Mayor turns to rappers for help

When the mayor calls, you answer. For Houston rapper Paul Wall, that call came just hours after a block party he headlined ended abruptly, gunshots ripping through the crowd.

Wall went from performer to first responder at the annual Fourth of July party in Freedmen’s Town, where three men were struck and killed.

Wall ran back into the crowd, ripped off his shirt and used it to apply pressure to the neck of one of the shooting victims, holding his hand and talking to him as they waited for help.

The next day, Mayor Sylvester Turner, skipping the usual roundup of spokesmen and officials, asked Houston’s rap community to find real, relevant solutions to help lower the city’s murder rate.

He wanted their influence and connections to better understand the pulse of local communities.

“A lot of people think

we’re just entertainers,” Wall, 35, said. “Some of us are firmly planted in our community and still represent those communities.” He referred to that unique role as a “hood official,” someone who can speak on behalf of what’s on people’s minds.

Wall, the Grammy-nominated rapper and entrepreneur, helped make Houston rap mainstream. He’s worked with artists including Kanye West, Chamillionaire and Bun B. When he and other artists, such as Slim Thug and Trae tha Truth, met with Turner in City Hall two weeks later, they had a lot more to talk about.

After the July 4 shootings in Houston came police shootings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana, attacks on law enforcement in Dallas and Baton Rouge, then another police shooting, of Alva Braziel, in Houston.

Wall found the mayor’s request, and the rappers’ response, crucial for the city.

The group, however, may have spoken out more than anticipated. A scheduled news conference to discuss their findings last week was canceled, to allow time for Turner to “digest the suggestions he has received from the Hip Hop artists,” a news release stated. One repeated suggestion: Find ways to spark economic opportunity, particularly to keep young people from falling in line with dangerous activities.

“The H in H-town also stands for hustle,” Wall said. “There’s a ‘hustle’ mentality here; being selfmade is something we all have. It’s in the water here; it’s in the air.” He wanted to reach the entrepreneurs in waiting.

Rap ‘can tell a story’

While Turner’s partnership may be new, hip-hop artists’ weaving of social issues into their music and everyday life isn’t, said Andreana Clay, associate professor and department chair of sociology and sexuality studies at San Francisco State University. Her book, “The Hip-Hop Generation Fights Back: Youth Activism and Post-Civil Rights Politics,” focuses on how youth of color organize and identify as activists.

Musicians ranging from Public Enemy to today’s J. Cole have spoken explicitly about racism, crime, poverty and other issues that pose daily challenges for people, particularly in the black community, for almost as long as hip-hop has been its own genre. Artists provide context to a mainstream audience that may not always tap into the multi-layered message.

“One thing that’s really great about hip-hop and rap — it can tell a story,” Clay said. It’s about somebody’s life and everyday experience, she said. But if someone hasn’t lived, understood or seen such experiences, the complexity of the message may not resonate. For example, when NWA’s protest song “F--- Tha Police” came out, criticism and calls for censorship along with FBI attention dominated.

“I think it infuriated people,” she said. The broader public may not understand the context of surveillance and brutality that black people in general experience on a daily basis, she said, so when the response in a song is so explicit and raw, if someone doesn’t know the context, they would want to “rail against it.”

Also, as Black Lives Matter has grown into a more “clearly defined movement,” Clay has seen artists not typically known for their stance on social justice issues speaking out, such as Beyoncé, much to the surprise of her fans.

The local artists told the mayor and other officials they wanted to see better training and interaction between police and citizens. While Turner didn’t commit to any suggestions for more black officers patrolling predominantly black neighborhoods, or more community policing, Wall said the mayor was receptive and listened.

For people who may be critical of rappers working with government and law enforcement, Wall doesn’t want to hear it. It would be selfish if he or other artists refused to participate in these meetings for fear of looking bad or it damaging their reputation, he said. R&B hip-hop performing artist Just Brittany sees it as a necessary step when a person exists not just as an artist but as a role model. And Wall doesn’t see their message diluted in the process.

“What we’re against is police brutality; we’re against abuse,” he said. “We’re not against law enforcement trying to do a job, or help the community. We’re against injustices that are going on.”

But music alone won’t solve problems. It’ll take people participating in direct action, going on marches, organizing protests, to get the message out there, Clay said.

‘Message has to be heard’

While there’s no track record of success for rap artist interventions, a genuine message from sources people trust is the first step to flipping the script and possibly changing attitudes toward violence, said Arthur Lurigio, professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago.

Local rappers may have an advantage in connecting with their own communities, as they can speak about a specific experience. And for nonviolence to be viewed as something prized, Lurigio said cultural norms have to be changed.

“Here’s what has to happen: The message has to be heard; it has to be regular, repeated and consistent,” Lurigio said.

Artists such as Just Brittany, a Houston native who grew up in Fifth Ward, already have the platform to reach a wide audience. She has a massive social media presence, with more than 1.3 million followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. She regularly engages with fans on Facebook Live, whether it’s to livestream a layover on her way to Los Angeles or to show her meeting with Turner at City Hall.

“People can get one-on-one time with you, and feel like they’re right there with you in what you’re doing,” she said. She had never partnered up with city officials before.

After meeting with the mayor last week, she went to open a bank account along with other artists at Unity National Bank, the state’s only black-owned bank that’s seen a rise in new accounts in recent weeks. Houston activist Deric Muhammad sees this action as a way for money to be reinvested in the black community, in the form of small business loans.

John Scroggins, president and CEO, made a sales pitch to Brittany, Wall and others.

“I don’t know why this has been a secret all this time. We’ve been here 53 years,” he said to a packed waiting room.

Brittany whispered to her assistant to record the conversation on Facebook Live.

Within a few days, the video racked up 81,000 views.