Thank God for the federal government’s corruption and ruthlessness. Where would rap be without it?
Academy Award-winning film score composer Isaac Hayes [Shaft] says the government is guilty in the first degree with implementing policies that created a fruitful environment for rap to find its footing. “A certain administration which I won’t call by name took the arts out of the schools, and that left the brothers out on the street with nothing, so they went to the turntables and started rhyming. Then they had a way to express themselves, and that’s the birth of hip-hop,” he said.
When it comes to political rap, sometimes the most interesting things are not being said by rap artists. “The thing about hip-hop today is it’s smart, it’s insightful. The way they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable,” Barack Obama, who’s presidential campaign enjoyed the support of the likes of Ludacris, once said.
John F. Kerry, who ran for the Democratic nomination eight years prior to Obama, once was bold enough to forward this social teaser: “I’m fascinated by rap and by hip-hop. I think there’s a lot of poetry in it. There’s a lot of anger, a lot of social energy in it. And I think you’d better listen to it pretty carefully, ’cause it’s important.
Oh, trust, Mr. Kerry, people are listening, just not the right ones. When “F— the Police” detonated over the airwaves and rudely interrupted the flow of suburbia, none other than the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a stern letter of objection to the music mavericks who authored the jolting joint, NWA. Of course, once that letter became public, the counterculture and the young whites became fascinated with NWA and their sales tore a hole in the roof.
Again, thanks to the government.
There is no exactly known origin of political rap, but many point to the Reagan-era “Messenger” by linguistic lions Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five as a cultural influencer of the subgenre. “I’m close to the edge, I’m trying not to lose my head. It’s like a jungle sometimes, makes me wonder how I keep from going under.”
What are some other profound political statements made over the years?
