Black Thought, Stic of dead prez Talk Worldwide Protests, 'Lets Get Free' 20 Years Later
Stic joined Black Thought's Streams of Thought YouTube series.
On Friday, Stic of dead prez joined Black Thought's Streams of Thought YouTube series. The Revolutionary but Gangsta MC talked dead prez's classic album Let's Get Free, his commitment to fitness, and more. Stream the full interview below.
According to Stic, he'd been rapping since he was five years old. He credits one of his first experiences performing for his political radicalization.
"Long story short," he said, "I got politicized by doing a rap about certain conditions at my high school. It was so racist, they couldn't even let me finish. They shut the school down."
One of his high school teachers suggested he add some focus to his rhymes, and the rest is history.
"This lady, Mrs. Green, she was the only Black lady at my school with a natural [hairstyle]," he began. "She was like, 'I always see you rhyming everything, but what are you talking about?"
The teacher gave him a challenge: write a song for his school's first-ever Black History Month program. The show didn't go as expected. Stic said the school's principal shut the program down mid-performance, and chaos eventually broke loose."
"The people weren't having it, bro," he said. "Next thing you know, it was full melee mode...a little riot in the school. It turned into this whole wave of community involvement and events. "
Stic recently dropped The Workout II, the sequel to his 2011 fit-hop album. Workout II is available on all major streaming platforms.