Earlier this year, Reflection Eternal participated in another community-minded release: The Unbound Project Volume 1, executive-produced by Frank Sosa; proceeds from the CD will benefit the legal defense fund of journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal. All of the participating artists were asked to comment on the criminal justice system and its impact on the hip-hop generation. Reflection's cut, "The Human Element," although initially intended for the group's debut full-length, was given to this project because "it fit the subject matter, and when I was asked to participate, it was a no-brainer," says Kweli. The song starts out with Kweli talking about a real-life incident that happened to him when he walked down the street and some white guy tried to give him some "Free Mumia" pamphlets. "I told him right, and he tried to check me, like, 'Have you ever heard of the Black Panthers?' and 'Mumia was fighting so you could go to college,' and I'm like, 'You don't even know me...I know who the fuck Mumia is, man. Innocent niggers get locked up every day, man, that ain't nothing new,'" Kweli says of the exchange. "But on the other hand, you tell some brothers Mumia's on death row, and they think he's making records with Suge Knight. I don't know, man. I guess it's just really where you at."
For Kweli, this incident gets at the heart of the arrogance he often sees in the activist community. You might call it the "I'm more black than you, even though I'm white" syndrome -- it seems to afflict some people who mistakenly believe that, because they know Malcolm X's life story or are down with Public Enemy, they can relate wholly to the black experience. "They don't understand why these kids are not rallying around Mumia. They look at it as, 'Here is someone who has fought for you. Here is someone who is from the community. Why are you not rallying?' [The answer is] like, yo, my cousin is locked up for doing nothing. People got people in their families locked up. People see it every day. They deal with the police brutality every day. So the fact that Mumia is an innocent journalist is nothing new to them," says Kweli. Despite this, Kweli stresses that he "respects and appreciates anyone who moves toward change."
With Reflection Eternal, Talib Kweli (left) and Hi-Tek are on a journey for truth.
Details
8 p.m. Tuesday, November 14, $28-$32.50
303-830-8497
Magness Concert Hall, Ritchie Center, 2240 East Buchtel Boulevard
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As any seasoned activist knows, change is incremental, and Kweli and Hi-Tek are doing their best to effect positive change both in the community and on wax. Will Reflection's new disc change the face of hip-hop? Probably not. But what they do hope is that the record will entertain while it upholds the legacy the pair has inherited from its ancestors, musical and otherwise. In the tradition of the great African griots, Kweli says, "I think good art should show a vision for the future and not just paint a picture of what's going on now. It should give people some information and motivation to keep it moving and make it better."
