Class is in Session Part I:
Yesterday DJ Green Lantern (in conjunction with Russell Simmons and Barack Obama) dropped his Yes We Can mixtape, which featured a lineup of industry heavy hitters such as Jay-Z, Nas, Talib Kweli, Twista, Busta Rhymes and Akon.
One featured guest on the mixtape, who might be new to many, but definitely a fan favorite and one of FSD’s most respected spitters, is none other than Mikkey Halsted.
I caught up with Mikk yesterday to “deconstruct” some of the lyrics in the song, and to get the lowdown on the concept, how he hooked up with Green Lantern, and his thoughts on the current election.
Mikkey Halsted – “King George” (from Green Lantern’s Yes We Can mixtape)
American King, Arrogant fiend, Kill to control that American Cream/ His dream is obvious, he a puppet for the lobbyists/ Got that cocaine imported like coffee is, McCarthyistic/ Don’t give a damn about the people of the world without a pot to piss in/ How many gotta die before he stop the mission?/ Stop to listen, stop to look/ What’s the solution to stop the crooks: Nixon, Reagan, Papa Bush/ First you gotta hit them pocket books/ Stop consumin’, start producin’, stop the political prostitution, look at the patriot act, that shits diametrically opposed to the constitution/ It’s no coincidence you in the oil business, is it?..Damn that wicked/ How you tradin’ innocent blood for oil that’s some sick shit/ Tell how much richer can the muthafuckin’ rich get/ Bitches like O’Reilly and Imus can get minused, subracted/ No matter which way that you added the shits as ill as my patterns/ I will rat-tat-tat-tater they’re grey matter in a matter of seconds with NO bullets/ Dummy why would you pull it…/ You gotta be high like the gas price/ Musta been a Nazi in ya last life/ Skatin’ on thin ice like Gretzky/ Hatin’ on Obama like Jesse/ But you can’t stop the movement/ You can keep your FOX news’/ But no matter how much you hate you fools can never stop the MUSIC…
Full interview after the jump…
What was your thought process on when recording “King George”? Do you really feel like George Bush is the tyrant that King George III from the United Kingdom was, or at least how he’s portrayed?
Well the topic and title came from Green Lantern. I was honored that he approached “little old me” with it. He was saying a lot of dudes didn’t know what to do with it [the beat] because of the tempo. I really don’t relate Bush to King George of England in terms of their policies but there are definitely some interesting parallels: His lineage plays a role in his position, his rulership of the free world in his own mind, etc., etc. [Laughs].
So you think the lobbyists are the people who are actually pulling the strings?
Of course! The people that really know, know that the “true power” stays hidden behind the scenes. Politicians pandering to the “money men” is American as apple pie. We throw around terms like national debt like we owe ourselves, but we are really indebted to an actual entity. One is always controlled by whom they are in debt to; as long as the One to whom the debt is owed has the power to collect. That’s a Mikkey quote for you [laughs].
What do you think about the Patriot Act, do you think the powers that be are really trying to make a power play to control every aspect of our lives?
Of course. It violates the constitution in so many ways. I hate when fear is used to push legislation or any agenda whatsoever.
“Must’ve been a Nazi in your past life” – those are some pretty harsh words for W.
Yea, it’s harsh. I didn’t mean it in a literal sense. Just in the sense of a wicked agenda being carried out, and a group of people being scapegoated and demonized. At one point I think the hysteria and propaganda reached a point where there were a large % of Americans who wanted to wipe Islam and the Arab world off the map. It’s scary what fear can do…Whether the fear is merited or not.
“Stop consumin’, start producing” – this line really hits home right now with the way the economy is looking and how these huge financial machines are breaking down…
Americans and black Americans more specifically are the biggest consumers in the world, but the smallest producers. We stop recycling money in the ‘hood’ that is why it looks so rundown, because all the money leaves when the foreign liquor store owner, foreign gas station owner, foreign grocer, etc. go home for the night. We gotta do for self in order to keep our wealth. The same applies Country to Country. The more they outsource jobs to foreign countries for cheap labor and import way more than they export, the more our economy will deteriorate.
“But no matter how much you hate you fools can never stop the MUSIC” – Do you ever worry about being censored or a fear of being black balled for some of your views?
Nope, because that would hamper my creativity. I just do me and trust God.
Do you truly believe that if Obama is elected the country will change dramatically?
Nothing happens overnight, but it would definitely be a step in the direction of Change…And he’s for BIG government which I believe is NECESSARY in any capitalistic society and that idea is polar opposite to Bush’s position, so I love that. Still, he has to guard against overly high expectations which the Republicans will throw in his face 4 yrs from now. He would inherit a huge mess, so expectations should be tempered.
I had no idea you were such a big Tori Amos fan – how did the concept for the song come about? Was it a combination of you and Green Lantern?
Tori Amos is DOPE as fuck… but I can’t take credit for the concept. Green Lantern already had it, but it had Mikkey Halsted written all over it.
You even switched it up and brought your double time flow here…
We called it sniping in the Kanye camp… and it’s a style I fuck with from time to time if the beat calls for it. I’m not the monotone type of rapper that has to have a certain kind of track to shine – I can shine on anything.
How deep could you really go into topics like these and how do you filter yourself from getting too deep so the hood or general consumers don’t feel you?
Oh, I could go deeeep G. All I do I search for knowledge in all forms plus history is a passion of mine. I give the people enough to get the wheels turning but if it goes over the head of people that need the medicine the most then I’m just preaching to the choir and not reaching my target.
How does it make you feel to be spitting high level like this, but just now being r
ecognized especially here in Chicago and on a larger scale?
I just feel blessed to reach as many people as I have…I’m not where I want to be yet, but there are millions of MC’s that would love to be in my shoes now. I’ve never been bitter or hated…I know its God’s timing and not mine, plus I know the background stories of people that have waited a while to get their shot at PRIME TIME…from Jay-Z to Rick Ross…Even Kanye had been seriously doing music for YEARS before I ever started. Overnight success is the exception, not the rule.
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