for those who never find that one person. A greater social balance can occur when peoples' happiness is not based on one person but on the world around us.
All in all this album is a let-down lyrically. Downset. has given up their more militant criticisms of the system for god and pacifism. They also spend a lot of time romanticizing about the power of love to change things.
MIM encourages Downset. to look at the goals it has and to study history to see what the best path is for obtaining them. Our study has led us to Maoism as the most effective means for obtaining liberation for all people and for struggling towards a harmonious world.