Features K Swift

K-Swift: An Emcee For The People
For those readers who aren't aware of who K-Swift is. Give'em a lil run down?
Well, K~Swift is a human being, a child of the sun, and a reflection of the essence. But on some earthly tip, he's an emcee, educator and activator. OK, enough with the third person... I've been recording and performing since 1994, and in 2000 I was an incremental member of the formation that is the New Rap Order. I'm a member of the Universal Zulu Nation. In short, I'm invested in efforts against exploitation of the masses, and my art is my primary, but not my sole tool to that end.

As an artist, activist and a man that cares of about the well being of his people, how do you go about contributing to your community, building, refining a progressive future. How do you maintain an optimistic outlook in a world where most seem to have given up?
First of all I'm driven by Love. I sincerely want everyone to be healthy, happy and free. If I weren't a hopeful person, I'd be dead. Straight up. When the time is right, I plan on having children, and how could I bring life into a world that I didn't have love for and faith in? That would be supremely irresponsible. I'm also inspired by my foremothers and forefathers like Harriet Tubman and Marcus Garvey to name just a couple. So I move with my heart. I pass the artistic baton that was handed to me by folks like the Amen Ra of Hip Hop Culture, Afrika Bambaataa. I do this through writing and performance workshops with teens. I organize town hall meetings and the like. I also leave everything I've got on the stage, whether there are 15 or 15,000 people in the crowd. I have to. Too many folks came before me that risked their lives to save mine. I can't go out and live life dissatisfied with the status quo like a chump.

It's easy to complain about everything that's going on or not going on. When apathy is the norm, how do we build an infrastructure for positive change and redirect ourselves away from the path of self-destruction?
Well, for me it all starts with self. None of us is perfect. Yet everything that has happened, is literally perfect, by definition of the word, meaning: it is done. So, right now, you are who and where you are supposed to be, so what are you going to do with it? I refuse to be miserable, and I don't need that kind of company. Simple as ABC. I stick with my A-alikes, since we BE-alike, so we SEE-alike. I check in with myself and ask, "am I yet who I should be?" Then you extend those questions to your family, cipher, block, whatever you identify with and experience on the daily. I talk with folks around the way about our self-destructive behavior. I don't get on no soapbox, I just keep it real. I ain't a drug dealer, but I grew up with them. I still indulge in some brew and bud. So I'm on some, "Yo son, selling crack is mad wack, let's try to do some different business. This kid makes T-Shirts, and my other people got a store over here..." See, no one exists on their own. An individual is an indivisible-dual, because you got your DNA from two beings. Don't forget that.

There's a time for everything and of course you're an artist so every waking moment of you existence is definitely not dedicated to solely revolutionary actions. What is your creation process like, when making music? How do you select tracks and what compels you to conjure the pieces that you write?
Much of what I write is in response to events that strike me. Things I go through, things I see in the media. If I hear someone say something that's profound, whether I agree with or disagree with it, it's inspiration. I learned years ago to frame everything, no matter how personal, in the context of the political. Human behavior, like that of a society, to me, is a web of programs. So I'm constantly deprogramming and reprogramming myself with my art, in order to be a better person, and hopefully to lend some inspiration to others. At the same time, I like to party, dance, meet people, flirt with women. I'm regular! I just keep my eyes open, and read a lot of books.

Do you have any rituals that you practice to prepare for performances? Are you an artist that runs intensive rehearsals, do you rehearse at all or are you somewhere in between?
I love to rehearse, particularly in dance studios. That gives me a better feeling for what movements work. Emceeing is a performance art, and no matter how ill a lyricist is, if you can't rock the show, it's a wrap. I don't mean that in a discouraging way. Hone the craft. When I'm about to rock, I envision performers that I draw energy from and model my stage presence after: Chuck D, Red & Meth, Busta... even Jay-Z, who's far less animated, but projects his being into the crowd. Lately I've been trying to channel the late great Doctor of the Funk, James Brown. Beyond that, I'll stretch, do some breathing exercises, some jumping jacks to get the heart rate up. One thing I never do before I rock is burn one down. I used to, but I'd get lazy on stage. I keep it professional now. And I drink mad Fiji water!

What did your process for leaving the plantation entail and what are some suggestions you'd lend to anyone contemplating a similar move?
My process is sort of still in process. As long as capitalism exists, so does the plantation to a certain extent. Really, it's about flipping the relationship you have with the plantation. I'm learning to make better use of the people around me, in a non-exploitative way. Everyone has varying degrees of access, so you give me this, I'll give you that. Productivity and Collective Economics are keywords. I just read Creature's book, 'The Underdog's Manifesto', and it covered a number of mistakes I've made, and those I had yet to encounter. I've always admired Creature, and if you admire someone, build with them! I bought his book. Powerful! But back to the plantation issue, dead prez are really on point with that "Pimp the System" business. Expropriate the resources (in this case, green paper) from the folks who're hoarding it, to the people who are at the bottom of the proverbial pyramid. That's how I'm on it. Thanks for asking!