No guns allowed

Black blood in the veins

This song was written by Snoop Lion, his daughter Cori B and Drake and it was directed by Jelly Terrero. The song itself is a very important message against violence. This song especially talks about the childrens who were killed at the elementary school by a delinquent who, after that, killed his father and wanted to kill the mother who taught at the school where he killed the childrens. The age of the childrens who lost their lives in the massacre includes from 6 to 7 years. Instead, the murderer was 24 years old and he had four different weapons. In our opinion, this was one of the most traumatic massacre ever. Nowdays, in this world many people have no soul, and there's no difference a between adults, seniors and children. Now you have no longer respect for anyone, always hope to have a better world tomorrow. The sentence in the lyrics that struck us most in this song is: "Bullets do not choose a victim/it is the shooter that picks' em".

Lyrics

Money makes a man and that's a crime
If we all were rich, we'd spend more time
With our daughters and sons, they're losing their minds
We all feel hurt, here's mine, hear me now

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free-for-all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Let the music play, me don't want no more gunplay
When the bodies hit the ground, there's nothing left to say, ay, ay
Me don't want to see no more innocent blood shed
Me don't want to see no more youth dead
Come hear me now

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free-for-all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Yeah, yeah, yeah, news from back home
This when it hurts to be gone
Two more young names to be carved out of stone
One summer day that went horribly wrong
Got my dawg on the phone
Cryin' and sayin' to leave him alone, but I'm not leavin' his side
I know that somebody died, somebody's child
Some people ducked down and some people hide
Some people just cannot react in time
Bullets do not choose a victim
It is the shooter that picks 'em
They just can't wait to get you in the system
The district attorney could use a conviction
Told you no guns and then you didn't listen
Life is so heavy with that on your soul
Dedicate this to Shyanne and Josh
And pour sumthin' out for the lives that they stole

Cause, no guns are allowed, in here tonight
We're gonna have a free for all, no fights
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight
I need to hear my thoughts, turn the music up loud

Money makes a man and that's a crime
Money makes a man and that's a crime
I wanna get lost in the crowd, in here tonight

Glossary

to Carve: to make an object or shape by cutting wood or stone
to Duck. to move your body down quickly to avoid being hit or seen
Crowd: a large group of people who are together in one place
Dawg: slang for "my close acquaintance of an African-American ethnic background"
to React: to respond to a stimulus
District: a district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by local government

NWA - A history of racism and violence

 The speakers

NWA is a rap band. They performed many songs in a gangsta rap style. The band was composed of five famous rappers such as Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Dj Yella, MC Ren and the leader Eazy-E, affectionately called "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap”. All of them were from Compton (California) and operated from 1986 to 1992 when the band broke up because of Eazy-E’s death due AIDS. “Fuck The Police” is a very famous song from the album “Straight Outta Compton”, the only album released by the band. Composed in 1988 it talks about the racist behavior the cops had (and still have) towards black people, the testimonies in rhyme express anger against racism and violence by cops . Because of this song NWA were watched by the police and in Detroit when they performed “Fuck The Police” during a gig the cops stopped the concert and arrested NWA. We have chosen this song because it says in a loud voice what most people think about the police but are afraid to report because of the violence and the repression they could be affected by.

Excerpts from Lyrics - "Fuck The Police"

[Ice Cube]

Fuck the police coming 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 beating on, and thrown in jail

We can go toe to toe in the middle of a cell

Fucking with me cause I'm a teenager

with a little bit of gold and a pager

Searching my car, looking for the product

Thinking every nigga is selling narcotics

You'd rather see, me in the pen

than me and Lorenzo rolling in a Benz-o

Beat a police out of shape

and when I'm finished, bring the yellow tape

To tape off the scene of the slaughter

Still getting swoll off bread and water

I don't know if they fags or what

Search a nigga down, and grabbing his nuts

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 showing out for the white cop

Ice Cube will swarm

on ANY motherfucker in a blue uniform

Just cause I'm from, the CPT

Punk police are afraid of me!

HUH, a young nigga on the warpath

And when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath

of cops, dying in L.A.

Yo Dre, I got something to say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

[Dr. Dre]

MC Ren, will you please give your testimony

to the jury about this fucked up incident?

[MC Ren]

Fuck the police and Ren said it with authority

because the niggas on the street is a majority

A gang, is with whoever I'm stepping

and the motherfucking weapon is kept in

a stash box, for the so-called law

Wishing Ren was a nigga that they never saw

Lights start flashing behind me

But they're scared of a nigga so they mace me to blind me

But that shit don't work, I just laugh

because it gives em a hint, not to step in my path

For police, I'm saying, "Fuck you punk!"

Reading my rights and shit, it's all junk

Pulling out a silly club, so you stand

with a fake-assed badge and a gun in your hand

But take off the gun so you can see what's up

And we'll go at it punk, and I'ma fuck you up!

Make you think I'ma kick your ass

but drop your gat, and Ren's gonna blast

I'm sneaky as fuck when it comes to crime

But I'ma smoke 'em now and not next time

Smoke any motherfucker that sweats me

or any asshole, that threatens me

I'm a sniper with a hell of a scope

Taking out a cop or two, they can't cope with me

The motherfucking villain that's mad

With potential, to get bad as fuck

So I'ma turn it around

Put in my clip, yo, and this is the sound

[BOOM, BOOM] Yeah, something like that

but it all depends on the size of the gat

Taking out a police, would make my day

But a nigga like Ren don't give a fuck to say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

[Dr. Dre]

Eazy-E, won't you step up to the stand

and tell the jury how you feel about this bullshit?

[Eazy-E]

I'm tired of the motherfucking jacking

Sweating my gang, while I'm chilling in the shack, and

shining the light in my face, and for what?

Maybe it's because I kick so much butt

I kick ass - or maybe cause I blast

on a stupid-assed nigga when I'm playing with the trigger

of any Uzi or an AK

Cause the police always got something stupid to say

They put out my picture with silence

Cause my identity by itself causes violence

The E with the criminal behavior

Yeah, I'm a gangsta, but still I got flavor

Without a gun and a badge, what do ya got?

A sucker in a uniform waiting to get shot

by me, or another nigga

And with a gat it don't matter if he's smaller or bigger

([MC Ren:] Size ain't shit, he's from the old school fool)

And as you all know, E's here to rule

Whenever I'm rolling, keep looking in the mirror

And ears on cue, yo, so I can hear a

dumb motherfucker with a gun

And if I'm rolling off the 8, he'll be the one

that I take out, and then get away

While I'm driving off laughing this is what I'll say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

 

Fuck the police! [3x]

Glossary
To watch: to keep someone or something under close observation
Cruelty: behavior or action that causes pain to others
Warpath: the path or course taken by American Indians on a warlike expedition
Slaughter: a brutal or violent killing (murder)
Gang: a group of persons associated for some criminal purpose (terrorist gangs)
Sneaky: a person who should not be trusted
Gun: a weapon consisting of a metal tube from which bullets are shot by the force of an explosive
Dumb: lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid
Hint: an indirect, partly hidden, or helpful suggestion
Cop: a police officer

Rap, poetry and changes

Me, myself and I

The song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur is one of his most famous songs.

In this song many subjects about Afro-American injustices are examined: themes like poverty and racism influence the life of African-American deeply, indeed. In the song “Changes”, Tupac gives an inside look at the daily life of an African-American: in the first part of the song Tupac first talks about how some social problems are linked together. He makes a correlation between his skin color and being poor: “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black”.

Then he explains how poverty causes crime: “My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch".

Tupac suggests that the African-Americans should work together to solve poverty, racism and violence: “I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes”. In these two verses, it could be noticed that Tupac uses the pronoun “we” to represent Afro-American unity. The importance of unity makes it possible to change the ways to deal with these social problems.

In the song Tupac also speaks about Huey Percy Newton: Huey was an Afro-American political activist and revolutionary who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966The Black Panther Party or BPP was a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organization active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. Government oppression initially contributed to the growth of the party as killings and arrests of Panthers increased support for the party within the black community. Black Panther Party membership consisted of recent migrants whose families traveled north and west to escape the southern racial regime.

Tupac says then that they aren’t ready to see a black president: in my opinion he was saying that maybe someday in the future this would be a wonderful thing but at that time people should try to focus on the willingness to change because there are many reforms needed in the black community (it sounds strange thinking that the song was released in 1998 and that 11 years later Barack Obama would have become President of the USA).

In some verses Tupac says that it is time for Afro-American people to do some changes from the way they eat to the way they live, becoming independent and successful people, fighting injustices and staying together. Then Tupac speaks about the war on drugs instead of the war of poverty that people are fighting for, he sees in the police a reason to bother him about drugs and not about poverty. A couple of verses further, Tupac talks about the unity for changes that has not happened because there are too many selfish people who are not ready to give up their personal interests.

“Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game”: these verses show that people have a choice but they choose the life of crime instead . I like this song for two reasons: the first one is that I think Tupac is the best rapper ever existed and the second reason is that this songs talks about the everyday reality of black people all around the world. Maybe black people lived bigger and more evident injustices before (in the 50’s or 60’s) but even now they have to do with racism and violence: their life is hard, for sure. They have always suffered a lot and this makes me sad and I feel a little useless because I can’t do much to help them. I hope someday people will not make differences between black and white skin because we are all in this together and we are all the same.

Come on come on

I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself

Is life worth living should I blast myself?

I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black

My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch

Cops give a damn about a negro

Pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero

Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares

One less hungry mouth on the welfare

First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal the brothers

Give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other

It's time to fight back that's what Huey said

Two shots in the dark now Huey's dead

I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere

Unless we share with each other

We gotta start makin' changes

Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers

And that's how it's supposed to be

How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?

I'd love to go back to when we played as kids

But things changed, and that's the way it is

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

I see no changes all I see is racist faces

Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races

We under I wonder what it takes to make this

One better place, let's erase the wasted

Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right

'Cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight

And only time we chill is when we kill each other

It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

And although it seems heaven sent

We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh

It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact

The penitentiary’s packed, and it's filled with blacks

But some things will never change

Try to show another way but you stayin' in the dope game

Now tell me what's a mother to do

Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you

You gotta operate the easy way

"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way

Sellin' crack to the kid. " I gotta get paid"

Well hey, well that's the way it is

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

We gotta make a change

It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.

Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live

And let's change the way we treat each other.

You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do

What we gotta do, to survive.

And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace

It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East

Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs

So the police can bother me

And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do

But now I'm back with the blacks givin' it back to you

Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up,

Crack you up and pimp smack you up

You gotta learn to hold ya own

They get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone

But tell the cops they can't touch this

I don't trust this when they try to rush I bust this

That's the sound of my tool you say it ain't cool

My mama didn't raise no fool

And as long as I stay black I gotta stay strapped 

And I never get to lay back

'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs

Some buck that I roughed up way back

Comin' back after all these years

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is uhh

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

Some things will never change.

Glossary
Linked: when something is connected
Explains: when you give a reason for something
To solve: when you have something to do
Noticed: something that can be seen
Pronoun: I, you, he/she/it, we , you, they
Deal: when you accord something with someone
Further: something additional
Worth: something that has got a value
Erase: to remove something, to delete
Snatch: to steal something and to run away
Trigger: it is a metal lever that when pulled discharges a gun
Dope: street name for marijuana
Step back: to return back
Close: near to someone
Wonder: to ask yourself
Chill: when you get relaxed
Heal : to get recover from an illness
Conceal: hiding from being seen or discovered
Penitentiary: it is a prison for big-time criminals convicted of big-time crimes
Packed: something filled to capacity, full
Sleazy: something low and nasty
Jack you up: to lift with a special device
Strapped: when you are strong and large, or when you have no more money
Buck: slang word for dollar
Selfish: when a person is egoist and thinks only about himself
Give up: to admit defeat