DX: Hip Hop often pigeonholes its artists, unfortunately. Are you worried that people may start seeing you as “the Darfur guy?”
AAR: [Laughing] I’m not concerned at all. I’m positive that my music will speak for itself. I hope “Darfur” opens the door and helps grab a lot of people’s attention; but once you open that door up, the listener will see the depth of my artistry – that’s only the tip of the iceberg. I intend to show and prove that by continuing to generate powerful music that’s at the same level or exceeds the standard that I set for myself with “Darfur.” So no, I’m not concerned with being labeled “the Darfur guy.” [In fact], if I had to be known for one song, I’d have no problem being known for “Darfur,” because that song is so important and it addresses such a relevant issue.

DX: Recently, Method Man was asked about Nas’ choice for his next album’s title – Nigger. In response, he said this: “Nas knows what he's doing. He's a smart brother. He keeps his name in the game. Last year, when he put out Hip Hop Is Dead, I was being interviewed; everybody was asking me what I thought about his album. ... I think it's too much emphasis on just the word. I know a word worse than 'nigger': ‘Darfur.’ Real talk. I'd like to see Reverend Al take a walk out there. Let's stop focusing on the wrong shit.” Do you think that the media surrounding Hip Hop, and music as a whole sensationalizes certain topics, like Nas’ album title, to the point where there’s no room for discussion of topics as important as Darfur?
AAR: Well, I think that what Nas is doing is very proactive and intelligent from a marketing standpoint, and more importantly, it brings attention to serious issues. I think that as long as the spotlight is on Hip Hop and the Hip Hop generation, we can use that platform – that we may have garnered through sensationalism to speak to relevant issues. Of course, I haven’t heard Nas’ album, but I feel he’s going to address that word and several other issues in a thoughtful manner – and that’s what’s great about Hip Hop music! With our culture, we get your attention and we pull you into our world. We can bring a perspective that you may not have realized.

At the same time, when has the media acknowledged Hip Hop for the good it can do? Hip Hop has traditionally been the demon of the media – why would we expect the mass media to acknowledge the good things that we use Hip Hop for? I can understand why media outlets choose to focus on negativity; certain powerful individuals don’t want to see Hip Hop artists and the hip hop generation use the power that it has to really organize and address issues in a way that only the most charismatic of politicians could do. We would have power in the political process; we would have power economically; we would basically have full control of all of the potential that hip hop has! And that’s a very dangerous thing. So certain media outlets just focus on the negativity or what they perceive to be negative.

I would love to see the Hip Hop community stand as a united front against genocide and other injustices. But we’re not even that united amongst ourselves! Take a look at all the beef that goes on in Hip Hop and all the tearing each other down. In an ideal world, we’d stand as a unified front, but there’s too much bickering and beefing to reach our full potential.

DX: Can you describe the Darfur project that you’ve been planning?
AAR: When I recorded “Darfur,” I sat back and thought, “This is a really powerful song. This is a really powerful project.” Then I thought, “It doesn’t have to stop here.” What it really needs is a visual. I wanted to make a video that really captures the pain and anguish that I tried to communicate in my song.

My thought was initially to go to Eastern Chad (West African Country bordering Sudan, which currently houses hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees); so I started organizing people, and then I contacted an organization called Africare. Basically, the director of the organization told me that due to the situation in Chad, it would be almost impossible to get clearance to get there – even more so with a camera. He helped me rethink my plan…we decided to gather authentic footage from the crisis in Darfur and Eastern Chad to create a montage with some performance shoots in order to maintain the effect I was looking for.

Right now, I’m in the process of getting a dedicated director who could help me make this video. It will probably be a straight-to-Youtube video – I just need a director that understands that understands my vision and passion, and would help us create something that would possibly increase awareness about the issue on the Internet.

DX: Obviously, this issue is deeply rooted, dating back to years of oppression if you consider how European colonization affected Sudan; with so much history behind it, what is do you feel is the core of the problem today, and what can Hip Hop do to address it?
AAR: I think it’s the lack of unity on the continent of Africa. I’ll even go so far as to say the lack of unity among people of African descent is the core of a lot of our problems. I think that if you look at the situation in Darfur, people will tell you that it’s black vs. Arabs, or that it’s based on ethnic divisions – the bottom line is, the tribalism contributes enormously to the lack of unity. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be proud of our specific ethnic background, but there comes a point where you say, “We’re gonna put the tribalism aside for a common goal, and we’re not going to allow it to propel us to the point where we’ll kill each other.” Continued on page 3 »