happy new year!!!

Mr Dixon,

I send you this mail ,in order to know what you think of the wealth of the contemporary music scene and especially African American music scene.

We all know your contribution to america as artist,educator,etc...;i was wondering what you think of Hip Hop(1.as a socio-politic force;2.the esthetic of hip hop).
I ask you this question because i'm from africa Congo Kinshasa,and when i talk to friends of mine
(african american)about Blues,"jazz",it's like i borther them or i talk about something that come from an older civilization like the maya or Aztec.
On the other hand when they 're into it, most of them don't listen to challenging "jazz",they remind me what i often witnessed in Europe with some people who listen to European classical music,they
are "bourgeois"...

I've been told that the Hip hop is the voice of the ghetto,but the black music has always been ,one of the Black voice.
When i listen closely to hip hop,i can't find the continuity between what you've done( and still doin')and what the hip hop artists perform.(by you,i mean all the african american contributors)
How can you explain that the transmission between generations didn't work quite well.

Now we witness few black people in america(i'm the first to recognize that they aren't so many) who earn a lot of money and that's cool,but they seem to do a little to promote they culture or when they do it ,it's in a very conservative way.

We have many black musicians(pop music)who are producers and have studios,but i don't know if there is a cooperative ,as what you have try to do with the jazz composer guild,who can "distribute"
the music of the community.
To me to be producer is not something exceptional,because if i look back in the past i can find many artists who decide to produce they own works but fail to promote it,and now that some black artists earn a lot of money they could do it(many rock artits and techno artists in europe are able to distribute their music).
I think it would be symbolic to find few black distributors not only for black music but also for
world music.
Now i can find some of Matthew Shipp music distribute by Henry Rollins and David S.Ware premiere the sonic youth show(i know that it's not often but it's symbolic),but it's like black pop artists are not interested to promote the most challenging aspects of their cultur,even if in their lyrics they complain about the situation of black people and that the establishment try to eradicate their patrimoine.
The black musicians(pop)could take a jazz,gospel or blues etc... bands when their on tour to promote both their culture and the credibility of their lyrics,last year in Europe i saw Mr Archie Shepp in Paris premiere by a gospel group,but it was a non commercial context.
I don't think that it is expensive to take a jazz band to premiere a tour,especially when we know that they play for nothing at the Knitting factory,it would help this music and the artist to be know by a wider audience.

I would conclude by asking you:

When you look back to your life and the struggle you and your generation were involved in as educator,artist,citizen,...can you say that the message have been understand by your community?
Because to me what happen to hip hop i can extend to many fields ,i can't see the continuity,the inegality is still present and SUBTILE it's worse than ever ,it's like the black people who succed,is the top of the iceberg,an illusion.
And many of the african american intellectual seems to be very conservative and their are more concern to look for the legitimacy of their work by the establishement(,i won't be surprise if now we can find some african american in the establishement,)even though the history has show that 's not the best way.
Hopefully in music we have in New York something like the Vision(William Parker etc...),in Chicago(Empty bottle with Ken Vandermark,aacm,)
and of course in Europe FMP,ICP,etc...),and etc..but it's still a smaller portion!

I'm not Racist,and i think music and art is universal beyond the race,african american is not a music only for Black,or european culture only accessible by european,i'm just tryin to understand what black american do to promote their music now that're beginning a new millenium,

Thank you
Best Regards
and all the best for the new millenium
Ngoy Diyambi

PS;i was wondering if you still in activity ,if yes when will you perform again in Europe?

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