Hip-hop MCs Project Lando and AC from Colchester in the UK have urged the country’s politicians to begin speaking to the youth as they become more disillusioned with the government and politically disenfranchised.
The pair, who have worked on singles such as ‘Pimp Stick’ and ‘Icy Times’, recently spoke with the BBC and asked them why the new generation of hip-hop fans and artists no longer address politics or pay attention to current affairs.
Speaking about the dire state of the UK’s political system, the emcee and producer unveiled that from their perspective, young people from underrepresented communities have lost faith in the government over the past ten years and stated that scandals such as the Grenfell Tower fire and Partygate show the upper class’s lack of respect for working-class minorities.
AC revealed that the avoidable Windrush scandal, the Grenfell Tower fire and more have caused a “disconnect” between citizens and the government. As such, they have made music targeted explicitly at politicians, asking them to re-engage with the youth.
Addressing why they made the song AC, speaking from a young persons perspective explained, “They see all the stuff in the news and social media about austerity, cuts, the lack of youth clubs, all this kind of stuff. [So] they don’t feel like they’re being invested in at all!”
He continued, “They don’t feel like they’re being cared about by politicians so they’re not really interested in it!” In the US, public figures such as Chuck D and even Kanye West have spoken directly to political figures about the ways in which they can help young minorities. However, those figures are non-existent in the UK hip-hop scene.
AC and Project Lando hope their music will help to get disillusioned young people interested in politics. In the current climate, both in the UK and US hip-hop has become more about escapism as the situation continues to worsen for the youth.