“Hard times can take you on a natural trip
So, keep your balance and don’t you slip
Hard Times is nothing new on me
I’m gonna use my strong mentality”
From “Hard Times” by Run-DMC
I miss concerts.
I recognize how privileged I am to say that. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we are literally surrounded by sickness, death, economic collapse and ongoing reminders of the racial disparities that exist in this country. So, boo hoo for me and my concerts.
But it’s not that simple. Do we need music and art the way that we need a working vaccine, masks and hospital beds? No. But arts, music and culture provide the bedrock of many people’s mental health – on many levels. Participating in any form of creativity has demonstrable mental health benefits. As does the energy and sense of community that often accompanies live music events. And that’s not even addressing the fact that many people’s livelihoods are connected to a thriving culture.
I don’t know when in-person concerts and performances are coming back. Will we ever have them again? As I ponder that question, I realize that while I myself have never actively witnessed or participated in the birth of an important artistic movement, many of the people I admire and look to for wisdom have. Any of the styles of music or associated cultures that I hold most sacred – e.g. Heavy Metal, Hip Hop, Punk, Hardcore Punk – were all phenomena that were born during difficult times. So, when I revel in stories of how Hip Hop started in the Bronx, or Punk in the East Village, or Heavy Metal in Birmingham, England, I realize that none of these were necessarily ideal settings for a cultural explosion. But it happened.
I need to reconnect with the cultural underground. I need to feel the pulse of creative and driven people coming together to make or celebrate amazing art, music, writing – whatever. And I would love to actually “be there” and contribute in some way to what could be an important time in our culture. But I’m in a tough spot because, while I crave those things, I have no idea how to help make it happen while remaining safe during a pandemic. And it seems I’m not alone in feeling this dilemma.
So, it was perhaps fortuitous that I recently spoke with Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC for The Hardcore Humanism Podcast. As a Hip Hop group, Run – DMC went on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and called one of the greatest musical groups of all time by Rolling Stone. But Hip Hop started out as an obscure underground culture which McDaniels witnessed from its birth to becoming to one of the most powerful societal forces in existence.
So, what did the Mighty DMC have to say on the topic of art during the pandemic?
The first thing that McDaniels pointed out is that while the current pandemic is horrible and obviously represents life and death consequences, to a certain degree, we have been here before. For example, Hip Hop emerged in New York City during a very difficult time. “The Bronx was burning. You know, 42nd Street wasn’t Disney … drugs, … gangs, pimps, pushers, prostitutes … darkness … destruction … despair…,” McDaniels told me.
To highlight the hopelessness felt in New York City during the birth of Hip Hop, McDaniels recited the lyrics of “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. “New York City is broken glass everywhere. … Don’t push me cause I’m close to the edge. I’m trying not to lose my head,” he said. “The reason why Hip Hop was so powerful wasn’t just us kids complaining. We created something to talk about what we saw, because the media wasn’t portraying those concepts, ideas and images in everyday life for us.”
Second, Hip Hop was forged out of literally nothing — other than the willingness by people to recognize that their experience mattered and was artistically worthy. There were initially no instruments, no clubs to play in, no radio stations playing the music, no labels signing artists. The whole culture needed to be invented – and it came through in several forms including Emceeing, Deejaying, Breakdancing, Aerosol Art (Graffiti) and Knowledge. And it didn’t matter that no one else bought into it initially.
“Hip Hop came and gave us that release. We put the art up on the trains and the walls…We told our songs. We made our stories. We were so visionary with our thoughts … We were so powerful with our concepts of ourselves that, okay, I’m not going to tap dance. I’m not going to ballet. I’m going to spin on my head and dance,” McDaniels recalled. “Now, people laughed at this, What do you want to do young boy? I want to dance and spin on my head. Oh, that’ll be when pigs fly. What did we do? Pull out some cardboard…and we showed the world that this is our reality.”
Third, despite the fact that we are facing so much death, sickness, and economic stress, we must recognize that we need our artists during this difficult time. We need them not only to reflect what is happening and to be our release, but also as a way of facilitating our humanity during this very divisive political time. McDaniels feels that only art can truly bring people together.
“It’s culture and art that succeeds where politics and religion fail … Because even with politics, if I’m a Democrat and you’re Republican … you’re something different than me,” McDaniels described. “We got to eradicate all of that…Okay, what’s the problem? How do we fix this? Comic books always showed us how to solve problems … books, TV shows… I’m not talking about political or religious books. I’m talking about people who write books from a human standpoint, that’s the thing that solves a problem.
“And that’s what we did with our music…”
In fact, McDaniels feels that the cornerstone of tyranny is to suppress art and artists. “The first thing that an evil dictator does… is send the troops and go to the museums, destroy all the art and the paintings. Bring me every writer, artist, sculptor. They destroyed the art, burned all the books,” he said.
Finally, McDaniels feels that rather than feel like the whole underground has to be formed all at once or that one person needs to do it all, we need to recognize that it starts with something as simple as an idea. “In any culture, industry, you have to start with the thoughts … But then now you just got the thought. The thought becomes the image. Then it becomes something physical, something touchable,” McDaniels described. “Now, think of your story. If you’re not a writer, go get somebody to write it for you…if we all start working together and coming together, the perfect world free of wars, free of bias and bigotry and hatred, and discrimination can exist.”
McDaniels takes this concept of working with others to heart and continues to find new outlets for his creativity. Just a few months ago, McDaniels was in an interview and was asked if there’s anything else he’d like to do besides music and comics. And a thought popped into his head: “I’m gonna start a cookie company.” And since he admits that he “can’t even scramble eggs,” he’s going to work with a baker, a manager, a vendor and by collaborating with others, he’s going to make this new dream of his come to life. “I can’t do it by myself,” he said.
So, I am still not someone who knows how to start an underground cultural movement. But I know that after listening to McDaniels I’m hopeful to try, and support others that try as well. Maybe I need to do something creative myself. Maybe I need to start having outdoor home concerts in my backyard so musicians can have a place to play and earn some income. Or maybe I need to just try to support artists by buying t-shirts and albums.
Whatever it is, McDaniels encourages all of us to take that first step of having a thought that might lead somewhere. “I’m trying to tell people … if anybody wants to do something, you already have everything necessary to succeed within you.
“It starts with the thought.”
Photo Credit: Luigi Novi
