Same Seeds, Different Soil

So I watched Rubble Kings yesterday, and it gave me a clear insight on two forms of extreme racism pre hip hop. The mayor, land developers, and the destruction of communities vs imported racist, southern, crooked cops.

The two shaped our gangs and made our trajectories completely different. They were able to find peace amongst themselves very early on, while we, on the other hand, had those crooked police heavily involved in our criminal activity. Both gun and drug suppliers, both protectors and hit men, with lots of drug planting on the side and property theft; oh! And batter rams. How could I forget the batter rams? They kept our wheels turning longer and stronger.

Although New York got the “stop and frisk” laws in 2003, we had a technique police used for a much longer period here in California. They would run our plates wrong (intentionally), pull us over, and use that for illegal searches. If they found nothing, they would let us go after the humiliation of being face down on the concrete with guns drawn on us (been there a few times) and/or sitting on the curb. If you had a record or was under suspicion, they would plant something in your car for the collar. That’s why many of us didn’t like driving with too many people in the car, all wearing baseball caps, or even all having bald heads. It was a magnet for police attention….as well as driving “too nice” of a car.

In 1992, we were finally able to conduct a peace treaty after the acquittal of the four pieces of shit that got away with beating Rodney King. A distinctive line was drawn in the sand.

At a housing project in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, in the heart of the city, two rival factions laid down their weapons and picked up a pen and paper to form the Watts Truce. Meeting there that day were The Grape Street and P Jay Crips, who met with the Hunter and Hacienda Blood sets, facilitated in part by football legend and anti-gang activist Jim Brown, through his “Amer-I-Can” foundation. The West Coast Rap All-Stars also played a huge part in setting the mood to end the violence. With the historic song “We’re All in the Same Gang”, which was kicked off by Michael Concepcion and Eazy-E, assisted in lowering gang violence. Although, not ALL gangs participated, it was enough to make a dent in the numbers; the same way Self Destruction did on the east coast. If two super groups ever needed a “versuz”, it was these two songs.

Like I iterated in the previous post, the situation….OUR situations, bleed into loose leaf notebooks, and began documenting the many facets of the street. Everything from “How To Survive In South Central”, to reliving that “good day” when “the Lakers beat the Supersonics”. From voicing hatred for the police, to hood love stories like “Ghetto Serenade”, the music was a direct reflection of our lives.

The flip side of that coin is, many people who know nothing of that lifestyle, fantasize about living and loving this “bad boy” imagery. The guys want to be them, the women want to date them. It has crossed over into the White, middle, and upper middle class communities; the exact same way the contra cocaine trafficking from the 80s has.

The bottom line is, racism destroyed this country. From loan discrimination alone, racism cost the country $16 trillion dollars. But it also costs lives. Between the drug crisis, hate crimes, and riots, it has divided, destroyed, and prevented any real change for the better; the only ones that thrive are the distribution companies and private prison industry.

Like I always say, “if you can’t understand the cause, you can’t form a realistic solution”. Quote me; I don’t mind.