They could offer me a couple mil but I’ma turn it down /
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams” (2024)
I know how they work they’ll turn me up but they gon’ turn me out /
Fruits of my labor, get the juice and then they’ll throw me out /
I am infinite, I’m not a trend and I don’t need the clout
“So if Complex called and was like…”
I guess you don’t really know what you’d do when millions of dollars are wagged in your face until someone wags millions of dollars in your face.
When my friend asked me the question above after listening to “In Your Dreams,” it felt different than it did writing these morally bulletproof raps by myself. Not that anyone would want to buy Across The Culture web properties anytime soon, but having an ethical stance on a potential issue with success before it arises is setting me up to either be a disappointment or a model of integrity (and a bit arrogant either way).
To date (3/5/2024), the “In Your Dreams” music video has 45 views 10 days after release. So if Across The Culture or my work as Zander, an American become anything noteworthy and I do end up turning down labels, or a Complex, or Authentic Brands Group, niggas know it was always that.
Shoutout my wife. Every time I’ve asked she’s always told me it was my decision to make. I’m stubborn and selfish, but she knows there are principles there. Something real.
Had to make Chipotle bowls two meals, i don’t need to now
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams”
I’m still frugal. Halving paper towels, picking pennies off the ground, you get the vibe.
I wrestled with the idea of home ownership earlier in our relationship. Marriage, money, and kids changed my perspective. I also had an internal dilemma after learning part of our CFP-prescribed financial strategy led us to unknowingly invest in Vanguard, you know, the investment company that is the root of all evil according to Tik Tok social scientists. I don’t say that to be dismissive — I actually appreciate the light being shed on BlackRock and ’em. But I’m not sure individual Americans are ready to admit they are complicit: in racism, wealth inequality, mass incarceration, our military-industrial complex, all of it. Speaking for myself, I pay taxes, I voted, I have a (small) retirement fund, a gas-fueled car, Meta accounts, and sometimes I buy Tyson chicken when options are limited despite seeing those horrendous videos.
I’m invested in America. Some of you might want to excuse it all as survival. It is! But people choose to busk on the streets of New York everyday. People choose to leave the country. People choose to play along. Not playing along is a world of pain…but so is this.
I can never power down, we can have the power now / Those in power prayin’ that you people never look around /
– Zander, an American, “In Your Dreams”
We are social animals, the power always in the crowd /
If we turn it up I guarantee you they can’t turn it down
So, if I can keep some greedy hands off my shit and make a living out of it, is that far enough out of the matrix? Maybe.