African American Musicians of the 1980s
How the politics of the decade influenced their music By Sharon Jones AMCS 273 Political Music Prior to the 1980s
● Baldwin believed that “black music was always inextricably bound to suffering, to the blues.” (Vogel, 2018) ○ “The music begins on the auction block” states Baldwin (Vogel, 2018) ● Black musicians have had a long history of writing music relating to their experiences and the 1970s still had plenty of material to inspire their lyrics ○ The Vietnam War, Nixon and the Watergate scandal, continuation of the Cold War, and the beginnings of a new conservative movement that continues into the 1980s ● Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” expressed the frustration many felt at the time about racism, war, and drug abuse (Browne, 2020) ● Stevie Wonder’s “Living for the City” is a song about a boy who travels to the city only to be imprisoned for a crime he did not commit (Browne, 2020) ○ It referenced the beginnings of a new period of mass incarceration that would soon begin Prominent Political Events of the 1980s
● Fiscal policy that 1) Cut taxes, 2) Increased defense spending, 3) Cut federal spending on social programs such as food stamps, school lunch programs, and Medicaid (Berkeley, 2011) ○ This disproportionately affected those living in urban areas who were primarily African American (Vogel, 2018) ● War on Drugs and Mass incarceration ○ Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986- increased the federal funds in the fight against drugs and established mandatory minimums, which has been accredited with the racial disparities in prisons because of the difference in the minimum sentence for crack vs powder cocaine (NPR, 2011) ○ Prisoners under the Jurisdiction of State or Federal correctional authorities went from 314,457 in 1979 to 774,375 by 1990 (U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics) ○ “In 1990, blacks accounted for 47% of State prisoners and 12% of the population” (U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics) ● Inaction in response to the AIDS epidemic ○ Reagan did not utter the word AIDS until 1985, 5 years after taking office (Fitzsimons, 2018) ○ Rather than provide proper education, Reagan ruled in favor of abstinence-based education ○ According to the CDC, over 250,000 people died from AIDS over the course of the decade (HIV and AIDS --- United States, 1981--2000) Prince- “Sign O’ the Times” (1987)
● “In France a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same At home there are seventeen-year-old boys and their idea of fun Is being in a gang called The Disciples, high on crack, totin' a machine gun” (Prince, 1987) ○ Prince talks about the AIDS epidemic and drug addiction. Reagan’s refusal to act upon the AIDS epidemic resulted in the deaths on over 200,000 Americans ● “My sister killed her baby 'cause she couldn't afford to feed it And we're sending people to the moon” (Prince, 1987) ○ This lyric references the cuts to many social programs like food stamps and welfare that Reagan put into effect. The government prioritizes things such as space exploration over the citizens. ○ Also a reference to Reagan’s villainization of “welfare queens” who were stigmatized as “poor black single mothers” who were “moochers of the welfare system” (Vogel, 2011) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five-“The Message” (1982)
● One of the first examples of politically conscious hip-hop ● This song was a scathing social commentary on what life was like for those living in inner city poverty, a situation that was only made worse during the 80s ● “The bill collectors, they ring my phone And scare my wife when I'm not home Got a bum education, double-digit inflation Can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station” (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, 1982) ○ The policies that Reagan enacted during the 1980s hit urban communities, which were primarily black, the hardest ○ The lyrics reflect the conditions of urban African American communities as well as the lack of opportunity that existed within them ○ According to Joseph Vogel, “ by the end of the 1980s, nearly 50 percent of black children were living below the poverty line (Vogel, 2011) Public Enemy
Much of Public Enemy’s discography is politically charged, so here are two examples
“Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos” (1988) 911 is a Joke (1990) ● “They wanted me for their army or whatever ● Although it was released in 1990, the album was written in Picture me giving a damn, I said never 1989 and about the events of the decade ● “Now I dialed 911 a long time ago Here is a land that never gave a damn Don't you see how late they're reacting? About a brother like me and myself because they never did They only come and they come when they wanna” I wasn't with it but just that very minute it occurred to me (Public Enemy, 1990) The suckers had authority” (Public Enemy, 1988) ● “They don't care 'cause they stay paid anyway They treat you like an ace that can't beat a trey ● “Nevertheless, they could not understand that I'm a Black A no-use number with no-use people man And I could never be a veteran” (Public Enemy, 1988) If your life is on the line then you're dead today” (Public Enemy, 1990) ○ In a time with increased defence spending, this man ○ This song is about the lack of response to 911 calls does not want to serve the country because they in black communities because the paramedics will have never served him still make money regardless ○ Because he is black, he feels it would not be right for ○ Despite the over-policing in the same communities, him to also serve in the military the paramedics often did not respond to emergencies where someone could be saved Boogie Down Productions- “Stop the Violence” (1988)
● “It's just the presidents, and all the money they spent All the things they invent, and how their house is so immaculate They create missiles, my family's eating gristle Then they get upset when the press blows the whistle”
● “What's the solution, to stop all this confusion? Rewrite the constitution, change the drug which you're using Rewrite the constitution or the emancipation proclamation We fight inflation, yet the president's still on vacation (Boogie Down Productions, 1988) ○ Another reference to the poverty that many in black communities experience while the government continues to spend money on things like missiles ○ This song also singles out Reagan in multiple lyrics, namely how he was still on vacation as he reportedly spent 390 days on “vacation” (Robertson, 2014) ○ It also acknowledges how hard change will be in the country as many of the beliefs are ingrained within the very documents the country prides itself upon N.W.A.- “F*** tha Police” (1988)
● “F*** the police comin' straight from the underground A young n**** got it bad 'cause I'm brown And not the other color, so police think They have the authority to kill a minority” ● “F***in' 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 n**** is sellin' narcotics” (N.W.A., 1988) ○ This song took a much different tone than the other politically charged songs before it, the explicit lyrics expressed their frustration with the ramifications of the War on Drugs ○ It took aim specifically at police brutality and racial profiling that many African Americans experienced then and that continues today ○ It was one of the originators of the sub genre known as “gangster rap” that would carry over into the next decade Political Music Post 1980s
● The 1990s continued with the “tough on crime” mentality of the previous decade ○ Violent Crime Control Act and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 furthered mass incarceration which disproportionately affects African American men in the country ● Hip hop, much of which talked about police brutality, became the primary vehicle for the frustrations of the black community ● “Sound of Da Police” by KRS-One, prominent member of Boogie Down Productions, spoke about police brutality as well as the systematic oppression within the country ● “Trapped” by Tupac Shakur also referenced the systematic oppression that prevents those living in poverty from climbing out ○ Tupac had many songs that talked about his own personal struggles with poverty and oppression, but he also wrote lyrics to “celebrate blackness, women, and black women” in “Keep Your Head Up” (Ruiz, 2019) ○ This was a contradiction to what many critics had to say about the “violent and misogynistic” lyrics in “gangster rap” Works Cited
Browne, David. 2020. “12 Great Seventies Soul Protest Classics.” Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 21, 2020 (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/seventies-protest-soul-classics-playlist-1071531/). Boogie Down Productions, 1988. Stop The Violence. [Online] New York City: Jive. Available at:
Works Cited Cont.
Public Enemy, 1990. 911 Is A Joke. [Online] New York City: Def Jam Recordings. Available at: