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This is a transcript of a speech made at the tour stop at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2000.
Once again, we’d like to thank you for coming to our rehearsal.
Now last night we played DC and I talked to em a little bit about the trouble that they’re having with they little electoral process. Pretty much all of us in the building were in agreement that we have the government we deserve. We are a divided people thus our government is divided.
It’s really interesting there are young, old, black, black, white, male, female, and we all just groove. We are not divided in this room. Just lets you know the power of music. Now I do not mean to offend anybody when I say, when I hear corporate leaders AOL, Time Warner, Bertelsmann, Seabrums, Napster…. When I hear them on television talking about music, it ails me. Ain’t ner a somebody in any one of them corporations a musician. When you speak about music. You speak about me and my people. Now I don’t mean to offend anybody but I do know that this thing Napster just sold out to Bertelsmann for 50 million dollars and I ain’t hear them sing ner a lick.
He’s 20 years old they tell me. Ain’t never made no music. He sells it and got 50 million dollars.
When will WE be paid?
Now, y’all on my favorite subject now…
There is the truth, and then there is everything else. When you hear the words “intellectual property” it’s code for your future. What that means : We are here to protect your intellectual property. What I hear is “we are here to protect your future.” And I say you know what? I don’t need you to protect my future. I’ll protect my future. You know what? Give me what I made back to me so that I can hand something to my children.
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Now Najee, he’s made many records. I asked him today I said “what are you going to give to your children?” He should be able to hand the master recordings to his children so they have his stuff. It’s called a dynasty. It should stay in the family. That’s how we can fix our communities right? Jimi Hendrix made a lot of music. It should stay in his family. Miles Davis made a lot of music. You can go in the record store and still find his music. It should stay in his family. I made a lot of music, it should still stay in my family.
When will we be paid?
Now I’m not trying to preach I’m just tryna let ya’ll know something.
B.E.T.
Sold out. It’s gone. Sold it out. Viacom now owns your network. Your only network. Ain’t like you got two…
Paul Money said UPN? U pick a nigga.
He said it. I didn’t. Why y’all laughing tho? It’s sad.
Bamboozled. Check it out. Only in the theater 45 minutes though right? It’s cuz you don’t own the theater. You don’t own one theater. Give Magic Johnson some props cuz he’s trying. You know what I mean? You own theaters you can put in the theater what you want to see.
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This next tune is about what we talking about. When will we be paid? It was given to me by Mavis Staples. She did it in a movie Soul to Soul and I saw that movie and it inspired me. These were the days when music was music. Radio stations belonged to us. In Minnesota we had different music so we had different dances. In Chicago they had different music so they had different dances. In DC and Philly y’all had your thang, came out with music that inspired everybody. But now we got national playlists that go over and everybody sounds alike. And what you would notice is that I ain’t on the radio anymore. There’s a reason for that. I ain’t signed up to no corporate structure. So I’m not getting it from the records anymore I’m getting it where I can fit it in but this is what this song is about if you want to join in on the chorus…