By Chief Ndubisi
2021! The revolution has landed and we have arrived! Astronomical salute to colonized people everywhere! Colonialism, this chaotic crumbling mess, really tried it in 2020! Nevertheless, Black Hammer Organization continues to unite and has a multitude of reasons to celebrate! On New Years Eve, BHO boarded the MAD Muthaship, a vehicle in the form of a revolutionary dance party, engineered to mobilize the colonized masses into the new year. I was stoked to dialogue with the lead space architect of MAD Muthaship, Chief Olufemi who spoke not only of the supermassive significance of MAD Muthaship but also of their incredible vision of building a dual contending arts industry!
I came up with the idea of MAD Muthaship back in my previous BHO role in the PECC Committee as Chief of Music Acting & Dance (MAD). A time came for me to explore new heights, so I transferred leadership, and the intention, to Chief Olufemi. From there, blast off! Chief Olufemi and the MAD Committee created something so spectacular and vital for all colonized people! The following is a post-launch chat on Mad Muthaship in retrospect with Chief Olufemi.
Ndubisi: So what is the MAD Muthaship, materially and as a concept?
Olufemi: MAD Muthaship is the spaceship and time machine that takes us to the past, through the present, and to the future…a dance party [where] we play original music made by our very own MAD Hammers, …celebrate our orgs wins, shake off our anxieties and get the people hipped to the new music their artists are doing. We show ancient colonized peoples in their natural, artistic habitat as political education. It lets us know that our ancestors live within us and that we, even today, have their swag in our veins. [MAD Muthaship] is the vehicle for making sure our members are a part of building this dual contending arts industry, by presenting to them the work [of] our artists… [and new] dance moves to drive the movement of the revolution.
Ndubisi: What’s the journey aboard MAD Muthaship look and feel like?
Olufemi: We going to our freedom future, where no artist is stolen from or exploited in any way. Our MAD original music plays the whole live show- [featuring] Chief Iman (Lyteral), Comrade Solana, and myself (GypjaQ). We even have signature cocktails and mocktails to take you HIgher. Chief Thru made a drink called “the Salute.” sssooo good.
[DJ] Comrade Cathusin and I directed the energy with a few songs before playing the MAD Muthaship outro Instrumental and [ending with] a breathing exercise. We brought the energy so high…we couldn’t just leave our Hammers on that high energy. We know that our hammers have a handle on momentum and… WE KNEW Hammers would continue the party elsewhere if we didn’t essentially tuck them into bed.. Revolutionaries have work to do so we had to do our best to cool them down.
Ndu: What are MAD Muthaship’s revolutionary origins and inspirations?
Olu: Chief Ndubisi created this idea. It sparked from the need of a way to get the people to see that we, as an org, are well-rounded and thinking of everything, including entertaining the people. It came from foreseeing the need for a party, a place for revolutionaries to let loose in a way that would be revolutionary, whether our comrades knew it or not. We called it Muthaship because we wanted it to be very clear- we were carrying the revolution with an original soundtrack. Chief Ndu was inspired by Soul Train because it was the tastemaker of the time and the train motif had the same intent…except we go even farther thanks to the foundation the ancestors laid through Soul Train. I’m personally inspired by Nina Simone who truly used her music to galvanize the masses. The petty bou [bourgeoisie] liberals co-opted her message for civil rights rather than liberty and she hated it. It was part of the oppression [that] the music industry constantly put on colonized artists.
Ndu: As revolutionaries, we often talk about dual contending power, but a dual contending art industry? Tell me more.
Olu: When I say dual contending industry, I mean that part of building dual contending power is finding a place for artists to thrive safely and without the oppression of the colonial industry. It allows artists to live authentically, audiences to be familiar with what the truth looks like, and the art to be centered around the truth, uplifting the people… and the revolution itself. It also shows [to] the people that artists can truly create work for the people’s benefit rather than their exploitation… [and] the people will support their work! We eventually want to replace all music produced by colonial and neocolonial industry professionals. We want to not only replace the vibes of tunes we love (we work for the people and know what y’all like) but also want to bring different kinds of music to the masses, expanding their palates.
Ndu: What can the colonized masses expect from MAD Muthaship’s next ride?
Olu: We can expect an artist being presented as an artist for MAD Records. We are going to have much more music to play. Expect to shake a tail feather harder than ever. We’ll have you dancing, a bar by the cockpit, and even give folk an opportunity to present their own work. Our artists are the oxygen, fuel, and direction for the ship. Come through next time and float in 0G like ain’t no colonizer!
Gratitude for colonized creative abundance, and for the galactic collective brilliance of the BHO for providing the means to beam us up and out and for building this dual contending art industry in the new year. What a time! If you missed the first launch, no fear! MAD Muthaship will be blasting through next season so look out for that. Colonized people throughout the galaxy, all aboard!
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