5 things we learned from David Banner's new Apple Music 1 Q&A
Legendary Southern rapper David Banner has plenty to talk about these days. The hip-hop veteran links up with Apple Music 1’s Ebro Darden in a special Black History Month edition of ‘The Message’ to talk about Black liberation, investing into the community and fueling new political champions.
We’ve pieced together five key things we learned from his ‘The Message with Ebro Darden’ chat on Apple Music 1.
1. David Banner’s all about giving back
I don’t think it should be revolutionary for us to support our own. I think it’s something we should do every day. I think it should be more normalized in our community. That’s just what we’re supposed to do. I feel like as an artist I’ve taken so much from the culture… enough of us don’t admit what we’ve taken from the culture. What I do now is I’m trying to give back to the culture the same way I took away from it. I hope to live to see a time where us supporting us is just what we do.
2. David Banner considers himself a rapper over activist
Conscious people didn't put me in this position. Hustlers, pimps, strippers, they put me in this position. Drug dealers put me in the position to be able to speak what I speak. And in most cases, conscious people don't support and help me. It's just the truth. I'm being real with you. And when I needed help in Katrina, I'm going to tell you who came and helped me. T.I. helped me, 50, Jeezy. Jeezy actually even told me, he said, "Banner, I don't even want to tell you." He donated 30,000. And he was like, "I don't even want people to know, because I'm not doing it for that reason, but I know you're going to make sure that this money goes where it needs to go." I just want people to know that some of the people who we look at as the most lost are actually some of the people who want to help the most, but in a lot of cases, don't know how to. That's one of the reasons why I'll never call myself an activist. People call me an activist, I still call myself a rapper.
3. David Banner has a feeling about the new generation of hip-hop artists
When the Migos first blew up and Offset had got into a little trouble. I saw him like a couple days after he had got out, and I pulled over and he said something that was so powerful to me. He was like, "OG, I want to do better. I just don't know how to." And I was like, "Damn." Because if you really think of that Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T, J. Cole era, there's only about three or four more artists that came out of that generation. That generation of music was jumped over. And we really spent so much time trying to maintain the game, that we didn't usher in a new generation of artists. A few slipped through, but what ended up happening is kids found their way on their own. So once they found their way on their own, it ain't time to listen then… its too late. So one thing that I want to say about these children is that they’re open.
4. David Banner believes American culture programs Black youth
Our people were programed for three full generations, and I think people have the math wrong. We haven't been out of slavery longer than we were in, and the trauma never stopped. If you look at TV, you look at music, you look at just life in America period, the programming never stops… In radio, they call it radio what? Programming. In television they call it programming. So we don't have enough information, we don't have enough things to download to our kids' CPU that would make them be proud and happy, so if they see power in other races of people… If they see Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, all of these godlike figures are somebody that doesn't look like them, they'll start wanting to be them. And I think personally, that's the bigger problem. We have to get the minds of our children back again. And I can honestly say that I've been watching the New York public school system, and some things are happening there that may change some things.
5. David Banner believes supporting political champions can create serious change
It would be a little bit easier for our people if we built our politicians from the day that they step on the block. We see a young kid that's articulate, we get around them, we take care of them. We teach them. Bill Clinton and the Bush family, they were building their children to be what they were from 6, 7, 8, 9. You know what I'm saying? I think what happens in a lot of cases is that we don't engage in politics until it's time to run, and it's too late then. So we usually have to, again, deal with those politicians. Because personally, bro… Politicians and preachers, man, something that have never really set right in my spirit, bro.
