Lord Jamar, a member of the Brand Nubian, is scheduled to perform at this year’s BeReggae Diaspora Music & Arts Festival, which has been officially recognized by the city of Atlanta.
Lord Jamar sat down with rolling out to discuss his podcast “Godcast,” and what to expect at this year’s festival.
Reggae in the Park has now been recognized by the city of Atlanta. What can attendees expect from it?
We’re honored and happy to be a part of it. We’re going to do what we do, make people happy, and shut it down. Put a smile on their face[s].
Regarding your podcast, what’s the dynamic like and what do you want to put out to the people listening?
I feel like what I want to put out to the people is just an authentic hip-hop voice. I think a lot of people put themselves in a position where they pose as authentic voices, but they don’t know what hip-hop is about. They weren’t really here from its inception and really [didn’t see] the different trends, nor have a lot of these people contributed to hip-hop in any meaningful way. We have not been left with any kind of legendary hip-hop music that can be played years from now. I have had my hand in all facets of hip-hop, whether it’s deejaying and emceeing, producing, graffiti, or breakdancing, all different aspects of hip-hop. I feel like you can’t tell me [anything] about it. They’ve tried to silence people, especially from my generation, and try to disconnect us from the younger generation so now they won’t have the knowledge and wisdom to gain an understanding. So I just tried to build that bridge.
If Brand Nubian was coming up in today’s generation, instead of when it originally debuted, what do you think that would even look like? Do you think you guys would be as accepted with the world and how it has progressed in terms of hip-hop?
Well, I wouldn’t necessarily use the word progress. I might even use the word regress in certain areas. Could we come out the same way that we did back then? No. It would have to be a totally different approach. … People always name Kendrick [Lamar] and [J.] Cole, there [have] to be more out there. In fact, I know there are more. They’re just not mainstream like that.
Kendrick and Cole are your top two for this generation of hip-hop?
Yes, as far as what you might call consciousness. They are lyricists, true lyricists. They come more from that hip-hop cloth, where they care about more than just making money and a catchy hook. They’re really trying to put creativity and artistry into what they do.
