Human Rights Mixtapes
Since 2017, DaQuan has written, recorded, and produced human rights mixtapes to educate, advocate, and advance international and domestic public policy agendas focused on the international class struggle for human rights. Like most people, DaQuan is greatly inspired by music and all forms of art. However, as a Harlem native, he is greatly influenced by hip-hop as the culture stems from African subcultures in the Bronx, New York. DaQuan is equally motivated by the social, economic, and political conditions of America and society, the abundance of negative and untruthful content in the music business that targets marginalized populations, and pioneers and thinkers such as Gil-Scott Heron, Bob Marley, Nina Simone, Miriam Makeba, Steve Biko, and Hugh Masekela. He uses his policy, research, and advocacy experience to create human rights mixtapes composed of speeches that educate and inspire similar to Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Kwame Ture.
The Black Equalist (2019) is DaQuan's third mixtape of speeches and essays about human rights. TBE addresses international social, economic, and political issues in America, and introduces DaQuan's Pan-African and egalitarian philosophy of "Black Equalism", which focuses on the fact that despite our social, economic, and political status - all people are equal.
Moreover, "B/black", "white", and race are not real, but social constructions created to compel people to dislike "Black/black" (non-white) people. On TBE, DaQuan undermines "the dividers of people", social constructions, and social systems and practices such as colorism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, poverty, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, region/geography.
The American Caste Story (2018) is DaQuan's second mixtape and first concept project about an "underground railroad" map of America's apartheid system. The mixtape is an autobiographical statement about society and social systems' impact on DaQuan, as well as a dialogue between DaQuan and the world about the very same social systems and society. The mixtape explores systemic issues that relate to social, economic, and political conditions, and uses jazz as a motif to depict the status quo for the world at large.
The Egalitarian Project (2017) is DaQuan's first collection of speeches, essays, and monologues composed into a "mixtape" in order to empower and inspire everyone who listens. An "egalitarian" is one who believes all people are equal and deserving of equitable rights and opportunities. DaQuan synthesizes speeches by Tupac Shakur and Jane Elliott to advance his message.
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Email: DaQuanLawrence@gmail.com
Washington, DC
