Political hip-hop

Produced by FAITH SFX


We are here today to talk about an invasion
An occupation and a war which has ravaged a country whose history is littered with foreign interference
Opposing the war in Iraq did not mean you were automatically pro-Saddam  
If anyone was pro-Saddam, that was Ronald Reagan and his administration
Opposing the war in Afghanistan does not mean you were pro-Al Qaeda
If anybody could be called pro-Al Qaeda, with all due respect for his current position regarding Palestine, it would be Jimmy Carter's administration and the director of the CIA at the time, Robert Gates, a man who interestingly currently serves as Obama's Secretary of Defense
Opposing the war in Afghanistan does not make you pro-Taliban
If anybody was pro-Taliban, it was Condoleezza Rice and her cohorts at the oil company Unocal
The Taliban themselves were orphans of the Afghan War with the Russians, in which Al-Qaeda was backed by the CIA under both Jimmy Carter's and Ronald Reagan's administrations
Nobody in their right mind could deny the Taliban's hideous oppression of women, but it didn't start on September 11th, 2001
Their horrendous regime was in power long before hand
When Bush and Blair tried to justify this war, all of a sudden women's rights in Afghanistan was so very important
Women in Afghanistan were persecuted long before September 11th, and are still subject to persecution on a daily basis under the clearly un-democratic Karzai regime, which the Americans and the British are currently so steadfast in supporting
Condoleezza Rice and Unocal were not concerned about the women of Afghanistan when they were sitting at the table with the Taliban negotiating lucrative oil deals
Besides, in a last ditch attempt to avoid invasion and regime change at the hands of a foreign power, which is of course illegal under international law, the Taliban offered Bin Laden to the Americans
However, despite this, the invasion and occupation still went ahead
As if the American government have a monopoly on morality
As if the American government differentiate morally when looking for business partners
It has never been about creating moral governments
It has been about creating governments that are open to manipulation and are willing to do business
The American government like the British government know that Karzai is corrupt
They know they have installed a bunch of warlords and drug-dealers 
Karzai's own brother is a well known drug-lord with his fingers all over the heroin trade in that country
For the record, in the first year of the occupation, the heroin production in that country increased 1000% and now accounts for over 90% of the heroin on Britain's streets today
The largest amount of heroin coming out of Afghanistan was from the Helmand province, which interestingly was the area of the highest number of British troops were occupying
Make of that what you will
If these occupying forces were really interested in helping the Afghan people, they would put in place a system where by the opium produced in the country could be used all over the world for strictly medicinal purposes, thus giving the country a massive and legitimate source of income from it's poppy fields
There is nothing noble, romantic, or righteous about this occupation
While the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq is widely understood to have been a disaster, there are still those in this country to argue that this war in Afghanistan is somehow a legitimate war for the good of humanity, as if any government, particularity our government has ever gone to war in the interest of humanity

Explain these lyrics at 
http://rapgenius.com/Lowkey-lowkey-on-afghanistan-part-1-lyrics

Lowkey on Afghanistan Part 1 With Lyrics

Produced by FAITH SFX

This war does not in any way serve the people of this country's interests
We have absolutely nothing to gain from invading and occupying another country which the British have failed at occupying many times before 
Saddam Hussein, though a despicable murderous tyrant, posed absolutely no threat to the people of this country
The Taliban, though a group of abhorrent oppressive maniacs, never posed any threat to the people of this country
People die in wars
People are orphaned in wars
People are imprisoned in wars
People get raped in wars
People kill in wars
And people are haunted by their experiences of war
But some people do strive in wars
Some people do profit in wars
Arms companies like BAE Systems and Lockheed make billions from wars
The oil companies have made billions from these wars, but the people of this country do not gain anything from these wars
Not the British people
Not the American people
And not the Afghan people
There is nothing charitable about bombing somebody's country and occupying it
People have argued that this war was waged in order to defend the people of this country from possible terrorist attacks 
On the contrary, this war has endangered British citizens all over the world 
Not only has it cost British taxpayers millions of pounds, it has taken the lives of over 200 British soldiers and stolen the humanity of countless others 
Rather than deter terrorist attacks, this occupation, like the Iraq one, has only endangered this country
There was a terrorist attack on British soil in 2005, but that was only after the British occupations of these countries had been underway for years already
The only lesson that can be learned from such events is that Britain's tireless support of the American empire and it's imperialist wars have hugely endangered the people of this country
While America's bombing has spread to the Swat Valley in Pakistan with Obama's remote control drones dropping bombs which have displaced at least two million and killed many, Gordon Brown has pledged to send more British troops to Afghanistan to kill and die
That is all that is required of the people that are sent there
Kill and die, while sacrificing your own humanity
But don't ever ask "Why?"
These soldiers are being told that this war is for the good of their country, and more worryingly, for the good of humanity
Where those humans that sent you to war will not lose one minute of sleep over your death, they want you to be robots, and that is all
If you are lucky, you will kill, and be killed
If you are unlucky, you will kill, and survive, only to live the rest of your life tortured by your past, but for what?
It is not for the good of your country, the United Kingdom, or Great Britain
The Queen couldn't care less about your life
Her grandson Harry did join the Army, just long enough to refer to one of his fellow troops as a packy, and the people those soldiers are supposedly liberating, as ragheads
The prince Harry episode is actually indicative of the indoctrination that is vital in this process of justification
They do not want their robots to ask questions
"Shut up, take a gun, and kill some ragheads"
That's all this country requires of it's robots
But, the truth is, throughout this process, the only person dehumanized is the British soldier himself
So when they tell you to "support the troops," the only real way of supporting the troops is by bringing them home now and today
This war does not serve the British people
It only harms us
It does not serve the soldiers themselves
It only harms them
The question is, "How can it possibly serve the interests of this country?"
An interesting way of working out whose interests British Prime Ministers were serving when in power, is to look at who they take jobs for, after there term is finished
For John Major, it was The Carlyle Group, a company with very close ties to the Bush family
For Tony Blair, it was JP Morgan, a company who made millions from the war in Iraq
Who will it be for Gordon Brown?  
Who is Gordon Brown working for?
That is my question, because it certainly isn't the British people


Explain these lyrics at 
http://rapgenius.com/Lowkey-lowkey-on-afghanistan-part-2-lyrics

Lowkey on Afghanistan Part 2 With Lyrics

A humble tribute to one of the greatest military leaders in history, a true hero and an inspiration to the people of the world struggling against imperialism. 

Võ Nguyên Giáp, who died today at the age of 102, was, after Ho Chi Minh, the leader most responsible for Vietnam's victory in the war against French colonialism and US invasion. These victories gave tremendous confidence and strength to the people of South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe and to the colonised and oppressed masses around the world. Despite its technological superiority, imperialism can be defeated by the will, courage, ingenuity and collective strength of the people.

This instrumental samples Vietnamese patriotic song 'The March of the Liberation Army' and also Mohammed Ali's famous interview where he explains his refusal to fight against Vietnam.

Fight to Win - Vo Nguyen Giap tribute

Artist: Lowkey
featuring ShameLess
Album/mixtape: Key To The Game Volume 2

If you would like, you can read some thoughts of mine on "The System," and possible solutions.
https://www.facebook.com/notes/aaron-celathian-pitts/thoughts-on-government-and-a-possible-solution/10202050959697834

Trapped In The System Ft ShameLess - Lowkey

This song is dedicated to the legacy of Maurice Bishop, leader of the Grenadian Revolution. 

Thirty years ago today Bishop was gunned down by his own comrades, the result of a disastrous split within the governing New Jewel Movement. This paved the way for the criminal US invasion, in which as Reagan sent tens of thousands of troops to ensure that the Grenadian Revolution was comprehensively wiped out.

Bishop was a great revolutionary and a true man of the people - A Hugo Chavez of his time. Read more about him here: http://www.invent-the-future.org/2013/10/remembering-maurice-bishop/

FREE DOWNLOAD: Marcel Cartier - Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win (prod Agent of Change)

A new instrumental from London-based hip-hop producer Agent of Change, paying tribute to Ernesto 'Che' Guevara on what would have been his 86th birthday. Samples the song 'El Aparecido', written and performed by Victor Jara in 1967, soon after Che's assassination. 

¡El Che Vive!

Che Lives

A set of beats sampling or inspired by music from the frontline African states in the struggle for liberation from colonialism and apartheid. 

Other beat-tapes in the series: 

https://soundcloud.com/agentofchange/sets/drums-of-revolution
https://soundcloud.com/agentofchange/sets/the-displaced-soul-of-an-agent
https://soundcloud.com/agentofchange/sets/deconstructed-soul

Conflicting Missions

Hani's Song

Letter From Soweto

Dedication to the late Hugo Chávez on what would have been his 60th birthday. Samples the famous song 'El Necio' by legendary Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez.

Me Muero Como Viví

Hip-hop interpretation of the National Anthem of Donetsk People's Republic. Because the people of that region are being subjected to daily shelling and suffocation, attacked by right-wing paramilitaries and an illegitimate fascist-aligned government in Kyev. Over a thousand have been killed, many more displaced, and few know or care about it.

"Any community seriously concerned with its own freedom has to be concerned about other peoples’ freedom as well" - Assata Shakur.

#SolidarityIsIndivisible 

Don Bass

Feels like a good time to release this beat, at a time when the US government is bringing its full repressive weight down on the people of Ferguson. The level of repression is totally insane, and cannot but inspire ever-deeper resistance. What's good for our side is that it may well provide just the catalyst needed for the disparate progressive, pro-black, anti-capitalist forces to pursue maximum unity, build within the wider community, and internationalise their struggle (as Malcolm X, the Panthers, the Young Lords, Kwame Ture and others did so effectively).

Two samples: 

1. Malcolm X, in one of his last speeches (http://www.malcolm-x.org/speeches/spc_021465.htm), discussing the hypocrisy of the ruling class, which demands 'non-violence' from the people whilst at the same time violently decimating peoples all over the world. 

2. Miriam Makeba's tribute to Malcolm X, released shortly after his assassination (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqLjDFjemU0). 

Remember Malcolm

Today (12 September, 2014) would have been the 90th birthday of Amilcar Cabral, leader of the anti-colonial struggle of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, and one of the outstanding figures of the global struggle against imperialism. He was assassinated in 1973 by agents acting on behalf of the Portuguese secret police. 

This track is the instrumental of a track I made with Marcel Cartier, the video of which you can see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Q2bJVd8VM

The intro speech is an excerpt from Cabral's informal discussions with black liberation groups in the US on 20 October, 1972 (he spoke many languages, one of which was English), in which he showed a profound understanding of the relationship between the black liberation struggle in the US and the anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggle in Africa.

"We think that our fighting for Africa against colonialism and imperialism is a proof of understanding of your problem and also a contribution for the solution of your problems in this continent. Naturally the inverse is also true. All the achievements toward the solution of your problems here are real contributions to our own struggle. And we are very encouraged in our struggle by the fact that each day more of the African people born in America become conscious of their responsibilities to the struggle in Africa."

The main sample is from a Capeverdian jazz tribute to Cabral.

Listen, enjoy and share! 

Claim No Easy Victories (instrumental)

This brand new track entitled "Power" features a collaboration between two up and coming Hip Hop artists from Canada and the UK: Dialectic and Lemzi. The message behind this track was to show the power that Hip Hop can have in uniting people from across the world; bringing together individuals of different backgrounds to fight for a common cause. 

POWER- Dialectic Feat. Lemzi (Prod. Agent of Change)

This track matches the vocal from 2Pac's classic "Changes" with a moving Victor Jara guitar riff ("Canción del árbol del olvido"), melding the sounds of two great revolutionary artists from different eras. 

For those that don't know, Chilean singer Victor Jara was one of the leaders of the Nueva Canción (New Song) movement – a movement based around socially committed music; music that takes a clear stand for freedom, against poverty, against imperialism and against human rights abuses. Nueva Canción gave voice to the millions of peasants, workers and indigenous peoples of Latin America who were being crushed under the weight of US economic and political dominance. In the aftermath of the brutal CIA-backed military coup of 11 September 1973, thousands of socialists, trade unionists, community activists and communists were taken hostage by the army and rounded up in Chile Stadium. Along with many others, Victor Jara was beaten and tortured; his hands were broken, but his resolve was not. When soldiers taunted him and told him to play something on his guitar, he played Venceremos (We Shall Triumph) - the campaign song of the 1970 election that had brought the socialist Salvador Allende to power. On 16 September 1973 he was machine-gunned to death by soldiers in the stadium. His legacy is profoundly to important to all those seeking to use music as part of a movement for social change.

This remix is part of the forthcoming Agent of Change project, "The Ghost of Victor Jara".

Dreams of Change (Victor Jara vs Tupac Shakur)

To mark Remembrance Day 2014, here's an Agent of Change remix of Rodney P's verse from last year's "Revolution" (Rodney P feat Rebel Diaz, Logic, Big Frizzle, Renee Soul): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NoRb64xSYQ

Samples include Rule Britannia and Kwame Nkrumah's independence speech. 

Down with empire and imperialist war. 

Fall Britannia (feat Rodney P)

This remix of Mos Def's classic "Mathematics" is the second drop from the forthcoming Agent of Change project, "The Ghost of Victor Jara".

Ancient Mathematics (Victor Jara vs Mos Def)

Marcel Cartier - Right To Rebel remix feat Terror Bliss, Kaktan, Marx Sickmind. Produced by Agent of Change. Additional vocals by Nana D.

In solidarity with the people of Ferguson.

Marcel Cartier - Right To Rebel remix feat Terror Bliss, Kaktan, Marx Sickmind

Immortal Technique - Caught In A Hustle

In celebration of what would have been Bob Marley's 70th birthday.  Bob was one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century; a great musician and revolutionary teacher who spread a message of resistance and love.

Political hip-hop

Rango