Part Two Mississippi Mud²

Q: Is there another way to express waking up instead of waking up? Because folk stay woke but folks stay folks?

A: Be aware. You can be a nigga and be aware. Look at Lil Jon and Eastside Boyz.

Q: What are they aware of?

A: I’m sure Little John and the Eastside Boyz are aware of the conditions that we’re in as people. They’re extremely intelligent. Look at Two Chains, he’s educated and I think that he is aware.

Q: So it the purpose of being awake one’s capability to pimp the system?

A: No, it’s to be able to promote a conscious way of thinking.

Q: And Lil Jon and Two Chains take advantage of that?

A: Definitely.

Q: How so?

A: The market to the uneducated and unaware but they have made attempts to elevate the consciousness of their audience through imagery and content. Two Chains, not Lil Jon [insert laughter].

Q: How do you keep your mind safe, considering sex and love are equally just as mental as they can be physical?

A: I don’t allow myself to be accessed by any and everything. I pick and choose what has access to my mind. I’m conscious and aware of what has access to my mind, at all times.

Q: Why?

A: With the wrong influence or message, I can act out or someone could act out. The influence could not be necessarily good for the community.

Q: Considering sex is why we’re here and it ensures future generations, why isn’t procreation more strategic?

A: Because we procreate with the phattest ass, who got the best hair, we’re not thinking about the future generation or the actual building of a nation or helping with the community—we just out here having sex because somebody look good or makes us feel good for a moment you’re not thinking about tomorrow.

Q: So you think that procreation is in the ball court of men?

A: No, it’s in the ball court of all of us that are involved in creating because it takes two to create.

Q: Can making love be just as pleasurable as having just sex?

A: It’s more pleasurable because it allows you to express emotionally something that you can’t express when you’re just fucking somebody. But we do like to fuck. Oh yea!

Q: Do you think rhetoric has altered our philosophies about sex and potentially love too?

A: I think Disney fucked us up. I think Disney got us all out here looking for princes and princesses and we waiting on these frogs that we’re lying next to, to turn. Sometimes you just got to love a frog for being a frog.

Q: That’s what Disney says, though.

A: Well, I never actually made it to the end of the movies.

Q: I mean when people talk about that, people refer back to Disney as if it’s completely unrealistic, like what part is unrealistic? The message is, don’t change yourself for love or anything. I mean it’s probably lost on children, but its there.

A: The part where Mansa Musa left back home in Timbuktu on an excursion and spread his wealth and wisdom through Africa. Can we get the version where Hannibal left his wife and children to go and assert dominance of his empire further into the Roman Empire and northern Africa? The real version of these heroes so that we can have some sort of realness in our culture. We still got brothers going off to war to build a bigger empire. We still sisters working 16-hour shifts to provide. We got Queen Assantewas and Hapshepsuts that’s taking over kingdoms. I don’t know what the fuck that got to do with the question, but it sounded awesome.

Q: Now, that this is the second rendition of Mississippi Mud what are people saying?

A: Everybody is excited. The whole city is buzzing, with excitement. They really want to be under the roof of that energy. People are more so talking about the energy and the art. [Insert inebriated long pause and laughter] Everyone is interested in going to this one. Everyone is talking about how necessary the event it is, the necessity of it.

Q: What are you hoping for, this time around that wasn’t present that first time?

A: More substance, we have a lot of sensation. We have to do a lot more to feed the substance of the event because, in African culture, our rituals and our celebrations they was always substance. It was not about the sensation, when we came to America we bought into the sensationalism. Everything we do is about sensation, everybody loves sex but there’s substance to an exchange of energy, physically and spiritually. And I want more of that to be in Mississippi Mud.

Q: What’s the substance?

A: The substance is frequency, energy. The substance is the connection. The substance is emotion and intimacy.

Q: The other day you posted an article about not having sex with anyone you do not want to become, how does that play a part into the substance? Is substance necessarily always good or is it bad too or bad for you?

A: In our original culture, there wasn’t bad or good, there was balance. So, if you became somebody or allowed some spirit you didn’t want to be there you balanced it out by finding somebody that could correct your imbalance. It was about a chemical reaction, physical reaction, science, and mathematics. Now, it’s like I like you, you like me now check the box for yes or no.

Q: Do you think you’re balanced?

A: I think I am extremely balanced.

Q: Were you always balanced or have you become balanced?

A: I’ve become balanced.

Q: As a black man, what has been your experience non-sexually in regards to sexuality?

A: Being a father, that’s sexual but not sexual. I have to love somebody beyond physical gratification. I have to love my child and her mother for who they are now, for who they are going to become; no matter what.

Q: Have you loved that way before?

A: Yea, my mama, and my family but not the way I love my child.

Q: No, no, I don’t think you can compare that, what I’m saying have you loved without the satisfaction of the flesh?

A: The mother of my child, that’s why she’s the mother of my child.

Q: How do you hope for people to evolve from the experience that you are providing, rather it be sexually or not?

A: I just hope they get home safe.

Q: How may loving your body or yourself in general, become an important ingredient to sexual freedom?

A: You can’t tell somebody what makes you feel good if you don’t know what makes you feel good.

Q: In your humble opinion, how do we take ownership of our bodies?

A: Dancing naked in the mirror to traditional African music, intoxicated, drunk; and monitor yourself spiritually.

Q: How do, you, monitor yourself spiritually? I mean you can’t answer for everybody else. Is that a secret?

A: No, it’s not a secret. I monitor myself by finding my insecurities and strengthening them.

Q: You mean strengthening them or alleviating them?

A: I haven’t got to the point where I can just totally get rid of them. I strengthen myself.

Q: What if we took “ownership” of our spirits?

A: We are spirits having a human (physical) experience. We have to remind ourselves that we are spiritual beings. We’d be better off.

Q: If we were all surviving what would love look like then?

A: Bigger.

Q: In what, capacity?

A: It wouldn’t be monogamous.

Q: So if we were surviving, we still would need polygamy?

A: Yes. We would need monogamy as well.

Q: When I was researching on what to ask you, I came across an article of a person that found monogamy to be hard, difficult and something he didn’t prescribe too but also that it was an advanced version of love. He thought that it took great courage, that society has been judging monogamy the wrong way. We always bring up nature and the past but if the things around are to evolve than the things in us should evolve too.

A: True.

Q: What do you think about that?

A: Not all evolution has positive effects on nature. Our technology is an evolution but it hasn’t had a positive effect on our nature. There are some positive things about monogamy but there are some negative aspects as well. We have placed everybody in a box and that we expect everybody to be the honest truth. If we want to love somebody unconditionally, you have to love them for who they are and how they love. Some people are not monogamous, they are polyamorous. Some people are not heterosexual, they’re homosexuals. Some people are not heterosexual or homosexual, they’re binary or bisexual. Some people are asexual. I don’t think that it should be just one thing to express the love you have for a person.

Q: So you think the box has turned us into liars?

A: Yes…I don’t think that the box has turned us into liars. I think that box has provided us with the opportunity to fail.

Q: You don’t think that if there was more truth the opportunity to fail would cease to exist?

A: It would still be there. It will always be there but with more facts the less chance there is of failing. Relationships fail because of no communication and less facts, more lies. When you have that, you’ll have a failed relationship because the two parts can’t relate, they can’t connect. There’s a disconnect.

Q: If two can communicate, they can find out if they don’t relate and move on to the next.

A: Exactly, or grow as a whole.

Q: If we were all surviving and loving the way we want to love or need to love, what would it feel like?

A: Selfish. Whole. Ambiguous. Elusive.

Q: Sexual freedom, free love is selfish?

A: Yes, because under the constraints of monogamy it’s about subduing that freedom.

Q: Well, my question was not in reference to monogamy. Because sexual freedom, there is no restraint. To me, sexual freedom is choice without judgement.

A: That’s deep.

Q: But if you can’t communicate what you want or you’re afraid to communicate what you want, you can’t choose without considering others.

A: True.

Q: So again, if we were all surviving…

A: We’re all surviving now.

Q: No. Let me rephrase the question. If we had all survived meaning no more need for hustles, no more struggling, what would love look like?

A: It would look like peace, happiness. It would look like Umoja. It would look like dashikis in the summer time. It would look like children running through a fire hydrant. It would look like double rainbows. It would like primitive peace.

Q: But that happens.

A: It does happen.

Q: It doesn’t happen for everybody, though, but it happens.

A: And it doesn’t happen for a long time. It would look like a dot within a circle.

Q: The dot would be content with being the dot or would it want to become the circle?

A: It would all be one.

Q: What does that feel like?

A: A Basquiat or a Prince song. A prom in lingerie.

Q: How in the hell does that feel, lol?

A: Being covered in Mississippi Mud. [Insert laughter]

Q: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

A: Ben Jones parties go hard and I’m drunk as fuck. Yo, you got to get an interview by The Karamoko Way. This shit was fun.

Mississippi Mud: Saturday, June 18th, 2016 10pm-4a
Club Reign 2055 Gratiot Detroit, MI    @ St. Aubin , East of 75

FOR MORE INFORMATION BEN JONES CAN BE CONTACTED THROUGH FACEBOOK MESSENGER (BENJONESDETROIT) or by email: benjamin_jones@live.com

What if it’s not so much about sex, but it’s more about how we treat each other so that we can express ourselves freely, sexually. I write this as I ironically watch the “no ifs, ands, or butts” episode from “Sex and the City.” I enjoyed the progression of the show but I am not ignorant to the fact that the show did not showcase sexual freedom that looked black. Unless, you count the brief relationship Miranda had with Blair Underwood or that one time Samantha had relations with a black guy, who was referred to as a “big black pussy” during Carrie’s narration. The lunch conversation about black talk, being politically correct and affirmative action was awkward. It was the show’s way, off at best at including us. I’m a person, it’s really that simple. Interestingly enough, when Chivon’s sister, Adeena, expressed her displeasure with their intermingling she told Samantha that she’d send over some Mississippi Mud pie.

So, how do you interview the creator of Mississippi Mud and recapture the raw, intrigue for a second time, for those that were going to attend the event and others that weren’t interested either way; yet valued the conversation of the Q&A? Add liquor.

Hello everybody! We are attempting this interview, a little different this time, with the help of influence…a number of influences.

We fucked up! I’m dizzaayy!

Q: How do you put on a show like this without crossing the thin line of objectivity?

A: I look at this show as a complete art piece and as an artist I express myself. I have an image that I want to portray but I don’t be thinking like damn am I objectifying my muse or am I objectifying myself. I just feel that it’s my duty to express myself. I don’t really think about the word objectivity. It doesn’t come into my frame of mind when I creating a body of work.

Q: How do you love black women/men or their bodies without objectifying them?

A: It’s hard. Shit! We is the shit. That’s an object the shit. And we is it, whatever it is, we is it definitely. There is nothing like making love with that black energy. There’s nothing like it. You know so it’s hard. I don’t if I’ve mastered that myself. You know I be like this some good pussy, object. That’s a phat ass, object. Nice titties, object. Wheeww she got a nice complexion, object. You know, I just love us. I love everything about us mentally, physically and spiritually—temporal to metaphysical.

Q: How do you define objectivity?

A: Objectivity is. That’s deep! Objectivity means to take advantage of a thing for your own gain and satisfaction.

Q: Have we managed, as black people, to fetishize ourselves in the same ways our ancestor’s captors did?

A: Definitely, when we go on porn sites we go for the black stuff, every now and again we dabble off into that but for the most part we for the ebony section or the black woman section. We have categorized ourselves in our minds and we have accepted the categorization.

Q: What was the best thing(s) about the first Mississippi Mud?

A: The energy. The energy was so fucking dope. It was a whole bunch of sexy, black people. People were in love, some people trying to get in lust. It was just a bunch of good vibes, under one roof, one energy, one vibration, one frequency.

Q: What did you learn?

A: I learned that we have to be careful with sex. It is not to be taking lightly and we need to have more of it. People need to have more sex. More holistic sex, holistic in the sense that satisfaction isn’t one sided. More guys are being satisfied and women are not being satisfied. And we don’t know how to make love to each other.

Q: Why June 18^th?

A: June 18^th is the day before Juneteenth. One this day we celebrate our freedom and what better way to celebrate your freedom than getting physically naked and take freedom of your naked self. And do what you want to do, at least for a couple of hours…just feel free, unadulterated, no supervision. Just free. No cell phones. No worries.

Q: What do you say to people that believe black sexual/love expression is a tiny problem compared to other issues we have?

A: This is a big problem because the first chakra is the root chakra. And at the base, we need to learn how to love ourselves physically. We have to learn how to love ourselves physically so that other people can love us. Ain’t nobody gonna love you more than you love yourself. You have to take pride in loving yourself. Self-love, sex, and masturbation and all that shit. You know it’s big, black sex is big. No pun intended.

Q: A person could just log onto any of the millions of porn sites, visit heavily black populated cities or Africa why is Mississippi Mud still important after already having one?

A: Mississippi Mud is important because I want it to be a spiritual experience that we have annually to remind us to take pride in closeness, in our love. I feel like heterosexuality and homosexuality are under attack and the base of it, it’s really love. And what better way to celebrate than together with some people, some art, some good food, and party. Hopefully, go home and make some love or find a dark corner and make some love. We scared to make love. We scared to dance with each other now. We go on one side of the room, the other person goes on the other side of the room. And we wait for someone to say something to us or we stare at our phones on Instagram; while we’re at the club. I’m drunk.

Q: There was a certain energy at Mississippi Mud, the naysayers couldn’t feel it but it was there. What do you think or know contributed to the energy?

A: The spirits in the room. We are spirits having a human experience and the spirits were in the room and the contributed heavily to the texture of the feeling that we all were receiving. It was necessary.

Q: I’m trying to catch up with you.

A: How I am trying to catch up with you, I’m Juicy! You’re the one trying to be Gaddafi on the liquor.

Q: I said I’m trying to catch up with you.

A: Is this on the record or off the record?

Q: Everything is on the record.

A: Whose idea was this? Do you do all of your interviews like this, young lady? [Insert laughter]

Q: So, why do you think there were people that could not feel it?

A: It wasn’t for everybody. It’s not for everybody. Everything ain’t for everybody and I feel like people were there with arms folded on the defense. So if you don’t allow something to come in or invite something to come in; it’s going to have to break itself in. So you lock your doors and padlock all the windows, you’re not going to get the feeling. It’s like the Holy Ghost. I’m sorry church.

Q: But the locked doors and windows can’t save you, though?

A: It can’t because it’s going to overcome you. It’s going to overcome you, whether it’s the pheromones, the abundance of flesh, the abundance of smiles and laughter, or genuine vibes it’s going to overtake you or you gone have to get the fuck on. Get your shit and leave. Answer that text message you got, in the car because there is a no cell phone policy. [Insert laughter] I’m drunk.

Q: Why do you think people and stood on the sidelines with that type of energy?

A: They’re voyeurs. They’re voyeurs. Voyeurs like to watch. They like to pretend to be prudish. That’s their thing, that’s their fetish; to watch and pretend. I don’t like this. Some of us like to watch, it’s okay lurkers. You can watch, we not going to stop giving you things to watch. This is three types of whiskey. The Karamoko Way gets you drunk.

Q: Why be so open about sex?

A: It’s already open. It’s all over the radio. It’s all over the television. I think people are just bent out of shape because it’s black sex. Black sex is offensive and I keep reiterating that. Now, if this was white people getting naked riding their bikes through the city, nobody would give a shit. But when black people get on our bikes and ride butt naked through the city, oh we’re breaking some type of law. It’s going to be some city ordinance saying that if your dick is over three inches then you can’t ride your bike. And if it ain’t one, they’ll make one by the morning and they’re going to have your ass locked up. White people get to do what they want to do. Black people, we got to just let our wang out! I’m drunk as fuck.

Q: So is Mississippi Mud the equivalent of that, does it give black people the opp…

A: Black people don’t need an opportunity. We do this shit on the regular. I’m providing us with the atmosphere. I’m providing us with the atmosphere to feel comfortable, in our own skin. But just once in a while can we be comfortable to black. Sometimes it’s just uncomfortable to be black. Have you ever been in a room full of people of different races? You can just feel the tension. For one second, I just don’t want us to feel no tension about nothing—our weight, size, age, look, nothing. Just be free. Just be Africa, for one minute. Just be Mississippi, for one minute. Feel your heritage and your culture, just for one minute.

A: Other than not contributing to rape culture, what’s the universal benefit of talking about sex, in real ways?

A: Education, we lack sexual education in the black community and that has been our downfall. We don’t talk about it openly, in our churches, in our schools, our recreational facilities or after school programs and our homes. We don’t talk about black sexuality. And it’s not just straight; it’s not just homosexual—black sex is not just one way. Black sexuality like I said, it’s big. It’s very big and it’s very diverse. It’s been diverse since the beginning of time, from my studies. Whether we want to acknowledge or not it’s going to be here. We need to start talking about it openly. It’s a big thing in our community. Intrinsically, in our DNA and ingrained fertility is. That’s the dilemma that we’re in right now, how do we procreate and not just create? How does everyone find the love mate or partner in even situations and circumstances? What the fuck, these questions are deep?

Q: Sexuality is fluid, should there be boundaries?

A: I feel like whatever you want to do within the boundaries of mainstream should be followed. That’s what I believe because laws change on the needs of the people and governance change on the needs of the people. Who knows why God chose a fifteen-year-old teenager to get pregnant with the son of God but it happened. Who knows why my mother was pregnant at 15 with me, but it happened and when you think about sexuality and children it’s not supposed to happen but God’s truth is; it’s happening.

Q: Do you think, sexuality is what it is, it’s fluid, there are no real boundaries but that humans have devolved?

A: Hell yeah humans have devolved. If humans had evolved my phone wouldn’t be smarter than me. It wouldn’t be a smart phone; it would be a dumb phone. I think that we have definitely devolved. We’ve devolved so much we can’t reproduce things that we’ve done in the past like the pyramids or civilization. We’re not civilized right now. We’re not a civilized society.

Q: Do you think we’re uncivilized because we measure evolution based on what we can make and not we can do?

A: I definitely think the problem is technology. Technology is out evolving humanity and we’re losing our humanity in our technology. We don’t know how to be close to each other anymore. We don’t have to socialize with each other anymore in the physical sense. We’re losing the touch; we’re losing the importance of flesh. In a minute, flesh is going to be very expensive.

Q: How?

A: People aren’t going to accept minimum wage jobs. They’re going to want actual money for the flesh to be there. People are going to require more for their time because they’re going to know their worth. I think that we’re waking up. I know that we’re waking up.

Mississippi Mud: Saturday, June 18th, 2016 10pm-4a
Club Reign 2055 Gratiot Detroit, MI    @ St. Aubin , East of 75

FOR MORE INFORMATION BEN JONES CAN BE CONTACTED THROUGH FACEBOOK MESSENGER (BENJONESDETROIT) or by email: benjamin_jones@live.com

Dear Lupe Fiasco,

Why aren’t you shielding Azealia Banks? Is it because her English is too broken? Is it because she chose to raise her spears up toward her arch nemesis, your forbidden fruit? These are the questions I asked myself as I listened to “Mural,” with an ear that has been chasing an orgasm since “The Cool.”

I listened to that track, my soul felt full. It was the feeling it had as my sisters and I dropped everything to experience you in concert, adjacent from the Fisher Building years ago. We bobbed our heads and recited lyrics like scriptures with babies sitting on our shoulders. I had hoped for a long and prosperous relationship. I’m still waiting on Gemini to drop; no lie. Still.

A curse of the Hip Hop community is the debate of relevance and lyricism. Most of us have fallen into the trap of counting if said bank account has more than several zeros in front the decimal point. Oddly, given the fact, that Hip Hop arose out of the silence, brought on by societal, generational ills. POVERTY. But somehow, now if you ain’t got no money, inherently you should know to shut the F up. The irony of the creator of “Bitch Bad” referring to a young, black woman as an emotional bitch is oxymoronic. As humans, we’re layered. We’re like onions. You can hate liars and still be a cheater. Such is the complexity. But he has little sisters. That’s what he told Cipha Sounds and Rosenberg, when discussing the creation of the song. Are complexities defined by being unlike Farrakhan?

Firstly, the idea that one should be emotionless or that there is a minimum of emotion one should exert in spite of the classification of being human is absurd. Often times affection is slung around during an altercation with a woman to utterly and completely dismiss any thoughts of hers. Secondly, to believe that woman’s ability to express her emotions is anything other than her strength is preposterous. Lastly, to add that antiquated defense mechanism to virtual perpetuity is an exercise in futility.

The royal mistake, that many artists make, is that they discuss their differences and concerns on social media.  There are some great debaters, however, intention is often more debatable than the subject at hand. Given even the most talented learns a good jig, was such a conversation instigated solely to manipulate records sales? If the purpose is genuine, it would be nice if Lupe Fiasco and Azealia Banks could converse with each other offline with a candy dish full of liquorice. Thus, creating a platform for partnership to which Lupe the older cat can assist Azealia Banks in spreading the knowledge to her generation. You might find Azealia Banks picture next to the word braggadocio but she got mad flow with sublime originality.

Lupe’s album dropped on January 20, 2015. The first track I listened to was “Mural” and I thought Jesas; yes, this is what I’ve been waiting to, here again. The two should collaborate. That sort of high caliber of Hip Hop is worth arguing about, is worth mending fences for. Honestly, I believe ever word of “delivery” and “Haile Selassie,” so much that a duet would be application at its finest.

To the naked eye, it’s loud, emotional, spicy, mean and reckless. It’s a shaky process. Not to mention there is something that is birthed once the veil has been lifted. Whatever you want to call it, Azealia Banks has it.

Just in case you think I’m a Lupe hater, I wrote this review in 2008.

I just wish we had more allies.