Not From Round Here

Boon, H. 2020. Not From Round Here. London

TitleNot From Round Here
CreatorsBoon, H.
Description

My song ‘Not From Round here’ is an autoethnographic documentary account of incidents that have taken place in my life, as recently as 2020. I argue that my skin acts as agent and used to facilitate the racial framing of my life where interactions with my skin are separate from me and forms part of the fascinated subtext of white people and their preoccupation with where I am from. When one considers agency and participation, my skin colour, even if functioning passively, will be an active agent in constructed arguments, used to appease ‘white’ concern.

My skin colour was the meeting of a white ‘daddy sperm’ mixing with a black ‘mummy egg’. Yet this biologically determined event has skewed and distorted my life, with my skin perceived by whites as a ‘useful’ precursor to discussions about belonging. It’s difficult for me to intuit where white people hail from based on skin colour as a single determining factor. I can’t tell whether a white person is from Leeds or Bristol; Sydney or New York. There are no distinguishing characteristics but in my case this operates differently. My skin is visible every day and is party to discussion with or without my permission; whether I am present or not. But this will still not tell you where I am from.

I recognise that I challenge racial constructs and the dividing lines between the binary, white and black, discourse (DiAngelo, 2019) favoured by whites. Whilst you want me to choose, I can’t. Either I deny the mother or deny the father. Either way I am expected to make a choice that is false, collapses all of the nuances and leaves me impoverished at the expense of assuaging white guilt and concern.

The included lyrics below illustrate a number of the areas identified by Ogbu (2004) which include a variety of discriminations both social and expressive, and intellectual denigration. Lipsitz (2018) also identifies a form of 'aesthetic pleasure' for White people in the transforming of suffering and pain of others for their entertainment. My argument is that the 'aesthetic pleasure' can also be extracted in the moment by creating tense, aggressive situations even within the casual application of the question 'where are you from?' and variants.

Bibliography

DiAngelo, R.J. (2019). White fragility: why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism. London: Penguin Books.

Lipsitz, G. (2018). The possessive investment in whiteness: how white people profit from identity politics Twentieth anniversary edition. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Ogbu, J. (2004). Collective Identity and the Burden of "Acting White” in Black History, Community, and Education. The Urban Review, 36 (1), . New York: Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Lyrics:

Title: Not From Round Here
Music and Lyrics: Hussein Boon

‘Ere mate, where you from?
Nah, you don’t get me!
Where you from?
Down the road,
Lewisham.
Nah, you’re not from round ‘ere are ya!
It’s like, you don’t really belong.

Oi!
You know what my mum calls you?
Half past eleven

‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
Are ya.

‘Cos you’re not from round ‘ere are ya.
What kind of food do you eat?
Do you eat with your hands or knives and fork?
Uhh!?
What’s that?
That’s the colour of your skin?
I thought it was dirt!
You should get some bleach.
Get some bleach.
If you put some bleach on it then you’ll be all white in the morning won’t ya!
Eh?
Do ya know what I mean!

‘cos you’re not from round here, are ya
Do ya know what I mean?
You’re not from round here.

What else have you got in ya?
Er, a bit of Viking
‘Cos I’m not from round ‘ere, am I!

Do not buy into their ideology
Even if they think you’re a criminal
Do not buy into their cultural displacement theories
Propagated by highly intellectualised individuals

‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
‘cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya

Because you think it,
It must be true
Because you think it,
It doesn’t hurt me
Because you think it,
It must be true
Because you think it

‘Cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya
‘Cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya

‘Cos you’re not from round ‘ere, are ya

You know I’ve heard that word, before
It’s the sort of word that creeps around my door
I’ve heard you before
You only say it quietly
When no one else is listening

KeywordsRace
Binary
Whiteness
Mixed Race
Everyday Racism
Workplace
Reification
Otherness
Agency
Autoethnography
White privilege
Year02 Aug 2020
Files
Rights
Hussein Boon
Media type
Audio
License
All rights reserved
File Access Level
Open (open metadata and files)
Place of publicationLondon
Web address (URL)https://soundcloud.com/hussein-boon/round-here

Related outputs

Songwriting, Visuality and Technological Determinism – Exploring Artistic Responses to Perceived Negative Effects of Streaming on Songwriting and Production
Boon, H. 2025. Forthcoming. Songwriting, Visuality and Technological Determinism – Exploring Artistic Responses to Perceived Negative Effects of Streaming on Songwriting and Production. in: The Handbook on Music Business and Creative Industries in Education Equinox Publishing.

An introduction to neo-Riemannian operations and their application in music production
Boon, H. 2024. An introduction to neo-Riemannian operations and their application in music production. in: Chapkanov, B. (ed.) Transformational analysis in practice: Music-analytical studies on composers and musicians from around the world Delaware, United States Vernon Press. pp. 301-320

Two Production Strategies for Music Synchronisation As Speculative Entrepreneurship
Boon, H. 2024. Two Production Strategies for Music Synchronisation As Speculative Entrepreneurship. in: Gullo, J.O., Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Paterson, J. and Toulson, R. (ed.) Innovation in Music: Cultures and Contexts Focal Press.

Deliberate Practice and Unintended Consequences in Music Production as Practice and Pedagogy
Boon, H. 2023. Deliberate Practice and Unintended Consequences in Music Production as Practice and Pedagogy. Innovation In Music Conference 2023. Edinburgh Napier University 30 Jun - 02 Jul 2023

The Implications of Loraine James’s Production Approach as Real-time Production Performance Practice
Boon, H. 2023. The Implications of Loraine James’s Production Approach as Real-time Production Performance Practice. Practice Research in 21st Century Music. University of West London 20 May 2023

In The Future
Boon, H. 2023. In The Future.

Suzanne Ciani – The Diva of the Diode
Boon, H. 2023. Suzanne Ciani – The Diva of the Diode. Technoetic Arts: A Journal of Speculative Research. Volume 21 (Issue 2, Women in Art and Science), pp. 193-209. https://doi.org/10.1386/tear_00116_1

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Boon, H. 2023. Sonic Futures: Short Fiction Storytelling: Artificial Intelligence in Popular Music Studies . Westminster Annual learning and Teaching Symposium 2023. Marylebone 04 Sep 2023

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Boon, H. 2023. Alien power chords. The Sociological Review Magazine. (2023, June 6). https://doi.org/10.51428/tsr.tyjl5030

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Boon, H. 2023. Live Coding and Music Production as Hybrid Practice. Organised Sound. 28 (2), pp. 253-263. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771823000419

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Boon, H. 2023. Writing Popular Music Fiction. Short Fiction in Theory & Practice. 13 (1), pp. 37-51. https://doi.org/10.1386/fict_00072_1

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Boon, H. 2022. Working for the AI Man: Algorithmic Rents, Accumulation by Dispossession and Alien Power. London

Working for the AI Man: Algorithmic Rents, Accumulation by Dispossession and Alien Power
Boon, H. 2022. Working for the AI Man: Algorithmic Rents, Accumulation by Dispossession and Alien Power. DMRN+17: Digital Music Research Network One-day Workshop 2022. Queen Mary University London 20 - 20 Dec 2022

Cyborg Composers: AI as Collaborative Assistant, as Creator and as Competitor
Boon, H. 2022. Cyborg Composers: AI as Collaborative Assistant, as Creator and as Competitor. Library Music in Audiovisual Media - RMA. University of Leeds 15 - 16 Sep 2022

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Boon, H. 2022. Cyborg Composers: AI as Collaborative Assistant, as Creator and as Competitor. London

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Boon, H. 2022. Learning and Designing Sound Based Music: Enhancing Music Production Pedagogy in HE - Video. London

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Boon, H. 2022. Sound Based Music Design Demonstration. London

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Boon, H. 2022. Music Income, Self Authoring and the Digitally Mediated Career - Video. London

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Boon, H. 2022. Student and Tutor Life Worlds and Impossible Standards in Higher Popular Music Education. in: Powell, B. and Smith, G.D. (ed.) Places and Purposes of Popular Music Education: Perspectives from the Field Bristol Intellect. pp. 261-266

Learning and Designing Sound Based Music: Enhancing Music Production Pedagogy in HE
Boon, H. 2022. Learning and Designing Sound Based Music: Enhancing Music Production Pedagogy in HE . Equalise. The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance, London 08 Sep 2022

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Boon, H. 2022. In The Future . RIFFS Journal. Special Issue – Riffs ft. IASPM Canada.

Music Income, Self Authoring and the Digitally Mediated Career
Boon, H. 2022. Music Income, Self Authoring and the Digitally Mediated Career. Music and the University - History, Models, Prospects. City University 07 - 09 Jul 2022

Two Production Strategies for Music Synchronisation As Speculative Entrepreneurship.
Boon, H. 2022. Two Production Strategies for Music Synchronisation As Speculative Entrepreneurship. InMusic2022. Royal College of Music Stockholm 24 - 26 Mar 2022

Risky Business - Music Creator's Earnings In The Digital Era – A Discussion Of Comments
Boon, H. 2021. Risky Business - Music Creator's Earnings In The Digital Era – A Discussion Of Comments. London

Music Creator's Earnings In The Digital Era - A Discussion Of The Findings
Boon, H. 2021. Music Creator's Earnings In The Digital Era - A Discussion Of The Findings. London

The Space Between The Stars
Boon, H. 2021. The Space Between The Stars.

The Space Between The Stars - Parts 1, 2 and 3
Boon, H. 2021. The Space Between The Stars - Parts 1, 2 and 3. London

Using DAWs as modelling tools for learning design sound-based applications in education
Boon, H. 2021. Using DAWs as modelling tools for learning design sound-based applications in education. Journal of Music, Technology & Education. 13 (2-3), pp. 305-322. https://doi.org/10.1386/jmte_00028_1

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Boon, H. 2021. The Condition of My Existence. Riffs Journal. https://doi.org/10.34737/v4y82

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Boon, H. 2021. Improvising Songwriting and Composition Within A Hybrid Modular Synthesis System. in: Hepworth-Sawyer, R., Paterson, J. and Toulson, R. (ed.) Innovation in Music Future Opportunities London Focal Press. pp. 162-173

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Boon, H. 2020. Skyline Melody - Modular Synthesiser Proof of Concept. London

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Boon, H. 2020. Symbolic Violence (Critical Theory). London

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Boon, H. 2020. Modular Synth as Lab - Complexity and the Single Oscillator. London

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Boon, H. 2020. Simulating A Complex Oscillator - Patching Techniques and Walkthrough - Proof of Concept. London

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Boon, H. 2020. Improvisation Demonstration Number 1.

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Boon, H. 2019. Observations on the Utility of Square Waves and Their Applicability in Generative Melodic Applications. SEMPRE Autumn Conference. Bath Spa 08 - 08 Nov 2019

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Boon, H. 2019. Improvising Songwriting and Composition Within A Hybrid Modular Synthesis System. InMusic19. University of West London 05 - 07 Dec 2019

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Boon, H., Gooderson, M. and Hermes, K. 2017. Creativity, Collaboration and Workflow in Ableton. Truman Brewery 29 - 31 Jan 2021

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