HIP HOP FANCY: PERFORMATIVE BLACK MASCULINITY,
FEMINISM, AND THE CLEAR TEXT OF ICE CUBE’S
DEATH CERTIFICATE
_______________
A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of
San Diego State University
_______________
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Arts
in
English
_______________
by
Christopher J. Bell
Spring 2016
iii
Copyright © 2016
by
Christopher J. Bell
All Rights Reserved
iv
DEDICATION
I dedicate this work to my mother, Rosie Lee Hancock, and to her mother and father,
Johnnie Bell Leggett and James Earl Leggett. This really is for you all who had the greatest
hands in raising me. God, rest their souls.
And to my daughter and to my two sons. Thank you and I love you. And to my dear
ex-wife, your co-operation with me throughout this lengthy process will never be forgotten.
And especially to the DJs, eMCees, breakers, and graffiti writers who keep hip hop
and hope alive.
And extra especially to all of my Heroes.
v
And as we might expect, the reader encounters the brutal diction of Gangsta Rap, but also its
leavening humor and parody. One finds instances of sexism and homophobia, but also
resistance to them. One finds words seemingly intended to offend, but also, sometimes, the
deeper meanings of and motives for this sort of conscious provocation. Rap’s tradition is as
broad and as deep as any other form of poetry, but like any other literary tradition, it contains
its shallows, its whirlpools, and its muddy waters. Our task as active, informed readers is to
navigate through the tributaries of Rap’s canon, both for the pleasure that comes from the
journey as readers, but also for the wisdom born of traveling to any uncharted destinations of
the mind.
—Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Respect to the emcees who did it on tape
For hip hop’s sake not a chase for papes
Now, rappers don capes like they’re some batmen
Rapping about disco—that ain’t What’s Happening!!
Reruns is happening like Raj and Dwayne
“Hey-hey-hey” all y’all sound the same
When was the last time one of those cats
Made a record that made the people clap?
Many moons ago when emcees needed skills
To eat emcees and pay the bills
In front of the crowd is where you showed your style
Not in the sound proof booth like they do now.
—Kris-is-Mackin
“Make the People Clap”
vi
ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS
Hip Hop Fancy: Performative Black Masculinity, Feminism, and
the Clear Text of Ice Cube’s Death Certificate
by
Christopher J. Bell
Master of Arts in English
San Diego State University, 2016
This document crafts a discussion of key components of performative black
masculinity while using them to bolster the idea of a “cool gangster” mode of black
masculine performance that is promoted in the “gangsta” rap works of Ice Cube. The effects
of “cool gangster” performative black masculinity on black women’s issues are explored
through the rap lyrics of Ice Cube during his days as a member of the seminal “gangsta” rap
group, NWA, and in his early work a solo artist. Hip Hop Fancy offers a clear text
transcription of the rap-album opus of Ice Cube’s Death Certificate. The rapped lyrics and
the spoken dialogue of every track of the 1991-issued compact disc are transcribed here to
facilitate this document’s use as a resource for literary criticism and textual study by the
author. Although it is not a verbatim account of the lyrics as rapped by Ice Cube, the text of
the lyrics transfer into print the substantial intent of the original Death Certificate language,
metaphors, similes and poetic narratives through combined understandings of Standard
English and Black Vernacular English. The idea is to mitigate the barrier to Death Certificate
concerning language that may keep some from it as a written text. This document also
provides notes to some of the original language of Death Certificate.
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. ix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................x
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1
2
PERFORMATIVE BLACK MASCULINITY AND ISSUES CONCERNING
BLACK WOMEN .........................................................................................................9
Cool Performance ..................................................................................................11
Black Feminism .....................................................................................................13
3
A SERIOUSNESS WITHIN OR WITHOUT THE PARODY:
RECOVERING ICE CUBE .........................................................................................19
Problems with Parody ............................................................................................20
Sexism and Black “Cool Gangster” Masculinity ...................................................23
4
THE CLEAR TEXT OF ICE CUBE’S DEATH CERTIFICATE...............................30
The Funeral ............................................................................................................35
The Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit ..............................................................................35
My Summer Vacation ............................................................................................37
Steady Mobbin’ ......................................................................................................41
Robin Lench ...........................................................................................................44
Givin’ Up the Nappy Dug Out ...............................................................................44
Look Who’s Burnin’ ..............................................................................................47
A Bird in the Hand .................................................................................................51
Man’s Best Friend ..................................................................................................53
Alive On Arrival ....................................................................................................54
Death ......................................................................................................................57
The Birth ................................................................................................................57
viii
I Wanna Kill Sam...................................................................................................57
Horny Lil’ Devil ....................................................................................................60
Black Korea ...........................................................................................................63
True to the Game ...................................................................................................64
Color Blind.............................................................................................................66
Doing Dumb Shit ...................................................................................................69
Us ...........................................................................................................................72
No Vaseline ............................................................................................................75
5
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................79
WORKS CITED ......................................................................................................................81
WORKS CONSULTED ..........................................................................................................84
APPENDIX ..............................................................................................................................86
LYRICS FOR FURTHER STUDY ...................................................................................86
ix
LIST OF FIGURES
PAGE
Figure 1. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted CD cover. ....................................................................18
Figure 2. Straight outta Compton. NWA. CD cover. (Clockwise from top) Ice Cube,
Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince. .................................................24
Figure 3. Death Certificate. CD cover. Priority. 1991. Collection of the author. ...................31
Figure 4. Death Certificate. Inner fold. Unite or Perish / Domestic Violence. Priority.
1991. Collection of the author. ....................................................................................32
x
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All thanks for the completion of this goes to God. After that, Joanna Brooks, Joseph
Thomas, Kimala Price, and Phillip Serrato are absolutely invaluable to the completion of this
document. You all have had patience with me and let me find my way, which is what you all
know is the only way that I would have it. I thank you from the deepest places of love and
honor and respect that a student can have toward ones who have led him well. I would also
like to extend a huge thank you to Edith Frampton and Anne Donadey for extending the
invitation for me to participate in the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network conference
of 2010. The genesis for Hip Hop Fancy began there. My warmest regards also go out to
Allida Allison, David Matlin and Lynda Koolish who all encouraged me throughout my
sojourn at San Diego State University. Also, to the late Laurel Amtower whose zeal for
Chaucer’s Middle English helped inspire my own quest to make non-standard dialects
intelligible. And, to all of the professors and faculty and staff in the Department of English
and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University, I appreciate you all. I am using
my breath now. The writing is going forward! Mary Garcia, you are one of the nicest and
kindest individuals I have ever had the pleasure of working with and I just want you to know
that your worth to me is invaluable and not the least unappreciated. Thank you all.
I cannot stress enough the importance of all of the family and friends whose names I
know, as they do mine, yet the sheer number of them makes the task of mentioning them all
here too great for me. I sincerely thank you all. You all have supported me through the ordeal
of life so that I could work on what you may now all read . . . finally! So if any one of you is
reading this now, then know that I mean you. All of you I do love although I sometimes have
difficulty showing it.
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This master’s thesis is the culmination of research that began after I participated in a
panel discussion for the Third Biennial International Conference of the Contemporary
Women’s Writing Network that was held in collaboration with San Diego State University in
July of 2010. It was during the question and answer period for the panel that I participated in
concerning the work of Women Performing Poetry Readings, Hip Hop and Mixed Forms
when I first experienced the difficulty of treating an individual song as if it were not part of
an artistic creation that I refer to as an album. At that early point in my graduate studies I
lacked knowledge of the academic framework to make a work of literary criticism of an oral
work from the hip hop tradition. However, that was merely part of my difficulties on that
day, for I was also unable to extrapolate from areas outside of the work that I had studied, in
this case, of Queen Latifah’s “Wrath of My Madness,” because I had not taken the complete
text of All Hail the Queen into consideration. The question and answer session that day
taught me that it was not adequate enough for me to perform literary critiques by using
snippets of hip hop text. In order to act in the capacity of a literary critic in hip hop studies I
would have to begin my job by subjecting an entire hip hop album to scholarly editing. This
would then allow me to glean an artist’s intention throughout the creative process of
recording that album, and to determine how the individual lines of a song’s recorded vocals
related to one another, to the project as a whole, and by extension, to other albums in a
rapper’s discography.
The fusillade of hip hop studies began to importune academic discourse with Tricia
Rose and Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. As author of
one of the first critical studies involving hip hop culture, Rose encountered a faculty that
considered her idea of a doctoral thesis on rap music “quirky” (xii). Committee members also
feared that rap music would fade from relevancy before she would finish her work. However,
2
Rose envisioned what members in the faculty did not: Black Noise makes it possible for
“other students of culture to deal head-on with the deeply contradictory and multilayered
voices and themes expressed in popular culture.” The number of texts with “enabling and
creative” theories devoted to hip hop studies has sprouted immensely from the stimulus of
Rose (xii). Hip hop studies now consists of texts that chronicle the hip hop generation’s
academic achievements.
Hip hop studies makes possible the decryption of the signified cultural productions of
hip hop. As Rose asserts: “Rappers are constantly taking dominant discursive fragments and
throwing them into relief, destabilizing hegemonic discourses and attempting to legitimate
counterhegemonic interpretations.” These sites of positional resistance are “crucial battles in
the retention, establishment, or legitimation of real social power” (102). To Rose, rap lyrics
become proofs against themselves when they “engag[e] in symbolic and intellectual warfare”
against oppressive apparatuses and, simultaneously, the lyrics promote patriarchal privilege
or expound homophobic or racist rhetoric (101). Nonetheless, rap lyrics that have been
barraged by heavy scrutiny in the past remain ripe for discourses of hegemony today. Rap
lyrics may arouse a community’s social sensibilities, but when the lyrics reinforce the sexual
domination of women, anti-Semitism, homophobia, or racism the contradictions in them
creates the discursive environment to call the artists to task for what they have said on the
mic. The future of hip hop studies, then, lies in committing the “polyvocal black cultural
discourse” of hip hop (Rose 102) to typographic (re)presentations and opening up the
literature for multifaceted, critical interpretation.
Through a critical textual study of Ice Cube’s Death Certificate, a work of hip hop
whose extant written copies are inadequate for literary criticism is made available for the
rigors of scholarly use. As one with a contrasting viewpoint envisaging a “dope album”—that
is—a work of hip hop “embodying everything that is hip-hop while mastering what matters
most: beats and rhymes” (Dyson and Daulatzai 3), it is essential for me to seek out an
additional exemplar work of hip hop dopeness. How does another album from the golden age
of hip hop’s cultural production exemplify what matters most? How do appreciation and
criticism and the interpretation of aesthetic merit in hip hop diverge within the coastal
bifurcation of hip hop consumption habits? Furthermore, how should the (re)presentation of
3
hip hop lyrics be adhered to a page? And ultimately, how does a rapper’s pre-existing body
of work influence the critical reception of a new cultural production from the artist?
Hip Hop Fancy addresses these and another major concern of mine that dates back to
2010 when I appeared in panel discussion concerning the work of Women Performing Poetry
Readings, Hip Hop and Mixed Forms. It became clear to me then that an intellectual
discourse drawing its conclusions based upon a rapper’s lyrics undermines its credibility to
attest to a rapper’s word-worthiness when most of the emcee’s wordiness remains alluded to
and eludes the pages of a literary text. To the best of my knowledge the lyrics of an entire hip
hop album have never been presented and treated as a cohesive unit. Moreover, individual
hip hop songs are seldom assessed in an entirety or as a part of an album’s unified whole.
The present work campaigns for the broadened incorporation of hip hop lyrics as the primary
evidentiary textual bases for hip hop studies and contributes to the body of sound
transcriptions of hip hop’s recorded vocal performances with a clear text transcription of the
opus from Ice Cube. It appears here as the result of meticulous substantiation through
multiple processes of authentication.
As a student of literary criticism in English and Comparative Literature and textual
criticism in the area of hip hop studies, converting the recorded lyrics of hip hop vocal
performances to text has always gone hand in hand with my critical interpretation of them as
most hip hop works remain unwritten—or at least, unscrupulously verified. Hip Hop Fancy
extrapolates a theoretical base for textual study from W. W. Greg’s “The Rationale of CopyText.” Greg’s intention for copy-text centers on what has been written via manuscript, but the
situation of hip hop leaves the scholar with a recorded vocal performance—to be listened to,
deciphered, and transcribed—in lieu of a traditional, written manuscript. As a result, the
determination of the substantives, governing the “essence” of “expression,” and accidentals,
relating to “formal presentation” (Greg 21), here defer to the orality of the artist’s album.
David Caplan, who is the Charles M. Weiss Chair in English and Associate Director of
Creative Writing at Ohio Wesleyan University, believes a “musical performance” “crafted”
of hip hop lyrics “seeks to be transcribed and considered as a silent text” (15). This work is
valuable because authoritative texts are the necessary foundations of literary criticism and the
critical analysis of texts. To date, general hip hop enthusiasts have made up for the lack of
transcript to hip hop’s orality by uploading textual renditions of hip hop lyrics to numerous
4
compilation websites across the internet. The works created in this process fall into Peter
Shillingsburg’s “entrepreneurship” and/or “commercial editing” categories (3) and do not
maintain the levels of accuracy, as written sources, needed to produce scholarly work. The
exercise of critical editing is always necessary when using internet transcripts of hip hop
works. However at times, internet-based transcripts prove useful in aiding with the
deciphering of nebulous points in recorded vocals, but in those moments of unclear speech,
no internet text is found to be categorically true or correct. As an absolute necessity,
numerous sources are studied subjectively with “what sounds right, contextually?” in mind.
This research is not limited to text-based sources, but includes the covers of songs uploaded
to the internet, live performances, music videos by the artist, and posts to social media as
initial points of engagement.
The decision to (re)present Death Certificate as a “clear text” for this textual study
also considers Thomas Tanselle’s essay “Some Principles for Editorial Apparatus.” As a
starting point, Tanselle’s principles include: (1) location of annotations, (2) the symbols and
abbreviations used, (3) textual notes, (4) list of emendations, (5) line ending hyphenation,
and (6) historical collation. Tanselle regards a “clear text” as one bearing “no editorial
intrusions of any kind on the page with the text itself.” This showcases the “primacy of the
text and permits the reader to confront the literary work without the distraction of editorial
comment” (123). Citing the classifications of works that are never “intended” for publication,
Tanselle manifests a separate argument for including commentary on the page with the text.
Still, some critical editions place both textual and historical information in bottom of page
footnotes; however, the choice of a clear text here considers the “psychological effect”
footnotes have on a reader (127). Thus, in Hip Hop Fancy, footnotes only address where the
most plausible variant textual readings exist. Subsequently, those two instances appear with
asterisks within the clear text.
However, critical adaptations to Tanselle’s “Principles” set apart the work of
transcription in Hip Hop Fancy from a full-on scholarly edition. William Andrews’s “Editing
‘Minority’ Texts” provides the present work with some African American literature
considerations:
5
[What a text needs most] these days is a reliable and informative introduction and
judicious annotation, not a list of textual variants, emendations, line-end
hyphenations and the rest of the panoply of textual description one finds in a
thoroughgoing critical (or in this case genetic) edition. . . . The more one learns
about African American literature the more one sees ample need for targeted
textual editing—if not all-encompassing textual editions—of central texts and
representative textual phenomena that can help us understand the origin,
evolution, and fate of minority texts in a “majority” literature. (51; quotes and
emphasis in original)
Although Leon Jackson questions Andrews’s “pragmatic” approach, insisting that
these proposed omissions are not “unnecessary luxuries” (254), the phrase “targeted textual
editing,” above from Andrews, is key to the reception of the present work. The clear text
scope of the transcription here delimits numerously listing textual variants, and relegates
annotations and textual notes, and their symbols, to a set of endnotes. Careful attention is
paid to line endings—crucial to both the form and meaning of a hip hop verse—to ensure that
in this current transformation of recorded speech to text, the line breaks accurately reflect
both the intent of Ice Cube and the highly formulized style of hip hop. In the end, none of the
considerations that I apply from Andrews take this textual study far from the general
framework of Tanselle’s “Principles.”
Another model, more applicable to hip hop than Andrews’s “ ‘Minority’ ” textual
method, comes from Adam Bradley and Andrew DuBois. As editors of The Anthology of
Rap, they lay the general foundation for hip hop textual studies. Segmented into eras from
1978 to 2010, Anthology contains a bevy of rap lyric transcriptions and initiates the scholarly
authenticated corpus of hip hop vocal performances. Anthology includes the work of some of
the genre’s best known artists and many lyrics from lesser known hip hop acts as well. In the
introduction to Anthology, the editors note the complexity involved with the task of
transcribing hip hop’s orality:
Though often starting as lyrics written in a book of rhymes, rap’s final form as
oral poetry makes for a number of challenges when it comes to presenting words
on the page. Rap lyrics share with medieval ballads the pattern of first being
performed before being presented for public consumption in written form. Those
who wish to transcribe a song face the immediate challenge of comprehension:
Can you decipher all of the words? Particularly for rap, can you comprehend the
slang? Next is the challenge of orthography: How do you represent the distinctive
sound and accent of someone’s speech? Do you resort to deliberate misspellings
to capture, for instance, the difference between the artist saying “singin” rather
6
than “singing”? The final matter for transcription is one of form: Where do you
break the line? What are the basic structures upon which rap songs are forged?
(xlvi; quotes in original)
In retrospect, the challenges elucidated above are among the challenges I faced with
the undertaking of Hip Hop Fancy. I knew that I could not fully rely upon versions of Death
Certificate that proliferate on the internet and I knew that in order for me to work through to
a solution it would be incumbent upon me to compile and edit my own copy of the text. The
result of that process of textual study comprises the main ingredient of this master’s thesis.
At no point during the critical editing of Death Certificate was it prudent for this author to
engage a lengthy exegesis of the Death Certificate text. The primary motive for this textual
study remains the rendering of Death Certificate’s vocal performances into a written text that
I can rely upon to contain—with certitude—the whole (text) of Ice Cube’s vocality from the
album.
For all of the lyrics transcribed in Anthology, only one imbrication with that text
occurs here: the aptly themed “A Bird in the Hand.” As the only track from Death Certificate
in Anthology, “Bird” promotes the idea that striving for excellence in grades K through 12 is
a futile exercise because the financial obstacle of higher education signifies a blocked
entrance to the American dream. Ultimately in “Bird,” drug pushing is resorted to and
offered as a justifiable response for economic disenfranchisement. “Bird” is atypical for the
“gangsta” subgenre for its mere mention of a college education as a means of upward social
mobility. Nonetheless, its resolution highlights the difficult rappers face while trying to
envision alternative realities to the ones that engulf the everyday lives of the everyday people
who consume hip hop products.
Sometimes called “conscious” or “positive” rap, stark social commentaries become
integrated components of hip hop lyrics with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The
Message.” Bradley and DuBois refer to the breakout rap social commentary as “one of the
most affecting raps ever recorded” (65):
7
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don’t care
I can’t take the smell, can’t take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away but I couldn’t get far
‘Cause a man with a tow truck repossessed my car (73)
“The Message” goes on record as one of the first hip hop era tunes to link social
protest, an historic communal function of black music, with history’s most recent
manifestation of black music. “The Message” crosses a critical junction and opens up the
space for the thematic development of “community” in hip hop—a theme central to Ice
Cube’s Death Certificate.
Hip Hop Fancy contains five chapters with Chapters 1 and 5 being the introduction
and conclusion, respectively. Chapter 2 discusses the literature on black masculine
performance and the problems black women face in a sociopolitical atmosphere of racialized
and gendered biases. Additionally, Chapter 2 situates Death Certificate’s “gangsta” subgenre
within the sociohistoric framework of “cool” performance that influences the reading of Ice
Cube’s work. Chapter 3 recovers Ice Cube from the parody of his former group, NWA. And
per the discussion of the Chapter 2, lyrics that tout black masculine performance are
unpacked in Chapter 3 to expose sexism in artist’s work and to contextualize Death
Certificate within the larger body of Ice Cube’s discography. Chapter 4 introduces and
(re)presents the clear text of Death Certificate for a reading audience.
Finally, some considerations of Anthology’s “challenges” are described here. As the
challenges pertain to readability and comprehension of this transcription, the Black
Vernacular English (BVE) conventions resulting in the deletion of the final “g” in
grammatical gerunds, the initial “be” in “because,” and BVE utterances of subject-verb
agreement, are transcribed according to Standard English conventions. John Rickford lists
over 50 features of BVE in African American Vernacular English of which several are
“undone” in the present work of transference of hip hop orality into text. To provide access
to cultural references, especially references to other works of hip hop found within the lyrics
8
of Death Certificate; to illuminate pertinent linguistic features of BVE that prove useful
toward the text’s comprehension; and to help clarify non-textual, non-linguistic, and noncultural observations pertaining to Death Certificate, endnotes are used. Indications for the
endnotes are marked within the transcription by Arabic numerals. Lastly, further references
to the Death Certificate album have been abbreviated to DC and references to the
rapper/performer known as Ice Cube are intermittingly truncated to “Cube” in order to avoid
redundancy.
9
CHAPTER 2
PERFORMATIVE BLACK MASCULINITY AND
ISSUES CONCERNING BLACK WOMEN
This chapter explores black masculine performance through the gangster and cool
personae that became over-emphasized tropes of manhood in “gangsta” rap music. It
suggests that the performativity and interconnectedness of these masculinist versions of
homosocial behavior prescribe for many black male youth the dominant articulations of
demeaning attitudes toward black women. The dynamic that led to the formation of black
women’s studies is reconstituted by “cool gangsters” of rap through gender bias. Popular
cultural narratives predating the Bronx-born culture of hip hop supplant the exploitative lyric
imaginary of “gangsta” rap into hip hop. In this light, the cool and gangster constructs, to
which many black male youth cling, are viewed as representative of the struggles black
women face against gendered and racial biases. The inevitable leakage and transaction
between white male dominant cultural narratives and hip hop produce black identities that
permeate the rhyme-expressive culture. Key to understanding the “gangsta” subgenre is the
mapping of engagements for gangster manifestations in hip hop within a black socio-cultural
context of cool. Dissecting these theoretical complications uncovers the romanticism with
cool by its performative crowd and victimization to the liberation efforts of black women
through disempowering “gangsta” rap sexism.
During the late 1980s through the 1990s in southern California, a dominant
expression of black masculinity was performed through the lifestyle of the gangster. As many
gang members heeded never-ending calls to “put in work” for their neighborhoods against
rival neighborhood gangs, black males who made up a scant 5% of the state’s adult male
population grew to account for 29% of the adult male carceral population (Grattet and
Hayes). In spite of that, many black gangsters forge on under the belief that the gang instills
manliness, bolsters reputations, and provides a sure and easy path from boyhood to manhood.
10
Still, it seems that the gangster lifestyle adds more to the complications of being a young
black male than it contributes toward alleviating them.
A light at the end of the gangster lifestyle tunnel appears to have been a peace treaty
brokered between gang factions in Watts, California that took effect on April 26, 1992. As it
happens, the unrest touched off by the acquittal of the law enforcement officers in the
videotaped beating of Rodney King erupts three days later. The truce and the ensuing unrest
affect the gangster lifestyle representation in “gangsta” rap music too. Many Los Angeles
area rap artists mention the rebellion in commercial album releases that came after those
tumultuous series of days. Some of these records work in conjunction with each other to
redirect the coded traits of masculinity away from gangster culture.
Although some “gangsta” rap productions of the period attempt to renegotiate
problematic performances of masculinity, their representations of black females persist as
deeply flawed scenarios between the sexes. Masculine misrepresentations of black women as
“bitches” and “whores,” and violent lyrics aimed at black women worsen the double
alienation of gender and race. Misogyny continues, in part, because of black males’ lack of
comprehension toward the struggles that accompany being female and black in American
society.
Negative stereotypes of black women, however, are found to exist not only in hip
hop, but in several other media as well. Nonetheless, their expression in hip hop as a
consequence of male artists rectifying issues of masculinity remains troublesome to the
“gangsta” rap subgenre. While some black women feminist voice open discontent at black
males’ lack of support in black women’s liberation from sexist and racist subjugation, others
are, publicly, more forgiving. Exposing problematic issues of identity construction within
“gangsta” rap proves simple enough, but locating the undertones of progressiveness in the
same “gangsta” rap works requires a re-articulation of some of the foundational aspects of
black masculinity and recognition that “gangsta” rappers are not the first group of black
males to misunderstand the aims of black feminism. Altogether, it has been a slowly
developing trend that more progressive black male thinkers have begun to provide wellinformed understandings of black feminism. Furthermore, as one rapper chimes, “Gangsters
don’t dance, we boogie” he draws clear distinctions between the contrived coolness, boogie,
of his performance and the mechanical dance step movements of his body (Westside
11
Connection). Addressing the problematic issues of black masculinity that foster the continued
subjugation of black women in the “gangsta” rap lyric imaginary solely in terms of the
corporeal negates the importance of black masculine performance to the black male
performer and tempers its detrimental effects on black women’s issues. A male performer of
blackness considers how his body plays into his performance, yet it is the accurate portrayal
of existing modes of machismo, i.e. “cool gangster” performance, with the body that trumps
the critiques of his body that emanate outside of his peer group. In many ways, cool gangster
performance disregards the partnership black women have sought to build with black males
throughout the history of the black women’s movement. Instead of partnership, a
phallocentric “cool gangster” limp becomes the medium of exchange offered to black
women.
COOL PERFORMANCE
Bodies on display on the auction block during the period of American chattel slavery,
and scenes of castrated black males hanging from tree limbs, indicate that black males have
had little agency over how their bodies could be displayed for public consumption. The small
space black males keep over their bodies’ public display is in the body’s performance of
masculinity. Commenting on cool posture, psychiatrists William Grier and Price Cobbs
forward the idea of coolness as a self-defense mechanism:
The playing-it-cool style repeats itself over and over again in all aspects of black
life. It is an important means of expression and is widely copied in the larger
white culture. A man may be overwhelmed with conflict, threatened with an
eruption of feelings, and barely maintaining his composure, but he will present a
serene exterior. He may fear the eruption of repressed feelings if they bring a loss
of control, but an important aspect of his containment is the fear that his
aggression will be directed against the white world and will bring swift
punishment. The intrapsychic dynamics may be similar in a white man, but for the
black man it is socially far more important that the façade be maintained. (68)
Playing “cool” is one method black males attempt to assert control over themselves as
men. One on hand, “playing-it-cool” means “keeping one’s cool” to a black male wishing to
avoid social punishment. Cool performance builds up a black male’s sense of worth by
allowing him to feel that he can handle tough situations and not appear broken. On the other
hand, as a masculine performance, “playing-it-cool” does little to remedy his psychological
state.
12
The performance of cool as a mode of masculinity revolves around faking a sense of
adequacy when psychological deficiency dominates a black male’s social existence. Richard
Majors and Janet Mancini Billson identify a direct correlation between cool performance and
powerlessness in Cool Pose: The Dilemmas of Black Manhood in America. The pair assess
why Black males tend to interact with the world through nonchalance. Through being cool,
the authors determine, black males cope with being shut out from the power structure white
males control. Additionally, Cool Pose opines that black males present a cool façade in lieu
of showing “true feelings” of frustration and anger as well as love and despair, emotions
which risk exposing the black male’s powerlessness to the public (Majors and Billson 27).
The sentiment of powerlessness morphs into a hypermasculinity during the black
power era of the late 1960s and the early 1970s. Carolyn Calloway reports that prior to the
black power movement black males performed masculinity in ways made to present black
males as non-threatening to white folk. However, Calloway insists that during the quest for
black power, tough becomes the new cool as Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP)
leader, Huey Newton, seeks to bring into the group’s fold “brothers off the block—brothers
who had been pimping, brothers who had been peddling dope, brothers who ain’t gonna take
no shit, brothers who had been fighting the pigs” (Calloway 57). Through the zealotry of the
black power movement, Newton reconfigures the tenets of cool masculinity to encompass a
badass, “take no shit” attitude toward society for the black males who join him. The
performance of cool and black masculinity take on drastically different manifestations mused
through black power rumblings threatening to seize white males’ stranglehold on power. The
BPP staunchly advocates black males’ aggressive defense of women, children, and
themselves in the organization’s mantra of manliness. The BPP installs the Ten-Point
Program” to change the dynamics of their communities, yet exclude explicit references to
non-adult males. For example, the points call for the release of all black men from carceral
institutions while neglecting to address the incarceration of black women (16).
The work of Grier and Cobbs and of Majors and Billson interpret black masculinity
through the performance of cool, but other scholarship suggests a closer connection between
the gangster lifestyle and the contentious state of black masculinity. For one, Matthew Henry
associates “gangsta” rap music with the state of black masculinity. Writing about the
depiction of black masculinity in motion pictures, Henry observes a developing “urban
13
aesthetic” built upon “a nihilistic attitude, and an aggressive posturing” that creeps into
contemporary discussions on masculinity because of “the commodification of hip-hop
culture, and the ubiquity of rap music and the ‘videomercials’ that sell it. More specifically, it
is the result of the popularity of the urban ‘gangsta’ and his embodiment in the ‘gangsta’ rap
of artists such as Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and [Tupac] Shakur” (119–20;
quotes in original).
Identity construction, as well, contributes to the corporeal performance of black
males. Timothy J. Brown critiques identity within hip hop culture and concludes that black
males achieve a “nigga identity” when their efforts to “uncompromisingly inhabit, construct,
and express a black self-identity” coincide with the performance of masculinity in the “hood”
(194). Many claim a newfound power, status, love, and respectability through this identity
construction, due in part to the racist variant’s constant use in rap music. The reclamation of
the offensive term by rappers may lead to a broadened understanding of a black identity, but
it neither affects a growth in masculine identity for black males, nor remedies the
psychological state as the raison d’être for cool performance. More importantly, the
adherence to a nihilistically and inwardly focused identity “uncompromisingly” precludes the
acquisition of understandings and considerations formed by black women. The remainder of
this chapter introduces some of the literature on black feminism in order to situate issues
concerning black feminists; acknowledge the field of black male feminism; and interpret the
portrayal of black masculinity by male icons in black cultural productions.
BLACK FEMINISM
In the nearly 40 year interim since Barbara Smith approached the literature of black
women by figuring into her methodology the interlocking issues of gender, race, and class,
the politically charged writing that began as a trickle with Smith’s “Toward a Black Feminist
Criticism,” has flowed from the pens of black women. The field of black women’s studies
results from the racism and class bias black women felt from the women’s movement and the
sexism they experienced in the black liberation movement. The pages of early black feminist
writings out the sentiments black women perceive toward black feminist thought from white
academic and social peers, and from black males.
14
The problematic political existence women of color face is apparent in Gloria Hull’s
and Barbara Smith’s introduction to All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, but
Some of Us Are Brave. There it states: “Merely to use the term ‘black women’s studies’ is an
act charged with political significance” (xvii). In social conversations it is (understood) that
“women” and “blacks” inherently means “white” and “male.” Patricia Hill Collins concurs,
writing that “a unique standpoint, expressing an independent black feminist consciousness is
problematic precisely because more powerful groups have a vested interest in suppressing
such thought” (749).
With the increased amount of literature in the field of black women’s studies, some
black women have felt obligated to produce standardized treatments of texts at the cost of
their individual concerns. “Some of us are continually harassed to invent wholesale theories
regardless of the complexity of the literature we study,” writes Barbara Christian, “tired of
being asked to produce a black feminist literary theory as if [she] were a mechanical man”
(53). Christian finds it more beneficial to “read the works of our writers in our various ways
and remain open to the intricacies of the intersection of language, class, race, and gender in
the literature” (53). Others hesitate to concentrate on the texts of black women writers to the
exclusion of texts from black male authors. For Deborah McDowell “the immediate concern
of black feminist critics must be to develop a fuller understanding of black women writers.”
However, the long term objectives of “black feminist critics should explore . . . parallels
[between black male and female writers] in an effort to determine the ways in which these
commonalities are manifested differently in black women’s writing and the ways in which
they coincide with writings by black men” (157).
The subject of black masculinity occurs often in the literature of black feminists and
many black women reach out for resolve between black women and men. The 1977 “A Black
Feminist Statement” sets a tone for cooperation with black men. The women know that their
oppression comprises two divergent fronts. Although one is black-male sexism, against the
other discriminatory aspect, black women hope to “struggle together” with black men to
alleviate the racial bias common to both sexes (Combahee River Collective 16). bell hooks
revisits the theme of cool as a performative mode of black masculinity, but pens a more
nuanced comprehension of coolness for black males aspiring to be men than what has been
previously discussed in this chapter. In We Real Cool hooks writes of a masculinity founded
15
upon mutual love and respect. She laments black males’ attempt to replicate white patriarchal
masculinity. Males should protect and provide, according to hooks, but those provisions and
protections do not belie a male’s responsibility to love and be loved by his family and
community. Moreover, she reiterates the nature of a black male’s self-respect as critical in
the construction of black masculinity and believes that black masculinity suffers as a
“consequence of [black males] feeling that they have no value” (98). Furthermore, she asserts
that a black male’s self-worth is neither a function of a contrived nonchalance nor of a
hypermasculine quest for power (98).
Black women’s studies continues to evolve. Moreover, black feminist writers produce
texts that not only provide later generations of women scholars with epistemological bases
for the feminism of women of color, but work that also lay the foundation for black males to
grow our knowledge of black feminism. Black male feminism has become a theoretical
frame of reference for many gifted black male scholars in contemporary times, but its genesis
has nineteenth and early twentieth century roots with men like Frederick Douglass. And
although this perspective was not known as “black male feminism” during his day, W. E. B.
Du Bois is another early key figure in the black male advocacy of black women’s issues as
Jasmine Griffin explains:
Despite Du Bois’s contradictions, we ought to be grateful to him for keeping
black women at the forefront of his vision, and we ought to learn from his
limitations and mistakes and move on. Contemporary black male intellectuals and
activists ought to be criticized for not moving beyond these limitations in matters
of gender, sexuality, and class. Unlike Du Bois, they have access to the history
and analytical frames and paradigms made available by the work of politically
engaged black feminist intellectuals. (36)
Black males have struggled since Du Bois to benefit the liberation of black women in
the latter group’s involvement with the feminist movement. Furthermore, with many black
males holding the opinion that the black feminist movement undercuts black males own
attempts for liberation in white-male dominant and racist American society, black men
including Michael Awkward, Mark Anthony Neal, and David Ikard have stepped forward
with convincing and recent arguments that black males can and must expand our
epistemological bases to encompass the liberation efforts of black women. However,
navigating the progressive model of black male feminism, as it is currently, suggests that we
16
begin that quest with an attempt to answer Mark Anthony Neal’s chapter forming question:
“What the hell is a black male feminist?” (31).
From black women, a black male feminist learns a suitable response to the patriarchal
privilege he assumes from dominant society. In this respect, black male feminism is a process
of growth that seeks to mitigate a black male’s problematic internalizations of black women.
In his music, Ice Cube exhibits an arc of progression that moves his work closer in line with
the concerns of black women, but that still leaves much to be desired from it in many others
aspects. But, is it safe to simply reapply Griffin’s remarks for Du Bois to Cube—“to learn
from his limitations and mistakes and move on?” (36). In studying the words of Ice Cube
through the lyrics he raps in cultural productions of hip hop, and in his interviews with black
women feminists, we glimpse an example of the difficult task a black male faces when
desiring to become more helpful to the cause of black women’s liberation. In all, this further
complicates Neal’s question. I query: What the hell, Cube is a black male feminist?
Again in Outlaw Culture, bell hooks, rather than view rap lyrics’ discursive
contradictions as subversive or disruptive to hegemony, regards them as an embodiment of
the “hedonistic consumerism” that signals the rapper’s own “subjugation and humiliation by
more powerful, less visible forces of patriarchal gangsterism” (143). It is much easier to
attack “gangsta” rap than to confront the culture that produces its need. In general, a central
motivation for singling out hip hop culture continues to be the sensationalist drama of
demonizing black youth culture and young black men. hooks counters that notion by
“insisting that gangsta rap does not appear in a cultural vacuum” (137). The sexism of rap
lyrics reflects “prevailing attitudes” in American society—“cultural crossings, mixings, and
engagement” with the “values, attitudes, and concerns of the white majority” (137). hooks
believes the critique of rap lyrics must be contextualized, else the sexism, misogyny, and
behaviors supporting rape and male violence against women give the appearance that these
societal problems belong solely to black males. With a film study as an illustration, hooks
undermines the view that the gangsterism rappers embrace “emerged from some unique
black cultural experience” (137).
Finally, black feminists do not ignore the plights of the black common folk. It is an
area stressed throughout black feminist literature. Collins, however, takes care to incorporate
into her text mentioned above, the words of black women of everyday statuses. With a nod
17
toward the influence of Collins and toward the film study performed by hooks, a combination
of those two methodologies completes the discussion of this chapter.
Scenes from the television sitcom Good Times reveal an interaction between a black
woman and a black male—a wife and her husband—concerning black feminist issues. In the
episode “Florida Flips,” the Good Times matriarch rejects the assertion that her husband is as
insensitive to her aspirations as a woman as are the husbands of the ladies in the “Women’s
Awareness” group that she attends at the behest of her best friend. After telling the group of
“cackling hens” that they know nothing of her situation, Florida races home to find her
husband and children worrying about her whereabouts. The initial display of love from her
husband quickly turns to upheaval after she reveals her earlier attendance to the women’s
meeting. The normally upstanding character of James gets out of sorts and expresses his idea
that women are only useful in two places: “the kitchen and the bedroom.” This had been the
exact expression used by the women in the awareness group, and a view that Florida flatly
denied was shared by her husband.
The character of the strong black male unsettles at the thought of black women
organizing to put the issues of black women as a focal points in their lives. James feels
threatened by the gains black women are making, especially when he finds his path of
upward mobility difficult. As he tells his wife: “If it there’s one thing I ain’t got no patience
for, it’s women trying to push in and take over a man’s job.” Coincidently, many black males
do not seek to understand an integral aim of black feminism. As Florida informs James, “I
want to be somebody, too.” The dialogue between the wife and husband in this episode of
Good Times illustrates a core issue in the response to black feminism by black males,
namely, the erroneous idea that black women’s liberation takes something away from black
males—the idea of emasculation. James shows that it is not only a black male “gangsta”
rapper thing that prompts fear in black men of black women getting ahead while black males
stagnate, but a community-held misconception that is years in the making.
On the whole, this thesis concerns itself with the rap lyrics of Ice Cube, but it cannot
consider the artist’s work without raising some concerns about the rapper’s sexual politics
where they are found to be problematic. The CD cover art for Ice Cube’s first solo album,
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, visually articulates the “cool gangster” status Cube holds in the
minds of scores of black male youth. There in Figure 1, suggestive of crossroad in “gangsta”
18
rap, the artist stands as the literal vocal projection of black male youth “cool gangster”
culture as the faces behind him blur into infinity.
Figure 1. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted CD cover. Source: Ice Cube.
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Priority, 1990. CD.
His work on that album toward a disentanglement of the cool and gangster personae with
misogyny comes into being on his tracks with Yo-Yo, but his lyricism there and with his
earlier work with NWA begs the question of the future prospective for a black male
feminism in “cool gangster” hip hop.
19
CHAPTER 3
A SERIOUSNESS WITHIN OR WITHOUT THE
PARODY: RECOVERING ICE CUBE
Chapter 2 introduces literature on the social manifestation of a “cool gangster” mode
of black masculine performance. How that performance influences black male youth culture
reifies radical assumptions of black manhood orthodoxy. Furthermore, that chapter proposes
regarding cultural “gangsta” rap productions as symptomatic of prevailing ideologies of the
social status of black women. The “cool gangster” consciousness converges with hip hop
music over time to constitute characters exaggerating authenticity. The concept of keeping
one’s cool mentioned in that chapter becomes “keeping it real” in “gangsta” rap where “real”
means disingenuous representations embodying misrepresentations of black women through
masculinist and phallocentric “gangsta” imaginary. Subsumed within the “cool gangster” will
to power, consequently, is the feminine articulation of cool and gangster as an example of
subversion to hegemonic black feminist discourse. Oppositional subjectivities not only spell
a departure from dominant society by black male youth, they also signal a disjuncture
between the traditional voices of black feminism and cool femme gangsters. However, the
previous chapter does not harbinger, in this chapter, absolving male rappers from
perpetuating mainstream sexist discourses about black women. The present chapter examines
specific examples of black “cool gangster” masculine performance found in Ice Cube’s work
with his former group, NWA, and juxtaposes instances of sexism, both during and after his
departure from the group, with collaborations the rapper made with the female emcee Yo-Yo
and with the dialogues between him and traditional black women feminist thinkers.
Cube is inextricably linked to his rap performances done as a member of NWA. The
rapper’s lyrics on “Gangsta Gangsta” and “A Bitch Iz a Bitch,” on which he plays into
degenerate archetypes of black masculinity, remain major obstacles in viewing Cube as a
progressive thinker on black women’s issues. However, far be it from the remarks the artist
20
makes on those and on other records, the unrestrained manner in which he voices the
concerns of young, black and male, cool gangsters and the threatening upheaval to the system
of class and racial subjugation that his plain style of rap creates in “Fuck tha Police (FTP)”
and “Straight outta Compton” relegates his greater body of work to the margins of poetry and
society. In recovering Ice Cube, the present work acknowledges him as one who resists an
easy affixation of the “gangsta” rapper label. His words with NWA on the latter pairing of
songs display both his assessment of the discomforting situation of black male adolescence
and the poetic ease in which he delivers them.
As one of the most notorious black male sexists of the 1990s, Ice Cube’s
performances exhibits the sexist features Katheryn Russell-Brown lists in her qualifications
for demarcating “gangsta” rap in that they turn to “crude terminology to refer to women or
female anatomy” and claim a “sexual prowess” and desire for “domination” (36). However,
reading his earlier work with NWA in conjunction with Cube’s later collaborations with YoYo on “It’s a Man’s World” and “The Bonnie and Clyde Theme” demonstrates that he
approaches the issues germane to this chapter with a broader apprehension of the significance
to the type of cultural work NWA performs than do the other members of that group. His
battle against his sexism after his days with NWA is ascertained through the rapper’s
interactions with black feminists of note and with Yo-Yo as she presents a “gangsta-”styled
feminist agenda.
An historical examination of black music production provides cases that point to
artists encasing social messages within cultural productions that speak to the issues of
common folk. The exigency of Ice Cube’s cultural productions demand a disengagement
from the parodic circumstances shrouding the collective NWA moniker and stand-alone
treatment in light of the historicized contextualization with black music. Through a treatment
of this sort, a new critically-informed estimation of DC challenging the malign status of
Cube’s cultural imprint becomes perceptible.
PROBLEMS WITH PARODY
Although it was never released as a single, “FTP” reverberates throughout American
society. Bryan J. McCann reads “FTP” as a “parodic enactment of the racialized discourses
of law and order during the late 1980s” (367). On “FTP,” NWA engage their listeners with a
21
critique of the Los Angeles local law enforcement agencies’ treatment of young black males.
Cube stands out because he is the first, chronologically, to rap on “FTP;” the strongest
aesthetically, in the context of hip hop poetics; and the most successful of the trio of rappers,
afterward. For those reasons, it is pertinent to recover the artistry of Cube from his days as a
member of NWA. As such, it best to begin with “FTP” to detach Cube and his verse from the
verses delivered by MC Ren and Eazy-E.
Jeffrey Louis Decker connects Antonio Gramsci’s theory of “organic intellectuals” to
consider organic “cultural” intellectuals to indicate the cultural productions of nationalist
rappers (59). NWA fits into Decker’s model of organic “cultural” intellectuals in that the
group does not “lead the backward black masses” from an elite position within the
community (59). Instead, the members of NWA begin from the standpoint of a community’s
“popular knowledge”—police brutality—to expose what the community recognizes as a
problem (59). As a result, the seminal “gangsta” rap group explodes onto the American hip
hop scene by placing the issue of community policing front and center.
Clearly less nationalistic in its scope than Decker’s example of Public Enemy’s It
Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, “FTP” addresses what is a growing concern
nationwide. NWA becomes one of the first of a number of rap voices that direct lyrical
aggression toward the police, paving the way for a wave of raps critical of the police as
intermediaries between young ghetto males and the carceral state of California. The verse on
“FTP” by NWA member Ice Cube promotes the idea that the police are common nemeses to
all young black males in American ghettos. The opening verse of “FTP” from Cube sums up
the crux of the “angst” amid the “gangsta” categorization of young black males.
In “FTP,” Ice Cube cashes in on the bond he has purchased from his listeners. He
unleashes a slew of markers that bring his audience into his purview living under police
harassment as a young black male surviving in Los Angeles, California. Beginning with the
use of the personal pronoun “I,” Cube uses a much different tactic to cater to the listener than
do the verses of Ren and Eazy: “Fuck the police comin straight from the underground / A
young nigga got it bad ‘cause I’m Brown” (qtd. in Bradley and DuBios 237). Quickly
thereafter, Cube expands his view to incorporate the view of his audience. Bradley and
DuBois’s Anthology contains the lyrics of “FTP”:
Fuckin with me ‘cause I’m a teenager
22
With a little bit of gold and a pager
Searchin my car, lookin for the product
Thinkin every nigga is sellin narcotics (237–38)
With these lines, Cube encompasses the plight of cool gangsters and the young black
males police suspect of dealing drugs based upon the circumstantial evidence of wearing
“gold and a pager.” The rapper does not end there with his move to make the angst felt by
him and his peers understandable to all. By now the listener has bought in to Cube’s rhetoric
and believes that the rapper is not only rapping about himself, but that he raps for his
audience. He continues: “You’d rather see me in the pen / Than me and Lorenzo rollin’ in a
Benzo” (qtd in Bradley and DuBios 237). The “you” of the first line is identifiable as the
police on the beat and the “me” of both lines easily becomes an inclusive “we” the listeners
or “me” to the individual listening. Anthology’s transcription of Cube’s verse continues: “I
don’t know if they [the police] fags or what / Search a nigga [me and you, oh listener] down,
and grabbin his [our] nuts” (237). “ ‘Cause they’ll slam ya down to the street top” (238).
“Just ‘cause I’m from, the CPT” (238). The “I” is the listener in Anytown, USA sold on
Cube’s rhetoric. “Punk police are afraid of me / A young nigga on the warpath / And when
I’m finished, it’s gonna be a bloodbath” (238). Inasmuch as rappers attempt to elicit empathy
for fuck-the-police-type rhetoric, all anti-law “gangsta” rap lyrics have their roots in Ice
Cube’s verse on “FTP.”
Whereas television and newspaper coverage of the issues dealt with in “FTP” tend to
slant toward the side of the police as the stewards of public safety, NWA inverts the order of
business to place the cool gangster at the center of the narrative. Black males involved in
street activities see the rap as an affirmation of what they already know—the police are out to
get them. Scores of youngsters recognize themselves as the protagonists in street narratives.
The early 1990s finds many of the young adherents of gangster culture in environments
devoid of the benefits of adult leadership. As such, rappers are taken as the spokesmen for
young black males of the ghetto. The cops, on the other hand, catch the ire of the young
black males’ discontent for the system.
The myriad of rap lyrics that challenge the authority of the police, of which Ice Cube
is at the forefront, form a mixed bag of ideas in both scope and rhetorical effectiveness. By
contrast, the verses of “FTP” by MC Ren and Eazy-E exhibit a response to problematic
23
police tactics that lack the empathy for the listener ascertainable in Cube’s verse. Ren and
Eazy reinforce their images as the “Bad Niggers” of black folkloric tradition. Other than a
brief reference to “the niggas on the street” (qtd in Bradley and DuBios 238)in the second
line of his verse, Ren is unsuccessful at transferring his experience to listeners or making it
applicable them. Likewise, Eazy-E, who does not rap the phrase, “fuck the police,” sets up
his verse with an episode of the “Bad Nigger” being caught in a crack house during a drug
raid, as if listeners should sympathize with the plight of a drug dealer caught red-handed. In
all, the vocal performances of Ren and Eazy do more to distinguish Ice Cube as an organic
cultural intellectual than they do to address the distress of young black males vis-à-vis the
police.
SEXISM AND BLACK “COOL GANGSTER” MASCULINITY
Of all the songs on Straight outta Compton, “FTP’ best illustrates the cool gangster
stance in the face of the police; however other tropes of the “gangsta” subgenre of hip hop
are prevalent throughout the album. The track celebratory of the city of Compton portrays the
members of NWA as the rough and tough assemblage hailing from a town where law and
order seem not to prevail. In the Anthology transcription of “Straight outta Compton,” the
establishment of an outlaw aesthetic begins with Ice Cube’s verse leading the show of the
“strength of street knowledge” (245):
Straight outta Compton, crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube
From the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes
When I’m called off, I got a sawed-off
Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off
You too, boy, if ya fuck with me (245)
Contrast the above snippet with those below from the verses from Cube’s group
mates.
[MC Ren]
I find a good piece of pussy and go up in it
So if you’re at a show in the front row
I’ma call you a bitch or a dirty-ass ho
You’ll probably get mad like a bitch is supposed to
24
But that shows me, slut, you’re composed to
A crazy motherfucker from the street
Attitude legit ‘cause I’m tearin up shit
[Eazy-E]
So what about the bitch who got shot? Fuck her
You think I give a damn about a bitch? I ain’t a sucker!
This is an autobiography
Of the E (246–47)
Figure 2. Straight outta Compton. NWA. CD cover. (Clockwise
from top) Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella,
Arabian Prince. Source: NWA. Straight outta Compton. Priority,
1988. CD.
25
Figure 2 shows the CD cover art from Straight outta Compton and the furtherance of
the cool gangster outlaw imagery as Eazy-E points a handgun at the camera for added visual
effect. While Cube fails to mention women in any manner throughout his verse, Ren and
Eazy links the “Straight outta Compton” cool gangster masculine outlaw performance with a
violent hatred of women. Ice Cube, however, disparages women in other lyrics as evidenced
in the lesbian-baiting lines taken from Anthology’s version of NWA’s “Gangsta, Gangsta”:
So we started looking for the bitches with the big butt
Like her, but she keep crying
“I got a boyfriend.” Bitch, stop lyin!
Dumb-ass hooker ain’t nothin but a dyke (242)
The point here is not to exonerate Cube, Ren, or Eazy of their misogynistic banter.
Rather, the sampling above separates the lyrics of Cube, Ren, and Eazy one from another so
that the matter of misogyny is clearly accounted for when situating the later material of Ice
Cube. Cube professes in “I Ain’t tha 1” to “spell[ing] girl with a ‘B,’ ” but, as the lone
performer on “A Bitch Iz a Bitch,” he explodes the opinion of sexism belonging entirely to
“gangsta” culture. The incorporation of an assumed white narrator complicates the notion
that “gangsta” rappers create the conditions that threaten feminism. Before the rapper begins
his spiel in “A Bitch Iz a Bitch,” the narrator has already directed Cube to “describe a certain
female—a female with a disease of character and attitude.” In this case, the narrator leads the
rapper into the theory of women as bitches. “Gangsta” rap, as a microcosm of larger society,
takes cues from mainstream discourses. No excuse can be made for the sexism in Cube’s
lyrics especially when they direct violence at women. Women and children are particularly
vulnerable to masculine-type aggression and the talk of violence toward them must be
spoken out against.
Unequivocally, blowback resulting in Ice Cube’s censuring comes from the rapper’s
mistreatment of women in his lyrics, but he refuses to allow his misunderstandings to prevent
him from addressing issues of black womanhood. Work on his first solo album,
AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, reveals an understanding toward the treatment of women that is
inaudible in his recordings as a member of NWA. Primarily, Ice Cube allows Yo-Yo the
chance to counter his skewed representation of women—duet style. Too many times in
“gangsta” rap lyrics, the misrepresentation of women stands unchecked on the mic. Yo-Yo
26
provides the male listeners of Cube’s record with a counter-balance to the male rapper’s—
and the male listener’s—misgivings about the status of women in our world.
Cube’s work as a solo artist and his personal interviews with black female feminists
offer a new perspective by which to view the gender politics one finds in his lyrics. In an
interview by black feminist bell hooks, hooks notes the difference between Cube’s sexist
“gangsta” persona and in him as a person not necessarily living up to that sexist image. In the
interview republished in Outlaw Culture, hooks’s forwarding remarks and following question
afford the context for the rapper to comment on his work with female rapper Yo-Yo:
bh: So many people said, “bell, why do you want to talk to him?” I feel like
part of the magic of us talking is a lot more people have to see you differently.
You’re not saying, “I don’t want to talk to bell hooks, I mean, she’s into this
feminist thinking.” And I’m not saying, “I don’t want to talk to Ice Cube, he’s a
sexist, he doesn’t like black women.”
IC: If people really follow Ice Cube and know what Ice Cube is about, they
have to look at Yo-Yo. You know what I mean? Ice Cube put that thing together
as far as her comin’ out. I think the kids need a balance of each dose. Me being
male, a male has a certain ego, you can’t get away [from]. I think that of males all
over the world. And that comes out in the music. And I think women need to
really show, “Yo, we can do this and we can educate. We can be the same way.”
(138–39; quotes in original)
Cube recognizes that as considerate and inquisitive for understanding he is toward the
plights of women, he cannot ever truly articulate a female’s perspective. The rapper realizes
the need to give women the space to express themselves as they see fit. For his part, Cube
puts his celebrity and financial backing to work in order for Yo-Yo to have such an
opportunity. Occurring at a time when “gangsta” rap had become a complete parody of itself
and white suburban (mostly) males had begun to digest black males’ hatred of black women
at ever-increasing decibels, equal space for a woman’s representation of herself had become
nearly non-existent in “gangsta” rap. Credit Cube for his efforts, even if they were only a set
of capitalistic decisions to him, in redressing the issue.
A tacit approval from Angela Davis adds more justification to recover Ice Cube
despite the rapper’s sexism. At one point in the dialogue between Davis and Cube, Davis
challenges the rapper on his treatment of the woman in the song “You Can’t Fade Me”:
In this context, let’s go back to your first album. I know that most women—
particularly those who identify with feminism or with women’s movements—ask
you about “You Can’t [Fade] Me.” Having been involved myself with the
27
struggle for women’s reproductive rights, my first response to this song was one
of deep hurt. It trivializes something that is extremely serious. It grabs people in a
really deep place. How many black women died on the desks of back alley
abortionists when abortion was illegal before 1973? Isn’t it true that the same
ultra right forces who attack the rights of people of color today are also calling for
the criminalization of abortion? Women should have the right to exercise some
control over what happens to our bodies. (182–83)
In “You Can’t Fade Me” the narrator faces the possibility that he has impregnated a
woman who has had multiple sexual partners and who is characterized as a harlot—his term
for her, “the neighborhood hussy.” The narrator, in order to safeguard his reputation,
contemplates: “I thought deep about giving up the money / What I need to do is kick the
bitch in the tummy” (You Can’t Fade Me). Cube, as narrator, also raps the line “Now I’m in
the closet looking for the hanger” (You Can’t Fade Me). In all, Davis acts as an agent making
Cube more aware of his reprehensible remarks through holding him accountable for them.
Drawing attention to Yo-Yo’s lyrics on the platform provided by Cube deserves
consideration at this point. The verses from Yo-Yo on “It’s a Man’s World” juxtapose
Cube’s incorrectness with Yo-Yo’s corrections. Featuring Yo-Yo allows for female selfrepresentation as the two of them trade verbal jabs in a battle of the sexes. Debunking the
myths many males have about their penis, she calls his dick a “three-inch killer” and accuses
him of “Thinking you can do damage to my backbone” (It’s a Man’s World). Further
besetting the sex organ of her antagonist in the song, Yo-Yo adds: “Leave your child in the
yard until it’s full-grown.” She piles on injury to insult by suggesting: “Without us [women],
your hand would be your best friend.” That is an ice-cold fact for Cube or any man desiring a
woman. To be told one is undersized, underperforming, and at risk of be left to one’s own
mano for sexual pleasure sums up some of a male’s greatest insecurities, yet Yo-Yo exploits
his vulnerabilities to prove a woman’s worth—not sexually, but in her position of building up
a man’s ego and in the confidence he has of himself. Ultimately, if she not treated as a full
partner in the female-male franchise, i.e. the relationship between a woman and a man, then a
woman can make a male’s phallocratic attempts at sexual prowess seem inadequate and
ineffective while she becomes utterly unattuned to her male partner’s primal desires. Yo-Yo
says: “There’s more to see of me but you’re blind” (It’s a Man’s World). Here she calls
attention to a woman’s power in forestalling a male’s sexual desire of a woman by indirectly
referring to the myth about male masturbation causing blindness. Powerful, assertive, and
28
willing to strike below the belt, Yo-Yo in her rebut of Cube’s misogyny leaves at least one
listener expecting an even greater contribution from women on DC to see how the album of
the black male artist would expand upon the steps he had already taken toward a black male
feminism. Appendix includes the complete transcription of “It’s a Man’s World.”
This chapter has dealt with Ice Cube’s lyrics chronologically in a build up to his 1991
DC album. However a deviation from a strict year-by-year and album-by-album approach
stands in order, at this point, to highlight a “cool gangster” familial complexity Cube records
with Yo-Yo after the release of DC. In 1993’s “The Bonnie and Clyde Theme” Yo-Yo and
Cube prioritize the unconventional gangster lifestyle as an ideologically fractured coexistence between partners in crime. The discursive tension of this gangster matrimony as a
public transcript subverts normative familial structures and allow for the critique of the
patriarchal organization of society. Cube began the rhyme by stating, “It’s a man’s world, but
check the girl”. Shortly thereafter he listed famous pairs of musical women and men, but
adds two notorious partners as Yo-Yo and he characterize themselves, which are evident
from the tune’s title. He raps: “Ike and Tina, Marie and Donnie / Ashford and Simpson,
Clyde and Bonnie” (Yo-Yo). Emblematic of the understanding the partners play in the wellbeing of the other, Yo-Yo and Ice Cube with their verses in “The Bonnie and Clyde Theme”
strike a chord of agreement between them that borders on the hegemonic. Although the
criminal lifestyle is an unpalatable choice for many, what it offers requires certain cool
gangster qualifications. Yo-Yo flirts and wears “tight skirts” in her role in the relationship;
Cube gives other girls the “blues” (Yo-Yo). These are agreed-upon choices between the two
of them, and important facets of the couple’s dealings with each other that must be
considered against outside of notions of a normative family structure. Yo-Yo exercises her
will because of her beliefs, her goals, and the benefits she feels this lifestyle choice will bring
her, as does Ice Cube in his “Clyde” persona. Each sees the other as a willing partner in
building a better future. It is not a traditional hunter-gatherer or American blue-collar
existence. Here, two crooks join forces to enrich a “dysfunctional” unit. The full text of “The
Bonnie and Clyde Theme” is available in Appendix.
Ironically, in Black Players, Christina Milner and Richard Milner’s study of the
underworld, the authors state realities many cannot fathom as lifestyle choices:
29
Police, politicians, businessmen, lawyers, dope dealers, prostitutes, pimps—
all are dependent on one another, yet all prey on one another. In modern urban
life, none of us is immune to this kind of social network; the very life of the city is
made up of such networks. Sociologists and pimp philosophers agree: it is a
gigantic game in which individual players may enter, leave, or change sides, but
the game goes on, the structure persists, the pattern remains, and the cash flows
back and forth as a symbol of the exchanges which are constantly taking place.
Money flows from the lawbreaker to the law enforcer, from the illegitimate
business to legitimate business and back again. Each has its place and its function
in the city’s ecosystem; each plays its part in the overall pattern of
interrelationships. It is farcical to pretend that only the “legitimate” recipients of
money constitute the economy of the city. (5; quotes in original)
Although Milner and Milner chronicle the society of prostitutes and pimps, and YoYo and Ice Cube characterize a couple who operate within the business of gangsterism, the
criminal imaginary is automatically assumed for “Bonnie” and “Clyde.” What is important
for the understanding of Ice Cube’s sexual politics, presently, is that neither in the lyrics of
Yo-Yo nor of Cube does one disparage the other. Each of them goes to whatever length a
situation requires to bring happiness to the family. While one may not agree with the
couple’s decisions, one can at least respect duo’s choice to be gangsters.
30
CHAPTER 4
THE CLEAR TEXT OF ICE CUBE’S DEATH
CERTIFICATE
The two preceding chapters map out a masculine performative framework, which is
read as synonymous to the portrayal of masculinity within the “gangsta” rap subculture of hip
hop. The precarious conditions encouraging patriarchal moorings are addressed as visceral
epistemologies underpinning the continued subjugation of black women. Throughout, the
persistent consideration given to the analysis of “gangsta” rap sexism negotiates concerns of
transcultural sexual politics. It coaxes a paradoxical understanding from the lyrics of Ice
Cube: The more sexist the words of the rapper are, the more the protestations from black
women occur. As black feminists criticize his sexist lyrics with corrections to be hashed out
later, the stronger his vocals resound under the tutelage of women of black liberation. This
results in a surreptitious feminism for Cube that strengthens with his collaborations with YoYo, Angela Davis and bell hooks. However, the auspices of Black Nationalism and the
Nation of Islam as major creative influences for DC mean that the glimmer of feminist hope
gleaned in AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted does not shine through on DC. Figure 3 shows the
DC cover art with Ice Cube in a recalcitrant Black Nationalistic pose. Figure 4, from the
inner fold of DC, finds the rapper in deliberation over issues concerning the Nation of Islam.
Of note, an advertisement concerning “Domestic Violence” headlines the back page.
To some, what follows needs little introduction. It has been in wide circulation since
1991 as a vocal recording. To my knowledge, a full transcription of the vocals’ text has never
been in print. DC’s release was followed by controversy concerning the lyrics’ contents. And
although many familiar with the areas deemed most offensive have read “bites” of those
lyrics as integrated text quoting anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist rhetoric, others may not
have had the opportunity to read the full text’s contribution to the areas of black masculinity,
black women’s issues, or for that matter, what the text says about gun control, healthcare,
31
and education. Still, there may be others who dismiss the entirety of Ice Cube’s DC as
doggerel Black Vernacular English (BEV).
Figure 3. Death Certificate. CD cover. Priority. 1991. Collection of the
author. Source: Ice Cube. Death Certificate. Priority, 1991. CD.
This chapter presents Ice Cube’s 1991 album as a clear text. Each track of the album
is transcribed here. In addition, the bonus track from the 2003 re-issue is found in Appendix.
Altogether, 22 tracks are transcribed from DC as the result of countless hours of listening and
editing. These transcriptions are not intended to be verbatim to the lyrics as rapped by Ice
Cube, whose given name is O’Shea Jackson. Instead, they transfer the substantial intent of
the original language, its metaphors, similes and poetic narratives through combined
understandings of Standard English and BVE. The idea is to mitigate a barrier to DC
concerning language, which may have kept others from it as a written text. Inasmuch as it
succeeds in lessening that barrier, the original intent of the artist remains intact.
32
Figure 4. Death Certificate. Inner fold. Unite or Perish / Domestic
Violence. Priority. 1991. Collection of the author. Source: Ice Cube.
Death Certificate. Priority, 1991. CD.
To be clear, misogynistic, anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist rhetoric have no place
in polite speech except in warning against the dangers of hate. Reasonable persons cannot
deny the suffering of others simply because they still may be suffering. Furthermore, it is the
duty of right-minded individuals to speak out against hateful speech where it is found, even if
it means pissing off some folk who think that such speech is okay. With that, no attempt by
this author is made toward a bowdlerization of the DC text.
The text was constructed through a simple process: By listening, again and again, to
the DC sound recordings, I verified what I believed I had heard through the use of a copytext compiled from the internet website ohhla.com. Although my deference to the
“correctness” of Cube’s lyrics was always the 1991-issued CD (and the 2003 re-issue for the
bonus track) there are instances where the rapper’s words are imperceptible to me in the
available audio. In such cases, I refer to the copy-text. But not being satisfied with the sole
reliance upon a text of comprised of several dubious origins, I checked the copy-text against
multiple texts compiled on the internet. Those texts are readily accessible online through
33
commercial websites. In the end, several critical criteria apply for accepting variant readings
to what I consider to be sound. Two variants are asterisked and expounded upon in footnotes.
The transcription begins with “The Funeral.” That track, along with “The Birth” and
“Death” are not present in the copy-text and the responsibility for their transcriptions rests
with this author entirely. Some of the major stylistic editorial moves taken with this
transcription of DC include the replacement of apostrophes, representing the deletion of the
final “g” in gerunds throughout the copy-text, with the insertion of the letter “g.” For
example, “readin’ ” and “writin’ ” becomes “reading” and “writing.” In a separate issue, the
initial “be” was reattached to the instances of “ ‘cause.” Furthermore, colloquially spelled
words like “hoes” and several words substituting the letter “z” for pluralizing nouns are
recommitted to Standard English spelling. In some areas though not all of them, where to do
so makes the words of the rapper lose authenticity, the subject-verb relationship has been
tweaked to agree in person and number. In All, John Rickford lists over 50 features for BVE
of which a number are “undone” for the production of this clear text.
The audio of DC incorporates collages of sound from other sound recordings, as well.
Where I was able to verify the “original” sources, these are indicated within this clear text as
the name of the speaker. Examples include James Brown and Parliament, Radio Raheem and
Peter Jennings, and Man In Clinic and Cop Under Fire as specific and generic “personalities”
in the textual rendition of the DC recordings. As these “samples” are not the rapper’s speech,
they are treated as “intertextual dialogue” and are presented as if they comprise dialogue
from drama per the MLA style manual. The transcribed lyrics follow the mechanics for
reproducing poetry as described in the 7th edition of MLA Handbook for Writers of Research
Papers.
The editorial decision to produce a clear text dictates a conversion of the footnotes
that were present in earlier manifestations of this document to endnotes here. The endnotes
provide clarification where it is warranted for language, popular culture references—
especially as hip hop cross-references—and general information about the converging
cultures from which the sound recording of this text originates. The annotations do not offer
an explanation of the text; rather they offer clues toward understanding part of what may
otherwise be missed in comprehension.
34
A quick overview of the remaining tracks follows: “The Funeral” leads into “The
Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit” and responds to the death of “a good brother.”“My Summer
Vacation” touches on the underground economy of crack cocaine. Among other things,
“Steady Mobbin’ ” celebrates urban daily life. Parodying “Lifestyles of the Rich and
Famous” appears to have been the intent behind the satirical “Robin Lench.” “Givin’ Up the
Nappy Dug Out” and “Look Who’s Burnin’ ” bring out instances of the mistreatment of
women that much of the chapters 2 and 3 focus on. The high costs of education both financial
and social are divulged in “A Bird in the Hand.” “Man’s Best Friend” adds the rapper’s
perspective to the issue of gun control. “Alive on Arrival” addresses the rights of victims of
violence and highlights cracks in the nation’s healthcare system. “I Wanna Kill Sam” intends
retribution for a litany of charges against “Sam,” because he is not Cube’s “motherfucking
uncle.”
There is a palpable build up of thematic tension after “I Wanna Kill Sam.” “Horny Lil
Devil” begins under the guise of protecting the sexual freedom of black women, but quickly
moves to a homophobic rant with added sprinkles of Asian and white racism. “Black Korea”
follows with more anti-Asian sentiment in a message of localized black economic
empowerment. “True to the Game” critiques performative black authenticity in three verses
with the second verse long rumored to be a calculated dis of MC Hammer’s crossover
success. Looking into a rear view mirror on “Color Blind,” Cube with the help of several
other rappers exposes black males as one of the biggest threats to other black males.
Providing a narrative retrospect, “Doing Dumb Shit” reminisces youthful days of folly. “Us”
tells listeners to look into a mirror for the solutions to problems within the black community.
Finally, in a dis of NWA, the last track of the 1991 original issue of DC “No Vaseline” stirs
controversy with anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks.
The clear text of Ice Cube’s Death Certificate begins on the next page.
35
THE FUNERAL
ICE CUBE. Niggas are in a state of emergency. The death side—a mirrored image of
where we are today. The life side—a vision of where we need to go. So sign your death
certificate.
REVEREND (eulogizing). Brothers and sisters we come together by God’s demand,
whether it be for life or death. Well, this morning it’s over the mourning of one of our little
brothers. This brother was a good brother. Didn’t get into an excessive amount of trouble.
But, it’s one thing. It’s one thing. It’s one thing. He was the Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit!
THE WRONG NIGGA TO FUCK WIT
God damn, it’s a brand new Payback1
From the straight gangster mack in straight gangster black
How many motherfuckers got to pay?
Went to the shelf and dusted off the AK
Caps got to get peeled
Because “The Nigga Ya Love to Hate”2 still can Kill at Will3
It ain’t no pop because that sucks
And you can New Jack Swing on my nuts
Down with the niggas that I bail out
I’m platinum, bitch, and I didn’t have to sell out
“Fuck you, Ice Cube,” that’s what the people say
Fuck AmeriKKKa, still with the triple K
Because you know when my 9 goes buck
It’ll bust your head like a watermelon dropped from 12 stories up
Now let’s see who drops
Punk motherfuckers trying to ban hip hop
Fuck R&B and the Running Man
I’m the one that stands with the gun in hand
Make sure before you buck with, duck quick
Punk, because I’m the Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit
36
Hell yeah it’s on, you better tell them
Ice Cube and I’m rolling with the motherfucking L-M
It’s the number one crew in the area
Make a move for your gat and I’ll bury you
Ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt
Punks run when I put in work
Because Lench Mob niggas are the craziest
And y’all motherfuckers can’t fade my shit
South Central, that’s where the Lench Mob dwells
Hitting fools up with the big-ass “L”
One-time4 can’t hold me back
Sweatshirt, khakis and crokersacs
Stop giving juice to the Raiders
Because Al Davis never paid us5
I hope he wears a vest
It’s all about the L-E-N-C-H—y’all know the rest
Motherfucking crew, motherfucking mob
Do our motherfucking job in a motherfucking squad
In ‘91 Ice Cube grew stronger and bigger
And I’m the Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit
Like I said, it’s a brand new Payback
Now in ‘91, let’s see who beats the jack
Sir Jinx grew a little bit taller
ICE T. Keeps the wack beats out.
True motherfucking baller
And whores can’t roll on
Even bitches looking like En Vogue got to “Hold On”6
Don’t let me catch Daryl Gates in traffic
I got to have it, to peel his cap backwards
I hope he wears a vest too, and his best blue
37
Going up against the Zulu7
Break his spine like a jellyfish
Kick his ass until I’m smelling shit
“Off with the head. Off with the head,” I say.
And watch the devil start kicking
Running around like a chicken
Grand Dragon finger-licking
Yo, turn him over with a spatula
Now we’ve got, Kentucky Fried Cracker
Mess with the Cube, you get plucked quick
Pig, because I’m the Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit
MY SUMMER VACATION
WOMAN ON PA SYSTEM. This is the final boarding call for flight 1259 departing
from Los Angeles, on destination to St. Louis. Thank you.
Damn G, the spot’s getting hot
So how the fuck am I supposed to make a knot?8
Police looking at niggas through a microscope
In L.A. everybody and their momma sells dope
They’re trying to stop it
So what the fuck can I do to make a profit?
Catch a flight to St. Louis
That’s cool, because nobody knew us
We stepped off the plane
Four gang bangers, professional crack slingers
Rented a car at wholesale
Drove to the ghetto, and checked in a motel
Unpacked and I grabbed the .380
Because where we’re staying, niggas look shady
But they can’t fade9 South Central
38
Because busting a cap is fundamental
Peeping out every block close
Seeing which one will clock10 the most
Yeah, this is the one, no doubt
Bust a U Bone, and let’s clear these niggas out
BONE. Ay, ay man, what’s up nigga? Yo, well, this is Lench Mob, nigga!
MAN IN CAR WITH BONE. Well, smoke them motherfuckers, man!
BONE. Shoot that motherfucker, man!
Now clearing them out meant casualties
Still had the L.A. mentality
Bust a cap, and out of there in a hurry
Wouldn’t you know, a drive-by in Missouri
Them fools got popped
Took their corner, next day set up shop
And it’s better than slinging in the Valley
Triple the profit, making more than I did in Cali
Breaking off rocks like Barney Rubble11
Because them mark-ass niggas don’t want trouble
And we ain’t on edge when we do work
Police don’t recognize the khakis and the sweatshirts
Getting bitches and they can’t stand a
Nineteen-ninety-one Tony Montana
Now the shit’s like a war
Of gang violence, where it was never seen before
Punks run when the gat busts
Four Jheri curl-niggas12 kicking up dust
And some of them are even looking up to us
Wearing our colors and talking that gang fuss
Giving up much love
39
Dying for a street that they never heard of
But, other motherfuckers want to stand strong
So you know the phrase, once again it’s on
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE. [Repeating] If it can happen here, it can happen
anywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED TV ANCHORMAN. Top of the news tonight, gangs from South
Central Los Angeles, which are known for their drive-by shootings, have migrated into East
St. Louis leaving three dead and two others injured. No arrests have been made. Police say
this is a nationwide trend with similar incidents occurring in Texas, Michigan, and
Oklahoma.
FEMALE. It can happen anywhere.
GUNSHOTS.
My homey got shot. He’s a goner, Black
St. Louis niggas want their corner back
Shooting in snowy weather
It’s illegal business, niggas still can’t stick together
Fucking police got the 411
That L.A. ain’t all surf and sun
But we ain’t thinking about the boys
Feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys
Now the shit’s getting tricky
Because now they’re looking for the colors and the Dickies
Damn, the spot’s getting hot from the battle
About to pack up and start slinging in Seattle
But the narcs, raid about “6 ‘N the Morning”13
Try to catch a nigga when he’s yawning
Put his Glock to my chest as I paused
Went to jail in my motherfucking drawers
Trying to give me 57 years
40
Face will be full of those tattooed tears
It’s the same old story and the same old nigga stuck
And the public defender ain’t giving a fuck
The fool must be sparking14
Talking about a double-life plea bargain
You’ve got to deal with the Crips and Bloods by hand, G
Plus the Black Guerilla Family
And the white pride don’t like no side
And it’s a riot if anyone else dies
No parole or probation
Now this is a young man’s Summer Vacation
No chance for rehabilitation
Because look at the motherfucking years that I’m facing
I’ma end it like this because you know what’s up
My life is fucked!
UNIDENTIFIED BLACK MAN. Police, eat a dick straight up.
OFFICER. Look here, you little goddamned nigger! You’re not gaff’ling nobody!
OFFICER’S BACKUP. Let me at him! Let me at him!
OFFICER. You fucking understand me? That’s right!
BACKUP. Kick his ass! Put him down!
OFFICER. That’s right—get down on the goddamned ground, now! Fucking move,
now!
BACKUP. Let me take a shot at him! Let me take a shot at him!
OFFICER. We’re going to do you like King!
BLACK MAN. What goddamned king?
OFFICER. Rodney King, Martin Luther King,
BOTH OFFICERS. and all them goddamned kings from Africa!
UNIDENTIFIED GUNMAN. Look out, motherfucker!
41
STEADY MOBBIN’
ICE CUBE. Goddamn. The bigger the cap, the bigger the peeling. And when dealing
with the Lench Mob, you got to know Steady Mobbin’ is not just the name of this jam, but a
way of life. Bound together by motherfuckers that are known to break them off something.
Give it to me.
Four or five niggas in a mother ship
Better known as a deuce and we all want to smother shit*
Bent. Front and back glass got tint
Trying to get our hands on some dollars and cents
And fools can’t hold us
Every chance we get, we’re hitting up the rollers
Coming up short of the green guys
And I might start slinging bean pies15
Or the bootleg t-shirt of the month
With “U Can’t Touch This” on the front16
I’m out to get rich
Because “life ain’t nothing but—” money and fuck a bitch17
They drop like dominoes
And if you didn’t know, Ice Cube got drama whores
So after the screwing
I bust a nut and get up and put on my white Ewings18
*
The automobile used in the music video for “Steady Mobbin’ ” appears, clearly, to be a model year 1962
(six-deuce) Chevrolet Impala, I, therefore, transcribe the word “deuce” here. A common variant encountered
during research is “goose,” probably with Howard Hughes’s H-4 Hercules, “Spruce Goose” in mind. Thus, the
line would read, “Better known as a Goose.” However, I find no references to the aircraft as a “mother ship”
and cannot justify considering “goose” here. On the other hand, George Clinton, whose work figures
prominently in the music backing the lyrics on multiple tracks of DC, is widely known to have ridden a
“mothership” down from the rafters and onto the stage during live shows. However, due to the overall lack of
clarity in the available audio, and because the volume of texts bearing the variant, “goose” may be considered
by some as a sound interpretation.
42
I’m out the door
All you might get is a rubber on the floor
Because I’m ready to hit the road like Mario Andretti
Bitch, because I’m Steady Mobbin’
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
LENCH MOB MEMBER. Steady Mobbin’.
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
CONCERNED NEIGHBOR. There goes the neighborhood.
Busting caps in the mix
Rather be judged by twelve than carried by six
Because I’m getting major
Fuck PacTel, moved to SkyPager19
Told all my friends
“Don’t drink 8-Ball,” because St. Ides is giving ends20
Fools get drunk and want to compete
Slap-boxing in the street
Niggas get mad. Tempers are flaring
Because they got a few bitches staring
Just for the nappy heads
But scandalous bitches, make for happy Feds
I make it my duty to cuss them
Out, because I just don’t trust them
And if you tell on me, I’m bombing on Betty
Bitch should have known I was Steady Mobbin’
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
LENCH MOB MEMBER. Steady Mobbin’.
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
CONCERNED NEIGHBOR. There goes the neighborhood.
43
Since one-time so hot
Got me a stash spot in my hooptie21 for the Glock
And I’m rolling on rims
Eating soul food, neck bones from M&M’s
Grubbing like a motherfucker
Greasy-ass lips, now I got to take a shit
Saw Sir Jinx bailing
When I hit a left on Ruthelen22 “What’s up, loc?”
Don’t you know that niggas get smoked
That take their lives for a joke? Get in, nigga
I’ll take you to the pad, soon
Went to mom’s house and dropped a load in the bathroom
Jumped back in my lowrider
Coming out feeling about ten pounds lighter
Went to Bone’s house so I could get the gat
Looking for the place where all the whores kick it at
Lench Mob ain’t nothing but tramps
For whores licking nuts like stamps
One fool bumping music for the yamps23
But Ice Cube had more amps. Get in, bitch
Because I had the jam on
And I don’t want to hear shit about a tampon
Give me the nappy and make me happy
The whore said “Pappy could you slap me
On the ass hard and fast
And could you please try not to leave a gash?”
I said “yeah,” but I don’t play sex
Without putting on the latex
Slipped on the condom
Fucked around and dropped the bomb, son
44
And it came out sort of like confetti
In for the night, no longer Steady Mobbin’
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
LENCH MOB MEMBER. Steady Mobbin’.
PARLIAMENT. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life?
CONCERNED NEIGHBOR. There goes the neighborhood.
ROBIN LENCH
ROBIN LENCH. Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m Robin Lench, and
welcome to the “Lifestyles of the Poor and Unfortunate.” Where you and your broad can win
eight days and nine dangerous nights at the Come on in Motel, over viewing the Watts
Tower.
AUDIENCE. [Oohs and aahs].
ROBIN. And for your transportation pleasures, you get to ride on, what? The RTD:
The Rough, Tough and Dangerous. Where we provide you and your bitch round-trip transfer
straight down Gage. Where you get to meet, who? O.G. Mudbone! Hello, O.G. Mudbone,
say “hi.”
O.G. MUDBONE. Hey, man, fuck you, motherfucker.
ROBIN. And for your gambling cravings, you can lose that trick-bitch that’s with you
almost . . . well . . . basically . . . anywhere!
SOLICITOR. I’ll give you $20 for your bitch! Ha-ha, ha-ha.
ROBIN. And for your nightlife entertainment, you get to visit our very own
Strawberry Showgirls. Located where? On Figueroa. Eh, eh, bitch! Eh, how much for head?
Ha-ha, ha-ha. Oh, ha-ha, oh!. Until next time! 40-ounce dreams and watered-down wishes.
I’m Robin Lench. Peace. 5000, G.
GIVIN’ UP THE NAPPY DUG OUT
DOORBELL. Ding. Dong.
CHERYL’S FATHER. Yeah. [Opening door. The sounds of a ball game can be heard
on the TV.]
45
ICE CUBE. Umm, uhh is Cheryl here?
CHERYL’S FATHER. Well, who are you?
ICE CUBE. Tell her Ice Cube is here.
CHERYL’S FATHER. Who?!
ICE CUBE. Ice Cube!
CHERYL’S FATHER. Ice Cube? Man, I ain’t letting my damn daughter go out with
no damn Ice Cubes [sic], man. What the hell you talking about, man? I brought my daughter
up, man, in a Catholic school—private school! Man, what you want with her? I’m sick of this
bullshit!
ICE CUBE. Yo man, let me tell you something.
Your daughter was a nice girl, now she is a slut
A queen treating niggas just like King Tut
Gobbling up nuts, sort of like a hummingbird
Sucking up the Lench Mob crew, and I’m coming third
Used to get straight A’s, now she’s just skipping class
Oh my, do I like to grip the hips and ass24
Only 17, with a lot of practice
On black boys’ jimmies and white boys’ cactus
Sorry, sorry, sir, but I got to be brief
A lot of niggas like busting nuts in her teeth
Drink it up. Drink it up, even though she’s Catholic
That don’t mean shit, because she’s giving up the ass quick
Quicker than you can say, “candy”
The bitch is on my Snicker, and oh man she
Can take on three men built like He-Man
Her little-bitty twat got gallons of semen
Fourteen niggas in line ready to bang your
Pride and joy, I mean, daddy’s little angel
Tell the little bitch to bring her ass out the house
Because your daughter is known, for Givin’ up the Nappy Dug Out
46
CHORUS. I got a big old ding-a-ling, and if that bitch can hang, I’m going to do my
thing, with your daughter!
ICE CUBE. Givin’ up the Nappy Dug Out.
CHERYL’S FATHER. Look, motherfucker, you better get from in front of my house
with that old goddamned bullshit! You curly-head motherfucker! You better get out of here
with your lying ass! Man, I hate you little lying motherfuckers!
Mister, mister, before you make me go
I’m here to let you know your little girl is a whore
Nympho, nympho, boy is she bad
Get her all alone and out comes the kneepads
I know she is a minor and it is illegal
But the bitch is worse than Vanessa Del Rio
And if you decide to call rape
We’ve got the little hooker on tape
Now, tell the fucking slut to please hurry up
And wear that dress that’s tight on her butt
So I can finger-fuck on the way to the bed
Been in so many rooms, she’s got a dot on her forehead
Face turning red from grabbing them ankles
Fuck and get up is how I do them stank-whores
You should hear how she sounds with a cock
And her boots get knocked, from here to Czechoslovakia
Two on top, one on the bottom
First nigga [that] got the boots, man, you should have shot him
Because after I got them it was over
Now niggas get lucky like a four-leaf clover
On daddy’s little girl
She keeps nuts in her mouth like the bitch was a squirrel
So tell Cheryl to bring her ass on
47
Because the line at my house is getting long, eh
CHORUS. I got a big old ding-a-ling, and if that bitch can hang, I’m going to do my
thing, with your daughter!
ICE CUBE. Givin’ up the Nappy Dug Out.
CHERYL’S FATHER. [Slamming door.] Little motherfucker!
CHERYL. Daddy, where did he go?
CHERYL’S FATHER. I’ll tell you where he went, goddamn it!
STAPLE SINGERS. Mercy!
BIG DADDY KANE. Giving up the nappy, giving up the nappy dugout.
COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCER. Warning: When having sexual intercourse with a
female like Cheryl, you must use, Jimmy Hat condoms.
CONDOM RAPPERS. We’re called jimmy hats, have you ever seen us?
Most times we’re found rolled up on your penis
If you’re real smart, you will always use us
Put me in your wallet, but some dummies lose us
And go in bareback, without the bare facts
And have creepy crawlers crawling on your nut sac!
So get the J-I-M-M-Y to the hats
It’s me and two brothers in a pack.
KRS-ONE. Run out and get your Jimmy Hats.
UNIDENTIFIED VOICE. Small and extra large.
KRS-ONE. Run out and get your Jimmy Hats.
CONDOM RAPPERS. Or this might happen to you.
LOOK WHO’S BURNIN’
PHILIP BROWN. Eh, but what you doing up here anyway, nigga?
MAN IN CLINIC. Man, I came up here to get some rubbers, man.
48
PHILIP. No shit?
MAN. What you doing up here?
PHILIP. Yeah, I came up here to get a physical. You know, for my job you got to get
a physical and shit, but . . .
UNKNOWN RECEPTIONIST. Philip Brown, to the front desk. Philip Brown . . .
MAN. Really?
PHILIP. Ah that’s me right there. Hey man, you stay up, man . . .
RECEPTIONIST. Philip Brown . . .
PHILIP. Be careful and shit, you know.
MAN. Alright then, homey.
PHILIP. Alright.
RECEPTIONIST. Philip Brown?
PHILIP. Yeah?
RECEPTIONIST. Can I help you?
PHILIP. Ahh, ah-uh-yeah, I’d like to get . . . I’d like to get a physical, and shit.
RECEPTIONIST. We don’t give physicals here.
PHILIP. Oh, you don’t?
RECEPTIONIST. No. All we test for is VD: herpes, syphilis and gonorrhea.
PHILIP. Well, I’d like to see a doctor.
RECEPTIONIST. What’s the matter, you burning?
PHILIP. Huh?
SLICK RICK. Stepped out my house, stopped short, oh no.
KOOL MOE DEE. Why is my thing-thing burning like this?
RECEPTIONIST. You burning?
SLICK RICK. Stepped out my house, stopped short, oh no.
KOOL MOE DEE. What have I done stuck my dick in?
I went to the free clinic, it was filled to capacity
Now how bad can a piece of ass be?
Very bad, so I had to make the trip
49
And thank God, I didn’t have the drips
I was there so a whore couldn’t give me that
Just to get 20 free Jimmy Hats25
Now look who I see
Ain’t that? . . . Yeah, that’s the bitch from up the street
With the big fat tail
Who always told Cube to “go to hell”
She thought she was wiser
Now she’s sitting in the waiting room, burning like Heat Miser26
Yeah, I see her
First, Miss Thing. Now, Miss Gonorrhea
Man, it’s a trip how the world keeps turning
It’s 1991, and Look Who’s Burning
PARLIAMENT. Can we get you hot? (Got me hot!) Can we make your temperatures
rise?
SLICK RICK. This is a girl playing hard to get.
PARLIAMENT. Burning up, burning!
KOOL MOE DEE. What have I done stuck my dick in?
Now, everybody is a victim, you can go see them
And you’ll hear more claps than the Coliseum
Sitting there all quiet and embarrassed
H’up! There goes that bitch who was careless
I remember she wouldn’t give the cock27
To anybody who lived on the block
Now, whore, look what you got
Bend that big ass over for this shot
Because somebody is piping hot
Dripping like a faucet,28 I’m glad I didn’t toss it
Got you a college boy, who was worse than me
50
And he probably fucked the whole university
Still wanted him to dick you down, kick you down
With some bucks, now who got fucked?
With a nigga for the money he’s earning
But ask for some water, bitch, and Look Who’s Burning
PARLIAMENT. Can we get you hot? (Got me hot!) can we make your temperatures
rise?
SLICK RICK. This is a girl playing hard to get.
PARLIAMENT. Burning up, burning!
KOOL MOE DEE. What have I done stuck my dick in?
DISNEY WOMAN. It burns fitfully, sputtering to its end, at which there is a little
surprise.
MAN URINATING IN PAIN. Aw shit! This burns. That stupid-ass . . .
FISHBONE. Bitch!
Yo, it ain’t my fault you got the heebie-jeebies
But you still tried to act like you didn’t see me
So I walk over and say, “Hi”
Bitch, don’t try to act surprised
You should have put a sock on the pickle
And your pussy wouldn’t be blowing smoke signals
Man, this is going to kill them
“Guess who got a big fat dose of penicillin?”
They’ll ask, “Who?”, and I tell them “You”
The new leader of the big-booty crew
And after today, I’m sorry to say
You come through the neighborhood, you couldn’t give it away
To a nigga, who’s out to get major paid
But you’ll have him, pissing out razor blades
51
But a bitch like you will be returning with the HIV, R.I.P.
KRS-ONE. You can’t trust a big butt and a smile.
PETER BROWN. I’m burning up!
KRS-ONE. You can’t trust a big butt and a smile.
PETER BROWN. It’s so . . . hot!
KRS-ONE. You can’t trust a big butt and a smile.
PETER BROWN. I’m burning up!
KOOL MOE DEE. What have I, done stuck my dick in?
A BIRD IN THE HAND
BIG BIRD. Say, look at this! I’ve been cleaning out my nest and I found an old book
of my poetry.
Fresh out of school because I was a high school grad
Got to get a job because I was a high school dad
Wish I got paid by rapping to the nation
But that’s not likely, so here’s my application
Pass it to the man at AT&T
Because when I was in school I got the A-E-E29
But there’s no ‘SC for this youngster30
I didn’t have no money, so now I’ve got to punch the
Clock. Got to slave and be happy and when
Whitey says there’s no room for the African*
Always knew that I would clock G’s31
*
A variant reading states: “Got to slave and be half a man / But whitey says there’s no room for the
African.” My initial response was to reject this as an accidental mistake toward Ice Cube’s intent with the
understanding of American slavery and the Three-Fifths Compromise. However, with the uncertainty of an
accidental in the transcript or a substantive on the part of the performer, either reading is plausible.
52
But, “Welcome to McDonalds. May I take your order, please.”
Got to serve you food that might give you cancer
Because my son doesn’t take “no” for an answer
Now, I pay taxes that they never give me back
What about diapers, bottles, and Similac?
Do I have to sell me a whole lot of crack
For decent shelter and clothes on my back?
Or, should I just wait for help from Bush
Or Jesse Jackson, and operation PUSH?32
If you ask me the whole thing needs a douche
Of Massengill. What the hell? Crack will sale in the neighborhood
To the corner-house bitches
Miss Parker, Little Joe and Todd Bridges
Or anybody that he knows
So I copped me a bird, better known as a kilo33
Now everybody knows I went from poor to a nigga that got dough
So now you put the Feds against me
Because I couldn’t follow the plan of the Presidency
I’ll never get love again
But blacks are too fucking broke to be Republican
Now I remember, I used to be cool
Until I stopped filling out my W-2
Now senators are getting high
And your plan against the ghetto backfired
So now you got a pep talk
But sorry, this is our only room to walk
Because we don’t want to drug push
But A Bird in the Hand is worth more than a Bush34
JAMES BROWN. Tell the politicians and the hustlers: Live, and let live.
PARLIAMENT. Yeah.
53
MAN’S BEST FRIEND
GEORGE CLINTON. Dog catcher, dog catcher!
GEORGE CLINTON. Bow wow wow. Yippee yo, yippee yea. Bow wow, yippee yo,
yippee yea.
Here’s another topic I’m addressing
So learn a quick lesson, about your Smith & Wesson
Sit your ass back and comprehend
As I let you know about Man’s Best Friend
Now remember: It used to be a dog like Lassie
But now in ‘91 it’s a gun if you ask me
Just like a jimmy hat is used for protection
I use my 9 when suckers start to flexing
Because if you run up and try to play mine
I’d rather have an AK than a fucking K9
Because if you shot your gun, and my dog tried a fetcher
Me and the dog’s going out on a stretcher
And I ain’t with that, so I got to get that
Big black gat, aim and I hit that
Forget about a dog, fool, he’ll shit in the den
Nowadays, a gat is Man’s Best Friend
Here is the reason why Ice Cube packs
Just in case the little punks try to jack
I can’t put a motherfucking pit bull
Under a coat, in the small of my back
So I got to take my Beretta, and I bet you
It’ll probably work 100% better
Because it’ll keep me out of danger
With 16 in the clip and one in the chamber
So this goes to all y’all intruders
54
Beware of the owner, because the owner is a shooter
I don’t just want to give your ass rabies
I’d rather have your ass pushing up daisies
And I can’t do that with Benji,
Rin Tin Tin, or Spuds MacKenzie
Forget about a dog fool, he’ll shit in the den
Nowadays, a gat is Man’s Best Friend
A RAGE UP IN HARLEM. Just don’t let me see you shoot no dogs!
COP UNDER FIRE. Hey, I got shots fired here, send me another unit.
PETER JENNINGS. The profile of a typical American gun owner is this: Over thirty,
white, male, middle class.
ICE CUBE. Take that motherfuckers!
ALIVE ON ARRIVAL
Down at the bet spot
It’s me and JD and they’re selling more birds than a pet shop
The spot’s hot and everybody’s nervous
That’s when the blue car served us
Oh why did fools have to let loose
Heard six pop from a deuce-deuce
Big Tom had to push us
Thirteen niggas running straight to the bushes
For their gats so they could draw down
But why a motherfucker like me have to fall down?
Not knowing why I dropped out
Fuck it, still can’t afford to get popped out
So now I got to jet
Only ran one block, but my shirt is soaking wet
Trying to see if we got them
Looked down and my sweatshirt is red at the bottom
55
Didn’t panic, but I still looked cracked out
Yelled to the homeys then I blacked out
Woke up in the back of a trey35
On my way, to MLK
That’s the county hospital, jack
Where niggas die over a little scratch
Sitting in the trauma center
In my back is where the bullet entered
“Yo, nurse, I’m getting kind of warm.”
Bitch still made me fill out the fucking form
Coughing up blood on my hands and knees
Then I heard “Freeze, nigger! Don’t move!”
Yo, I didn’t do a thing
Don’t want to go out like my man, Rodney King
Still got gaffed
Internal bleeding as the bullet starts to travel
Now I’m handcuffed
Being asked information on my gang affiliation
I don’t bang, I rock the good rhymes36
And I’m a victim of neighborhood crime
OFFICER 1. Are you the only one who got shot?
OFFICER 2. What kind of gun was he carrying?
OFFICER 3. Do you know who it was?
VICTIM. No, man, I don’t know who it was.
OFFICER 3. Are you in a gang?
VICTIM. Man, what does this matter, man? I’m shot.
I need to see a MD
56
And ya’ll motherfuckers giving me the third degree
Look at the waiting room
It’s filled to the rim like the county jail dayroom37
Nobody getting help
Since we’re poor, the hospital it moves slow
Now I’m laid out
People stepping over me to get closer to the TV
Just like a piece of dog shit
Now will I die on this nappy-ass carpet?
One hour done passed
Done watched two episodes of M*A*S*H
And when I’m almost through
They call my name and put me in ICU
Halfway dead
No respect and handcuffed to the bed
Now the drama starts
Because the bullet must be just a hair from my heart
Then I begin the ass-kissing
Just to get looked at by an overworked physician
Had the chills, but my temperature is 103
Only got a Band-Aid and an IV
That’s when I start cussing
Police steady asking me: “Who did the busting?”
OFFICER. What did you got shot with?
VICTIM. .22.
OFFICER. Who shot you?
VICTIM. I don’t know who shot me.
OFFICER. Was is gangbangers?
VICTIM. Had to be.
57
Why oh why can’t I get help?
Because I’m black, I got to go for self
Too many black bodies the hospital is housing
So at 10:00 p.m., I was Audi 500038
DEATH
DR. KHALLID MUHAMMAD. Let me live my life. When we can no longer live our
life then let us give our life for the liberation and salvation of the black nation. Saints,
saviors, soldiers, scholars, healers, and killers. No longer dead, deaf, dumb, and blind out of
our mind—brainwashed with the white man’s mind. No more homicide, no more fratricide,
no more suicide, feticide, and genocide. Look the goddamned white man in his cold, blue
eyes. Devil don’t even try because we’re Bebe kids: We don’t die we multiply. You’ve heard
the Death side, now open your Black eyes for the rebirth, resurrection, and rise.
THE BIRTH
DELIVERY DOCTOR. It’s a boy!
DR. KHALID MUHAMMAD. The black man and black woman have no birth
record, no beginning, and no ending. Before alpha and after omega . . . The black father and
mother of morality, medicine, music and mathematics. The father and mother of all nations,
of religion, philosophy, art, science, and civilization. No birth record. All they can say about
the black man is: He was, he is, and he shall be. Before him there were none and after him
there will be no more. Before we can make a way for the peace maker, we must kill and get
rid of the peace breaker.
I WANNA KILL SAM
ARMY RECRUITER. The army is the only way out for a young black teenager.
We’ll provide you with housing. We’ll provide you with education. We’ll provide you with
everything you need to survive in life. We’ll help you to be the best soldier in the US of A.
COMMERCIAL ENDORSER. Because we do more before 7:00 a.m., than most
niggers do in their whole lifetime.
58
PARLIAMENT. Gaining on you.
BOBBY BYRD. I’m coming, I’m coming! I’m coming,
ICE CUBE. I’m coming!
I want to kill him, because he tried to play me like the trick
But you see, I’m the Wrong Nigga to Fuck Wit
I got the A to the motherfucking K, and it’s ready to rip
Slapped in my banana clip
And I’m looking
Is he in Watts, Oakland, Philly or Brooklyn?
It seems like he’s got the whole country behind him
So it’s sort of hard to find him
But when I do, got to put my gat in his mouth
Pump 17 rounds make his brains hang out
Because the shit he did was uncalled-for
Tried to fuck a brother up the ass like a small whore
And that shit ain’t fly
So now, I’m setting up the ultimate drive-by
And when you hear this shit, it makes the world say, “Damn!”
I Wanna Kill Sam
CHANT. Do the niggas run this motherfucker?
[Knock at door.]
YOUNG MAN OF THE HOUSE. Momma! Some man at the front door.
MOTHER. Sit your ass down.
FOLLOW UP RECRUITER. Uhh, hi. I have reason to believe that someone in this
household has just turned 18, am I correct?
Here’s why I want to kill the punk
59
Because he tried to take a motherfucking chunk of the funk
He came to my house, I let him bail in
Because he said he was down with the L-M
He gave up a little dap39
Then turned around, and pulled out a gat
I knew it was a caper
I said, “Please, don’t kill my mother,” so he raped her
Tied me up. Took me outside
And I was thrown in a big truck
And it was packed like sardines
Full of niggas, who fell for the same scheme
Took us to a place and made us work
All day and we couldn’t have shit to say
Broke up the families forever
And to this day, black folk can’t stick together
And it’s odd
Broke us down, made us pray to his God
And when I think about it, It make me say “Damn!”
I Wanna Kill Sam.
Now in ‘91, he wants tax me
I remember, the son of a bitch used to axe me
And hang me by a rope until my neck snapped
Now the sneaky motherfucker wants ban rap
And put me under dirt or concrete
But God, can see through a white sheet
Because you’re the devil in drag
You can burn your cross, well, I’ll burn your flag
Tried to give me the HIV
So I could stop making babies like me
And you’re giving dope to my people, chump
60
Just wait until we get over that hump
Because your ass is grass because I’ma blast
Can’t bury rap, like you buried jazz
Because we stopped being whores, stopped doing floors
So bitch, you can fight your own wars
So if you see a man in red, white, and blue
Getting chased by the Lench Mob crew
It’s a man who deserves to buckle
I Wanna Kill Sam because he ain’t my motherfucking uncle!
QUESTIONER. We’ve gone nowhere in 200 years?
RESPONDER. That’s correct.
HORNY LIL’ DEVIL
UNKNOWN ACCUSER. You are the prince of darkness, archenemy, father of evil,
hell-born, demonic, savage, fierce, vicious, wild, tameless, barbaric, ungovernable,
uncontrollable, obstinate beast.
Horny Lil’ Devil, you got to back up
Horny Lil’ Devil, you can’t bust a nut
Looking at my girlfriend’s black skin
You want to jump in, but she don’t like white men
So don’t flirt at work you fucking jerk
Or get your punk devil-ass hurt, motherfucker!
She ain’t with the pale face
Because y’all fuck at a snail’s pace
And you might get sprayed with mace from the Ebony
So when she’s doing her job, you’d better let her be
Don’t try to pinch the gluteus
Thinking that you’re about to knock out the uterus
Because she’ll tell you to kiss her ass quick
61
And where I’m from, devils get their asses kicked
Mr. Sexual Harassment
Asking for a blow when the answer is “Fuck no!”
Looks like you want to terminate
But that’s when I go Psycho like Norman Bates
I want to kill the devil for talking shit
Because he can’t get a taste of the chocolate
African breasts because white bitches have no butts and no chests
Black women have bodies like goddesses
Sort of like Venus, but put away your penis
Because the devil is a savage motherfucker
That’s why I’m lighter than the average brother
Because you raped our women and we felt it
But it’ll never happen again, if I can help it (me neither)
Because nobody in my neighborhood has caught Jungle Fever yet40
So Horny Lil’ Devil, you better listen
Before your ass comes up missing
And it’s like that
LL COOL J. I’m so horny.
JAMES BROWN. Hey, listen to the man.
Now, you want to get me
Horny Lil’ Devil must be an F-A-G
Trying to fuck me out my land and my manhood
Had me broke, eating Spam and canned goods
Locking down on my neighborhoods
Treat me less than a man because right now you got the upper hand
But my ass is a virgin
You might have fucked the Indians41
But you can’t surgeon me
62
And when I’m on top I won’t be fucking you
I’d rather put a buck in you
Because I hate the devil with a passion
And when I see the whites of his eyes, I start blasting
Dig a hole and throw his ass in
And I won’t be happy until I’m down to my last 10
Get his fucking pitchfork
Tie him up, and then feed the bitch pork
Little devil can’t fuck me out my pay
Because, Horny Lil’ Devil, true niggas ain’t gay42
And you can’t play with my Yo-Yo
And definitely can’t play with me you fucking homo
Because we’ll blow your head off
And turn that white sheet into a red cloth
Plus, when they’re all dead
I can cut that Jheri juice and get a bald head
Then let it nap up
Go down to the corner store and beat the Jap up
Clean all the crap up out my city
Now the whole block looks shitty
Put his dick on a wood block
Swing swing swing and chop chop chop
Now who’s the next to nut?
Color Me Badd, but you can’t sex me up
So don’t even try it, put your dick on a diet
Because this is what—why in 1991 I’ma get my gun
Put an end to the devil, so get a fucking shovel
LL COOL J. I’m so horny.
JAMES BROWN. Hey, listen to the man.
63
RADIO RAHEEM. Twenty “D” Energizers.
SONNY. Twenty “C” Energizers?
RAHEEM. “D.” Not “C,” “D.”
SONNY. “C” Energizers?
RAHEEM. “D” motherfucker, “D!” Learn to speak English first, alright? “D!”
KIM. How many you say?
RAHEEM. Twenty, motherfucker, 20.
KIM. Honey.
SONNY. Motherfuck you!
BLACK KOREA
Every time I want to go get a fucking brew43
I got to go down to the store with the two
Oriental, one-penny-counting motherfuckers
They make a nigga mad enough to cause a little ruckus
Thinking every brother in the world is out to take
So they watch every damn move that I make
They hope I don’t pull out a gat and try to rob
Their funky little store, but bitch, I got a job
PROFILED CUSTOMER. Look, you little tight-eyed motherfucker! I ain’t
trying to steal none of your shit. Leave me alone!
SONNY. Motherfuck you!
ICE CUBE. Yo, yo, check it out.
So don’t follow me, up and down your market
Or your little chop suey ass will be a target
Of the nationwide boycott
Juice with the people, that’s what the boy got
So pay respect to the Black Fist
Or we’ll burn your store right down to a crisp
64
And then we’ll see ya!
Because you can’t turn the ghetto into Black Korea
SONNY. Motherfuck you!
TRUE TO THE GAME
It’s the Nigga Ya Love to Hate with a new song
So what really goes on
Nothing but a come up, but ain’t that a bitch
They hate to see a young nigga rich
But I refuse to switch even though
Because I can’t move to the snow
Because soon as y’all get some dough
You want to put a white bitch on your elbow
Moving out your neighborhood
But I walk through the ghetto and the flavor’s good
Little kids jumping on me
But you, you want to be white and corny
Living way out
“Nigger go home” spray painted on your house
Trying to be white or a Jew
But ask yourself: Who are they to be equal to?
Get the hell out
Stop being an Uncle Tom, you little sellout
House nigger, scum
Give something back to the place where you made it from
Before you end up broke
Fuck around and get your ghetto pass revoked
I ain’t saying no names, you know who you are
You little punk
Be True to the Game
65
When you first started rhyming
It started off slow and then you started climbing
But it wasn’t fast enough I guess
So you gave your other style a test
You was hardcore hip hop
Now look at yourself, boy, you done flip-flopped
Giving our music away to the mainstream
Don’t you know they ain’t down with the team
They just sent their boss over
Put a bug in your ear and now you crossed over
On MTV but they don’t care
They’ll have a new nigger next year
You’re out in the cold
No more white fans and no more soul
And you might have a heart attack
When you find out that black folk don’t want you back
And you know what’s worse?
You was just like the nigga in the first verse44
Stop selling out your race
And wipe that stupid-ass smile off your face
Niggas always got to show their teeth
Now I’ma be brief
Be True to the Game
A message to the Oreo cookie
Find a mirror and take a look, G
Do you like what you see?
But you’re quick to point the finger at me
You want to be the big fish, you little guppy
Black man can’t be no yuppie
66
You put on your suit and tie and your big clothes
You don’t associate with the Negroes
You want to be just like Jack
But Jack is calling you a nigger behind your back
So back off genius
I don’t need you to correct my broken English
You know that’s right, you ain’t white
So stop holding your ass tight
Because you can’t pass
So why you keep trying to pass with your black ass?
Mister Big
But in reality, you’re shorter than a midge
You only got yourself to blame
Get a grip, Oreo
And be True to the Game
Be True to the Game!
COLOR BLIND
[Ice Cube] Here’s another day at the stoplight
I’m looking in my mirror so I can see who can see me
South Central is putting Ice Cube to the test
With four brothers in an SS45
Now, I can’t go around and can’t back up
So I got to peep game laying in the cut
Is this a jack or a kidnap?
Since I’m never, ever slipping, I’m fully strapped
I grab my gat out of the glove
Do these fools got a problem with me?
Or do they got love?
And when the light turns green, I don’t bone out
I want to see what these black men are all about
67
Because if it’s my time, I’m just short
If not, I’m plugging their Super Sport
First, they get behind my ride
Then, they switch lanes to the left side
I’m scoping out the one smoking indo46
Coming up fast, rolling down his window
He threw up a sign, I put away my nine
Fool, because I’m Color Blind
[Threat] Killer Cali, the state where they kill
Over colors because brothers don’t know the deal
And they’ll cap you, not if they have to
But if they want to, first they might confront you
But every nigga on my block can’t stop
And he won’t stop and he don’t stop47
Not to the bang, bang boogie, but they like to gangbang
And rookies ain’t the only ones that drop
Some say the little locs48 are getting a little too loc’d
And when it comes to dust, they kick up the most
Say the wrong words, then whistle down the street to your homeys like a bird
Bust a U-turn, come back and get served, nigga
For the women, it don’t matter how loud their blouses get
But men, the wrong color outfit, could get your mouth split
It’s a shame, but it ain’t no thing to me
Because I sling these things like a G
It’s on. It’s “anybody killer” for the summertime
I got to get another nine, even though I’m Color Blind
[Kam] I’m fresh out of county on bail
And no sooner do I get out, seems like I’m right back in jail
For some gang-related activity
68
Because every day, different fools try to get with me
For no more than a color, or territory
“Can’t rehabilitate them,” that’s the sheriff’s story
So what’s left, the judge goes deaf49
When you try to tell your side, and you ain’t blue-eyed
Boy you better duck because the book is coming
So just hand your car keys over to your woman
Because it ain’t no sunshine where you’re headed
And the shit will drive you crazy if you let it
But now, I got time to think
Because they hit me with everything but the kitchen sink
And I ain’t even shed a tear
Because believe it or not, they got more love for me here
Now picture that, but on a black and white photograph
Because brothers, you don’t know the half
On the streets I was damn near out of my mind
But ever since I’ve been down,50 I’m Color Blind
[WC] Now here’s the game plan. Yo, at a quarter to nine
I was told to peel a cap on the other side
Yo, young and dumb and full of come, I’m a baby loc
I got to put in work for the hood and that ain’t no joke
[Coolio] Stable and able but I’m not ready and willing
Because I’m only 13 and I ain’t never did a killing
Grabbed the AK and jumped in the g-ride51
Started up the bucket and headed for the other side
[WC] Spotted the enemies, now I’m on a creep tip
Hit the five-dollar stick52 and I put in my clip
[Coolio] So, I jumped out the car and no matter what the cost
I had my mind set on sending niggas to Harrison Ross
[WC] Caught one from the back and I looked in eyes
69
Thinking, should I peel his cap, or should I let him survive?
I’m trapped in the plan designed by the other kind
[Coolio] I ain’t contributing to genocide (why?)
This brother’s Color-Blind
[King Tee] Niggas in the hood ain’t changed
And I’ve finally figured out that we’re not in the same gang53
Because I walk the alleys of Compton with nowhere to turn
Every which way I get burned
Baby Boo wears blue, Big Fred wears red
Put them together and we color them dead
Dead, dying, getting smoked is like part of the fun
They get smoked just to show how many come to the funeral
[J-Dee] I understand how all my homeboys feel
Because I’ve been shot and to this day, I pack my steel
Because I was born in a certain territory
Where you don’t talk only the streets tell stories
Where blue and red bandanas own the street
And if you’re slipping, you’ll be six feet deep
See, me and T-Bone, we pay it no mind
And for the rest of the mob, we stay Color-Blind
DOING DUMB SHIT
When I was young I used to hang with the seventh graders
Little bad motherfucker playing Space Invaders
Fucking with the girls in the fourth grade
Either feeling on their butts or pulling on their braids
Walking with the schoolhouse bully
By doing that, I had a lot of pull, G
Cheating on tests, making a mess
70
Cussing like a sailor at recess
It must have been a half moon
Because you’d catch me running out the little girls’ bathroom
Chewing on Good and Plenty
Got my gamble on at lunch pitching pennies
Yo, I was living like the class clown
Pulling all the hoax, making all the jokes, man
When you’re young it’s hard to see
That it’s wrong throwing rocks at the RTD
Popping out your window with a BB gun
Better yet, knocking on your door and run
Played hide-and-go-get-it for a little stank
Even though I was still shooting blanks
As soon as the dark hit
I was stealing candy out the corner market
Until I got my ass whipped
Because I was ten years old, Doing Dumb Shit
Thirteen, that’s how old I was
When my jimmy started getting a little “Peach Fuzz”
And I was looking at any butt and ass
Me and my homeys started cutting class
Going up to the high school
Looking for any bitch I could lie to
Tell them I was older than I really was
Smoked my first joint and got really buzzed
That’s what a mack is made of
But when I got my first piece of pussy I fell in love
Hard as a rock the long way
And then I put the rubber on the wrong way
But I still got to have it
71
Overexcited and fucking like a jackrabbit
Goddamn I was hype
A virgin but I still knew how to lay pipe
Even though the whore worked me
I still knocked the boots from here to Albuquerque
Then the shit got strange, money
I started shaking and jimmy felt funny
Then the nut came gushing
I jumped up got dressed and started pushing
Because I thought the bitch broke my dick
Because I was still young Doing Dumb Shit
At 17 got my first Volkswagen
And mastered the lifelong art of dragging
To the women in college
Hung out with the OG’s and got some Street Knowledge
Breaking in cars and all that
Hitting punk fools with a baseball bat
Flunking at a real fast rate
Until they said that I might not graduate
Then I said “Fuck the dumb shit”
Because pops will fuck me up quick
If things continue
So I started rapping about shit I’ve been through
And I got real good
Now, I look at all the kids in the neighborhood
Trying to be baby-macks
Doing shit that I did seven years back
Going through a stage
But before they can grow up they’re on the front page
And their mommas are having a fit
72
Because they died young Doing Dumb Shit
US
WOMAN LOOKING FOR STANLEY. Yo, where the fuck is that little boy at?
Stanley, bring your ass here, goddamn it.
YOUNG BOY. Man, fuck you, punk-ass nigga. But anyway, man—yo Bone, man,
when I get 14, man, I want to buy me a ragtop trey on some gold Dana’s . . .
BONE. Man fuck that shit. You need to take your ass to school, get you a
motherfucking job and shit . . .
BOY. Man, fuck that. Man, fuck you. Look here, when I get 14, man, I want to buy
me a ragtop trey on some gold Dana’s with a 3-wheel motion, Kenwood pullout, 3-finger
ring, fat-ass link . . .
WOMAN. Stanley.
BOY. And a big-booty bitch to go with it.
ICE CUBE. Break them off something.
Could you tell me who released our animal instinct?
Got the white man sitting there, tickled pink.
Laughing at Us on the avenue
Busting caps at each other after having brew
We can’t enjoy ourselves
Too busy jealous at each other’s wealth
Coming up is just in me
But the black community is full of envy
Too much backstabbing
While I look up the street I see all the Japs grabbing
Every vacant lot in my neighborhood
Build a store, and sell their goods
To the county recipients
You know, Us poor niggas, nappy hair and big lips
Four or five babies on your crotch
73
And you expect Uncle Sam to help Us out?
We ain’t nothing but porch monkeys
To the average bigot, redneck, honky
You cite coming up as a must
But before we can come up, take a look at Us
PARLIAMENT. People keep waiting on a change but, ain’t got sense enough to
come in out of the rain.
DOOMSDAY BLACK MAN. I predict, by 1995, 92% of all niggas will self-destruct
by killing each other.
And all y’all dope dealers . . .
You’re as bad as the police because you kill us
You got rich when you started slinging dope
But you ain’t built Us a supermarket
So we can spend our money with the blacks
Too busy buying gold and Cadillacs
That’s what you’re doing with the money that you’re raising
Exploiting us like the Caucasians did
For 400 years. I got 400 tears for 400 peers
Died last year from gang-related crimes
That’s why I got gang-related rhymes
But when I do a show to kick some facts
Us blacks don’t know how to act
Sometimes I believe the hype, man
We mess it up ourselves and blame the white man
But don’t point the finger you jigaboo
Take a look at yourself you dumb nigga, you
Pretty soon hip hop won’t be so nice
No Ice Cube, just Vanilla Ice
And you’ll sit and scream and cuss
74
But there’s no one to blame but Us
INQUISITIVE RAP FAN. Yeah, but why is it that one motherfucker can ruin it for
22,00 motherfuckers when they want to see a good jam? You know what I’m saying? Eh, yo
Cube tell them something.
ICE CUBE. Break them off something.
PARLIAMENT. People keep waiting on a change but, ain’t got sense enough to
come in out of the rain.
NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH. If I see any one of them damned niggers moving in my
neighborhood, I’m going to try my damnedest to blow his motherfucking head off.
Us will always sing the Blues
Because all we care about are hairstyles and tennis shoes
And if you step on mine, you push a button
Because I’ll beat you down like it ain’t nothing
Just like a beast
But I’m the first nigga to holler out
RANDOM BLACK MAN. Peace, Black man.
I beat my wife and children to a pulp
When I get drunk and smoke dope
Got a bad heart condition
Still eat hog maws and chitterlings
Bet my money on the dice or the horses
Jobless, so I’m a hope for the armed forces
Go to church but they tease Us
With a picture of a blue-eyed Jesus
They used to call me “Negro”
After all this time I’m still busting up the chifforobe
No respect and ignored
And I’m having more babies than I really can afford
In jail because I can’t pay the mother
75
Held back in life because of my color
Now, this is just a little summary
Of Us, but y’all think it’s dumb of me
To hold a mirror to your face, but trust
Nobody gives a fuck about—
NO VASELINE
Goddamn, I’m glad ya’ll set it off
Used to be hard, now you’re just wet and soft
First, you was down with the AK
And now I see you in a video with Michel’le
Looking like straight bozos
I saw it coming, that’s why I went solo
And kept on stomping
While ya’ll motherfuckers moved Straight Outta Compton
Living with the whites, one big house
And not another nigger in site.
I started off with too much cargo
Dropped four niggas now I’m making all the dough
White man just ruling
The Niggas with Attitudes. Who are you fooling?
Ya’ll niggas just phony
I put that on my momma and my dead homeys
Yella Boy’s on your team, so you’re losing
Eh, yo Dre, stick to producing
Calling me Arnold, but you’re Benedict
Eazy E saw your ass and went in it quick
You got jealous when I got my own company
But I’m a man, and ain’t nobody humping me
Trying to sound like AmeriKKKa’s Most
You could yell all day but you don’t come close
76
Because you know I’m the one that flows
You done run 100 miles, but you still got one to go
With the L-E-N-C-H-M-O-B, and ya’ll disgrace the C-P-T
Because you’re getting fucked out your green by a white boy, with No Vaseline
LL COOL J. Now you’re getting done without Vaseline
BIZ MARKIE. Damn, it feels good to see people on it
The bigger the cap, the bigger the peeling
Who gives a fuck about a punk-ass villain?
You’re getting fucked real quick
And Eazy’s dick, is smelling like MC Ren’s shit
Tried to tell you a year ago
But Willie D told me to let a whore be a whore
So, I couldn’t stop you from getting ganked
Now, let’s play “big bank take little bank”
Tried to dis Ice Cube, it wasn’t worth it
Because the broomstick fits your ass so perfect
Cut my hair and I’ll cut them balls
Because I heard you like giving up the drawers
Gang-banged by your manager, fellow
Getting money out your ass, like a motherfucking Ready Teller
Giving up the dollar bills
Now, they got the Villain with a purse and high-heels
So don’t believe what Ren says
Because he’s going out like Kunte Kinte
But I got a whip for you, Toby
Used to be my homey, now you act like you don’t know me
It’s a case of divide and conquer
Because you let a Jew break up my crew
House nigger got to run and hide
77
Yelling “Compton,” but you moved to Riverside
So don’t front, MC Ren, because I remember when you drove a B210
Broke as a motherfucking joke
Let you on the scene to back up the first team
It ain’t my fault, one nigga got smart
And they’re ripping your asshole apart
By taking your green, oh yeah
The Villain does get fucked with No Vaseline
LL COOL J. Now you’re getting done without Vaseline.
I’ll never have dinner with the President
I’ll never have dinner with the President
I’ll never have dinner with the President, punk
And when I see your ass again, I’ll be hesitant
Now I think you’re a snitch,
Throw a house nigger in a ditch
Half-pint bitch, fucking your homeboys
You little maggot. Eazy E turned faggot
With your manager, fellow
Fucking MC Ren, Dr. Dre, and Yella
But if they were smart as me
Eazy E would be hanging from a tree
With No Vaseline, just a match and a little bit of gasoline
Light them up, burn them up, flame on
Until that Jheri curl is gone
On a permanent vacation, off the master’s plantation
Heard you both got the same bank account
Dumb nigga, what’re you thinking about?
Get rid of that devil real simple, put a bullet in his temple
Because you can’t be the Niggaz4Life crew
78
With a white Jew telling you what to do
Pulling wools with your scams, now I got to play the Silence of the Lambs
With a midget who’s a punk too
Trying to fuck me, but I’d rather fuck you
Eric Wright, punk, always into something, getting fucked at night
By mister shit packer. Bend over for the goddamned cracker—No Vaseline
79
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
A key component of this discussion remains the sexism in Ice Cube’s lyrics through his
performance of black masculinity. It is not sufficient enough to reconsider his misogyny from his
days with NWA and as a solo artist without a critical reassessment of black women’s issues. To a
male listener of Cube’s work, his misunderstandings of women in our society superimposes a
way of thinking contradictory to anything “femcee” Yo-Yo or any of the black women feminists
sits down with introduce during those times. In retrospect, not only does Cube owe to women an
equal voice on the “gangsta” rap platform, he needs to confront his listeners with alternate
perspectives of women in his songs. In the absence of that, too many young men miss the
implications of Yo-Yo’s gangster feminism, and may not consider his lyrics as an aberration
from the correct treatment of women. Michael Eric Dyson writes that while rappers like Ice Cube
“perform an invaluable service by rapping in poignant and realistic terms about urban underclass
existence, they must be challenged to expand their moral vocabulary and to be more
sophisticated in their understanding that description alone is insufficient in addressing the crises
of black urban life” (Dyson, 20). Aware-minded folk have to expect and demand more from him
as an artist, especially in his gender politics.
Altogether, Cube impact some the crises Dyson alludes to, of which misogyny is but a
singular concern. But in lyrics from Death Certificate, specifically, “Givin’ Up the Nappy Dug
Out”, “Look Who’s Burnin’ ”, and “Horny Lil’ Devil” the listener can sense how Cube’s
masculinist Black Nationalism muddies the struggle for black women’s liberation just as the
quest for Black Power had done a generation before him. Numerous references to women as a
“bitches” and “whores” throughout the text, revert back to the social trend where males degrade
women as a rite of passage. Cube’s treatment of women reflects the male sentiment of many, but
to use Dyson’s approach, male students of cultural productions must be challenged to view the
cultural work of other males in new and insightful ways. For black males this all means that new
80
considerations must be paid to the films of black male writers and directors; the written works of
black male authors; and the music of black male singers and songwriters. Our goal in this should
be to first understand ourselves, and the discursive contradictions in our own cries for public
redress for real and/or imaginary social injustices. Lest we forget how to treat women as partners
in our struggle for equality and not as enemies, we should begin to learn from women, who in
most cases are our first teachers anyway, how they want to be loved and appreciated while
understanding “they” are not all the same. We should learn to listen to all of them and internalize
what it is they have to say.
The complete absence of a female voice on DC is perplexing, to say the least. The
conflation of cool gangster aesthetics with violence toward women is a completely unacceptable
matter. Moreover, the black man is not, per se, the protector of black women, or, at all, the
gatekeepers of black women’s sexuality. All males have to protect a woman’s right to choose her
sexual partner. Be her choice female or male, Asian, white, Hispanic, or any other, males have to
respect that choice as we want for our choices of mates to be respected. Cube shows promise
with the inclusion of a woman’s vocals on AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted, but the flow of his
sexism regains strength in absentia of them with DC.
As I write the last of the words of this master’s thesis on the last day of July 2015, it has
been more than 5 years since the Contemporary Women’s Writing Network conference provided
the spark of energy the led me in the direction that this document ultimately took. However, it is
rapidly approaching 25 years since DC first hit store shelves and I, “Fresh outta school, because I
was a high school grad” (“A Bird in the Hand”) rushed to buy it to see what was contained in the
latest installment of the strength of Street Knowledge, the name Cube had given to his fledgling
production company. In the coming month, the present group of grads will be treated to this
age’s rendition of Straight outta Compton as a theatrical release with Ice Cube as one of the
film’s producers. With the embers of social unrest still smoldering in some U.S. cities and with
the death toll of unarmed black men at the hands of police continuing to mount, I am waiting to
see what is emphasized in the film. I am sure there will be embellishments to the story, but as to
the form they will take and to which part(s) of the historicized narrative they will occur in
remains to be seen. Let those who will be there for opening night to watch the film and to begin
to deliberate on it. Let the future students of culture among them report what they have seen.
81
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Smith, Barbara. “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism.” Conditions 2.1 (1977): 25–44. Print.
Tanselle, G. Thomas. “Some Principles for Editorial Apparatus.” Textual Criticism and
Scholarly Editing. Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1990. Print.
Westside Connection. “Gangstas Don’t Dance.” Bow Down. Lench Mob, 1996. CD.
Yo-Yo. “The Bonnie and Clyde Theme.” IBWin’ wit my Crewin’. EastWest, 1993. 12-inch
Single.
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WORKS CONSULTED
Awkward, Michael. Negotiating Difference: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Positionality.
Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1995. Print.
Chang, Jeff. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St
Martin’s, 2005. Print.
Hager, Steven. Hip Hop: The Illustrated History of Breakdancing, Rap Music, and Graffiti. New
York: St. Martin’s, 1984. Print.
HipHopIsRead.com. “Death Certificate: The Samples.” HipHopIsRead.com. N.p. Aug. 2008.
Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Hurt, Byron, Sabrina S. Gordon, and Bill Winters. Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
Northampton, MA: Media Education Foundation, 2006. DVD.
Ice Cube and Angela Davis. “Nappy Happy: A Conversation with Ice Cube and Angela Y.
Davis.” Transition 58 (1992): 174–92. JSTOR. Web. 24 May 2013.
Ikard, David. Breaking the Silence: Toward a Black Male Feminist Criticism. Baton Rouge:
Louisiana State UP, 2007. Print.
Los Angeles Unified School District. Integrated Student Information System. Phase 1 Mark
Reporting Procedures Handbook: For Secondary Schools. Los Angeles Unified School
District: Los Angeles, 2010. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Ogbar, Jeffrey O. G. Hip-hop Revolution: The Culture and Politics of Rap. Lawrence: UP of
Kansas, 2007. Print.
Ohhla.com. “Death Certificate.” Ohhla.com. The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive, n.d. Web. 11
Dec. 2014.
Perry, Imani. Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. Durham: Duke UP, 2004.
Print.
Pough, Gwendolyn D. Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the
Public Sphere. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2004. Print.
Queen Latifah. “Wrath of my Madness.” All Hail the Queen. Tommy Boy Entertainment, 1989.
CD.
Rainbow PUSH Coalition. “Brief History.” Rainbowpush.org. Rainbow PUSH Coalition, 2015.
Web. 23 Apr. 2015.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. G. R. Hibbard. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1987. Print.
Skytel. “SkyTel Company History.” SkyTel.com. Skytel, 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 1015.
85
University of Southern California. “Cost Chart.” USC.edu. University of Southern California,
2015. Web. 09 May 2015.
Ward, Elijah G. “Homophobia, Hypermasculinity and the US Black Church.” Culture, Health &
Sexuality 7.5 (2005): 493–504. JSTOR. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.
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APPENDIX
LYRICS FOR FURTHER STUDY
“How to Survive in South Central” first appeared on the soundtrack of John Singleton’s
1991 classic film study of inner city black male maturation, Boyz n the Hood. It played in the
film as the end credits rolled. Although not on the 1991 issue of DC, the song was included on
the 2003 re-issue as a bonus track. For the 1993 EastWest recording of “The Bonnie and Clyde
Theme,” Yo-Yo and Ice Cube once again paired up to speak of a union between a woman and a
man. However, where there had been sexual tension played up before, this collaboration was
forged through mutual criminality and the cool gangster lifestyle.
HOW TO SURVIVE IN SOUTH CENTRAL
ANNOUNCER. And now, the wondrous world of . . .
SOLICITOR. Hey, come to Los Angeles! You and your family can have peace and
tranquility. Enjoy the refinement . . .
BONE’S ROAD DOG. Hey Bone, hey nigga where you at though?
ELAINE. Hello, my name is Elaine and I’ll be your tour guide through South
Central Los Angeles.
How to survive in South Central (what you do?)
A place where busting a cap is fundamental
No, you can’t find the shit in a handbook
Take a close look, at a rap crook
Rule number one: Get yourself a gun
A nine in your ass will be fine
Keep it in your glove compartment
Because jackers (yo, they love to start shit)
Now if you’re white you can trust the police
But if you’re black they ain’t nothing but beasts
87
Watch out for the kill
Don’t make a false move and keep your hands on the steering wheel
And don’t get smart
Answer all questions, and that’s your first lesson
On staying alive
In South Central, yeah, that’s how you survive
ELAINE. Hi this is Elaine again. Are you enjoying your stay in South Central
Los Angeles or has somebody taken your things? Have you witnessed a driveby? Okay. Make sure you have your camcorder ready to witness the
extracurricular activities on blacks by the police, so you and your family can
enjoy this tape over and over again.
Rule number two: Don’t trust nobody
Especially a bitch, with a hooker’s body
Because it ain’t nothing but a trap
And females will get jacked and kidnapped
You’ll wind up dead
Just to be safe don’t wear no blue or red
Because most niggas get got
In either L.A., Compton or Watts
Pissed-off black human beings
So I think you better skip the sight-seeing
And if you’re nothing but a mark
Make sure that you’re in before dark
But if you need some affection, mate
Make sure the bitch ain’t a Section-8
Because if so that’s a monkey-wrench whore
And you won’t survive in South Central
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ELAINE. Now you realize it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. You realize that
it’s fucked up! It ain’t nothing like the shit you saw on TV—palm trees and
blonde bitches. So I’d advise you to pack your shit and get the fuck on,
motherfucker.
MAN SHOUTING OUT. Yo, I want to say what’s up to DJ Chilly Chill, Sir
Jinx . . . A, yo, Cube, these motherfuckers don’t know what time it is, so show
these motherfuckers what’s happening. Tell these motherfuckers, don’t fuck
around in South Central, goddamn it!
Rule number three: Don’t get caught up
Because niggas are doing anything that’s thought up
And they got advice
On everything from dope, to stolen merchandise
Weed to sherm
Because South Central L.A., is one big germ
Waiting for a brother like you to catch a disease
And start slinging keys
To an undercover or the wrong brother
And they’ll smother a out of town motherfucker
So don’t take your life for granted
Because it’s the craziest place on the planet
In L.A. heroes don’t fly through the sky or stars
They live behind bars
So everybody’s doing a little dirt
And it’s the youngsters putting in the most work
So be alert and stay calm
As you enter the concrete Vietnam
You say, “The strong survive.”
Shit! The strong even die, in South Central
SHOUTING MAN (continues).Yeah you bitches, you think I forgot about your
ass, you tramp-ass whores? You better watch out. And for you so called
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baller-ass niggas, you know what time it is. South Central ain’t no joke. You
got to keep your gat at all times, motherfuckers. You got to keep one in the
chamber and nine in the clip, goddamn it. You’ll sure get got, just like that.
This ain’t no joke, motherfuckers. Now I want to send a shout-out to E-Dog,
the engineer putting’ his two cents in.
TOM BROKAW. This is Los Angeles.
IT’S A MAN’S WORLD (FEATURING YO-YO)
[Ice Cube] Women, they’re good for nothing. No, maybe one thing
To serve needs to my ding-a-ling
I’m a man who loves the one-night stand
Because after I do you, huh, I never knew you
Because to kick it man, it gives me the fits
They want to lay with their nose under your armpits
Ice Cube won’t wait so give it up, cow
After we do it, you can go home now
See, I’m a brother with a big long—
YO-YO. Uh, uh. What the hell do you think you’re talking about?
ICE CUBE. Hookers, baby, hookers
YO-YO. What!?
ICE CUBE. Hookers! You know what time it is
[Yo-Yo] First of all let me tell you my name it’s Yo-Yo
ICE CUBE. What?
Went down on a girl, first offence, and that’s a no-no
Yo-Yo thinks the kitchen sink should be thrown in
Niggas be scheming and fiending to stick the bone in
ICE CUBE. Yep.
No, Yo-Yo’s not a “hoe” or a whore
And if that’s what you’re here for
ICE CUBE. Of course.
90
exit through the door
There’s more to see of me but you’re blind
So women like me are fading brothers in the 9-0
ICE CUBE. Wait, first of all, how you gon’ come on my record and talk?
YO-YO. I’m trying to say that all women are superior over men
ICE CUBE. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
YO-YO. But, wait, how [are] you goning rule the world when you broke as a
joke?
ICE CUBE. With your County check, baby.
[Ice Cube] Eh what up, buttercupper, Miss Yo-Yo
YO-YO. That’s me.
I know you like to rap and like to flow so
YO-YO. True.
But when it comes to hip hop this is a man’s world
Stay down and play the playground, you little girl
[Yo-Yo] What you’re saying, I don’t consider it as rapping
Because you’re a re-run and I’m the new What’s Happening!!
ICE CUBE. What?
It never fails, I’ll always get respect
And you lose so take a rain check
[Ice Cube] Hell no, because you know that I’m first and you’re second
YO-YO. Never.
If it wasn’t for me you’d probably be pregnant
YO-YO. What?
And barefoot, complaining that your back is aching
Shaking and faking while I’m bringing home the bacon
[Yo-Yo] Well, you’re mistaken, it’s not going that far
I make brothers like you play the back yard
ICE CUBE. I doubt it.
You used to flow with the title but I took it
Bring home the bacon, but find another whore to cook it
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[Ice Cube] Damn it, look it, because you’re talking a lot of bull
[Yo-Yo] Well, I’m not your puppet so don’t even try to pull
[Ice Cube] This is a man’s world, thank you very much
[Yo-Yo] But it wouldn’t be a damn thing without a woman’s touch
[Ice Cube] Eh Miss Yo-Yo
YO-YO. Yeah, what’s up?
so what gives
I hear females always talking about women’s lib
Well get your own crib, and stay there
Instead of having more babies for the welfare
YO-YO. What!?
Because if you don’t I’ll label you a gold digger
YO-YO. Nigger!
The name is Ice Cube you know that I ain’t the nigga
For you to look at when your hair gets nappy
So take a piece of the pole and be happy
[Yo-Yo] Hell no, because to me you’re not a thriller
You come in the room with your three-inch killer
ICE CUBE. What!?
Thinking you can do damage to my backbone
ICE CUBE. Yeah!
Leave your child in the yard until it’s full-grown
I’m a put it like this my man
ICE CUBE. What’s up?
Without us your hand would be your best friend
So give us credit like you know you should
If I don’t look good, you don’t look good
[Ice Cube] I doubt it baby, because we’re still most dominant
[Yo-Yo] But you don’t know how funky that I can get
[Ice Cube] This is a man’s world, thank you very much
92
[Yo-Yo] But it wouldn’t be a damn thing without a woman’s touch
[Ice Cube] Man, women! I put a lot of fear in them
Because I’ve had it up to here with them
Drink a beer with them, no way
Because I can only deal with them about an hour every day
Yeah, if you know what I mean, baby
[Yo-Yo] Well, I guess now that I think about it, I think maybe
If you was more of a man
ICE CUBE. What!?
instead of faking it
Women deserve the credit when they’re making it
[Ice Cube] Yeah so what’s the problem?
[Yo-Yo] Well, I think we solved it
I know they know the best now from who’s dogging it
[Ice Cube] Yeah, I admit you can flow
[Yo-Yo] Well, that’s true
[Ice Cube] But you see I’m a pro with the banks too
[Yo-Yo] Yeah, I can see you got it good
[Ice Cube] Oh that I know
[Yo-Yo] But you see you’re not better than Yo-Yo
The brand-new intelligent black lady
[Ice Cube] You’re kind of dope, but you still can’t fade me
[Yo-Yo] So what’s up then?
[Ice Cube] Girl, what [are] you trying to do?
[Yo-Yo] To prove a black woman like me can bring the funk through
[Ice Cube] This is a man’s world, thank you very much
[Yo-Yo] But it wouldn’t be a damn thing without a woman’s touch
ICE CUBE. Or a big butt
YO-YO. See, you know what I mean?
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THE BONNIE AND CLYDE THEME
[Ice Cube] It’s a man’s world, but check the girl
With the Mac-11, one-eighty-seven
Hit the switch, front and back, side to side
Corner to corner, punk you’re a goner
Don’t fuck around and get rolled up
Because we got the Westside sewed up
Ike and Tina, Marie and Donnie
Ashford and Simpson, Clyde and Bonnie
I don’t know karate, but I know crazy
You’d better ask somebody
And will I do dirt? Jerk,
Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt
[Yo-Yo] I’m the type of girl that’s down for my nigga
I’ll lie for my nigga, peel a cap for my nigga
See, he don’t mind me flirting, wearing tight skirts and—
Because when it’s all over, it’s curtains
What they don’t know won’t hurt—uh
They’re searching on him, I got the gat in my skirt
Yeah, just clowning fools
And my dude’s giving the girls blues
My gat is quite fat, don’t you think so, whore?
But come out those clothes, my nigga can fit those
You ain’t seen nothing until you seen us both jacking
Pulling on the side of fools, straight rat packing
[Ice Cube] Got me a down girl on my team
[Yo-Yo] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme, yeah
Got me a down-ass nigga on my team
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[Ice Cube] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme
[Yo-Yo] See, every now and then my man had a plan
To hook me up with his closest friends
Take me to the bar and maybe mingle and kick it
Let him think he’s getting over while I gank him for his riches
Robbing, stealing, killing at will, and
Always on the go because his shit was always loco
Giving up funky vibes to all you funky tribes
Who stick together like us and “whorides”
Like Bonnie and Clyde we’re going to slide right on
Let my nigga take over, I’m taking the bank to the house
When we get to the house we’re straight celebrating
Giving up that gangster triggeration
[Ice Cube] La, la, la, watch me parlay
Hey, with the getaway car
Now here comes the Predator
I’m down with Yo-Yo and everybody is scared of her
Hitting with the wicked shit
I’d like to dick a chick
But now I’m robbing quick and split
So give me that money, devil
One for the treble, the rhythm is the rebel
When you turn red
You’ll get a hole in your head, a fucking hole in your head
Because my freedom got an AK
Bonnie and Clyde equals homicide, yeah
[Yo-Yo] Got me a down-ass nigga on my team
[Ice Cube] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme, yeah
Got me a down girl on my team
95
[Yo-Yo] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme
[Ice Cube] Run, run, run from the ghetto bird
Because I’m down and I got the third
Five-seven, pointed at your boys and whores
No one knows where the lead poison goes
Because I’m into whore checks
Yeah, come off the Rolex
If not, I’m a get Bonnie, son
Film at 11 by Connie Chung
No regret, one man wet
Leaving the scene throwing up my set
Hitting you up and now I’m out
Yeah, you’re left with a dick in your mouth
[Yo-Yo] See, that gangster mentality drove niggas to insanity
You want to be down to kill a whole fucking family
You can lock us up if you want, don’t matter
But give him a bail and we’ll be right back at you
Don’t underestimate me when you date me
Got my clamp off safety, bet I make you hate me
Frankly, I don’t give a damn, once again I slam
You’d better ask who I am
Riding all around town, everybody’s looking around
Because we’re known and we’ll throw down
Because you know a nigga done got ganked for his mail or his dank
Yo-Yo and Cube is in the house for nine-trey
[Ice Cube] Got me a down girl on my team
[Yo-Yo] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme, yeah
Got me a down-ass nigga on my team
[Ice Cube] The Bonnie and Clyde Theme
Got me a down girl on my team
96
The Bonnie and Clyde Theme, yeah
[Yo-Yo] Yeah you trick motherfuckers, you thought I fell off stupid ass (ha-ha)
1 James
Brown’s classic revenge standard “The Payback” forms the beat backing
Ice Cube’s vocals here. Yet, whereas Brown seeks revenge for a situation concerning the
on goings of a woman, Cube’s “brand new” version pits him against the police, women,
Uncle Sam, and anyone else willing to challenge him.
Cube reminds us of the song title to the opening lyrical track from his 1990 fulllength album, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. In “The Nigga Ya Love to Hate,” Cube
famously pondered with his audience “Why are more niggas in the pen than in college?”
With those lines and others, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted catapults the rapper into the
forefront of issues concerning black masculinity. This point is further established by the
CD’s cover art picturing the artist as “the straight gangster mack in straight gangster
black” with a sea of young black males looking to him for direction (see fig. 1).
2
Kill at Will is the EP released by Ice Cube soon after his debut AmeriKKKa’s
Most Wanted.
3
One-time: slang term used to identify police officers. Other terms used in the
text of DC included “rollers,” and “pig.”
4
Al Davis owned the Raiders franchise of today’s National Football
League (NFL) from the early 1970s until his passing in 2011. As a member of
NWA, Ice Cube helps grow merchandising for Davis’s franchise when the
“gangsta” rap image of NWA becomes intertwined with Raiders’ attire
5
Cube’s first reference to females and women comes with a paradox. By evoking
the name of the successful female R&B group, he appears to have separated the women
of En Vogue from women he considers to be “whores” and “bitches.” Yet, through the
nuance and scarcity in the language, another fair assessment concludes that the
“bitches,” “looking like En Vogue” includes the women of the group as well.
6
The term Zulu is known for its African continent connections, but also has a
specific meaning to hip hop. In the 1970s, the Universal Zulu Nation is founded by one
of hip hop’s pioneering DJs, Afrika Bambaataa. Throughout its history the membership
of the organization has included notable members of the hip hop community.
7
A knot is a wad of money. Often kept on one’s person and commonly displayed
as an instant indicator of financial achievement, as if to say: “Look at the knot that I
have.”
8
Here, fade is used as a verb meaning to match a challenge, usually a physical
one. In BVE, this sense of fade also finds use as a noun as in when one initiates a
challenge by asking if another wanted to “catch a fade.”
9
97
Clock: here as a transitive verb, derives it meaning from British English use.
Commonly in BVE, one clocks dollars, as the narrator of “A Bird in the Hand” describes
his ambition (see note 31). The British definition works with the deleted (understood)
direct object constantly in mind.
10
Bringing Barney Rubble in simile with rocks attests to the status of this
drug dealer. As a cartoon character, Rubble is surrounded by rocks and stones,
both of which substitute as terms for pieces of crack cocaine. The ability to rival
such a character boosts the reputation and the masculine appearance of the
narrator.
11
Hairstyle that utilizes oily conditioners and sprays to “activate” curls in
normally nappy or straight hair. Exaggerated examples of Jheri curls are used to
ridicule wearers of the hairdo.
12
Title of classic West Coast rap standard performed by Ice-T that begins: “6 ‘n
the morning, police at my door.”
13
Terminology from the early days of the crack era, as the act of smoking the
drug is known as “sparking.”
14
Bean pies are sweet custard pies akin to pumpkin pies. They are often
sold by members of the Nation of Islam to generate legal income. Many times,
the vendor of the pie will also have the organization’s newspaper, the Final Call,
for sale as well.
15
An underhand dis to M.C. Hammer and a critique on shortness of rap
careers. Note the role of the consumer in the influx of monthly bootleg products.
16
This line shows a newer position than the one seen earlier in “Bitch Iz a
Bitch” where it is stated: “Life ain’t nothing but bitches and money.” Still, women
are disparaged in both cases.
17
Ewing, a shoe and athletic apparel line of Next Sports bearing the name
of NBA Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing and one time rival to Nike’s Air Jordan line
of basketball shoes in popularity. The shoes were introduced in 1991.
18
SkyPager® is the service of the Skytel company, and “the first company
to offer nationwide numeric and text paging and the first with 2Way messaging
and guaranteed message delivery.” Very “cutting edge” in 1991 (Skytel).
19
The famed 8-Ball malt liquor is actually sold under the name Old
English 800. The “brew” and its street nomenclature were popularized in hip
hop, in part, by NWA during Ice Cube’s stint with the group. After leaving NWA,
however, Cube becomes a paid spokesman for St. Ides malt liquor. The parent
company of St. Ides sponsored radio commercial spots for the drink that feature
the work of several West Coast rappers including Ice Cube. The commercial spots
were compiled on promotional cassette tapes and were distributed in stores
where the intoxicant was sold.
20
98
A hooptie is a less than reliable daily driven automobile. It may be different
than a “bucket” (cf. “Color Blind”).
21
Ruthelen is the name of a South Central Los Angeles street that lies
between Van Ness and Western off of 103rd street. Generically, it can stand for
any street in a neighborhood where there is violence from gang activity.
22
Yamp is a word created by the amalgamation of “young” and “tramp.” The
word is eventually picked-up and used in Jon Singleton’s 1993 Poetic Justice.
23
“Oh my . . . grip the hips and ass.” This song incorrectly credits Wilson
Pickett and “Hip Hugger” for its sample instead of Booker T & the MG’s for “Hip
Hug-Her.” Nonetheless, it serves as one of few in-text citations on DC. For a
fuller list of samples used on DC, see “Death Certificate: The Samples.”
24
25
The jimmy refers to the male sex organ, and the hats for jimmy are condoms.
This was a popular culture reference to a character from a 1974 children’s
television special The Year Without a Santa Claus and an excellent use of simile. Heat
Miser burns everything that he touches.
26
In vulgar use, cock refers to the male sex organ. As a listener of DC, I had
always taken the meaning of that word in this line to be an accepted misuse in BVE—
and accidental misspeak on the part of Ice Cube to make mention of the female vagina.
However, one of the standard definitions of cock is a device regulating the flow of a
liquid, e.g. a faucet. Semen is a fluid that is considered a liquid.
27
28
See previous note.
The Integrated Student Information System for the Los Angeles Unified
School District (LAUSD) used the letters “A” and “E” to mark the highest
possible achievement in academics and work habits/cooperation. An “A” grade in
academics described a student who was “constantly superior” and one who
“[exceeded] mastery of content standards.” The letter “E” in work habits and in
cooperation denoted excellence (Los Angeles 32).
29
Currently, the University of Southern California (USC) estimates the
cost of two full-time semesters with on campus housing to be roughly $67,000
(University). It is foreseeable that a current LAUSD high school student
choosing to live with her parents could deduct some of the average cost of room
and board in the area for a net of cost of attendance to the private university of
$54,000. The distinguished institution is literally across the street from the
boundaries of historic South Central.
30
31
See note 10.
Jesse Jackson establishes People United to Save Humanity (PUSH) in
1971 as an organization dedicated to improving the economic conditions of black
communities across the United States. Today, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition
states as its mission: “To protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the
32
99
economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice
around the world” (Rainbow).
Depending on the popular culture reference one uses, in this case
Miami Vice, the price of one kilogram of cocaine has fluctuated with the laws of
supply and demand, and have sold for as much as thirty to forty thousand dollars
each. The estimated street value would be substantially higher.
33
This political spin on the American English idiom “A bird in the hand is
worth two in the bush” does more than criticize the economic policies of the Bush
presidencies. By calling to task non-profit organizations, universities, and
corporations who make economic decisions for the benefit of the interests they
serve, it compares and contrasts the same action in a desperate young father
fearful of the economic survival of his family.
34
A 1963 Chevrolet Impala has a long bench seat as a back seat making
emergency transport relatively easy.
35
This line, also uttered in “Once upon a Time in the Projects,”
establishes the narrator’s non-participatory status as a gangbanger. However, to
the responding officers, gang members and gangbangers share synonymity. For
more on the wide net used in Los Angeles to grow the gang member roster see
Mike Davis chapter, “The Hammer and the Rock.”
36
Before the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” many
uninsured Americans sought primary care treatment in the emergency rooms of
hospitals. Bespeaking the feeling of going absolutely nowhere as one’s life
expires, the narrator likens the waiting room to jail.
37
The make and model of this German car is taken as a way of saying “goodbye”
through hip hop and BVE. The words can be used singly or in unison with all three
utterances being sound, as in: “I’m Audi,” or “I’m 5000,” or “I’m Audi, 5000.”
38
The adjective “dapper” is given a broader meaning through this BVE
derivative. The standard noun form for this word is “dapperness.” Here, the truncated
“dap” represents a warm reception upon meeting and is usually accompanied by
handshakes and hugs.
39
Jungle Fever is the 1991 motion picture from Spike Lee and deals with
interracial relationships.
40
This slight of Native American culture was not treated in the initial
critical backlash of DC to the extent that other racial miscues were.
41
The current Fox television show, Empire, addresses the issue of
homosexuality in popular black music. For a hip hop specific discussion on
homophobia see Hurt, Gordon and Winters.
42
“Black Korea” lays out the contempt racially profiled black youth uses
to combat the severe over-mistrust of them by the Korean small business owners
who eye the youths with suspicion. The shooting death of 15 year-old Latasha
43
100
Harlins deepened the divide in the dialogue about where the rights for one group
ends and where they began for another group. The racist rhetoric throughout the
song is one of major areas of criticism of DC.
For a speaker using BVE to use the correct conjugation for “to be” here, “were”
is unusual. The form “you was,” is nearly sacrosanct.
44
In the past, many Chevrolets were equipped with the Super Sport
option package and were outfitted with and SS emblems.
45
Later popularized by Dr. Dre’s monumental album of the same period,
“chronic” and “indo” are names given to Cannabis indica.
46
“Can’t stop, won’t stop” is a battle cry for Crips and Bloods. It
subsequently becomes the title of Jeff Chang’s historical account of the hip hop
generation.
47
Taken from the Spanish “loco” and shortened, yet a similar meaning holds.
May refer specifically to members of Crip gangs.
48
49
In BVE “deaf” and “death” can share the same phonetic pronunciation.
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Here, being “down” means serving time in a correctional facility.
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G-ride refers to a stolen car.
Phencyclidine, or PCP in its liquid form could be absorbed by dipping a
cigarette into it. The “dipped” or “wet” cigarette is then smoked for the drug’s effects.
The lowest priced PCP “stick” sold for $5 during the period around DC’s release.
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Of the cadre of rappers to appear on “Color Blind” only King Tee has a
vocal performance on the 1990 anti-gang rap single “We’re All in the Same
Gang.” Performed under the name of the West Coast All-Stars, the project was
heavily influenced by NWA and notably does not include a vocal performance
from Ice Cube who had already parted from the group.
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