Klassieke video van de al even klassieke anti-crack rap Night Of The Living Baseheads (base is slang voor cocaïne). Om crack te kunnen dealen is slechts een kleine initiële investering nodig, met als gevolg dat vooral arme, zwarte wijken in de jaren ’80 werden overspoeld met de drug. De daaruit resulterende turf wars en bijbehorende geweldsexplosie richtte een slachting aan onder jonge, zwarte mannen en leidde tot de verdere sociale desintegratie van gemeenschappen die toch al in het verdomhoekje zaten.
De rap opent met een fragment uit een toespraak van Khalid Muhammad die in 1993 uit de Nation of Islam werd geflikkerd wegens ‘extremisme’. Tot zijn dood in 2001 was Muhammad de leider van de New Black Panther Party, een zwarte separatistische organisatie die met de oorspronkelijke Black Panther Party alleen de naam gemeen heeft.
Fun fact: Flavor Flav was ten tijde van de opnames voor Night of the Living Baseheads zélf verslaafd aan crack.
[Intro: Khalid Muhammad]
“Have you forgotten that once we were brought here, we were robbed of our name, robbed of our language. We lost our religion, our culture, our God… And many of us, by the way we act, we even lost our minds”
[Verse 1: Chuck D]
Here it is, bam
And you say “Goddamn, this is the dope jam”
But let’s define the term called dope
And you think it mean funky now, no
Here is a true tale
While the ones that deal are the ones that fail (Yeah!)
Yeah, you can move if you wanna move
What it prove? It’s here like the groove
The problem is this, we gotta’ fix it
Check out the justice, and how they run it
Selling, smelling, sniffing, riffing
And brothers try to get swift and
Sell their own, rob a home
While some shrivel to bone
Like comatose walking around
Please don’t confuse this with the sound
I’m talking about
[Scratching 1]
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba” (Yeah)
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba
[Segue 1]
“One, two, three, four, five, six”
“Kick it!”
“Years ago”
[Verse 2: Chuck D]
I put this together to (rock) the bells of those that boost the dose
Of lack a lack, and those that sell to Black
Shame on a brother when he dealin’
The same block where my 98 be wheelin’
And everybody know, another kilo
From a corner from a brother to keep another below
Stop illin’ and killing, stop grillin’
Yo, Black, yo (We are willing!)
Four, five o’clock in the mornin’
Wait a minute y’all, the fiends are fiendin’
Day to day, to day, they say no other way (Way, no way)
This stuff is really bad (Fee-fi-fo)
I’m talking ‘bout
[Scratching 2]
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-“
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba”
“Bass!”
[Segue 2]
“Hold, hold it! Listen”
“We gon’ get on down, now!”
[Scratching 3]
“How-how-how-how-how-how-how-how-
How low can you go?”
“How-how-how-how-how-how-how
How low can you go?”
“How-how-how-how-how-how
How low can you go?”
“How-how-how-how
How-low-low-low
How low can you go?”
(Yo!)
[Verse 3: Chuck D]
(Listen!) I see it on their faces
(First come, first serve basis)
Standing on line, checking the time, homeboys playing the curb
The same ones that used to do herb (Yo, Herb!)
Now they’re gone, passing it on
Poison attack – the Black word bond (Word, word)
My man Daddy-O once said to me
He knew a brother who stayed all day in his Jeep
And at night he went to sleep
And in the morning, all he had was the sneakers on his feet
The culprit used to jam and rock the mike
Yo, he stripped the Jeep to fill his pipe
And wander around to find a place
Where they rocked to a different kind of
Come on, y’all!
[Segue 3]
“Hold it now! Wait!”
“Wait it! Wait!”
“Yo, run it, Black!”
[Ad-lib: Professor Griff]
Succotash is a method for kids to make cash
Selling drugs to the brother man instead of the other man
[Segue 4]
(Brothers and sisters!)
I’m talkin’ ‘bout
[Scratching 4]
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-“
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-
“Bass! Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-“
“Bass!”
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By An employee of the DEA – Taken from a US government Web site., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70826
