How are you feeling Hakim?

Hakim Green: I'm feeling good. I'm in New York City and it's sunny in the city right now so I can't complain

You've been involved with Hip Hop for many years. For those who may not know, can you give us a brief history of how it all started for you?

Hakim Green: In terms of Hip Hop and the Hip Hop culture, it's something you're involved in without knowing that you're involved with it. I used to be in the dance scene real heavy back in like the late 80's, around the time Hip Hop was really beginning to make its mark on the popular culture. I danced for a group called the New Style who later became Naughty by Nature. I had a lot of dancing talent; showmanship, charisma and I would play to the crowd. If you noticed, people in the entertainment industry have a lot of the same characteristics. Whether it be dancing, rhyming or acting. So I figured if I can take these same tricks that I have as a dancer and apply it to the MC side I should be able to be just as successful, if not more. So that's what I did.

I started rhyming and seriously recording in the studio and creating demos. At the same time I was actually a school teacher in 1990-94. I started an after school program that involved doing lectures. That was around the time Krs-One was doing Human Education Against Lies. That's how I met Krs-One. So it wasn't really the music that brought us together, it was the activism and community organizing side that brought us together. Just having a love of music and being able to do it with someone who knew where I was coming from to help take it to that next level. The rest is as you would say history.

You're the Co-Director of the newly revived Stop the Violence Movement. How did that come about?

Hakim Green: Honestly, what happened was a little over a year ago, I hooked up with Kris after not seeing him for a while. I ran into him at a show and like a light turned on in his head and he looked at me and said, "Hakim I have to be honest with you. I haven't done a real good job surrounding myself with intelligent people. It's time for me to take my career into another direction, and as I look at you -- you need to be on my team." I guess he was kind of stunned that he hadn't been fucking with me for the last ten years or so.

So over 2007 we created a strategy to take his career in another direction. He got the BET lifetime achievement award. We decided that would be a great opportunity and platform to do something greater for Kris. Kris decided the Stop the Violence Movement was the perfect platform to create. One: take his career in another direction and give him another torch to carry and two: create a platform for artists to express that other side of themselves. The side the industry hasn't really been interested in for the last ten years. So we decided to create that vehicle for folks. Stop the Violence was the perfect Movement because it was so successful 20 ago in raising awareness around nonviolent struggle and the benefit of nonviolent actions.

So what steps are you guys taking to get the movement going? I know the album is set to have the top artists in the field on the East and West coast.

Hakim Green:  We finished the record called "Self Construction". We've created some partnerships and some really strategic alliances with Robert FK Memorial and another organization named ACORN. ACORN is an organization that is in nearly every major city in the country. What they do is organize disenfranchised people through workshops that inform people of their civic responsibilities. They teach them how to organize press, how to hold a press conference, how to petition local members of City Hall, how to petition Congressmen and Councilmen and how to leverage yourself as a community through the government. Just educating people with basic standard things people need to make their life easier.

We have another partnership with Ed Lyrics. They created a curriculum called H.E.L.P (Hip Hop Education Literacy Program) that teaches literacy through Hip Hop. They are based out of DC. They have been running their program in the DC schools for about two or three years. We are creating a work book with them. A Self Construction workbook that will address the value of politics to nonviolent protest. We have the single going and we are about to do a huge campaign on BET later this year. Krs-One will be executively producing two weeks of Rap City. That again is our attempt to shift Hip Hop into a more positive manner. To create more balance in Hip Hop and to give that other voice.

You seem to wear a lot of hats. I was reading your bio and it says you were an A&R consultant and you also did some video stuff. Is that something natural or is it something you consciously try to involve yourself in?

Hakim Green:  I'm a creative person. I just try to take in information and I try to learn. I try to observe and incorporate things into my life where it works. I got this thing; "Once you go around the block you don't need directions." Once you go around the world and create these networks and contacts you don't need record labels to establish you, you have those contacts already. The "Mad Izm" video, which was our first video, me and my partner Tuffy came up with the concept and we picked the location. We had the general vision of what we wanted. We hired a video director who was a friend of mine and he directed us. I worked on videos prior to "Mad Izm" with Ralph McDaniel's and Classic Concepts. So a lot of that knowledge I brought along with me. We did a project as Channel Live in 2000 named Armaghetto through Flavor Unit. One of my best friends at the time was a film guy/rapper who was looking to get his first directing shot. I decided I'm not going to pay somebody who's not in my circle; I'm going to use the people right here with me. That video director was Benny Boom, one of the top Video Directors in the industry right now.

I came up with the concept in Nas' video "Got Yourself a Gun" where he changes into Tupac and Biggie. The concept of Diddy meeting Nelly and the St. Lunatics, that was my concept. I did that. You don't need to step outside yourself when you can be yourself. Carl Thomas' song "I Wish", which is Carl's biggest single to date and one of the biggest singles to come out of Bad Boy, I discovered that record. Mike City who is a old high school friend and was an up-and-coming producer, he was my friend and Mike knew that. He gave me the demo tape and I heard "I Wish." I told Carl, "that's your single". Carl heard it and took it to Puff, so Puff said "that's your single." Six weeks later that was Carl's single. That relationship turned into an independent album project put out through Universal last year called "So Much Better". My partner and I were A&R's to that album. You can come up in the game as an artist but keep your eyes and ears open so you can transcend just that.

Now you have a new album that's in the works that's called A Revolution Televised.

Hakim Green:  Yeah, the single is on Itunes right now called "Hip Hop Nation". I got the video for it up on youtube. I haven't started the major push on the record because I have been so focused on the Stop the Violence Movement. But I have been getting a lot of love on the record "Hip Hop Nation." Wendy Williams gave me a lot of love about two months ago on WBLS. From what she heard of my album she said she expected this to be a major thing in Hip Hop this year. So that was real big coming from her. My music is really political and conscious so I try to share the information that I gathered in my life and in my career and try to share it with people. We as Hip Hop can come up together.

So who are some of the artists and producers you're working with on A Revolution Televised?

Hakim Green: Of course Krs One, Monie Love, Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian, got an up-and-coming artist named Scanz who's going to do a lot of damage to the industry in the near future. Cymarshall Law, King Magnetic and hopefully Snoop. I picked a record for Snoop called "Flags". Snoop fell in love with it and he said he wanted to be on it. I sent him the track and haven't heard from him since [laughs]. That song is really just about how our nation is being divided into colors and races and subcultures. The point is to divide and conquer. You use different flags, different defining measures to identify people and separate people from each other. They weaken their power by separating them from each other. A house divided can never stand.

So do you have a clear date when you'll be able to focus on the album? Or is that something that's still in the air?

Hakim Green: It's up in the air. I'm doing this all independently and everything is out of my pocket. I'm focusing on the Stop the Violence Movement because it's the same idea as my music. I'll use that to leverage my album. As the Stop the Violence Movement gets bigger I'll get more exposure to be able to talk about the project. I think I'll have the album uploaded to Itunes sometime around June I'm thinking. The single "Hip Hop Nation" just went up this week actually. I haven't done a major push on the video, it's on Youtube and a few other sites have been playing it. I've gotten a lot of love. I've gotten like thirty-five thousand hits its first week on youtube. It's pretty outstanding considering I'm not really promoting it.

So how's the battle been to push this positive balance of Hip Hop to this newer generation?

Hakim Green: Well the 85% is going to be the 85%. That's why they are 85%. They are blind, deaf and dumb and they don't know. The poor righteous teacher will take the responsibility to educate the 85%, but the 85% has got to want to be educated. If you're standing in the dark you have to want to turn on the light. You have to realize you are standing in the dark and have to turn on the light. You just do what you do and those people who wake up will wake up. The majority of the people will remain a slave and that's just the nature of life. Most people want things done for them and they don't want to do it themselves. In that you just reach out to someone and hope they will wake up and that person will reach out to someone else and wake them up.

I don't really get stressed as much as I used to when I was in my 20's and I was like, "When are people going to get it? When are they going to wake up?" Heeeeey maaaan. People just want to be who they are at the end of the day. It's not everybody's responsibility to get it. It's my responsibility to get it and I get it, so I share. Whoever wants to go along for the ride goes along for the ride. I had a conversation with someone yesterday who worked for Hot 97. We we're talking about the Stop the Violence Movement and how could Hot 97 support and what we were looking for. The whole conversation of the state of Hip Hop came up. It's always been my contention that Hot 97 is a big part of the problem. It's a big reason why Hip Hop is messed up. Five years ago a lot of things I was saying to people who didn't want to hear me, they are now saying the same things to me, just the irony of it.

The people who are responsible for fucking it up are complaining that it's fucked up. If you would have listened to artist like Krs-One, Chuck D and Channel Live five years ago who took more of a leadership position. Like Hot 97 claims to be "The Leader". If you are going to be a leader then lead. Don't be a follower and don't do what everyone else is doing. You shouldn't do things solely based on ratings or solely based on advertising. There has to be a part of you that understands and separates nurturing culture within the business so five years from now the art form has progressed and is as exciting as it was 10-15 years ago.  People think about the now, today. They do a thing that's for today but it actually puts your future behind tomorrow.  I think that's what we are experiencing now. The last ten years of thinking about today like tomorrow is never going to come. Now tomorrow is here and people don't want to face it, but they have no choice because its here.

The Stop the Violence Movement is a way for us to face it in a more realistic way, a more honest way and show the other side of ourselves. Create a platform where alternative Hip Hop artists have a voice, have some say, shine and show their creativity. Hopefully that will inspire young people to say, "You know what? I'm going to do this positive thing as an outlet." You can be conscious and still have swag or have knowledge of self and still have swag. You could be some fly cat wilding in the club with bottles all around you but understand it's for a greater purpose, not for this chick or that. Let me get off my soapbox.

No this is great. A large part of the problem is people think they are too "cool." This is something that I think that needs to be addressed. People follow what trend they think is cool. I think the younger generation can gain from knowing that being a positive and intelligent human being can be "cool" too.

Hakim Green: That's why we did this record. That's why we got the Nelly's, the David Banner's, the Chamillionaire's, the 50 Cent's, the Fat Joe's, the Cassidy's, the Ludacris's and the Lil Weezy's. The people you don't expect to be on the Stop the Violence shit were the first ones to get on the Stop the Violence record, which is weird. I don't have verses from Mos Def or Talib Kweli. Though I was talking to Talib last night and he's going to give us something. But I don't have that yet. I don't have a Common verse, I don't have an Immortal Techniques verse. I don't have that. I have a verse from Busta Rhymes, Nelly, Chamillionaire, David Banner, Styles P, Fat Joe and 50 Cent gave us an audio piece that we are using for the right. These are the likes of people that stepped up. Real Ironic right? It's like a lot of these artists want to make records that show that side of us but because of the imaging or Hot 97, the MTV's, the BET's and  the record labels saying you got to sell records and the younger kids don't want to hear that. There was a poll done sometime last year in the midwest. They polled the high school kids and asked them if they were satisfied with the programming on the radio. 90% of them said no. They weren't satisfied with the programming on the radio and the radio shit is going down. We are selling fewer records across the board and top shelf artist aren't selling albums. You can't say this is what the people want.  Obviously people don't want that anymore.

So it's time to give them something new. The Talib album last year was successful, the Common album was successful and Kanye's album out beat 50 Cent. I went to the Rock the Bells concert last summer with 40,000 people two weeks in a row, $100 a ticket to see old school conscious rap. You do Jay-Z and 50 Cent and see if you can get $100 a ticket. It's not happening. And even If they are willing to pay $100 a ticket there's going to be a fight in the second week. It's just so hypocritical and it's so obvious that these vehicles are tools of the oppressor. But there is a way to deal with it and handle it where you get your point across and move the agenda forward which is what we are about. It's not about dissing anybody. It's about pushing the agenda forward and seeing our people progress.

What about the critics that say it's just a fad or a move to sell records. Fat Joe is on the album and he recently had a radio interview where he was attacking Papoose over an incident they had. What do you say to them? And how much do you think that hurts the movement?

Hakim Green: It doesn't. It's real. Like Krs-One will go into a person's mouth. Kris will slap the shit out of you if you come out your face wrong. You can't get involved in a person's personal business and Fat Joe has his reasons why. And Papoose is the same way. I'm not siding with anybody. 50 Cent or Ja-Rule, I can't pass judgment on their personal shit. What I can say to the people is you don't need to be promoting it. At some point someone has to be the bigger person and take the higher road for the sake of the people. But that takes a person at that point in their life to do that. Just because you say "Stop the violence" doesn't mean you let people violate you. If you feel violated you're going to defend yourself. Like a lot of people say that Kris is a hypocrite. It's like ok, "What would you do?" How come you're not doing it? And that's on all levels "What are you doing? Let me get involved with what you're doing". And then people shut the fuck up. 

It's like we are at war with Iraq. George Bush wants to give money to the Stop the Violence Movement. Are we not supposed to take it? George Bush wants to invite Krs-One to the White House to discuss how the White House can be involved in the Stop the Violence Movement. Are we not supposed to take that meeting? Is that hypocritical? I don't know it might be. I'm asking? It's like I break into your house and you got a gun and you can stop me with your gun, are you not going to use the gun? If you use the gun to stop someone from robbing you, can you not support Stop the Violence? Is that hypocritical? The naysayers are going to be the naysayers, just to be nay sayers. Cool it's all well and good but to have a platform where Fat Joe can come up here and say, "you know what? I have some issues. I'm going through some issues now but you know what? At the end of the day violence is not the best way to handle the issue." The children need to hear that.

You're originally from New Jersey, who do you see as a strong force coming up in the culture?

Hakim Geen: Well who has been making a stamp and who I look up to in a lot of ways is Ras Baraka. Who's actually a principal of a school and he's ran for Mayor of a few times. He's the son of Amiri Baraka. He's just a very outspoken committed individual to the movement of our people since like the late 80's. He's just dedicated and has always been a supporter of Hip Hop. He's always been a supporter of poor people and oppressed people. So if there's one person from New Jersey it's that one guy. Through rain, sleet or hail, the voice of Ras Baraka is there and he's not doing it for selfish reasons. In terms of the rap world I just got a request on my myspace from these guys out of Jersey City who just did a Self Destruction Part II record on their own. The record is incredible, its awesome. They did a video in Jersey City and they did it like a year and a half ago even before we re-started the movement. These are young folks that are doing the work on their own. So I just want to big them up. That's the type of work that really means something, folks in the community that's really doing the work on their own. Not because there's a record deal or they are going to meet Krs-One, they are doing it because it needs to be done and they go do it. Those are the type of people I like to work with. Those are the type of people I like to support.

That's interesting. I'm curious to know more about these people.

Hakim Green: Go to my myspace page and they are on my top friends. You'll see an icon for Self Destruction II. There's a Stop the Violence Movement page and a Self Destruction II page. Go to both of course but their page is the Self Destruction II page and all their information is on there. Yeah man, they got at me like three days ago and sent me a friend request on myspace. I hit them up and gave them my phone number. One of them called me and we kicked it for about an hour. Talked about how we can support what they are doing. I was just blown away like "Wow", I lived in Jersey City for four years and I had no idea what was happening. So I was like "How can we assist?" Everybody link up and make it happen. It's easier to do it together than apart. That's what we are about in the Stop the Violence Movement. We are all about finding local activists in individual communities and supporting them.

We don't want to claim that we do all the work. It's the organizations that are in the communities that are doing the work. I have a cat over in Brooklyn who's a Blood member, but he's conscious. He's about health, he's about your diet, but he's a well respected Blood member in the community in Brooklyn. He's official, but he's a conscious politically active organizer. Those are the folks we want to support because they speak the language of the people in the community. They have the respect of the people in the community and we look forward to doing more work with those people empowering them. Like when we were trying to come up folks from the Civil Rights generation, older generation, they were treated wrong by Hip Hop so they crushed it. They didn't understand it and the creative movement. Understandably so, but you we see your children you have to try to understand their language and empower them in a way that's going to benefit them and not put the smash on them.

So we want to support those people in the community. You can be a gang banger or you can be a Politician. As you can see right now you can be a Politician and be a foul mufucka. Most Politicians are foul mufucaks and gangsters. They will have you murdered, killed, they will steal from you, lie to you; they will do all of those. Gang Banger or Politician, it's all the same shit to me. If you're trying to help you're trying to help, if you're trying to hurt you're trying to hurt. There are only two types of people in the world. Only two. You know what those two are?

What are they?

Hakim Green: Those who add and those who subtract. That's it. Forget black, white, Republican or Democratic. Forget all that bullshit. There are two types of people in the world, those who add and those who subtract. It's about which one are you. People who add keep them around you; people who subtract keep them away from you.

What's your take on the presidential race and the whole Obama and Clinton battle?

Hakim Green: I'm like a conspiracy theorist. Especially on a Federal level. It's all bullshit. The people who really run the show are above the government. The Council of the Foreign Relations, the tri-lateral committee, the Federal Reserve Bank, that's the real government. That's where the decisions are really being made. Everything that happens on this level is for show. It's just to keep people entertained. People ask me who I'm voting for. I don't vote. I have voted in the past but I don't vote anymore cause I'm not in the Electoral College so my vote doesn't count. People have to understand the popular vote doesn't mean anything. The power is in the Electoral College. The Delegates in the Electoral College, that's where the real power is. It's all about understanding who are those people and putting pressure on them to vote in a certain way. The real power is on the local level and in the local government. It's where you can really affect change. So in a nut shell that's how I feel whether you're Obama or Hillary Clinton or John McCain, you're here to help the nation or you're not. In my opinion every president we've had since JFK has been here to serve the powers above them and not the people. They are working for the people above them, not for the people of the United States of America.

Anything you'd like to add?