_____ _ |_ _| |__ ___ | | | '_ \ / _ \ | | | | | | __/ |_| |_| |_|\___| _____ _____ _____ | | __| _ | _____ | | | __| |_| | |_____| |__|__|_____|_____| ______ __________ / ____ \ _____ |____ ____| ____ _ | / \_|___ |\ /||__ __||\ | || | _ | \ |\ | | | | / \ | \_/ | | | | \ | || |/ _ \ | ~ / | \ | | | | _| O | | |\_/| | _| |_ | |\ \| || | __/ | |\ \ | |\ \| | | \____/ \___/ |_| |_||_____||_| \__||__|\___\ |_| \_\|_| \__| \______/ E-MAG -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- The Neo-Comintern Installment 10 We are The 5th International March 31st, 1998 Editor: The BoSS MC Assistant Editor: Komrade B Writers: BMC -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- THE CONTINUING RAP N' ROLL SAGA -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- Featured in this installment: A to The Motherfuckin K- BMC -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- A TO THE MOTHERFUCKIN K By BMC I was digging through my old school rap tapes the other day, and I came across a jewel callled "Squeeze The Trigger" by Ice-T. This song was among the first "Gangsta Rap" songs, and it teaches an important lesson. It defends gangsta rap in ways that are still relevant to today's gangsta rap. More importantly, Ice-T not only says Fuck Tha Police in this song. In 1987, The Ice had more to say. He speaks out on a wide variety of government issues, making a solid case for himself and in the defence of the crime rhyme. Halfway through the song, a mock news report takes the critisms of rap music to another level: "Violence erupts at a Los Angeles hip hop concert; rap music blamed fro violence. Violence erupts at a New York hockey game; hockey blamed for violence. Violence breaks out at a European soccer game; soccer blamed for violence. Violence breaks out at a nuclear peace rally; peace blamed for violence. The point is that the government will find a scapegoat for any failure by pointing the finger at little groups whose ideals are never explained to the masses. Back to the giddy as the song starts: "yo evil what's up man? They be buggin, they wpn't play our records on the radio, man, say we violent man, they need to look at the news, you know what I'm sayin? 'smight need to kill that noise! Man what you doin with that up under your shirt? Ahh man, it's time we put some head out, word! Let's get busy E, come on homeboy, squeeze the trigger." Ice-T speaks powerfully, though through broken english. He unleashes his almost brutally raw emotions upon anyone who has ventured into the world of the rhyme syndicate. This quote sounds like an Emcee and a DJ going out to perpetrate a random act of violence, but as you hear the lyrics, Ice-T smoothly changes your mind and directs your mind toward the real injustice. Intelligent Ice shows the meaning of Antidisestablishmentarianism and Communist ideology through lyrics which touch and dwell on many topics, such as these: It all starts off as a braggadocious act of senseless violence: "Rampage on stage. My crew's in a rage. Found the uzi but missed the 12 gauge" Suddenly the previously mentioned weapons are exposed as metaphors: "My mind's a riot gun, there ain't none bigger. 'Bout to unload the ammo- E squeeze the trigger" "They say I'm violent, they should watch their TV" Ice-T defends his art with the valid point that his music is a reflection of the social situation, not vice-versa, as many critics and christians have tried to argue. At this point, the listener understands "life in LA ain't no cup of tea", and perhaps pointing the finger at rap was just a red herring to throw off the zealots who need to protest something. The question is, who were the people who dove into the face of gangsta rappers? "Has it ever occured to you the president may be the one who wants you dead? Was the government trying to save the ears of children from profanity, or were they trying to clean up this raw news before we white middle class folks became aware of the gang and drug epidemics that the government fuel, not fight? Why does the government promote hard times in ghettos? Why do they try to crush the black proletariat's right to express an SOS to the masses? If the masses heard this music, there might be cause to protest and demand equality for all. The government of the USA has been found guilty of unlawful inprisonment through poverty, censorship of art, and is now trying to cut off the message, the scream for help. The message from one prole to the world, from Ice-T to you. "Paid my dues to the streets, took my hard knocks, disrespected by snobs" "Like a panther I prowl, like a lion I growl, learn to see behind my back like the head of an owl" "cops hate kids, kids hate cops, cops kill kids with warning shots. what is crime and what is not? what is justice? I think I forgot!" "No matter the lies we all know who's wrong Homeless sleep on the city streets Waitin to die with nothing to eat While rich politicians soak their feet In the pools at their ten million buck retreats People hate people for color of face No one had a choice in the race we were placed A brother in Queens was beaten and chased Murdered cold in the streets, a goddamed disgrace Just because of his race his life went to waste And not one went to jail when the court heard the case Justice or corruption? it's all interlaced How can you swallow this? I can't stand the taste!" It's hard to say exactly how much Ice knew about the class struggle, but it's obvious that he knows a damn lot about the end product. He relates to the more fortunate his struggle, and the struggle of millions like him in the fascist Amerika. One thing Ice-T knows is what the problems are and what needs to be changed as an end result. One thing I know is that he is right. The problems need to be solved by any means necessary. As for censorship and condemnation of rap, we can clearly see that this song is not profane. The true profanity is that these lyrics, unfortunately, are not fiction. These crimes against man come true, and the message is stopped more times than it goes free. It is impossible to understand the transformations that Ice-T has gone through in the last 11 years, but when Ice-T succomed to the whims of "the powers that be", a true champion and hero of the underlying Communist nation was lost. I will now end my review with the immortal words the Ice wove at the finale of Squeeze the Trigger: Most MC's today ain't got nothin to say. A to the mother fuckin K! -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- ___________________________________________________ |THE COMINTERN IS AVAILIABLE ON THE FOLLOWING BBS'S | |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| | BRING ON THE NIGHT (306) 373-4218 | | CLUB PARADISE (306) 978-2542 | | THE GATEWAY THROUGH TIME (306) 373-9778 | |___________________________________________________| |Website http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~ad357 | |Email The BoSS MC at manta1@hotmail.com | |___________________________________________________| -\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/- Copyright (c) 1998 Comintern Publications and The Boss MC All Rights Reserved. #10-3/31/98