Social Love Comes In the Form of a Spinning Back-Kick

Think of a mosh pit. No Chad, not your EDM mosh pit or your Rolling Loud push-pit. I’m talking about a mosh pit; where the strongest survives. Now think of what that breeds? Energy? Hatred?

Love.

A mutual understanding of the current state of our society.

Meaningful music has always been a reflection of the world’s voice at hand. Music without a voice is no music at all as it creates a burlap sack to throw over our heads in an effort to pretend as though everything is alright. Hardcore music has never done that, hardcore is raw, unfiltered, and most of all-inclusive. Not to bore you with my musical opinions, but a majority of my taste lies in all forms of hip hop and instrumentals. Much of contemporary hip hop can be labeled Hardcore adjacent. New York Hardcore band Show Me The Body is a part of an NYC outfit called Corpus which promotes varying levels of music including rap and hardcore. Early Tyler the Creator often featured California punk band Trash Talk in his songs such as Blossom and Burn. Recently, $uicideboys went on a tour with hardcore juggernauts Trash Talk and Turnstile. In many ways, rap and hardcore have a mutual respect for change and progression. I would say hip hop has lost its way but that’s not entirely correct. I WILL say that hip hop is so saturated that in order to find meaningful music you need to look a little bit harder. However, mainstream hip-hop can certainly be labeled a bastardization of what it’s forefathers originally planned. Are you tired of mainstream rap being castrated into lifestyle glorification? Tired of hearing lyrics meant for prison reform sung out by the sons and daughters of the same people incarcerating rappers? Listen to hardcore. All are equal in hardcore. Once the lights drop and the chord strikes, the crowd becomes its own entity. It’s the mutual respect for all those who found hardcore in the first place that allows for a united community. The perfection in hardcore lies in its impact on the audience, not its popularity. With each minute of their set, the message delivered by each band is what increases their value. For instance, Show Me The Body’s song Taxi Hell is an intense ballad of a Bangladeshi man coming over to New York with the intent of a better life while supporting his family back home. It talks about the daily struggles and ultimate demise of a taxi driver under an actual commentary of realism. Will people be jamming this song on the beach? Most likely not. Is the song necessary? You fucking bet. Taxi Hell is a song that sheds light on the immediate danger immigrants find in the face of classism. Listening to this song is MEANT for you to feel uncomfortable not because of the guttural screams but rather the barebones truth that lead singer Julian Cashwan Pratt provides.

Allow me to pivot for a moment. Philadelphia Hardcore band Jesus Piece led by singer Aaron Heard sets a heavier tone with a focus on Black Social Justice. On the song “Oppressor” off their album Only Self, Aaron calls out and lays down that Black Social Justice is hindered in the presence of other major social movements. To me, calling out this hindrance gains a great respect from me. Jesus Piece as a whole isn’t blaming anyone or pointing any fingers, they are simply getting straight to the point and making a statement. Aaron goes on to say, “Refuse to be another target, another victim. Refuse to be labeled another thug or animal.” In the most pointed way possible, Aaron is referring to violence towards black communities in the form of police presence aka the Oppressor. Listening to the song not only emotes energy, but invokes change. Jesus Piece is enabling its audience to stand for change in the most forward way possible by delivering a first-person account of the wretched reality communities all over America face. I didn’t actively seek hardcore. Me finding hardcore was the equivalent of the Plinko game on Price Is Right. I just sort of bounced into the genre. I fell in love with it all: the aggression, the energy, the crowd, the individuality, and the honesty. Everything about hardcore felt pure in the most incorrect way. It felt messy but calculated; unbridled but concentrated; hateful but loving. The contradiction is something I can never truly explain. Hardcore brings communities of all backgrounds together in order to face issues that affect us all. Regardless of how you feel about hardcore music, you cannot deny the impact many bands bring in the way of creating a more informed society. If you ever feel lost, angry, happy, sad, or just plain interested. Try hardcore.