In November of 2019, Toronto DJ and producer Bozack Morris linked up with Buffalo emcee Elcamino to record and release Saint Muerte. Deep within the album, is the song "Politics as Usual." As a big Elcamino fan, his simple yet potent lyrics often compel me to pause and think. This was one of those songs. He raps: "Just call me Camino, bitch you don't need to know my government. By the way, fuck the government."

On the face of it, this lyric doesn't stand for much. That said, I think there is something meaningful to pull out of this. First off, by declaration of a war on drugs, those who engage in the drug trade are at war with their government. Their "government name" is thus their enemy name. Second, when declaring a war on drugs, those involved are immediately enlisted by no choice of their own. They are draftees in some sense of the word. Lastly, if citizens of their country are at war with their own government, where do terms like "treason," "sedition" and "anarchy" fit in? I meditated on these thoughts for some time, and wrote the following piece:

I was born a draftee. My uncle used to recall the day he entered the war. Though his enemy had not changed, Nixon’s public service announcement promised to amplify the actions of the state. “War” was the term the president had used – and in an instant, we were deemed public enemy number one. We took that word to heart. Our community – our brothers and sisters on the block – recognized what that had meant. We had never been in a war before, and we idolized those who had refused the draft. Ali was deemed the “People’s Diplomat” and we were that people. But this war we could not refuse. We had no choice in the matter, for they had declared war on us.

I never had that moment. I was born into this war. Born a soldier. Not that I was born on the block – but I was born with the expectation to be here. As others learn to work their farm when they gain the strength to do so, our social parameters have led us to the block through rebellion in much the same way. I hope to live to be a veteran, however for now that is not the state in which I live.

You may call me Camino. Like Ali and Malcolm before him, my government name represents something which I am not. Although I am not in the NOI, my government name is very much my enemy name. For if the government has declared war on me, then I am their enemy, and they are mine. If my lifestyle is treasonous, then why should I use the name that has their title associated with it? We all have names on the block, and these names are our own.

You can buy Elcamino x Bozack Morris' "Saint Muerte" here: https://bozackmorris.bandcamp.com/album/saint-muer...

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