Washington DC musicians in uproar over Killer Mike
OrchestrasWe are hearing from members of the National Symphony Orchestra who are outraged at having to accompany a concert by Killer Mike & The Mighty Midnight Revival.
The official blurb reads: A never-before-seen concert experience! Killer Mike is more than just a rapper—he’s a cultural icon. From his groundbreaking collaborations with Run the Jewels to his solo endeavors, Killer Mike’s music resonates with authenticity, raw energy, and a fearless commitment to speaking truth to power. Hear tracks from his newest, three-time Grammy-winning album Michael, and more, accompanied by the epic sounds of the Mighty Midnight Revival and the National Symphony Orchestra live.
Mike’s lyrics read: Wake up in the mornin, I turn on the TV
What do I see? Some pussy ass niggas starin at me
They got some big ass chains on with big ass rocks
A couple niggas standin behind em throwin up blocks
They claimin they whip pots, got the streets on lock
And they don’t take no disrespect and keep their heats on cock
And if they punch you in your face then some teeth gon drop
The NSO musicians tell slippedisc.com: ‘While we understand Pops shows are necessary for raising money and reaching a diverse audience, we are appalled by this type of programming (which is) demeaning towards women and full of racial slurs’.
The highlight of Mike’s career so far was getting arrested at this year’s Grammys.
What on earth are they thinking at the Kennedy Center?
Beam me up Scottie. There’s no intelligent life on this planet.
It’s okay that he uses this language…it’s ’art’.
There won’t be protests in the streets. His commercial profits from misogynistic lyrics will not be criticized.
And, what is more, the ‘privledged’ peoples of the NSO will be forced to surrender their values and accompany him lest they risk being cancelled by the woke crowd (most of whom are ok with contradictions in their values as long as one half is packaged as entertainment)
Not a fan of these kinds of collaborations, but it may well be worth it just to see Killer Mike tell a whole room full of symphony-goers “I’m glad Reagan dead.”
Have you purchased your ticket yet?
I mean, I don’t live nearby, so no. Though I suspect you’re asking this to make some kind of “point.”
Biden needs the Black vote, he’s behind Trump in every poll.
And, oh, by the way, “demeaning towards women and full of racial slurs… getting arrested” describes exactly Donald Trump.
So who is the NSO to clutch pearls? When Trump is the next president, there will be no more NSO.
So shut up and play Killer Mike while you still have a job.
(I am not even being sarcastic, it will come to pass.)
Speaking of clutching pearls, Trump was already President for 4 years and the NSO is still standing
Only because he never set foot in the place.
Other than for the annual Kennedy Center Honors, I don’t believe any President has stepped into any of the theaters of the Kennedy Center since the first George Bush. The last to attend an opera at the Kennedy Center was Jimmy Carter…nearly 50 years ago.
Absolutely false. They’ve been to multiple theaters, you are just generally not aware. And Trump never stepped foot in for any events, particularly Honors.
FYI, American presidents do not go to theaters because of what happened to Lincoln. It’s a superstition thing.
Agree with you on the Trump comparison.
I strongly suspect Killer Mike will tone down his act too when appearing in the plush confines of the KC.
I wouldn’t count on it.Why should he? They knew what they were inviting, and he has the imprimatur of the invitation.
Presumably this is aimed at Washington D.C.’s heavily black (almost half the population) residents.
I’d like to see attendance figures on this event. I would imagine most regulars would stay away, and I can’t see Killer Mike’s standard audience being very attracted to the KenCen. It could all be a damp squib.
Killer Mike is a musical gateway to Mahler, presumably.
And a poetic gateway to W.H. Auden.
It is sold out. Completely.
The show is sold out. The NSO is probably wishing they’d scheduled a second one.
And news flash: Any orchestra that books him (and I assume others have) will probably sell a lot of tickets.
The show has a high gross and is sold out. And the residents of DC show up in numbers for all these collaborations. Every Hip Hop NSO show has sold out.
Rather, we expect Mr. Mike to be as unvarnished, raw, and Real as he needs to be.
lol
What…? The NSO players can’t complain about performing this garbage because Trump might be elected? The NSO members have no control over who wins the election and I certainly doubt it’s a hotbed of Trump of supporters so why are you tarnishing them with him? This has to be one of the cognitively incoherent comments I’ve ever seen on here. What is your point?
Btw, Chet how are you proposing that Trump would accomplish shuttering the NSO. Even if he were able to cut their federal funding, something that would require congressional approval and something that he didn’t do the last four years, that would still only be a minuscule percentage of their budget. So how is Trump going to accomplish this? Enlighten me. Btw, I’ve never voted for Trump and never would but I’m also not a fan of balderdash either.
This is all Deborah Rutter. Ever since she got there the Kennedy Center has become pop hell.
What are they thinking at the KenCen? Inclusion, inclusion, inclusion. It is a whole of government affair, from the National Park Service to the CIA.
Parking at the Kennedy Center costs $25. There’s no subway stop nearby. Those facts make ‘inclusion’ difficult, or is it just virtue signaling?
The nearest Metro stop is a 10 minute walk, and the Kennedy Center provides free shuttle service to and from there.
People really need to do their research before publicly commenting here. But that would be asking too much of Norm’s fanbase.
I’m going there next month to hear “Otello” in concert. Foggy Bottom metro station is a 10 minute walk or take the free shuttle.
I’m all for collaborations between different genres, but I would admit this is a bit troubling. But where are you going to draw the line? In two weeks the NSO is doing concert performances of Otello, which has a lot of nastiness in it (backstabbing Iago and all), even if the text isn’t so graphic.
I would note that this concert is tomorrow and has been on the schedule for over a year. Why are the NSO players raising a fuss only now? If they had a serious issue with this they should have been talking to the CEO and the Director of Artistic Planning a year ago.
The artistic level of a classical music opera by Verdi cannot be compared with the deplorable crap of such ‘rap’ which merely voices the lowest of the lowest, in terms of civilisation. Such ‘artists’ (and their fans) should be left in the gutter, not be invited into a collaboration project with a symphony orchestra.
Exactly what people were saying about Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong not that long ago–and not just in Germany. No doubt you have studied Killer Mike’s oeuvre at great length, and yours is a well considered and knowledgeable take.
There is quite a difference between Ellington and Armstrong on one side and that nonsense on the other, objectively so. Taking the trope of ‘earlier protests’ from the shelves does not change that – the cow is an animal but not every animal must therefore be a cow.
Must I first read Mein Kampf from cover to cover, to have the right of an opinion, I wonder.
The tone of many of your comments makes me wonder whether in fact Mein Kampf is your favourite bedside reading.
May I quote you: “… the deplorable crap of such ‘rap’ which merely voices the lowest of the lowest, in terms of civilisation. Such ‘artists’ (and their fans) should be left in the gutter …”
John it seems like Mein Kampf is already in your library. Maybe culture yourself and step out side of your very tiny irrelevant circle. And again, you’ll stand to be on the wrong side of history.
Artistic level…yuck! Verdi is so terribly boring! Give me Killer Mike instead. At least i have a chance at staying awake!
Do you know that they didn’t try that first?
I don’t. But why wait until the day before to raise a public fuss?
America is beyond hope the barbarians have won
NSO needs more racial sensitivity training to overcome its racial biases and white values.
Killer Mike is an improvement to Florence Price.
Well, good point. At least Killer Mike is interesting. Florence Price is dull, boring, badly written, and a sort of innocuous alibi.
Tell that to all those here in Winnipeg who witnessed Michelle Cann’s electrifying performance of the ultra passionate Price piano concerto.
Michelle Cann is a fine pianist. But the Price Piano Concerto is derivative in the extreme — a mix of Saint-Saens and Rachmaninoff but sounding inferior to both of them. Even Cann can’t redeem it.
Couldn’t disagree more. The first time I heard the first movement (Karen Walwyn’s recording on Albany Records) I was literally reduced to tears. And I don’t cry over anything! The middle movement is heartfelt and I don’t think a juba dance would remind anyone Saint-Saens or Rachmaninoff! My opinion of this concerto was vindicated when I brought the recording with me for an interview with a local radio station. It was during that orchestral sweep after the piano’s first statement that someone from outside the interview room burst in to demand what he was hearing!
An improvement in which sense?
Who needs here sensitivity training?
Killer Mike is a fantastic artist. The NSO should count themselves lucky to be allowed to take part in this collab.
Your definition of “fantastic” is certainly not mine.
Have you listened to Killer mike? Or have you written him off by his looks, by the excerpt written in this flippant article, if you can even call it an article, it’s click bait by any real defition.
Killer Mike, in the above lyrics, is OBSERVING these negative characteristis of the current hip hop environment, and if you listened further, you’d realize he despises them. He understands that these false images are having a negative impact on the youth that aren’t wise enough to differentiate entertainment from reality. But no… The folks in the comment section seem to literally be subjected to that same lack of wisdom and understanding.
….
or could there be an ulterior motive to this whole article??
….could…this article be designed to drive engagement ? I would never have replied to or have i ever heard of “slippeddisc” and while I love classical music, I wouldn’t say i want to discuss and engage in discussions about it. But Judging by the number of Ads, It’s clear that they need people to view their page, so they can keep the lights on… so what better than highlighting an upcoming event in what many would say is an ‘ignorant hot take’.
We got baited folks, anyone who’s ever listened to killer mikes lyrics would understand why the NSO is collabing, because his message is brilliantly insightful, and presented in a style that can draw in the people who need to hear it most.
Anyway, I hope you got your ad revenue slippeddisc, I sat here for 10 minutes typing this out. cheers.
This is all coming from Deb Rutter. She has never shown respect for the NSO and likely considers their residency as a necessary evil. She is all about DEI and the garbage that goes with it. Like everything the government touches in the arts, the result is dumbing down and debasement.
“She has never shown respect for the NSO and likely considers their residency as a necessary evil.”
Considering that Rutter came to the Kennedy Center after 13 years as CEO of the Chicago Symphony and 11 years as CEO of the Seattle Symphony before that, this statement seems improbable.
This dude and his act do not belong on stage with th National Symphony. Even if the house is full, they jus be hoes, bro.
As an NSO musician I was not aware or part of this supposed group of “NSO musicians”. Not sure who the “we” is referring to and suspect it is one disgruntled person.
Yeah, go ahead and think that.
Sign him to DG.
He’d sell better than most of their artists.
“The highlight of Mike’s career so far was getting arrested at this year’s Grammys.”
Really? He has one several Grammy awards, lectured at a number of American universities including Northwestern, had a popular Netflix series, and is a successful entrepreneur with a thriving barber shop in Atlanta. The utter lack of curiosity about the man exemplified in the above quote is positively breathtaking.
My son listens to a lot of rap, and has introduced me to many artists, some of whom I have come to admire. He has enormous respect for Killer Mike. When I forwarded him this link, he was dispirited at how completely the article missed the point. Killer Mike is not endorsing the attitudes expressed in the out-or-context quote; it is rather an indictment of that attitude. The song expresses hope that his community can transcend these pathologies. I would urge anyone here to listen to the entire song.
These pathologies, as you term them, are not part of the orchestral conversation, nor should they be. If they exist in society, they belong somewhere else. An orchestra makes music at a high degree of precision and spiritual aspiration. People pay to hear those qualities, not to be exposed to screeds of racist, pornographic and anti-feminist abuse, which, in the mouth of anyone of a diferent ethnicity, would result in assault and arrest. People choose to hear an orchestra as a refuge from that odious reality. Merge the two and you diminish the orchestra and destroy its social base, which is presumably not your aim.
This is such a wrong-headed attitude, it genuinely takes my breath away.
First, to assume that classical music contains no works of art that are also racist, pornographic, or anti-feminist is counterfactual and willfully blind.
Second, to separate classical music from any political or sociological viewpoint is to, by definition, strip it of any contemporary relevance. Musicians and music are not here solely to play beautifully or expressively, as if they were just more expensive sound baths – musicians and composers are artists, with a point of view and a stake in the soul of a culture. To strip them of that autonomy is to relegate them to some sort of museum cosplay. I know that these players may not have a choice in the repertoire they play, but that is the fault of the structure of the very classical music culture that you are defending, not Killer Mike’s.
Finally, Killer Mike is one of the most respected rap artists in America and has been, for several election cycles now, a profound voice for left-wing causes and the disinfranchised. He is an activist and a force for good and change in the world. He has run as a candidate for Georgia’s 55th district. Google him and the phrase “activism” and take a second to familiarize yourself with him beyond just finding an out-of-context potstirring quote, and maybe the reason he might be a compelling voice for the NSO in *Washington DC* might occur to you.
Lumping all rap artists together as degenerates is an attitude that we evolved beyond in the 1990s, literally 30 years ago. If you cannot quote a single rap lyric that values beauty or non-violence, your opinion is as useless as someone claiming that all classical music is boring and irrelevant but has never been to a concert.
Also, as to your point about a “diferent ethnicity” (sic), there are obviously plenty of white and Latino rappers who have said far, far worse on albums and have not been arrested. Many of them have even won Grammys. All of you need to grow up and recognize that there are great artists and progressive artists in every medium and genre, and your incurious attitude only proves others’ attitudes about the close-minded culture of classical music.
Very well said
Your problem is that you think classical music is, or should be, part of the real world – ‘real’ meant to be: the outward world. But classical music is filtered-out human experience into a realm different from it: it becomes psychic experience. Music history is filled to the brim with enough examples of this to fill all the heads of all music lovers all over the world. You should think about this more than you obviously did.
I’m an orchestra and opera conductor with over 20 years of experience in major houses and ensembles around the world. I’ve premiered hundreds of new works, and been with composers through every stage of their creative process. I’ve thought about it plenty.
All art is a communication from the artist, a human being, to the public, about their human experience. Music doesn’t “filter out” human experience – it is an expression of it. “Marriage of Figaro” is a masterpiece not because it detaches you from the human experience, but because it’s arguably the greatest depiction of humanity on stage – not because the final hymn of forgiveness allows you to transcend humanity, but because it tosses you into the center of it, into what we are capable of in the “real” world. If you think “Figaro” doesn’t belong in the real world, god help you.
Music doesn’t exist in some detached psychic void, it interacts with the world directly. In fact, we insist on it interacting with the world all the time: when we perform requiems in to help cope with tragic events, Beethoven 9 during global celebrations, even Johann Strauss Jr/Sn for the New Year. We are begging that music be relevant to our world, and composers throughout history have been attempting not to capture some elusive psychic experience (though of course there are mystics), but the experience of being alive in the world as they see it. To then complain when the world wants to interact back to it is to fundamentally misunderstand the role of art in a community.
It seems like you think of music like a painting – an unalterable object that we must make sure doesn’t get paint splattered on it. That isn’t what music is. First, it is a collective experience for a crowd, not a single person, and it changes constantly based on the performers, the room, the audience, etc. It is not a private meditation for you and you alone to enjoy how you like. It is a living art form that withstands adaptation – a Bruckner symphony still exists in its pristine state as notation on paper even after a terrible performance in a way that repainting the Mona Lisa does not. How many thousands of terrible conceptions of Hamlet have existed and yet Hamlet remains? It is the role of an orchestra to serve its community, and if that means learning how to collaborative with other artists speaking in other truths, we all only come out stronger for it in the end.
Art is elevated, for sure. That’s what art is – it reaches for something inexpressible through words. But it is not separate from the world around you, and it is a misreading of the intention of all creators to assume so.
Thank you, Ryan. That was beautifully expressed.
Yes, this, a thousand times!
Wait…what?
I didn’t realize anybody was being forced to attend this concert. If it is not sold out, or nearly so, I will be very surprised. So maybe some people are looking for something different than you are, Norman. It is not clear to me who bestowed upon you the authority to legislate what people can and can’t come and hear.
As I said before, the lyrics you so disingenuously quoted out of context do not at all reflect the artist’s views. They are an unsparing look at the toxic culture of a community he wants to lift up. And, as I also said before, to write “The highlight of Mike’s career so far was getting arrested at this year’s Grammys” is preposterous, given this man’s accomplishments. Geez, don’t they have Wikipedia in England? Maybe learn a little bit about the guy before you disparage him.
Yeah, “refuge from odious reality” is a great thing. But it is not the only great thing, even for symphony orchestras. See “Shostakovich, D.” A fair number of his symphonies force our gaze upon the even more odious reality of Stalin’s USSR. And yet people “choose to hear” it.
Max,
The problem seems to be that the musicians of the NSO are being forced to be there AND play. The public has a choice.
Yours,
Pff
I play music I don’t care for all the time. I recently played “The Chairman Dances” from “Nixon in China”. I found myself wondering how people would react to a tender love scene between Hitler and Eva Braun–“The Fuhrer dances”. Mao was a mass murderer on a Hitlerian scale. Is it OK to depict him so tenderly because he didn’t kill white people, save a few US GI’s in Korea? I find it a bit troubling. But I did my job, played it to the best of my abilities. I don’t choose my repertoire.
If you start giving symphony musicians veto power over music they find offensive, you may not care for the unintended consequences. Lots of people find themselves “triggered” in these times by all kinds of stuff–no shortage of diatribes against Beethoven and Wagner. We will not necessarily be cancelling the stuff you want cancelled.
Max, you are being disingenuous. DSCH reflects reality in an authentic symphonic context. This rapper does not. I doubt that this is what you trained for, or what you had in mind when auditioning for the CSO.
You have moved the goalposts, Norman. By your brand new criteria orchestras shouldn’t be collaborating with any rap artist, because they are not “in an authentic symphonic context”, whatever that means. Actually, I guess then you would outlaw a number of collaborations with non classical artists, which might not be great for a lot of orchestras’ bottom lines.
Well said, Norman. But doesn’t NSO have a Music Director who should vehemently oppose his orchestra’s participation in such a project? Isn’t that one of the central obligations of a MD?
“People pay to hear those qualities, not to be exposed to screeds of racist, pornographic and anti-feminist abuse”
Yes – for racist, pornographic, and anti-feminist abuse, we all know to come to the Slipped Disc comment section.
Norman, have you ever listened to Duke Bluebeard’s Castle? Now that is a disgusting piece of music that has no place in our concert halls.
DEI. Another reason to vote Republican.
Oh, by all means. Let’s elect someone who talks about how he can get any “pussy” he likes, who is well known to have betrayed his wives,whose racism is well known, whose contempt for the idea is personified in his blatant ignorance. Big improvement having a President who is endorsed by the Klan, and who showed his support of the American Constitution one January 6.
I don’t know anything about Killer Mike, a cultural icon of whom I had not heard. But it sounds as if he is actually opposed to the misogynies of too many others. I don’t like his approach, but it beats the hell out of lynching, the illegality of which some Republican voters would appear to regret.
Orange Clown dictatorship – another reason to vote Democratic.
I never get this. So you don’t like having non-white, non-straight people around, so you’ll vote for people who tried to overthrow a democratically elected government? Well, I guess that might make sense.
DEI is about treating people who for nearly four centuries were bought and sold as property as well as the people who bought and owned them.
Hardly the stuff of present-day Republicans and their fear of being erased from the surface of the planet by non-white citizens whose only desire is to be treated with the dignity and respect afforded white people since the dawn of time.
Vote Republican…are you kidding???
No ideas from the GOP, to the point of no platform.
Just fealty to an old man with bladder & bowel control who’s cheated people all his life, cheated on people all his life, and lead nearly 80 years of lying about anything and everything.
Republicans: another reason to vote Democrat.
Funny how he can say “Niggas” but I’m not supposed to.
And they can call me pale, male, and stale, without repercussions. Hypocrisy rules the US political/social climate.
Why, would you like to?
Funny how you apparently have a desire to use such a term.
A cultural icon. Never heard of him.
Has this sold any more tickets than other pop acts they host?
Looks like it is nearly sold out!
Only nine seats left as of now. So I would guess the answer is Yes.
So maybe you need to broaden your cultural horizons.
He’s black, so moral principles don’t apply at Kennedy Center for Marxist Arts Propaganda. Move along, nothing to see here.
That’s not an ignorant, racist comment at all.
I find this idea for a concert highly objectionable. If they want to attract more Black people to the concert hall, why not music by such composers as Anthony Davis, Anthony Braxton, Tyshawn Sorey, Wadada Leo Smith, Alvin Singleton, Tania León, Jeffrey Mumford, or many other interesting Black composers? I consider this programming to be condescending and patronizing toward Black people. (All right, I am not Black.) The middle-class, upper-middle-class, and even upper-class Black people (of which the Washington area has many) would not be interested in this. The orchestra just released a recording of five orchestral works (titled Sinfonias) by the Pulitzer prize-winning Black composer George Walker, which is worth hearing. That is far more important an effort than this idea.
The two are not mutually exclusive. And I greatly appreciate that the NSO did the Walker album.
We black folks don’t need you to speak for us. Just sit down.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Kennedy Center, a re-written “Turandot” has been made more palatable for contemporary sensitivities.
Nothing in those lyrics strikes me as more misogynistic than your standard western opera.
It’s art, guys. You’re not supposed to stab your daughter in a burlap sack after watching Rigoletto.
The level of artistry in Rigoletto is infinitely higher than anything that ‘rap’ or ‘hop hip’ or even a single ‘hip’ or ‘hop’ could ever produce. It is like comparing a Rembrandt painting with a garbage bag. But many people, in their well-meaning compensatory attempts, don’t want to see the difference.
What do you actually know or understand about rap? Have you ever discussed with rap artists what is involved in creating a rap album?
Understand? Anyone with an ear for music can identify crude, simplistic, commercial pap when they hear it. There’s nothing there. If white people had created it we wouldn’t even be discussing it.
Its defenders are hiding behind accusations of racism, as usual.
That may be the case (Not being familiar with the Killa, I can’t say).
However the NSO is not protesting this rapper’s lack of artistic quality; rather, they are “triggered” by the subject matter.
I see nothing in them which is more horrible or misogynistic than the plots of Macbeth, Dutchman, Rigoletto, Jenufa, Butterfly, Giovanni, or Tosca.
The pearl clutchers are as fragile as those whom they mock and deride as “snowflakes” for objecting to the violence of colonialism and patriarchy in Butterfly. Both sides attempt to crush free artistic expression and shirk the necessity that art confront the dark aspects of human experience.
These musicians want to hold the Killa’s lyrics to the same standards of everyday life. In short, they want to deny that he is an artist at all. That is pure racism. They scratch their heads in ignorance, pondering why they aren’t allowed to say the N-word. Art isn’t life, ye conservative snowflakes: you aren’t supposed to smother your wife to death for suspected infidelity because some white guy wrote an opera about it. Performing Otello doesn’t mean one advocates such behavior in real life.
The NSO is in urgent need of racial sensitivity training.
Everything you say is right, except that it is not the NSO complaining, it is, if the report is true, an unspecified number of anonymous musicians within it. Those musicians are the ones in need of racial sensitivity training.
I can’t believe I’m even going to respond to any of this tabloid pseudo-journalism. Mr. Lebrecht’s often mean spirited and ridiculous musings aren’t something that I would normally consider worth even a moment of my time. However, as the Principal Pops Conductor of the esteemed NSO for the past 12 years or so, I can assure you that the Washington DC musicians are actually NOT in an uproar about this project. We just completed our first rehearsal and it was fantastic. I am conducting this concert just like I did with Nas, Kendrick Lamar and many other artists from different genres of music. I have also conducted for the likes of Joshua Bell and Renée Fleming, to name just a few dear friends.
1. I believe the orchestra is meant to serve the ENTIRE population of the communities we live in. Not just a privileged sector.
2. We produce these collaborations with the highest standards of artistic integrity with incredible orchestrations crafted to showcase what an orchestra as great as the mighty NSO can bring to different genres of music.
3. And for those that were curious, yes indeed, there won’t be a seat to be had in the concert hall.
Norman, you have no idea what you are talking about and should consider doing a little more research for your articles. You and some of your acolytes should be ashamed of yourselves. You honestly just come off as a bunch of old, snobby bigots.
Steven Reineke
You’s be surprised if you saw the calibre of musicians who contacted me about this.
Breaking news! A few disgruntled musicians writing anonymously to a blogger equals an uproar!
Also breaking news: some great musicians have outdated views and are not interested in the nuances of other art forms!
And, finally, breaking news: ensembles not having more of a say in what they play and program makes means some musicians lead very unhappy artistic lives!
Norman please tell us more if you can. This entire debacle is the main reason I refuse to but season tickets to orchestras, and have become very selective in what I do attend. I’m in love with tradition and don’t feel the need to participate in any form of classical music repositioning or repackaging. It’s beautiful as it stands and needs only those willing to listen wholeheartedly and respectfully. Queen Elizabeth said it best: Tradition is our strength and modernity is not always the answer.”
The problem is that in the West, the notion of ‘tradition’ has been greatly misunderstood. The idea that classical music may be contemporary and modern forever, due to its timeless character, strikes lots of ‘modern’ people as quaint and conservative, although they have no problems with enjoying springtime which is as traditional as you can get – it happens all the time in the same way for millennia.
Repackaging classical music is the result of the misconception that any work of art that happens to have been created in the past, is THUS a museum piece and THUS irrelevant to us if not somehow adapted to the modern world. So, we need to change the Mona Lisa’s outfit and hairdo and replace the medieval cathedrals with up-to-date glass-and-steel structures, which will make feel contemporary people so much better.
Fear not, Sir! It was entirely possible to purchase a NSO subscription without this concert. I myself am attending about 15 NSO performances this season and this one is not one of them. Though I don’t object to it taking place.
Did they have the courage to sign their names to it? And more importantly, have they heard the performance? Which hasn’t taken place yet.
And I wouldn’t be surprised if the LSO or the Royal Phil does one of these shows soon enough – fill Royal Albert Hall and generate some much-needed revenue.
We would likely be less surprised at how few of them are members of NSO.
Mr Reineke thinks that classical music has to serve the ENTIRE population of the communities we live in, not just a privileged sector. Implied is: also if you have no idea of what we are doing, it’s for you, no discernment necessary, you even don’t have to liike our stuff. So: entirely without any consideration of meaning, content, or even receptive frameworks. In this view, understanding of what classical music is, is entirely irrelevant. It’s merely about the sounds it makes. Hence: ‘pops conductor’.
The classical music world can serve whomever it likes but if the intention is to only serve a privileged sector than obviously it shouldn’t be publicly funded, and when classical music education, concert halls and orchestras go to the wall, they’ll only have themselves to blame.
“It’s merely about the sounds it makes.”
Well…yes. The sounds are, and are appropriately (I think), the most important aspects of the musical experience…aren’t they?
Doesn’t the sound itself constitute “meaning” and “content”?
At least, for me, it was the “sounds it makes” that made me fall in love with Beethoven, Elliott Carter, and all the rest.
Falling in love was a gift!
The lyrics quoted here are from an album he recorded 17 years ago.
I don’t think he’s performed it in several years, certainly not on the recent “high and holy” tour.
Did they just look for the least relatable lyrics he’s ever recorded or will he actually be performing this one?
Personally I’m tired of rap music. I don’t find the obscene lyrics inspiring, shocking or artistic. It’s for a society already asleep. Living each day as a zombie, going through the motions. There are so many other things to choose from.
Well, first things first, technically rap is a lyrical style within the musical genre of hip hop. Though there are people who argue that hip hop is a culture – that rap is something you can buy and listen to, and hip hop is something you have to show up and be present for and engage in. The latter position may be a nod to the fact that black urban didn’t invent any of these words, and “hip hop” basically means a good, inclusive party.
Most experts agree that rap predates hip hop by many years. A large number agree that it goes back at least to colonial enslaved cultures, some argue that it goes all the way back to africa, but for obvious reasons it is nearly impossible to say for sure if it does.
It’s generally agreed that the collage musical style most associated with hip hop was invented by Clive Campbell aka DJ Kool Herc some time between 1972 and 1974. He doesn’t remember exactly himself, he was having too good of a time.
He merely observed that the crowd goes nuts when you get to the part of a soul record where instrumentalists get to do their solos – their breaks – called the breakdown. And particularly when there’s a good beat, which could be recognized by the depth of the track on the record.
So he stuck to those.
And you can see how you can have that without any lyrics, so really the term “rap music” is a misnomer.
Real turntablism came later, and most people agree that it was invented by Joseph Saddler, aka Grandmaster Flash.
Many practitioners of the art agree with Lance Taylor, aka Afrika Bambatta, who said “the music comes from everywhere”. You know, because it’s a collage art form.
Starting in the 90s, it’s been increasingly composed with samplers, and more recently with music production software.
Anyhow. With that out of the way, if you think it’s all about obscene lyrics and heavy beats, you haven’t paid it any attention yet. Or at any rate, you’ve had pretty selective exposure.
I have some issues with Michael Render aka Killer Mike, who was born the same year I was. I like some of his work and i don’t like some of his work. I am sorely disappointed by his stance on the construction of a military-style training facility for police outside of Atlanta.
When he wrote the lyrics this article complains about, most people outside of Atlanta who recognized his name just knew that he was a guy who was on one Outkast track once, so he was playing very specifically to the Atlanta market.
He’s matured a bit since then, but the musical accompaniment to it probably translates well to a symphony orchestra.
For an idea of what he’s about these days, you could try “Motherless”, the ode to his mother from his most recent album. That and the militarization of policing I guess.
Thank you. I hope some of the more virulent commenters pay attention.
Then you have not been listening to the right hip hop. If any “Run The Jewels” song you heard was akin to living as a zombie, you hold to a very odd definition of those words.
I’m going to Kennedy Center next month to hear “Otello” in concert and will ask the musicians why the outrage? Rap aka patter song was invented by Rossini in “Barber of Seville”.
Yes, I think Rossini (and Gilbert and Sullivan) were hugely popular in Compton in the early 80s. Couldn’t walk through the projects without hearing Cenerentola.
Pure degeneracy, relying on the cowardly reluctance of gullible “edgy” white useful idiots to condemn something which white “musicians” would never be allowed to get away with. I wonder how many of the people who have suddenly discovered that they are fans of this man would be happy for their children to be exposed to his words.
I find it incredibly patronising to imply that black people can only comprehend messages delivered in this style which, I might add, bears no similarity whatsoever to Verdi’s Rigoletto, or the work of musicians like Ellington. Regardless of the intent, it is preserving a crude stereotype which black people can do without. People of S Asian or E Asian descent would never be patronised in this way or held to such a low standard.
Who is being patronized? Rap/Hip-Hop is a 50-year old musical form that originated in U.S. urban areas, and reflects the lives of a lot of people. In that sense it’s really no different than what Mozart wrote in his time/place or what Africans created – in Africa and in many countries where they were brought as slaves. Or country music, originating from hillbilly music-making. Think Jimmy Rogers or the Carters.
Growing up as I did in a white, upper-middle-class environment in suburban Seattle, hip-hop is not really my thing. But I can respect that its practitioners are highly skilled performers whose work is appreciated by many. And if there is a way to do it while involving a symphony orchestra productively, why not?
I’ll stick with my opening sentence. I don’t agree with the skill levels involved or any parallel with Mozart, or jazz for that matter.
And when is hillbilly music-making going to be included in a classical programme? Have I missed it?
(I’m also intimately familiar with African history.)
I’m sure every orchestra’s pops series has at one time or another featured performances by country artists.
And if you’re so familiar with African history then you will presumably understand how almost all music derives from the lives and experiences of its creators.
“almost all music derives from the lives and experiences of its creators.”
And, in recent decades, from record producers.
“And when is hillbilly music-making going to be included in a classical programme?”
Mark O’Connor made quite the career out of it.
First, this is lazy journalism at best. I have no problem with these collaborations, and sometimes I find them refreshing from the traditional rep that we play. Norman took the view of a musician, or maybe a few musicians, and wrote as if it were the general sentiment.
There are 98 of us, and we did not collaborate on a statement. Second, on any given week you can find people in the orchestra complaining about the rep. We played Enigma Variations last week, we are playing with Killer Mike tonight, a Memorial Day concert this weekend, then Mahler 7 next week. This is literally one night of a very long season of concerts. If you don’t like the program, just wait a week. Third, I object to the notion that we should stick to traditional classical music only and ignore current music that a significant number of people want to hear. That is exactly how an art form dies. Maybe a collaboration with Killer Mike isn’t going to be the catalyst for a new type of classical music, but maybe it is part of a progression. The music that we play spans centuries. Some of that music represents the popular forms at the time that it was composed. Let’s not forget that composers that we hold on pedestals, such as Mozart, also wrote pieces titled “Lick my Ass”. Fourth, I’m sad to see the blatant racism in the article and the comment section. I still hold out hope that we can be better than this. I have never listened to Killer Mike, and I try to approach these concerts with an open mind. I was impressed that in the first rehearsal he stepped up to the podium and spoke honestly and genuinely about his excitement for this collaboration. He also credited and thanked two teachers in his life that helped him get to where he is today. How can you hate that?
Has any orchestra ever been unanimous about anything? Our complainants are at least as passionate as you.
“Musicians in an uproar” absolutely suggests at least some form of group mentality/opinion, not a few disgruntled players who reached out to you with the understanding that you’d keep them anonymous.
It might have been better if you had said roughly how many of the NSO musicians had complained, and had investigated to see whether the complaint was generally held.
Yes – but then why does your article imply that it is the entire orchestra? Please!
No one, I believe, has said that you must stick with ‘traditional classical music’, whatever that means. What I object to is hiring and promoting someone who promotes violence. That is certainly not something that any decent musician, of whatever type, should support.
Arthur Fiedler, Danny Kaye, PDQ Bach, Victor Borge, Marvin Hamlisch, Erich Kunzel – these are the legends who have graced the NSO’s history. Killer Mike does not fit into this esteemed lineup. Before making anonymous statements like the one you posted, it is crucial to be well-versed in the NSO’s historical context. My assertion is that the pops concerts disrupt the orchestra’s continuity from previous subscription concerts. It appears that you are content with receiving your regular paycheck and potential pay increases in our upcoming negotiations, unlike me. I would willingly accept a pay cut if it meant eliminating pops concerts entirely. My stance on Killer Mike is not about his presence at the Kennedy Center but rather his involvement with the NSO. The direction of our pops programming has veered significantly off course.
“I would willingly accept a pay cut…” Easy to say as someone who is retiring. And who didn’t participate in this program. All the people you mentioned as previous pops collaborators are dead. Kinda difficult to do shows with them nowadays.
Killer Mike or Kendrick Lamar might not be your cup of tea, but I believe that there is something we “classical” musicians can learn from all forms of musical expression. I would push back on the notion that the hip hop shows are true “collaborations” – the two I’ve done have felt more like performing a very fancy and unwieldy karaoke track. I feel like the Declassified programs have been more successful in showing what is special about what an orchestra can do. I personally would love to see a more flexible, “unplugged” approach to these hip-hop programs if we are going to do them. Even still, I’d rather do one of these than slog through a crusty Tchaik 5 for the gazillionth time…
So all white males of Eastern European descent is the legacy that Killer Mike doesn’t fit into? Thankfully, your retirement will prevent you from having to share the stage with people of color— look around. The world has changed since Danny Kaye’s days of black-face.
Just the fact that his name is “Killer” Mike should be disqualification enough.
of all the stuff killer mike has said and done, in lyrics and in life and activism, these points are what you focus on?
pathetic.
You forgot to mention that he won a Granmy that night. That’s probably the highlight nimrod. RTJ and Mike speak so much truth y’all don’t know what to do besides be scared. Thought you whiteys liked freedom of speech. You’re all for it, except when you don’t agree with it. Hypocrite much?
Three Grammies.
Everyone’s racism on full display.
Racism?
I’ve looked at several of his lyrics and nothing has altered my opinion that this is crude, infantile, doggerel. It is being discussed as though it will provide its fans with a direct route to Schubert lieder. It will not. It is irrelevant.
If they want to get younger people into the concert hall they should try something that stands a chance of success and preferably not selected on the basis of racial identity.
The concert was almost sold out – presumably not entirely to the over-60s.
Who says anything about Schubert?
“What on earth are they thinking at the Kennedy Center?” Well, as of noon, the Kennedy Center website says only EIGHT tickets out of 2,000+ in the Concert Hall are unsold for tonight’s Killer Mike /NSO concert. That’s better than most NSO concerts. To me that is smart programming.
Indeed. They’re probably wishing they had scheduled a second show.
We at the NSO have presented sold-out concerts with Nas, Kendrick Lamar, Common, Ne-Yo, Babyface, Ledisi, and Maxwell as well as Roberta Flack, Jacob Collier, Sara Bareilles, Alison Krauss, William Shatner, and Steve Martin (with his virtuosic banjo playing), just to name a few. Should we not collaborate with any of these artists? Or just the ones you personally don’t like? Become CEO or Conductor of your own orchestra, then you naysayers can program whatever you’d like. See how long your organization lasts if you don’t take a more inclusive world view. The orchestra is not meant to be an anachronistic museum piece. It is a living, breathing, and ever evolving institution. Nobody is saying you have to like it. Just don’t attend those concerts. There are plenty of other people waiting in line to buy those tickets!
Bravo Steve Reineke! Well said.
Quite true, now tell that to the Vienna Philharmonic.
America – This crap is ART worthy of performing in public. Just dare perform Othelo with a white Othelo, or, use the wrong pronouns…
Can someone translate his lyrics into white English?
Misalliance!
Well, the show happened. Anyone there to report on it?
If musicians aren’t hacks to begin with, this will make them become hacks.