African Survival and Creativity

1.      When and how did you first learn about the enslavement of African people (a/k/a slavery, the slave trade)?  I knew of it when I was really young around the age of six, seven, or eight. But I think I started to take more notice of it later on about 10, 12 when I started to learn more from books and films. I don’t remember much of the books though. I remember white kids telling me to go back to Africa. In English lessons they were showing us books of African culture, black kids with bones through their noses and stuff. I then found that there are issue surrounding being Black. 

2.      How did that knowledge affect you at the time?  Being from a school with only a handful of Black kids and everyone else white, 95% of the school being white was something I couldn’t ignore, in fact magazines and newspapers always showed images of African children being poor, calling Africa the Third World. They made it very disturbing and uncomfortable at times. There was never anything really good about Black people showed unless you were Michael Jackson, a big time artist. It affected me in many ways.

3.      How does your knowledge and awareness of the history of the enslavement of African people affect you as an artist now?  How does it influence your work?  It affects my work differently. Black people have always been able to make nothing into something. And that’s what my work does to this day. They still take what we create and use it as a disposable art and claim it was theirs in the first place. I suppose they look upon us as cats and that we’re only here to serve them.

4.      How have you personally experienced enslavement as an artist?  How have you personally experienced Emancipation as an artist?  It makes me laugh how I get looked up as an artist with people respecting the work I do.  But I feel that they look at us like we’re only here to entertain.  People have trouble using your artist name and want to call you your government name. They need to know that they are relating to me as an artist and that they are to call me by my artist name. People don’t know me to call me Lloyd. My name isn’t even Lloyd Lawrence. This is a slave name. I don’t even know my real name. My true name has been stolen. I don’t know what the ‘Lawrence’s’ have done in history. My name affects me.

5.      How can we as artists uplift our people, i.e. people of African heritage?  How can we as artists liberate our people?  How can we as artists unify our people?  As artists and as human beings, we cannot dwell too much on the past. We need to keep reminding ourselves about slavery because we are just repeating what generations have done before us.  Personally, I think my generation needs to move on from our spiteful past inflicted upon us by the white man, practicing and perpetuating the crab mentality. We need to inspire the development of families and support units. Support gives us strength to face the world. We can’t keep dissing white people, blaming white people alone. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. 

Through the turntables, I plan to feed the messages of inspirational Black and African Icons such as Jay Dilla (R.I.P) to the masses through speakers. Utilising the decks I motivate and alleviate people of their stresses and relieve them from their hectic day whilst they unwind in the clubs and remind others that there is a happier side of life.

Since 1991, Psykhomantus has been on underground flyers and posters for bigger soirees (DJ Pogo, DJ Skully, DJ Cash Money, Moorish Delta 7, Task Force, Ugly Duckling, Mark B & Blade, DJ Noise, The P Brothers, Skitz & Rodney P (Radio 1-Xtra), DJ Maseo (of De La Soul), Jehst, Skinny Man just to name a few…) or behind illustrious groups. Mantus landed a role in a theatre play in 2003 and 2006 (Kompany Malakhi’s “A Hiphopstory-Looking For The Prefect Beat”) becoming the musical director for it too. Psykhomantus has over ten years of experience as a Dee Jay, and has been collecting records since childhood. Having a deep rooted and diverse background in music has given Mantus the ability to amaze his crowds by manipulating or restructuring a classic record.