Stop the Violence
1988 · Jive 1097-2-J · Bronx, New York
- Artist
- Boogie Down Productions
- Title
- Stop the Violence
- Release
- By All Means Necessary
- Year
- 1988
- Label
- Jive # 1097-2-J
- Format
- LP · Album
- Language
- English
- Country
- Bronx, New York, USA
- Genre
- Hip Hop · Hip Hop · Rap
- Primary theme
- Post-War
Annotation
Influenctial East Coast Hip Hop group, formed 1986 in Bronx, New York, USA, featuring prominent rap musician KRS-One. They released the song "Stop the Violence" (Jive Records # 1121-1-JD) from the album By All Means Necessary (Jive Records # 1097-1-J), included a section on Vietnam veterans and drugs.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Annotation — Rap / Hip Hop Songs
Influential East Coast Hip Hop group, formed 1986 in Bronx, New York, USA, featuring prominent rap musician KRS-One. They released one of the first Hip Hop / rap songs to reference the Vietnam War, in the track "Stop the Violence" (Jive Records # 1121-1-JD), which took aim at politicians for contributing towards violence in communities, including sending people to war, such as Vietnam. The song also portrayed the Vietnam veteran as a drug dealer, a common feature in 1980s Vietnam War songs: "you're off to Vietnam [...] how many veterans are out there pedaling?". It featured on the album By All Means Necessary (Jive Records # 1097-1-J). KRS-One would go on to reference Vietnam in the 1995 song "What I Know", discussed below.
Annotation by Justin A. Brummer
Lyrics
English: I glance at the paper to know what's going on / Someone's doing wrong, the story goes on... / You say "go back" to your mom, and you're off to Vietnam / You shoot to kill, come back and you're a veteran / But how many veterans are out there pedaling? / There's no telling, 'cause they continue selling... / What's the solution, to stop all this confusion? / Rewrite the constitution, change the drug which you're using / Rewrite the constitution or the emancipation proclamation / We fight inflation, yet the president's still on vacation You say "go back" to your mom, and you're off to Vietnam / You shoot to kill, come back and you're a veteran / But how many veterans are out there pedaling? / There's no telling, 'cause they continue selling
About the artist
American hip-hop group formed 1986 in the Bronx, New York. [Source: Wikipedia]
Themes
Anti-Government · Vet · Drugs · Inflation · Reagan