Myrtle Beach Rapper Rhythm Lavell Talks About His Introspective Track, "Perception"
Southern Hip-Hop has always been full of artists with introspective viewpoints in their songs. Rhythm Lavell, one of the newest and nicest MC's out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, explained to me in our interview below about the reason behind his writing of one of my favorite tracks right now, entitled Perception.
Limus: This song seems like it's been written by older person man, like you have an older spirit. How old are you again?
Rhythm: 23.
Limus: Wow. What's the story behind that song man, what made you write it?
Rhythm: Perception more or less came from a lifetime of just seeing how the Black community, as well as all minorities, but especially the Black community, are treated. And, I'm always seeing how people of color are trying to explain to everybody what we're going through, but our words seem to always fall on deaf ears.
So, as nobody's listening to our cries, they keep on initially looking at us like we're the bad ones from the beginning, like we're the aggressors. So, the song Perception is pretty much based on the word itself, in that everybody is always going to have their own perception of what they see of us Black people.
Limus: So, what you're saying is people are fearful of what they don't understand or recognize, that they shouldn't initially look at us in a negative way, right from the jump.
Rhythm: Yeah. I think that the perception that most people have of us as African Americans, especially us young Black men, is that all most of us want to do is fight all the time, and that we're violent by nature, or something like that.
If they look closer they'll realize that we're one of the most peaceful races, and that we're just defensive when it comes to our homes, and our kids. Our perception of life is that we already know we have it hard because of the color of our skin, but their perception is that we make it hard for ourselves. But that's not always true.
Rythym Lavell, blazing new MC from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Limus: I agree. We are righteous and peaceful people. Most Black folks I know just don't want to be messed with, you know, in a negative way. But I can chill peacefully with anybody of any race.
Rhythm: Yeah, me too.
Limus: Still, all that being said, normally we would not be aggressive. But, right now with all the rioting going on, how do you feel about the current perception of Black people, and the way that so many of us are now responding to the police murders with vandalism, destruction of property, and things like that. Do you understand this response from African Americans across the country?
Rhythm: Yes I understand it, because peaceful protesting in the past has not gotten us anywhere. I obviously don't want to see any innocent bystanders' property get messed up.
But anybody that doesn't understand this frustration from Black people in 2020 is probably a racist, or just doesn't care. Even back in the Civil Rights Movement when peaceful protesters used to walk up the streets and didn't do anything but march, the police used to let their dogs on them.
I think it's gotten to the point now where my people are saying that peaceful protests haven't worked for decades, plus they are angrier than ever now, and their emotions and feelings about the way this country has been treating us, and killing us, have come to the tipping point.
If the federal government would really listen and have a real conversation with the African American community that would spark some kind of change in this country that's permanent, something that would stop police from committing these murders, then their perception about us would change. But they don't want to talk.
Limus: Yup. Now it's like the riots in the 1990s all over again, except its spread nationwide.
Rhythm: Yeah. That instilled fear that they have about us, they need to change that perception.
Limus Woods, Professional Writer/Editor, can be reached at limusw@gmail.com.
Rhythm Lavelle can be contacted at his Facebook Page, and you can listen to his introspective track, Perception, on SoundCloud.
