RaSpect

The stretch of St. Bernard Ave between the I-10 overpass and St. Claude Ave was different at night. It's eerie. Except for a couple hole-in-the-wall juke joints still open for business, other businesses were secured, dark and closed. There was no median on that section of St Bernard Ave making the few human night crawlers look ghostly and the buildings look off limits and distant.

I made a left turn. Standing on the corner was an ominous presence in what seems to be the New Orleans youth and OG uniform - white tee and jeans. He gave me a stare throughout the turn but I never felt threatened. I understood my city and I understood the game. Being unknown, I was a bigger threat to him. Welcome to the 7th Ward.

In 2016, an estimated 6200 crimes were committed in the 7th Ward of New Orleans. The overall crime rate in the 7th Ward was 119% higher than the national average. The 7th was home to NFL stars Leonard Fournette and Tyrann Mathieu. It is the home of Bullets Bar and St. Augustine High School. It was home to many of the city's best musicians such as Arsene DeLay with musical family lineages as long as St. Bernard Ave. At some point, heroin became the drug of choice. Instead of drug gangs protecting their territory, the 7th now has lone "contractors" finding their niche while eliminating the competition. The 7th is as big a dichotomy as the spiritual vs debauchery culture of New Orleans. The 7th is a neighborhood of music and family but somehow, crime is prevalent.

Joshua, also known as MOB Skii Wii opened the door to a quaint double home he shares with his girlfriend ***Briana Hill. We slapped hands from the right and embraced on the left. By request of Briana, I took off my shoes upon entering and I was comfortable. MOB took a minute to get me acquainted with Briana. The living room had an aroma of fresh fruit and incense but it wasn't long before marijuana dominated the air.

(Urban504) Tell me about your love of Rastafari:

(MOB) "It turned into an out of body experience when I get the full touching of my spirituality... connected to it. The roots that were planted in me. I went to an African Episcopal church. Africa was first. Rasta was born in Africa. His [Hallie Selassie] lineage was all in Africa. I seen the roots. It started playing out and making sense as I got older. I seen a brotha with the locs and learned about the Tuskegee Airman and everything that was great about our people. It was planted in me."

(Urban504) What was your introduction to Rastafari?

(MOB) "What really made me a Rasta was I went to a coronation party. This Rasta, an older man... his name was Rasta Boo. He had this spot on N. Claiborne. The One Love shop on N. Claiborne. I didn't know much about Rasta but that was the beginning steps. The party was at the Caribbean on Bayou Rd. I was high as fuck first of all... [we all laugh] I bought some weed from a Rasta down the street. He ain't have locs but he still practiced [Rastafari]. The weed was like, I think Blue Dream or some shit."

"Me and my home boy we smoked the shit and we walked in there. They had this song... if you look it up by Peter Tosh was called Igziabeher with Let Jah Be Loved in parenthesis. It sounds like a bunch of Rastas in a circle with Nyabinghi drums. It's like a gospel Rasta sound. Again I was high as fuck. I saw an Empress dressed in all white. She was covered in white down to her feet. Her hair was covered in a white scarf. I saw men with their locs swinging to the floor. I was like THIS IS IT! This is what I've been trained to accept and carry on. That first taste was the answer I was looking for."

MOB went on to list the family lineage of Hallie Selassie off top like fresh bars. According to the Bible, the Solomon Dynasty started with the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Selassie is believed to be a descendant of the dynasty. This Bible legend and Selassie being an Orthodox Christian most of his life fuels the Rastafari belief that he was the returned messiah. He was perceived as the messiah who will lead a future golden age of eternal peace, righteousness and prosperity. He was deposed by the people in 1974 after a deadly famine in Ethiopia. "Take the whitewashing out" of the Bible, many Rasta still revere the Bible as code with Jah as the original author.

(Urban504) New Orleans has a strong emotional connection to music nostalgia. We still want to hear Frankie Beverly and Maze, Soulja Slim and the Hot Boys. How do you break through to get heard?

(MOB) "Jah."

We all burst into laughter because we immediately understood the low ceiling for new artists in New Orleans. The laughter was an acceptance of the grim music reality for new Hip Hop in New Orleans. Here are a few examples that elicited that emotion:
A) Incredible Hip Hop artists such as The Foreign Exchange, NoName and Oddissee have recently come to New Orleans. All struggled to sell 300 tickets at Tipitina's and House of Blues respectively. B) Earth, Wind & Fire; Lionel Richie and Usher have been booed at Essence Festival for not performing their classic hits immediately during their concerts. C) The hottest artist in the country, Cardi B came to New Orleans to perform. The promotor tried to not pay all of her fee.

The state of Hip Hop in New Orleans is stagnant. MOB implied that it is balanced. There's good and bad but he wants everyone to have some positivity in their lyrics. The talent is here but shady promotors, venues not obligated to pay artists and an extremely fickle listener base makes Jah seem necessary to elevate any interest in new artists.

(Urban504) Lamont Simmons - a former New Orleans high school football star. He played college and semi pro football. He's now a leader for Black Liberation. How has he influenced you?

(MOB) "That's my man. Iron sharpens iron. I see what he do subliminally. One night I had a UDA beanie on. I went to a party in the East. [New Orleans East] A house party with one of my home boys. This dude across the room was staring me down. I'm like what's good? So he came over to me and said 'I see you got that UDA beanie on. You must know Lamont.' We started chopping it up a lil bit but that's what he doing with his clothes. He's bringing unity because you gotta get the clothes from him. He making a unity in the city with them clothes."

(Urban504) What does UDA stand for?

(MOB) "United Descendants of Africa. We got our own shit now. It's called OUT THE M.U.D. Most United Descendants because we the Most Official Black Empire. [MOB Empire]

Lamont Simmons and Tino Blaine are activists for Black Liberation. The Kushite Cultural Center is headquarters to a movement that is anything but integrationist. It is Black people for Black people in teaching them how to sustain and thrive in their own kingdom.

(Urban504) What does Black Liberation mean to you?

(MOB) "At first I never really understood the term or heard of Black Liberation. If Black Liberation is under that [Rastafari] then I'm cool. I don't say it. I just let it be in my clothes. I let it be in my food and in my music. What Black Liberation means to me is to be Black first of all but to really free your people son... You have to feel like you can really free yourself. If you can't then you can't free nobody else. I'm glad I met the people that I have now because they brought me out of certain places in the city that I wouldn't be able to thrive like I am now."

"When people get the basic things I have, they can't control it because they really not trying to free themselves from oppression. If you can't center it and control it for freedom and liberation then it will all be taken away from you. Black Liberation is 100% righteousness. Righteousness comes before anything to me. That's why my spirit is like this. Black Liberation scares white people.

(Urban504) It shouldn't. It's pride in ourselves - not hate towards them.

(MOB) "Right but we just gon keep it real. Black Liberation scare the fuck out of white people."


                                      https://mob4life.com/album/514645/past-passion 

***Briana L. Hill is a Figurative Painter, Art Instructor and Digital D
esigner. She can be reached at
646.745.0260
bhillspb@gmail.com