Podcast #35 – Francis Aaron – Rapping against the woke (part 2)
If you haven’t, listen to part one (Podcast 34) of this conversation first.
Francis Aaron is a rapper from the UK who tackles relevant, controversial social and cultural topics with philosophy, sociology, and psychology.
Francis Aaron is a rapper and writer with an ability to court controversy and intelligent debate. He was born in Blackpool. His mother died when he was young and he lived a nomadic youth in state care. The stories of struggle he found in rap music resonated with him, and over the years he began honing his technique as a lyricist.
He lived in Moscow and St. Petersburg and later hitchhiked across Russia, visiting gulags and wooden fortress towns along the way. He spent time in Europe and the United States, before returning to the UK and becoming a notorious name on the underground rap battle scene. He has been a bartender, a Mathematics tutor, a recording engineer, an English teacher, and has worked to support children in care.
He is currently writing a book about Nietzsche’s influence on 20th century figures. Alongside music producer Left Axis, he has been releasing controversial songs about “the culture war.”
The podcast
Audio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Video
Contents
00:00:00 – Lockdown talk, growing presence on social media,
00:15:10 – The songwriting process, Rakim, Big Daddy Kane
00:23:40 – Battle-rap, essay rap, Zuby
00:34:00 – Social media bubbles, the old internet, mainstream media
00:43:35 – Discussions around religion, atheism, Chomsky, Foucault, Derrida, constructionism
01:00:20 – Change of language, cult-like behavior, free speech, corruption of universities
01:23:00 – GamerGate, Alt-Right, Alt-Lite, Alt-Left, Milo, Anti-racism, Coleman Hughes
01:41:40 – Religious ideas, the internet changing discourse, pronouns, trans-activism
02:07:00 – Essay rap, mandated speech, Jordan Peterson & bill C-16, Dave Chapelle
02:25:45 – Men & women’s sports
02:33:23 – “Problematic” lyrics breakdown, zero-sum game, personal responsibility,
02:51:10 – The upcoming album, music video production
About Francis Aaron
References
Mentioned books
Recording details
Recorded using the RODE RodeCaster Pro and Rode ProCaster microphone.
Latest podcasts
#40 – Jimmy Page – Part 2 | Full discography walkthroughJune 11, 2024 - 00:26
#39 – Jimmy Page – Part 1 | Dinosaur rock guitar alchemySeptember 16, 2023 - 00:46
#38 – Tony Iommi | Dinosaur rock guitar alchemyJune 24, 2021 - 00:53
#37 – Kyle Meyr – Sony Alpha ambassadorApril 19, 2021 - 12:28
#36 – Ritchie Blackmore | Dinosaur rock guitar alchemyMarch 13, 2021 - 00:56
#35 – Francis Aaron – Rapping against the woke pt.2February 18, 2021 - 14:31
#34 – Francis Aaron – Rapping against the woke pt.1January 27, 2021 - 22:58
#33 – 2021 ANNOUNCEMENTJanuary 2, 2021 - 16:08
