Rapper Charles Hamilton was recently stopped in his native Harlem and spoke with SaNeter.TV about his beliefs and certain aspects of the music industry. What followed were tangental ramblings about everything from rappers giving AIDS to babies to worshiping Sonic the Hedgehog.
The 26 year old is signed with Interscope Records, but has yet to release an album. He was featured on one of the coveted freshmen XXL covers in 2009 and garnered quite a buzz for himself, but has since faded from popularity. The “Brooklyn Girl” rapper spoke for nearly 30 minutes and the things he said ranged from perplexing to disturbing and everything in between. If you don’t want to take the time out to watch the entire video, we have a few highlights:
On Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine:
“Jimmy Iovine is the closest thing we have to God on this earth.”
“If I sold my soul to anybody, it would be Jimmy Iovine, and it wouldn’t be for anything gay.”
On Drake:
“A day one is somebody who started from the bottom. Drake is an alien.”
On homosexuality in rap:
“It’s called African child pornography … A few reputable artists … they have been infected with AIDS and they take … the myth is you take an African baby boy and you sodomize them and you pass your AIDS onto them and you take their innocence and they keep on walking. So the fresher the rapper, the dirtier the art … Except Drake!”
Other quotable gems:
“There’s an article saying [Kanye West] summoned a 14th century philosopher for Yeezus. I mean … as long as you acknowledge the power of magic. If Kanye West acknowledges the power of magic, I’ll ease up on him”
“I also find the blackest Black man in existence to be Bobby Caldwell, the man who wrote ‘What You Won’t Do For Love.’” (Note: Bobby Caldwell is white.)
“People can laugh all they want … I bow before Sonic the Hedgehog. Of course there’s silver. Of course there’s Allah, Buddah, Hinduism, Judaism, and all that. But the fact is, in modern science you have the Big Bang Theory, and that Big Bang Theory is from a man named Albert Einstein, whose initials are A. E. And the overall term of it is ‘aliens exist’.”
Many people will read this and laugh at Hamilton’s craziness. It’s tempting, because what he says is so outlandish. However, there’s a deeper underlying issue here about mental health, especially as it concerns the Black community who, by and large, condemn that path.
This video led me to question what kind of mental health support is available for young artists entering hip-hop. Hamilton was barely out of his teens when things started to blow up for him. So many artists see music as their way out and a means of release, but there is no one to guide them through the journey. Hence we have stories like that of Chris Brown, whose downward spiral has been swift and ugly. One of the telling things Hamilton said in the beginning of the interview was, “Know who you are before you get in this game. And if you — Know who you are and what you’re willing to sacrifice before you get in this game.”
Hamilton claims that “nothing has changed” in terms of who he is. However, what kind of mental toll has maintaining his public identity had on him? He said, “I’m not Mr. Sunshine. Jimmy Iovine wanted me to be a happier version of myself. Where we disagreed creatively is, I’m lying to my listener if I give them positive messages, cause I don’t see anything positive. Like, I’m not.” When you’re asked to be something you’re not and you feel the need to defend your truth, I can only imagine that you have to lose bits of your sanity in trying to fight for your identity, while still trying to become famous, especially when you’re as young as Hamilton was, and in some ways, still is.
Now, this could all be a means to get a buzz for some new work he’s released, but my gut tells me no. Judging by the sometimes faraway look in his eyes and the overall body language, I would say that this is someone who has been worn down by a system more concerned with his product than his well-being.