Aspiring Rapper Critical of Hip Hop's Favorite President

Brian Field released a video/song called "All Hail Obama" which can be viewed on Youtube.com. It's address is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVAJd-AwNtQ. The video is controversial because President Obama is very popular among many hip hop performers. Field breaks it down for us in a controversial interview.

1)What inspired you to do a rap song about Barack Obama?

What didn't?

I'll give you the long answer first, and then the short answer. First let me say that music is a very powerful thing. It sways people's hearts and minds, even if its creator didn't have the inherent intention of it doing so. Our lives would be very dull if we walked around and had only our own thoughts to bop our heads to with no musical accompaniment. I think we were designed to not only love music, but to be influenced by it '" even if negatively so, or against our own will. For instance, that's why if for some terrible reason against my will, I hear a Lady Gaga song, guess what I'll be humming the rest of the day until I manage to purge it from my brain by listening to something else? Freakin Gaga -- So, herein lies the reason why I made a song about Obama. It really bothers me to watch sheeple blindly follow a man into a pit. If I can influence even a small amount of people in the opposite direction, I think that's a good thing. Preferably though, I want to influence many. Make no mistake about it, I want to sway minds. Subconsciously or consciously, when people listen to my stuff, I want to "infect" them with my way of thinking. Words arranged in a clever manner and stated emphatically with unapologetic conviction show people that you could be saying something worth listening to. I think that I am. Sometimes the effect on someone will only be subtle, but sometimes it can change their lives, especially young people.

The short answer? Barrack Obama inspired me to do a song about Barack Obama. His clear disdain for the values that made this country great, despite verbally saying to the contrary (of course) -- His whole hearted approval and appointing of those who do the same -- His desire to change certain things so drastically and so quickly, even things that either should not be changed and/or that are clearly against the public's will -- . And the fact that many people don't seem to know or care. Once a leader stops working for the collective will of the people and starts executing policies based purely on his own agenda because he thinks he knows better, YOU'VE GOT A PROBLEM. This is what has happened, and I'm trying to alert people to the fact. I want to make it known though -- I DON'T HATE Barack Obama, the person, or at least in my own mind I try to remind myself that I shouldn't hate him. I hate his philosophies, his political views, his policies, and the direction he is steering our country. I try not to hate anyone.

2)Have you gotten any positive feedback from the rap community? Many people in the hip-hop community greatly admire America's first black president.

To be completely honest, the only feedback I have received so far on this song are from my friends and associates. So far, they all seem to love it, even the ones that wholeheartedly disagree with the message, and flat out tell me so. If I can even remotely have this same sort of acceptance among the hip hop community, it would greatly exceed my expectations, but I'm not holding my breath. I've posted it on some forums and have not had many comments yet, and one forum even seemed to pull it down almost immediately. I did however only release it a few days ago, and as a rapper I'm certainly not very well known yet, so I guess I can't expect too much too soon.

What I am trying to do in general (and what I think I accomplished with this song) is create tracks that are by any reasonable person - undeniably good. Lyrics very carefully crafted, beats that almost force you to bop your head, and a chorus that you want to repeat out loud -- . I want to make it obvious to anyone that listens to it, whether they agree with me or not, whether they personally hate me or not, that it took a lot of skill to create. So much so, that they would look foolish to blow me off as "just another rapper", or to say "meh -- .that was o.k -- " That is my end goal. I want to reach out further than just the hip hop community though. I want people who don't even necessarily like or generally appreciate rap to like it, and that is a difficult task.

I understand that the hip hop community admires Obama. This to me is troubling, but there's not much I can do about that besides trying to burn my lyrics into their heads. I know that they love "the first black president". I honestly wish I could too. A lot of people will instantly hate me, and I understand that. I expect that, and I'm trying to prepare myself for what that means for me. As challenging as it will be, I'll try not to hate them in return. As with any "community", I want to reach the reasonable minded among them. The thinking people, and the people that don't already have their minds already made up about everything.

3)Are there other social and political subjects you rap about?

Let me say that I do not consider myself to be a political rapper. This is actually my first "political" song. I simply saw something that I thought needed to be said, the lyrics popped into my head, and I said it. I will likely only do a few more political type songs, and that's it. Who knows though -- but there is simply so much else to talk about, and I don't want to bore people by being redundant like a lot of other rappers. Some rappers only rap about Gangster stuff, some only write battle rhymes, some only political, and a lot of Gospel rappers rap only about God. I want to be diverse, and there are many different subjects to speak about that I have in the works that will get people's attention.

4) What policies of the Obama Administration are you most unsatisfied with?

That is a loaded question! Man, where do I begin? I'll try to be very short and blunt. I'll fail, but I'll try:

Obamacare

This issue is very personal with me, because I have a very sick (but beautiful) wife. I do understand both sides of the fence. I understand that it sucks that many/most people don't have access to quality healthcare because it's so expensive. I understand it because I lived it. I had a fulltime job for a while that did not provide me with healthcare. I worked very hard, but had to pay out of pocket for medical expenses. It's just the way it was. You know what I did though? I did what I had to do. I accepted a job that I liked doing less, but that provided me and my wife with decent medical coverage. I refuse to believe that more people can't do this. They CAN. Say it people -- . "yes we can" -- . Can't we? It just takes prayer (lots of prayer) and initiative. And for those that don't believe in God, it can often just take initiative. "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth". The answer to this problem though is not to socialize it (healthcare) and overhaul the whole system. It's to fix the problems that exist that cause it to be so expensive and/or out of reach. This just could not get any simpler. What happens when healthcare is free and too many people start going to the doctor all at the same time? Don't tell me it won't happen, tell what would have to happen if/when it DOES happen. Supply and demand 101 would dictate that when demand is higher then the available supply, the supply will have to be curbed to deal with that demand. What this means for us is that we will all have to wait longer to go to the doctor. For many people, this may be just fine, but for people like my wife who need very frequent access to a doctor, they will have to wait longer -- no? As it is she has to wait too long in my opinion, sometimes more than a month just to get an appointment with her specialists. The problem is that if my wife isn't able to see a doctor quickly, she will die quickly. It's just that simple. Again, don't say that "it won't happen" -- think "what would happen if it did happen?"

Any policies that point toward the idea of forced wealth spreading (socialism).

It would be completely different if it was voluntary, but it's not. I don't want anyone elses money unless I work for it, and I don't want people taking what I work for unless I give it to them. Is that such a tough concept for Americans to want to live by? I do not like the idea of the government taking money from people (even if they have it "better off" than me) and giving it to me '" or others. It just isn't right. People who do not agree should simply put themselves in someone elses shoes. What happens if they suddenly became successful from a result of lots of hard work and effort, and then suddenly someone came along and said "hey, I don't make as much as you, GIMME THAT". My hunch is that they wouldn't like it. Anything that increases our taxes any higher than they are now. Take your pick at which of his policies will do this. Seriously, take your pick -- Man are we in debt, and the "Bush Card" only goes so far. Even though Obama promised my taxes wouldn't go up, sure enough, they did (significantly '" big surprise). This pisses me off.

Civilian" National Security Force

Seriously, what is this? I don't even think most liberals knew what Obama meant when he said this, but they all seemed to lap it up like dogs eating their own throw up. We are talking about FORCED military service. IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. "We have to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well funded -- ." Whoa -- Last I heard, we spend a lot on the military that we already have. Where is this extra money coming from, and what "national security objectives" have "we set" that our current military or policeman can't handle?

The whole "Green Movement"

Caring for the earth is great, and should certainly be instilled in the minds of all human beings from a young age. The problem is simply a matter of "too much too soon". We simply can't afford to go ballz to the wall with all this "green" crap. We're already out of money -- . a long time ago in fact. We need to think more frugally. Don't pay for what you can't pay back in the near immediate future, and trying to spend your way out of a financial crisis with initiatives that don't have a quick return on investment is simply foolish.

5) Besides rapping what do you for a career? Are you a family man as well?

I work as an audio engineer at a major software company on Long Island. I record and edit voiceovers, integrate voiceovers with power point presentations, stream live webcasts, setup events and all kinds of other stuff. I'm an AV guy. I am also a computer technician and do a good amount of computer work. If it's broke, I can definitely fix it '" Mac and PC, software and hardware.

I would definitely consider myself a family man. I have a very close relationship with most of my immediate family members. Friends come and go, but family is with you for the rest of your life '" whether you like it or not, so why not try to be close to them? I'm happily married, but don't have kids yet, so I see this as an opportunity to really work myself ragged and see if this rap thing is going to go anywhere.

6) How many tracks have you released and how has the response been to your songs?

Officially, this is the first track I have "released" into the wild, as in "it's for sale on the web". I've been making tracks since I was 14 years old (I'm now 27), and have distributed them around Long Island since then, but I never officially sold them on the web or tried to get them in stores. In all, I'd say that I have around 30 - 40 tracks, but most of them I am not really proud of, so I don't actively distribute them, and won't end up selling them. They will stay as "the classics" to my friends. A lot of them are really good, but they are from a time in my life where I didn't care as much about what came out of my mouth, and they don't represent where I am at mentally right now -- mostly battle type rhymes and things of that nature. In general, people really seem to like my stuff.

7) Who are your musical influences?

Well, lemme tell you who I listened to growing up. When I first started listening to rap when I was like 12 or 13, I listened to a lot of Biggie for a while. I didn't think that anyone was better than BIG at the time, not because his lyrics were amazing, but his presentation and just the way his voice sounded were in my opinion second to none. There was just something captivating about his flow and his personality that put me in a good mood. A few years later I started to expand my horizons and listened to a lot of Big Pun and Terror Squad, Cannabis, Eminem, Rakim, and I liked AZ as well. I basically really liked anyone that rhymed a lot of the same words in a verse. At some point, these types of styles became the only thing that sounded good to my ears when it came to hip hop (constant rhyming of the same chain of words throughout a verse). So when I was around 14, I started to write, and this is the way I wrote. I thought (and still think) that it requires so much more talent/skill/creativity/patience to write and rap in this manner.

At a certain point, I basically stopped listening to other rappers and just focused solely on my own stuff. I didn't have time to do work, school, my own rap, AND keep up with what other rappers were putting out. My rhymes require a lot of practice to stay sharp with them, and therefore a lot of time and effort. I'm constantly trying to improve upon and master my own flow. Now, it's just a matter of being very focused. I don't care much what other rappers do or say. I want to do my own thing.