If this were 25 years ago and Beanie Sigel was coming to your front door, uninvited, and accompanied by a crew of about a dozen, maybe his intentions would be more on the nefarious side. But the hip-hop legend, whose nicknames include “The Broad Street Bully,” is out in broad daylight determined to positively affect change. It’s September 17, National Voter’s Registration Day, and Sigel has quite the entourage as he canvases homes throughout Detroit’s 8 Mile. Beans is flanked by his State Property collective brother Freeway, media personality and Quality Control Records A&R Wayno, Harlem MC Smoke DZA, Bronx rapper Mysonne, and My’s tag team partner in activism, Tamika Mallory.
“Hello ma’am, good afternoon to you, my name is Beans,” Sigel says with a grin to an elderly woman as he stands on her porch. Unfortunately, the brimming bravado that endeared him to so many as a mainstay of Roc-A-Fella Records in the 2000s, is turned down. Undeterred by rejection, Sigel speaks calmly and candidly to seniors and youngsters while taking pictures with OGs on the block who came up on his music. Across the street is a contingent of Detroit born and bred MCs captained by Icewear Vezzo, who too are ringing doorbells and knocking on doors. Today, these hip-hop coalitions share the same goals: sign up as many people as they can who are of legal age, but not registered to vote.
“I’ve lived a very colorful past, where I haven’t always done good in the neighborhood,” Sigel would say later in his sprinter heading to Wayne State University, where he and his compatriots would go on and register students there to vote. “This is a chance for me to not only do some good for the people, but for myself, as well. As I got out and talked to people and share the information about voting and my experience, I’m taking some gems away from the people. We are all learning together in these conversations.”
“It was a dope experience,” Freeway adds. “I get a lot of love in Detroit. I feel so strongly about the city. Me and Beans have been coming out here since the early 2000s. It was a good experience to go door-to-door. I feel like they connect with us through our music anyway, but being able to connect with them in-person and talk about real life [issues] is an amazing experience. They knew we were speaking to them from a real place and not just trying to make some money. It seemed like people were really receptive to getting registered and those that were registered said they would be going out to vote.”
This past summer, Sigel started spearheading a movement to get involved — not so much in politics, but getting more educated in the political process. With the urging and guidance of his close friend and fellow Philly native Marvin Bing, Beanie aligned himself with organizations Mobilize Justice (which Bing founded) and AAP and started going directly into various communities. Beans would give personal testimony about his journey and heard the stories of the locals, which included activists, members of the church, social media influencers, small business owners and business executives. These conversations commenced in mid-July in Detroit and continued in August in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention.
“We started talking to the people in the community about the issues affecting them and what they wanted to see addressed,” Sigel elaborates. “If they have not voted in the past, we talked about what may have discouraged them from doing so. If they have voted before and will keep putting their ballots in the boxes, we asked them to elaborate on what inspired or inspires them to continue. We don’t try to sway people in the direction to vote for this person or vote for that person. I do tell them to get informed about what candidates’ policies are and who can be beneficial to your needs, your family’s needs and your community’s needs.”
As National Voter’s Registration Day turned into night, more hip-hop luminaries started landing in Detroit to participate in a Town Hall called “Vote Or Else” at the Huntington Place convention center. The event was open to the public who were already registered or signed up to register to vote. Nipsey Hussle’s brother Blacc Sam — who runs The Marathon brand and store — Killer Mike and Pusha T were among those also participating.
“Everybody thinks it’s always on such a presidential level. Bro, it’s the state and local [elections] too. That’s where you’re gonna feel it at,” Pusha T says about the voting process. “It’s about being mindful of that and knowing what you’re really getting into. Understand the policies of those who are running in circles that are close to you. Be mindful. At this time more than ever, you’re watching the industry, the community, everybody, at once are feeling the effects of the government. We’re seeing the effects of it. The only way to change that is to get out there and vote.”
Reverend Michael McBride, co-founder of The Black Church PAC and lead Pastor of The Way Church in Berkley, CA was the moderator for a very spirited conversation about reparations for Black people, the need for Black entrepreneurship, the hip-hop community using their voices and platforms as vehicle to inspire and the need to vote.
“These are the conversations we need,” Killer Mike said afterwards, still standing on the stage as everyone began dispersing. “We need to be in a constant state of organizing, Kwame Ture once said. We need to be in a constant state of educating ourselves, Fred Hampton said. So for me, whether you read The Wretched of Tte Earth or Watch The White Guys Have All the Fun, we need to come to a place where we’re alone, [and] outside of cameras, to discuss what’s going on in our communities.”
He adds: “What we had here was a great discussion. I loved that, because I walked away knowing more, feeling more empowered, more engaged. I know if we do this at home, if we do this in our living rooms, that’s where the real organization begins.”
“Vote or Else” isn’t just the name of the Town Hall; Mobilize Justice, The Black Church PAC and AAPI have joined forces as one organization under the same name. Their initiatives are to eradicate voter suppression, the mass incarceration of Black people and end gun violence in the Black community. Vote Or Else are putting out a self-titled EP with contributions from MCs such as Bun B, Havoc From Mobb Deep, Styles P. and of course Beans and Free. The lead cut was just released and is called “Still Here.” The track is a collaboration of fiery, insightful wordsmiths, Benny The Butcher, Jay Electronica, Black Thought from The Roots and Freeway.
“It’s time for us to come together and stand up for something, stand up for something we believe in,” Freeway said of the MCs joining forces for a common cause. “I gained a lot of respect for certain artists that were out there. Especially Icewear Vezzo. As soon as I pulled up to the community earlier, his mom and his family were out there speaking to people about voting. He does sneaker and clothing drives, he has a juice bar in the city. So he doesn’t just talk, he invests in the community. When I got first signed to Roc-A-Fella records, Jay-Z and Dame Dash instilled that in us. This music thing is just a launch pad for 1000 other things we can do.”
