3 Dope Songs from Public Enemy’s Landmark Album Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age

public_enemy_-_1994_muse_sick-n-hour_mess_ageAugust 23 2013: 19 years ago today Public Enemy released their fifth album Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age..For the most part the album did pretty well, but not as well sales wise as previous PE albums. Personally it was one my favorite joints and too me their most political. For the group it was a turning point as some prominent music critics unfairly bashed the group for not being ‘street enough‘ because they didn’t have a a gangsta sound and that they were too old..

At that time Warren G and the G Funk Era was in full swing and if you weren’t doing that you were rocking a pair tims and a hoodie and doing videos standing in a sewer to reflect how hardcore you were.

Younger heads who were just getting into Hip Hop were getting attached to artists like Nas, Hobo Junction, Organized Konfusion and Outkast who all dropped debut albums that year.

The music had moved away from political messages to one of making  CREAM ala Wu-Tang who dropped their debut album the  year before or being Gucci Down to your socks  ala Biggie who dropped his debut album ‘Ready to Die‘ that year..

PE was caught in the middle but stuck to their guns and their message which I think has stood the test of time..
Below are 3 songs that stood out for me on that album..

Public Enemy  So Watcha Gonna Do Now?..

Long before we even thought of Barack Obama or a Black president, PE does a song that depicts one . Its re-enactment of what befell President John F Kennedy in Dallas back in 1963 except in this song PE gives it a different twist at the end.  The lyrics themselves speaks out about gangsterism..I wish they had shown the video more back when this track came out..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhKqsIe283c

Public Enemy  Ain’tNutting ButterSong

I love how Public Enemy took a traditional patriotic song and flipped it on its air with a Jimmy Hendrix type vibe. The lyrics are searing as they go in on the contractions of America, the flag and what she says she stands for vs what she actually does with people of darker hues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3G3tpB5sdY

Public Enemy Godd Complexx

I really appreciated this song when it came out and played it all the time.. They did a cover to the Last Poets controversial spoken word piece the White Man’s Got a God Complex. Here Flavor Flav does the duties and sticks to the words of the original song while riding a funky beat..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyBlV1CV8fM

I figured I’d let folks peep the original joint from the Last Poets in case you never heard it before today..

Last Poets The White Man’s Got a God Complex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zLGE1oLm8A

Def Jeff God Complex

As much as I like the God Complex song by PE, I gotta note they weren’t the first to flip the song.. A few years earlier LA based rapper Def Jeff who was on Delicious Vinyl reworked the song. Here he skillfully sampled the Last Poets while simultaneously riding over the beat to Gil Scott Heron‘s classic jam ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfOmXmiNtAM

Public_Enemy_-_Muse_Sick-N-Hour_Mess_Age-backPublic Enemy Thin Line Between Law and Rape..

This has got to be the most chilling song on the album as Chuck D talks about the horrific legacy of slavery and colonization where our our sisters, land and resources were routinely raped raped. Chuck wrote the following:

“It’s A Thin Line Between Law and Rape deals with the fact that the image of rape and crime has been thrust upon Black symbols here in America and throughout the world. America and the Western world have raped entire races of people of their name, God, religion, culture, and language, have raped continents of their resources and progeny, and have raped our women, which is the main reason Black people are so many different shades today. The laws of America allowed it, so I titled the song It’s A Thin Line Between Law and Rape.”

They employ reggae vocals of Colin Rochester who does a haunting hook at the end. He lived around the group In Roosevelt, Long Island. He appear edon Terminator X‘s solo album. Chuck noted that Colin was deported back to Jamaica shortly after the album was released.

 

 

Is Eminem Being Unfairly Targeted for His Homophobic Lyrics Because he’s White?

There’s a lot of buzz around Eminem‘s recent 60 Minutes appearance with Anderson Cooper. On the surface it was a good look as there’s no denying Em’s popularity. He’s now seen as an OG of sorts who has finally returned to the scene after being away for a couple of years recovering from a series of life altering mishaps.

We all know about the tragic night club shooting of his best friend Proof (Detroit’s un-official mayor ) a few years back. We also know that Eminem almost overdosed and had been hooked on drugs. According to him he’s been 2 years sober. Like it or not when polled Eminem’s name frequents cracks the top 5 in one Hip Hop’s greatest rapper ever.  His delivery, controversial subject matter and clever word play has earned him his respect. However, what caught people’s attention during the 60 Minutes interview was his remarks around homophobic and misogynistic lyrics. When asked about them and the controversy that emerged here’s what Em is quoted as saying;

“I felt like I was being attacked. I was being singled out. I felt like, ‘Is it because of the color of my skin? Is it because of that you’re paying more attention?’ There are certain rappers that do and say the same things that I’m saying and I don’t hear no one say anything about that.”.

You can peep the full interview here..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFGVXtwc-Ak

Em’s remarks raised more than a few eyebrows and left us with a few things to think about. The name of the game as he well knows is when you’re trying to make noise to blow up a spot, unless you have a compelling story to tell or exemplary skill sets, the best way to bring attention to yourself or an issue is to kick up dust and cause controversy.

This is what Eminem did. He bursted on the scene 10 years ago causing controversy. It wasn’t just his shocking lyrics but also some of his on and off stage antics. For example, I recall on one of his early visits to the Bay he got into a heated exchange with a radio host on KALX (UC Berkeley’s radio station) who thought he was a bit rude and over the top. The host Sister Tamu wound up breaking his record on the air. Word of that incident spread quick.

A few months later (may 1999) while doing a concert at the Fillmore a fight broke out. Em attempted to quell things only to jump off the stage with crew in tow to pummel a heckler who he felt wasn’t showing the proper respect. What appeared to be an isolated incident was later revealed to be something that somewhat staged as similar incidents of Em jumping off the stage to confront hecklers occurred at other concerts including Las Vegas a few days later. Again controversy sells and Eminem early on was a spark plug for it…

It should come as no surprise that folks wishing to get a message across would not attach themselves to his missteps to get a message out. This has been a tried and true method used by organizations like PETA when it comes to animal abuse and obviously other organizations like GLAAD who went after Eminem to bring attention to homophobia. But with that being said, while Eminem has come under fire, he has never been economically blocked at least not in the ways we seen other artists who dared cross certain lines.

For example, take reggae artist Buju Banton.. Here’s a guy that recorded an over the top homophobic song back in 1988 when he was 15. The song  ‘Boom Bye Bye‘ was about the murdering  gay man and became a huge hit and an anthem of sorts. 20 years after this song was recorded folks never let up him. They protested, got his tours canceled. Folks have and continue to go all out on Buju.  Eminem.. yeah he got heat from GLAAD and other organizations, but his concerts were never cancelled even here in San Francisco where activist have shut down Buju everytime his name is even mentioned.

This has gone on even after Buju has gone on to do positive music and explained his immaturity and ignorance at 15. He is now considered a strong voice for Jamaica. The protests have gone on even after he was the first to set up program Willy to help prevent the spread HIV and AIDs in Jamaica. Prior to that using a condom was seen in a bad light the same way homosexuality was. Buju took those steps and has still been dogged.

Em still performed his over the top songs even after public apologies and a show of reconciliation with singer Elton John who is outspoken on Gay Rights. Em was still embraced even though he does many of those ‘offensive’ songs. In addition when Eminem is mentioned it’s rarely with the tag Anti-gay rapper vs Buju who is frequently cited in the press as Anti-gay singer.

Def Jeff

Now one may look at Buju and say his song was an anthem that sparked violence and hence deserved to be protested. Thats understandable on a number of levels so lets look at  a few other less egregious examples..  I recall back in the early 90s ago LA rapper Def Jeff coming to San Francisco to perform at Club Townsend. He attempted to try to get the crowd hyped  by first yelling ‘All the Ugly People Be Quiet’. When he got a luke warm response he then yelled ‘All the People who got Aids be Quiet‘. To put it simply, after he yelled those remarks it was a wrap.

Even though Def Jeff got a resounding response from the audience that night he soon found himself blacklisted by SF club owners. Many who heard about his remarks refused to book him. Years later, he admitted at that time, he was young and just ignorant to both the horrors of HIV and AIDs. He was also oblivious to the type of anger and scapegoating directed at the Gay community. At that time AIDs was more associated with white Gay males as opposed to folks in the inner city and Jeff was simply insensitive. He apologized, but to know avail. He hasn’t been in the Bay to perform since.

A few months prior to Def Jeff’s remarks, Turbo B the lead rapper for the group the Snap which had the mega hit song ‘The Power’, made some unsavory remarks about Gays and AIDs and caused a huge uproar. Turbo later apologized for his ignorance, but it was all but a wrap for him and his career pretty much went down the tubes from there. It didn’t help that the Snap had a large following in the Gay community. Folks weren’t gonna allow those anti-gay remarks to go.

Cypress Hill

Also around that time a more visible and publicized incident occurred with Cypress Hill who were performing at the Bill Graham Civic Center during the Soul Assassins Tour. The show featured House of Pain, Cypress Hill and a number of other acts. Someone in the opening act acting as hype man yelled out to the crowd ‘”All the fags in the House Be Quiet’. There was a loud response from all the straight males who of course responded to the call.

The next day, angry members of the Gay community reacted and targeted radio giant KMEL which gave away tickets for the show. Letters and phone calls came in and the end result was Cypress Hill was banned from airplay on the station. The group quickly issued a letter of apology, even though they weren’t onstage at the time. The logic from the Gay protestors was that they were responsible for the insensitivity of the acts they brought along with them, hence they needed to be banned. The Cypress Hill radio boycott lasted for almost a year. It wasn’t lifted until they actually wound up doing a syndicated Soul Assassin’s radio show on our station.

Now again let’s not get things twisted, anyone advocating for the beating, killing or even the discrimination of gays or any ethnic group is bad news. And folks on the receiving end of those insults and threats have every right and should express their anger and outrage. If that outrage includes protests and shutting folks down, so be it. All of us have a responsibility in being aware of boundaries that exists within certain communities.But bringing this back to Eminem, he was given huge passes and in many ways embraced. Em’s angry lyrics have more often than not been praised by publications like the UK Guardian and Spin Magazine for expressing and reflecting the angst and anger felt by many within the white working class.

So is Eminem a target for his homophobic and misogynist lyrics because he’s white? Hardly. It’s more likely that he’s a target because he’s enormously popular. I think many of these organizations learned that they can only go so far in bringing attention to these issues going after lesser known artists. Hence  as long as Eminem is in the spotlight he allows a light to be shined on these issues. Hence anything he says will be scrutinized for an opportunity to weigh in. The attacks on Eminem are not the same as the shut downs and demonization of entire groups of Black and Brown folks for anti-social ills.

When Def Jeff and Turbo B got clocked all of rap was called into question. When Buju Banton was called all of Jamaica and its culture was called into question. When Em was called out it began and stopped with him. We didn’t make the connection with Eminem being a white man born in the US who may be part of and ultimately influenced by a culture that includes everyone from conservative politicians to overzealous Evangelists who routinely bash the gay community. Bottomline in spite of his hard upbringing there are major institutions in this country that have afforded Eminem a few priviledges he himself might not recognize and certainly didn’t acknowledge during his interview

something to consider

-Davey D-

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5 Videos to Make Your Day: Michael Franti, Jessica Celious, Def Jeff, The Poetess, Jasiri X

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Hey World (Don’t Give Up Version) music video from the Bay Area’s Michael Franti from his new album ALL REBEL ROCKERS! The words and imagery are very moving... Gotta wonder why we don’t hear songs like this too much on our urban outlets especially since its a huge hit overseas.

This is one of my favorite artists-Jessica Celious out of Los Angeles. She’s a a dope soul artist who put out a good album called Melodies of Life. She has a lot of great songs on that joint and finally a nice video to go along with one of the album’s songs Love Crimes.. We need to pay attention to this sista and her work..

Jasiri X return with a dope video that tells the story of the connection between Afghanistan and war, leading to her intimate yet volatile relationship with the United States. Afghanistan (HerStory) is produced by Kai Roberts and directed by Paradise the Arkitech of X-Clan.

This is a classic joint from my homegirl the Poetess.. It was one of the first records that addressed the issue of domestic violence.. It features Poetess, Def Jam, Almighty from Body of Soul and Kool G Rap.. dope record.. Sorry the video is disabled.. its typical of these backward record companies.. One day they’ll get it.. Thats why it only has 3000 views

Since we rocked Love’s Hurt which was produced by Def Jeff, I figured lemme toss in one more video.. See if y’all recall this joint from back in the days  called ‘Black to the Future

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Def Jeff