Rolling out the “krip hop army”: depictions of disabled solidarity and resistance in Kounterclockwise’s Whip

Abstract

People with disabilities working together to overcome oppression is a common theme in depictions of disabled people, featuring in works including the films Freaks and X-Men and the song Spasticus Autisticus. Indeed, collaboration between people with disabilities has been the foundation of the disability rights movement. This paper explores disabled solidarity and resistance as depicted in the film-clip to US-band Kounterclockwise’s song Whip. Set in a dystopian landscape, Whip explores police violence against black people with disability in the USA. Despite its fictional setting, Whip explores a real-life problem, and suggests its solution in the form of Leroy Moore and Krip Hop Nation. Although in reality Krip Hop Nation is a community of musicians with disabilities, in Whip they are a powerful, fully weaponised army defending their disabled brethren from evil. By mirroring the solidarity of the disability rights movement, Whip demonstrates the power of unity in the disability community.

Points of Interest

• People with disability often work together to fight for their rights. They helped to create the American with Disabilities Act in the USA and the Disability Discrimination Act in the UK.

• The films Freaks and X-Men and the song Spasticus Autisticus show people with disabilities working together to fight for their rights.

• The film clip of the song Whip by American band Kounterclockwise shows people with disabilities protesting police violence against black people with disability.

• Whip shows musician Leroy Moore as a super-hero leading the ‘Krip Hop Army’ to protect people with disability.

• In real life, Leroy Moore leads a group of disabled hip hop musicians called Krip Hop Nation.

• In their film clip, Kounterclockwise show us that when they work together, people with disability can change the world.

Keywords:

• disability
• music
• violence
• activism
• Krip Hop Nation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).