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FIU Law Review

Volume 11 Number 1 Article 15

Fall 2015

Sonic Jihad—Muslim in the Age of Mass Incarceration

SpearIt

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Part of the Other Law Commons

Online ISSN: 2643-7759

Recommended Citation SpearIt, Sonic Jihad—Muslim Hip Hop in the Age of Mass Incarceration, 11 FIU L. Rev. 201 (2015). DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.11.1.15

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by eCollections. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Law Review by an authorized editor of eCollections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 104 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 * ROLOGUE SpearIt ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM I. P ELETE D OT N , C-SPAN (Feb. 25, 2007), www.c-span.org/video/?196795-1/saviours- O (D Age of Mass Incarceration Incarceration Mass of Age DOCX Sonic Jihad—Muslim Hip Hop in the in Hop Hip Jihad—Muslim Sonic _4.25. INAL _F 1 T Saviours’ Day Speech I “Allahu Akbar” translates to “God is great.” It is a call that has become has that call a is It great.” is “Allahu“God Akbar”to translates The seats are mostly full, both on the floor and in the stands, but if you Sidelines of chairs neatly divide the center field and a large stage Everyone before him is a brother or a sister under the wide umbrella of Associate Professor, Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Southern University; Fellow, 1 PEAR * M K widely recognized and associated with extremist Muslims in recent years, but chances are you haven’t heard it quite chants like this. in The gathered rapid crowd succession. “Farrakhan, Farrakhan!” “Allahu The crowd then erupts into Akbar!” applause as Farrakhan “Long live stands before the pulpit. This is Saviours’ Day, the biggest event of the year Muhammad!” for the (NOI). The year 2007 is the 77th anniversary of the NOI, and Farrakhan is visibly pleased to see so many believers before him. He addresses them softly, like a kindly grandfather, as his sisters.” “brothers and stands erect. At its center, there is a stately podium flanked by disciplined men wearing the militaristic suits of the Fruit of Islam, a visible security squad. This is Ford Field, usually football known team, but on this occasion for it plays host to a housing different gathering and the Lions sentiment. look closely, you’ll find that this audience isn’t the standard sporting fare: the men are in smart suits, dresses, gloves, and headscarves. These are the the members of the new Nation women dress equally so, of in Islam, and long they are white waiting for their leader to introductory speech, take the speaker, Ishmael stage. Muhammad, announces: After “Here is a brief Farrakhan!” MinisterLouis Honorable the day-speech. Islam, and today is a day for building bridges. Upon the stage with him is a flock of “distinguished . . . guests teachers, scholars, theologians, pastors, Imams, politicians, businessmen, distinguished guests from the and outside world, and to his right, sit a group artists.” of To his left, sit these Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Generous support for this work was made possible by the assistance.research for Lopez Monica to thanks Special Law. of School Marshall Thurgood 12 - S C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 104 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 104 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 104 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , M K 3 OP AY C Y H LACK B.I.G. NEMY IP B Thus Thus E H 2 AND AND , UBLIC AP AND OTORIOUS [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. , P R (Universal Motown (Universal ESSAGE ( Recordings Jam (Def (Def Jam Recordings Recordings Jam (Def NE 4 O AP ,M See, e.g. ACK R LACE IN B P ART S USIC P U HAN M T S AND AND ’ , OLD OP H H PACE EEPER Breaking News: Embraces MERYKAH D ,S OD A on :G ACE , EW AP N :R ILLIONS TO R M on IRST , F ( 1994) (“It’s the praying mantis, deep mantis, praying the (“It’s 1994) Records Boy (Bad Me (2014) (“I’m the Farrakhan of Rap.”); N Rap.”); of Farrakhan the (“I’m (2014) , IE Mafia Music D ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM , OMES ERCENTER ATION OF ADU P C FIU Law Review Law FIU N B OSS ELETE note 1. R IVE D OOD (Mar. 8, 2009), www..com/watch?v=IBLYev9riQY (Snoop EADY TO H ,F OT ICK R AKES A N RYKAH supra , UBE T HE O T on T , I (D ,T OU on We Made It Freestyle IYAKAWA , , Y DOCX Z, ORMAN F The What 22 (2005). In addition to using samples of speeches and interviews in musical musical in interviews and speeches of samples using to addition In (2005). 22 AY M. M _4.25. , &J AN INAL M ISSION URRAY _F ELICIA T M I Saviours’ Day Speech Day Saviours’ F M By the end of his speech, Farrakhan effectively portrays hip hop Hip-hop is an art, and don’t you talk down something in on it that may not be to our it liking. Talk up to it, because the just because it has hip-hop artist is the new leader. He leads the same leader people that wrong, leads them but wrong can the lead them right if you put the right message in their heads and in their hearts. Let’s go get our hop hip- artists! Let’s break the bond between these destructive CEO’s and producers that tell conscious lyricists that that’s not going to sell and people. our to filth nameselling the of in filthy themdo force to Farrakhan’s words are a lesson in how to reach the youth—and 3 4 2 PEAR ETHOD USLIM LECTRONICA like the mind of Farrakhan.”); R culture as an important part of recruitment efforts. His attitude rap makes world not just the fair game for preaching efforts, but a main target, just as prisons are. For a genre of music similar that is to shunned by the many in way a manner prisoners are shunned by society, Farrakhan sees route, one that finds a place for rap music in God’s work: music rap God’s for in place a finds that one route, instead of simply shunning entertainment, Farrakhan chooses a different &M M E faith, but beyond, to try famous. to Farrakhan’s approach convert is an those active mission: “Let’s hip go get hoppers our hip- who hop artists!” are This already attitude likely helps holds. Farrakhan respect the and culture hop hip in success to account for Islam’s continued 346 (2002). Farrakhan’s aim is not to shun art, but rather to embrace it. His plan is not simply to accept hip hop as an artistic form and means of spreading the 202 equally distinguished members of the NOI itself. His speech is heartfelt, his smile broad. focusing on what works. children a poor set of As role models, Farrakhan has sharp words for showbiz; radio and yet at television the same time, he is conscious of have what famous people can do for offered the black NOI—after all, when helped convert the into boxer “Muhammad Ali,” Cassius it was Clay a powerful push for the organization. 12 - S Records 2008) (“I salute you Farrakhan.”); Ultimate Islam!!! Truth, Must See!!!!!! Don’t Believe the Hype 2009) (“A Farrakhan aura.”); E 1988) (“A follower of Farrakhan, don’t tell me you understand until you hear the man.”); J Dogg explaining that Farrakhan “has always been there for the hip hop community”). hop hip the for there been always “has Farrakhan that explaining Dogg productions and events, Farrakhan is directly referenced in dozens of . 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 104 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 104 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 105 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 LIJAH :E , the essay ATIONHOOD N MERICAN A 349 (Diana G. Collier ed., 2005). FRICAN 203 203 A The Gods of Hip Hop SLAM I Conclusions—Still Spitting Fire at The fusion of these creative forces forces creative these of fusion The The Hip Hop Generation: Down by 5 EARCH FOR ATION OF ATION S N Sonic Jihad Sonic ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM ELETE D AND THE , OT More specifically, it focuses on what prisons mean mean prisons what on focuses it specifically, More N 6 . 455, 456 (2009). 456 455, . O SLAM AND THE EV (D ,I Conversations with the Law: Irony, Hyperbole, and Identity Politics or Sake DOCX ARRAKHAN U. L. R F ALKER W _4.25. ITY ends by considering the political implications of this extremist OUIS .C INAL ,L ENNIS _F KLA T I D Sciullo, J. Nick This essay examines these musical works as a form of legal criticism. The essay continues as follows: traces criticism of the law to the pioneering days of hip hop culture. It It culture. hop hip of days pioneering the to law the of criticism traces 5 6 PEAR , 34 O 34 , M K UHAMMAD M 2015] 12 - S Pase? Wyclef Jean, Shottas, and Haitian Creole Jack: Fusion A of Hip-Hop Rhetorical Resistance to the Law understanding the law. would create a cadre of holy captive. manybrethren their hold of that walls down chanting warriors with an artistic message bent on It focuses on the music as critical resistance and “new terrain” for to hip hop culture. Losing friends, family, and loved ones to the proverbial of the beast has inspired criticism of criminal justice from the earliest days of hip hop culture. In the music, prisons are known by a host of names like “pen,” “bing,” and “clink,” lyrics. The terms most that extreme expressions are offer violent invoked fantasies of and throughout revolution the revenge, painted conditions within to a the cosmic slave America worldview as slaves. system The discursive that war challenges that the notion that likens first the most radical present brought voices in African Muslim Muslims America are to Such a Muslim gatherings. must with position contend this to sonic jihad and be found in mosques or prisons. against assault aural its other Law shows that has been a powerful medium for law, protesting particularly the police and prisons. In something else. For those familiar with hip hop and prison history, what he sees is clear: Islamic symbols, names, and ideology have infused the very core of hip hop and teacher, Elijah prison Muhammad, culture. whose The message spread history penitentiaries beginning rapidly in traces the in 1950s. to American Farrakhan’s war war rhetoric that rivals any jihadist organization. These voices represent arguably the most undoubtedly ranks radical Muslim rappers among the Islamicmost cutting-edge critics of discourse incarceration. mass in America today that examines the Muslim contribution to the anti-prison campaign. It begins by situating the discussion within an Islamic context and traditional religious ideas about imprisonment. This approach lends an interpretive lens for the music, lyrics, and advocacy of artists. the Enemy messaging. This ending aims to leave the reader certain of how Muslims have supported hip hop, struggle including with in its the greatest enemy. In this ongoing war of words, Muslim artists continue to attack with brimstone C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 105 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 105 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 105 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K OP C Y H . 983, IP EV KRS-One, , H .L.R L.J. 479, 484– IBBS (Feb. 28, 2015), [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. TAN F. T UBE UTGERS &L. 235, 240 (2007). (2007). 240 235, &L. T , 56 S AW L OU ONALD ACE 41 R , Y 62 (1993). &D .J.R .L.J.59,61(2007). ICH NT OWN BY OWN CADEMY A &E , 12 M 12 , :D PORTS .S A AP AND THE AND AP Ever since, hip hop music has been a a been has music hop hip since, Ever ,R “One does not have to search far to find find to far search to have not does “One 9 , 7 V 7 , ENERATION 10 This section aims to give a sense of the the of sense a give to aims section This Prisons and their effects are the repeated repeated the are effects their and Prisons G ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM 12 11 TUDIES FIU Law Review Law FIU . 531, 543 (2007). 543 531, . S OP ELETE EV H D ANDRÉ DOUGLAS POND CUMMINGS CUMMINGS POND DOUGLAS ANDRÉ All the while, the culture has been subverting the the subverting been has culture the while, the All , 8 OT LACK IP From Habermas to “Get Rich or Die Tryin”: Hip Hop, the L. R Since its humble origins, hip hop has ascended to a a to ascended has hop hip origins, humble its Since N 7 H ,B O EE (D Other People’s Property: Hop Hop’s Inherent Clashes with Property Laws R.A.P.: Rule Against Perps (Who Write Rhymes), HE [Insert Lyrics Here]: The Uses and Misuses of Popular Music Lyrics in AKER .&L T DOCX Much Respect: Toward a Hip-Hop Theory of Punishment RIDGEWATER A. B ASH II. B _4.25. In addition to resisting racial or religious discrimination, gangs, (Pamela Bridgewater et al. eds., 2015) (offering study at various intersections, including including intersections, various at study (offering 2015) eds., al. et Bridgewater (Pamela 13 , 64 W 64 , INAL OUSTON AMELA _F AW T L Alex B. Long, Long, B. Alex Powell, E. Jason Butler, Paul H I Akilah N. Folami, Folami, Smith, N. L. Andre Akilah P This section lays understanding a a foundation unique for dimension of When interpreting hip hop lyrics, a few heuristics are worth noting. As As noting. worth are heuristics a few lyrics, hop hip interpreting When Hip-hop exposes the current punishment regime as profoundly unfair. view by, if not glorifying law breakers, at least not demonstrates It this which the law viewingcriminalsall withdisgust the seeks to attach to construct of law’s the of incoherence the out points them. Hip-hop 8 9 10 11 12 13 7 PEAR hip hop and the “law.” and Its Ascendance as Global Counter Culture Counter Global as Ascendance Its and Telecommunications Act of 1996, and the Black Public Sphere Public Black the and 1996, of Act Telecommunications vehicle for voicing grievances and system and the judicial process.” “powerful indictments of the penal prisons. and police with preoccupation culture’s a general matter, hip resistance. hop might be best understood as a strategy of law, with hip hoppers in turn being subverted by law. hop Historically, arose out of the ruins and ravaged of South a Bronx, post-industrial as a “[h]ip form of expression of urban Black and Latino youth, who the politicians and dominant public and political discourse intent and had purposes, written abandoned.” off, and for all criminal law, copyright Fundamentals of Hip-Hop Volume law, #1: A Collection of Selected property Lectures law, and electoral voting); Ministakiddone, 984 (2004). 984 the rooting of the culture). culture). the of rooting the www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpbxhUlKufA (describing hip hop itself as being in tension with the law. From the very first block parties that sucked electrical juice unlawfully to hold gatherings that facilitated 85 (2009). 85 204 12 - S rap songs expressing urban communities’ distaste for law enforcement and the legal system as a whole.” subject of angst and ire in the music, and, as has been described, “hip hop takes punishment personally.” Legal Writing Legal AND THE or poverty, the music has been instrumental in conveying black oppression law:withthe discontent and “global counter culture.” 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 105 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 105 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 106 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , - OP H IP FRICAN H A (Ruthless (Ruthless P U TRUGGLE FOR S RISIS IN RISIS 20 OME C C H A EFLECTIONS ON Monch Pharoahe AND THE THE AND . 47, 71 (2012). 71 47, . , ?R 19 14 UST J EAN (Avatar Records 2001). ULTURE REEPIN ON IM LACKS AND THE AND LACKS C C B OP on HAT ACE AND ACE , R ,P W 205 205 OUNG OUNDTRACK :Y S NOW ENDER OLITICS HE A Furious Kinship: Critical Race Theory and the ,K G T :P Z No Surrender YSON , , O , 15 J. 15 , D ENERATION Sonic Jihad Sonic G ATTERS ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM . 499 (2010). 499 . RIC M State of Recidivism: The Revolving Door of America’s Prisons OP E EV When hip hop culture first took root in the late late the in root took first culture hop hip When ARMONY -H ELETE OP D IP 15 H L. R H OT IP -N-H “Whether blacks or Latinos, young men or women, women, or men young Latinos, or blacks “Whether ICHAEL N HE What Is the Law the Is What 17 O ,H , ,T From Black Power to Hip Hop: Discussing Race, Policing, and the Fourth 174 (2005). 174 (D HUGS -T OUISVILLE ONCH Perhaps the greatest hip hop anthem of anti-police songs songs anti-police of anthem hop hip greatest the Perhaps L note 12, at 985. ATKINS DOCX M (2003); M (2003); ONE 21 W ITWANA andré douglas pond cummings, cummings, pond douglas andré K 18 , B OVEMENT supra _4.25. See , 48 U. 48 , M RAIG 1 (Apr. 12, 2011), www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/ 2011), 12, (Apr. 1 Hip hop was a late twin to this new penal boom. Like its its Like boom. penal new this to twin late a was hop Hip INAL ULTURE AKARI C HAROAHE 16 _F See e.g. T B S. C Tibbs, F. Donald P Butler, to the origins of critical race theory in the This period has also been noted as contemporaneous States, the on Center Pew The I RUSTS In hip hop slang, the “law” often refers to police, which is a collective Authored by some of the most influential acts in hip hop history, the crime, and it attacks the legitimacy of the system.legitimacy the the of attacks crime,it and T OUL OF A OF OUL 17 18 19 20 21 14 15 16 PEAR S M K MERICAN EW songs center on the evils of cops brutalizing youth in poor, ethnic minority neighborhoods. sentencing_and_corrections/State_Recidivism_Revolving_Door_America_Prisons%20.pdf sentencing_and_corrections/State_Recidivism_Revolving_Door_America_Prisons%20.pdf [hereinafter states). the by spent 2011 in Billion ($52 Door] Revolving Center, Pew A. Cursing and Killing Cops Cops Killing and Cursing A. source of animosity in hip hop culture. The relationship between and hip law hop enforcement is profound, and according KRS-One’s to “Sound one of interpretation da of Police,” “policing Black people cornerstone is actually of the anti-Blackness under American law.” 1970s, the country had just embarked on what would long become punishment a decades- spree, with billions in state budgets. funds going to correctional (2010) (describing the perception of the inevitability of going to prison among black generation). hop hip the men of 2015] Another key insight is the temporal relationship between and hip the growth of prisons. hop culture 12 - S A Amendment Through the “War On” Paradigm On” “War the Through Amendment legal academy. Nation Hop Hip P hip hop’s youth correctional found themselves—or system someone punishment.” close—chained and to a culture determined to mete out severe drives the point home rhetorically: “What is the law? Know you heard this jaw.” your in break we car, your Wein before. contraband find by the who hip were hop subject generation to and the its law offspring, like no other demographic. counterpart, the music became a huge financial billions moneymaker, generating for record somewhat companies symbiotic since effects of and mass imprisonment were felt publishing directly houses. The two were THE C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 106 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 106 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 106 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , M K C Y EEP ALIB LBUM D (101 (101 A Fuck the (Priority (Priority (Payday (Payday , OBB (Real Talk Talk (Real ATH Get the Fuck LACK ILLA , ( Records (Jive B M (Guerrilla Funk (Guerrilla [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. HANGED HE C T NEMY Cop Shot (BMG Direct Mktg., Mktg., Direct (BMG (Rap-A-Lot Records Records (Rap-A-Lot E NEMY , (Rhino Entertainment Entertainment (Rhino on E , (Jive Records 1993); LL 1993); Records (Jive ART Cops Keep Firing RATH OF HANG REZ P T AP , P W ( 2005); 2005); Records (Universal S DUTAINMENT B UBLIC HIEVES E AS U T on O AMN EAD VERYTHING , In equally descriptive descriptive equally In on D E D OOM , 27 S EVENGE B ( 1988). (Def Jam Recordings 2001); T 2001); Recordings Jam (Def I 99 Problems R MONG T A It instantaneously sparked sparked instantaneously It ’ A EATH Z, 24 IN (Mar. 31, 2013), www.youtube.com/ 2013), 31, (Mar. LACK Invasion D (2012); N (2012); A B , AY (Def Jam Recordings 1990); M 1990); Recordings Jam (Def ( 1992); J-D 1992); Records (Priority LEEPING WITH THE OMPTON UBE S ILL C on UT RINCE T T , OUND OF O VERYTHING on S OU (Sire Records 1992). AMAJA on E , ETURN OF THE AP TRIKES , OU UTTA D S R HE REDATOR on Y O , Y 30 Cops or More T on P , OUNT on , The song’s hook pulls no punches: “I’m “I’m punches: no pulls hook song’s The , (Avatar Records 2001); P 2001); Records (Avatar , C on HE 25 . 25 (1993). 25 . 15 Years Gone NEMY , NOCK T E ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM , EV K ODY ERU THE on TRAIGHT FIU Law Review Law FIU ( 1991); D 1991); Records (Columbia ON HE B , S D ELETE AID ILL .L.R on Out on a Furlough D on S , Crooked Officer H Men in Blue TS RODUCTIONS , , HA OT P , ( 2002); J 2002); Records (Rawkus T .R N Ridin’ Dirty 91 . . .. . 91 T Silencing: Class and Race Agendas in the Campaign Against Hardcore AMA O OYS , IV AUL What is the Law? B M (D Coffee, Donuts & Death P OWN , YPRESS , , 2Pac-Fuck the Police D C UALITY Cop Killer Cop on .&C This unblinking stance toward police brutality paved the the paved brutality police toward stance unblinking This Claimin’ I’m a Criminal , ETO NE , , DOCX Q In this sketch, the group puts the police on trial in the case case the in trial on police the puts group the sketch, this In 23 on OL ASINOVA ARIS ONCH RINCE , on 22 . P M POCALYPSE tha Fuck , OOGIE OUNT Who Got the Camera _4.25. A , UBIAN C Pigs EMP N , Leola Johnson, HAMILLIONAIRE on INAL , UBE . ODY ILL C _F Megastar rapper likewise shared for police police for love no shared likewise Shakur Tupac rapper Megastar , 3 T 3 , Jumpjet61.tv, See Id. Id T (2004); K (2004); H N.W.A., B I Illegal Search HAROAHE RAND 26 The Proud CE , Police get in the way,the in murder get I’ll Police them, MurderI’ll them A nigga already got three strikes, I’ll murder them, I said I’ll murder J, (Stones Throw Records 2001); J 2001); Records Throw (Stones 22 23 24 25 26 27 PEAR WELI YPRESS OOL and was an outspoken critic as “Fuck the can’t fade me—you Police” made me, crooked ass-beast something declares: daisy. But right “Punk police now I got my mind set up, looking down Cause the barrel its of my time nine. Get to up! make that pay back. Fact.” Entertainment 1996); G Distribution 2010); P C Outta Dodge Police (Roc-A-Fella Records 2003); W.C., Records 1991). Records Inc. 1994); C fashion, vows: Cent 50 fashion, C K Records 1994); B 206 is NWA’s “Fuck tha Police,” a satire of courtroom proceedings conducted by street rules. of “NWA v. the Police Department,” with Dr. Dre presiding as judge and taking oath and offering the coming straight from the first underground. A young nigga testimony: got it bad cause “Fuck I’m the police, brown. And not the other color so police think they have kill a the minority.” authority to 12 - S Recordings 2006); P way for other indictments, including Bodycount, when released rapper the Ice song T “Cop Killer.” and his band, a cop killer, better you than me. Cop killer, fuck police brutality. Cop killer, I know your family’s grieving, fuck em! even.” Cop killer, but tonight we get Rap Lyrics Rap 1995); I Records 1996); KRS-O Cop Hell watch?v=IT35xVdE7Mc. watch?v=IT35xVdE7Mc. widespread widespread political discontent that eventually forced their to remove the song from the . 1990); B 1999); P 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 106 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 106 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 107 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 I B, , on HE HE OT OY on , as as ANG , G B AT T IL T Y P 30 EST OF on AKES A on B T , ABY , ING B T HE Belly of the ATNAZ S T , ’ ROJECT There are are There on Goin Wild in the 29 , Prison Planet , ROUP Fly Away (BitoyBeatz 2013); 2013); (BitoyBeatz , G , ABRINA (The Orchard 2006); 2006); Orchard (The (Def Jam Recordings, Recordings, Jam (Def OGG S S ’ D on Solitary Confinement Prison ELLY QUARE ASICS , IM IFER , S B G, Solitary Confinement ; L (Sony Records 2006); L 2006); Records (Sony and even groups like like groups even and INO , (Rap-A-Lot Records 1991); JT 1991); Records (Rap-A-Lot DA DA (Greensleeves Records 2001); 2001); Records (Greensleeves 31 Behind Bars 2 Why Why are So Many Black ETRO , , I’ve Been Down TORY REYDON S RE ICK ACK (Universal Records, 2003); Y In In D VIDENCE R Officer Down B ED 32 , (Double F Records 2010); P F 207 207 Don’t Get It AC Soundtrack (Roc-A-Fella Records, Def Jam Jam Def Records, (Roc-A-Fella Soundtrack on , ( 1995); P , LICK 433 (Mickey Hess, ed., 2009) (noting ENT 28 HE ROUBLE T :T AYNE Penitentiary Blues RAZIES UIDE (Death Row Records, 1994); 1994); Records Interscope Records, Row (Death on , ROPERTY K G , &50C P OOK ’W Escape from Prison (LaFace Records 1995); N 1995); Records (LaFace 25 to Life A B IL , (Priority Records 1999). Records (Priority D , OGGYSTYLE Sonic Jihad Sonic (Def Jam Recordings, Columbia Records 1988); No More OOD TATE D ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM AX (2 Tru Enternatinment, 2014); T 2014); Enternatinment, Tru (2 F ONVICTS on OTTI CB4 ( 1993). 1993). Pictures (Universal CB4 EGIONAL C W G , IZZLA TH on FFISHALL 1) (Greydon Square 2012); R Locked up ACK , , O O ELETE 17 See OUL B HE ON D (BasedWorld Records 2011); K-R One More Day S ’ :AR ART (Raptivism Records 1999); G 1999); Records (Raptivism , KON OT ROOK BY DA (P on N AY O , No Tears C G IMPIN OGG ET OLD US P S , (BCD Music Group 2005); S 2005); Group Music (BCD ARDINAL (D D MERICA on ECEMBER M H A , (Black Book International 2009); E 2009); International Book (Black D on (Warner Bros. Records 2009); M 2009); Records Bros. (Warner ,K , I’ ATE ID DOCX on , one ex-prisoner offers his view on the breadth of prison’s on K , OP IN , , N , No More Prisons Vol. 1 (Raptivism Records 1999); , I H MPICHINO _4.25. (Universal Records 2005); L No More Prisons HOO IP Sesame Street ANDELBROT Murder Was the Case ILLIONS TO The Tower , , H M &A INAL G, Trouble ONFINEMENT M ARD , T, OB _F C See, e.g. See, e.g. Y HE See (Swerve Records 1999); Y 1999); Records (Swerve T (Decon Records 2015); S 2015); Records (Decon OGG Consider the fictional rap group CB4, which stands for “Cell Block Four,” the section in in section the Four,” Block “Cell for stands which CB4, group rap fictional the Consider DJ W I M Kite to da Boys da to Kite CE 24 Hour Lock Down , D RE (Columbia Records 1991); T The subliminal messages sent by an extremely large portion of today’s premier urban movies, rap and R&B songs, and music videos, if you are conscious and observative predominant prison is in our reality. Almost enough every Black song or video to notice, shows just how Like lyrics condemning crooked cops, in hip hop lyrics one does not them motherfuckerAny murder me, touch them,I’ll murder I’ll them them murder I’ll see, and wait me believe don’t You them. murder I’d you told I see, You , ACKA II: T D (Hollywood Basic 1991); A 1991); Basic (Hollywood J 31 32 28 29 30 PEAR M K AC ONEY ATION OF URRICANE OODIE WINS HE AYOVER YPE ONGEST TRETCHES NOOP OLITARY S countless songs that condemn prisons and the hardships they breed, T Penile Down by Law and State Property, whose identities reflect the importance of of importance the reflect identities whose Property, State and Law by Down the penal system in hip hop consciousness. well as whole dedicated to their demise, hip hop’s preoccupation with prisons). with preoccupation hop’s hip Beast (Howie McDuffie Music Group 2007). 2007). Group Music McDuffie (Howie Ain’t Goin’ Back to Jail S Men Men in Prison? influence: M T M S N L L 2015] 12 - S Trapped in Prison Recordings 2002). Recordings Prisons Vol. 2 (Raptivism Records 2003); S prison where the group was founded. was group the where prison H T G B. Punishing Prisons Punishing B. have to dig much to find some story about the penitentiary. 1994); I C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 107 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 107 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 107 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K C Y OLDEN G (Sugar Hill Hill (Sugar [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. 35 ESSAGE M OLITICS IN THE HE P T 33 38 Described as “one of on ? 101–02 (2d ed. 2007). ed. (2d 101–02 ? , 37 EXUAL :S RISON P note 34. UT O T I The Message EN IN EN , supra , M What it is to be “down by law” is ,www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term= IVE ORK 34 IVE F F W His experience quickly deteriorates deteriorates quickly experience His COM LACK . B 36 ONNA URIOUS URIOUS ANY G F F in 1982. M ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM O FIU Law Review Law FIU ICTIONARY S D ELETE RE D ROTHERS A OT RBAN N ,B HY O LASH AND THE LASH AND THE AND LASH ,U F (D ,W F 8 (2005). The MessageThe is particularly important in this regard since the album album the since regard this in important particularly is HENEY DOCX OOTHE ASTER ASTER L. C B M M _4.25. ATIONALISM INAL N RAND HARISE EMICO RAND Down by Law _F C Id. G T AP D G I R Later artists followed in their predecessors’ footsteps and took Although Although this might overstate the case, the prominence of prisons in Down by law, at the time in the mid-80s, was streets kind of in use as on the meaning somebody a was down by very law, they close were protect close them. to connection I you know or that, with you earlier, would in prison somebody. down slang, by if law, somebody and If they was got out before you, family they or look after would people outside if contact you needed them your to. So it meant something very close to a code. I really liked the contradiction of that, being something that sounds like being oppressed by the law, which of camewhereslang from.is the condition that under course references prison or jail in one way or another ...... another or way one in jail or prison references The Message 33 34 35 36 37 38 PEAR GE OF GE multiple multiple songs detailing the ills of “Police including imprisonment, State,” criticism of prisons to new heights. Rappers like have written the most important songs in hip hop history,” the message made clear to the menacingthreat. a were prisons that generation hop hip obvious and not so; as an overt assertion of the law’s oppression it is clear, yet there is a more technical meaning that prison culture. is According intimatelyto UrbanDictionary.com, intertwined Jim Jarmusch, with director samefilmthe name:the by of A 208 12 - S Records 1982). Records Being “down by law” thus had multiple meanings that connoted both legal result. a as developed that mannerismsculture and prison oppression in Down+by+Law (last visited Jan. 3, 2016). 3, Jan. visited (last Down+by+Law put prisons front and center as one of the youth. The album’s namesake song greatest delivers a scathing critique of life in the problems facing black ghetto and made the brutal realities of prison all generation. One passage describes too a youth who is convicted for robbery and real for the hip hop sentenced to eight years of prison. after being forced into sex , “being used and abused and served like wascell.” [he] a in day one dead till hung hell, found the music goes all the way back to the phrase “down by law.” The has phrase been a staple in hip hop since Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s album, pioneering 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 107 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 107 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 108 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , A 42 L , A AP R IXTAPE Power of M Hussein Hussein on ERKELEY HE , 40 —T NTRODUCTION TO , 22 B I N (Jive Records 1995); 1995); Records (Jive The religious religious The MERGENCE OF E OUSING 44 , https://soundcloud.com/ NE :A (Jon Michael Spencer ed., ed., Spencer Michael (Jon H Ghetto Qu’ran , IHAD J USIC KRS-O M ENT C OEY on RONT OF OP F , H IN IN LACK AND THE ’ IP B 209 209 HEOMUSICOLOGY (Def Jam Recordings 2006). H T HEOLOGICAL (Loud Records 2002). USTLIN ,T Free Mumia Free REE , HERAPY Such lyrics attest to the special space space special the to attest lyrics Such F T 8—H NE 41 ODS OF ODS ET OURNAL OF G G ’ “Do Your Time” tells of stark stark of tells Time” Your “Do Ludacris’ MERGENCE OF PENCER Sonic Jihad Sonic S E S ’ 39 ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM who have helped steer the course of hip hop hop hip of course the steer helped have who ELEASE :AJ HE ECTION ET 43 KRS-O R HE S L T ELETE USIC on See on D on , M , , ICHAEL III. T OT M N 911 (Ground Control Records 1999). Records Control (Ground 911 O Prison (D Raza Islamica: Prisons, Hip Hop & Converting Converts ON ACRED see also also see J , S UMIA Police State Police DOCX , Do Your Time Your Do , M ATAL , (1991); LACK F B REZ , SpearIt, _4.25. P INAL LLSTARS USSEIN EAD UDACRIS _F A See generally See e.g. T SSUE OF In addition to the foundational influence of , Allah, Big Daddy Cane, Cane, Daddy Big Allah, Rakim Bambaataa, Afrika of influence foundational the to addition In D L H I I Before delving straight into the lyrics, it is worth considering In the world of hip hop, Islamic influences cannot be overstated. L.J. 175 (2012). 175 L.J. 42 43 44 39 40 41 PEAR .1 (Thugtertainment 2006). 2006). (Thugtertainment .1 M K NBOUND OL AZA HEOMUSICOLOGY PECIAL realities behind bars: “It’s slavery, hard labor, catch the feel. the Redneck hearse while on you walk, it’s real. With a shotgun, burnin’ at the back of your dome 300 years left, my dawg ain’t never comin’ home.” U joey-jihad. Also worth noting are the songs that focus on or mention Mumia Abu-Jamal, a Muslim who has been incarcerated for decades. A. Islamic Attitudes Towards Prisoners Prisoners Towards Attitudes Islamic A. traditional Islamic attitudes toward prisoners. useful This approach provides lens a for interpreting the music and lyrics. history. prisons occupy in hip hop consciousness and provide Muslimon focuses which section, next artists. a backdrop for the Muslim Muslim rappers from charismatic voices to the culture in the name of promoting different peace, love, and denominations self realization, while bring extreme varieties tend toward prophetic apocalyptic brands of faith, steeped in gangster isms and and the rhetoric of retribution. Muslim artists represent some of the most entertainers in hip hop music, influential, best-selling, and widely known S V R T 2015] 12 - S 1991). Kook Moe Dee, and other artists, Islamic themes of early artists, including D.J. Islam, Afrika Islam, and T.C. Islam, Islamic themes are evident in appropriations such as 50 underpinnings of the faith reveal multiple rationales at stake for Muslims to Fatal’s “Prison” tells of individuals break down: “In prison is similar to dying, where a gangster can the harsh environment get a where pass if he in even his cell crying.” hardened the Dollar ( Entertainment, Columbia Records 2000); J which situates imprisonment within a greater racial struggle: “The average black male live[s] a third controlled by of the white his male.” life in a jail cell cause the world is C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 108 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 108 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 108 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K 52 45 C Y The The This This 47 51 [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. (Remarkable Current Current (Remarkable IVILIZATIONS C LASH OF 49 (1980). C on Is It Permissible to Ransom Muslim Prisoners Using , SLAM I or alms should be spent: “Zakah “Zakah spent: be should alms or ,islamqa.info/en/20936 (last visited Oct. 11, 2015). 2015). 11, Oct. visited (last ,islamqa.info/en/20936 and as a means of exercising piety. exercising of means a as and ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM 365 (Rashad Khalifa trans., 2010). 46 NSWER zakah OLOR IN OLOR FIU Law Review Law FIU A C ELETE 48 D 53 OT Dead Have Risen N ESTAMENT , O T ACE AND ACE (D ,R EAM UESTION AND UESTION INAL T Q F DOCX EWIS One commentator has interpreted this passage to indicate a a indicate to passage this interpreted has commentator One L HE 49 4:36; 9:60 (Rashad Khalifa trans., 2010). trans., Khalifa (Rashad 9:60 4:36; 2010). trans., Khalifa (Rashad 58:3 4:92, 2010). trans., Khalifa (Rashad 90:13 24:33; 2:177, International). (Sahih 9:60 SLAM :T _4.25. , I INAL UJAHIDEEN URAN URAN URAN URAN URAN ERNARD _F 50 Id. T Q Q Q Q Q al-Munajjid, Saalih Muhammad Shaykh B M I There are other cultural connections. For example, one scholar notes Passages Passages in the Quran intimately link the treatment of prisoners to The freeing of slaves. of freeing The Did we not show him the two paths? two himthe show not we Did path. difficult the choose should He path? difficult the is one Which 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 PEAR that “Malik, the founder of the Maliki School, allows Muslims to visit the lands of the infidels for one purpose only—to ransom captives.” religious duty was not lost in hip hop when Mujahideen Team referred itself as “technicians to of a Maliki tradition” in the song “Dead Has Risen.” Records 2005). Records The scripture equates the freeing of slaves with the “difficult” path—which obviously can be interpreted literally or figuratively. 9:60 There is also that verse prescribes expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed how to collect [zakah] .” . . . captives and for bringing hearts together and for freeing As a song focused on ransoming “soldiers locked prison,” the group has built on this idea to down create a clear sense of its identity making juma in “slave-emancipators.”as and means of eradicating sins, 210 oppose prisons. Thus, beyond maymoreprisons implications.have resisting divine incarcerated, the mere fact that many Muslims spiritual consciousness. are Verses signal out kindness to captives as a virtue 12 - S humiliation and torture. So saving them is even more important than saving slaves.” hierarchy in the ransoming of prisoners over slaves: “Ransoming prisoners Muslimwho have been captured by kaafirs is better than freeing slaves, so it is included [in the zakah] and indeed takes priority, because they great suffer harm by being separated from their families and because of the Zakaah Money? Zakaah message of Sura 90:10–13 offers a telling lesson in this regard: regard: this in lesson telling a offers 90:10–13 Sura of message 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 108 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 108 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 109 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , , , , on CE ELL 139 , Free LAN OCK H , R AP HYMES Dreadful R R , 55 IASCO ETE F INGS IN (BMG Direct Direct (BMG USTA (July 31, 2013, 2013, 31, (July What You in Fo’ ,K UPE , EACHERS T RESS OLITICS OF Only Life I Know LAN P P , C EAVEN LI H VERYTHING A E (Raptivism Records 2000); 2000); Records (Raptivism ANG -T IGHTEOUS U R SSOCIATED ROTHER RISONS ULTURE AND P , A C OOR ERVANTS IN S ORE HE and the influence of H. Rap Rap H. of influence the and VERYTHING IS 211 211 M on E 58 171–72 (2002). :T , O on (Lench Mob Records 2006); L N (Rhymesayers Entertainment 2012);X-C Entertainment (Rhymesayers , www.noi.org/muslim-program (last visited Oct. , (Profile Records 1996); DMX & B SLAM I on this essay’s focus on Muslim artists artists Muslim on focus essay’s this , OLOR ATER SLAM 57 I L C EVOLUTION Such a position seems tame compared to to compared tame seems position a Such R RY EACHERS 54 Sonic Jihad Sonic ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM T ,C OP Shadow Business Battle Cry -H OW (Avatar Records 2001); P , ATION OF , ELETE ILGRIMAGE TO ILGRIMAGE IP N D ( 2007). (Roc-A-Fella Records 2007); B 2007); Records (Roc-A-Fella P , N (Suburban Noize Records, 2006); W REAMING IN OT LAN ,H RICKS IGHTEOUS AST D KBAR OOL N C T L R C O AUGH LACK T L Claimin’ I’m a Criminal ECCA (D GBAR (Compadre Records 2009), www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx-bPnI9f Hk; I A , B , ANG IND M OOR on P S THE S , M -T ’ DOCX U REE F ANNIN UBIAN W O.G. O EDI D N on MERICA AND IASCO _4.25. (2011), 2dopeboyz.com/2011/08/04/dmx-busta-rhymes-otis-freestyle/; P , Although it might be thought that the focus on imprisonment is is imprisonment on focus the that thought be might it Although F A SSENTIAL 56 INAL E ETURN FROM RAND UPE OBERT EFFREY I Cry R _F L What the Muslims Want SSENTIAL T , HE J R Al-Qaeda: We Will Try to Free Guantanamo Inmates Guantanamo Free to Try Will We Al-Qaeda: B I E T on on The Nigga Trapp Muslims Muslims critiquing prisons is a permanent part of the hip hop Contemporary views among Muslims reflect similar values. For , , , on HE 57 58 54 55 56 PEAR , T M K OURNING IN UBE REEWAY a later development in the music, Chilly Muslim, Muslim, anti-prison politics in the 1960s shows a tradition that traces to especially true if one considers the influence of and their pro- the earliest days of the culture. This is Marketing 1994); J B. Two Decades of Blasting of Decades Two B. repertoire. ( 2006); A (2007) (“At the close of the twentieth century, songs attacking the plague of drugs and black-on-black violence have given way to criticism of the prison general.”). industrial complex and criminal justice system in a more recent statement in 2013 by Al-Qaeda leader, Aymanwho vowed al-Zawahri, to set prisoners free from the American-run Guantanamo Bay prison: “We pledge God that we will spare no efforts to set them free along and . Muslimoppressed . . every prisoners our all everywhere.” with on C 2015] 12 - S F 11:55 AM), www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/31/al-qaeda-guantanamo-inmates/2603035. www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/31/al-qaeda-guantanamo-inmates/2603035. AM), 11:55 Prison Otis Freestyle Remix Blues Prison Folsom M Brown, who converted to Islam in prison in the 1970s, and from whose poetry prison appeared on the first commercially recorded hip hop song, 11, 2015). 11, Day the North as well as the South.” example, example, the NOI has been at the setting fore prisoners of “free” prison in outreach the and has spiritual outreach been sense undoubtedly for contributes decades. to Such the Muslim widespread among conversion African-American prisoners. to In addition, the Islam organization has been outspoken in its opposition to mass incarceration. On its list of “What Muslims the want,” the NOI for years has listed: “We want Believers freedom of for Islam all now held in federal prisons. We black men and want women now under death freedom sentence in innumerable prisons for in all C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 109 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 109 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 109 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K C Y OP AND H prison’s ILLIONS TO IP M , H [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. (Def Jam Recordings Recordings Jam (Def ATION OF It Takes a Nation N ACK (Sugarhill Records 1980); B S 65 U ANG This solitary chamber, chamber, solitary This AKES A T G 64 OLD T I H on , 5, www.furious5.com/hist.htm (last visited UGARHILL S 63 ILLIONS TO URIOUS on F M , HE T (Columbia Records 1999). In addition, at least one member of of member one least at addition, In The album features a bold graphic of the the of graphic bold a features album The ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM 59 61 ATION OF . ITE OF FIU Law Review Law FIU 60 N S ELETE D OT ASTRADAMUS Rapper’s Delight N AKES A N FFICIAL O , T on , O (D T Black Steele in the Hour of Chaos , ,I , ANG G DOCX NEMY NEMY E E _4.25. (Columbia Records 1988). Last Words Last , INAL Perhaps the crown jewel of anti-prison raps, this song tells about about tells song this raps, anti-prison of jewel crown the Perhaps UGARHILL AS UBLIC Black History Month: The Legacy of H Rap Brown (Imam Jamil Al-Amin ) UBLIC ACK _F 62 The Furious 5 Bio Id. Id. T B P P N S I (Feb. 2, 2014), http://hiphopandpolitics.com/2014/02/02/black-history-month-legacy-h-rap- 2014), 2, (Feb. S When you cry I make you feel alive inside a coffin coffin a inside alive feel you make I cry you When sleep you when mind your with play eat you when you Watch me to up wake you make then free, you that dream you Make matterage no your , a with face to Face rage a in savage a into you turn you, shatter can I These early attitudes resonated with later generations of artists. They got me rotting in the timeI’mthe methat serving in got rotting They samethrowingtimethe whatthey’re happened you Telling slaves—ohlike cell well a in packed us of Four hell his samein The motherfuckerliving us got slavery of form a it’s that realize to have You devils swarmof a under Organized U 60 61 62 63 64 65 59 PEAR OLD OLITICS brown-imam-jamil-al-amin. the place many fear cause there’s no way out.” A decade later, would tell of haunting despair in “Last Words,” which creatively flips the artistic angle perspective: “I’m a prison cell six by by nine. Living hell stone wall metal bars telling the story from for the gods the in jail. My nickname the can, the slammer, the big house. I’m Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Rahiem, claimed allegiance to the Islam. of Nation Percent Five group behind prison bars and classics Chaos.” like “Black Steel in the Hour of Oct. 12, 2015). 12, Oct. however, has more to say about the too many inmates who fall apart inside confines: its Mrdaveyd, 1988). Records Columbia P H 212 “Rapper’s Delight” in 1979. 12 - S Perhaps the most forceful statement against the prison system would come just a few years later in 1988 with Public Enemy’s album, of Millions to Hold Us Back a prison escape inspired by unbearable prison conditions: prison unbearable by inspired escape prison a 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 109 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 109 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 110 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 Dead , End of , EAM AZ T P Jihadi Rap, (Nov. 10, 2004), 2004), 10, (Nov. INNIE .2 ( Sounds Sounds (Nature .2 OL COM . UJAHIDEEN ,V 67 AGAZINE M The lyrics talk of suicide suicide of talk lyrics The 70 AGE EVOLUTIONAR P (Roc-A-Fella Records 2001). Records (Roc-A-Fella R 213 213 (Roc-A-Fella Records 2000). Records (Roc-A-Fella on RONT , This qualitative difference may be be may difference qualitative This EASON , F R 69 RUTH T (Remarkable Current 2005); V 2005); Current (Remarkable HE (Raptivism Records 2000); M 2000); Records (Raptivism HE T T on , on Sonic Jihad Sonic , Jihadi Rap ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM RISONS 68 P IVILIZATIONS ELETE C ORE D Point of No Return (Enemy Soil 2010). , M OT O N O N (D LASH OF SSASSIN on , C What Ya Life Like Life Ya What 2 Like Life Ya What A , , ECHNIQUE DOCX T EAM IGEL IGEL S S _4.25. M-T Likely reflecting some of his own experiences while while experiences own his of some reflecting Likely Battle Cry , Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed 66 INAL on EANIE EANIE MMORTAL _F EASON OF THE OF EASON , Id. T B B I See I KBAR S Tell me do you sleep nights, tell me what that life like? like? life methat tell what nights, sleep meyou Tell do like flicks no like, kites no Gettin life quit wanna you Make Can you tell me what you live like? live you me what tell you Can like? cell that what’s like, bed methat tell what you Can right? eat you do me Tell like? hell in livin What’s right? sleep even you Do like melife tell your Yo, what Life’s cold, you be eatin’ them swags be them you eatin’ cold, Life’s bad you beatin’ nightshift the on Guards withsleepin’ fags turned bitch, nigga hardest The What you know about solitary? solitary? about know you What commissaryno . . down, . Locked parole? no about know you What hole the in Life The above lyrics capped a golden era of prison raps, yet the culture on , 66 67 68 69 70 PEAR M K Days been dubbed “jihadi” rap for its firebrand lyrics. traced to the social and political backlash against Muslims in America that followed the attacks. Artists like , Team, , and Mujahideen other rappers in this vein unleashed a verbal rampage that has In the sequel to this quizzing the ignorant, the rhetorical song, approach is reversed and the Sigel questions continues the knows: who one to posed are theme, but rather than incarcerated, incarcerated, his technique in “What Ya withlife prison normaljuxtaposes that existence: questions of string Life Like?” asks the listener a Has Risen 2003); A http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=10635; http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=10635; Richard Smirke, 2015] 12 - S C. Expressions After Terror After Expressions C. toward Attitudes City. York New in attacks 2001 the after turn a take would imprisonment both by Muslims decidedly more menacing countenance. and Muslim sympathizers took on a The year after this similarly chilling song’s classic focused on the release, maddening dullness of day-to-day rapper existence. contributed a C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 110 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 110 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 110 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K C Y OLICY P LASH OF ,C .2 (Nature (Nature .2 ERVANTS IN (Babygrande (Babygrande S OL “Trigger” “Trigger” RISON EAM V 73 ELL on [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. T , P H , .2(Nature Sounds Sounds .2(Nature OL V INGS IN UJAHIDEEN ,K 72 EVOLUTIONARY ,R Shadow Business EAVEN 71 , H EVOLUTIONARY R RICKS T on ECHNIQUE , T IND ERVANTS IN S M on Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie , EDI , MMORTAL I (Oct. 10, 2014), www.billboard.com/articles/news/6273809/ 2014), 10, (Oct. ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM FIU Law Review Law FIU AKALA ELETE S D Point of No Return (Guerilla Funk Recordings 2003); M 2003); Recordings Funk (Guerilla , OT ILLBOARD EAH N IHAD O , B Shadow Business J , (D &L (Babygrande Records 2006). ONIC ECHNIQUE DOCX RICKS T ,S T ELL H AGNER _4.25. IND W ARIS (Remarkable Current 2005); J 2005); Current (Remarkable M INAL ETE INGS IN INGS MMORTAL _F EDI (Mar. 12, 2014), www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie.html. P J T I I ,K Homeland security, political impurity impurity political security, Homeland smackdown the put to quick Governmentalcrackdown This is the point of no return I could never go back go never could I return no of point the is This trapped and shackled state up parole, without Life . . . crack a through world the at looking hole the in Living blow to ready down bomberstrapped suicide A go. to ready down strapped injection Lethal As a result of political events, hip hop’s radical posture toward prisons prisons toward posture radical hop’s hip events, As of political a result They the new slave labor force, trapped in hell in trapped force, labor slave new the They worthpowerdollars of billion a over generate They hour an cents twenty paid gettin’ only And McDonald’sfor Applebee’s makeclothes for They and . . . factories shiftsprison in forty-hour workin’ And lie fuckin’ a that’s illegal, not Slavery’s crimea of conviction for it’s unless illegal, It’s It’s 1.6 million people locked in jail in millionlocked 1.6 people It’s 71 72 73 PEAR EAVEN IVILIZATIONS NITIATIVE helps to explain the driving force behind such numbers:such behind force driving the explain to helps 2003). Sounds 2003); P Although Although the figure quoted by now is well over two million, Understanding the Subculture C H I been an avid commentator on Muslim issues, and was himself indicates: he as incarcerated previously 214 bombings, attacking the White previously since hip hop critiques, House, a from longstanding break signals which and setting prisoners free, the discourse all focused of on telling the pains urgency. political greater of with infused was prison—now the radicalism was further radicalized. On the fringes of hip hop lyricism bubbled a cadre of rappers who pushed individuals, Immortal the Technique boundaries emerged of as Although it is uncertain free if one he himself holds sectarian views, of speech. Technique has the Among most these militant. 12 - S jihadi-rap-l-jinny-abdel-majed-abdel-bary; Even ultra-radicals like punishment took and vengeance to time showcase the prison’s from moneymaking aspects their lyrics of Business”: “Shadow in 2006). 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 110 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 110 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 111 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 77 (OM Records 2013). OPE 75 D More recently, Fiasco’s Fiasco’s recently, More 76 ITY OF ITY (Atlantic Records 2015). C 215 215 74 OUTH &Y (Atlantic Records 2007). Records (Atlantic EROES IN THE IN EROES OOL ETSUO H C T Sonic Jihad Sonic ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM on HE on , , T ELETE on D , Trigger OT , N (Specific Pictures 2009). O (D OOL ROUCH Free Chilly Free 2 & 1 Prisoners C G , , DOCX THE USLIM _4.25. IASCO IASCO F F I& M Prisoner number two offers a striking contrast since it is not not is it since contrast striking a offers two number Prisoner INAL 78 EW ION UPE UPE _F Id. T Z N L L I has been equally outspoken about the harms of prison and Getting slammedGetting food no from protest, the tube nose a with OB himlike fed Force lord the I’mfor cause looking feet, they at I’m looking just lawthe at looking library, the in Looking bars the at I’mlooking now deep years 10 moorsthe I’mwith Claimbecause bunkin’ sovereignty plantations man manplantations locked were that soldiers my all home, Welcome blocks prison the from free home Welcome past the from start new fresh a home, Welcome path straight the on stay and up head your Keep locked were that soldiers my all home, Welcome blocks prison the from free home Welcome past the from start new fresh a home, Welcome path straight the on stay and up head your Keep Coming home out of the jails, out of the prisons, out of the slave Hide away the gat now before now gat the comeus away they rush Hide manypressures too got century 21st The us depress to plans their and scared and Anxious sensorswith us watch they because confess to Nowhere obey to fail you when sentence the is Life OJawaylike run holiday, a take Better 74 75 76 77 78 PEAR M K find relief by Muslims. associating with the “moors,” which is shorthand for In this prisoner’s plight, the law offers little succor. Still, he manages to on lockdown, he focuses on forgiveness and the prospects of reunion with lost comrades: “If we could break down those would cause walls we’re to out here, set and you we miss free, you.” we equally torn from the impacts. In “Free Chilly,” a tearful serenade to those about a prisoner serving a sentence, but a racist guard who is likened to an 2015] 12 - S “Prisoners 1 & 2” offers a creative pièce de résistance, which begins with fromnumber call prisoner one: collect message a prerecorded of the Mujahideen Team Mujahideen also raps about a day when friends and come “soldiers” Islam:in life a homelive fromand prison C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 111 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 111 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 111 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K C Y (Apr. 27, ALON [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. Among the the Among , S 81 79 EACEMAKING &P AR W (Def Jam Recordings 2013). Louis Farrakhan, Rising: With Rap’s Superstars at His (Def Jam Recordings 2015) (“Just Talked to Farrakhan, A sobbing Bey is shown at the end in a a in end the at shown is Bey sobbing A 82 ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM WISH ESSONS IN ESSONS EEZUS S Y FIU Law Review Law FIU :L on ELETE on , , D 80 OT N , Mathew Pulver, O Yasiin Bey (aka ) Force Fed Under Standard Guantánamo Bay All Day , (D New Slaves New EST , see also ONCLUSION DOCX W (July 8, 2013), www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6ACE-BBPRs. C EST W UBE _4.25. T ANYE IV. , K OU INAL ANYE _F , Y See See Id. T K I Meanwhile the DEA DEA the Meanwhile CCAthe with Teamed up up niggas lock tryna They slaves makenew tryna They prison owned privately that that’s See today piece your Get ’s “New Slaves,” makes neoslavery arguments against the Although recording artists resist imprisonment primarily through their As As this essay argues, some of the most extreme discourse in America www.salon.com/2015/04/27/louis_farrakhan_rising_with_raps_superstars_at_his_side_the_nation www.salon.com/2015/04/27/louis_farrakhan_rising_with_raps_superstars_at_his_side_the_nation 79 80 81 82 PEAR He points to a conspiracy between the government and players one of the in major private moneymaking prisons. based The on ancient a maintaining joint West’s hard posture, most anti-prison recent effort continues principles forces of offer human music.the in Farrakhan honoring of tradition longstanding the a traffic. Beyond new mode of accusations accusations is the prospect that the correctional officer is should a be behind bars with the smuggler inmate as a resident rather and than as staff. The point is obvious—despite their positions—the prisoner may be maywhoturn morein guard, be the criminal. freer than prisons: private pushes that machine music, music, an protest original came from Yasiin Bey (also known as Mos Def) in 2013. Bey voluntarily agreed to undergo which prisoners the are subjected force-feeding at the American process prison at to Guantanamo Bay. The recording of this event had to be stopped at Bey’s request, who could no longer endure the procedure. that’s sensei, nigga.”); 216 inmate: “You a prisoner too, you living here too. You just like us, til your shift get through. You could look like us, you know shit get through. You should be in cuffs like us, you should get strike two.” 12 - S Side, the Nation of Islam Leader Steps Forward in the New Fight for Civil Rights _of_islam_leader_steps_forward_in_the_new_fight_for_civil_rights. Procedure bombs on police and prisons for decades, and have particularly pushed the appears in hip hop’s criticism of the law. Muslim artists have been dropping daze, at which point one is not sure if it is from what he just experienced or real. for mustit who through go those of thought the 2015), 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 111 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 111 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 112 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 , (Jan. 19, 2006), (Remarkable Current Current (Remarkable IMES Yet hip hoppers hoppers hip Yet 84 83 , N.Y. T xxi (Pamela Bridgewater, andré andré Bridgewater, (Pamela xxi IVILIZATIONS AW C L 217 217 LASH OF C OP AND THE on H , IP ., H Sonic Jihad Sonic ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM Full Text of the Bin Laden Tape , ELETE D RESS OT P N Day of Retribution , O (D EAM RIDGEWATER ET AL T B DOCX SSOCIATED ., A _4.25. AMELA P INAL UJAHIDEEN _F See See e.g T 85 M I Perhaps the most obvious point of this essay is to convey the Ignoring these voices in hip hop seemingly threatens to perpetuate the As As such cultural productions illustrate, hip hop lyrics represent some Oh you sons and daughters of souls! Adam! Today is Oh the day of you retribution. Today brave is the day and that the righteous devil has raised his head; he has undressed his sword; he has decorated his with the sacred blood of your brothers; he has violently violated the sanctity of your sisters. Today is the day of retribution. the Today day of jihad. is Today is the day of victory or martyrdom. So oh you weapon! your ready and head your raise believe, who Although Although Muslim fundamentalists are for speeches built on 83 84 85 PEAR M K abroad. The situation in Europe may be instructive since there is unions: potential such about concern ongoing no assistance from their religious brethren abroad; they bring a history of over beats rooted in slave spirituals that Africa. stretches all the way to traditional premium placed on Muslim understanding of this aspect of faith can advance certain interests, including prisoners. It may be domestic that better security and Guantanamo diplomatic Bay relations. prison and For might bartering help example, back diffuse international by tensions, prisoners, advance the national closing security, Americanof prisoners. return the secure even perhaps government and status quo, and worse, may be negligent to the objectives of jihadists of the most extremist speech at play Muslim in artists American have society. emerged In as this leaders arena, against swallow individuals a and communities whole. foe In this struggle, that rappers need continues to douglas pond cummings, Donald F. Tibbs eds., 2015). eds., Tibbs F. Donald cummings, pond douglas 2005). www.nytimes.com/2006/01/19/international/20tapefulltext.html?pagewanted=all. 2015] 12 - S have mastered the technique, as in “Day of Retribution,” a call to war that imitates what one might hear at a protest march in procession, however, is the taking place on Middle American soil, and East. the man blaring This English: but Arabic, in speaking megaphonenot the is on heights of imagery and creativity in the name of slaying the beast. beast. the slaying nameof the in creativity imageryand of heights fierce religious rhetoric, American hip hoppers are equally adept at battling with words. For example, invocations being violated of are a longtime Muslim tool of extremist sisters rhetoric. and daughters C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 112 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 112 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 112 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 M K C Y GAINST A (Aug. 31, On [Vol. 11:201 11:201 [Vol. ITIZENS OLITICO , C , P (Aug. 25, 2014), http:// 2014), 25, (Aug. Asim Qureshi, Qureshi, Asim AGAZINE M (Feb. 8, 2015), www.salon.com/2015/ America’s Hip-Hop Travesty: How Rap see also , ICERO ALON , C , S ULVER P 86 ATHEW it seems doubtless that Muslims will be a a be will Muslims that doubtless seems it Al-Qaeda’s New Front: Jihadi Rap 88 ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM (June 26, 2015), http://mediadiversified.org/2015/06/26/on- 2015), 26, (June FIU Law Review Law FIU ELETE D Poetic (In)Justice? Rap Music Lyrics as Art, Life, and Criminal 1 (2007); M (2007); 1 OT N RTS IVERSIFIED O D (D Is Extremist Hip Hop Helping Isis? making it inevitable that rap lyrics will be similarly similarly be will lyrics rap that inevitable it making DOCX EDIA 87 (May 2, 2013), www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/high-school-rapper-arr ested- www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/high-school-rapper-arr 2013), 2, (May .J.L.&A 89 ,M (June 21, 2010), http://citizensinc.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/muslims-on-the-inside- 2010), 21, (June _4.25. OLUM LOG Andrea L. Dennis, Dennis, L. Andrea INAL B LTERNET _F See Muslims on the Inside: Results from a Survey of Incarcerated Muslim T High School Rapper Arrested and Facing Terrorism Charges For Rap About Boston Marathon Boston About Rap For Charges Terrorism Facing and Arrested Rapper School High Hisham Aidi, Aidi, Hisham I , 31 C , A Two things are evident about European America, hip hop some today: First, of as its in immigrants and/or converts. biggest Second, a number of stars these artists are are (or have Muslim, been) embroiled the in controversies children about freedom of national of expression, identity, and extremism. European government officials increasingly are worried about the influence that Muslim rap artists wield over youth, and are scrutinizing hip hop practices in poorer immigrant neighborhoods, trying to decide aside. push to which promote and which Muslim hip hop artists to For Muslims specifically, there are additional lessons. Perhaps the The United State’s role as the world leader in incarceration supplies 87 88 89 86 PEAR ECIDIVISM ciceromagazine.com/features/is-extremist-hip-hop-helping-isis; and Jihadi Songs R 218 12 - S results-from-a-survey-o=f-incarcerated-muslim. gangsta-rap-and-jihadi-songs; Kahn, Bombing 2014), www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/08/al-qaedas-new-front-jihadi-rap-110481_Page2.html#. VfeRgutpOFJ. and-facing-terrorism-charges-rap-about-boston-marathon. 02/08/americas_hip_hop_travesty_how_rap_lyrics_are_being_used_in_court_to_police_black_speech. 02/08/americas_hip_hop_travesty_how_rap_lyrics_are_being_used_in_court_to_police_black_speech. scrutinized in terrorism cases. arrested for his terroristic lyrics, Although at least one rapper has been Lyrics are Being Used in Court—to Police Black Speech Farrakhan’s lead of being inviting and embracing of immigrant many. Muslims As it have stands, little engagement and with their Latino African-American counterparts. Even in Muslims to light help of prisoners, the this various organizations. may benedictions be for the exception among Muslim most most obvious is that intra-Muslim race relations would do well to imitate ongoing ammunition for all sides, and forces one to speculate about a future where rappers and foreign jihadists learn to collaborate. Already, hundreds of cases have admitted or attempted criminal to court, admit rap lyrics as evidence in favored target moving forward. In this scenario, the phrase “down by law” will come full circle as hip hop’s is hollering sought for use as evidence in scorn. of subject systemthe legal is very that the 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 112 Side B 04/28/2016 10:11:02 B 04/28/2016 112 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 113 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 The trend is telling telling is trend The 90 219 219 Sonic Jihad Sonic ) 4/25/16 9:00 PM ELETE D OT N O (D DOCX _4.25. INAL _F T Consider that in the post-9/11 era, Jose Padilla, Daniel Maldonado, Antonio Martinez, Carlos Carlos Martinez, Antonio Maldonado, Daniel Padilla, Jose era, post-9/11 the in that Consider I Finally, failure to be more inclusive and embracing of these groups 90 PEAR M K Almonte, and Bryant Neal Vinas represent a trend that is taking shape despite the small States. United the in Muslims Latino percentage of hoppers linking up with Al-Zawahiri’s American followers, all of which is grounded on “enemy of my enemy” logic, with police and prisons being the common denominator. Although these ideas may seem fanciful, one need only look to the Middle East American occupation of and Iraq helped the to create creation unlikely alliances. of Hip hop ISIL has been screaming to about a different see sort of occupation how for decades—only the timewill whotell listening. is since it depicts a number of Latino extremists, which is disproportionate to the U.S. Muslim population. These realities should Muslim signal community to the the broader need to engage Muslims of Arab and Latino South Asian must descent find ways to build inroads Muslims more actively. beyond their ethic groups, lest capitalize they on leave the the estrangement. It work is to not others hard to who fathom can Farrakhan’s hip 2015] 12 - S may may result in unintended consequences. For example, beyond jihad is Latino Muslim movements of terrorist activity. this sonic C Y 37792-fiu_11-1 Sheet No. 113 Side A 04/28/2016 10:11:02 A 04/28/2016 113 Side Sheet No. 37792-fiu_11-1