Label Text "To fight is to struggle. It is striving to overcome
(fears, destruction, oppression, etc.). It is an inter-
action between two or more persons, animals, or
elements for the purpose of achieving something,
a fight for power and competition, for love, for
hope and for survival."
Vincent Valdez
While listening to the album Bass: The Final Frontier by the rapper D.J. Magic Mike, Valdez became amazed at the sound level of his speakers, which was so strong that the walls, windows, and easel in his studio began to shake. Reflecting on the album's rhythms, as well as on the recent aftermath of "9/11", the 2001 destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, the artist created this two-panel narrative.
In the upper panel, entitled Battle, Valdez presents two "urban ninjas" who, driven by their survival instincts, are facing off in a street fight. The protagonist, seen at the left, is armed with a samurai sword and hip hop attire. As he swings his sword, he chops up an army of pit bulls that have been sent to lunge at him via sonic signals from the villain, who is spinning his turntable. Of particular significance is the gesture of the villain's left hand, which is a "west side" gang sign, a reference to East and West Coast battles that occur in American hip hop and rap culture. For Valdez, this gesture is also symbolic of the conflicts between the United States and the Middle East.
The setting in the lower panel, Get the Man with the Bass, is a panoramic vista inspired by the urban landscape format used in Super Mario Brothers video games. The scenario shows the characters leaping from one building to the next amidst a city that is ablaze and crumbling in response to the volume of the sonic bass speakers.
(David Rubin, Label Text 2012)
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
