The Life and Death of a Littleman : A Look at the Career of Marvin Sease

Many of you may be wondering who exactly Marvin Sease is. I know I was wondering when I was assigned to write about him. In an article featured on theloop21.com by Mark Neal titled, "As Nasty as He Wanted to Be: Remembering Marvin Sease," Neal gives a brief overview of the life and career of Sease. After reading that article I became extremely interested and saddened with the story of this musicians life. He was a little known artist with lyrics that parallels those of today's hottest hip hop and rap biggest names. The only problem is he died before ever making a name for his self in the mainstream music scene.


Marvin Sease was born in Blackville, South Carolina nearly 65 years ago. While being raised in Charleston he developed his style of music which drew on the southern influences of gospel, soul, and R&B. As a result he settled into the genre of Southern Soul and moved to New York to follow his dreams. With provocative lyrics and strong soulful instrumental background accompaniment it is hard to believe that he did not have as much success. One thing that Neal highlights in his article is that Sease's music never got played on the radio and was forced to live a life time on the "Chitlin Circuit." The "Chitlin Circuit" is comprised of small business and venues in the South that host southern independent black artist that have to gain popularity on their own. These artist work this circuit like Sease did in order to make a name for themselves and get their material noticed.


The sad part about this is that without the article from Mark Neal people like myself, my classmates, and those of you reading this may have never heard of Marvin Sease or known that he had ever lived to pass. I would have been oblivious to his story and his music. By writing his article Mark Neal has become the middleman Marvin Sease never had. Justifying and comparing his work to that of current and pass artist Neal is speaking on his behalf. He understand that there is a market and a purpose for Sease's music and is able to articulate those reason well. Maybe there was someone who spoke for see and help try and communicate to radio what was trying to accomplish with his music. What ever the case was radio kept his music from playing and stunted his career to barely existing.


Despite an extreme lack of mainstream radio support his hit songs like "Candy Licker" and "Ghetto Man" were still able to find favor amongst those familiar with the "Chitlin Circuit." It is also interesting that Neal credits Sease in his article for laying the foundation for newer artist that are forced to pursue the underground approach to the music business. If in fact people want to acknowledge that statement it would make his life and music all the more worthwhile.


R.I.P. Marvin Sease February 16, 1946 - February 08, 2011

Running From Yourself: Middle Class Black Youth and Living Abroad

In both Andrea Lee's novel "Sarah Phillips" and Stew Rodewald's film "Passing Strange," they tell the stories of confuse post civil rights black middle class young adults and how they come to understand their selves and their place in the world. Born in and after times of great struggle for African Americans in the United States these characters grow up in sheltered suburban homes with parents who are civil rights activists, teachers, doctors, ministers, and newly established middle class college educated parents who have created spaces of privilege and protection from knowing the majority of issues that concern race. After a few encounters that cause them to become aware of their race and difference, the characters begin to question their identities eventually leading them to search for the truth in themselves and the life that they have lived. Many personal issues arise out of their soul searching and travel but through their exploration of life abroad in European countries their experiences lead them to an inescapably deeper and concrete understanding of self and community.

In Lee and Rodewald's pieces it is quite obvious that traveling abroad does both strengthen and weaken the ties that bind young African Americans to the black community. Part of the characters, Sarah and Stew, journey in finding themselves is to remove their selves completely from the U.S. By leaving the country and fully immersing their selves in the cultures of other countries with new and different practices they both believe they will gain freedom and independence from the constraints of their own culture. This of course does not help them at first because it causes a slight increase in frustration and confusion within them and how they understand their situation. Eventually it allows for them to examine and appreciate their lives at home and the large investment their parents placed in them to live the best lives possible without restrictions or limitations based on their race. In "Passing Strange" Stew leaves home in search of his real identity and an unrealistic freedom that he never finds. In the process of coming to understand his appreciation of family, self, and the role of the community, he goes to Germany and Amsterdam which are two extreme opposite locations. There he finds two freedoms one that is too free and another that is militantly complex and calls for a truth a reality that he has not yet found. While in search of his song he discovers that the only thing he ever needed was to understand the love and openness that he only truly has in family and his larger family in his community. One important factor to notice in both pieces is that the characters both experienced being completely cut off from communicating with home. For their families this was an issue and definitely weakened the ties between them and their community. This also gave both characters a false sense of freedom and an ability to be disconnected with their old selves. To both characters being disconnected is exactly what they wanted but they soon find that they cannot escape who they are because they are not able to communicate with home. For Sarah Phillips she believes being in France will help define her but she soon learns she cannot escape America because at that time France is overflowing and seemingly obsessed with American culture. She finds America in her companions who travel there and try to emulate American speech and dress. She sees it in there entertainment and businesses with the opening of McDonalds. They also tease her about her origins and accent which leads her to realize the inescapable truth that she is who she is and she should never be ashamed of that. She also realizes that no matter how far she goes and how hard she tries she will never be able to change that part of her being. Like Sarah, Stew also realizes that in his attempts at recreating himself and shift in attitude and behavior he is only loosing himself more than before he left. By being honest with himself and through an argument with his lover he began to realize his mother only wanted him to be the best him he could be.

Both Sarah and Stew are future middlemen like described in Mary Pattilo’s ethnography “Black on the Block.” Their experiences and deeper understanding of self as well as their financial stability and enriched educational and social experiences provided by their parents are going to serve as tools that allow them to become effective leaders and workers for the black community. With age they will come to understand why their parents had them to be involved in certain activities and placed in certain environments with many different types of people. They will grow up and have a decent understanding of their community and better world view.