“When you declare certain things are NOT FOR SALE; your morals, integrity, loyalty... well that comes at a cost, having now set expectations. With that in mind you must be prepared to pay the highest price. CONSISTENCY.”

“NOT FOR SALE; Pays a High Price” is the First Collection from ‘IWE’ byTUKADANIEL that unravels the premise so often heard today proclaiming “my culture is not a commodity” fronted by the term CULTURE VULTURE. The question in all this, and one you could argue is far more complex than often asserted is “what is culture?”.

 

Too often we gloss over the relevance of the micro and how this plays a much more pertinent role in the building of culture. From the geographical locality of language and dress to the music and food of even a single or specific neighbourhood. We see culture arise and be largely influenced by what many often mischaracterise as trivial features that have no real significance to what they view is a much larger macrocosm of identity. Whether it is the birth of Hip-Hop in the Bronx, the Berlin Techno and London Garage Rave cultures of the 90s; to the King’s Road and Carnaby Street Punk revolution during the 70s or the inception of New York Hardcore on the Lower East Side in the 80s. All of these are a reference to how culture is so often misrepresented today as a product of racial idiosyncrasy’s, often discounting how regional and local microcosms often far outweigh the impact of race alone within CULTURE.