Add-2: The Importance of Mentorship
Emcee. Teacher. Mentor. Add-2 is the founder of Haven Studio which is a free studio for the youth on the Southside of Chicago, a teacher at YCA’s #Emceeworkshop and CommonGround. Each hat Add-2 wears allows him to connect with individuals on a different level.
Learn all About Add-2 below as we discuss addressing important issues such as police brutality in music and whether or not artists should use their platform to confront these issues, his life as a mentor and Haven Studio, who played an important mentor role in his life as a child, and some gems for anyone who may be struggling with everything going on.
Last year on Jim Crow the Musical, you released a song called Hashtag that illustrates police brutality and unfortunately tells the story of how we’ve become desensitized to these shootings. You’ve mentioned this is one of the saddest songs you’ve ever written. Can you talk through the importance of addressing these issues head on within your music and the platform you have?
One of the key components that I always come back to is the idea that music encapsulates the moment in time of where we were, who we were, etc. The same way when I think of disco music, I think of the 70’s. When I think about funk and electronic, I think of the 80’s. When I start listening to certain artists, I start hearing about a window of what their struggles were at the time. Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, James Brown’s Say It Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud.
“I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO UTILIZE MY PLATFORM TO SPEAK ON THE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO ME.
NOT ONLY FOR MYSELF, BUT THE PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY AS WELL. IF I’M NOT, THEN I’M DOING EVERYBODY A DISSERVICE”
I kept thinking to myself, while I was going through 2019, 2018, and a lot of these years prior, it was almost as if I would hear people glaze over the issue. And it didn’t really speak to the anger and frustration, the hurt, the feeling and detail of what that was like. I took it upon myself to say you know what, if you feel a certain way in your heart that something isn’t right that means, it’s on you to do something about it. I always feel like I have to utilize my platform to speak on the issues that are important to me. Not only for myself, but the people in my community as well. If I’m not, then I’m doing everybody a disservice.
With everything going on from police brutality, political issues, social and economic issues. Do you feel like enough rappers are stepping up and using their platform to confront these matters?
I’m in the middle. One, I feel like artists and rappers aren’t the best leaders. I think most of them are opportunists. I believe most of them will say the right things to stay popular. The industry that they’re in is to be liked and to have attention. I can’t expect a lot of people to being willing to risk their platform to say something that might be considered controversial. Which it really isn’t. It’s a human rights issue. Some people are too connected to the system, too connected to sponsors, or wherever they get their money. I can’t expect them to be leaders when they’re not. But, there’s a strong piece of me that says they should say something because ultimately this affects you. This is your day to day. These people can be your family, they could be your friends, it could be YOU. It’s weird if somebody is just making party music all day. Even if you don’t dedicate an entire album to talking about these issues, there should be something that reflects how you feel. These are major issues that affect you. If you can make music about being in the club for 15 records and you’re not in the club the entire time…then damnit, you can make a record about what’s going on in your life.
I believe that we have a responsibility with our platforms to say something. If you don’t, at least we know where you stand.
Recently you posted the quote by Stokely Carmichael, “Our grandfathers had to run, run, run. My generation's out of breath. We ain't running no more”. Can you talk through this quote and what it means to you?
It was interesting to me how certain things echo. The fact that back then he was saying that you know what, my ancestors before me had to escape. Pretty much they were at the mercy of the oppressors and he was like I’m at that point where I’m saying no more. I’m not running anymore. The fact that we are in 2020 and I can identify with that same phrase is crazy. I felt like I watched us ask for justice for years. It’s like man, here is the video of it and we are asking to bring justice. Here is their admittance of it, bring them to justice. And it would never work. I think I’m at the space of saying, why are we asking for something that should be common knowledge? It should be a basic human right. It should be a given. It shouldn’t have to take this long. It normally doesn’t take this long in any other situation. If I were to even be suspected of a crime, they’re handcuffing me and bringing me in until something clears up or I post bail. There’s exceptions for cops. And they are citizens. They are being paid by the city.
It’s beyond me now. I’m not running, I’m not ducking. I’m not putting no sugar on it anymore. I’m calling it what it is. If its bullshit, its bullshit. I’m done waiting for people to see the things that they should already see.
Transitioning from music to mentorship. As you look back on your teenage years of coming up as an artist, who played a mentorship role in your life?
There were several people. I’d say there was around 6 - 7 people who played a strong role. It was my High School teacher named Mr. Dickson and his partner Mr. Smallwood. They were some of the coolest dudes I ever met who were in their late 20’s and super hip-hop and smart. They made it cool to be older in hip-hop. Also, this brother named Zashus D. He owned a spot called ‘The House of Culture’ on 63rd and Aberdeen. I used to sweep up in his shop and he would teach me about hip-hop. He would teach me about life, community, and he challenged me on my freestyling. I gained so much knowledge from him. Twilight Tone would give me all sorts of advice on the industry. And I can’t forget Mikael. He gave us the space to record and respected us as young adults. In his eyes he didn’t treat me like a kid or a student. He looked at me like a young man and taught me that I’m responsible for the decisions that I make. Subsequently, right after that I met Brother Mike. He gave me one of my first feature sets. He would always teach me about the importance of being a leader in my community and using my influence as far as hip-hop goes to make space for others. Its not about what you can do for yourself, it’s about what you can do for everybody. Brother Mike was a key component when it came to my idea of responsibility for Chicago.
This group of people really helped formulate my mind.
I heard you say once that you “can’t be an activist, if you’re not active.” You’ve been very active over the years. Four years ago you developed your nonprofit, Haven, which is a free studio for the youth on the Southside of Chicago. Talk to us about the inception of this and how it’s evolved over the years…
Originally the idea came from something that was done for me when I was younger. It was a guy named Mikael, he had a storefront on 63rd and Rockwell and he put a computer and microphone in the back. He gave my friends and I a space to go to every single day. It came at the perfect time. I was starting to get into trouble and I was straddling the fence. I was at that fork in the road of thinking like, I’m doing a little bit of dirt, fighting, and mischievous things…but, this space was what allowed me to get out of that lifestyle. It gave me an outlet and specifically it made me feel important and confident in myself. I always said that if I could, if I had more resources, if I had more time, I would do the same thing for other teens and young adults so that they have a space they could go to and not have to travel so far to do things that they love to do. We’ve been open for four and a half years now and we’ve been making so many strides.
I’m watching the program evolve, watching it change people’s lives, watching it become a staple, and watching the mentees have a career of their own. I just want to make sure that our space is accessible and that they have the equipment and ability to be around people that inspire them. Their whole community is what inspired them and they deserve it.
“ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I’VE LEARNED FROM MY STUDENTS AND MENTEES IS THEIR WILLINGNESS TO BREAK STRUCTURE”
You also mentor and teach rap with CommonGround and co-teach #Emceeworkshop at YCA with Defcee. While you’ve been able to mentor many young kids in Chicago, I’m sure you’ve learned just as much from them as they have from you. Can you share a few things you’ve learned from your students?
One of the best things I’ve learned from my students and mentees is their willingness to break structure. As a teacher I learned that you don’t really know that much. We know enough to sit in a room. But there’s still so much for us to learn. I don’t like to make a whole bunch of little me’s. I never want that. I would ask the students how they feel about rapping over a beat and they would say, I would rather do this. I’m like go for it!
When I would see them break structures and see what they gravitated towards, it unlocked so much in my mind. I would’ve never thought to use that pocket or flow like this on this type of beat. It’s dope though because they make it work. They don’t see the boundaries that my generation sees. I love the fact that new artists are bringing in live musicianship. There’s so much freedom and willingness to try something new and I respect that. I want them to maintain that.
Desmond Tutu once said that “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Over the last five months, have you found any silver linings or is there anything that you’ve learned?
I’d say one of the best lessons that I’ve learned is the idea of ingenuity. Now you have to survive. One of the things that I came into believing was that the world couldn’t be disrupted to this level. I didn’t think it was this possible. I never seen this coming in a million years, where the world could stop and really reset. The fact that it did happen, and people would find different ways to be creative, release music, to protest, and to still live is amazing to me. The human spirit is resilient and it’s creative in ways that I never knew.
If there was one quote that you could give people who are going through struggling times, what would it be?
It’s a quote from my grandmother and she used to say “From the day you’re born, until the day you’re in the hearse, it may be bad, but things could be worse”
I always think to myself, no matter how bad it is, no matter how upset I may be, I always keep in mind that I’m present. I’m still here and I have the ability to change. That gives me more light to live.
Written by: Nico Rud
Photos by: Josh Taylor