Explorations in Music

Music is something that we as humans connect with on a deep level and as an artform we use it to express many things from joy to sadness to rage, and protest. Music allows people to express how they feel about anything. Today I’d like to talk about music that has been written about injustice in protest of the powers that be. I’ll be using two great examples “Killing In The Name Of” by Rage Against The Machine and “Fuck Tha Police” by N.W.A which both address racism and police brutality. I would like to note that “Fuck Tha Police” does include language that some may be uncomfortable with, but I want to present it as it is because I think it’s important to stay true to the material and so the message is clear to my readers. 

“Killing In The Name Of” Rage Against The Machine

Lyrics

“Some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses”

“Killing in the name of”

“Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they’re the chosen whites”

“And now you do what they told ya
And now you do what they told ya, now you’re under control”

The first set of lyrics refers to the idea that a certain amount of the police force are also member of hate groups like the KKK. Next killing of the name of what? Who? The police are killing the name of what they perceive to be justice or killing in the name of their hate groups because they can. The song implies the that general population believes that the deaths due to police brutality are justified because the cops surely couldn’t do any wrong. Plus the police do this all for the “benefit” of white society according to these ideals. The lyrics put these ideas right in your face and force you to deconstruct why we tolerate police brutality.

Song structure and Tone

The song is broken up into a few repeating chorus’s I feel that they’re repeated to really drive their meaning home. Same with tone of the song singer Zack repeats each chorus over and over each time with a little more force and little more rage, and passion, and a little louder.

My Opinion

One of the greatest protest songs of all time. I’ve been listening to this song since I was at least 5 and I’m still listening to it at age 30. It’s still sadly relevant and popular to this day and probably will remain relevant for many years to come. I especially appreciate that it’s even popular funnily enough at the rallies of political groups that perpetuate police brutality because they don’t take the time to analyze the lyrics and realize that they’re the problem.

Context

This song was written by the Californian band Rage Against The Machine in 1992. Written in protest of police brutality of POC and the outcome of the trial that took place after the beating of Rodney King, and police brutality that took place during the Los Angeles/Rodney King riots that lasted from April 29, 1992 to March 4, 1992.

“Fuck Tha Police” N.W.A

Lyrics

I want to start by saying that this song contains some strong language that might make some people uncomfortable, but I find it important to present them as they are because I’m not a POC and it’s not my job to sensor the experiences of those who have been victims of police brutality.

I’m going to focus on the first portion of the song and Ice Cube’s point of view.

“Right about now NWA court is in full effect
Judge Dre presiding in the case of NWA versus the police department.
Prosecuting attourneys are MC Ren, Ice Cube and Eazy motherfuckin’ E
Order, order, order, Ice Cube take the motherfuckin’ stand
Do you swear to tell the truth the whole truth
And nothin’ but the truth so help your black ass?
You goddamn right
Well, won’t you tell everybody what the fuck you gotta say?

This song takes place in a fictional court where the police are put on trail for the crimes committed against the members of N.W.A. The rappers are allowed to give their version of events subverting the norm of the police being in control of the narritive.

Fuck the police comin’ straight from the underground
A Young nigga got it bad ’cause I’m brown
And not the other color so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, ’cause I ain’t the one
For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun
To be beatin’ on, and thrown in jail
We can go toe-to-toe in the middle of a cell

Fuckin with me ’cause I’m a teenager
With a little bit of gold and a pager
Searchin’ my car, lookin’ for the product
Thinkin’ every nigga is sellin’ narcotics

You’d rather see me in the pen
Than me and Lorenzo rollin’ in the Benzo”

Ice Cube here is talking about how he never even really had a chance because the police are immediately on him from the jump. They automatically assume because he isn’t a poor POC he must be selling drugs. The police can’t stand to see a young black man being successful and so they seek out reasons to arrest him.

“And on the other hand, without a gun, they can’t get none
But don’t let it be a black and a white one
‘Cause they’ll slam ya down to the street top
Black police showin’ out for the white cop”

Here Ice Cube asserts that without guns the police lose all their power, and talks about the dynamics between black officers and their white partners. The idea here is that the black officer wants to been as one of the “good ones” and fit in with their white peers so they’re more willing to commit acts of excessive force.

Song Structure

The song is split into three main verses each from the point of view from a rapper. First Ice Cube, then MC Ren and then Easy E. The verses are split up by these repeated refrains of “Fuck tha Police”

Sampling

This song features quite a few samples. The beginning of the song samples Marva Whitney’s 1969 song “Its My Thing” with the lyrics

“It’s my thing I can do what I wanna do
You can’t tell me
Who to sock it to”

These tie in nicely to the overarching theme of the song. it also features a sample from James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” giving the song a steady great drum line for portion of the song.

My Opinion.

Full out I love this song. As some would say it’s a certified hood classic. It’s punchy and very catchy and most importantly it helped me understand things I’ll never experience as a white woman.

Context

This song was written by Califronian Rap group N.W.A in 1988, and it was produced by Rap Legends Dr.Dre and DJ Yella. The song addresses the excessive police violence and police vs gang tension that was extremely common in southern California during this time period.

Krbechek, Anjuli Sastry, and Karen Grigsby Bates. “When La Erupted in Anger: A Look Back at the Rodney King Riots.” NPR, NPR, 26 Apr. 2017, http://www.npr.org/2017/04/26/524744989/when-la-erupted-in-anger-a-look-back-at-the-rodney-king-riots.

Uitti, Jacob. “Behind the History and Meaning of the N.W.A. Song ‘F**k Tha Police.’” American Songwriter, 30 Jan. 2023, americansongwriter.com/behind-the-history-and-meaning-of-the-n-w-a-song-fk-tha-police/.

Personal Journey

I’ve always considered myself somebody who is more into music then your average listener. I listen to a myriad of styles, genres and time periods of music, and hope to keep growing my music library. This class has taught me how to listen to music a little closer. To listen how how music is layered, what instruments have been used, and to analyze lyrics for deeper meaning. These are skills I hope stay with me for long time coming.