ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Manila Ryce on Paper Cuts cover

Had a chance to catch up with Manila Ryce, the visual artist who designed the cover of Bambu's new EP, Paper Cuts. Manila gives us some insight on the inspiration of the cover and its meanings:

"The artwork for "...paper cuts..." utilizes the cover of a school textbook to visually explore the themes of cultural genocide and mental occupation present in the cd. To understand what the razor blade symbolizes it's important to understand what the book symbolizes. Independent thought is punished in our educational system throughout the development of a child. We are expected to obey, repeat, and follow orders. However, the owner of this textbook has actually cut into this manual of repression with a razor blade to reveal the free-thinkers and revolutionaries our educational system fails to mention. This tool, placed between Bambu's teeth, symbolizes the sharpened words of a rebel. Bambu is revealed as the true teacher in this scenario who has encouraged not just thoughts which challenge this symbol of the system, but a revolutionary action which has in fact destroyed it.

Bam works with people he trusts enough to give artistic freedom to. I pitched him a few ideas and thumbnails to choose from, but other than that initial framework there was never much oversight. I decided on having historical figures share the cover with his mug and he supported it. Bam respects the artists he works with as creative individuals and not just as a means to an end. Because of that mutual respect, this cover really was a labor of love.

As for the choice of figures, Bam and I belong to a Filipino youth organization called KmB (Pro-People Youth), which relates the struggle of the Philippines to that of FilAm youth. The stories of Gabriela, the Katipuneros, and Lapu-Lapu are often part of our educational workshops, so it seemed natural that they would also supply that connection for this album with Bam's largely Filipino base. Most of the other figures are people Bambu has mentioned previously in his songs, such as Malcolm, Ho Chi Minh, Che, Mao, Marx, and Zapata. Overall, I made a conscious decision to have a wide representation of people from varying cultures to emphasize that the struggle of the proletariat is the same around the globe, whether we're talking about Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, or even Watts. Even dating all the way back to Lapu-Lapu, the enemy remains the same. It's important to recognize that you are part of a strong tradition of resistance and that your struggle is shared globally."

Talk about critical pedagogy! That's why it's so important to buy the physical CD (used to be vinyl) because an MP3 can only say so much.

As for the actual music, its raw. Within 8 tracks, Bam smashes a thick recipe of themes ranging from the violence of gentrification to being old (he's not).

One verse stands out, from the first track "Paper Thin" (featuring the god Chace Infinite):

"Tell the story of our people that they failed to mention
in classroom setting these lessons that rarely stuck
but in detention the sessions with st. ides in my cup
in conversations about the hustle kept our kids engaged
not afraid of jail
we're supposed to have been passed away
and now we geeked that the president got skin like ours
so we stick up little stickers screaming 'hope' on cars
but police'll still barge into your spot fully armed
last week one of my homeboys got his head split apart
feels like the hood's still the same
while we scream about change
and the solution's build a franchise
move our people away?"

(thanks Bam)

Cop that EP if you haven't already. Learn more about the dope artwork of Manila Ryce and show your support for our talented cultural workers.


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