Today in class during my
poetry discussion, I mentioned how there was intense criticism to the song “Fuck
the police” when it first came out. I touched on this but due to time
constraints, I wasn’t able to get into the historical context of what actually happened
in 1989. The FBI sent a letter to Ruthless Records, NWA’s label at the time. The letter cited "inciting violence and disrespect" against law enforcement officers as the reason for FBI's involvement. First
amendment advocates at the time criticized the FBI's actions. Critics blamed the FBI for engaging in artistic censorship, far removed from FBI's charter of law enforcement. Obviously, the FBI defended its decision to get
involved. A representative of the FBI issued a statement saying “78 law enforcement
officers were feloniously slain in the line of duty during 1988 . . . and
recordings such as the one from N.W. A are both discouraging and degrading to
these brave, dedicated officers" (Steve Hochman LA Times).
Ironically,
the FBI’s involvement brought the label more attention, notoriety and
made them more money. In an interview with The
Daily Beast’s Michael Daly, Dr. Dre stated that the letter “inadvertently helped N.W.A achieve a new level of free
publicity.” In my personal opinion, the letter added to NWA’s image. NWA's fan base saw NWA as standing up to authority. According to their fans, NWA was able to “rattle” the FBI and FBI had no
ability to take real action. Based on a Wikipedia source (to be taken with a grain of salt!), the FBI letter was actually written by a man named Milt Ahlerich, who was
falsely representing the FBI. This explanation may hold some credibility because the purpose of the FBI's letter escapes me. What
was the FBI trying to accomplish by making the letter public? Did they really think
NWA would stop producing these kinds of songs?
The Straight Outa Compton album that NWA produced was one of the
first rap albums of its time. Their popularity and the controversy they generated spawned the entire "gangster rap" genre. For us, at the present time, it seems strange that the FBI would take action against artistic expression probably because
we are used to this style of music based social-commentary. However, NWA's music, that took stand against law enforcement back in the late eighties, could be compared to the "Black lives matter" movement sweeping the United States. The recent killings of people with color, primarily African-Americans has created friction between the African-American community and law enforcement, which is being brought into the mainstream consciousness by the "black lives matter" organizers. I
personally think that bands like NWA and movements like "black lives matter" shine a light on social issues that need to be discussed in public. As uncomfortable as it may make people feel, real progress can only be made through dialogue between people of varying viewpoints. NWA's music and the black lives matter movement brought awareness to the challenges faced by urban black youth (stereotyped as criminals, living in a culture of violence and drugs, etc.). I think
the FBI violated the NWA’s right to freedom of speech, just like I believe authorities cannot and should not ban "black lives matter."
I didn't realize there was a so much historical context around this song. I'm glad you brought this to light. I also agree that this song and movements like "black lives matter" shine light on social issues that need to be discussed in public. Aja brought up an interesting point in class, that people tend to dismiss songs like this because of it's vulgar language and lack of eloquence, and use it to justify black stereotypes. But songs like this are a more accurate representation of people's sentiments and the oppression and racism they're facing.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to compare the attitude of NWA with movements from today. There are many viewpoints on how the black lives matter movement should be approached and this song represents the more bold and upfront mentality. Another thing worth noting is the police shutting down the concert when the song was performed.
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