Real Name: Raphael Merriweathers Jr. Aliases: The Beat Mechanic, M.I.A, Raphael Merriweathers Jr., Ray 7 Inner City Detroit, birthplace of Detroit techno, a completely mutant hybrid form of music spawned by circumstances completely unique to Detroit. Some of these circumstances beautiful, full of life and soul; others, perceptual nightmares that become the norm. Is Underground Resistance a musical voice of these circumstances? UR presents one of these voices... The Unknown Soldier The homeless people that you see grubbing for food or seeking shelter are a major source of inspiration for The Unknown Soldier. Many of these people are indeed addicted to many of the all too available drugs, alcohol and vices that are present in inner city life. On the other hand, many of these people are Vietnam and Korean war veterans who were sent by America to defend democracy. Men and women who left Detroit unknowing of the horrors they were about to witness. Some of these horrors so intense they cannot be spoken about, so they remain in silence, controlled and contained by King Heroin, crack cocaine, and 5 o'clock. The Unknown Soldier, the son of a Korean war veteran heard many sounds of horror before his fathers transition. He smelled the stench of decay many years after the battles were fought. He has indirectly witnessed war's lunacy and paranoia decades after the events that caused them took place. He looks out his window only to see a ragged house full of vets with their fatigues on bravely struggling to survive. Trained to be self sufficient and too proud to ask anyone for help with a ghost that never goes away. The sounds of admiration, respect and bravery can be heard in The Unknown Soldier as well as the sound of chaos, frustration and violence that was and still is necessary for those without a voice to survive in hoods where the general population is too busy struggling for themselves to possibly give a fuck about what these people and what they went through represent. The Unknown Soldier is an electronic transfer for those who cannot be heard.
