A Peek Into The Mind Of An Inner City Music Composer

Inner city experimental music composition from the perspective of a black man born in Los Angeles during the hight of gang activity, police brutality and the birth of crack laid down a turbulent foundation that would later influence me as a musician and visual artist.
Most of the world only recognizes music composers that come from a classical music background and is traditionally a learned art and tradition that is associated with the collegiate world. As I was growing into my teen years
I started studying clarinet in the school orchestra and I was having trouble connecting to the pieces of music we were learning. The energy of the movements, the lack of poly-rhythms and drums and regimental structure and rules were things I just didn’t resonate with. I wanted to mix in other genres and ideas that would not only breathe life into these compositions but would also give young musicians a chance to get bit by the composing bug and get out of the scholastic mindset of memorizing and regurgitating. I grew up in a household of creative innovators that always encouraged us to create and contribute to the planet and culture.

(Lotus by Shiro Fujioka / hand-cut stenciled sand and spraypaint on wood)

Growing up in America is challenging when you’re a black kid,
our education system only taught us about white culture and the only time we would learn about black culture was the perspective of slavery. The Regan administration flooded the inner city with crack and guns, and other tactics to not only erode the inner city but also fund wars.

What does all of this have to do with music composition?

Music composition is supposed to tell a story and take the listener on a journey. If you are a composer you are the tour guide of this journey. My journey is unique, my stories have not been told. The turbulent environment didn’t push me to live a life of crime or perpetuate ignorance... when the lure of joining my neighborhood gang was at an all-time high, I became a Buddhist and joined a youth organization that kept me out of the hood, around the same time my local school closed down and the children in our neighborhood were bussed to an affluent side of town. This is when I got to see there are two totally different versions of Los Angeles. The friends I made from the other side of the tracks exposed me to a different culture… the culture of abundance and the way you move when you have a promising future. I also started listening to all kinds of music while exposing my white friends to Hip Hop and inner-city culture. It was an excellent exchange of energy and the youth worked out most of our cultural differences within' the first semester, I wish I could say that about the country I call home.

(Shiro Fujioka- Whispers In The Wind)

I find inspiration in all of these experiences, they assist me in picking a tone of a piece, the melodies I use, they play of harmony and dissonance are all reflections of my experiences.

I feel it’s important to share my story given that I’m an instrumental musician, Blacks that don’t fit into the limited media standards don’t have many outlets to be uncompromised multifaceted artist. If you don’t check the rapper, athelete or actor box you pretty much live in the same realm with unicorns.

I figured I would share the behind the scenes walk of an inner city modular synth composer / visual artist.

Peace and love
Shiro Fujioka