It all started off with a beat, and some dead air, the track had either just started or was finished, and there would still be music playing, but no lyrics to go along with the beat, these were usually the best parts of the song to dance to. But as people have done throughout history they became unsatisfied, and wanted to expand on that time and before you knew it, a DJ by the name of Clive“ Kool Herc” Campbell came up with the idea of using two turntables, and looping the beat creating what ended up being a prolonged version of the instrumental, from there it was only a matter of time before you had people coming onto the stage using this extra time to brag and hype the party; and with these small steps Hip Hop was born. Starting off as just a way to keep the party going, than evolving into a forum for bragging and partying this Genre became the voice of a people who had no other outlet after seeing most if not all of their leaders, gunned down, or imprisoned. But in the beginning this music didn’t really speak for the frustrations, instead it offered a funky outlet, a way to party and have fun or join in community, but the baby known as Hip Hop took a major turn in its growth process in the 80’s when three things occurred. Ronald Regan, the Crack Epidemic, and “The Message”. This essay will take a deeper look into the song “The Message” and link issues that occurred during the 80’s to the lyrics that eventually made one of the greatest songs in Hip Hops History.
"The Message" is an old school hip hop song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Sugar Hill Records released it as a single in 1982.” The song was written and performed by Sugar Hill session musician Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher and Furious Five MC Melle Mel.” It was a song depicting all of the performer’s frustrations with the ghetto, but unlike other songs that were out at the time and similar in content; this one received the most attention because of its strong emphasis on lyrics instead of the beat. In an Era where the music was upbeat and the sound even from the grittier artist was coated with a party sample, “The Message” was straight the defiant rallying cry that so many had been waiting for. With hard hitting lyrics that told nothing but the truth and painted the sad picture of their surroundings, the Furious Five spoke for the forgotten people and told America about everything going wrong in the community. But to understand the importance of the song, you must first understand what was going on in 1982 when the song was released. Republican candidate Ronald Regan was President of the United States, The Crack Epidemic was beginning to take over the inner city streets, feeding to gang violence, murder, and increasing the number of homeless, and unlike the civil rights movement there really was no transcending person that could represent a group of people who clearly needed a voice.
The Effects of the Regan Era
“My brothers doing fast on my mothers TV/. Says she watches to much...is just not healthy/All my children in the daytime/ Dallas at night/ Cant even see the game or the sugar ray fight/ Bill collectors they ring my phone/ And scare my wife when Im not home/ Got a bum education / Double-digit inflation/ Cant take the train to the job there’s a strike at the station/ Me on king kong standin on my back/ Cant stop to turn around, broke my sacroiliac Midrange, migraine, cancered membrane/ Sometimes I think Im going insane, I swear I might Hijack a plane!”
Ronald Regan was President of the United States for eight years 1981-1989, during this time he was known by many as the protector of business and special interest and the oppressor of the poor, and minorities of America. During his time in office, he refused to publicly acknowledge the growing HIV and Aids Epidemic until 1985, lowered income taxes for the top money earners in the U.S. from 70% to 28%, Increased the already overgrown Military budget, and cut non military budgets like Medicaid, food stamps, and educational grants, he wanted an America with less government control and more private prosperity, and because of this Blacks and Minorities everywhere suffered mightily. During Regan’s time as president, the racial difference between incomes increased mightily; for example “In 1978 there was a 6.9 percent difference between black and white families with an income lower than 5000 a year, by 1985 that number had increased to 9.6 percent. It was also during the 80’s that nearly 1 out of every 3 blacks had an income that placed them comfortably under the poverty level. It was financial crisis like this for the black community that helped to spark the excessive criminal and gang activity that the message spoke about.
With so little financial opportunity for blacks during this time, there were only a few options that one could attain, and in the song they are listed so graciously in the lyrics:
“You'll grow in the ghetto living' second-rate/ And your eyes will sing a song called deep hate/ The places you play and where you stay/ Looks like one great big alleyway”. In the above lyrics Melle Mel paints a grim picture for what the lifestyle of a child growing up in a black family is, with such a bleak outlook and a negative environment he see’s that the main sources of motivation for most young black men and women turns into some of the worst options, this is expressed in the following excerpt.
“My son said, Daddy, I don't wanna go to school/ cuz the teacher's a jerk, he must think I'm a fool And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper/ if I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper or dance to the beat, shuffle my feet/ Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps”.The Crack era
“You'll admire all the number-book takers/ Thugs, pimps and pushers and the big money-makers/ Drivin' big cars, spendin' twenties and tens/ And you'll wanna grow up to be just like them, huh”.
The Crack Epidemic more than anything else during the 80’s hit the Black Communities the hardest, selling during the time at prices as cheap as 2.50 for a gram, it was the affordable and more addictive version of coke. Soon the star basketball player in the neighborhood could use a sell crack and triple his worth, giving off the perception of a street celebrity, and because it was so cheap and an easy high people especially gateway users who needed a stronger high than Marijuana jumped at the chance to try it out, this led to an increased number of people addicted. The rise in drug trafficking and gang violence over turf pushed Regan to pass stricter drug laws, laws that put more people in jail, but the crack epidemic had its biggest impact on children. “When the drug first hit the streets of New York in the 1980s, the city had 17,000 children in foster care. A decade later, that number had soared to 50,000.” Crack houses became something of a norm in inner city neighborhoods, with gang members and drug dealers now controlling these neighborhoods. With an environment as oppressive this it is clear where the motivation for this song comes from.
From these supporting factors it is clear that “The Message” was an artist venting about issues faced in his community, but it would be wrong to ignore the factors that helped to influence the deterioration of these neighborhoods, nor would it be possible to make this song without these factors occurring. As stated earlier, “The Message” was not the first song to speak about the horrors occurring in Black neighborhoods all across America, but it definitely was one of the most influential, and helped to start a new chapter in the young Genre. It spurred other artist on people like “Public Enemy” and “NWA” who had their own way of talking about the issues, all which motivated by gang violence, unemployment, and drug addiction, issues that all became heightened during the Regan and Crack Era.
Just like Hip Hop, “The Message” started off with a beat, a simple beat, a few men chose to add relevant content onto the sweet melody, and in return produced one of the greatest songs of our time removing what had once been a musical Gloss of the Ghetto from Hip Hop.#
