1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of iHeartRadio. Welcome back to 2 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: the show, Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always so much 3 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 1: for tuning in. Let's give it up up up for 4 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: our super producer, our very own DJ, mister Max Williams. 5 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's big and Max Williams Yes. 6 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: And to the South Bronx, to the West Coast, to 7 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: the East Coast, the Gulf Coast sometimes called the third Coast. 8 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: To the South, the South's got something to say, but 9 00:00:54,720 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: the South has something to say. 10 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 3: Doesn't really figure into this particular story of hip hop 11 00:01:00,160 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 3: was a little bit later, but boy, Ben, you uncovered 12 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,039 Speaker 3: a doozy of an episode today in honor of the 13 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:12,320 Speaker 3: fiftieth that's right, fiftieth anniversary of a truly American art form, 14 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 3: hip hop. We got jazz and we got hip hop. 15 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 3: There's other ones peppered in threst. Well, those are the 16 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 3: two biggies, musical theater maybe well the blues first, of course, 17 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 3: that's true. That's true. 18 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:29,400 Speaker 1: And your Nola and I'm Ben, and we are as 19 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: you said, my friend, we are celebrating, along with several 20 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: of our peer podcasts, we are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary 21 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,560 Speaker 1: of hip hop an American art form that has united 22 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: the world, even while at times it divided its home country. 23 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: Since this is a music episode, man, I thought it 24 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,120 Speaker 1: was going to be appropriate to let our good, ridiculous 25 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: historians out there know about another music related project that 26 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: you and your team have just debuted. It comes out 27 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: today as we're recording, and so that means that as 28 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,639 Speaker 1: people are listening to this episode, you can check out 29 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: Nole's new show today. 30 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 3: Ken And speaking of think you've been speaking of the Blues, 31 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 3: The Rolling Stones, contrary to what a lot of people 32 00:02:18,240 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 3: be associate with them, were always kind of a blues group. 33 00:02:22,280 --> 00:02:25,400 Speaker 3: They considered themselves and the people that handled them considered 34 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 3: themselves pure blues musicians. And they really did come from 35 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,040 Speaker 3: that tradition, that very American tradition, which is weird considering 36 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,639 Speaker 3: they are a group of British punks in the seventies, 37 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 3: in the period we're talking about on this podcast, Stones 38 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,360 Speaker 3: touring party making an album in the south of France, 39 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 3: under the influence of heavy narcotics with criminals, you know, 40 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,920 Speaker 3: squatting in this crazy villa in villain Nellcott in Nice, France, 41 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 3: and it turned out one of the greatest rock and 42 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 3: roll slash blues albums of all Time, Exile on Main 43 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:02,079 Speaker 3: Street and the subsequent nineteen SEIWO Tour, which was kind 44 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,240 Speaker 3: of the archetype for rock and roll tours. And this podcast, 45 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 3: made with my dear friend Jordan Runtog, friend of the show, 46 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 3: and Michael june Alder, also friend of the show, contains 47 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:14,840 Speaker 3: a lot of original music that we did on our 48 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 3: team and Jordan's incredible writing and narration, and original interviews 49 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 3: with the Stones themselves from this period that no one's 50 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,119 Speaker 3: ever heard before. Courtesy of our buddy Robert Greenfield, who 51 00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 3: was an excellent journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine who covered 52 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 3: the Stones during that era of their career, and he 53 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 3: along with his buddy Gary Stromberg, who did pr for 54 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 3: the Stones during this era, are heavily featured on the 55 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 3: show as well and gave us incredible access. And it's 56 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 3: not just a raw rock and roll kind of show. 57 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 3: There's a lot of true crime in there, you know, 58 00:03:45,560 --> 00:03:49,480 Speaker 3: with the drug stuff smuggling, all kinds of criminals running 59 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,760 Speaker 3: drugs in the South of France and just America in 60 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 3: this kind of era of just fighting in the streets 61 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 3: and racial protests and violence and Watergate and all of 62 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 3: this stuff that's just going crazy through the lens of 63 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 3: the Rolling Stones touring America. So that's my spiel Stone 64 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 3: Sturing party. Check it out wherever you get podcast. Episode 65 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 3: one is out today. It's called America in Flames, Stones 66 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 3: in Danger, So. 67 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,719 Speaker 1: Do check it out, folks. This is a deep dive 68 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: into iconic seminal music. And you could say the same 69 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: thing about hip hop, you know, in general. Throughout my 70 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: entire life, I can say I've met three people who 71 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: told me they just don't get music. And that's out 72 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: of millions and millions of people that I've had the 73 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 1: fortune and misfortune to run into during my various adventures 74 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:39,920 Speaker 1: and misadventures. 75 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:42,240 Speaker 2: Why wouldn't people like music? Right? 76 00:04:42,320 --> 00:04:46,520 Speaker 1: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow had this beautiful quote. He is one 77 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,120 Speaker 1: of the first guys in the West to say music 78 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: is the universal language of mankind. Boscott had a quote 79 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: that I enjoyed even more, and I think you guys 80 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,040 Speaker 1: will like it too. Boscot said, painting is how we 81 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: decorate space. Music is how we decorate time. It's brilliant, 82 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: It's totally. 83 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 3: True as a music nerd, and you know, studio rat 84 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,320 Speaker 3: when you're recording music. You know, in the era of computers, 85 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 3: you're working on a timeline literally, you're arranging sounds, you know, 86 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 3: from left to right, you know, through the progression of time. 87 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,679 Speaker 3: I think that is such an incredible and appropriate quote. 88 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:25,600 Speaker 3: And we're talking also about decorating time with sound historically speaking, 89 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 3: you know that that is sort of what the story 90 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,480 Speaker 3: of hip hop is. It is the decoration of time 91 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:36,240 Speaker 3: through music, through recontextualization of other music. It's such a 92 00:05:36,279 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 3: cool mishmash kind of art form that becomes its own 93 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,960 Speaker 3: kind of musical history lesson in and of itself through sampling. 94 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 3: And we did a whole episode on recently as well 95 00:05:45,680 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 3: as a lot in common with this episode and turntablism, 96 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,719 Speaker 3: which we're going to get into, and protests. You know, 97 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 3: that really is at the heart of the original kind 98 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 3: of days of hip hop, especially the era that we're 99 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 3: talking about today. That's the FBI and c you know, 100 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:04,280 Speaker 3: forces in American government took issue with m M. 101 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know it's funny. In twenty nineteen, a 102 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:12,280 Speaker 1: Harvard study I found seemed to prove that Longfellow was correct. 103 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:16,360 Speaker 1: This is a pretty new study. They said some songs 104 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 1: and patterns of noise, if you want to be scientific 105 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: about it, just sound quote unquote right to people across 106 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: the world. And while entertainment may seem, you know, entertaining, 107 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:31,160 Speaker 1: it's also a powerful technology. It's a way to convey 108 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,160 Speaker 1: social and cultural concerns. The cliche is it's a mirror 109 00:06:35,279 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: held up to society. But of course cliches are only 110 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 1: cliches because they are true. If you have control over 111 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:46,839 Speaker 1: books and art, over film and music, then you have 112 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: gone a long way toward controlling how a society sees itself. 113 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: So we want to look at one particularly a ridiculous 114 00:06:55,320 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: example of this American musical history again and in honor 115 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:03,760 Speaker 1: of the anniversary of hip hop, a moral panic that 116 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:09,880 Speaker 1: occurred when authorities experienced new music something they felt threatened 117 00:07:09,920 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: in their mind. The status quo alluded to it just 118 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: a bit. The question why on earth, out of all 119 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:20,320 Speaker 1: the things the Federal Bureau of Investigation has to worry about, 120 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:24,960 Speaker 1: why on Earth what they focus on harassing a group 121 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: of young, very poor kids in nineteen eighties Los Angeles. 122 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:32,640 Speaker 3: Doesn't it just kind of seem quaint now, ben like 123 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 3: this concept of them going out of their way being 124 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 3: the FBI to mess with you know, this kind of 125 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 3: upstart community of you know, bee boys and turntable lists 126 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 3: and rappers and this new kind of culture that was 127 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 3: emerging in Los Angeles. But not only that, the songs 128 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 3: that we're going to get into now comparatively seem quite quaint, 129 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:56,720 Speaker 3: you know, in terms of the moral panic you mentioned 130 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 3: a moral panic, Ben, which is just kind of a 131 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 3: manufactured outrage surrounding the idea of something that could quote 132 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:06,120 Speaker 3: unquote corrupt the youth or create mass hysteria or whatever 133 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,120 Speaker 3: flavor you want to refer to. But like you go 134 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:10,880 Speaker 3: back and listen to the lyrics of some of these 135 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 3: gangster rap songs we're going to talk about, Boy Howdie 136 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:18,560 Speaker 3: are they tame a lot tamer than anybody would have 137 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 3: you remember, especially folks like Tipper Gore and the FBI. 138 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:24,800 Speaker 3: So to kind of understand, you know, a lot of this, 139 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,880 Speaker 3: you have to really understand a bit about the origins 140 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 3: of rap, which I think is something that fascinates both 141 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 3: of us. 142 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 2: Ben. 143 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 3: You dug deep into some of the earliest examples of 144 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:39,840 Speaker 3: sort of rhythmic spoken word with sort of drum circle 145 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:40,720 Speaker 3: type music. 146 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 1: M Yeah, we're talking about grio. So the story of 147 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: all your favorite hip hop songs really starts thousands of 148 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,800 Speaker 1: years ago, albeit indirectly, because way back then millennia in 149 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 1: the past, in the continent of Africa, grio would tell 150 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: these stories while playing handmade instruments, and they may have 151 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: call and response parts to this too. It came with drums, 152 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,199 Speaker 1: as you were saying, right, and this was You could 153 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,199 Speaker 1: think of it as a style of talking somewhere between 154 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:21,400 Speaker 1: a ballad and epic poetry or oration. It carried across 155 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:26,800 Speaker 1: the Atlantic during the slave trade, and while enslaved peoples 156 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:32,839 Speaker 1: were forced to labor in fields and agriculture and other pursuits, 157 00:09:33,559 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: they would engage with these traditions of call and response. 158 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: They would share stories and culture through this grio art form, 159 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: which continued to evolve. Just so you know where the 160 00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: story begins. Now we're going to fast forward and max 161 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,640 Speaker 1: just like hold down the fast forward button for a while, 162 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: where yeah, we're going centuries into the future, all the 163 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: way to what would later be my birthday August eleventh, 164 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,960 Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy three in Bronx, New York. 165 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:09,679 Speaker 3: That's so cool. We were both born very close to 166 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 3: the birth of hip hop. Can't Be Quit, as was 167 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 3: our pal Matt Frederick. 168 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 2: Let's see. 169 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: I think they'll be okay with us disclosing this. Matt's 170 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: birthday is August fifth, Noel, Yours is August eighth. 171 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 2: Correct. Mine is the eleventh, So weird. 172 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 3: It's almost like odd numbers, you know, if only mine 173 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 3: was on the seventh. 174 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:33,679 Speaker 1: No. I still I'm you know what I bet so 175 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:34,280 Speaker 1: I can make it. 176 00:10:34,440 --> 00:10:38,400 Speaker 3: Those three, five, seven, nine, eleventh. Okay, never mind. I'm 177 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 3: obviously great at math and numbers and stuff. 178 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 2: As was DJ Coolherk Totally. I had this attempted to segue. 179 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:47,440 Speaker 2: He was alderful. 180 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 3: He was known for his math skills and also mainly 181 00:10:51,080 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 3: known as the first DJ and the founding father of 182 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,120 Speaker 3: hip hop. He and his sister Cindy started hosting which 183 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:01,520 Speaker 3: just sounds so wholesome Ben back to school parties in 184 00:11:01,559 --> 00:11:04,960 Speaker 3: the rec room of their apartment building. And it was 185 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 3: it was here where kind of the early roots of 186 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 3: hip hop began to take shape. Do you roots take shape? 187 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 3: They sure do. I guess as they grow, that's what 188 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 3: they do. 189 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, And oh, I've got to ask Max, we we're 190 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: gonna be rude Winds your birthday? 191 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:20,240 Speaker 2: Are you okay? Saying it on air? Oh yeah, yeah, 192 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,960 Speaker 2: it's April twelve. There's no time related. That's the only 193 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:25,840 Speaker 2: reason I didn't mention it. I don't know, it's all. 194 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: It's all the way though. In my my planning skills 195 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:32,760 Speaker 1: are so bad. I'm actually I'm scary good at like freestyling, 196 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: but planning skills. 197 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 2: I need to know. I need to know. 198 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:40,200 Speaker 1: April is just enough time for me to get stuff 199 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:41,520 Speaker 1: together for your birthday. 200 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,960 Speaker 3: So freestyling, whether it be on the mic or just 201 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:50,959 Speaker 3: you know, at activities, Yeah, yeah, just figuring things out 202 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 3: on the fly, I think is a really important skill, 203 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:55,080 Speaker 3: and that a lot of that too, really is a 204 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 3: skill that goes into these early stages of hip hop 205 00:11:57,200 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 3: where her yeah cool herk is all about like there 206 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:02,880 Speaker 3: was my better attempts of transition. Cool heirk is all 207 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:06,119 Speaker 3: about like taking stuff that he already has, right to turntable, 208 00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 3: And a lot of this were people like their parents 209 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:11,680 Speaker 3: had a turntable that was a staple of the home. 210 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:13,800 Speaker 3: So they take this down to the rec room. Maybe 211 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:15,960 Speaker 3: there's already one in the rec room, and hey, wait, 212 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,880 Speaker 3: maybe let's not just use one, let's take two, you know, 213 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 3: and hook them up. They didn't even have probably a 214 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,719 Speaker 3: proper quote unquote DJ mixer, because that. 215 00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:25,920 Speaker 2: Wasn't a thing. This is like the beginning. 216 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:28,360 Speaker 3: They probably had to hook it up through two inputs 217 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 3: on a tuner of some kind, or maybe two completely 218 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 3: separate stereos. I would imagine just guessing here, and he 219 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 3: would do a thing that is to sometimes referred to 220 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 3: as juggling, sometimes referred to as merry go rounding, where 221 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,840 Speaker 3: you take two copies of the same LP and juggle 222 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,080 Speaker 3: the break back and forth, or the very least juggle 223 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:48,079 Speaker 3: a portion where on the left table you play, you know, 224 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 3: up to the point where the break ends, and then 225 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,560 Speaker 3: you flip over to the other one and you play 226 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 3: from there. And it requires some real precision to get 227 00:12:56,160 --> 00:12:59,199 Speaker 3: that right and to make it sound like a contiguous 228 00:12:59,280 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 3: kind of loop. Now now it's easy to do it 229 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:03,920 Speaker 3: in programs like Ableton or whatever, where you can just 230 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 3: loop something. And that this is the invention, essentially, or 231 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 3: at least the innovation of the idea of looping. 232 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is why so many of your favorite 233 00:13:15,080 --> 00:13:19,960 Speaker 1: songs and instrumentals exist. And of course it extends well 234 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,800 Speaker 1: past what would be called hip hop. Now we want 235 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,559 Speaker 1: to thank a guy named Jim Frick, the editor of 236 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:29,480 Speaker 1: the excellent Yes Yes, You All the Experienced Music project 237 00:13:29,720 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: oral history of hip hop's first decade. 238 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 2: He says, he. 239 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: Continues, and he confirms your rap is a genre begins 240 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: at these block parties in New York City in the 241 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: early nineteen seventies. DJ's start are starting to isolate percussion 242 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: breaks from disco, from soul, from funk and looping them 243 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:50,959 Speaker 1: like you said, Noel extending them and at the time, 244 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:58,880 Speaker 1: and there were MC's, but they weren't like they're the stars. Yeah, 245 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: they were a lot like if you've ever been to 246 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: a wedding that had a DJ, they were a lot 247 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: more like wedding DJs. 248 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 2: They would come on in between the. 249 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 1: Songs, you know, like hey and all the single ladies 250 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:15,319 Speaker 1: get out, or like hey, Nana is seventy six, Go Nana. 251 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,440 Speaker 3: Like a radio DJ, you know, or at least the 252 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:21,120 Speaker 3: culture of like think about like the style of speaking, 253 00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 3: you know, like it probably became more like rap or 254 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:26,600 Speaker 3: the rhythmic quality, but it really was just kind of 255 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 3: like using all the cool like you know, slang of 256 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 3: the time, and like just the rhythm of I'm sound 257 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:34,520 Speaker 3: like such a grandpa, like the rhythm of the streets 258 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 3: like there was a quality of speech that represented like 259 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 3: if you've ever seen what's the Spike Lee movie. 260 00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 2: Do the Right Thing. 261 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 3: There's a character that's like kind of a constant presence 262 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 3: in the film who's like a DJ. He has this 263 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 3: kind of cool rhythmic quality the flow of which she's 264 00:14:51,920 --> 00:14:54,640 Speaker 3: introducing the songs, and he becomes this kind of like feature, 265 00:14:54,720 --> 00:14:57,360 Speaker 3: this almost narrator in the film. That's probably more what 266 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 3: early you know MC's were, which stands for Master of 267 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 3: Sarah Monies, which is literally the job of someone at 268 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 3: an event that kind of keeps things on track, but 269 00:15:05,040 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 3: it's necessarily the star of the show. The music and 270 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 3: the dancing was the star of the show right right. 271 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: The audience, Uh, the the audience was kind of an 272 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: instrument as well. 273 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,840 Speaker 2: I would argue that both the DJ and the MC played. 274 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: There's a lot of Jamaican culture that is inherent in this, 275 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 1: in this blend with sound systems right and with the 276 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,720 Speaker 1: idea of the the PA right, and the MC is 277 00:15:30,760 --> 00:15:35,400 Speaker 1: part of this the idea of toasting, which is which 278 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: is less like a rap song, but still it's kind 279 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: of like a dis track. Anyway, over time, these mcs 280 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: would later become known as rappers. They would they would 281 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: talk in rhythm like you said, and they would begin 282 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:50,840 Speaker 1: to rhyme, and then they would also they were already 283 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: talking on rhythm in sync with music, and they started 284 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:59,479 Speaker 1: throwing in rhymes with this rhyme schemes. Initially, people dismissed 285 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,640 Speaker 1: this as a fad. Even people as close as Manhattan 286 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,960 Speaker 1: dismissed it as a fad. But in nineteen seventy nine 287 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: everything changed because the Sugarhill Gang came out with rappers 288 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: the light and people started to pay attention. We also 289 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: see we've got to shout out DJ Grand Wizard Theodore, 290 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: who has said to have accidentally invented the method of scratching. 291 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:26,840 Speaker 1: There's a great quest love drunk history about this, and 292 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:32,320 Speaker 1: the scratching became enormously influential. Grand Master Flash other legends 293 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:37,200 Speaker 1: quickly pick it up. This guy Wizard Theodore also pioneers 294 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,720 Speaker 1: the use of the needle drop. That's where instead of 295 00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: silently queuing up the next record in the rotation, the 296 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: DJ drops the needle on the exact beginning of the song. 297 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 3: Have you ever seen a really, really, really amazing DJ 298 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:54,400 Speaker 3: perform It's like seeing a magician, or like an illusionist 299 00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 3: like it because they're you know, like for example, like 300 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 3: kid Koala is a really really really cool one, like 301 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 3: obviously a grandmaster Flash DJ Jazzy Jeff, you know, hell, 302 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 3: what's his name? DJ Collin. That guy's got serious turntable chops. 303 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 3: Like you don't really think of him like that. You 304 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:12,760 Speaker 3: think about more as like a producer. But I've seen 305 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,359 Speaker 3: some videos of him, but that needle drop technique, Like 306 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 3: I saw a performance from a live performance from Kikuala once. 307 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:23,840 Speaker 3: He does this thing where he plays moon River on 308 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:27,280 Speaker 3: like he has four turntables and he pitches the he 309 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 3: changes the pitch the speed of the turntable with the 310 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,639 Speaker 3: slider it's on the turntable while moving the needle per 311 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,920 Speaker 3: note like he'll pitch it up a semi tone and 312 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 3: then move it to another part of the thing. And 313 00:17:39,200 --> 00:17:43,680 Speaker 3: he's playing it like with the needle drops and it's seamless, 314 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 3: and it's so magical to see that done with that 315 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 3: level of precision. This is where it begins. The idea 316 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:51,719 Speaker 3: of this is not how you were supposed to use 317 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,760 Speaker 3: a turntable. Your dad would yell at you for scratching 318 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,359 Speaker 3: the record or dropping the needle like that this is 319 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 3: people using technology incorrectly and making it the new way 320 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 3: technology is used. 321 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: And I want to give a shout out to another 322 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:11,960 Speaker 1: DJ that I think is amazing. Just DJ Baboo, one 323 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:16,120 Speaker 1: third of Dilated Peoples out of the West Coast. He's 324 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 1: super about fantastic. Yeah, I think they're props. 325 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 3: I think they're excellent, and then people don't talk about 326 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 3: them as much as they should. 327 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 2: I'm so glad to hear you mentioned them. They're so cool. 328 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,440 Speaker 1: Well, if we start naming all the all the DJs 329 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: we love, we've got a different episode. But this is 330 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,479 Speaker 1: you could tell we're fans of this. I grew up 331 00:18:32,480 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: in this, like we we love this stuff. Okay, it's 332 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,600 Speaker 1: the mid nineteen eighties, sometimes called the golden age of 333 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 1: hip hop. Now, this is where run DMC comes from. 334 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: This is where rock keem comes from. They're pushing the boundaries. 335 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: This art form, it's important to note, is always continually evolving. 336 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 1: And I love I love that we're pointing out it 337 00:18:54,119 --> 00:18:58,280 Speaker 1: was wholesome in the beginning, very much so, and it 338 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,159 Speaker 1: was a new genre of music. It would spread past 339 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: the bounds of the Big Apple, it would touch every. 340 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:04,640 Speaker 2: Corner of the globe. 341 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:09,160 Speaker 1: And now new generations musicians all across the world put 342 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: their spin on it. It is one part of a 343 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:16,280 Speaker 1: larger culture, you know, including graffiti, including the breaks a 344 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: break dancing rather the bee Boys, And unfortunately, as it's growing, 345 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: it comes with some growing pains. 346 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 2: Not everybody likes it. And Noel, we can't talk. 347 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,040 Speaker 1: About the growth of rap and hip hop without talking 348 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: about the dawn of gangster rap. 349 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:36,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, it's true because you know, to your point, 350 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:40,720 Speaker 3: been especially mentioning like Rakim and run DMC. I mean 351 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,880 Speaker 3: like early rap or hip hop, Like if you listen 352 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,440 Speaker 3: think about gang rappers of July, it is all kind 353 00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:48,400 Speaker 3: of this up dup dup dup dat up do dub 354 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 3: dub dada. It's a little goofy and it sounds a 355 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:53,119 Speaker 3: little dated now. I mean it's important in some of 356 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 3: that stuff. There's some really clever wordplay, but it's a 357 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 3: little like it's about partying and not even like it's 358 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,199 Speaker 3: not having a good tis right to a little bit 359 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 3: of bravado, you know, but nothing very like substantive, nothing 360 00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,719 Speaker 3: like ra Kim and Rehn DMC start to push that 361 00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:13,399 Speaker 3: in a different direction, like rare Kim in particular, really 362 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 3: sort of elevated the like cadences of rap, and they 363 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,680 Speaker 3: started making the rhythm of the of the delivery much 364 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:21,959 Speaker 3: more complex. But then when you get gangster rapp, you 365 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:27,280 Speaker 3: really start to see young people from like South central 366 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 3: Los Angeles for example, where there's a lot of crime, 367 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 3: a lot of gang activity, a lot of drug dealing 368 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:37,080 Speaker 3: and violence using this platform to talk about their lives. 369 00:20:38,400 --> 00:20:40,000 Speaker 2: And you know, sort of a chicken or the egg 370 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 2: type question, you gotta wonder. 371 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 3: Like, did they see the commercial value in this or 372 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 3: were they just being entirely confessional like or was it 373 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 3: some combination of both, because to me, it seems more 374 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 3: like it was the record executives that saw the commercial 375 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,080 Speaker 3: potential and it was more like these guys were more 376 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:58,240 Speaker 3: like young punks kind of just doing their thing. 377 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 2: But I don't know, maybe I'm being naive. No, it's 378 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:01,400 Speaker 2: very rock and roll. 379 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,520 Speaker 1: There is a very punk aesthetic to it because they're 380 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 1: telling the truth. They paint in the mid nineteen eighties, 381 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:10,680 Speaker 1: so while it's the mainstream golden age of hip hop, 382 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: gangster rap is evolving. And there were yeah, earlier songs 383 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,320 Speaker 1: were fun, they're about partying and dancing. Gangst rap has 384 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:23,560 Speaker 1: this violent dystopian picture of a society gone wrong. You know, 385 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: crime is a career, gangs are a necessity, violence. 386 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 2: Is a way of life. 387 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,640 Speaker 1: And there's an episode we did for Stuff they Don't 388 00:21:32,640 --> 00:21:35,439 Speaker 1: Want You to Know, which talks about the conspiracy theory 389 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: that music executives continually try to monetize violent rap and 390 00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 1: some sort of mastermind way of manipulating society that hasn't 391 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:50,240 Speaker 1: been conclusively proven. 392 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:51,960 Speaker 2: Do you check out that episode? 393 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 1: What you need to what we need to know here 394 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: is that these these young guys, they're very young guys 395 00:21:57,880 --> 00:21:58,359 Speaker 1: this time. 396 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 2: They are. 397 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: Maybe out to make a little bit of money, but 398 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:08,199 Speaker 1: in the beginning, it's just cool to do something creative. 399 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:10,920 Speaker 1: By the way, this is we should give people their 400 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:15,560 Speaker 1: props to their flowers. Schooly D of Philadelphia is one 401 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: of the first gangster rappers to come to prominence in 402 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,120 Speaker 1: eighty five, with songs like PSK what does it mean? 403 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:24,920 Speaker 2: What does it mean? Ben? 404 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 1: Yes, Well it's kind of long. If you look at 405 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,920 Speaker 1: the lyrics. P for the people who can't understand how 406 00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:35,320 Speaker 1: one homeboy became a man? As for the way we 407 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,880 Speaker 1: scream and shout one by one, I'm knocking you out, 408 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: K for the way my DJ's cutting, other mcs ain't 409 00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: saying nothing. 410 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,040 Speaker 2: I think there's a typo in there. Cutting. It starts 411 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 2: with a C. That's called styling. That's what that's called. Again. 412 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 2: Oh my god. 413 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 3: Look, you talk about graffiti culture like, you know, all 414 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,520 Speaker 3: of this stuff like lingo or you know, like slang, 415 00:22:55,680 --> 00:23:00,160 Speaker 3: all of the things of this culture contributed to pop culture. 416 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 3: It's it's immeasurable. It's insane, you know. I mean, there's 417 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,520 Speaker 3: so much stuff wrapped into hip hop. It's about so 418 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 3: much more than just the music. It's really really, really 419 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:11,560 Speaker 3: really interesting. But you're right, Ben, I think it's important 420 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 3: to mention that, you know, the Schoolly D was from Philly, 421 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 3: but this period really did shift kind of the focus 422 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 3: of hip hop squarely to the West Coast one hundred percent. 423 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,359 Speaker 1: Yeah, So shout out to KRS one when Criminal Minded, 424 00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: shout out to the ghetto boys in Houston, Texas. Now 425 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 1: we have to get to the big group in w 426 00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:45,320 Speaker 1: A in WA stands for blank with an attitude. So 427 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:47,720 Speaker 1: we're not gonna we're not gonna use the word ourselves. 428 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: We don't have the qualifications to do. So they come 429 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,199 Speaker 1: out with this album called Straight Out of Compton, and 430 00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,959 Speaker 1: like you said, it shifts the sort of geographical center 431 00:23:57,080 --> 00:24:02,160 Speaker 1: of hip hop culture. And they're very playing about how 432 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,600 Speaker 1: violent life is in the streets of South central LA 433 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:09,480 Speaker 1: and in Compton, and there's hyperrealism there, but there's also 434 00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:13,600 Speaker 1: a lot of myth, a lot of bravado declarations of immortality, 435 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:18,760 Speaker 1: and this exaggeration, critics would later argue, becomes a kind 436 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:22,960 Speaker 1: of self protective, delusional device for listeners who are actually 437 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 1: involved in this incredibly dangerous lifestyle. In WA is chronically 438 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,360 Speaker 1: and we're getting we're getting that take from an excellent 439 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: article on BBC by Rebecca Lawrence called n WA the 440 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,560 Speaker 1: World's most dangerous group. 441 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:42,320 Speaker 3: Question mark, question mark. That's the funny thing about this, right, 442 00:24:42,359 --> 00:24:45,439 Speaker 3: the idea of dangerous. You know, like we know that 443 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,520 Speaker 3: people did get murdered, do get murdered, I mean in 444 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 3: in South central Laws and all kinds of all pockets 445 00:24:52,600 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 3: of the United States. 446 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 2: You know, it's a thing. 447 00:24:54,960 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 3: Violence is an American you know tradition, I mean only 448 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 3: in other parts of the world too. But like we know, 449 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,440 Speaker 3: gun violence has showed no signs of slowing. If anything, 450 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 3: it's just kind of worse than it's ever been. And 451 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,159 Speaker 3: there are other countries that just don't experience that in 452 00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:11,600 Speaker 3: the same way. So it makes sense that this, you know, 453 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 3: culture of music that came out kind of mimiced that 454 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 3: culture of violence. Not mimic, but the very least was 455 00:25:18,280 --> 00:25:20,560 Speaker 3: a mirror kind of being held up to it. And 456 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,440 Speaker 3: you're right, Ben about the exaggeration of Bravada, but that's 457 00:25:23,480 --> 00:25:26,320 Speaker 3: just part of the swagger of being an MC. You 458 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:29,960 Speaker 3: know what as at heart of these lyrics is real. 459 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 3: These people were getting killed and the police were not 460 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 3: to be trusted. 461 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:37,200 Speaker 1: Right, I would say there's also you know, with the 462 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: with this history of violence, we're specifically talking about the 463 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 1: history of state sponsored violence against minorities, and these folks 464 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:49,440 Speaker 1: were not lying about the problems in LA. At the time, 465 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,680 Speaker 1: recession de industrialization had led to these huge job losses. 466 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: Nineteen eighty three, youth employment there was nearly fifty percent. 467 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,960 Speaker 1: Almost one out of every two people didn't have a 468 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,119 Speaker 1: job and would have a very hard time trying to 469 00:26:05,200 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: find one. Hundreds of rival gangs sprung up, the most 470 00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,639 Speaker 1: notorious or well known in mainstream culture being the Crips 471 00:26:12,640 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: and the Bloods, But they are just the two most 472 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:20,520 Speaker 1: well known crack cocaine epidemic, the police are increasingly militarized 473 00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:24,520 Speaker 1: in WA, both as a group and in their solo albums. Later, 474 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,760 Speaker 1: they shake up America, they reclaim the inWORD. This becomes 475 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:32,800 Speaker 1: a huge matter of public debate, right and ice Cube 476 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: makes this argument. He says, look, we're turning this into 477 00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: a positive appellation. You know, we are owning this. Now 478 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:45,439 Speaker 1: it's our We're taking the word back. And of course 479 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: there was a very hefty side of misogyny in the lyrics, 480 00:26:49,560 --> 00:26:52,920 Speaker 1: but hey, it's nothing but music, right. America is the 481 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 1: land of free speech and theory, and a lot of 482 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:59,440 Speaker 1: people way before NWA said a lot of much more hurtful, 483 00:26:59,560 --> 00:27:04,479 Speaker 1: much more violent things, for instance, country music, which for 484 00:27:04,520 --> 00:27:07,640 Speaker 1: some reason always gets a pass in the modern day. 485 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:11,240 Speaker 1: But to some members of America's power structure, these young 486 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,159 Speaker 1: men were a rise of the historic underclass. The FBI 487 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,879 Speaker 1: felt threatened, and things came to a head when n 488 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,399 Speaker 1: WA released perhaps the most well known song, max, I 489 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: guess we should bleep it fuck the police beep. 490 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean that's what we're talking about here. 491 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 3: And again at the top, we sort of both were just, 492 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:37,640 Speaker 3: you know, thinking about how a lot of these lyrics 493 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,800 Speaker 3: now are just so comparatively tame compared to other things 494 00:27:41,800 --> 00:27:44,399 Speaker 3: that have come after that, you know, the level of 495 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:49,080 Speaker 3: depravity in some more modern music, you know, whether it 496 00:27:49,160 --> 00:27:52,320 Speaker 3: be metal, death metal, or some forms of hip hop. 497 00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:54,679 Speaker 3: But I mean, when you're saying this, this is like 498 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:59,400 Speaker 3: an anthem, you know, this is like a slogan the police, 499 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 3: you know, and it's it's now more than ever incredibly important. 500 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 3: And again I'm not saying I know there's some good 501 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:09,800 Speaker 3: police out there that are out there to do a 502 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,360 Speaker 3: good job to help people. But in America we are 503 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 3: kind of in an epidemic of police violence, and with 504 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,679 Speaker 3: things like you know, cop City here in Atlanta and 505 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:20,960 Speaker 3: all of the public outcries just because there's just no 506 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 3: trust for the police, you know, with slayings of minorities 507 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,480 Speaker 3: just being broadcast left and right, and you hear about 508 00:28:28,480 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 3: a new one, you know, on the regular. This was 509 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 3: very much opprescient song and is not It's not just shock, 510 00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 3: you know, it's it's real. It's a real sentiment of 511 00:28:42,120 --> 00:28:45,240 Speaker 3: people being scared. I mean, Ice Cube would later say 512 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 3: in interviews that, you know, if people in his community 513 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 3: were in trouble, the police were the last people they 514 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 3: would call, Oh yeah, it wasn't a racist sentiment. It 515 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,920 Speaker 3: wasn't like because they're white or whatever. A lot of 516 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:57,760 Speaker 3: these people weren't white. A lot of these cops. It 517 00:28:57,920 --> 00:28:59,640 Speaker 3: has something to do with race. It just has to 518 00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,080 Speaker 3: do with the systematic violence towards minorities and the way 519 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 3: those communities are police and the fact that you'd be 520 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 3: more likely to get in trouble or to get robbed 521 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:11,000 Speaker 3: by the police than just keeping it within your own community. 522 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:13,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, you can make an argument that 523 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: a lot of people had a problem with this song. 524 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,920 Speaker 1: Didn't get past the part where they say, again, fuck 525 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: the police. They didn't pay attention to lyrics that say 526 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: things like fucking with me because I'm a teenager with 527 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,680 Speaker 1: a little bit of golden paper, searching for my car, 528 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: looking for the product, thinking every is selling narcotics, you 529 00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,440 Speaker 1: know what I mean. Like they're talking about profiling, they're 530 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 1: talking about racism, state sponsored violence. They're not just they're 531 00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,920 Speaker 1: not just like, eh, you know, south Park style. They're 532 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: making a point here. And this did not get radio airplay, 533 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: of course, it did not get promotion for the label initially. 534 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: Despite all that, in six weeks straight out at Compton 535 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,920 Speaker 1: goes gold, eventually it goes double platinum. It's crossing over 536 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: or into mainstream wide American culture because just like rock music, right, 537 00:30:05,600 --> 00:30:09,080 Speaker 1: just like punk music, people like to hear someone fighting 538 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:13,200 Speaker 1: the power, and that provoked concern among the US establishment 539 00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,840 Speaker 1: parent groups. The religious right eventually caught the attention to 540 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,360 Speaker 1: law enforcement because you know, they're in the song. 541 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 2: Of course they are. 542 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 3: They're they're targeted, and essentially, you know, whatever it's, it's 543 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 3: it's a philosophical targeting. No one is advocating in this song. 544 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 3: There is another song that'll come a little later from 545 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,040 Speaker 3: a solo effort from one of the members of NWA, 546 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 3: but there's no advocation in the song for like let's 547 00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:36,720 Speaker 3: go kill cops. 548 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:37,760 Speaker 2: That's not what it's about. 549 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 3: It. It's it's expressing a very real, you know, situation 550 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 3: that occurs, you know, all the time in these neighborhoods 551 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 3: that they're living in. But you know, you mentioned where 552 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:50,080 Speaker 3: we're going with the connection to law enforcement and them 553 00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 3: kind of entering the scene. This is no different than 554 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:56,400 Speaker 3: j Edgar Hoover targeting John Lennon. 555 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:57,320 Speaker 2: Or Mick Jagger. 556 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:01,840 Speaker 3: You know, they were scared of people with control over 557 00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:06,280 Speaker 3: voting blocks, you know, over like the youth movements, and 558 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 3: to them, this wasn't just entertainment, this was influence. This 559 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:15,920 Speaker 3: was dangerous, yeah, exactly. And they they saw this as 560 00:31:15,960 --> 00:31:21,360 Speaker 3: a threat to society as they understood it. And that's why, 561 00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:23,840 Speaker 3: out of all the problems they dealt with on a 562 00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:29,080 Speaker 3: daily basis, the drug trade, trafficking, murder, domestic terrorism, the 563 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,920 Speaker 3: Federal Bureau of Investigation said, let's put that stuff on 564 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 3: hold for a second. We need to take out gangster 565 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:40,200 Speaker 3: rap and these NWA kids in particular, this was a 566 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 3: moral panic. And Britannica defines moral panic as I mean, 567 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 3: you nailed the definition pretty much earlier. It's it's a 568 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:53,040 Speaker 3: phrase used in sociology to describe an artificially created panic 569 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 3: or scare. 570 00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:54,560 Speaker 2: They're cyclical. 571 00:31:55,400 --> 00:32:03,560 Speaker 1: Researchers demonstrate that what they call more entrepreneurs demonize dangerous 572 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:07,960 Speaker 1: groups to serve their own self motivated or self interested ends. 573 00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:11,960 Speaker 1: And although the specifics and moral panics vary throughout history, 574 00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: usually they are initiated by the very powerful to manage 575 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 1: the body and behavior of the poor and the power less. 576 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:24,000 Speaker 3: And oftentimes the folks who initiate it haven't even done 577 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 3: their homework, Like like don't even know what they're talking 578 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:30,080 Speaker 3: about in terms of what the lyrics are referring to. 579 00:32:30,400 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 3: They get hung up on a word or a concept 580 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,880 Speaker 3: or something like that, and like like but they haven't 581 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,120 Speaker 3: even really listened to the record or they really can't 582 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 3: possibly wrap their head around the cultural significance of what 583 00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:46,160 Speaker 3: it represents. They're just saying, no, these these you know, 584 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,719 Speaker 3: gangsters are coming for our children, you know, and then 585 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,680 Speaker 3: they're trying to influence them and make them join gangs, and. 586 00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:54,920 Speaker 2: You know, it's absurd. 587 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,680 Speaker 3: I mean, certainly, maybe there was one kid who like 588 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 3: got into gun violence because he listened to a record, 589 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 3: but by and large, I don't think that's how that works, 590 00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,520 Speaker 3: you know, Like I just don't same with the Marilyn 591 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:08,720 Speaker 3: Manson stuff and the what was that the. 592 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 2: Texas case with the with the. 593 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:15,440 Speaker 3: Kids who were listening to the Marilyn Manson and death 594 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 3: metal who got accused of those child murders at robin 595 00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,800 Speaker 3: Hood Hills. What is that called the Memphis West Memphis 596 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 3: three I believe is what that one's called. 597 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:27,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, we well we also know that they we also 598 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,080 Speaker 1: know that this moral panic was a bipartisan panic. And 599 00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,480 Speaker 1: first off, when I say cyclical, let us assure you 600 00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:39,400 Speaker 1: I would not be surprised if centuries ago some new 601 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: form of chanting and canticles came out and there was 602 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:48,440 Speaker 1: some guys like I only like Gregorian chant. It happens 603 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,320 Speaker 1: whatever the new stuff comes through, right, That's why, like 604 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 1: people I'm sure were scared of of each boys, they're 605 00:33:53,600 --> 00:33:56,880 Speaker 1: scared of Elvis, even though he appropriated music that have 606 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: been along around for so long. 607 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 2: Anyways, people were probably scared of Rance. 608 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:02,520 Speaker 3: Well at the time, you know what I mean, anything 609 00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 3: that now just seems so mickey mouse. There was a 610 00:34:05,840 --> 00:34:09,840 Speaker 3: time where if it wasn't classical music, it was somehow offensive, 611 00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:12,640 Speaker 3: and even classical music at times, like you know, Stravinsky 612 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,760 Speaker 3: was punk rock and would cause these outrages of people, 613 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:20,000 Speaker 3: you know, getting into these sort of reveries that like 614 00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:22,600 Speaker 3: these concerts where people were like screaming and throwing things 615 00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:24,080 Speaker 3: because it was just so bombastic. 616 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 1: The saxophone was punk rock. Punk rock is a mentality, 617 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:32,319 Speaker 1: and NWA is punk rock for sure, which is why 618 00:34:32,360 --> 00:34:37,480 Speaker 1: you see later M season producers from NWA hanging out 619 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,520 Speaker 1: with rock and roll stuff. We don't want to spoke 620 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,319 Speaker 1: too much yet, but okay, so it's bipartisan, right. The 621 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:48,280 Speaker 1: people who are mad at NWA. There's a group called 622 00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:52,400 Speaker 1: the Parents Music Resource Center, founded in nineteen eighty five 623 00:34:53,480 --> 00:34:58,640 Speaker 1: entirely because some powerful people in Washington are worried about 624 00:34:58,640 --> 00:35:00,680 Speaker 1: what their kids are listening to. The way the story 625 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:04,680 Speaker 1: goes is Tipper Gore, when you hear of most often, 626 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 1: she was the wife of Al Gore, who was the 627 00:35:09,680 --> 00:35:12,879 Speaker 1: Senator of Tennessee at the time, and she bought an 628 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: album called Purple Rain by Prince Legendary for her daughter, 629 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,279 Speaker 1: who was eleven at the time. And as Tipper is 630 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,400 Speaker 1: listening to these songs on the album, she finds that 631 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:30,239 Speaker 1: one of them, darling Nicky, has a reference to masturbation, 632 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:31,640 Speaker 1: to female masturbation. 633 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:35,120 Speaker 3: Once again, though you're buying your eleven year old a 634 00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:38,080 Speaker 3: Prince album. Have you've not seen his earlier work, like 635 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:39,560 Speaker 3: Dirty Minds and stuff? 636 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:41,479 Speaker 2: I mean, like, wasn't that before Purple Rain? 637 00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:46,759 Speaker 3: I mean, like he's always been this like sexual kind 638 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:52,480 Speaker 3: of figure. Dynamo Yeah no, yeah, freaking Dirty Mind came 639 00:35:52,480 --> 00:35:56,200 Speaker 3: out in nineteen eighty and the cover is him wearing 640 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,640 Speaker 3: like a like with a happy trail coming out of 641 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:01,319 Speaker 3: his like g string you know, I mean, is you know, 642 00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:03,719 Speaker 3: there's it's no question what is going on. 643 00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:04,319 Speaker 2: With this guy? 644 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:07,920 Speaker 3: So you're like, oh, purple Rain, Well that sounds fun. 645 00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:10,440 Speaker 3: I bet my eleven year old like that. Give me 646 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,680 Speaker 3: a break, you know, And then then all of a sudden, 647 00:36:12,719 --> 00:36:15,120 Speaker 3: the pm r C becomes a thing. Ben, do you 648 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:18,040 Speaker 3: remember the first CD you had that maybe you had 649 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:20,840 Speaker 3: to smuggle or have a friend sneak to you or whatever, 650 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:26,680 Speaker 3: that had that fricking parental advisory explicit lyrics sticker on it. 651 00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:30,000 Speaker 1: They invented this, Yeah, that's right. Do you remember Green 652 00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:30,920 Speaker 1: Day Dookie? 653 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:33,440 Speaker 3: That's crazy and that I would I don't even I 654 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,960 Speaker 3: think there may well have been versions of that that 655 00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:36,799 Speaker 3: didn't have it. 656 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,320 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, because they would they would sell the clean versions, 657 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: but nobody nobody wanted the clean versions. 658 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,360 Speaker 2: Maybe I just can't quite remember. 659 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,359 Speaker 3: I guess there's they used the F word maybe one 660 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,720 Speaker 3: one song on that record. And there's also a hidden 661 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:52,360 Speaker 3: track that's apparently about masturbation that I didn't believe that 662 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:53,560 Speaker 3: for years, but then I hear it now. 663 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:54,800 Speaker 2: Of course. That's what it's about. 664 00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:59,120 Speaker 3: My point though, is there was very hazy criteria even 665 00:36:59,239 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 3: for what into like an album deserving one of these stickers, 666 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,240 Speaker 3: you know, And sometimes they would be stickers, actual stickers 667 00:37:06,239 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 3: placed on it, and sometimes they would be embedded in 668 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,800 Speaker 3: the art, the actual art of and it's all very hazy, 669 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,200 Speaker 3: sort of like at least with ratings for movies you 670 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:16,640 Speaker 3: kind of know, like a PG thirteen movie. 671 00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:18,560 Speaker 2: I think can say the F word one time. 672 00:37:18,840 --> 00:37:22,680 Speaker 3: There's very hazy still, but not nearly as hazy as this. 673 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:26,200 Speaker 3: The first one I ever had was Black Sunday by 674 00:37:26,280 --> 00:37:29,759 Speaker 3: Cypress Hill, and it was kind of slipped to me 675 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:31,440 Speaker 3: by a friend and youth group. 676 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:33,640 Speaker 2: And if you all remember the cover of that album, 677 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 2: it looks like a death metal album cover. 678 00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:40,640 Speaker 3: It's like like just like piles of the graveyard stones 679 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 3: and skulls and stuff, and there's a lot of black 680 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:43,480 Speaker 3: on it. 681 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:47,879 Speaker 2: And my friend very cleverly scribbled over the parental advisory 682 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:51,040 Speaker 2: part with a black sharpie and you couldn't see it. 683 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:51,920 Speaker 2: It was genius. 684 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:53,680 Speaker 3: I wish I still had that such a relic for 685 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:58,040 Speaker 3: my childhood. But if anything, though, it gave records that 686 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:01,359 Speaker 3: had that sticker on it a sense of danger and 687 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 3: like this is what you want, kids, This is the 688 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:04,840 Speaker 3: good stuff. 689 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:07,880 Speaker 1: And that comes into play a little later for sure. Yeah, 690 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,560 Speaker 1: like The point is, two years before NWA is even 691 00:38:11,600 --> 00:38:14,640 Speaker 1: a thing, they become active in nineteen eighty seven, two 692 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 1: years before they become a thing, there's already a powerful 693 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:21,279 Speaker 1: group formed to clutch their pearls and panic not just 694 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:25,400 Speaker 1: about NWA, but about all music they find objectionable. In 695 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:32,080 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty nine, FBI assistant director Mitt Erlich sends out 696 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:37,520 Speaker 1: a letter to the NWA distributor and says the album, 697 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:42,160 Speaker 1: straight out of Compton quote, encourages violence against and disrespect 698 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,439 Speaker 1: for the law enforcement officer, and also says you could 699 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,880 Speaker 1: read the whole letter. He also says he speaks for 700 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:52,520 Speaker 1: all law enforcement to be fair. He says he just 701 00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,759 Speaker 1: wants to bring this matter to the attention of the 702 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:59,920 Speaker 1: record company priority. But that does feel like a threat 703 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:02,279 Speaker 1: when Shackbi writes to. 704 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,799 Speaker 3: You, right, it's the implication if something happened to your 705 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:09,239 Speaker 3: little hip hop concerts, you know what I mean. And 706 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 3: so there are some concerts and tours that get affected. 707 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:17,719 Speaker 2: In eighty nine, and WA's touring America. 708 00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:24,040 Speaker 3: And they police are urged by this faction, you know, 709 00:39:24,480 --> 00:39:27,000 Speaker 3: to interfere with their concerts. 710 00:39:27,040 --> 00:39:29,080 Speaker 1: The fax each other information about it. 711 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:34,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, factions be factions, and so in Detroit. Actually the 712 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,840 Speaker 3: band is even arrested, you know. I mean, this is 713 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:42,680 Speaker 3: very very interesting parallels to not to plug again, but 714 00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,960 Speaker 3: to the Stones seventy two tour, where they're arrested. They're 715 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:49,440 Speaker 3: treated as this counterculture kind of like bell Weather, you know, 716 00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:54,680 Speaker 3: and this is very similar to this band from Compton, 717 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:57,440 Speaker 3: which to some parts of the country may as well 718 00:39:57,440 --> 00:39:59,200 Speaker 3: have been the Moon, you know what I mean. It 719 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,320 Speaker 3: was just like so alien and weird that it happened 720 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:04,600 Speaker 3: in Detroit, because that's if I think of that as 721 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:06,480 Speaker 3: much more of like a kind of you know, hip 722 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,400 Speaker 3: hop centric and like kind of culturally progressive city. 723 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:12,040 Speaker 2: But I guess that doesn't have anything to do with 724 00:40:12,080 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 2: the police, you know. 725 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:17,520 Speaker 1: No. Yeah, the idea too that the FBI was monitoring 726 00:40:17,560 --> 00:40:21,560 Speaker 1: the individual's inn wa ice Cube, who we pulled a 727 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:24,000 Speaker 1: lot of interviews from. He had an interview with Billboard 728 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:26,640 Speaker 1: much much later when he said, look, we were just 729 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:31,680 Speaker 1: locals in Los Angeles. We went from being these kids 730 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:35,520 Speaker 1: to tangling with the biggest power entities out there. There 731 00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:38,400 Speaker 1: were all kinds of forces against us, but it didn't 732 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:40,759 Speaker 1: make us bite our tongue. It made us stand up 733 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,600 Speaker 1: even more. We should also know this is the very 734 00:40:43,640 --> 00:40:46,560 Speaker 1: first time in FBI history that they had ever done 735 00:40:46,600 --> 00:40:49,880 Speaker 1: anything like this for a musical album of any sort. 736 00:40:50,760 --> 00:40:55,440 Speaker 1: Excerpts from the letter are Excerpts from the letter give 737 00:40:55,520 --> 00:40:59,200 Speaker 1: a lot of statistics. They say things like, violent crime 738 00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:03,000 Speaker 1: is a problem, is reached it unprecedented high in nineteen 739 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 1: eighty eight. They talk about the seventy eight law enforcement 740 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:11,319 Speaker 1: officers that were murdered in eighty eight and four more 741 00:41:11,360 --> 00:41:15,400 Speaker 1: in eighty seven. But they don't give the other sides 742 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:17,640 Speaker 1: of the facts. They don't or you know, they don't 743 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:21,640 Speaker 1: give other contextual clues, like the number of black men 744 00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: who had died in police custody during those same years. 745 00:41:25,719 --> 00:41:26,280 Speaker 2: They say. 746 00:41:27,680 --> 00:41:31,360 Speaker 1: They conclude by saying music plays a significant role in society. 747 00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,160 Speaker 1: And the director said, and the assistant director says, I 748 00:41:35,239 --> 00:41:38,080 Speaker 1: wanted you to be aware of the FBI's position relative 749 00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,840 Speaker 1: to this song and its message. I believe my views 750 00:41:40,840 --> 00:41:44,160 Speaker 1: reflect the opinion of the entire law enforcement community. And 751 00:41:44,200 --> 00:41:48,560 Speaker 1: what did NWA do. They played the song everywhere they went, 752 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,359 Speaker 1: every show, every appearance, no matter the protest, no matter 753 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:53,400 Speaker 1: the police presence. 754 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,440 Speaker 2: It's amazing. It's so punk rock. I mean, it reminds 755 00:41:56,480 --> 00:41:58,319 Speaker 2: me of like there's a lot of you. 756 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:00,400 Speaker 3: Can find clips of like all of the artists that 757 00:42:00,440 --> 00:42:02,800 Speaker 3: were banned from ever performing on Saturday Night Live again, 758 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,319 Speaker 3: and it's usually because they did something politically divisive, you know, 759 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:09,239 Speaker 3: like rest in Peace Shinead O'Connor by the way, who 760 00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:12,120 Speaker 3: who passed away recently. But famous clip of her ripping 761 00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:14,880 Speaker 3: up a picture of the Pope on SNL. You know, 762 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:17,640 Speaker 3: she really was pilloried for that, but then later it 763 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:20,399 Speaker 3: turned out, yeah, the Catholic Church was doing some really 764 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:21,880 Speaker 3: awful stuff that she was protesting. 765 00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,240 Speaker 2: But Elvis Costello got banned. 766 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,640 Speaker 3: I think it may have been rescinded because he was 767 00:42:26,719 --> 00:42:29,960 Speaker 3: asked not to play his song Radio Radio, which is 768 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:33,840 Speaker 3: about the record industry and how like twisted and corrupt 769 00:42:33,880 --> 00:42:36,560 Speaker 3: the record industry is. And so that was like literally, 770 00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:40,680 Speaker 3: you know, representatives from the media saying, hey, don't put 771 00:42:40,680 --> 00:42:42,680 Speaker 3: poke your finger in the eye of our buddies, the 772 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 3: record industry, you know, and he said, okay, okay, and 773 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:47,200 Speaker 3: then he did it anyway, and then it got it 774 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:48,080 Speaker 3: got him in trouble. 775 00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:51,880 Speaker 1: The rage against the machine for another Saturday Live example. 776 00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:53,719 Speaker 3: That's right with the flag maybe had something to doing 777 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:56,160 Speaker 3: upside down flag, the American flag. 778 00:42:56,239 --> 00:42:58,600 Speaker 2: That's I'm reading the article right now. No, that's cool, man. 779 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:02,560 Speaker 3: This stuff is inherently punk rock, you know, speaking truth 780 00:43:02,600 --> 00:43:04,719 Speaker 3: to power. We haven't talked about Public Enemy much yet, 781 00:43:04,719 --> 00:43:07,600 Speaker 3: but their song fight the Power in nineteen eighty nine 782 00:43:07,760 --> 00:43:11,160 Speaker 3: another excellent just kind of you know, anthem for this 783 00:43:11,239 --> 00:43:14,000 Speaker 3: kind of anti establishment stuff. And it really is a 784 00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:17,200 Speaker 3: carryover from like attitudes of like rock and roll bands, 785 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:20,400 Speaker 3: you know, from the sixties and seventies, the late sixties 786 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:21,800 Speaker 3: and early seventies. 787 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:23,920 Speaker 2: It's really interesting and so this. 788 00:43:24,040 --> 00:43:28,000 Speaker 1: Is a scary time, but these guys have the grit 789 00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:32,120 Speaker 1: to not bow, to not bend, and not break. And 790 00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 1: the FBI letter is probably one of the best things 791 00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:41,040 Speaker 1: that ever happened to n WA's career because the wrong Yeah, 792 00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:44,560 Speaker 1: the marketing geniuses at the record label, they say, you 793 00:43:44,600 --> 00:43:47,279 Speaker 1: know what, we're going public. They send this letter to 794 00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:49,719 Speaker 1: the press, it's part of their press kit. There's this 795 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:53,239 Speaker 1: whole new interest in Compton in general. It also was 796 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:58,000 Speaker 1: a tremendous help that Tipper Gores group Parrot Music Resource 797 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:03,680 Speaker 1: Center did call in the world's most Dangerous group and 798 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,880 Speaker 1: they let This all led to the creation of that 799 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:12,880 Speaker 1: explicit printal advisory label. Basically, we're looking at the Streisand 800 00:44:12,920 --> 00:44:16,600 Speaker 1: effect because the power structure tried to tell everybody not 801 00:44:16,719 --> 00:44:21,200 Speaker 1: to listen to in Wa, everybody listened to NWA. 802 00:44:21,520 --> 00:44:23,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's like the old joke about like if the 803 00:44:23,280 --> 00:44:26,960 Speaker 3: bottle of pills says, don't operate heavy machinery while taking it, 804 00:44:27,040 --> 00:44:29,160 Speaker 3: then those are the ones that are the fun pills. 805 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:33,799 Speaker 3: I've heard from comedians that that's the case. But yeah, 806 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:37,080 Speaker 3: I love your use of the Streisand effect. Barbara Streisand 807 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:40,279 Speaker 3: famously tried to get images of herself that were unflattering 808 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:43,120 Speaker 3: shricken from the Internet, and just the very fact that 809 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:47,320 Speaker 3: she wanted this to happen made the Internet just spread them. 810 00:44:47,280 --> 00:44:49,520 Speaker 2: Further and wider than ever would have been the case 811 00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:51,239 Speaker 2: if she had just shut up about it. Yeah. 812 00:44:51,320 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 1: I think it was pictures of her house. She asked 813 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:55,960 Speaker 1: people not to put pictures of her house off, and 814 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:59,480 Speaker 1: then Beyonce encountered the Streisand effect by asking people to 815 00:44:59,520 --> 00:45:03,239 Speaker 1: take of lattering pictures. The thing is if something if 816 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:06,759 Speaker 1: something like that happens. Yeah, like you said so beautifully, man, 817 00:45:06,840 --> 00:45:11,719 Speaker 1: people people aren't gonna comply when you tell them that 818 00:45:11,800 --> 00:45:15,000 Speaker 1: kind of stuff, especially if you're talking about you're the 819 00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:17,960 Speaker 1: person in the crowd saying, Okay, I know we've all 820 00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:20,319 Speaker 1: had fun, but let's calm down because it's almost seven 821 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:24,120 Speaker 1: point thirty and fellow hip hop fans of the audience, 822 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:26,760 Speaker 1: you know, there is so much more that we didn't 823 00:45:26,840 --> 00:45:31,120 Speaker 1: get to today, but we wanted to end here with 824 00:45:31,320 --> 00:45:34,520 Speaker 1: our big, big thanks to all the legends of this 825 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:37,880 Speaker 1: genre of hip hop and rap. We found one note 826 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:39,720 Speaker 1: that we thought would just be the perfect. 827 00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:40,040 Speaker 2: One to end on. 828 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:42,960 Speaker 1: What happened to that letter from the FBI, you may 829 00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:46,000 Speaker 1: ask today. It is in the rock and Roll Hall 830 00:45:46,080 --> 00:45:47,799 Speaker 1: of Fame, of which NWA is. 831 00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:50,399 Speaker 3: A member, and in a lot of hay has been 832 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:55,480 Speaker 3: made by certain types. I guess that's not rock and roll. 833 00:45:55,840 --> 00:45:58,120 Speaker 3: Screw that, it totally is. 834 00:45:58,320 --> 00:45:58,680 Speaker 2: Whatever. 835 00:45:59,239 --> 00:46:01,359 Speaker 3: Rock and roll is an a MorphOS concept, like you said, 836 00:46:01,400 --> 00:46:03,879 Speaker 3: just like punk rock. It doesn't refer to a sound, 837 00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:06,960 Speaker 3: It refers to like an attitude and a mentality. And like, 838 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,680 Speaker 3: this is so important, you know the fact that they 839 00:46:09,719 --> 00:46:12,960 Speaker 3: took this strongly worded letter from the FBI and made 840 00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:14,960 Speaker 3: it spun it into marketing. 841 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:17,000 Speaker 2: Gold because it just shows how. 842 00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:19,960 Speaker 3: Square the FBI was, And again, like we said at 843 00:46:19,960 --> 00:46:22,560 Speaker 3: the top of the show, how quaint it feels now 844 00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:26,080 Speaker 3: the thought of the FBI expending any amount. 845 00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:29,560 Speaker 2: Of resource on this kind of witch hunt, you know, And. 846 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:31,680 Speaker 3: I don't know, Ben, do you think Tipper Gore and 847 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:35,439 Speaker 3: her ilk meant well or do you think they were 848 00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:37,680 Speaker 3: just trying to shut down poor people? 849 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:42,239 Speaker 1: I think I think it was probably a half and 850 00:46:42,280 --> 00:46:47,080 Speaker 1: half thing. Those are not mutually exclusive motives. People usually, 851 00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:50,880 Speaker 1: even people we consider villains, usually see themselves as heroes 852 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:52,880 Speaker 1: and think they're doing the right thing. And that's not 853 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,279 Speaker 1: say they're bad people, but they could have. There was 854 00:46:56,280 --> 00:47:00,000 Speaker 1: a political calculation, doubtlessly, because you want to cause you 855 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,719 Speaker 1: and rally or base around, and in this case, their 856 00:47:02,800 --> 00:47:05,960 Speaker 1: cause was misdirected. It did not work out, It did 857 00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:10,319 Speaker 1: not address the problems from which this music arose. And 858 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,359 Speaker 1: with that, I say we we first, we give our 859 00:47:13,520 --> 00:47:17,280 Speaker 1: we give our thanks of course to doctor dre Ice Cube, 860 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:21,440 Speaker 1: DJ Yella mc redden and Easy of n W A 861 00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:24,720 Speaker 1: thank you for making this episode possible. 862 00:47:24,520 --> 00:47:26,719 Speaker 3: And thanks to all the incredible artists that have come 863 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:29,680 Speaker 3: out of hip hop, all of the contributions that you've 864 00:47:29,719 --> 00:47:34,840 Speaker 3: made to pop culture, to social justice, you know, to 865 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,359 Speaker 3: so many aspects that are very very positive, you know, 866 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:41,680 Speaker 3: in American society and global society. I mean, you know, 867 00:47:41,760 --> 00:47:44,440 Speaker 3: because hip hop isn't just We're sitting here in Atlanta, 868 00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:46,560 Speaker 3: which is like kind of a hotbed of hip hop, 869 00:47:46,560 --> 00:47:49,880 Speaker 3: you know, with outcasts and so many incredible artists that 870 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:53,680 Speaker 3: have come yeah exactly that have come out of this city. 871 00:47:53,960 --> 00:47:56,279 Speaker 3: But hip hop is a global phenomenon at this point. 872 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:59,239 Speaker 3: You know, it's it's not just American. Everybody loves it, 873 00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:02,799 Speaker 3: and it's something that just about anybody, even if that's 874 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:05,200 Speaker 3: not your background, Like in terms of the perspective that's 875 00:48:05,200 --> 00:48:07,560 Speaker 3: being described, there's something that you can still take from it. 876 00:48:07,560 --> 00:48:11,960 Speaker 3: There's wisdom, you know, the word play, just the just 877 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:14,919 Speaker 3: I don't know, it's wisdom. There really is so much 878 00:48:15,080 --> 00:48:18,439 Speaker 3: of that in the lyrics of of truly great hip hop. 879 00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:23,200 Speaker 1: And of course thank you to our our own DJ, 880 00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:27,480 Speaker 1: our own doctor Dre, mister Max Williams, thanks to Jonathan 881 00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:31,000 Speaker 1: Strickland who is kind of our fbi aka the quizt 882 00:48:31,080 --> 00:48:36,520 Speaker 1: Orgar Hoover. Yeah, and thanks to who else Alex Williams 883 00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:41,040 Speaker 1: composing this banging tracks, Jeff cot who uh who's on 884 00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:44,759 Speaker 1: in person at the office the other way. Yeah, Yeah, 885 00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:46,879 Speaker 1: Eve's always a pleasure. Maybe we can get her back 886 00:48:46,920 --> 00:48:50,160 Speaker 1: on the show soon and big big thanks to of 887 00:48:50,160 --> 00:48:51,600 Speaker 1: course christ Fossio. 888 00:48:51,320 --> 00:48:52,360 Speaker 2: Just here in spirit. 889 00:48:53,880 --> 00:48:57,080 Speaker 1: I guess Tipper Gore, who also made this episode. 890 00:48:57,400 --> 00:49:00,680 Speaker 2: Would she ended up going on to do working on 891 00:49:00,719 --> 00:49:02,360 Speaker 2: a new show with us? 892 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:06,799 Speaker 1: Oh cool, we're doing a new show with Eve's Jeff Cookee, 893 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:08,600 Speaker 1: not with Tipper Gore to mine. 894 00:49:08,440 --> 00:49:11,279 Speaker 2: Got it? Okay, thank god, We'll see you next time. 895 00:49:11,320 --> 00:49:21,439 Speaker 3: Box. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 896 00:49:21,480 --> 00:49:24,600 Speaker 3: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.