Dash's BlakRoc Disses Black Rock

How can you call something “BlakRoc” when the black folks on the project only rap and the rockers are all white?

BlakRoc is the name of Damon Dash’s upcoming project, a collaboration between white rockers The Black Keys and rappers such as Mos Def, Q-Tip, Ludacris, and Raekwon, to name a few.  Ordinarily, I could care less what Damon Dash does.  But in choosing this name for the project, he crossed a line: You can’t match black rappers and white rockers and call it “BlakRoc.”

No, BlakRoc has nothing to do with black rock, something I’ve spent nearly the last three years championing on my blog.  The conflation of the two is offensive. There’s too much history there. It’s like he’s acknowledging the existence of black rock with his middle finger.

 “BlakRoc” is a slap in the face to those of us who have been working to develop audiences for black artists who don’t fit neatly into pre-conceived categories. It’s an affront to those of us who still face apathy and dismissiveness when it comes to the place of blacks in beyond hip hop and R&B.  

It’s galling, too, coming on the heels of Dash’s former partner, Jay-Z, saying bands like Grizzly Bear were going to push hip hop.  Some hipsters are going to save hip hop?  Great.  Statements like this ignore all of the black artists who are embracing live music, forming bands, telling more substantive stories, and the audiences who are supporting black alternative music in growing numbers.  That’s going to force hip hop to evolve.  

Truthfully, however, I shouldn’t be surprised that someone like Dash, himself a champion of hip hop’s “arrogant opulence,” would come up with such an ahistorical name for a project.  I can only assume that it’s an opportunity for Dash to leverage the halo of his former association with Roc A Fella in order to get back into the music game.   But it’s boneheaded.

Does Dash even know what black rock means?  The term dates back nearly 25 years to the founding of the Black Rock Coalition.  It signifies that rock music was never the sole province of white, male expression.  There were always other people in the mix, as exemplified by the many bands, artists and supporters -- male and female -- who comprise the growing ranks of the Black Rock Coalition, Afro-Punk, URB Alt and Ghetto Metal communities.  The term never applies to white bands.

Even worse, Dash is late to getting on the rock tip. The cultural shift that’s pushing black rock off the fringes and towards the mainstream has been underway for a while now. Nearly three years ago The New York Times (re)discovered the black indie rock community. Subsequent to that the musical Passing Strange went to Broadway and won a Tony Award. What’s more: The Afro-Punk Festival in Brooklyn attracts 30,000 people each year; TV On The Radio’s Dear Science was named 2008 Album of The Year by both SPIN and Rolling Stone; and the black indie milieu is used as a setting for film (Barry Jenkins’ celebrated Medicine for Melancholy) and a novel (Farai Chideya’s Kiss The Sky).  And all of this is on top of the hundreds of black rock bands nationally and internationally who represent a fuller spectrum of black music.  

Here are my politics: When you have the chance to move the needle forward for African Americans, you do it.  If Dash was looking to stay in the lo-fi, break-friendly, blues-rock zone, why not take the opportunity to shine a spotlight on Alvin Youngblood Hart, Corey Harris, The Soul of John Black, Three5Human, or Earl Greyhound? These artists have been keeping the blues alive for years, but have hardly been given the critical support they deserve.  And how hot would it be to bring the 11 rappers on this project together with, say, blues legend Buddy Guy? But that requires vision, not just opportunism.

Should we hold the artists involved in the project accountable?  This is a tricky area.  Artists are always looking for outlets for their creativity. For most of the rappers on this project, I assume this was one of the few times they got to work with live musicians.  Also, this project probably exposes both the rappers and the Black Keys to audiences they might not otherwise reach.  This is all good.

But the way the skewed media tastemaking machine works, this project will only serve as further proof of the Black Keys’ artistry.  The fact is, given all the critical acclaim they’ve received, they certainly didn’t “need” the burn they’re going to get from being associated with this project.  I look at them at them in an historical context and see another example of white artists who rode the blues to successful careers, even stardom.  Think the White Stripes, the Black Crowes, even as far back as The Rolling Stones. The gushing is already underway: “A new age of possibility,” crows a writer on the URB blog. Whatever.
 
It’s straight up cowardice that the music media willfully ignores the existence of what the name of this project calls up when it's the big elephant in the room.

But you’ll think for yourself, won’t you?  If you want to find out what’s real, growing and vibrant in black rock, join the Black Rock Coalition and URB Alt communities online, check out the 20-city Afro-Punk tour that kicks off this week, or just go out and support any of the hundreds of black rock artists across the country who are making engaging and exciting music right now.  

The BlakRoc Project will probably do well.  But it won’t be worthy of its name.

Follow Rob Fields on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@robfields

Comments

[Charvel19]

The Black Keys + Roc-a-Fella Records = BlacRoc

I thought that was obvious... I'm a struggling rock artist of Puerto Rican dissent and a HUGE fan of TBKs. I've been obsessing over this album for months and not once had I considered that the title was a reference to a "black rock 'n roll" genre, or considered what that even means. BlacRoc a simple combination of two names. I guess they could have gone with Keys-a-Fella, but that sounds ridiculous.

Can't wait for the album!

[kyraocity]

Point well taken about naming and it's about time that the old style management of the record business start to think with some reciprocity to other acts that will be impacted. More collaboration and less competition with other standing genres and artists. More nods to what is happening in the scenes of black rock would be appreciated AND I dare say would benefit hip-hop and other worlds of musical blackness. Kyra Gaunt (Author of prize-winning The Games Black Girls Play, NYUP 2006)

[ericdill]

This type of article creates more of a divide than bringing anyone together. imindifferent could not have put it better. "Though from your lengthy critique, it seems as though you care more about the book's cover and less about what lies inside. Why don't you read a page or two? You may find the story compelling­." I understand that you hang up is on the name, but honestly could you not put the whole Black Keys & Roc-A-Fella thing together? You take a shot at the Black Keys for ridding the blues to stardom. So they actually appreciate and were influenced by what amazing black artisits came before them. And in cases like Chulahoma paid hommage to them. If white artisits didn't appreciate black artists that came before them, and their music did not reflect these artisits in any way, I'm guessing you'd have a problem with that too.
You ask why Dash didn't approach black artisits like Buddy Guy. The website tells how Dash found out about the Black Keys. He didn't have an idea about doing this project before he heard them. He enjoyed what he heard and approached them. But because he didn't do a project with a black artisit he is contributing to blacks not moving forward. Its articles like this and more importanly mindsets like this that will help contribute to the races being pushed apart.

[caligyrl74]

BRAVO!!! EXCELLENT POST!

[ronbronson]

I like your blog and have been following it for a while now, but I think you're making a bit more to do about nothing here. I think it's just a name and Dame Dash is trying to get back into music somehow and with this, he's probably expanding well beyond his base by starting to get into The Black Keys at all (which is what I read.) and so, if it works well, who knows what sort of possibilities could be out there.

[Lonathan]

As much as I can understand your argument, and I really do. Have you listened to any of the stuff that's come out of this? I was a huge black keys fan prior to this, so I was unquestionably interested, but seriously did you like what you heard? I'm not saying that you're points aren't valid (damn double negative lol) I'm just saying that sometimes its worth taking a step back and listening to what it is while leaving all the socio-political underpinnings at the door, and then making your point while being able to say "BUT the music is pretty damn sweet".

Maybe the name is a poor choice for all the above reasons, but god damn if I'm not buying this album :D.

[Rob Fields - Huffpost Blogger]

@Lonathan, @imindifferent I think it's going to be a hot record. My issue is simply with the name. And like I say in the piece, I understand that artists in general are looking for outlets for their creativity. They have to make good art first. To me, the project could've been named something else. But, naming is framing. And that means that when I see "Blakroc" I have to deal with what that connotes for me and a lot of other people.

Am I calling for a boycott of this project? No. But it's important to have a conversation about what the name of the project does and does not represent, what it conjures.

That, I believe, is worthwhile.

[jmjohnson40]

Though I don't know for sure, I think Blakroc comes from mixing Black Keys with Roc-A-Fella or Roc4life.

[Claire Stone]

I agree with Mr. Fields. The fact is there are very few rock or alternative bands, whose members are black, that get any mainstream recognition. I shudder to think that the mainstream music listener will hear something like Dash's project being presented as black roc(k) and all they'll get is rap over rock riffs like at the Warped tour or the MTV award, hardly ground-breaking. The fact is all rock, all music for that matter is 'black' music because we are the originators of it all. Be that as it may, when the 'mainstream' sees a black artist doing music that generally expect for it to be hip-hop or r&b, or hip-hop over jazz, or r&b over hip hop tracks, etc, etc. I haven't heard the project. I'm not a fan of Dash or his music, though I am a big fan of mos def, luda and the others. I just hope he doesn't pull a 'Puffy" on alternative/rock .

[jmjohnson40]

Please listen to the music. It is a hip hop record with live instrumentation. No one is going to confuse this as some declaration that this is the only type of rock n roll that black people are able to create.

[caligyrl74]

I completely disagree - if you actually listen to rock music you would know that there are many groups out there that have black members. Alice In Chains replaced Lane Staley with a black lead singer named William Duvall, there's Sepultura (black lead singer), there was Seven Dust, and one of the most successful American Bands ever Gun's and Roses has a black member - and those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head - there are plenty more.

I am a young black woman who has listened to rock music my whole life and I find that most black people I know think it's racist and really have no idea what the make up of these groups are. Not too long ago a friend made a comment to me about GNR being a racist group - she was quite surprised to learn that Slash is half black and couldn't believe in all these years she'd never heard that.

Another thing - I really hope we get past this mentality where we have to stake our claim on being the source all this great music comes from - it's tired.

[Claire Stone]

Sure, the statement may be 'tired' to you...but you'd be suprised at how many Caucasians (which I am half of) do not know that. Would not even consider it to be fact. So, tired or not it bares repeating. It also speaks to why this article is so relevent to create a dialogue so later on down the road our kids don't see our contributions to music and the world as...well.­.tired.

[brownstocking]

1) Slash is not "half" of anything, you cannot divide humans up like that, think back to the 3/5 rule.

2) Slash also admitted he had issues with the "One in A Million" song, which was racist. Point-blank. And denigrated queer people.

3) POC cannot get "past" the staking of claims when they're faced with cultural appropriation from time immemorial. That's life. And I think POC will stop pointing out reality, when reality is acknowledged universally. I think to think otherwise is either naive or myopic, and while that can work for you as an individual, that's not really helpful to society. It's like saying we're "post-racial" or some similar nonsense.

[imindifferent]

BlakRoc is just a name. FYI, all of the folks involved had hands-on input in the creative process. This collaboration started as a snowball on a hill and grew as more artists became involved. The Black Keys came up with the foundation, and every one of the hip hop artists involved built on it to create the end product. Melodies, lyrics, and arrangements were constructed as a joint effort, with artists like RZA even laying down some guitar tracks and building the song from the ground up. It's not as black and white (pun intended) as you make it out to be. It's a collaboration of artists, not "black guys rapping and white guys rocking". You may hold sacred your definition of "Black Rock", but to label this project a setback to that genre is ignorant. It is forward progress in every sense of the words. Don't push new ideas away because you're not happy with what the name conveys. Let your ears be the judge. Though from your lengthy critique, it seems as though you care more about the book's cover and less about what lies inside. Why don't you read a page or two? You may find the story compelling.

I for one look forward to BlacRoc and I hope we see more projects like this in the future.