A Detroit Summer-Meet Invincible by Davey D We sat down and chopped it up with Invincible who continues in the footsteps of the Motor City’s long line of legendary musicians. She recently released an album called ‘Shape Shifters’ which is critically acclaimed and has more than a few critics calling it one of the best albums of the year up to this point. Originally from Israel/Palestine, Invincible is as well known for her political work and activism with organizations like the US-Palestine Youth Solidarity Network and Detroit Summer’s Live Arts Media Project as she is for her music and her being a member of the all female crew the Anomalies. She cut her teeth in the early 90s by listening to Golden era Hip Hop which helped her learn English. She later started rapping and eventually battling. She came up in the hey day of Detroit’s Freestyle scene which was best personified by movie 8 Mile and represented by the late Proof’s Hip Hop Shop gathering place. Although Invincible didn’t go to the Hip Hop Shop, she did go to other places and made a name for herself. The rest they say is history. During our interview we start off by talking about the Detroit school system and how its been falling apart. Invincible works with an organization called Detroit Summer which is helping to give young people a viable alternative. She expressed her disappointment in Detroit’s so called Hip Hop Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick who she claims is not an ally to grassroots movements in the city. She noted how Kilpatrick wants to put forth more police in the schools while allowing over 90 public schools to close on his watch. She pointed out that the Mayor has little respect for the students and the communities that have built alliances to uplift them. We also tackle the issue of gentrification and how its impacted the Detroit. Invincible talked about mayor Kilpatrick has allowed landmarks like the old Motown building to be bulldozed to make way for a parking lot. She and her partners have put together a long form video that highlights one of her albums hit songs ‘Locust’ which focuses on gentrification. In this mini-documentary Invincible features local housing activists and shows the site of the old Motown building which had all sorts of memorabilia including recording notes from singer Marvin Gaye being destroyed. Also with respect to the issue of gentrification, we talked about the last project that Proof was working on and was eventually completed and released through his old manager Khalid called ‘Take Back the Land’. This was a compilation album that talked about the importance of land ownership and how people in the hood needed to buy up their blocks. During our interview we talked in depth about the history and current manifestations of Detroit’s music scene. We talked about how this city was home to not only Motown, but also a vibrant funk scene. George Clinton and his Parliament crew used to record in the Motor City. We talked at length about the Techno scene and producer Juan Atkins who was a key architect for that along with electro-funk. We talked about iconic figures like Awesome Dre, Mojo, Madd Mike and DJ Jeff Mills who once got fired from a radio station for playing Public Enemy. We talked about today’s new crop of artists ranging from soul singers like Dwele and Platinum Pied Pipers to groups like Underground Resistance, Wajeed Slum Village, Black Milk and D12 to artists like Guilty Simpson, Ms Corona and her rhyming partner Finale. Of course we spoke about the important role Detroit’s fallen soldiers Big Proof and J-Dilla played in the development of the city’s landscape. Invincible pointed out how J-Dilla and Proof while appearing to be on opposite sides of the music spectrum, in reality started off belonging to the same group. We talked about how people have attempted to exploit the legacy of people like Dilla. Invincible noted that she knew the legendary producer in passing and that it would be hypocritical for her to suddenly start using his beats and acting like they were old homies. Invincible did a song on her new album that addresses this scenario called ‘In the Mourning’. We also compared notes in terms of what Proof’s Hip Hop Shop meant to up and coming artists in Detroit and how it nurtured their careers. We saw comparisons between the Hip Hop Shop and LA’s Good Life, the Bay Area’s Upper Room and New York’s famed Latin Quarters. We concluded our interview by talking about the ethnic background of Detroit’s residents and how Invincible who is white/Jewish managed to navigate a world in which she is a minority. We also talked about the paths she’s had to follow being a woman and how political discourse manifest itself in her music. Less