notes on guerilla publishing...

Chapter 1: general principles of guerilla publishing

1: essence of guerilla publishing

The unparalleled assimilation of the hip hop sub culture into that of the mainstream, beginning in the early eighties and continuing even today, was not only a triumph of multiculturalism as represented in all major media outlets ; it forced a change in the old dogmas the governed the conduct of the working class people of urban America. It showed plainly the capacity of the people to free themselves by means of guerilla publishing from a culture that oppressed them.

We consider that the rise of hip hop contributed three fundamental lessons to the conduct of revolutionary movements in America. They are:

- Popular forces can win a campaign against major labels and media outlets
-it is not necessary to wait for the conditions for making revolution exist, the insurrection can create them
- In urban America industrial and commercial properties, as well as places for communal gatherings, are the basic area for guerilla publishing.

Of these three the first two contradict the defeatist attitude that the supposed “death” of hip hop constitutes a defeat of some sort. The spirit that initially drove hip hop is the same that has fueled every cultural evolution of the knowable past. The fact that This spirit of innovation, which is itself a byproduct of the socio economic pressures the create the need for it, is inevitably consumed by the forces that generated the pressures in the first place, in truth constitutes no more than irony at its finest.

It is also undeniable proof that when deemed “cool”, the culture and ideals of the oppressed can be superimposed upon that of the masses, and in effect created the necessary conditions for bloodless revolution. The struggle is getting that culture and those ideals out to the masses, unadulterated by the commercial interest of those who are the gatekeepers of our society. Therefore it comes as no surprise that the final lesson tells us that it is in a commercial arena that this battle must take place.

Imagine a world in which the breath and scope of the cultural landscape is determined not by a perceived range of economic potential, but rather by the diversity of the people who populate it. a world where Artistic merit is not synonymous with commercial viability. Unfortunately, this world only exists in our imagination. Through the intrinsic nature of the free market system, and rapid globalization, our culture has quickly become one shaped by a handful of media companies, i.e. clear channels and time Warner, which, by extension means we are narrowing the scope of our cultural landscape to that which is deemed practical to commercial entities governed only by the laws of economics.

We believe it an obvious fact that the present oligarchical nature of both the music industry and the major media outlets has institutionalized a certain systemic marginalization of alternative/underground musicians and visual artist. Not by any devious design or intent, but only for the fact that by not being accessible to large, easily reached demographics they are just not commercially viable enough to warrant the investment of a traditional profit driven media source. The results are any number of besieged musicians around the nation, struggling to participate in an industry that seems determined to shun them. And so, we have sought to become a multi media publishing agency geared toward independent artist and the use of grassroots marketing methods. the goal of the gpc is to create a community minded, globally oriented media house which will act as an outlet for independently produced projects and products. we do this in the hopes that one day we can finally effectively use the purchasing power of the people to reclaim control of our popular culture from both the corporate elite and the moral majority. we are tired of being told to drink Coke, smoke Newports, and eat Mc Donald's. we have realized that big business pulls the strings, and now laugh at their pointless elections, shake our heads at their stupid wars. and oddly, yes, we too are ready to wage war, to attack with the very chains they intended to hold us down. and if you are too, then you are already one of us.

And this is why the guerilla publishing company exists.