The Future Has Never Been Better
Many scenes, worlds and realities are changing before our eyes right now. Ideas that seemed implausible weeks ago are now being considered seriously across the globe. Minneapolis is at the center of a lot of these conversations, it’s where George Floyd was brutally murdered, it’s the city that is getting the most attention for considering abolishing the police. A quick aside: I enjoy conversations about abolishing the police more with people who have read MPD150. I don’t think you’ll necessarily agree with all of the findings. But, too often in conversations about drastic changes to policing in America there is a claim that no one has done research, nobody has worked on it. That it is just hippy dippy navel gazing. This website should shut down that accusation, regardless of your feelings about the future of policing.
There has also been a huge upheaval in the Twin Cities music community. There has been reckonings about racists, misogynists, rapists and abusers within our scene. The whisper network comprised largely of women who spent decades building a support and protection network has come to the center, with many whispered allegations now being shouted. Beyond the accusations about specific actions about specific people, it is finally being recognized that our scene has been an incubator for empowering sexual aggressors, racists and platforms that devalue under represented voices. I am by no means an outsider, unconnected voice in these problems. I work at The Current, a media organization that many in our community are frustrated with. I have played music, shared bills and friendships with individuals accused of abusive, misogynistic and racist behavior. I spend some time every week thinking about the ways in which my personal behavior, my programming choices, my curatorial choices, my musical choices helped and hurt this scene. Moments where I used my voice and my privilege to be a force of good, and moments when my work was a part of the problem. What I don’t worry much about is the future of the scene.
People might think that there is no scene beyond the current biggest players in the scene. Or, people think that the art made by lesser-known artists in our scene is subpar. This is wrong. Our scene is bursting with wildly talented artists who have never gotten a big local spotlight inside the larger Twin Cities scene. I should note here: a lot of artists I’m thinking have had an incredible career, fed their families and themselves, toured the world and received rave reviews in other cities across the globe. When I talk about the big spotlight I am thinking about things including: heavy rotation on the Current or Go Media and other stations that feature local music, routine and thoughtful coverage in Mpls St. Paul Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, City Pages, Star Tribune et cetera, opening opportunities for national artists.
A lot of artists, organizations, labels, producers and more are already shining and can lead this scene to a better place. What do I mean by better? I mean that the celebrated, amplified, well-compensated artists in Minnesota could look more like the Minnesota we all live in. I live in a Minnesota with black folks, I live in a Minnesota rich with other languages, I live in a Minnesota with trans artists. But, I hear a Minnesota, and I read a Minnesota where black artists, trans artists, women artists, POC artists and more are presented as a side dish if they are presented at all. Worth acknowledging: I’m part of that history, of dropping in a side dish from an artist from an under-represented community in a show I program with none of the discipline it takes to introduce an audience to a new artist in a meaningful way. This moment is an overdue opportunity to break out of that anachronism. The spirit of this moment is having an impact on my programming, on who I interview (particularly when interviews became more feasible to do safety wise). I have been coming up dry when I try to work as an artist right now, but I believe when I can find my artistic spirit again it will have an impact on my writing and my collaborations.
This moment of rebirth, of redefinition is going to make our scene better. There are growing pains, the loudest voices in our scene have well developed teams to promote and spread their art and their voices. Some of the most talented artists from Minnesota have long since given up on Minnesota media coverage after years of being tokenized or 100% ignored. The trust needs to be rebuilt and it has to start with the former ignorers, not the ignored. But the big names in town do not by any means have a monopoly on talent. Nor do they have a monopoly on media coverage on the national stage or in other regions. It is time to start hearing and reading the Minnesota we already live in.
Care for a soundtrack? A duo called Illism recently dropped a playlist called “The Rebrand: Minneapolis Hip Hop”. It features so many great artists coming straight out of Minnesota. Throw it on and get excited about the future.