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Jooselord: ‘It’s Gonna Get Rough In Here’

The single 'Rabble Rowzer' is expected to drop this summer.
The single 'Rabble Rowzer' is expected to drop this summer.
The single 'Rabble Rowzer' is expected to drop this summer.
Credit Courtesy of Jooselord
The single 'Rabble Rowzer' is expected to drop this summer.

Inciting riots is his God-given gift, the Durham rapper admits. Jooselord does it regularly on stage and his upcoming release — “MoshPit Messiah” —  is a testament to that skill. So it was a surprise to some of Jooselord’s fans when he maintained peace at protests over the past week in Raleigh and Durham.Rapper Jooselord and host Frank Stasio explore themes of police violence and organized crime on the Durham rapper’s upcoming album.

 

Jooselord believes that a gang is any organization looking out for their own in spite of the law. That definition includes political parties, churches, the KKK, and police.
Credit Dalvin Nichols / 8-bit Photography
Jooselord believes that a gang is any organization looking out for their own in spite of the law. That definition includes political parties, churches, the KKK, and police.

He expresses equal regard for peaceful and violent protesting, as long as they remain different strategies to the same end. Host Frank Stasio and Jooselord discuss the long fight against police brutality and listen to tracks off of “MoshPit Messiah,” slated for release on October 30.

Raised in North Carolina, Jooselord recounts confrontations with Durham police and explains his view of gang culture as a beautiful aspect of the city worth celebrating.

At the same time, his music calls out Durham’s transformation: “Put a Starbucks in the hood and watch ‘em lock up brothers.”

Special thanks to Mir.I.am and 3amsound for audio assistance. 

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Grant Holub-Moorman is a producer for The State of Things, WUNC's daily, live talk show that features the issues, personalities and places of North Carolina.