STEREO. TYPE.
By Luka Lesson
Poet and rapper Luka Lesson and Institute of non-violence have teamed up again to deliver a second poem and video: ‘Stereo. Type.’
The visuals for the poem premiered on Monday 22 March 2021. The video is available for viewing and sharing on all our social media channels.
What this collaboration with IoNV means to you, why release Stereo Type with us and what it means to have two poems released in collab with us, alignment with your values etc?
I believe that the inspiration that comes from witnessing a poem like this one can result in real action and positive change. By collaborating with IoNV, I am playing with how art is consumed and perceived, and how the observer can then turn into an active participant in the conversation by contacting IoNV and engaging with anti-racism work in the real world. I’m interested in seeing how the people who see my work can move from passively consuming art, to taking that next step to reach out, learn, engage and build.
What this collaboration with Luka means to you, why release Stereo Type and alignment with IoNV values ?
“See I don’t care about your lyrics
I mostly care about your spirit
our words are just vessels
to help our souls grow coherent”
These words written and spoken by Luka highlight why CEO and Founder, Hala Abdelnour, approached him to collaborate with IoNV on issues that align with our objectives, our mission and our values. Luka is not afraid to be bold and to speak his truth, a truth that resonates with many people who have felt oppressed in one way or another by a system that is evermore detached from the human experience.
Working in collaboration with like-minded individuals and professionals, IoNV hopes to support society and humanity as we return to our inherently non-violent essence.
STEREO. TYPE.
By Luka Lesson
Stereo. Type.(Luka Lesson)
STEREO. TYPE.
Before they lock you in a stereotype
speak words so deep
they’re like burial rights
write lines that unite
every side of the fight
so when you speak
all they get is your
STEREO. TYPE.
See I don’t care about your lyrics
I mostly care about your spirit
our words are just vessels
to help our souls grow coherent
That’s why plastic conversations
just keep people in their places
boxes and cages
staying locked in a maze
These days
a raised eyebrow in suspicion
can draw a straight line to a conviction
A country so conditioned by racism
those most judged by skin colour
and appearance
end up filling up our prisons
And we’re pissed off
when a shock-jock gets paid
just to be a bigot
but our taxes have been paying for the same shit
since the beginning
They pigeon hole us into body types
traditional dress
sexual preference
or exotic sound bytes
and they use every media stereotype
to amplify their agenda
as their political stereo mic
So we’re stuck in the battle of the headlines
on the war of the magazine shelf
they’ve taught us to see each other
as caricatures of our real selves
From Cronulla to the Herald
Channel 7 – the whole cartel
the media mafia
making sure News Corp
gets the sell
But the complexity of our lives
doesn’t fit in their headlines
so they need bite-sized pieces of our bodies
to feed on between dinner and bedtime
So when we see each other on the street
those headlines
in our head sets
become headnotes
become death stares
become death threats
become the next steps
towards our best friends’ necks
becoming breathless
To divide and conquer
we need a clear set of enemies
falsified identities
combined with our short term memories
They poison our communities
to keep us preoccupied
so while we’re fighting each other
– more land gets occupied
More services are cut
Adani gets up
another open cut mine
another refugee gets stuck
That’s why we need to take back the narrative
speak our own languages
keep our identities multifaceted
don’t simplify it for their arrogance
You are not all savages
you are not all parodies
to be used as their front page
embarrassments
So before they lock you in a stereotype
speak words so deep
they’re like burial rights
write lines that unite
every side of the fight
so when we speak
all they get is our
STEREO. TYPE.
Commentary on the lyrics
Ever since the murder of George Floyd in the United States in May 2020, the world has shifted its energy and more of us are demanding justice and equality for all - we are saying Enough is Enough! We are marching for in the streets and creating new ways of doing business that defies the ancient and outdated patriarchal structures of the colonial world.
We, at IoNV, acknowledge that the experiences of systemic racism are intertwined with the use and experience of family and domestic violence (FDV). One of our key focus points in the way we approach the work is to explore and adopt an intersectional feminist framework to intervention and prevention programs. This is crucial to think about, considering that FDV can result in police and criminal justice engagement, as well as other representatives of government and non-government institutions. When these institutions are structurally embedded in a colonial setting and mindset, they inevitably pose a threat to members of the community that have been traumatised and oppressed by them intergenerationally.
“A country so conditioned by racism
those most judged by skin colour
and appearance
end up filling up our prisons”
It is our duty as participating members of this society, who benefit from its systems, to correct our processes, to engage and collaborate evenly across all groups, and to simply be non-violent.
This poem is about defiance. The people are fed up. Those of us who have seen our cultures, sexualities and religions get used as fodder in order to cause a stir and sell newspapers are completely sick of it. It causes deep trauma, separates us from each other, and harms our communities in both the long and short-term. This piece is about the people being able to ‘take back the narrative’ and build a better world that we know is possible.
