As I continue querying (is anybody out there?) I spend time between letters putting together a ‘soundtrack’ for ‘Unreality.’ I’m happy at this point to unveil the second of four I plan to complete. This list was inspired by the second quarter of the book, in which the stage has already been set and the madness ahead begins to reveal itself.
Some of the selections are based on the narrative, so playing it in order makes sense. But ALL are based on the tone and themes and I’ve found that shuffle also creates an enjoyable ride.
This list starts with Humble Pie (also featured on the first…can you really have too much ’Pie!?) and ends with early-2000s Sacramento metalcore heroes Catherine. Artists tickling your ears in between range from DNCE to Slayer, with Anderson .Paak, Biggie (x2), DJ Shadow w/Run The Jewels, Ministry, and many more pouring out of your speakers before the ride is over.
At 50 songs (~3.5 hrs) long it’s perfect for your next house cleaning, poker game, pool party, barbecue, or smoke sesh. Listen today. Listen again tomorrow!
Notes: Brand new music from a band featured earlier in this space following the killing of George Floyd. Frontman Jason Aalon Butler spent 13 days protesting in Los Angeles in the wake of Floyd’s death and began work on ‘Wrong Generation’ immediately afterwards.
Butler says: “This project is art as activism first. I’m talking about what’s happening and what needs to happen. I hope you understand there’s going to be pain in progress. After dismantling and deconstructing all of these things, we can find a beautiful place to be together. For me, this whole EP is that 13 days after 34 years. You fucked with the WRONG GENERATION.”
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — The government was pleased to have such a powerful ally in its fight against social evils.
Lyrics: You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one
Well you got one Well you got one Well you got one Well you got one
No justice Just us No justice Just us No justice Just us Nothing left But us
Anti racist These black faces We all screaming “FTP!” Power to the people Take a knee while chanting “I can’t breathe”
You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one
Well you got one Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got one You wanted a fight? Well you got it
‘Cause you really, really thought that That we’d go quietly? That we would take it?
12 the biggest gang in the world 12 the biggest gang in the world 12 the biggest gang in the world 12 the biggest… Yo, fuck that!
We the biggest gang in the world We the biggest gang in the world We the biggest gang in the world We’re the biggest gang, gang, gang
Who’s the biggest gang in the world? Who’s the biggest gang in the world? Who’s the biggest gang in the world? Who’s the biggest? 333
You wanted a fight? Well you got one Oh, you wanted a fight? Well you got one Oh, you wanted a fight? Well you got one Oh, you wanted a fucking fight?
The game is fixed and the timer hands plead guilty For centuries we’ve played a losing game And today we find ourselves on the motherfucking winners’ circle Take what is yours, get what you deserve Today. Tomorrow. Forever. This is yours
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes: And now, the up-to-date tip. History can be taught. We can learn. But only if we’re willing to do so. Oh yeah…and VOTE!
“We have reached a pivotal point in history where artists not only have an incredible opportunity but a responsibility to use their talents to raise awareness and provoke change,” producer John Robie told Rolling Stone. “An aggressively old-school jam whose production was purposely meant to fit into a self-penned musical set in the Eighties became transformed by a covenant that Biggs and I have had for many years, to bring meaning and message back into music. To create something turbulent, timeless and timely. And when Bun B graciously joined forces with us to help spread the word, just like the movement to end racial inequality itself, there was no stopping us.”
Robie began his career (and his partnership with Biggs) as co-writer and synth player with Afrika Bambaataa & the Soul Sonic Force, including on the seminal ‘Planet Rock.’
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — There was no more worrying about doing the right thing or wondering about the future.
Lyrics We try to douse the fire, it continues to burn/Like the Boogie Down Bronx, it continues to burn/Like that cross in the yard, it continues to burn/Can’t you see the fire, it continues to burn
[That’s the chorus. Ya’ll got to watch the video for the rest. Which you should do anyway. It’s a journey.]
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes: This one goes back almost to the beginning, and it let people know in no uncertain terms that hip-hop was going to be as much about teaching as jiving. The song catalogs society’s woes, but also exhorts the listener to not give up, to pursue knowledge, and to never feel like they’re alone in the search for meaning. The Lord even gets a shout out, and we a reminder that prince or pauper, black or white, our fate is the same.
Run (Joseph Simmons) is now a reverend. From NPR in 2012: “When I started going to church I started to feel better. Things were starting to look brighter for me. I started to see that learning the principles of God was helping to shape my life better.”
The song was released as a cassette single with ‘Sucker M.C.s’ in 1983 and appeared the next year on the group’s debut album.
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — “It’s not wrapped clean sir. It’s layered, twisted.”
Lyrics [Run] Unemployment at a record high People coming, people going, people born to die Don’t ask me, because I don’t know why But it’s like that, and that’s the way it is
[D.M.C.] People in the world tryin to make ends meet You try to ride car, train, bus, or feet I said you got to work hard, you want to compete It’s like that, and that’s the way it is Huh!
[Run & D.M.C. alternate lines for the remainder of the song] Money is the key to end all your woes Your ups, your downs, your highs and your lows Won’t you tell me the last time that love bought you clothes? It’s like that, and that’s the way it is
Bills rise higher every day We receive much lower pay I’d rather stay young, go out and play It’s like that, and that’s the way it is Huh!
Wars going on across the sea Street soldiers killing the elderly Whatever happened to unity? It’s like that, and that’s the way it is
Disillusion is the word That’s used by me when I’m not heard I just go through life with my glasses blurred It’s like that, and that’s the way it is Huh!
You can see a lot in this lifespan Like a bum eating out of a garbage can You noticed one time he was your man It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is
You should have gone to school, you could’ve learned a trade But you laid in the bed where the bums have laid Now all the time you’re crying that you’re underpaid It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is Huh!
One thing I know is that life is short So listen up homeboy, give this a thought The next time someone’s teaching why don’t you get taught? It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is
If you really think about it times aren’t that bad The one that flexes with successes will make you glad Stop playing start praying, you won’t be sad It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is Huh!
When you feel you fail sometimes it hurts For a meaning in life is why you search Take the bus or the train, drive to school or the church It’s like that, and that’s the way it is
Here’s another point in life you should not miss Do not be a fool who’s prejudiced Because we’re all written down on the same list It’s like that (what?) and that’s the way it is Huh!
You know it’s like that, and that’s the way it is Because it’s like that, and that’s the way it is
(Repeat these lines til fade)
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes: Don’t believe what anyone in power tells you. You might get sold into slavery. Or find someone trying to help you out of it, but only for their own purposes. And good luck getting money together when you start off at the bottom. As Chuck D told Melody Maker in 1991: “’Can’t Truss It’ is about how the corporate world of today is just a different kind of slavery. We don’t control what we create. And because of the media, we don’t control the way we think or run our lives. We’ve got to limit working for a situation that’s other than ours. We have no ownership of anything. If you don’t own business, then you don’t have jobs. White people have jobs because they have business. They have institutions that teach them how to live in America. Black people don’t have institutions that teach them how to deal with s–t. The Number One institution that teaches you how to deal is the family, but slavery f–ked that up. So the song is about the ongoing cost of the holocaust. There was a Jewish holocaust, but there’s a black holocaust that people still choose to ignore.”
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — It wouldn’t be too long before they’d start wondering anew about each other, trying in vain to figure out who could and could not be trusted. The entire circle would be made whole again; rival schools trying to outdo each other rather than face a common problem.
Lyrics [Intro: Chuck D (& Flavor Flav)] (Confusion) Here come the drums Alright, alright, yeah, yeah Alright, alright Here come the drums Alright, alright, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Alright, alright
[Chuck D] Bass in your face, not an eight track Gettin’ it good to the wood So the people give you some of that reactin’ to the facts That I kick and it stick and it stay around Pointin’ to the joint, put the Buddha down Goin, goin, deep to the roots Ain’t givin’ it up, so turn me loose But then again I got a story that’s harder than the hardcore Cost of the holocaust, I’m talkin’ ’bout the one still goin’ on I know where I’m from, not dum diddie dum From the base motherland, the place of the drum Invaded by the wack diddie wack And fooled the black, and left us faded King and chief, probably had a big beef Because of that now I grit my teeth So here’s a song to the strong ‘Bout the shake of the snake and the smile went along With that, can’t truss it
[Break: Flavor Flav] You can’t truss it Let them know You can’t truss it Yo, let them know You can’t truss it Let them know
[Chuck D] Kickin’ wicked rhymes like a fortune teller Cause the wickedness done by Jack Where everybody at divided and sold For liquor and the gold Smacked in the back for the other man to mack
[Break: Flavor Flav] What? Wicked man, wicked man Get back, step back, kick it man
[Chuck D] Now the story that I’m kickin’ is gory Little Rock where they be dockin’ this boat No hope, I’m shackled, oh plus, gang tackled By the other hand swingin’ the rope “god damn” Wearin’ red, white and blue, Jack and his crew The guy’s authorized beat down for the brown Man to the man, each one, so I teach one Born to terrorize sisters and every brother One love who said it, I know Whodini sang it But the hater taught hate that’s why we gang bang it Beware of the hand when it’s comin’ from the left I ain’t trippin, just watch your step Can’t truss it
[Break: Flavor Flav] Can’t truss it Yo, let them know Can’t truss it Yo, let them know Can’t truss it Yo, let them know Can’t truss it, can’t truss it Can’t truss it, can’t truss it Can’t truss it, can’t truss it
[Chuck D] And I’ll judge everyone, one by the one Look here comes the judge, watch it here he come now (Don’t sentence me judge, I ain’t did nothin’ to nobody) I can only guess what’s happenin’ Years ago he woulda been the ship’s captain Gettin’ me bruised on a cruise, what I got to lose Lost all contact, got me layin’ on my back Ugh, rollin’ in my own leftover When I roll over, I roll over in somebody else 90 damn days on a slave ship Count them fallin’ off 1, 2, 3, 4 hundred at a time Blood in the wood and it’s mine I’m chokin’ on, spit, feelin’ pain Like my brain bein’ chained Still gotta give it what I got But it’s hot in the day, it’s cold in the night But I thrive to survive, I pray to god to stay alive Attitude boils up inside And that ain’t it, you think I ever quit Still I plan to get my hands around the neck of the man with the whip 3 months passed, they brand a label on my ass To signify our owned, I’m on the microphone Sayin’ 1555, how I’m livin’ We been livin’ here, livin’ ain’t the word, I been givin’ Haven’t got, classify us in the have-nots Fightin’ haves cause it’s all about money “damn” When it comes to Armageddon mean I’m getting mine Here I am turn it over Sam 427 to the year, do you understand That’s why it’s hard for the black to love the land
[Chuck D] Once again, bass in your face, not an eight track Gettin’ it good to the wood So the people give you some of that reactin’ to the facts That I kick and it stick and it stay around Pointin’ to the joint, put the Buddha down Goin, goin, gettin’ to the roots Ain’t givin’ it up, so turn me loose But then again I got a story that’s harder than the hardcore Cost of the holocaust, I’m talkin’ ’bout the one still goin’ on I know where I’m from, not dum diddie dum From the base motherland, the place of the drum Invaded by the wack diddie wack And fooled the black, and left us faded King and chief, probably had a big beef Because of that now I grit my teeth So here’s a song to the strong Bout the shake of the snake and the smile went along With that, can’t truss it
[Outro: Flavor Flav] Can’t truss it, can’t truss it You can’t truss it, you can’t truss it You can’t truss it, you can’t truss it You can’t truss it, you can’t truss it You can’t truss it, you can’t truss it
[Chuck D] Watch him, here he comes now Watch him, here he comes now
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes:
“Today’s Big Government-Big Business tyrants are just as willing to use violence. But they do it more efficiently than the old-time fascists– with higher tech and lower costs to them. They have the best looks, politicians, celebrities, and control mechanisms that money can buy. Yes, their own conscience tells them that true democracy would be nice. But suppressing their conscience, they undermine the rights of the working and middle classes. Their operating principle is “Might, Money, Male, Murder– and also White–Make Right.” They wreck the environment. They fool you, rule you, use you, abuse you–and make you like it. They divide you by race, sex, class, and nationality. But they fear the power of the powerless. They’re afraid of what you could do if you get off the boob tube and drugs, out of the night clubs and cut-throat competition–and work with others for equal rights.” – Bertram Gross, ‘Friendly Fascism: The New Face of Power in America,’ 1980, M. Evans and Co., New York, NY.
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — If Amber had wanted to deal with being somebody’s girlfriend or mistress or concubine or whatever, she could have stayed up in Stillwater and kept milking those professors and doctors and stuff.
Lyrics
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the end of the
Twentieth century and the arrival of friendly fascism.
Regrettably, millions will die as before.
But just think of the tremendous selection and savings you’ll gain.
Of course, the loss of freedom and democracy are tragedies,
I know, but consider the entertainment value contained within.
And to remind you, it is you, the people,
Who have mandated this course of our fate so please come with me…
Look at the new face of power in America
This is your future
You can never leave
Who said tyranny can’t be fun?
Friendly fascism having so much fun!
What else do you need?
You’ll learn to like what you must do
If you resist you are suppressed
You are told who to fight and when
By Bush the Nazi fascist friend
Alienating technology wipes out our sense of community.
Millions will die just as before
We disconnect and start the war
We make life a commodity
We turn animals into machines
Kinder and gentler slaughterhouse
Big business and government
Distract us through entertainment
They manufacture our consent
While we destroy the environment
[Spoken: Sample Speech of L.D. Barkley 21-year-old African American spokesman for the Attica Prisoners, killed by New York state troopers on September 13, 1971]
What had happened here
Is but a sound before the fury of those who are oppressed
All of us have realized that where ever is that struggle
There is a sacrifice!
[Spoken: Sample Speech to the Attica rebels by Herbert X. Blyden,
One of the African American leaders of The Attica Brothers prison rebellion group]
We ain’t gonna quit (aren’t going to)
You wanna know why we won’t ever quit? (do you want to know)
Because we are one!
We are one unit!
We are tired of being beaten
We are tired of being oppressed
[Spoken: excerpt of a speech sample by a bearded Scientist in John Carpenter’s 1988 movie They Live]
The poor and the underclass are growing
Racial justice and human rights are nonexistent
They have created a repressive society
And we are their unwitting accomplices
Their attention to rule rests with the annihilation of consciousness
We have been pulled into a trance
They have made us indifferent to ourselves, to others
We are focused only on our own gain
Please understand they are safe as long as they are not discovered
That is their primary method of survival
To keep us asleep, to keep us selfish, to keep us sedated
Look at the new face of power in America.
This is your future
You can never leave
Who said tyranny can’t be fun?
Friendly fascism having so much fun!
What else do you need?
[Spoken: excerpt of a speech by a Politician also from the movie They Live]
The feeling is definitely there
It’s a new morning in America
Fresh!
Vital!
The old cynicism is gone
We have faith in our leaders!
We are optimistic about what becomes of it all!
It really boils down to our ability to accept
We don’t need pessimism
There are no limits!
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes:
Want to get scared? Put your radio on the AM and start surfing. Back when there were ownership limits, changing the frequency could change the sound. But now it’s all talk, all the time. And the talk is peddling fear. And the fear is sponsored by those selling the solution. Rights? Yeah, right. Not even over your own body. Throw you in a cage while burning a cross out front. Don’t forget Rodney King. Or Ollie North.
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — “The average male would be able to get into his TV set, to live the dream rather than just watching it.”
Lyrics
Turn on tha radio, nah fuck it turn it off
Fear is your only god on the radio
Nah fuck it, turn it off
Turn it off, turn on tha radio, nah fuck it turn it off
Fear is your only god on the radio
Nah fuck it, your saviour’s my guillotine, crosses and kerosene
Merge on tha networks, slangin’ nerve gas
Up jump tha boogie then bang, let ’em hang
While tha paraniod try ta stuff tha void
Let’s capture this AM mayhem
Undressed, and blessed by tha Lord
Tha power pendulum swings by tha umbilical cord Shock around tha clock, from noon ’til noon Men grabbin’ they mics, and stuff ’em into tha womb Terror’s tha product ya push Well I’m a truth addict, oh shit I gotta headrush
Sheep tremble an here come tha votes
Thrown from tha throat, new cages an scapegoats
Undressed and blessed by tha Lord
Tha same devil that ran around Managua wit a sword
Check out tha new style that Ollie found
I tune in wit a bullet ta shut down tha devil sound
Shut down tha devil sound
Tha program of Vietnow
Shut down tha devil sound
Turn on the radio, nah fuck it turn it off
Fear is your only god on the radio
Nah fuck it, turn it off
Turn it off, turn on the radio, nah fuck it turn it off
Fear is your only god on the radio
Nah fuck it, your saviour’s my guillotine, crosses and kerosene
Flex tha cerebellum, fire, uh!
Somebody gotta shell ’em
These evil angels lists, hittin’ tha AM playlist
Paid ta say this
That one inhuman, illegal, single woman
Tha one wit out a room
The transmissions wippin’ our backs
Yeah, comin’ down like bats from Stacy Coon
Terror’s tha product ya push
Well I’m a truth addict, oh shit I gotta headrush
Tha sheep tremble an here come tha votes
Thrown from tha throat, new cages and scapegoats
One caution tha mics a detonator unwound
Ta shut down tha devil sound
Shut down tha devil sound
Check tha heads bow in vietnow
Shut down tha devil sound
Is all tha world jails and churches?
Is all tha world jails and churches?
Is all tha world jails and churches?
Is all tha world jails and churches?
Is all tha world jails and churches?
Radio, nah fuck it, turn it off
Fear is your only god on tha radio
Nah fuck it, turn it off
Turn it off, turn on tha radio, nah fuck it turn it off
Fear is your only god on tha radio
Nah fuck it, your saviour’s my guillotine, crosses and kerosene
Fear is your, fear is your, fear is your only god
Fear is your, fear is your, fear is your only god
Fear is your, fear is your, fear is your only god
Fear is your, fear is your, fear is your only god
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes:
Killer Mike crushes the words ‘real deal.’ He and El-P are Run The Jewels. Together they’ve been talking about what’s happening way before it even started. On ‘Ju$t’ the Atlanta/New York duo (with guests Pharrell Williams and Zach de la Rocha) takes direct aim at their country’s troubled racial history. El-P started working on ‘RTJ4’ in late 2018 and originally had a June 5, 2020, digital release scheduled. RTJ moved it up a couple of days though as protests broke out across the country in the wake of the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, a process best explained themselves:
“Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love. With sincere love and gratitude, Jaime + Mike” (Instagram)
[PS: Killer Mike is a metal head.]
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — “We got some shit that needs dealing with. Now!”
Lyrics:
Mastered economics ’cause you took yourself from squalor (slave)
Mastered academics ’cause your grades say you a scholar (slave)
Mastered Instagram ’cause you can instigate a follow (shit)
Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters
Ay
Business time, I’m on mine, I be mindin’ mine (make money)
Every time on my grind, I’m just tryna shine (stay sunny)
Make a dollar, government, they want a dozen dimes (no cap)
The petty kind, might kill ya ’cause they see you shine (stay strapped)
I done had to have a talk with myself many times (for real)
Am I a hypocrite ’cause I know I did plenty crimes? (yes, I’m ill)
I get broke too many times, I might slang some dimes (back to trappin’)
You believe corporations runnin’ marijuana? (How that happen? Ooh)
And your country gettin’ ran by a casino owner (ooh)
Pedophiles sponsor all these fuckin’ racist bastards (they do)
And I told you once befo’ that you should kill your master (it’s true)
Now that’s the line that’s probably gon’ get my ass assassinated (yeah-yeah, yeah)
Master of these politics, you swear that you got options (slave, yeah)
Master of opinion ’cause you vote with the white collar (slave)
The Thirteenth Amendment says that slavery’s abolished (shit)
Look at all these slave masters posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it)
Look at all these slave masters (ay)
Posin’ on yo’ dollar (get it, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters
Man, you better duck out, get the bag and then bug out (uh)
Try to run home, you might run your luck out
‘Cause just when your bases loaded
They’ll roll a grenade in the dugout (you’re out)
Earth folk, not a mellow bunch
We got our thumbs in the air like hell or bust (uh)
Look at who we done blessed with our trust
I don’t think we’ll be left with too much
Hand on my heart and my mind on my drugs
Got a Vonnegut punch for your Atlas shrugs
They love to not love it’s just that dumb
Lord, sweet Buddha please make me numb
Brain bounce off walls like a sentient Roomba
Just found out his creator’s stupid
Lit by the supermoon, I’m too lucid
Plus got shrooms in the blood, I’m zoomin’
Beep beep, Richie, this is New York City
The X on the map where the pain keep hitting
Just us ducks here sitting
Where murderous chokehold cops still earnin’ a livin’
Funny how some say money don’t matter
That’s rich now, isn’t it, get it? Comedy
Try to sell a pack a smokes to get food
Get killed and it’s not an anamoly
But hey, it’s just money
Mastered economics ’cause you took yourself from squalor (slave, yeah)
Mastered academics ’cause your grades say you a scholar (slave)
Mastered Instagram ’cause you can instigate a follow (shit, yeah)
Look at all these slave masters (yeah-yeah)
Let it sink in (yeah)
2020, run the map
Raw, uncut, yeah my hourglass
Don’t watch it spill to the bottom half
You see the piece, now run it fast
On the tarmac, in a starter jack
C4 when I run it back
Like a track star, run a record lap?
Nah, like when his needle catch (yeah)
Clean look, poet pugilist
A shooters view, a Zapruder flick (yeah)
Too rude for ya rudiments
Who convinced you you could move against the crew?
In this, comin’ up through the fence
Off shore outta Port-au-Prince (yeah)
Overture left his fingerprints
On our hearts at the gate and the world our residence
How can we be the peace?
When the beast gonna reach for the worst (yeah)
Tear all the flesh off the Earth
Stage set for a deafening reckoning
Quick like the pace of a verse
So I’m questioning this quest for things
As a recipe for early death threatening (yeah)
But the breath in me is weaponry
For you, it’s just money
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes:
‘Pulled together over the course of a month with producer DJ Premier, the premise of the song, a follow up to Public Enemy’s 2017 release Nothing is Quick in the Desert, is simple, D told American Songwriter. It’s an urgent call to get the president out of office—now.’
“We want to Nixon-ize this dude,” he says. “Nixon didn’t finish out his second term. This guy can just finish the one. Go on back to your casinos, your beauty pageants, and reality TV show. That’s all man.”
‘State of the Union’ started taking form while D was working with Prophets of Rage, the supergroup featuring PE’s DJ Lord, Cypress Hill’s B-Real, and Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Timothy Robert Commerford of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. When roused by the administration, he kept jotting phrases and lyrics into his notebook. Whenever he saw the acronym for SOTU, the president’s annual address, D always replaced it in his head with “STFU,” fusing the track’s persistent call out. ‘Sorry ass motherfucker. Stay away from me,’ just came from when I get into any situation, or near a person, that is toxic,” says D. “It’s easy to say, ‘stay away from me.’”’
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’ — “If he was nearby in a state of partial dismemberment there’d be lunching sharks in the vicinity”
Lyrics:
Go, go, go, just go
Go, go, go (we have)
Whatever it takes, rid this dictator
POTUS my tail, Ass debater
Prime-time Preemo, rhyme-time crime
Like no other in this lifetime
White house killer, dead in lifelines
Vote this joke out, or die tryin’
Unprecedented, demented, many president’d
Nazi Gestapo dictator defended
It’s not what you think, it’s what you follow
Run for them jewels, drink from that bottle
Another four years gonna gut y’all hollow
Gutted out, dried up, broke and can’t borrow
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
Mister, I am the law and you are not
In fact, I’m god, I got a lot
Mister these united breaks takeover come over
Orange hair, fear the comb-over
Here’s another scare, keep them hands in the air
Better not breathe, you dare not dare
Don’t say nothing, don’t think nothing
Make America great again the middle just love it
When he wanna talk, walk y’all straight to them ovens
Human beings of color, yeah we be sufferin’ (come on)
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
Go, go, go, go, go
Go, go, go, go, go
Better rock that vote or vote for hell
Real generals now, not some USFL
Not a fuckin’ game, I dare not mention his name
Operation 45, yeah it’s the same thing
Sounds like Berlin burnin’, same thing
History’s a mystery if y’all ain’t learning
End this clown show, for real a state bozo
Nazi cult 45 Gestapo
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
State of the Union, shut the fuck up
Sorry ass motherfucker
Stay away from me
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Notes:
With samples ripped straight from both the civil rights movement and James Brown, an inescapable head-nodder of a beat, and lyrics that were impossible to misinterpret, ‘Fight The Power’ stands as one of the high-water marks of protest through music. The song’s genesis lies in a meeting between PE and Spike Lee, called by the latter to find a musical embodiment of late-80s racial tension in Brooklyn for his feature directorial debut, ‘Do The Right Thing.’
Excerpt from ‘Unreality’
“The government was pleased to have such a powerful ally in its fight against social evils.”
Lyrics:
Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best prepared troops refuse to fight
As a matter of fact, it’s safe to say that they would rather switch than fight
1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hitting your heart ’cause I know you got soul
(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you’re missing y’all
Swinging while I’m singing
Giving whatcha getting
Knowing what I know
While the Black bands sweatin’
And the rhythm rhymes rollin’
Got to give us what we want (uh)
Gotta give us what we need (hey)
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power (lemme hear you say)
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
We’ve got to fight the powers that be
As the rhythm designed to bounce
What counts is that the rhymes
Designed to fill your mind
Now that you’ve realized the pride’s arrived
We got to pump the stuff to make us tough
From the heart
It’s a start, a work of art
To revolutionize make a change nothing’s strange
People, people we are the same
No we’re not the same
‘Cause we don’t know the game
What we need is awareness, we can’t get careless
You say what is this?
My beloved let’s get down to business
Mental self defensive fitness
(Yo) bum rush the show
You gotta go for what you know
To make everybody see, in order to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power (lemme hear you say)
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
We’ve got to fight the powers that be
Fight the power (lemme hear you say)
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
We’ve got to fight the powers that be
Elvis was a hero to most but he
Elvis was a hero to most
Elvis was a hero to most
But he never meant shit to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother fuck him and John Wayne
‘Cause I’m Black and I’m proud
I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped
Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps
Sample a look back you look and find
Nothing but rednecks for four hundred years if you check
Don’t worry be happy
Was a number one jam
Damn if I say it you can slap me right here
(Get it) let’s get this party started right
Right on, c’mon
What we got to say (yeah)
Power to the people no delay
Make everybody see
In order to fight the powers that be
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
Fight the power
We’ve got to fight the powers that be
What have we got to say? (yeah)
Fight the power (yeah, yeah, yeah)
What have we got to say? (yeah)
Fight the power (come on)
What have we got to say? (yeah)
Fight the power (yeah, yeah, yeah)
What have we got to say? (yeah)
Fight the power (come on)
Yo check this out man
OK talk to me about the future of Public Enemy
The future of Public Enemy gotta
—
‘Protest 100’s mission is two-fold: dispelling the myth that heavy metal is a brainless, socially unaware music genre, and raising awareness of the issues facing our country in the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The path won’t be exclusively metal—some punk and rap and other stuff will be in here too, including the classics—and is not a ranking. All songs are songs I’ve heard while putting this list together, ordered in a manner designed to entertain and educate.
Chris Smith, Author 