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Personally, I believe that the lyrics and hidden meanings behind these songs reflect on the time periods, locations, and situations leading up to that moment. The seven songs were released between 1992 and 2017, a time period where black males received unfair treatment and injustice on multiple occasions. Since each of the evaluated songs’ artists were black males, they have experienced related situations due to possessing similar cultures. The oldest of the seven songs were focused on the empowerment of African Americans over Caucasians in a fight. In 1991, there was an incident where white police officers viciously beat Rodney King, a black motorist. The next year, the Los Angeles riots, also called Rodney King riots, began. People, especially
-On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was arrested for reckless driving and was beaten brutally by three police officers as their supervisor watched (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2004). Two weeks later, a Korean shop owner, Ms. Du, shot and killed Latasha Harlins for attempting to steal a bottle of orange juice (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2004). On April 29, 1992, the four officers involved with the beating of Rodney King were acquitted (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2004). These three events affected the Korean Americans and African Americans a great deal. The African Americans caused a riot to vent their anger and frustration on what they felt was injustice towards the acquittal and the small punishment Ms. Du received for shooting Latasha Harlins. The Korean Americans' shops and dreams were destroyed because of the riots.
While some of the songs may have a specific meaning, it is up to the listener to decide what they
“April 26th, 1992, there was a riot on the streets, tell me where were you!? You were sittin' home watchin' your TV, while I was paticipatin' in some anarchy,” these are the lyrics Sublime uses in their song ‘April 26, 1992’ to describe what happened during the Los Angeles Riots of 1992. “First spot we hit it was my liquor store. I finally got all that alcohol I can't afford. With red lights flashin' time to retire, And then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire,” people ,running through the streets, had no pity when demolishing small businesses and taking what ever they may want from them. The streets, neighborhoods, businesses were destroyed by angry protesters. Their reasons were clear, all they wanted was some justice. A video tape of four L.A.P.D police officers brutally beating a male (Rodney King) without any sympathy was made public, which started the bomb track. “Let it burn, wanna let it burn, wanna let it burn, wanna wanna let it burn,” says the song when describing the riots. Throughout these days there was an estimate of more than 50 killed, over 4 thousand injured, and 12,000 people arrested. The damage caused in the city was about one billion dollars, damage that is believed was never fully repaired. The riots and destruction that went on for about a week that showed the people’s rage and that they were not going to tolerate the injustices committed by the authorities.
On the night of August 11, 1965 the Watts community of Los Angeles County went up in flames. A riot broke out and lasted until the seventeenth of August. After residents witnessed a Los Angeles police officer using excessive force while arresting an African American male. Along with this male, the police officers also arrested his brother and mother. Twenty-seven years later in 1992 a riot known as both the Rodney King riots and the LA riots broke out. Both share the similar circumstances as to why the riots started. Before each riot there was some kind of tension between police officers and the African American people of Los Angeles. In both cases African Americans were still dealing with high unemployment rates, substandard housing, and inadequate schools. Add these three problems with policemen having a heavy hand and a riot will happen. Many of the primary sources I will you in this analysis for the Watts and the LA riots can be found in newspaper articles written at the time of these events. First-hand accounts from people living during the riots are also used.
On the morning of March 3rd, 1991 an African-American man led police on a high-speed chase through the city of Los Angeles. Approximately eight miles later police swarmed around the car and confronted the driver, who went by the name Rodney King. During the confrontation, officers tortured King until the point he was forced to seek medical care. A case was opened and the police officers were acquitted. This angered many people, specifically Blacks and led to the historical “L.A. Riots’’ , where they felt race had something to do with the case.
Rodney King is a name that many associate police brutality with and the outrage it can cause to a community. It was on March 3, 1991 when 25 year old Rodney King, who was on parole at the time, had been driving around in Los Angeles with some friends and reports say driving drunk had failed to initially pull over after driving at high rates of speed. He was finally pulled over and King resisted arrest and was initially subdued by a taser and that’s when things got ugly and ugly fast. King was beat with nightsticks over fifty times and one of the officers began to kick King in the head repeatedly and unknown to the officers and King, the arrest was being videotaped. King suffered brain damage, eleven skull fractures and other physical and emotional damage. The officer in the case was initially found not guilty of all criminal charges. This caused a major backlash is the community and a riot has ensued in South Central Los Angeles. The rioters, whom were mostly you black males began to set fires to buildings and cars, looted stores and assaulted innocent people coming through the neighborhood. Those horrendous assaults were also caught on film by local television stations as they filmed the riots from their helicopters. King won a civil lawsuit and was awarded 3.8 million dollars. This was an epic moment in US history as it shed light on what and when it is necessary to use force and what type of force is deemed appropriate and inappropriate for the police. Did the LA officers have the right to do what they did or were they completely out of line. Depending on who you ask, you will get a different
In April 29, 1992 that's when the LA Riot started and I can say that it was such a terrible time. Lots of people got affected by that time and lots of things had happen . All of the terrible things that had happen because of the police brutality against African Americans people. For example, Rodney King was on a high- speed chase of 110 mph while being intoxicated, which led to his arrest and brutal beat. He tried to get away because he got scared of his revocation of parole and scared to go back to prison. Once king stopped, he refused the request of getting into the prone position and charged at one of the officers, he was then beaten and arrested. While the beating was happening George Holliday picked up his camera and started recording
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots was a series of riots and civil disturbances that include lootings, arsons, and racial attacks. The acquittal of four Los Angeles Police Deparment officers who excessively beat an African-American male on film and the murder of a teenage African-American girl ignited the riots. The aftermath of the Los Angeles Riots resulted in 55 deaths and approximately $1 billion in property damage.1
This is a verse of lyrics from a popular song, written by Sublime, shortly after the Rodney King verdicts, and ensuing riots in Los Angeles. These words would portray the streets of Los Angeles around midnight on the night of April 29, 1992. The people of Los Angeles become enraged over a jury verdict just hours before. Rodney King, a middle-aged African-American had been severely beaten by four Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in March, and the four officers had just been found not guilty, igniting the blacks in Los Angeles into a revenged riot against the city and its system.
Both movements use “rhythm and poetry” (Gladney 291) to address social issues affecting the black man, including racism, education and drug use. These movement can both be linked to extreme examples of frustration and rage felt be a large part of the black community, like “the Los Angeles riots of 1992 and the riots that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968” (Gladney 292). However, Gladney observed that the Hip-Hop genre has developed more of a focus on commercialism and only in the underground rap world do we still see the idealist who is in touch with the pulse of the black communities. Many rappers in the mainstream lack the political, racial, and social tone of the black community. The notable exception being the groups who use shock and a sold ghetto theme to crossover to the commercial market but maintain their artistic
Perhaps the most important part of the songwriting process is the beginning. How should a songwriter begin the creation of a song? Robin Frederick, a songwriter who has produced over 500 songs throughout her career, suggests that the best place to begin is with the title. The title acts as the guide to a song. It is the essence of the message that a songwriter wants to leave with their listeners. As Frederick describes it, “Think of your title as the peak of a pyramid. The rest of the song is made up of the building blocks that support it.”. Finding a title is of vital importance. It should be a short, attention grabbing, and easy to remember word or phrase.
In the 1990s a series of riots and racial tension among the African American community was evident. In 1991, many people were stunned to see footage of a CHP police officer brutality beating a young African American named Rodney King, who was being chased by police for driving under the influence. The trial of Rodney King was held in Simi Valley, a white community. In 1992 the officer involved in the beating was found not guilty. The response from the African American community was terrifying and revealed the ways in which race divided Los Angeles, similarly like the 1960s Watts Riots. A serious a looting and mass violence swept Southern California. That same year, a Korean grocery woman named Soon Ja Du argued with an African American teenager
Many artist and groups in hip hop groups like N.W.A and Ice-T had ties to gang activities and spoke violence in their songs. Many hip hop groups during this time played songs that were considered to be “gangsta rap” songs. Gangsta rap was not only about the music but it was about the lifestyle and “thug’ attitude. “Between 1984 and 1994 the homicide rate for black males aged 18 to 24 doubled compared to years prior” (Robinson). Violence and police brutality towards blacks was big in hip hop during the 1980’s and 1990’s, like it is today. Many black hip hop artist and fans felt that they were being targeted and treated differently by police compared to whites in American because of their skin color and what neighborhood they lived in. In 1988 N.W.A song Fuck The Police came out and the song title speaks for itself in how N.W.A felt towards the police, “I’m brown and not the other color so police think they have the authority to kill a minority”. This song spoke to minorities in America who felt this way towards
The song that I choose to do this assignment on is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Fight the Power was written in 1989 and quickly became a street anthem for millions of youths. It reflects with issues dealing with both the Civil Rights Movement and to remind everyone that they too have Constitutional Rights. This particular song is about empowerment but also fighting the abuse of power that is given to the law enforcement agencies. It gave citizens of the U.S a more modern outlook on the many struggles that not only the African American community is up against but the other minority groups as well. The song’s message was eventually supposed to bring people together and make the world a better place, even though some teens saw it as a way
Rude Magic- I chose this song because it takes me back to my grade 6 year. Mme. would always sing/play this song during french class. Since grade 6 was one of my favourite school years of all time, just hearing this song makes me remember all of the fun times i had.