Art is an essential factor in the success and longevity of social movements. It is woven into the fabric of progress. The fight for Palestinian liberation is no different.
In recent weeks there have been dozens of protests on university campuses over the Israel-Hamas war. They began at Columbia University and spread to more than a dozen other schools across the country, led by students who called on their universities to divest from companies that support Israel’s military efforts in Gaza.
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
The tweet may have been deleted
The protests resulted in a significant police presence on campus. In response, About 1,000 people were arrested. During a standoff between protesters and police at Cal Poly Humboldt, a protester hit a police officer in the head with a large, empty water jug, now referred to online as a “Jug of Justice.” It spread quickly on social media, leading to many people calling to “bash the police” and turning the water jug into a recognizable anti-police image.
No$hu, a 29-year-old artist, saw the video and turned it into a now-viral trap song. The song begins with “I hate the police” and ends with “If you’re resourceful, anything can be the right weapon.” But the melody is so upbeat and auto-tuned that it makes the radical politics of the lyrics palatable.
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The song has sparked a discussion about whether it is appropriate to downplay the ongoing conflict on campus and the war in Gaza. For No$hu, it’s not just relevant – it’s necessary. Speaking to Mashable, he referenced a quote from anarchist printer Jack Questioner that was paraphrased from anarcho-feminist icon Emma Goldman’s autobiography Live my life. “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”
“You can normalize radical thinking through something playful,” No$hu said. “I say super radical things if you listen to the song. If I said that angrily, it might scare some people. But doing it in a fun way with some autotune makes it more accessible.”
Mashable spoke with No$hu about writing the viral song, enjoying the revolution, and using his strengths to support the protest movement.
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Mashable: What inspires you when you make music?
No$hu: A lot of it is humorous. There are more serious things, but what seems most natural to me are things that have to do with protest, justice or resistance and revolution, mixed with humor.
Many powerful videos have emerged from these pro-Palestine protests. What caught your attention about this video?
How funny it was. When I see cool clips like this, [and] I have a lot of them, I jump in and try to amplify them with something creative. So I saw that and it was there immediately. I immediately started thinking, “How can I approach this creatively?”
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Tell me more about it – the manufacturing process.
I’ll pick three or four obvious points that I want to talk about – like Jug, Bonk, you know. And then I just play with those words until I come up with something that I’m happy with. So, like, “Mug or not, Moloch,” things like that.
And then did you send it to a producer?
NO. [I used] a free instrumental from YouTube that I had on my laptop. I browsed through the beats I had already downloaded, trying to find the right mood. And when I heard that – there’s an instrument playing in it, I immediately thought, “Bonk, bonk,” you know? It just came to me to swing it along to that melody. So it just worked out perfectly.
How long did it take you?
I saw [the video] two days after the first appearance. And so that evening I started developing ideas based on that [words like] Jug and Bonk. And then I recorded it the next morning. I was in a hostel at the time and recorded it while the other travelers were coming in and out of the room. Just so they don’t hear me scream [and] When I made strange noises, I had to squeeze the recording onto my bed in the hostel. But it took me about 20 minutes to finish recording. Then maybe another 40 [minutes] to mix and edit it.
What do you record and what do you mix with?
The software I use is called Mixcraft, but all recording is super simple and is done with a laptop, an interface and a microphone.
Then you just uploaded it to social media?
I uploaded it to Twitter and Instagram and had no expectations. I just threw it up. Because I do that quite often. Some of them get a lot of views, some don’t, but I just put them up if it sounds good to me. I’ll publish it and then see what people think about it. I remember coming back to it after an hour and it already had like 300 likes and a ton of retweets. I thought, “Oh, okay. I think this could take off.”
What was the reaction?
It was crazy. I’ve been on the phone way too much because I’m trying to respond to all the messages. It’s cool to see what people say. Someone in the comments said: “I’m going to play this on the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.”
Do you know anyone who is doing these protests on campus? Have you spoken to the person who fucked?
No, I haven’t spoken to him. But I would like to talk to him. This person is a legend.
Have your other songs spread so quickly?
I had a few last year that had a similar number of views. Some of them catch the eye, some don’t, but I have about five or six that got views like this.
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Why are you so interested in the liberation of the Palestinians?
It is so obvious to me how disturbing and disgusting what is going on here is. It’s not something I feel like I need to express eloquently. A genocide is taking place.
Many people feel powerless if they are not in California or New York City or on a college campus where these protests are taking place. You’re traveling right now – have you felt this powerlessness and what are you doing to help the cause when you can’t physically be at a demonstration?
I know how I like to contribute, or how I contribute naturally, and that’s through music. It comes naturally. I don’t feel powerless because I’ve been doing this for a while and I know how much laughter and joy helps with things like this. When things are stressful, it’s super important to have some humor. I know this is what I can contribute. That’s why I never feel powerless. I feel empowered when I see something like this happen and I feel inspired. I can contribute to this in my own way. And I think people should do that too. Take whatever their talent, skill or passion is and contribute it somehow to speed things up.
How do you feel about being involved in creating a funny meme at a time like this?
There is a huge percentage [young people who] love memes and take [information] In this way. So we should use this to our advantage.
Do you think it also gives a watch movement a certain longevity?
You have to be able to laugh. It is so easy to become discouraged and demoralized. You need to laugh as much as possible at every opportunity.