tms/High level English class essay writing

Rap Music in the 1980s

The music in America during the late 1980s and early 1990s has much to inform

us about the culture and society during this time. Specifically, how rap music illustrates

1980s American culture through music that evolves around disrespect in women, a deep

hate in the police system, and drugs. N.W.A’s music does an excellent job at explaining

American culture for African Americans in the 1980s through their explicit songs.

As I listen to the music of N.W.A, it is clear to many people that a numerous

amount of their songs have references to disrespect in women. We learn that in the 1980s,

many black men were misogynistic towards women. The song “A Bi*ch iz a Bi*ch,”

illustrates this quite well. First off, the title of this song already shows a lack of respect in

women by calling them a degrading name. N.W.A goes on much further with disrespect

in this song with lyrics like, “Are you the kind that think you’re too damn fly?/ Bi*ch eat

sh*t and die/ Ice Cube coming at you at a crazy pitch/ (Why?) I think a bi*ch is a bi*ch.”

At the end of the song, a narrator gives the definition of a bi*ch and goes on to say that

all women are probably a bi*ch. Clearly, this song by N.W.A was most likely their

greatest degrading song they’ve ever written. However, the song “Dopeman,” also

demonstrates disrespect in women. For example, the lyrics, “She likes his car/ And he

gets with her/ Got a black-eye cause the dopeman hit her/ Let that slide, and you pay it no

mind/ Find that he’s slappin’ you, all the time!/ But that’s ok, cause he’s so rich/ And you

ain’t nothin’ but a dopeman’s bi*ch.” These verses speak to the belief that American rap

culture in the late 1980s through the early 1990s reflected much about how domestic

violence was not as big of a deal as it is today due to the fact that the audience of N.W.A

loved this music and gave little attention to how inappropriate the lyrics really are.

Finally, another song by N.W.A that refers to disrespect in women is “I Ain’t Tha One.”

This song stereotypes women to be players and out for men for their money. N.W.A

offers more details in their lyrics, “I used to get no play, now she stay behind me/ Cause I

said I had a Benz 190…” These lyrics portray that women are materialistic and is very

controversial because many upper-class white Americans opposed all the profanity and

the use of phrases by N.W.A that are degrading to women.

N.W.A also wrote various songs reflecting their strong hatred in the police system

during the late 80s. Their main problem with the police system was police misconduct

with African Americans. We learn from this era that black men and the police had

tensions. Precisely, they wrote a song called “Fuk tha Police.” The title of the song itself

illustrates much of their opinions towards policemen. The start of the song refers to both

racism and their hatred towards the police system with the lyrics, “Fu*k the police

comin’ straight from the underground/ Young ni**a got it bad cause I’m brown/ And not

the other color so police think/ They have the authority to kill a minority...” These verses

speak to police brutality in minorities, which many Americans believe is still a problem

today. Furthermore, N.W.A expressed their feelings with their aversion for the police

system through the song “Chin Check.” Dr. Dre, one of the artists in the group, rapped a

verse that explains the stereotypes of African Americans committing crimes. The lyrics

that clarify this are, “Assault and battery/ Cause we comin’ with that street mentality/

Straight west coast rider academy/ Concrete ni**a, that’s my reality.” These lyrics justify

how blacks were categorized and discriminated through being poor, and therefore

growing up and living on the streets. While this is very prejudice, at that time, police

officers often targeted African Americans due to the stereotypes of them being violent

and more likely to commit crimes due to being brought up in less-advantaged areas.

Lastly, N.W.A further explains their issues with the police system in their song

“Approach to Danger.” The lyrics of this song display their disputes effectively such as,

“Yo, I'm being real, a better or latter in the beginning/ Because it will release the fu*king

police/ Fu*k 'em, I approach to danger/ Cause I don't give a fu*k if somebody gotta get

fu*ked up/ So you might as well kiss your ass goodbye/ Cause in the long run... (we'll all

die).” These verses bring light to how African Americans typically get sentenced higher

punishments. Again, because of racism and stereotypes, N.W.A continues to express their

beliefs of the police system through their music.

In the late 1980s, N.W.A often wrote songs that refer to drug use, whereas in the

1920s, little or no drug use was mentioned at all. From the frequent references of drugs in

the music of N.W.A, we learn that this upset many Americans of the white upper-class

citizens, which led to many of their songs to be banned from the public radio

(http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-fbi-agent-who-hunted-nwa). In particular, the song,

“Dopeman,” is about a drug dealer’s lifestyle. Specifically, the lyrics, “Ni**a livin’ in

cash selling to smokers/ That’s the way it goes that’s the name of the game/ Young

brother getting over by slanging caine…” These lyrics indicate that drug dealers make a

lot of money through selling marijuana and cocaine. Another song by N.W.A that

illustrates why many of their songs that referred to drugs were banned from mainstream

radio stations in the late 80s is, “Chin Check.” The lyrics that justify this include, “We

keep it crackin’ from the ack until the jack/ And G’ed up C’ed up/ Mothafu*ka blaze the

weed up…” These verses demonstrate the use of drugs such as marijuana and cocaine

(C’ed up means coked up). Even though N.W.A’s music attracted a wide audience of

young Americans in their teens, many adults and parents disliked the usage of these terms

(http://www.thedailybeast.com/when-nwa-terrified-white-america). Lastly, the song,

“Fuk tha Police,” N.W.A makes a reference that the police system in the late 80s often

targeted young African Americans for drugs. Explicitly, the lyrics, “Fuc*in’ with me cuz

I’m a teenager/ With a little bit of gold and a pager/ Searchin’ my car, looking for the

product/ Thinkin’ every ni**a is selling narcotics…” In the late 1980s, there were high

tensions between the police system and inner-city black men, and these lyrics explain

that. Many African Americans in this era were regularly searched for drugs due to

stereotypes.

The many songs by the rap group, N.W.A, illustrate how American culture and

society was like in the 1980s. Their music specifically developed around the belief of

racism towards African Americans by the police system. N.W.A expressed their views on

this in numerous songs, including their popular hit, “Fuk tha Police.” N.W.A’s music also

demonstrated how there was much disrespect towards women in that time by African

Americans, and how drugs started becoming more common and socially normal within

young black men in the late 1980s, however, despised by the white upper-class citizens of

America.