elmattic

In dropping the 9/11 tracks, I purposely avoided all those who spit 9/11 conspiracy theories. That shit is just misguided and muddies the waters. It’s understandable that cats believe the government planned 9/11, created AIDS, pumps crack into the ghetto, etc. There is definitely a racist, anti-poor agenda in the corridors of power. But don’t give them so much credit. Bush and his boys? These motherfuckers couldn’t plot their way outta wet bag of Frito Lays. Come on. They fucked up the Iraq war. They fucked up the economy. They fucked up pretty much everything. They’re evil. They’re liars. But they’re also idiots.

If you believe there’s these vast, organized conspiracies which accomplish so much evil and remain secret (except to various bloggers, radio hosts, college students and nutjobs…) you’re giving them more power. You’re giving them the power of your fear.

Bush made cynical use of 9/11 as political capital to invade Iraq, erode the Constitution and use our fear of terrorists against us. But you gotta parse the difference between his using 3,000 deaths for his own ends and actually setting it up.

I’m not gonna get into all this temperature-of-burning-jet-fuel-vs.-steel-melting-point and look-at-this-frame-of-grainy-video and all that other shit. Aside from illogic, it’s just too implausible they could pull it off. I wouldn’t put it past ‘em. I just don’t think they have their shit together enough.

I guess it’s easier to believe in black helicopters and the Bilderburg Group, than to understand what’s going on: sheer indifference and cynical policy decisions. Definitely easier to rhyme ‘Illuminati’ than ‘House Resolution Number 625’ or cipher on derivatives and hedge funds.

And the 9/11 Truthers seem to pretty quickly devolve into idiocy, lunacy and link into other stupid conspiracy theories. Oooh…Neo’s passport in The Matrix expired on 9/11/01 which proves that…um…Keanu Reeves…uh…blew up the World Trade Center…or something…

But emotionally, what is so attractive to the 5% of Amerikkkans who believe 9/11 was orchestrated by the government? (Or the Jews. Or Pakistan. Or that Osama bin Laden was working for Wal-Mart.)

I guess it’s a way to avoid the thing itself: the terror of terror. The horrible deaths of three thousand people. That 20 highly committed Islamic fundamentalists could accomplish that with a little flight training and some lax airport security. Maybe doubts about our government’s lies—going back to Vietnam and Watergate and now repeated with WMDs—just means we distrust all truth coming out their mouths.

Anyway, I did really dig this cut on an Immortal Technique mixtape:

Here’s someone’s video version:

I’m not down with 9/11 debunking, but this cat has got rhymes and good beats, and makes his case. Hip hop can really drop science when it wants to; it has enormous proven potential to influence and educate.

Lately I find intelligent/conscious/political rappers, though, either just can’t rhyme very well, or have really shitty beats (yeah, that’s right, Paris: I’m looking at you.) And it’s gotta have the whole package to succeed—and reach beyond the converted. Intelligent people will listen to all kinds of misguided stupid shit coming out of gangsta/mainstream rapper’s mouths if it’s got a good hook, right?

So I thought I better see what else this cat has dropped. It turns out his real name is Daniel (DL) Abrahamson, and he’s a 24 year old, highly intelligent activist who’s involved in various 9/11 truth stuff and such. I dig what he has to say here about ‘cell activism’: Daniel Abrahamson - Rebuilding Americas Senses

And here he is dropping some (partially pseudo-)science:

You don’t have to watch the whole thing to get the gist of it (I sure didn’t), but this cat is smart and articulate as hell. Holy shit, he’s a rapping version of Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson! He’s Bulworth 90210! He’s John Connor with Bilderburgs instead of robots! He’s John Walker Lindh if he hadn’t called his travel agent! He’s Michael Moore meets Paris by way of Donnie Darko! He’s a Jewish Zach de la Rocha for the You Tube/Lil Wayne generation!  He’s a hybrid of Immortal Technique and Stuff White People Like.com!

So I thought, this is hella interesting, on some next-generation shit: a young guy spreading a message of scattershot, homegrown but tech-savvy activism in the same way. Using the outer edges of the self-made internet to reach people. And it’s unusual to find that kind of thinking and presentation in someone who has an ear for a good loop.

Oh, wait. He supported Ron Paul for Christ’s sake. He thinks Noam Chomsky is too conservative or an apologist or possibly a government agent or some shit. He yammers on about MKULTRA, fluoride in the water, and the Bilderburgs. “War on your holographic soul”? Shit.

Also, Pentagon space beams melted the Twin Towers. Or not. Actually DL/Shivers thinks that’s silly, to his credit.

Apparently Abrahamson/Shivers cut ties with some of the 9/11 truthers, and is talking a good deal more sense here.

There’s nothing really from him on the internets from the past year. His site falseflagsnews has been down since January. He’s maybe getting away from some of the crazy shit and moving more towards activism and spreading the word about the bigger picture of government/corporate control. Or he really was a government agent and has been redeployed to a Starbucks near you. Or he’s gone totally paranoid and holed up in his house with aluminum foil on the windows. Who knows?

Here’s his myspace. You can pull down some ill tracks there. He comes across as pretty funny and self-effacing, not at all loony or over-earnest.

Maybe he’s sticking with music as the medium for his message?  See, that would be interesting: if he thinks he can reach more people, more effectively, through hip hop than through articles and lectures.  I don’t know for sure.  I should e-mail him, but who has the fucking time.

What’s interesting is he’s taken down the 9/11 song, but doesn’t say why. Maybe he’s starting to see where the agenda really is, the pressure points that’re worth pushing on…and they ain’t about controlled demolition, my nephew…

The real enemy is high fructose corn syrup. Oh wait, he already has a song about that.

Keep your eye on this cat. His beats are tight, he can spit, and he’s got something to say. It’ll be interesting to see where he ends up—either more or less batshit.

You know my steez up in here is to bring you raw, hype shit you never heard of before, and he’s definitely that.

Anyway, he’s less irritating than Canibus, but not as funny as the Reptilian Body Snatchers guys.