Note: This is the conclusion of a three part series on the punk rock group, the Breathing Light. Thug Scholar: What do you think is the future of punk rock in the Black community? Camille: It is…I say progression. I say progression because I’m really… I don’t want to say hopeful. I want to say willing, because at one point, nobody thought hip hop would make it as far as it did, you know what I’m saying? Who would ever think that old traditional hymns that were sung by the people who were enslaved would become the banking ground for all of this great music that we have now? So, like I said, punk to me is just another subgenre of those things and the Black community is not limited in anything we do. To some eyes, yes we are, but we’re not. We can do anything…we have. This is just another avenue. And it was in my eyes, because I was definitely one of those people who didn’t know about it. It’s a big avenue that’s untouched. It’s like something that been unexplored, and if you’re curious enough, you will explore the unexplored. But then again, we’re out here! I believe the ones involved in it have to be the educators. You cannot just sit back and harbor this for yourself. In a sense, that’s a reason why it hasn’t spread. We gotta still push to spread it more. That’s why I respect my band mates; I love who they are. And I love the tenacity, even through these hardships, because we’ve had hardships. We’ve met hardships. I mean, smack down after smack down. But we haven’t given up on each other and we haven’t given up on this music. So shout out to our managers, Alicia and Prince, because, you know, they jumped on board and started rocking with us last December of last year. And they have so much belief in us. The belief they have in us motivates us; it’s definitely keeping me revived with still pushing this music. So I definitely believe it’s gonna grow. As long as you have belief in you, if you have a seed, you can plant it. You can see a garden grow to something beyond your wildest dreams. Kyle: I think punk…ok…we already know that it’s gone in different directions. So, you got the kids who follow Afropunk, you have “party like a rock star”, me and Tre was talking about this one time. You have “party like a rock star” and you have people dressing like they would listen to rock, but didn’t listen to rock. Then you got Afropunk, and you got kids still kinda there, not really listening to any kind of rock and roll, but dressing like it, or whatever. Then you got people that’s doing it. We’re kind of on the edge of being visible to the community as a whole. I’m seeing a lot of different articles and posts being written within this year and last year with them covering Black punk bands. The only thing is they’re not connecting us actually being in bands to the actual music that we make and actually listening to it. I guess maybe in the next couple of years, or maybe a year from now, there will be bands that will be visible. People will be listening to the music, and that will be something for younger kids to actually be start doing people. I’m seeing kids, people younger than myself, actually in bands. There’s been more of a wave of kids getting into it. My generation and the generation before it hosting them; it’s kinda like a tide. It’s just pretty soon until people start buying guitars, making bands, and forming their own scenes. It’s only a matter of time. Camille: When you think about it, ain’t nothing new under the sun, and everything goes in a cycle. I remember back in the 90s, man…I remember a lot of stuff. A lot of kids were into skateboarding. I was watching Rocket Power. Mind you, I grew up in a community that was mostly Black and Mexican. We wanted to play football. We wanted to play baseball. We wanted to rollerblade. We wanted to do everything. We wanted guitars, a bunch of guitars. If we could have, we would have went surfing. Of course, that died out the older we got. But…it comes back around, especially music, and when it comes back around, it usually comes back stronger, and in a new way. TS: What do you want your legacy in music to be? Camille: I want people to…just…remember me for being that character…that was limitless. That would not take no for an answer. I want to be remembered as a person that person was just always giving in the physical and through my music. Ultimately, just limitless; yeah, ultimately, that’s what I want my legacy to be. Just keep going; follow your passion. And always just be giving. Kyle: I want people to look at It is what it is. It’s a documentation of being in a Black band in 2013 and 2014 from 2008. That’s just one thing, but overall, we’ve done so much stuff for a Black band. To just know that a band can start at a historically Black college, and start a whole scene there from the ground up, with all these folks that don’t even listen to the music, and have them coming to shows, and work your way to Chicago and still be doing the same thing, and go beyond that to be big as fuck. That’s the legacy. We ain’t fucking around G, we coming for your ass.
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ATS MagAgainst the Stream Magazine is an urban platform. We edify our readers by finding noble, pure, and true talent and giving it a stage to flourish. While we love bragging about the folks around us, we also tackle urban issues by giving real world solutions. Archives
September 2015
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