Hip-Hop Artist Ash Leon at the Intersection of Gender, Race, and Activism in Seattle

Better Left Podcast

In this episode, Ash leone is back in the studio for the prequel to our conversations from episode #26, with your hosts Sarah and Troy, and Producer Jay at the helm.

This episode we talk about:

Gender identity and its impacts on the creation of music, and how it influences the creative process.

We talk about what it means to not fit into the gender binary, and how black, non-binary people are processing what it means to be young, black, and queer in America.

Non-binary Perspectives:

We talk about gender and pop-culture icons that inspired an interrogation of the concept of gender as a societal construct. larger than life personalities like Grace Jones and of course Prince, but also how bands like Queens of the Stone Age serve as inspiration beyond the gender construct, settling more into the idea that arriving at comfort just being who you are, and in that comfort, drawing on the environment around you to become something different, but better, what it can mean to create from that space.

Reference: Colorism

Discrimination based on skin color, also known as colorism or shadeism, is a form of prejudice or discrimination usually from members of the same race in which people are treated differently based on the social implications from cultural meanings attached to skin color. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_skin_color

Reference:

Rockumentary Sonic Highways

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_Fighters:_Sonic_Highways

Episode 5: "Los Angeles" October 5, 2019

Los Angeles' highly influential position in rock history is examined. Pat Smear remembers the days of Germs, and visits legendary KROQ disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, owner of a 1970s Sunset Strip club that became the hub for the Los Angeles glam rock scene. Foo Fighters head to the desert to record their new song "Outside", which features a solo from Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh, at Rancho De La Luna, and in turn, Kyuss and the 1990s Palm Desert Scene is explored.

Reference: The Desert Sessions

https://www.discogs.com/artist/283792-The-Desert-Sessions

We also talk about how tom girls can be fun and plucky, but the inverse of tomgirl, an effeminate male, is a much more pejorative experience.

We talk about toxic masculinity, and what pushes a person to embrace the toxic, hyper-masculine mindset and how that impacts the world around them.

Reference: Androcentrism

The practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing a masculine point of view at the center of one's world view, culture, and history, thereby culturally marginalizing femininity. The related adjective is androcentric, while the practice of placing the feminine point of view at the center is gynocentric.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androcentrism

Ash shares what it means to be a creator, a hip-hop artist, and how society, hip-hop, rap, and nerd culture drives his creative process.

Reference:

Ash Leon's Sound Cloud

https://soundcloud.com/ashleon

Reference: No Sympathy for the Devil

https://soundcloud.com/ashleon/no-sympathy-for-the-devil-prod-canine-teeth

No Sympathy for the Devil is Ash's emotionally charged anti-white supremacy track that came out of an experience in Harlem tied to the gentrification of NYC.

Reference: Tangerine Dream feat. fauxtographs

"Many of us are tired and burnt out from the constant battle against the system of oppression that targets minorities. I think it's important that we remember the love ourselves and each other throughout these trials. Practice Self-Care."

Reference: DaveB

https://soundcloud.com/DAVEBMUSIC

Reference: S.A.F.E. in Seattle SEATTLE AGAINST FORECLOSURE AND EVICTION

https://www.safeinseattle.org/

ATTRIBUTIONS:
Intro Artist: Ash Leon Title: Lil Hoe Mix 1 License: Provided by artist Adaptation: Reduced length to fit intro, adjusted audio levels Outro Artist: Ash Leon Title: I hate it (mix reprise 2 no guitar) License: Provided by artist Adaptation: Adjusted audio levels