We Want the Airwaves - Osa Atoe

7/24/2019 We Want the Airwaves - Osa Atoe

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Osa Atoe

Nia King:What was your Oakland experience?

Osa Atoe:Just like a lot of bad luck. Not just me, but people around me. feel like

e!eryone was experiencin" hi"h le!els of !iolence. #lso, don$t know what it was aboutthat time, that attracted

don$t know. had this crew of people of a lot of people of color, or what felt like a lot tome at the time. %aybe lookin" back there were like ten, but to me that was like a shit&ton.

%ost of them were 'ueer, most of them were punk. #nd we all mo!ed there around the

same time, all kind of lookin" for the same thin". #ll kind of feelin" disillusioned and

burned by our white punk community... and like kind of lookin" to each other to pro!idethis like ideal community.

Nia:No pressure. (lau"hs)

Osa:*eah, exactly. t$s life so it didn+t turn out perfect, but don+t ha!e any re"rets about

that phase in my life at all, like had to "o throu"h it, and e!eryone "oes throu"h it. mean, the older "et the more see how uni!ersal experiences are. think it is important

to kind of explain to people that your experiences are different, and you$re ha!in" a

different time because of your identities and all that stuff, but at the same time feel theolder "et the more see certain experiences as kind of uni!ersal.

ike tied my feelin"s of disillusionment in punk to like bein" a person of color and like

that not bein" an easy home for people of color ri"ht? -ut then, just feel like, that$s lifeand like e!eryone has that. ike as a youn" person & mean, part of bein" youn" is bein"

a little bit nai!e and ha!in" certain le!els of expectations about thin"s and "ettin" letdown, you know? think e!eryone can relate to feelin" like, you know, holdin"somethin"whether it$s a parent, or a scene or whate!erup on a pedestal and then

reali/in" that its imperfect and not ideal and "ettin" let down. #nd feel that$s formati!e,

like it makes us adults and makes us who we are. 0o, basically +m done bein"butt&hurt about it e!en thou"h was about it for a !ery lon" time.

Nia:1here was a piece in 0hot"un 0eamstress about li!in" in Oakland and

constantly bein" confused for -ronte/ 2urnell.

Osa3 1hat was surreal. 1hat man is famous, let me tell you. 2eople were like

4-5ON167888889 was like wow, is this what it$s like to be -ronte/? 1his is awesome86xcept that $m not him.

Nia:-ut it was you that was "ettin" confused for him?

Osa:*eah. $m sure it$s happened to other people. mean it$s happened to all of us. "ot

confused with #dee a lot, but we look NO1:N; alike. shouldn$t ha!e to explain that.

1hat we look nothin" alike. mean it$s happened here


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of mine, was in a band with a woman named 1akiyah, like maybe six inches taller than

me, different skin tone, etc. -ut she$s a -lack person who plays in bands, and people

would be like you$re Osa. (lau"hs) *ou know. mean it just happens, it happens.

+!e thou"ht about it all different kinds of ways. mean, initially just bein" like 4this

pisses me off9, you know? 1his is like ridiculous. n this scene that pretends not to notice,you know what mean? >ause nobody wants to put words to it or like talk about it really

except for like white people wantin" to be like, 41his other person was so fucked up

about race this one time, cant belie!e it89 n terms of my race bein" addressed, it ne!eris, and e!eryone tries to act like it$s kind of a non&issue, but then that$s the first thin" you

notice about anybody thou"h. When you$re "ettin" confused with someone that you don+t

look like just because you$re both -lack, that tells me that that$s the first thin" that you

notice. 1hat$s deep8 n a contextsituation where e!eryone is pretendin" that it doesn+texist. t just becomes the elephant in the room, you know. t makes shit really

uncomfortable and it kind of makes you see white people for who they are, like how they

really !iew the world, you know?

Nia:n one of the pieces read by you can$t remember if it was an inter!iew or one of

your columns for %aximum 5ock$n$5ollbut you talked about wantin" 0hot"un0eamstress to be an explicitly -lack punk /ine because you were actually wrote it

down but think it was like4nstead of constantly ha!in" my experience subsumed

under this 2O> umbrella.9 >an you talk about that a little bit?

Osa:Oh yeah, just like on the West >oast, especially in sub&cultural communities or

0cenes, there$s just not that many like -lack people. -lack -lack people. 1here are

mixed&race and biracial people, there are #sians and atinos, but there$s just not thatmany actually-lack people. -ecause of terms like 4Oppression Olympics9which has

been a helpful term, ob!iously like because we shouldn+t be, like competin" o!er whose

like, the most oppressedbut that term also became silencin" to people who were like4but it isdifferent bein" a dark&skinned person around all you li"ht&skinned people.9 t is

different, but you can$t really say that because then you$ll be accused of playin"

Oppression Olympics, you know? *ou kind of ha!e to be like, 4*es, we are all people ofcolor, to"ether.9 don$t know.

mean ha!e mixed&race and atino people and people of different races in 0hot"un

0eamstress that show up periodically@ just because do feel like interracial solidarity isimportant. 1hat$s a "i!en. t$s not to be exclusi!e, but felt like needed that 9 spaces. -ecause felt like comin" from the 6ast >oast, 2O>

had just really meant -lack. (lau"hs) 1hen "ot to the -ay, and when was in 2O>

spaces it was mostly #sian and atino folks and !ery few -lack folks. t was a real like,

adjustment. (lau"hs) -ut feel like now there$s kind of a cultural shift happenin", not


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sayin" that it has happened or that it$s complete, but feel like there is sort of a

mo!ement to distin"uish between -lack and other 2O>, in terms of the way they

experience racism

Osa:What, because of -lack i!es %atter? #nd stuff like that or?

Nia:%aybe? don+t know, think that could definitely be a part of it. don+t know,

"uess... 0o was in 1oronto recently, and heard the term A1-2O> for the first time,

which is Aueer, 1rans, -lack, ndi"enous, and 2eople of >olor, and now back in the -ay$m startin" to see A12O>. :a!in" not known those terms before, thou"ht A1-2O>

was Aueer 1rans and -isexual 2eople of >olor and A12O> was Aueer 1rans and

ntersex 2eople of >olor

Osa:%e too, that$s what would+!e assumed.

Nia:Ok. feel like if this is your land, if you are indi"enous, you ha!e a different

relationship to this land than other people of color. f you were descended from sla!es, orwere forcefully relocated to the B0, then you also ha!e a really different experience than

people who emi"rated here by choice. -ut you$re not descended from sla!es, yourparents chose to come here?

Osa:1hey li!e here by choice.

Nia:5i"ht, but still as dark&skinned -lack person the way you experience racism is !ery

different than li"hter skinned or a non&-lack

Osa:*eah8 -ecause $m lumped in, like mean think that my inner experience is

different than #fricanmericans whose descendants were brou"ht here as sla!es, but

like from the outside "a/e, $m kind of just lumped in like $m just any other -lackperson. mean, "rowin" up had as many #fricanmerican friends as had immi"rant

friends. %y best friends were like first&"eneration Cietnamese, first&"eneration ranian.

*eah. think it definitely makes me a different person, a different kind of like humanbein". think that my inner stru""le is different, you know?

think #fricanmericans often seem to be stru""lin" with a loss or lack of identity

because they feel they don+t know where they$re from. don$t ha!e that. #lthou"h feelmy ancestry is a blur, like don+t know about anyone before my "randparents really, e!en

thou"h we are all from Ni"eria. 0o, mean at least can tie it to a country. 0ome people

can$t. definitely feel my experiences di!er"es from like #fricanmericans$ experiencesin many, many different ways.

also feel like ha!e to share the burden of like the stereotypes and prejudices about-lack people because on si"ht $m just a -lack person like anybody else you know. #lso

had #frican parents who were pretty ali"ned with #fricanmerican culture, like do

know #fricans who were raised to feel as thou"h they$re different and somehow better,

because we all ha!e internali/ed racism and like e!eryone is always tryin" to differentiate


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themsel!es from the other oppressed "roup

(>at meows loudly.)

*eah, there is a thin" that happens where #fricans don+t want to feel they$re on the

bottom run", so they$ll make themsel!es feel like they+re sli"htly superior to #fricanmericans. 1here is actually a really horrible word in *oruba that means 4wild animal9

that *oruba people use to describe #fricanmericans. #nd my mom used to use the

word but she didn+t know what it really meant, until the last twenty years or somethin". remember bein" an adult when she was like, 4 just found out what it meant and now

don+t say it anymore.9

*eah, that totally exists, but fortunately my family was more like, 4*ou$re -lack and youneed to work twice as hard to pro!e you$re smart and pro!e you$re worthy.9 Dind of

typical. 1here was a lot ofEbonyma"a/ines and Cosby Show. felt !ery much a part of

-lack #merican culture "rowin" up, you know? think also the part of the country "rew

up in. t$s like we had -lack :istory %onth, we celebrated Erederick Fou"lass$ birthday@ was exposed to Dwan/aa as a youn" person. feel like "ot all ends of it in a really

"ood, healthy way.

Nia3 *eah when think of F>, especially in the GHs, think of !ery #frocentric like

#fricanmericans tryin" to reclaim #fricanness.

Osa:ike Aueen atifah, you remember she always used to like wear those little

hats and like she

Nia:%y dad wore one of those8 (lau"hs)

Osa:*eah, miss that8 When "o back and look at those like GHs !ideos, those GHsrappers@ they were so #frocentric, like wearin" those bi" #frican medallions and stuff

like that.

Nia:1hat must$!e been kind$!e weird for you, as a person whose parents actually

Osa:t wasn$t weird8

Nia:No? (lau"hs)

Osa:No, it was cool8 #nd my parents were all about it too8 One of my friends forwardedme this article about um, how #fricanmericans wearin" traditionally #frican prints and

stuff like that is cultural appropriation. $m like, 4 don+t know, man. think this is "one a

little too far.9

%y family has no problem with it, in fact my parents lo!e it. %y mom, especially lo!es

it. 0he thinks it$s nice and awesome. 1o her, imitation is flattery. 1here is that really real

issue of -lack people in this country just not feelin" like they ha!e a culture to tie into.


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mean, it "ets a little bi/arre, like when people are renamin" themsel!es a lot. %y parents

would be like, 41hat first name is from ;hana and that last name is from Ni"eria. Foesn+t

make any sense, but "o ahead.9 *ou know, 4;o #frica89 1hey ne!er hated it, butthey$d be like, 4they$re mispronouncin" that9 or whate!er. 1hey weren$t mad. 1hey had

other shit to be mad at, like white people bein" racist.

%y parents were pretty chill about that kind of thin". ne!er felt pitted a"ainst other

-lack people at all when was "rowin" up. -ut did experience white people bein" like

4*ou are different. *ou$re different,9 because of the way talk, because of my parentsbein" from a different place

Nia:4*ou$re different9 from other -lack people or you$re different from white

people?

Osa:Other -lack people. 0o, thanks, white people for always insertin" that

di!isi!eness where it didn+t e!en need to be. *ou know? t wasn$t there before.

Nia:*eah. Fo you want to talk about the New -loods at all?

Osa:0ure, what do you want to know? (lau"hs)

Nia:Was your music explicitly political, or?

Osa:Not really, mean it depends on what you mean by explicit. think it was political.

think we tried to make our sound reflect our back"rounds and our lo!e of West #frican

music, like #frobeat and stuff like that. -ut at the end of the day we$re also reallyinspired by like 1he 5aincoats and 60; and bands like that. 0o, it was kind of like this

creati!e post&punk band, and think the lyrics kind of took on a more dreamy,

ima"inati!e aspect. -ut always pointin" to like our fa!orite writers like 6dwid"eFanticat, and thin"s like that.

Nia:1hat wasn+t your first band, ri"ht?

Osa:Not at all. (lau"hs)

Nia:Was it the most well&known?

Osa:*es8

Nia:Ok. Why do you think that was?

Osa: don$t know. t just happened. (lau"hs) 5i"ht place, ri"ht time. t was a weird fluke.#lso, Dill 5ock 0tars had just mo!ed from Olympia to 2ortland, so feel like it was

easier for us to be on their radar, because we were in the same town. f we hadn$t been, it

wouldn$t ha!e happened or it would$!e taken lon"er or somethin". t just happened. t

wasn+t this "reat time in my life by any means. ike, it was kind of a low point. 0omehow


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the three of us just "ot to"ether and started makin" this music. mean, +!e been in a lot

of bands before then and ne!er expected anythin" of any of my bands. t was just a

thin" that was constantly workin" at3 puttin" to"ether bands, playin" shows, tryin" tokeep them to"ether.

Nia:0ounds like a lot of work.

Osa:*eah, it is a lot of work and don+t really do it that much anymore. New

-loods was a cra/y fluke.

Nia:Was it an all&"irl band?

Osa:%hm.

Nia:Fependin" on how you look at it, that could be seen as inherently political.

6specially for a band that$s tra!elin" on the punk circuit.

Osa:*eah.

Nia:Fo you a"ree or disa"ree? (lau"hs)

Osa: just don+t know whether a"ree or not. mean, feel like it$s not e!en for me tosay. feel like art is ama/in" in the way that you put it out there and people take it like

they take it. t was a creati!e expression for me. lo!e music, and feel so "lad that "ot

to create music that enjoy listenin" to, today, that doesn+t make me crin"e when play it

back for myself. t was a really transformati!e experience, it was also, there were also!ery dysfunctional aspects to it. (au"hs) Which always happens, like you know. t$s just

really hard. We were all youn"er !ersions of oursel!es.

ike said, that was ri"ht after mo!ed back to 2ortland from Oakland, and had "one

throu"h so many like stressful and emotional thin"s that probably didn+t react to much

and at the time as a result started ha!in" panic attacks after left Oakland and mo!edback to 2ortland, so it was a lot of me, like feelin" and experiencin" a lot anxiety and

stress that kind of bottled up o!er the course of a year. 0o that$s a mental state that was

in a lot of the time was in that band.

hope that women, that people in "eneral but especially women listen to that record, and

are inspired by it, because we felt really empowered in oursel!es, and became more

empowered. ike feel like >assie was the youn"est member of the band and saw hertransform the most durin" the course of it. Just, the power that you "arner when you

or"ani/e thin"s, and make thin"s happen. #nd make art that people you respect and

admire enjoy and appreciate is just ama/in", you know?

0o, in that way, feel like really try to pass that on to other people too@ throu"h

constantly bein" in bands, with women who ha!en+t been in a lot of bands, or who don+t

play instruments, like >assie had ne!er played bass before that band, but she had played


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keyboards before, and she$s so musically inclined that it was like, whate!er.

-ut, yeah, and like doin" thin"s like Not 6nou"h Eest here in New Orleans, where +mjust tryin" to encoura"e people to like start bands, and that punk is a place for you to just

"et started e!en if you+re not "reat at your instrument, just like start with some le!el of

ur"ency, and let that carry you throu"h. Just because feel like bein" in a band is such aeasy, accessible way to empower yourself. t connects to all these different thin"s, like

bein" creati!e, yeah@ but like then also like settin" up shows, "ettin" to tra!el, meetin"

people@ widenin" your world. ike, broadenin" your circle. ;ettin" !alidation, "i!in"!alidation, ha!in" to do shit like, fuckin" chan"e your tire on the side of the road. ike

you ha!e to do sooooooo much, you know?

#nd also like, always interactin" in like really male spaces. ike, you ha!e to becomfortable "oin" to a music store, and like talkin" about whats wron" with your

instrument to people who think you don$t know what you$re fuckin" talkin" about@ or

when you "et your !an checked out for a tour you$re dealin" with men who think you

don+t know what you+re talkin" about. When you$re doin" sound, you$re interactin" withmen who think you don+t know how to play your instrument or know what you+re talkin"

about. ike, you ha!e to weather all this shit.


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Osa:t probably is because it$s the thin" that$s been able to last the lon"est cause

did it by myself. 0o, like when you+re in bands, you know@ you 'uit, someone else 'uits,

whoe!er mo!es, and Shotgun Seamstresswas somethin" could brin" with me. can$tbelie!e it$s lasted this lon".

Nia:-ut also think that it$s the -lack punk /ine. ike, there are others but feellike yours was one of the first and the lon"est&runnin".

Osa:2robably, at this point. #lso, it$s like a fan /ine too. do read /ines by other -lack/inesters, but they$re mostly personal. feel like $m actually kind of collectin" a lot of

different people$s experiences and that makes it a thin", you know?

Nia:*eah, think that$s what meant but it didn$t come out 'uite ri"ht. 0imilar toEvolution of a Race Riot, part of why it$s important is because it$s not just one person$s

perspecti!e. >learly this is somethin" that is "oin" on a broader scale, that people are

feelin" this sort of outsider&dom. feel like 0hot"un 0eamstress is more about -lack

outsiders and -lack weirdos than it is about -lack punk. *ou kind of ha!e an interestin"and broad definition of what punk is. -ut then also you$!e written for like Colorlines.

Osa:Just that one time thou"h.


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a lot of pressure to make it perfect, just wanted to say what had to say.

Nia:-ut you also lay out e!ery pa"e by hand.

Osa:*eah.

Nia:Why? hica"o 7ine Eest9 crunch&thin" that do, that just helps me "et thin"sdone. ike ha!in" a deadline helps me finish thin"s.

Nia:0o the#ai$a Pun"issue is the newest one ri"ht?

Osa:Oh no, that was six and a half so that came after K which was published inlike LHII. #nd then there was a M, that was the issue after 'uit, but that one was really

different. t was me talkin" about bookin" shows for female& and 'ueer&fronted bands

under the name No %ore Eiction here in New Orleans. 0o that$s like the first time

think wrote a lot of personal anecdotes and stuff from my experience. #nd was backto business as usual. t$s a full&si/e /ine, the first time $!e done full&si/e. #nd it$s like

inter!iews with people and whate!er. -ut then looked at it, like what you+re sayin"@ $m

like all these people are old and weird. ike don+t think either of those words are insults,you know?

Nia:1hat$s part of what makes your /ine so cool8

Osa:


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Nia:Fid you inter!iew her in person?

Osa:No, it was by email. #nd till this day $m like Was it really her? -ut think itwas.


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stran"e that race wasn+t the primary stru""le for her. 0he had a white family and a -lack

family. 0he seems like she$s pretty well&adjusted for bein" a person of color in -ritain at

the time. -ut like, think that she really was just weird and eccentric and think that$swhere her truest identity lied. #nd like that$s what we$re "ettin", with like her music.

ike an expression of that. #nd that$s been a really comfortin" idea for me as $!e "otten

older and like "one all which ways. >ause it$s like, went thou"h my disillusionmenttime with punk, and distanced myself from the like super white punk scene or whate!er.

#nd then kind of went back to it, cause it$s like still am always playin" in punk bands,

and $m still always helpin" my friends book punk shows and music has been the primarythin" that$s kept me in this world.

-ut think it$s just been really helpful for me to hear other people of color bein" like

totally a!oidin" makin" hierarchies in identity, cause like don$t e!er want to choosewhat identify with morebut just sayin" like, 4my punk identity, my freak identity, the

thin" that makes me weird is the thin" that am most in the world.9 1hat$s how find my

community, throu"h that. -ecause $m not like acti!ely -lack. $m incidentally -lack

e!eryday. -ut what amdoin" e!eryday is makin" thin"s. 1he acti!ities are who am,like the thin"s am doin" all the time are like who am. -ein" -lack is like this

incidental thin". $m proud of it, of course. -ut it$s not what do. *ou know? t$s just likewhat was born with.

0o, don+t know, it$s made me more comfortable and more at home just bein" like 4ook,like $m in the punk scene not because of racial identity or anythin" else. -ut just because

this is what relate to. 1his is what do. 1his is what spend my time doin". When

make art it ends up lookin" punk and these people like it. #nd they support me. $m

inspired by punk art and punk bands. always find it really excitin". think it looks "ood. think political punk art is my fa!orite kind of art.

ike, don$t know, just think that hearin" from other people of color especially back inthe day, like think #lice -a" would say somethin" alon" those lines too. ike think

$!e heard her say somethin" alon" those lines as well, where it$s like, 4*eah, $m proud

of my %exican culture. Of course. *ou know. -ut, that wasn+t my primary battle in life.When was in the punk scene, felt at home there cause $m a freak like these other

people.$ t$s just been really "ood for me to hear that. always think about that with

2oly 0tyrene, and was in no way disappointed with any of her answers at all, but was

surprised. #nd think that$s "reat. $m "lad, want to be surprised by an inter!iew.

Documents

We Want the Airwaves - Osa Atoe