KMD_Source_1991.html

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    <img src="/LiterOCULAR/img/KMD-image.jpeg" class="img-fluid cover-img cover-kmd-91" alt="image of KMD" title="KMD portrait">
    <figcaption><span id="#" class="mention-person" about="ArthurCohen">Arthur Cohen</span></figcaption>
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<h1 class="kmd-91-t">“I’m is a God”</h1> 
<p class="byline kmd-91-b"><span id="#" class="mention-person" about="ChrisWilder">Chris Wilder</span> | <span class="date-emoji">August 1991</span> | <span id="#" class="mention-organization pub-emoji" about="TheSourceMagazine">The Source Magazine</span></p>


<p><span class="deco-drop">Ntzoke</span> Shange once told me, “If <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black kids</span> in <span id="#" class="mention-location" about="Brooklyn">Brooklyn</span> have to call each other God to feel good about themselves, then that’s great. Anything that makes <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black kids</span> feel good about themselves is great.” When <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="KMD">KMD</span> is teamed up with <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="BrandNubian">Brand Nubian</span> they call themselves <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="TheGodSquad">The God Squad</span>. That must make them feel good about themselves. I know I feel good about myself. I feel good when I’m listening to <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="NittyGritty">“Nitty Gritty”</span> and <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="LordJamar">Lord Jamar</span> says, <span id="#" class="mention-rhyme" about="NittyGritty">“Stop wearin the Cross/ Do for self/ Kill that yes sir boss.”</span> Or when <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="DerekX">Derek X</span> warns, <span id="#" class="mention-rhyme" about="NittyGritty">“Zig Zag, Zig/ Watch <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">the Blackman</span> get big... bury all <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">the devils</span>/ With <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="KMD">KMD</span> I can raise up my levels.”</span></p>

<p>I'm loving that shit! Damn right, bury all <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">the devils</span>. They’ve been burying us for years. I feel good every time I listen to that. I feel good because I’m a <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Blackman and Black people</span> is what that song is all about. That's what the <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="TheGodSquad">God Squad</span> is all about. That’s what <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="KMD">KMD</span> is all about.</p>

<p>Kausin’ Much Damage or <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="KMD">KMD</span> are <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="ZevLoveX">Zev Love X</span>, <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="Onyx">Onyx the Birthstone Kid</span>, and the DJ, <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="Subroc">Subroc</span>, three kids from <span id="#" class="mention-location" about="LongIsland">Long Island</span> that make dope music. They just dropped one of the most original and innovative albums since <span id="#" class="mention-album" about="PeoplesInstinctiveTravels">People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm</span>. Their debut LP, <span id="#" class="mention-album" about="MrHood">Mr. Hood</span> (<span id="#" class="mention-label" about="Elektra">Elektra</span>) overflows with sounds new to <span id="#" class="mention-genre" about="hip-hop">hip-hop</span>—like the string loop on <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="HardWitNoHoe">“Hard Wit No Hoe”</span>—and gives birth to new concepts like <span id="#" class="mention-sample" about="SesameStreet">Bert from Sesame Street</span> humming along with <span id="#" class="mention-group" about="KMD">KMD</span> for three and-a-half minutes on <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="Humrush">“Humrush.”</span></p>

<p class="last">Another new concept is the fact that you're guided through the album by <span id="#" class="mention-character" about="MrHood">Mr. Hood</span> himself. <span id="#" class="mention-character" about="MrHood">Mr. Hood</span> is some character that <span id="#" class="mention-sample" about="MrHood">only speaks in samples</span>, and appears throughout the album, sometimes on songs and sometimes between them. <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="ZevLoveX">Zev</span> said that he is on <span id="#" class="mention-album" about="MrHood">the album</span> so that he can be “the ignorant kid from around the way.” If they have that, they can teach him (and the listeners) different things throughout the album. They do try to get a message across on every song, so I asked him to explain a couple of them. I started with <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="HardWitNoHoe">“Hard Wit No Hoe”</span> because it’s one of the trickier cuts:</p> 

<p><strong><span id="#" class="mention-person" about="ZevLoveX">Zev Love X</span></strong>: The whole concept is <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="PersonalRelationships">how Black men treat Black Women</span>. If we knew that the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span> is a goddess, if we knew that she is beautiful, and if we really felt that, then we wouldn’t treat her like we do.</p> 

<p>The reason that we treat her like we do is because society is set up to make us think that the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span> is not pretty. Like <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="JohnnyGill">Johnny Gill</span> said, “put on your red dress, put on your high heels.” <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="PersonalRelationships">High heels is to make a woman look like she has a rear-end. Lipstick is to make a woman look like she has full lips</span>. The <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span> has all of this. But she has to put that on for him to want her? <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="PersonalRelationships">As beautiful as the original woman is, we should want her for that</span>. If the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Blackman</span> is not providing for the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span>, she is going to cling on to anything that <em>is</em> providing for her. Whether it be Welfare or a <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white man</span>. When we see a <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span> walking down the street with a <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white man</span>, we get upset, but we don’t have the right to do that, because in many cases <em>we</em> messed up [causing] them to mess up. Firt comes Knowledge then Wisdom. On the song I say, <span id="#" class="mention-rhyme" about="HardWitNoHoe">“When you grow up to be a farmer, keep an eye on your yard/ Cause with no hoe it’s hard.”</span> You’ve got to keep an eye on your cipher and see what’s goin’ on, because if you lose that Black woman life is hard, G.</p> 

<p><span id="#" class="mention-track" about="PreacherPorkchop">“Preacher Porkchop”</span> is a spoof on [<span id="#" class="mention-group" about="BrandNubian">Brand Nubian</span>’s] <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="WakeUp">“Wake Up.”</span> You know where they say <span id="#" class="mention-rhyme" about="WakeUp">“Putting money in the pan/ For the rest of the week now I’m eating out of soup cans/ He’s got a home, drives a Caddy through town.”</span> <span id="#" class="mention-character" about="PreacherPorkchop">Preacher Porkchop</span> is a rebel. <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">The Church</span> didn’t accept him because he wanted to see what was true and what wasn’t true, he didn’t want to take people’s money...</p> 

<p><span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">Religion</span> is supposed to be for your mind, body and soul, but if you go to <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">church</span>, <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">a preacher will preach one little scripture for hours</span>. It may be good for your soul... the singing and the hand clapping, but what is that doing for your mind? We all are <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">Ansaar [Muslim]</span> including <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="Onyx">Onyx</span>, whose father is <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">a Christian preacher</span>. The only difference between the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion"><span id="#" class="mention-organization" about="FivePercentNation">Five Percent Nation</span> muslim and Ansaar</span> is that <span id="#" class="mention-organization" about="FivePercentNation">Five Percents</span> <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">believe they are the creator and we believe that there is one creator that created everything in existence but the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Blackman</span> is God</span>. Everything else we agree upon: The <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white man</span> is the devil. We agree he oppressed many different people. We agree that we have to uplift <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">our race</span>. We agree that we're the original man. We agree that the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black woman</span> needs to be respected. We agree that the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black family</span> needs to be saved...</p>

<div class="corners-deco-container container">
    <div class="content"><blockquote class="blockquote kmd-91-bq">...<span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Religion">We believe that there is one creator that created everything in existence, but the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Blackman</span> is GOD</span>.</blockquote></div>
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<p>It’s not that hard to break into the <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white-owned</span> music industry and still call them <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">devils</span> on wax. You gotta <em>sneak</em> up in shit, make ‘em think you down and sneak up and snuff ‘em! I’m sneakin up on niggas, G! I’m not sleepin. I got <span id="#" class="mention-person" about="Serch">Serch</span> and them sayin what I couldn’t say on <span id="#" class="mention-track" about="GasFace">“Gas Face.”</span> I got them sayin <span id="#" class="mention-rhyme" about="GasFace">“Black cat is bad luck, bad guys wear black/Must have been a <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white guy</span> that started all that.”</span> I can’t say that and come out with no album. They'd shoot me down from the start. “What's this kid talking about? Oh, that old <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black</span> shit. Go back to <span id="#" class="mention-location" about="Africa">Africa</span> with that!”</p>

<p>Check it out. The <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">devils</span> is rollin’ together, then they divide us... ”<span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">You’re Puerto Rican. You're Jamaican. You're Black</span>.” So they have us all against each other. We all are <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Nubians</span>. They put different names on shit to try to make us seem different. Let’s all get together and blow shit up!</p>

<p>I'll tell you what else. The <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">devils</span> always make the first move and mess up, and once you try to retaliate, they say you're the bad one. Like, they say <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Adam was white. Jesus was white</span>. As soon as you say “I have proof <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">the Prophets was Black</span>,” <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Racism">you're the racist. I'm not no racist</span>; it’s a fact. If you didn’t say he was <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">white</span>, I wouldn't have to say he was <span id="#" class="mention-subject" about="Identity">Black</span>, ‘cause it would be common knowledge. <span class="end-dot"></span></p>