Music is both a uniting and dividing force. On one hand, it’s hard to think of anyone who absolutely dislikes music. On the other hand, the various genres of music divide people up into cliques based on their musical likes and dislikes. Today, organizers of the third annual Mighty Mic Human Rights Awareness Concert hope to use the bonding power of music as a whole to draw students together, in hopes that they will put aside their musical differences to address a pressing social issue and have a great time.
“Mighty Mic began as a coalition of student organizations concerned with social justice who wanted to pool their resources and have one really large event to educate campus about human rights abuses worldwide,” said Mighty Mic co-director Flavia de la Fuente. “Mighty Mic is now its own student group, and we focus exclusively on one human rights issue throughout the year.”
Last year, the free Mighty Mic concert raised more than $20,000 for the refugees of the genocide in Darfur. This year, organizers turn their attention to the human rights violations of Burma. With such pressing social issues being addressed, Mighty Mic planners needed to find the right musicians to play the event.
“(We try to) find a diverse set of artistic genres to attract many different UCLA students,” de la Fuente said.
This mix of genres will draw many different types of people, and it may also create an audience full of students with decidedly different musical preferences. Organizers ultimately decided upon Blackalicious, Daphne Loves Derby, Audible Mainframe, and student artists Brandon Contreras and Jarell Perry, creating a lineup that ranges from hip-hop and rap to alternative and emo rock.
In many events similar to Mighty Mic, the focus is placed on the performers, rather than the cause. True, the performers are generally what draw the audiences to attend and donate, but is there anything about them that is directly related to the cause and solution?
Audible Mainframe front man, Exposition, says no.
“At the end of the day, the songs that we play aren’t going to do anything. The event and the energy behind it will hopefully contribute a little bit to doing something.”
But Contreras and Perry will be the exceptions to that rule. They have composed an original song, inspired by the crisis in Burma, which they will perform as the concert’s opening number.
Daphne Loves Derby bassist David Sparks believes that the event and audience is more important than the performers.
“I think college-aged students would come to a concert and would be put in that position where a fun social event can turn into something very positive.”
Perry believes that music as an art form is what makes this event so powerful.
“Music has a way of reaching inside a person and captivating the spirit that no other art form has. That’s why it’s important to use it as a voice for those who don’t have one,” he said. “The people of Burma have no voice; somebody’s got to speak for them.”
Perry also added that although this issue is most prominent in Burma, it is an issue that is still very much universal.
“I think the threat to freedom over there has a connection to freedom all over the world, including the U.S.”
Sparks said the audience needs to try and imagine the situation citizens of Burma are in. By listening to the music and message of Mighty Mic, students will hopefully do just that.
“If people actually take the time to put themselves in that situation, it’s hard for them not to get behind something like that,” he said.