Connecting causes and people
Rapper Head-Roc questions the political system, but never doubts the power of a good beat
By Emily Citkowski
GP-US Operations Director

Photo: Jati Lindsay

Like most youth in the metro Washington, D.C. area in the 1980s, Vance Levy listened to a lot of go-go music. While attending high school in Prince George's County, Md., he met some new friends from New York City-one a DJ with a turntable-and got seriously turned on to the hip-hop scene. His onstage persona, Head-Roc, was born, and they started competing in talent shows at venues like the Ibex. Head-Roc credits go-go's swinging influence on D.C.'s hip-hop scene today, but he says his real musical and political influences are soul music and cultures that feature the drum as foundation, such as Latino, African and Arabic music. "The drum is the center of music in these cultures," he explains. "The drum allows you to meditate and to be open to the message."

Head-Roc, who's a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, performed at the Operation Ceasefire concert on the National Mall on Sept. 24, along with musicians like Jello Biafra, Steve Earle, Joan Baez and Le Tigre, to advocate for the immediate end to the war in Iraq. We recently caught up with him at the Green Party's national office in Dupont Circle to talk about music, politics and connecting with one another.

Green Pages: Tell us about your new album, Negrophobia.

Head-Roc: As a descendent of African slaves, I wanted to look at American history and the atrocities the American government committed. I wrote and produced this album to deal with my frustrations about the complicity America had in the story of enslaved Africans and disenfranchised people, people who don't follow the western paradigm…[and] out of my anger as an American citizen watching the actions of my government and that they and other western governments can do anything to the rest of the world. 

GP: You use a lot of samples of political speeches.

HR: It wasn't my intention to create a "politically conscious album," but I'm a 34-year-old human living on this planet. And things concern me, and I write about it. Music is a great facilitator to keep people's minds open and keep them listening so that they'll hear the message. 

I want to get the word out to people harassed by bad law enforcement so that they know their rights. I think most people are more receptive to these messages if it's enjoyable, keeps their attention.

The track "Christopher Columbus" is not just about Chris Columbus, but about imperialism.

The track "Bob Marley" came from an experience I had while on tour in Europe. I was in Amsterdam and was struck by all of the pictures of Bob Marley everywhere which were used to sell marijuana. Bob Marley as a person has been co-opted to sell pot and the true legacy of his work and his ideas are being ignored. 

GP: You are a member of the Green Party. Why did you decide to join?

HR: I was involved with "Beats for Peace" and the D.C. Anti-War Network. I had friends in the Green Party, and I knew about the Green Party. But I didn't join until 2003. I stopped by a Green Party table at UDC [University of the District of Columbia] during a speech by Noam Chomsky. I looked at the platform and was impressed that the Green Party platform talked about fighting racism. No other political party talks about that. I wondered how to get the word out to black people. 

GP: How can we do a better job at fighting racism?

HR: I think there's a disconnect between organizations who champion causes of people, and the people whose causes they're championing. I also think we're too caught up in competing and impressing each other "academically," too focused on lectures and speakers rather than figuring out how to facilitate living together and building the world we want to see. 

GP: Who are your inspirations both politically and musically?

HR: Soul music is my inspiration; soul music is the place where rhythm is home. My religion is rhythm-I'm serious about that. I really think there is power in the pulse of a drum to snare you and mesmerize you and open your mind. It's not surprising to me that the people who run the world are so far away from the soul beat. 

Music can change the tide of battle. Music can help you make a decision.

I didn't come to my political views automatically. I used to be 180 degrees from where I am now. I used to buy into the propaganda that America is always right, who cares about the rest of the world. But being in a global musical community helped shape my political views. It made me more critical of what our "leaders" were doing and saying. 

GP: What's next for Head-Roc?

HR: Look for big things to come from D.C. hip-hop in 2006. I'm collaborating with the Thievery Corporation [D.C.-based label/producers] to start a new progressive hip-hop label. I think people are looking for something fresh and new in hip-hop-something that speaks to millions about their dreams and hopes. 

One of my goals is to make the disenfranchised and downtrodden aware of each other. Once we are aware of each other we can come up with a plan to combat the supremacist terrorism of our government. 

------

Christopher Columbus
By Head-Roc
D.C. Statehood Green Party

Chris Columbus, a man of his time,
Slaughtered Arawak natives to further his kind and they state of mind,
And their take on the divine, allowed them to be so inclined
To send ships with guns,
Filled with men with swords so filled with the love of the Lord,
That they do whatever's necessary, for their position!
Death is the decision, when they on a mission!
Death is the decision, when they on a mission!
What we talkin' 'bout? IMPERIALISM!
Every second Monday in October we hold a celebration for a western soldier,
Who brought over a culture manifestly destined to rule and take over.
Funny how in the name of Jehovah, you supposed to be the 
landowner more so than the first holder.
Ask them natives in Plymouth 'bout the caravan next to the boulder!
From what they told ya in high school about righteous conquests and brave explorers,
Little revealed 'bout the millions killed, with their government quill try
to seal up the horror!
Hey, the superpowers locked in a chest match,
Like cool cats they sit back to see who is dispatched, persist at coup d'etats,
Promote armed attacks with gift packs plus import crack.
Now tell me what you think about that? Do it sound familiar?
To me too cousin I feel ya!
And all because I picked up a book, then looked, and was shook by 
the shit these crooks done took!

© Lyrics by Head-Roc. Excerpted with permission.

Head-Roc's latest album is available for purchase through the Green Party's online store at www.gp.org, or by calling 1-866-41-GREEN.

Back to Winter 2005