Narratives of Drug Usage & Response in José Garcia's "Elevate"

Narratives of Drug Usage & Response

De La Cruz, (2019)

Narratives of Drug Usage & Response in José Garcia’s “Elevate”

Vincent De La Cruz HS 381 01: Research Writing Amanda Hill 26 November 2019

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Narratives of Drug Usage & Response

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Abstract The following paper is an analysis of narratives of drug usage & response in José Garcia’s “Elevate” (Elevate, Me$a, 2018). José (Me$a)1 is a hip-hop artist and rapper from West Phoenix2.

Growing up in Phoenix to a Mexican father and Puerto-Rican mother, José self-identifies as Chicano, meaning Mexican American. Chicano is a chosen identity within the Mexican American community used to express cultural individuality as well as to differentiate one’s heritage from that of Anglo or European Americans. Popularized by the Chicano Movement of the 1960s, this identity was as a means of delegating oneself with the intellectual and creative commitment to the struggle for social justice of citizens, and non-citizens of Mexican origin, as well as Latinos outside and within the broader North American context. With poetic clarity, José uses his cultural perspective and lived experience to help illuminate the intricacies of his environment. Using hip-hop as his delivery method, José’s song “Elevate” provides insight on the perspective of José, who is directly effected by drug usage. It also provides audiences with stories that statistics cannot articulate. His unique perspective and articulation is the exact reason why I interviewed him to discuss his lyrics and background more in-depth 3. In this interview, José and I explored a variety of subject matter, predominately pertaining to drugs; (1) access to drugs, (2) selling drugs, (3) using drugs, (4) addiction, (5) patterns of addiction within families, (6) the legal system’s response to drug usage. I also include supporting material4 in which we also discussed matters that help contextualize Jose’s environment; (A) perceptions of Mexicans in American society, (B) the role of the Chicano Voice, (C) ICE5, (D) police violence, and (E) charity & evangelism. When attempting to understand the depth of Phoenix’s drug crisis, these narratives need to come into play. Along with asking oneself: what are the narratives being told? Who’s telling them? When looking into José’s own narrative, it

1 “Me$a” refers to Jose’s pseudonym or rapper name 2 West Phoenix refers to the Westside of Phoenix, Arizona; located in Maricopa County.

3 Jose’s excerpts from Elevate: A Discussion on Lyrics, Meaning & Environment

are cited in Sections A-M.

4 See Supporting Materials, page 12 5 “ICE” refers to U.S Immigration & Customs Enforcement

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brings about important questions like: what are the experiences of Mexican Americans in relation to drug usage? How are socio-economic factors at play in the perpetuation of patterns of usage within families?

Reflecting on the following statistics6 below may help provide context to why it is so important we begin to understand narratives of drug usage by Mexican Americans & Latinos in Phoenix, Arizona.

1)

From July 2018 to June 2019, there were 1,336 drug-related overdose deaths that occurred in Maricopa County, the central county of the Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona metropolitan area.

2)

Although Opioid prescribing practices are decreasing in Maricopa County, Opioids still comprise 69% of all drug overdose deaths, having killed 907 people from 2018-2019.

3)

Among the many demographics effected by the Opioid crisis, Hispanic/Latinx people comprise 24% of drug overdose deaths while comprising just 31% of the overall population of Maricopa County.

4)

Not only are Census-Delegated Hispanics disproportionately represented in overdose rates within the county, they are over-incarcerated; making up 37% of Arizona’s Prison Admissions.7

5)

While whites are much less likely to be admitted to prison for drug offenses as well as violent offenses, the same cannot be said for Census-Delegated Hispanics; who are much more likely to be convicted for drug offenses, simple possession, and non-violent crimes.

6)

In Maricopa County alone, although Census-Delegated Hispanics make up close to 1/3 of the population, they make up 72% of people sentenced for drug distribution.

6 All statistics provided are hyperlinked to sources 7 “Census Delegated Hispanics� refers to Hispanic as a constructed ethnic identity by the U.S Census Berea (1970)

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Roll your problems in a blunt and smoke the pain away…

In order to discuss drugs and the role they play in our environment, it’s important to establish how drugs differentiate themselves from other commodities that exist in our daily lives. 1) Drugs have pain-relieving properties; 2) drugs can create new patterns of reinforcement and learning within the brain; 3) drugs alter the human consciousness, physically transforming people’s experience of their world as well as themselves and; 4) their markets have been historically established by a) colonial invasion, b) colonization, c) commodification, d) corporatization, e) bureaucratization, and f) normalization. 8 It is also important to note that these same markets, historically, have been reappropriated by colonized peoples (or descendants of) as a means of wealth creation.

José gives insight about the pain relieving properties of weed in his opening bars to “Elevate”.

1

hoping; blowing smoke I pray for better days

2

ain’t no options from the projects- it’s time to pave a way

3

I’m just trying to see a million before heaven’s gates

4

in the struggle living low, just let me elevate

5

just let me elevate,

6

spark that lighter to the fire-

7

ash it in the tray

8

Just let me elevate

9

roll your problems in a blunt and smoke the pain away

In our interview conducted via phone, José opened up about his own usage; the reasons he uses, and the way his brother’s incarceration has been weighing on his mental health.

Section

A

José: “Shit, Iv’e gone through a lot of shit in my life. I just happened to have picked up an addiction that wasn’t as bad I would say. I smoke a lot, I smoke heavy, and most of the time I feel like I’m just- smoking the pain away. Iv’e been depressed since my brother got locked…I’m not into anything but tree 9 now, that’s why I have a

8 Bradburd, Daniel, and William R. Jankowiak. Drugs, Labor, and Colonial Expansion. Tucson, AZ: Univ. of Arizona Press, 2003.v 9 “Tree” refers to Weed

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Section

A (cont.)

De La Cruz, (2019)

medical card…I have had an addiction before. I was on Xanax before. I was depressed and I was doing it a lot with my friends and shit.”

For José, like many others; his usage is tied directly to his mental health, whether it be through selfmedication, or medicinally prescribed. He also explains his addiction to Xanax when he was younger being tied to constant contact with his friends, a social ritual of sorts; a pattern of usage tied to community and camaraderie.

José: “My friends, I would always be at their house because I didn't want to be home. I never wanted to be home. Because there was nothing there. That was just my understanding of life- I was always running around

Section

B

unattended because my dad was working 2 jobs to support us, and my mom was a fucking drug addict…she’s been in and out my my whole life. Since I was a kid, she’s been addicted to meth, and it sucked…I remember a time when we came home and all our furniture was gone because Rent-A-Center© came and took all our shit.”

For José, a house without furniture can’t feel like home. With his mother addicted and father working multiple jobs to provide for him and his four siblings, Jose seeks comfort away from his house, and chooses to socialize with friends; developing ritualistic patterns of usage tied to 1) pain relief and 2) social bonding. It’s important to also note that José is growing up watching the progression of his mother’s own addiction, and is intimately effected by her patterns of usage as well.

Section

C

Jose: “There was times we’d go from hotel to hotel, church to church, trying to get help because no one wanted to help her no more. She had an addiction…There was times when I was living with a family I didn’t know because my parents couldn’t take care of me. I was by myself; separated from my family… ”

Coming straight from the gutter, let me elaborate…

The places we live can play a large role in the structural violence we experience , as well as how our behaviors are shaped by that environment as we mature. Our homes, neighborhoods, schools,

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and cities can reinforce patterns of behavior and learning starting from within the family structure, working its way out to friend groups, and then entire communities.

In bars 10-13, José explains the city and circumstances he comes from as a means of elaborating on his environment and how it has effected outcomes within his own family.

10

coming straight from the gutter let me elaborate

11

with helicopters, hella families stuck on Section 810

12

roaches in the kitchen, babies with no dinner plates,

13

momma gone with addiction so papa left to raise

In the above bars, José paints a portrait of West Phoenix where poverty, police-presence, publichousing, sub-standard living conditions, malnutrition, and addiction abound and are inextricably linked. This is demonstrated by their proximity within his cadence.

José: “My mom and dad had kids at a very young age. So growing up I didn’t have much…there were times when we didn’t have Christmas…experienced a lot. Taking the buses everywhere as a family, living off Section 08, having food stamps, doing the same routine…To be specific about the gutter, I mean addicts walking Section

D

around, alleys full of heroin needles, older & run down. Not really loved for. Police walking around looking for trouble. Not really much love there. Not much guidance either. Everyones working a 9-5, waking up early. And they’re working for somebody else. Warehouse workers, Landscapers, Painters, Trade-workers…It rubs off on people. You see teenagers who just got out of high school now getting in to the back of a truck, you know what I’m saying? They’re wearing orange, getting ready to work. And there’s gang violence too. A lot of it.

Everywhere- not just where I’m at. There are always people trying to be superior to another. I’m thankful from where I come from.”

The following bars then translate the outcome, created out of these same conditions: 14

With all these things that I mention I’m trying to keep the faith

15

Repeating cycles because my brother’s seen my mother’s trace,

16

Fighting demons I thought it was just another phase,

17

6 years for possession- no lawyer for his case.

10 Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. § 1437f)

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Section

E

De La Cruz, (2019)

José: “Not having a relationship with your mom, and picking up things you’ve seen her do. I would see her do shit, smoke weed- then I would be like ‘oh, okay..smoking weed is cool then’. Next thing you know my little brother is getting in trouble in school and you find out that the things we were picking up were bad.”

This is the second time in our interview José has referred to drug usage as ‘bad’. (see Section A) It’s important to note, as a lot of people attach a binary connotation to drug usage. This is either shaped by an 1) individuals own first hand experiences with usage (whether it be themselves or family), or 2) the way mass media outlets frame the issue.11 The following examples are dialogues that help might explain the dual world views bore out the same binary attachment.

1 ) Shaped by first hand experience with drug usage and it’s effects Miguel inhales a toke from a Cigarette David: Cigarettes are bad for you.

Miguel: Why? David: My Tio Mike died from cancer when I was young and he smoked cigarettes.

2) Shaped by mass media narrative of drug users Miguel inhales a toke from a Cigarette Jess: Cigarettes are bad for you.

Miguel: Why? Jess: Gross! Have you seen what they do to you? You don’t want to end up like those commercials do you?

While one conversation is facilitated by a culture of care, the other is shaped by a culture of shame. Both however carry a binary connotation, that cigarettes are ‘bad’ for Miguel. While one attributes David’s own experience and comprehension to a world view, the others implies Jess’ distant and judgmental world view. It’s likely David’s response will resonate more with Miguel, possibly because of the compassion that underlies David’s warning. José’s own binary connotation, like David, is linked to his experiences with drug usage within his family as well as his own prior

11 Tovares Raúl Damacio. Manufacturing the Gang: Mexican American Youth Gangs on Local Television News. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.

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usage of prescription drugs, and thus is more useful as an educational tool, as it is tied directly to connotation of warning, not judgment.

Section

F

José: “There was a time when I was doing Xanax a lot and I was nodding off all the time, didn't really feel awake, and was just angry all the time. I had to stop and think ‘this isn’t good for me’. And I stopped. That was a phase I went through.”

It is through José’s normalization of drug usage that he fails to notice the severity of his little brother’s own usage, passing it off as a phase- a phase that Jose went through himself at that age.

Section

G

José: “So when my brother started using Percs 12 and Xanx13…he would tell me ‘I’m just doing one’ but he was just doing what he had seen me do, so maybe he thought it was okay.”

Repeating Cycles…

Section

H

José: “My brother was always getting caught. He would get caught high at school, weed in his backpack, he was caught with pills once and went to court for that.”

José’s brother begins to use prescription drugs, mimicking behaviors he had seen in his older brother partake in at the same age; as well as his own mother, and as mentioned earlier: a part of daily life in their neighborhood. José explains the pattern of usage that his brother spiraled down, ultimately leading to his 6-year incarceration, a sentence he is currently still serving out, with 4 years remaining.

José: “He was also flipping 14 them, then he got robbed. And then he wanted more, then Percs got more Section

I

expensive and he started moving to black (heroin)..other shit, instead of pills - or pharmaceuticals…as he got older he was just selling pills doing his thing, then he stopped selling and was now just using. And it was then that he got hit with possession. After he had stopped selling. He was just addicted. That’s when it hit me…6 12 “Percs” refers to Percocet® 13 “Xanx or Xans” refers to Xanax® 14 “Flipping” refers to selling

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I (cont.)

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years…for just having drugs that he felt he needed to cope. He was going through it. He also has 2 kids.”

As pill prices began to rise, José’s brother turned to harder (more potent), cheaper street drugs- like heroin. Being emerged in those drug markets as 1) chronic user, 2) seller, and 3) addict had profound effects on his brother; resulting not only in addiction but also with a possessions charge, and a 6 year sentence. José mentions that his brother also has 2 children; children who are growing up seeing this outcome, similarly to the way he watched the outcomes of his own mother’s drug usage and dependency.

José’s brother however, sees his incarceration as something that saved his life from other possible outcomes of his usage, as well as realities of his external environment.

Section

J

José: “Now he tells me if he didn’t get caught, he would’ve been dead. Either from overdose, or getting shot, or robbed for them.”

In bar 17, José’s outlook conflicts with his brother’s, citing the inability to afford a lawyer as playing the most defining factor in his brother’s sentencing and incarceration, something he is forced to come back to, even after reflecting on their upbringing.. Obviously he misses his brother and it is his incarceration that has been taking the largest tole on José’s own mental health, as expressed prior (see Section A). In Maricopa County, Arizona (where Phoenix is located) Census-delegated Hispanics make up 31% of the state population, yet make up 37% of the state prison population.15 With Census-delegated Hispanics comprising just under 1/3 of the general population, yet making up 60% of those admitted for simple non-violent possession.16 José’s brother being a victim of this same system is then not a coincidence. It’s part of his geographical existence; the battle of his body

15 “Arizona's Imprisonment Crisis: Part 2.” FWD.us. Accessed October 9, 2019. https://www.fwd.us/ news/arizona-imprisonment-crisis-part-2/.

16 “Arizona's Imprisonment Crisis: Part 2.” FWD.us. Accessed October 9, 2019. https://www.fwd.us/ news/arizona-imprisonment-crisis-part-2/.

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in that space. Those who are targeted often come from lower-income backgrounds, making the process of finding a lawyer who is affordable almost impossible. José’s expresses his frustration with this system, as it appears that poverty itself has been criminalized, thus making his life and environment a criminal one by nature of association.

There’s gotta be another way…

In bars 18-20 José reflects on different, but related memories from his upbringing.

18

I swear there’s gotta be another way

19

They’re getting money fast- boy I’m talking ándale 17

20

Moving weight 18 up out the crib where my nana stay,

21

Iv’e found these streets ain’t sweet, there ain’t no lemonade

José: “Growing up, seeing all this shit happening..I’m also seeing my uncles selling drugs and getting money. They Section

K

don’t have as many kids, they’re cool, they would pick us up when we were younger and do shit with us. My uncles would buy us clothes, buy us shoes- having us looking fly and shit, we would stop by their homies house, and do a little quick shit. I eventually caught on to what they were doing. Like, ‘why do my uncles have nice ass rims?’ They were ballin’. They were selling drugs- getting money fast.”

José touches on the duality of the environment he grew up in. As he watches drug usage plague his community; his mother caught in the crossfire; he is also witnessing his uncles capitalize on other people’s dependency (including his own mother), and making money quickly as a result. He grew accustom to watching this behavior, and remembers not only the material possessions his uncles acquired from their business, but also the gifts him and his siblings received as a result. He remembers his views on drug usage being shaped directly by these memories of his uncles.

17 “Àndale” means “Come on!” in Spanish 18 “Weight” refers to drug product

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José: "There would be times when we got new shoes and my uncle would say we had to stop at his friends house real quick. We would be in someones garage chilling, and they would start smoking while we were in there. And I Section

L

was like “well, smoking is probably okay”. We got new shoes…they were also doing the drugs. My uncles would even sell to my mom and smoke with her. I would see my uncles smoke meth and be financially stable. They were making money- It wasn’t okay, but that was their lifestyle. At a young age, I knew there had to something better than that. Mostly because one of my uncles ended up in prison and the other one ended up with and addiction as bad as my moms. He ended up in a mental institution.”

José expresses that there has to be an alternative to the cycle he is watching his uncles, mother, brother, and community fall into. This is something he actualized when he was younger, witnessing as the outcomes of these behaviors unfolded before his eyes. It’s through this same outlook that he is able to translate his story; a story familiar to many others, so articulately. Thus, making him the alternative to cycle, embodied through his work as a writer, poet, and rapper.

Crack a back, then relax, roll me up an eighth…

24

Where I’m from my people busy fighting everyday

25

For our freedom for the boys in blue who separate,

26

Deporting families, shooting children- time to regulate

27

This kind of shit is fucking with my mental state

28

Ain’t no heaven so I’m trying to find a better place,

29

Crack a back, then relax, roll me up an eighth

The scope of my analysis of José’s lyrics is not restricted to narratives of drug usage and response alone, but is also dependent upon the understanding of the environments where these narratives live, and how they influence and contribute to such social conditions. It is through José’s lyrical clarity about his own environment that allows his audience to get a glimpse of the space his body inhabits everyday.

Section

M

Jose: “In my neighborhood you would see families lined up on the sidewalk and ICE outside their house. They were getting deported…you hear of kids getting choked out, things happening behind the cameras and shit like that. You hear about it, you see it on news, they try to cover it up in the best ways..we’ve had our share of losses,

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Section

M (cont.)

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right now we have a lot of families that are separated. Little babies sleeping in cells. A lot of this is not talked about. It’s just swept under the rug.”

It is far too common for Mexican American perspectives to be excluded from the mainstream dialogue, and likewise the contemporary hip-hop genre. While issues of police violence and drug usage are common motifs touched upon in Hip-Hop, the same cannot be said for commentary regarding deportation, xenophobia, treatment of children and families at the southern border, etc.

Further research should be conducted to figure out exactly how many hip-hop songs have provided useful Mexican American, or Latinx perspectives on issues the way in which José has so thoughtfully articulated. It is through understanding these personal narratives that we can better understand the issues our communities are facing, who they are effecting, and where these narratives can be found for future research.

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Supporting Materials On selling drugs: José: “…drugs are quick money though. You don’t have to waste an hour to make a hundred. It’s fun until somebody gets caught up, shit goes left, someones taking a charge and you’re not gonna see them anymore.

And then you’re like what I am I gonna do? What do I wanna do? What do I want to be? I don’t want to be like this guy again. It can cost you your life, one thing can go wrong, you can get robbed and lose your life. Or end up in prison. It's not worth it. Quick money gets you in trouble.”

On the role of the Chicano voice: José: “My message is for all crowds. But sometimes I’m speaking directly to my people. The same way Kendrick (Lamar) speaks to his people. It’s to motivate people. My message is for Chicanos, because that’s what I am but anybody can listen to my music and take something from it.”

On perceptions of Mexicans (& Mexican Americans) in American society: José: “We’re called bad, rapists, killers, illegals…but Mexicans, we don’t have much. We need to be louder. We had Cesar Chavez and other people try to create a way for us but we need to continue that fight. I see trends of people going to other cultures, or trying to copy other cultures. We’re slowly losing our own. We need to come together and make something happen. I’m not trying to be no activist though. I’m just trying to give my feelings about what’s been going on.”

On charity & evangelism: José: “People would come to our house to give us gifts, clean our house and help us out and shit- it was crazy.

They were church folks, and they would talk to me about God and all these things..ask me if I believe in him, “have you seen him?” It was hard for me to believe because of what we were going through, it was like yeah if there is God then why aren’t we living like this person or that person. And I had friends that were wealthy at the time, so I was starting to realize all this shit.”

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“Arizona's Imprisonment Crisis: Part I.” FWD.us. Accessed October 9, 2019. https://www.fwd.us/ news/arizonaimprisonment-crisis-part-1/.

2.

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8.

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9.

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14. Tovares Raúl Damacio. Manufacturing the Gang: Mexican American Youth Gangs on Local Television News.

Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2002.

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