One To Watch
Truth Universal
By Rebecca BrychTruth Universal is making waves in the hip-hop scene of New Orleans. If you have not already heard Truth Universal, you are most likely to catch him showcasing his talent at venues such as the Dragon’s Den and Alley Cats on Frenchmen Street. In April he released his latest album, Self-Determination which follows The Grassroots! Campaign, both of which are uniquely New Orleans.
Born in the village of Diego Martin in Trinidad, Truth moved to New Orleans at the early age of four and found himself in the Seventh Ward, where he went to preschool, before moving to New Orleans East and attending McDonogh #35 Senior High. According to Truth, he began in the music industry in late 1999 “with his first official recordings on a 12” record called Natural Disaster. Now Truth’s main focus is “making quality music, that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking”
Truth’s ideals of hip-hop are preservation, nonconformity and social dialogue and he continual promotes those ideals through his music. “In the way of hip-hop or cultural preservation, there is always a DJ presence in my music. If samples are used, they are used creatively. I really don’t deal with cats running loops and putting some simple beat behind them. I work with crate diggers and hip-hop architects. I do what I want with my music how I want to. No one is dictating to me what I need to say or how my tracks need to sound. And I have to say something. It’s the duty of the civilized man to teach civilization to the uncivilized. Simply put, if I know something that can help you put a situation into better perspective, I’m obligated to impart that upon you.”
It has been a journey, fortunately for New Orleans; one that has kept him close to home and discussing the issues that New Orleans faces each day. Throughout his music, Truth carries a social discourse on these issues. “The biggest issue to me is the housing crisis -- thousands are homeless and/or displaced and it doesn’t seem to be a priority of the state of city to remedy this. The Superdome gets fixed first. I see a lot of people making a profit off the misfortune of poor and working people.”
Truth approaches the housing crisis as well as many other issues with a distinct and formidable approach that can frequently been seen as bold, but he feels that his work is helping to heal the divides that have been created in the unique society that New Orleans plays host to. “My line is human rights and justice for all. So of course I feel it can heal, but hopefully some things I embody or say could compel folks to get as far away from a harmful alignment as possible. That’s the best healing I think -- to divorce yourself from harmful practices.”
When it comes to the violence that New Orleans is unfortunately witnessing, Truth believes that “a better public education system and opportunities” would make a difference. “It seems clear things are designed for poor Black youth to fail. The public school system is inequitably designed; this LEAP test pushes youth out of school, and the job market is crap. It’s my firm belief that youth are groomed for prison - even the high schools look like compounds with the heavy police presence, treating youth like criminals. Also, recreation programs helped to save a LOT of cats I came up with. Those things aren’t being funded by the city like they once were.”
Truth has his views and is not afraid to share them, and even if you find yourself disagreeing with some of his thoughts, he will have made you think and see events through a different perspective. The hip-hop stage in New Orleans can be a difficult act, but Truth is doing it and in style. “I have been fairly successful. It is a hard grind, though. Locally, it’s an uphill climb. New Orleans is not the most hip-hop friendly place. I feel like I’m not afforded the same opportunities as those who participate in genres that are deemed as more traditional. That won’t stop me though. That simply means I have to create more situations and opportunities!”
If you have not seen Truth Universal it is well worth the trip to pick up a copy of one of his albums or check out www.truthuniversal.com for upcoming show dates.