Power 106 Hip Hop Festival June 25, 2008

Posted by Marta at June 25, 2008 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Hey all! peta2 road warriors checking in after participating in our first Power 106 hip-hop festival in Anaheim, CA. While sharing an arena with names such as Chris Brown, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and the legendary Ice Cube, we are stoked to say we also found hoards of people who care about animals and wanted to help them by signing our petition.

This type of festival is a newer crowd of people we're getting the chance to talk to and new faces are lining up to watch our videos about animals on factory farms, which is completely exciting in many ways. On behalf of the WOOF! campaign and pigs everywhere, we say thank you to the eager people who signed up and talked to us in Anaheim. Now it's back to some Warped Tour dates and looking forward to the start of the Mayhem Festival next month.

Come say hi—we're excited to meet you all!

-The peta2 tour kids

Queen GodIs Interview February 4, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at February 4, 2008 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Back when I was causing a ruckus in college, I became friends with a passionate, inspiring, and very talented artist by the name of Queen GodIs. She has an amazing voice, brilliant sense of creativity, and I especially enjoy her work within the hip-hop and spoken word communities. She's vegetarian and really into many social justice issues, so I wanted to introduce you to her and see what you think...

Image courtesy of: www.akintoye.com

What's your name and where are you from?
My name is Queen GodIs (pron: kwen-god-iz).
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY but I have Cherokee and African roots.

What is your background in music and performance?
I am a full time performance artist whose work combines elements of Hip Hop, Spoken Word Poetry, Theater and Soul/Alternative Music. I also focus on youth empowerment and community building. My parents always encouraged creativity and critical thinking and exposed me to a wide range of culture, music and art since a very young age. I have been writing and performing for over 20 years, but professionally for about 11.

What do you feel the role is for artists when it comes to educating people about social issues?
I believe that everyone (including artists) should strive to educate themselves first and foremost about as much as possible. This way, we can be confident and inspired to share what we know and feel with the world. Artists tend to have a larger platform with which to share and promote their knowledge and opinions. Many of us help offer a new perspective or call people to action on different issues. I believe that this exchange can be helpful and in some ways crucial. It is a privilege to have a following or simply just people who value your voice. For this reason, everyone (not just artists) should take this power seriously and use their platform/role to do some good on the planet in whatever way possible.

What's your favorite part of being an artist?
Being an artist often challenges me to be an entrepreneur out of both necessity and curiosity. This is an important challenge, and meeting it offers me balance. It also inspires me to read as much as I can, travel, check facts and want to learn many different languages. Broadening my horizons, opening my heart and really using my mind is key to having my work grow and reach new people and places. I am grateful that my art helps do this for me.

I know you've been vegetarian for a long time. Any favorite places to eat you want to plug?
Yes, I was basically raised vegetarian. Back then there weren't many options outside of the home. I used to have to tell some people I was allergic to meats so they wouldn't disregard my request for a meatless or vegetarian option. A lot people didn't take it seriously.
These days it seems like new eateries are popping up all the time. Perhaps health food is trendy now. Whatever the case, I am happy about it because we have all seen worse trends. I love the vegetarian options at quite a few places...even if they serve other things. I am listing the following places because they either have my favorite dish or a cool atmosphere to be in.
NYC: Birdies, Wild Ginger, Gobo, Caravan of Dreams...
Brooklyn: Bombay Masala, Thai Tai...
Manchester, England: Cachumba...

What would you recommend to anyone out there interested in trying vegetarianism?
Find new ways to enjoy your grocery shopping, food preparation and eating experience. It can be VERY expensive and tedious having a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle depending on where you live. Eating healthy is only one part, but I am convinced that the more we enjoy our food experiences, the healthier, happier and more vibrant we become. Who needs healthy grumpy people?

Image courtesy of: www.akintoye.com

Do you see connections between animal rights and other social issues?
I do believe that on some level, all living things are connected. How we regard living beings from the smallest to the biggest, reflects our heart, character and society. I am not a saint. I have killed far to many insects to be a saint or expert on this topic, but I absolutely think that it is important to appreciate and respect life...so I challenge myself.
I believe that we live in a world where many human beings are 'treated like animals' as the saying goes. This is unacceptable. Perhaps if more people reexamined animal rights, we could begin to figure out how the heck to improve civil rights and society as a whole.

One of our undercover investigators recently caught a worker at a Tyson Foods facility pissing on the conveyor belt which leads chickens to be hung for slaughter. Any thoughts on why companies like KFC continue to buy from these types of places?
Unfortunately, we probably don't need video proof to know that this type of thing happens somewhere almost everyday. The issue however, is a much larger conversation than just food industry. Too many people are so money and material-obsessed, that each day they care less about life...including their own. Some people just don't know any better, but the only way someone can deliberately harm, contaminate or disregard the well being of another, is if they have really been reduced to their most inhumane and barbaric state. I feel sympathy for any person or company that has gotten to that point. It means that they are sick and need help. Unfortunately the situation you cited is something that happens almost everyday at ALL kinds of companies. Putting lives in harms way in order to gain or save money is never worth it...no matter how much. The crazy thing is that being clean and healthy is not that hard or expensive. Some businesses are just lazy and poorly run.

Since you reach out to a lot of young people with your work, you're a role model to them. Are there particular lessons you want them to take away as they get older?
If there is anything that I say or do that helps improve a life, particularly a young mind, I just want people to be inspired to pay it forward. Paying it forward reflects a spirit of gratitude and growth...two things that are crucial to the maturation process.

Where can people learn more about your music and other projects?
Please check out and my music and events at: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/queengodis and www.myspace.com/queengodisbiz. I appreciate your time, listening and support.

Any closing thoughts or questions you wish I had asked?
Whatever your convictions, personal and or global politics are, I think we all should constantly ask ourselves are we more passionate about being 'right' or being effective in the communities that we serve. If our goal is simply to be 'right' or prove others wrong then maybe we aren't truly 'serving' our communities. In this day and age, the world needs a lot of change—change that we don't actually see occur often enough.
It is important to remember that we all come from different walks of life. One person's simple truth may be rocket science to another. For example, some of the communities that I have worked and lived in have no concept of 'going green,' healthy diets or animal rights because each day they find themselves struggling to meet basic human needs like clean water, physical safety, affordable food and housing, or having anything to eat at all. I am mindful of this, and realize that perhaps the best way to share my views isn't standing on a comfortable soap box and yelling it at them...or humiliating someone if they do something that I think is morally wrong. From the poorest to the richest amongst us, people not only need to be educated and exposed to other possibilities, but we all need to make sure that people are in a healthy environment and mind-state to even process the information being shared. This is very hard work, but crucial if we ever want to manifest the changes that we need.

Like I said, Queen GodIs is pretty amazing. Check out her work and if you're ready to take the Veg Pledge, do it up.

-Pulin

Ruff Ryders: Not So Tuff November 16, 2007

Posted by Cassandra at November 16, 2007 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 10 ) | TrackBack

OK, y'all it's time for a little game I like to call "Get the Picture."

This is DMX:

Photo Credit: rafe baron/Creative Commons
He's the Ruff Ryder who's been under investigation since police raided his house and reportedly found 12 starving and severely neglected pit bulls, along with the bodies of 3 others who allegedly had injuries consistent with dogfighting. He portrays himself as a tough guy and raps lyrics like these:

"Place your bets
You can imagine what the bloodline is like
Since I love mine to fight...
All my pups is crazy, cause off the leash
They can eat, stand a match for 3 hours at least"
Typically, dogfighters "toughen up" pit bulls by beating them, taunting them, and leaving them outside in extreme heat and cold, alone at the end of a heavy chain. This abuse begins when they are just puppies, like this little guy:


Photo Credit: sparktography/Creative Commons
Now, rather than avoid the appearance of being ruthlessly cruel to little animals, the rest of the Ruff Ryder crew has made the brilliant move to release a line of fugly-ass fur coats. This means they're charging suckers a couple grand to sport the skins of animals like these:


Photo Credit: oboole/Creative Commons


Photo Credit: Ph!L!s/Creative Commons


Photo Credit: Madeline/Creative Commons
Seriously, as if fake beef for marketing purposes wasn't wimpy enough, now rappers gotta get mixed up with fur farmers to confine tiny critters in crusty cages and then skin them alive so that they can pimp coats that make people look like a Sasquatch with shaved legs.


Photo Credit: Aaron Edwards/Creative Commons
Get the picture?


Photo Credit: jrive
Be a real badass and stand up for something. Pledge to be fur free and don't grow old disgracefully like fake gangsters and fur hags.


Photo Credit: benidormone/Creative Commons

Peace!
Cassandra

Russell Simmons Ain't Duckin' Around with Chicago November 5, 2007

Posted by Cassandra at November 5, 2007 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Everybody knows Russell Simmons is forward-thinking. The vegan founder of Def Jam signed all the classic cats: Run DMC, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Public Enemy (the list goes on). He knew they'd hit it big back when most people thought rapping had something to do with birthday presents. Now, the good-natured godfather of hip hop is using the power of the pen to school the Windy City on staying ahead of the game.

Photo credit: Salon/Creative Commons.
See, last year the Chicago City Council banned foie gras - a nasty dip that's made by shoving sick amounts of grain down ducks throats with a pipe until they become painfully ill and their livers fail from being bloated and diseased. After killing the ducks, they take out the engorged liver, toss it in a blender, put it on a cracker, and charge rich people a shit-load of money to eat it. I know—it's just the meanest, stupidest, grossest thing ever. French nobility came up with this "delicacy" during the dark ages, and that's where it should have stayed.

Now that it's the 21st century, foie gras production is banned in 15 countries plus, the state of California. But Chicago did even better than that by banning the sale of the sadistic substance citywide. But just one year later, industry groups are fighting hard to get rid of the ban.

Russell, being the ever-mindful mogul, found out about it and sent the city council a letter saying foie gras is "wretched" and "abusive." He's disappointed in The Chi for thinking about backing down on a landmark move, and he's urging them not to give in to a handful of high-end restaurant owners and chefs who think they can do whatever they want.

Way to go Russell for keeping hip hop in the heart and the Chitown City Council in check!

You wanna force foie gras to flex? If you live in Chicago, holler at your alderman. If you live somewhere else, and run into foie gras at a restaurant or grocery store, holler at the manager.

Peace, y'all -
Cassandra

P.S. - For the rest of you humane hip hoppers, check out RapHappy.com and see if you can come up with compassionate lyrics like these:

I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets
Only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat...

Life brings life, it's valuable, so I eat what comes
From the ground, it's natural
Let your food be your medicine
(From Dead Prez's "Be Healthy")

-or-

In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
And there it is, in your local supermarket
Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
And you wonder about heart attacks?
(From KRS-One's "Beef")

-or-

Over a billion served
What they never deserved
So as they drove away they swerved into the curb
With their heads on the steering wheel
Kids blacked out in the back with a fucking Happy Meal
What a crappy deal...

The parking lot is now a burial plot
Where you can park and rot if you can find a spot
(From Mr. Lif's "The Fries")

-or-

Even if the meat wasn't genetically processed
It's all a bloody mess...

I'm a human being
Who doesn't kill to get his protein
(From LMNO's "No Eyes, No Mouth")