Rally for Peace

Alonso Heredia
Courier-Post

A rally for peace was recently held in Camden.

The main act was a concert by Kasseem Dean, a well known New York-based rap musician with a diverse background. Dean’s mother is Puerto Rican and his father comes from Jamaica.

Over the course of his career, the rap singer has taken the names Swizz Beatz, Swizzy, The Monster, One Man Band Man and Sandman.

He is famous for songs that pay tribute to violence, particularly targeting police informants.

Several attendees were surprised that Dean, with his controversial lyrics, had been invited to a rally for peace.

Protesters were also puzzled that the rap musician's presence in Camden had been supported by the mayor, the school district, and even the police.

I am really not that surprised. It is part of that surreal-like ambiance in Camden.

Or perhaps this would better fit the definition of magical realism that we thought only grew in the copious imagination of writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

In this city, magical realism is a substantial part of our everyday lives.

In this surrealist city, I would not be surprised that a contest were started to reward holders of the best illegal firearms, who also display their skills with them. It would be called a Pro-life Event, or something along those lines.

There would be no difference between having drug dealers meet in one location to having them disperse throughout the city and operating freely, as they are now. In Camden, anything could happen.

Isn’t this also part of Camden’s surrealism?

Organizers and sponsors of the concert only sailed the unchangeable currents of what happens in this city.

It is no surprise that among the guest artist's songs there were such messages for police informants, that they deserve to die. This is what happens in Camden, so why should we set off the alarm?

Some officials, such as council’s president Angel Fuentes encouraged Dean to be good. “Be cautious” were his words.

And Dean was cautious. “Peace rally peacefully held in Camden,” read a Courier-Post headline.

Wonderful! Indeed a great success that a rally for peace is held peacefully in this city.

Attendees commented that the singer covered his mouth every time an offensive word came out.

Certainly, Dean does not do the same on his CD’s, with sales in the area more than likely soaring after the concert.

We have to admit that calls for collaboration between the community and the authorities, such as providing information and structuring a witness protection program and others made in this column, for example, are just trinkets completely detached from reality.

Camden lives its own reality; a reality burdened with crimes, frustration and hopelessness.

It was precisely at the heart of these realities that rap was born in the early seventies in New York City.

African American and Latino youth who felt they were excluded from recreation centers began to create this new rhythm in the ghettos, such as The Bronx and other areas in the city.

Rap has experienced a spiraling growth. Today, millions of listeners follow this musical genre, there are famous rap groups and the sector enjoys extraordinary financial success.

Several trends have been born throughout rap’s evolution, each maintaining some of the essence where poor neighborhoods were nested.

One of these trends is Gangsta rap, which includes stark lyrics about violence, sex and drugs.

Several years ago the furious reaction by the FBI against the band N.W.A. was widely circulated.

Bambaataa Aasim is a pioneer of hip-hop, the origin of rap.

Bambaataa has been quoted as saying that his music was born to sing the realities, not to change them.

Once again, we have to acknowledge that organizers and sponsors of Dean’s concert in Camden were right.

They can sing all the rap lyrics they want to this city’s realities, but things are not going to change because there is no real interest to improve current conditions.

Well, perhaps there will be change.

For example, development plans for Cooper Hospital and the waterfront have been announced. It is expected that the city’s downtown will improve.

Yet the rest of the urban area will be left to its own luck. In other words, what is better will be made better, while what is worse will be made worse.

So, the waterfront will be flooded by blues and jazz and, perhaps one not-too-far-away-day the opera will come too.

In the meantime, rap will continue to play in all other corners of this city.

It is difficult to understand why so much money is spent to sustain Camden's poverty.

We frequently hear that New Jersey’s contributors are tired that substantial sums are destined to a bottomless pit.

At the same time, no clear action is carried out to end this situation.

Ultimately, the minds behind Dean’s visit to Camden and those who supported it must be happy that they achieved their goal.

Dean sang his realities and must be happy that he came to a city that is a true inspiration for his controversial lyrics.

He can return whenever he wishes as there will be material here for a long time.

Besides, he surely will be welcome by the mayor, the school district and the police.

« Articles list