Talib Kweli & Aja Monet On Poetry, Organizing, Solidarity, And Her Album | People's Party Full
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- Опубліковано 11 жов 2024
- In this episode of "People's Party With Talib Kweli," Kweli and Jasmin Leigh sit down with poet, writer, lyricist and activist:
AJA MONET
Here's what we got into:
• Her and Vic Mensa's rendition of the classic Black Star song, 'Brown Skin Lady.'
• Visiting Cuba, meeting family there, and discussing the revolution.
• Love for hip hop activist and revolutionary, Nehanda Abiodun.
• The importance of the Nuyorican Poets Café and it's connection to hip hop.
• How community was everything for developing poets while coming up.
• Being a part of the first 'Brave New Voices' teen poetry slam and winning.
• Looking to make her elders like poet/activist June Jordan proud.
• Coming to Talib's defense in her piece, 'For Women, Love, and Hip Hop.'
• Talib clarifying the reasons he called out Maya Moody on Twitter.
• "We need to love each other more than we hate our enemies."
• The complicated relationship between her and her mother growing up.
• The rappers and singers she listened to as an aspiring artist.
• Feeling motivated to use her gift of translating emotions into words.
• Aja's 'Give My Regards to Brooklyn' piece and talk about gentrification.
• Her poem, 'The Whistleblower' about LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.
• The notion of hashtags becoming cemeteries and dangers of social media.
• George Floyd's death being a wake up call to those denying police brutality.
• Her pushback of the capitalist 'Rise and Grind' hustle culture.
• Wise words from poets Nikki Giovanni and Ntozake Shange.
• Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin's interview on the 70s show 'Soul!'
• Phil Agnew, and the legacy of Dream Defenders activist organization.
• Why she chose to publicly show support for the Bernie Sanders campaign.
• Taking a hiatus from poetry while living in France and getting inspired again.
• Penning 'Limbo' after witnessing someone being shot and killed.
• The relevance of her piece, 'The Emerging Woman After Aborting A Girl'.
• How she was recruited by Eve Ensler to work with the V-Day movement.
• Her take on the term, 'birth-givers' that Rage Against Machine used.
• How comedians should be triggering the questions nobody is asking.
• The practice of having conversations her younger-self and how much it helps.
• Making a poetry album over lockdown with today's greatest jazz artists.
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PEOPLE'S PARTY WITH TALIB KWELI
People's Party is a weekly interview show hosted by Talib Kweli and Jasmin Leigh. Guests range from the biggest names in hip-hop to global entertainers to the most progressive minds moving our culture forward. The audio podcast is available on Apple and Spotify.
2:25 -- Aja is praised for her and Vic Mensa's rendition of the classic Black Star song, 'Brown Skin Lady.' They get into Vic's evolution as an emcee and prioritizing his art over celebrity status. Aja's Jamaican-Cuban heritage is discussed as well as her experience visiting Cuba, meeting family there and having complicated discussions of what the revolution meant to them. She also talks about the therapy of writing poetry, and inspiration pulled from her grandmother as well as hip hop activist/revolutionary, Nehanda Abiodun. Aja gets emotional as she reflects on her love for Nehanda and how she was the reason that the book 'My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter' was published.
13:53 -- The iconic Nuyorican Poets Cafe is brought up, which has been a cultural icon on New York's lower East Side since 1973. They discuss some of the notable emcees that got their start there, Aja winning the Poetry Slam Championship at age 19, and she is asked about the importance of that scene during the time she was coming up. They explore how being present within the community was everything back then, how social media doesn't provide the same opportunities for the artist, and how it can actually be detrimental. They also discuss her being a part of the first 'Brave New Voices' teen poetry slam to win nationals as a New Yorker.
21:39 -- Aja speaks on how much she looks to make her elders proud, like poet/activist June Jordan who has been a huge inspiration. They discuss historian Robin Kelley's book 'Freedom Dreams,' and Aja also drawing inspiration from poets like Ntozake Shange, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni. Talib goes on to bring up Aja coming to his defense in her editorial, 'For Women, Love, and Hip Hop: A Reflection Eternal.' The piece critiquing the pushback Talib received over his challenging the cancelling of Rick Ross over the lyrics of 'U.O.E.N.O.'. Aja also talks about her hopes of men becoming more open to showing compassion during discussions about things like patriarchy and colorism and showing solidarity.
31:02 -- Talib clarifies how he approached the situation of calling out Maya Moody on Twitter and how it was much more than just her statements pointing to colorism among rappers that had him upset. They also discuss the notion of pulling away from heated social media conversations when nothing positive can come of it and Talib reflects on some of the mistakes he felt were made during those interactions. Aja talks about her looking for a day when men and women can see eye to eye on how gender power dynamics affect the world and hoping as black people, "We need to love each other more than we hate our enemies".
38:38 -- Aja reflects on the love as well as the complicated relationship between her and her mother, how much she learned from being raised by a single mother and how it inspired her piece, 'My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter.' She also talks about her favorite emcees and singers at the time, and how they motivated her to pick up a pen and use her gift of translating emotions into words. They go on to talk about Aja's 'Give My Regards to Brooklyn,' and how gentrification is a symptom of a larger systemic issue rooted in capitalism.
49:43 -- Aja is asked about her poem, 'The Whistleblower' regarding officer Christopher Dorner who was working to expose the implicit bias and racism within the LAPD. They discuss how she felt about the incident at the time and how historically black people have been the ones to show up for democracy. They explore the notion of hashtags becoming cemeteries and social media being a powerful tool to reflect the best and oftentimes the worst in human nature. George Floyd is also brought up and they discuss how his brutal killing was a wakeup call to many white people who had been in denial for so long about the realities of police brutality.
59:38 -- Aja talks about her pushback of the capitalist 'Rise and Grind' hustle culture and how it can be harmful when we don't take the time to stop and enjoy the flowers. She speaks on the privilege of all the introspective work she is able to do as a poet and Nikki Giovanni's wise words of "you aren't going to change the world, but you need to make sure the world doesn't change you.", as well as Ntozake Shange stating, "when people go off to battle there is a time when they need to rest, The job of the poet is to give them the hope to keep on fighting the good fight." They also discuss the Nikki Giovanni and James Baldwin interview on the 70s show 'Soul!'.
1:11:32 -- Aja is asked about the TED Talk that she did with community organizer, Phil Agnew, as well as her take on the legacy of Dream Defenders. They discuss how the organization was the first group of young people to shut down a capitol, and her first time meeting them when she visited Palestine where she said she witnessed firsthand the evil of mankind. Aja goes on to talk about how the Dream Defenders have always been on a quest of self-reflection and how everyone that works with the organization has been forever changed. Talib goes on to talk about his experience with the group after Harry Belafonte told him he needed to go join the movement.
1:19:30 -- Aja speaks on why she chose to publicly show support for the Bernie Sanders campaign, calling him a people's diagnosis for capitalism. She talks about the illusion of choice, Bernie being the most left and a radical that actually had a shot, and how he was able to mobilize many that never voted before. They discuss the naivety of people about the chances of Trump actually winning the presidency, Phil Agnew becoming a part of Bernie's campaign and Aja feeling a win could be possible. They also get into how Aja ended up living in France after being invited by friend singer-songwriter Saul Williams and how she almost quit poetry altogether while living abroad.
1:31:47 -- Aja and Talib discuss their shared influences and Talib's being inspired by his reading Ayi Kwei Armah's book 'Two Thousand Seasons', leading him to make a song of the same name. Talib brings up some of the bars he had that were in tune with Aja's own words on her poem, 'Limbo'. Aja talks about writing the piece at 17 years old after she witnessed someone being shot while looking out her window and her confrontation with spirituality after she watched someone die. They also discuss Aja's poem, 'The Emerging Woman After Aborting A Girl' and how it addresses the real struggles of women that are forced to make that difficult decision and how judgement by others isn't helpful.
1:41:04 -- Aja talks about her work as the Artistic Creative Director for V-Day, a global movement to end violence against all women and girls. They discuss Eve Ensler who wrote the powerful piece, 'The Vagina Monologues,' Aja getting close to her over the course of the Sanders campaign and Eve asking Aja about writing a new play to be at the center of V-Day. She talks about why they made the conscious decision to make it an audio play. They also discuss more programs being needed to teach healthy attitudes towards sex and consent, and how people need to go beyond lip service and put their time and money on the line to make the changes we need.
1:48:46 -- Aja is asked for her take on the recent backlash aimed at Rage Against Machine for their use of the term 'birth-givers' in order to show solidarity with the LGBTQ community. She talks about her feelings on the efforts of demonstrating care, finding out what others need to feel loved, as well as her evolution of thought on what it means to be a woman after reading poems growing up. Aja talks about how 'birth-givers' that have wombs do have a specific type of violence they are susceptible to. She also gives her take on how comedians should be trying to trigger the questions that nobody is asking like George Carlin did when he spoke of the hypocrisy on abortion.
2:01:12 -- Aja is asked about how her practice of having conversations with her younger-self has helped her as an artist. She talks about how much she loved her level of play as a child and the intensity around it, wanting to preserve that approach to life. Aja goes on to speak about how the best artists are truth tellers, as well as learning how much power the imagination holds and the potential of one's spiritual frequency when fully tapped into it. Aja is asked about the potential of a poetry special, and she goes on to talk about a poetry album she worked on during lockdown with some of today's greatest jazz artists, including Christian Scott, Samora and Elena Pinderhughes, Marcus Gilmore, Luques Curtis, and Weedie Brimah.
Thank you!! Amazing ❤
“That’s the one thing holding our people back. Our black women aren’t being loved the way that they deserve”. That really hits.
Hmm, there is a victim mentality in that statement; true love is earned, nobody loves and not have that reciprocated. The real issue is that no one is being loved the way they truly deserve and it is perpetual.
She was so right because I thought about the women in my family when she said that. Sad but true.
Her statement cannot be generalized .
@@NostGoldok 👌😅😊 of
@@NostGold😊😊 in in english ok I'll of in english I think on 😊o. Oi no words
This was a great interview. Aja is a beautiful person inside and out. Alot of things she was saying resonated to me and hit home. She's a breath of fresh air. Thank you Talib and Jasmine for having her on. I'm glad you two but poets on notice on their contributions not to just poetry and hip hop but society as well. Thank you!!!
Aja is such a beautiful person. A beautiful soul. A beautiful spirit. Respect to a true queen! 👸🏽
I truly love that Talib knows how to sit there, be quiet, and listen. There was a lot of that in this episode and I appreciate it.
Yeah, I just finished watching this. It was an absolutely beautiful conversation. Thanks for sharing this.
Really powerful and pure interview. So glad you interviewed Aja!
I've watched her perform at a small Bbq spot in NJ before and I loved her presence I'm happy to see this. Hits me in a special when a poet is in the forefront people don't take the time to read or have this interpersonal relationships between physically real people. Only behind screens he hurts a lil bit. Love Aja Monet ❤️
Another excellent conversation, so insightful... I want to chime in about the gentrification of NYC, and Brooklyn in particular, and maybe even place Flatbush under my microscope (where I grew up in the 80s & 90s). So many heads I grew up with end up in W.Virginia and places due south - and you're right Talib, it was at a time when the city was bankrupt, basic city services were basically absent. My grandmother was offered a brownstone in park slope at the time, for a steal, and she was like "hell no!" Can you imagine that? I must have been about 4 or 5 watching a dude get repeatedly stabbed on the corner of Sterling, violence was a regular thing, that's been fancytown for a lot of years now. Then the crack era hit... no one was thinking about Dumbo, or Williamsburg, or any shred of history /legacy to hold on to. I lived near the Flatbush junction in my teens, with the decepticons wilin' out, you couldn't tell anyone about the danger of gentrification. I think it was really hard to see it while it was happening, the city was sold out from us because we were all so tired.
Such an amazing conversation! Thank you!
This was a great interview. Appreciated the questions, thoughtfulness and the exchange.
God bless you for sharing Jessica more this bus has wings that literally was like an eye opener for me , Talib Kweli I hope all is well pray 🙏🏽🤞🏾 for,ye most people would have given up on him already, but like I said Jesus the Christ wants us to expect the best outta people .Well done good and faithful servant 🙂
She is so beautiful inside and out and I can tell she is an artist in every sense of the word. Great interview a huge ideas and insights here. I feel changed from seeing this
She gave me chills as a Blackman when she said "BLACK WOMEN HAVE NOT BEEN LOVED THE WAY THEY DESERVE." Wow!
Great interview. So many good points. What a women. F**k the grind for sure! It's making the planet sick.... love kweli's reference to "2000 seasons" - what a song! Knocking on that deep tip! Absolute underground classic. All praises due. Peace to Jasmine.
Every time I tilt my head back and look at the stars, I think of 2000 seasons.
I know her! As beautiful inside as outside. A force of nature!
Talib show is the place to be. (I’m gonna need that hat, cuz)
Culture, history, heritage is all right here with Kweli
🙏🙏🙏OM MANI PADME HUM
I could listen to her talk for hours..
I loved this whole interview, she is such a wise woman.
I love this conversation!✊🏾🔥
Love you Black women ❤ ♥
This is one of the best PP interview frfr. You can tell Aja is a deep thinker.
Shes not deep at all.
@@ray1411lol damn you was upset
JJJJJerome Ellis - The Clearing is a poetry performance that Aja may be referring to when speaking of recent poetry/lit records. For vinyl junkies it's a gatefold with the insert being the book of the words in the performance.
Thanks PP these discussions are important and appreciated 💐
Wow…this sis s amazing. Btw I was n Big Bear the same weekend that mess went down w/Chris Dornor. The manifesto is crazy when u ck his facts abt the Rampart Division n where those officers ended up. Facts.
Bravo,sir!!!🎉
Gratitude.
Blessings 🤎
That was brilliant. Give thanks and blessings to you all 💜🙏🏻
Hey Jasmin 👋🏾
People like her really do not need to speak on blackness. SHES NOT BLACK. Shes a first generation immigrant who most likely grew up with a lot of other first generation immigrants.
She is dope soul. Respectfully disagree with some of perspectives. But keep fighting the good fight!
Ready from this one.
She needs to say Cuban women need to be loved better by Cuban men.
🕓 This interview is Extremely Suspect.... If I'm hearing correctly.
Talib is always so defensive so I'm glad she told him to relax on social media
All Bullshit aside y'all need to invite: Dr. Phil Valentine (black man), Anthony Browder, and Blackdot along with Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan and Andre Miller but get these important black truthologists first