Last week, I had a chance to talk about the intersections of music and activism with André Cymone. André is Prince's childhood friend and original bass player. He later went on to build a musical career as a songwriter and producer. In his recent work, André is working to revive a rich American tradition of socially conscious music. We discussed ways we could all could use our creativity and talents to improve our communities and country.

1. Art & Activism
Lessons with
André Cymone
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By Lee-Sean Huang
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Originally published in the
Huffington Post, Oct 22, 2014

2. Introduction
Last week, I had a chance to talk about the
intersections of music and activism with
André Cymone. André is Prince's childhood
friend and original bass player. He later
went on to build a musical career as a
songwriter and producer.
!
In his recent work, André is working to
revive a rich American tradition of socially
conscious music.
!
We discussed ways we could all could use
our creativity and talents to improve our
communities and country.
hello@foossa.com
+1 (917) 727-1610

3. Start with your own story
When I asked André why he does what he does as an artist
and activist, he turned to his life history and that of his family.
!
Talking about "art and activism" in the
context of civil rights and social justice can
be a big and abstract topic, but André
grounded things in hi s own l ived
experience. He grew up in Minneapolis in a
family of six children at a time when the
black community was mobilizing for equal
civil rights. His brother fought in Vietnam.
His mother was a housekeeper who put
herself through school, became a social
worker, and was able to move the family to
a better neighborhood. For André, music
became a way of finding a voice and
strengthening social connection.
I learned from our conversation that
biographical details matter. As artists or
activists trying inspire action and incite
action, our own personal stories explains
the "why" behind what we do. It helps to
situate the abstractly political into the
concretely personal. It helps us relate with
others in our communities, and others that
we are trying to reach.
!
A movement starts
with a personal story.
!
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4. Be an 'Artist' that challenges people
(rather than just an 'Entertainer')
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"Maybe it started with Elvis. He
started out as being Elvis the artist
and being kind of daring and risky,
but when he put on that rhinestone
suit, he became Elvis entertainer.
That changed the way people looked
at music, artist, and all of that.
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People started just going after the
entertainment factor. People don't
want to hear songs about trouble
and strife, they just want to drive to
work and be happy."
Some people want to be
challenged.
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They want to hear the truth. They want to
hear 'art' as opposed to 'entertainment.' We
also talked about artists like John Lennon,
who started out an entertainer (a good one
at that) in the original boyband, the Beatles,
and later transformed himself into an
"artist" and an activist to speak out for
peace and against the Vietnam War.
!
The world still needs artists
to step up to the plate, now
more than ever.
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5. Use your gift and be a conduit
"The hope is in people like you. We
all have a role in making the world
we want to pass on to the next
generation. My gift is storytelling and
songwriting. It's up to people like me
to step up and do what you were put
here for. Music is a healing thing.
Music is a spiritual thing."
!
Sometimes, realizing one's role in the world
means being a conduit for something
greater than ourselves.
!
It means surrendering to some higher force
and inspiration, reinterpreting somebody
else's story and struggle, and just letting go
of the ego.
"If you are an artist and you have a
gift, you will write songs that you
didn't really write, because you are
just the conduit. This happens to me
and to other artists that I know all the
time. You will write a song and then
say, 'I never meant to write that song,
but before I noticed it was done,
music, words, everything. Take the
pain and suffering from the world and
turn it into music or art. Take other
people's stories and struggles and
elevate those stories."
!
We all have an individual
gift that we can put forth.
What is yours?
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6. hello@foossa.com
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VOTE!
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!
!
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André has been devoting his time to
encouraging eligible voters to register and
vote. I got to preview his upbeat new track
called "Vote," which sounds like a cross
between early Prince and School House
Rock.
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While art and technology has opened up
many new channels to organize, to
participate, and to make change, there are
still some old-school forms of political
power that we must not forget about. So if
you are eligible, register to vote, and show
up on election day.
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!
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Here are some online resources to
help you register and vote:
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• turbovote.org
• CanIVote.org
• voteraide.com
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Also check out André Cymone's interview with
Mike Ragogna on HuffPost Entertainment ( just
after Barry Manilow)
"Vote. Make a difference. If you don't vote, you don't count."

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