Uncommon Valor

Annotation — Rap / Hip Hop Songs

East Coast Hip Hop / Hardcore Hip Hop group, formed in 1993 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Membership included Vinnie Paz, Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin) (1993-2011, 2014-present), DJ Kwestion (1997-present), and Jus Allah (1999-2001, 2006-13). The group released multiple Vietnam War-related songs: "I Against I" (2000), "The Wolf" (2003), "And So It Burns" (2004), and "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" (2006) (with R.A. the Rugged Man). Vinnie Paz also referenced the war in his solo material: "And Your Blood Will Blot Out the Sun" (2012), "You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train" (2012), "God Bless" (2013), "Writings on Disobedience and Democracy" (2016), "Ninety Three" (2016), and "Pray for Sleep"(2018).The song "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" (Babygrande # BBG-LP-1052) started out with sound-clips / samples of gunfire, helicopters, and Richard Nixon. It took an anti-war perspective, narrated from the perspective of a soldier in the conflict, opposed to the indiscriminate killing: "I didn't sign up to kill women or any children, for every enemy soldier, we killing six civilians". It made a comparison to World War Two, claiming that Vietnam was not justified: "this ain't a real war, Vietnam shit, World War II, that's a war, this is just a military conflict". It also questioned the official government line, in protecting an independent South Vietnam from communism: "I ain't seen no Chinese since we landed". Furthermore, it criticised the politicians: "the president, he doesn't care". Note the reference to Operation Rolling Thunder - the sustained aerial bombardment of North Vietnam, to support the South Vietnamese government, pressure the North Vietnamese, and to target North Vietnamese transport, industry, and air defences, launched by Lyndon B. Johnson on 2 March 1965: "why I was a part of Operation Rolling Thunder... jungle like the fucking harbinger of death". Also of significance, is the second verse, performed by R.A. the Rugged Man - East Coast Hip Hop / Hardcore Hip Hop artist, born Richard Andrew Thorburn on 10 January 1974 in New York, USA - whose father was Staff Sgt. John A. Thorburn, a Vietnam veteran.1 It tells his story, including coming into contact with Agent Orange, the defoliant / herbicide used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, which had long term negative health effects on the Vietnamese and US soldier whom came into contact with the chemical. It is frequently referenced in post-war songs: "but ain't escape Agent Orange, two of my kids born handicapped" - this referred to his brother Maxx, born disabled and blind, who died at the age of 10, and Thorburn's sister, Dee Ann, who died in 2007 at the age of 26.2 Vinnie Paz referenced this collab on the song "Writings on Disobedience and Democracy" (2016), discussed below. Sources1usafrotorheads.com: Thorburn john a↩2Wikipedia: R.A. the Rugged Man↩

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

About the artist

American hip-hop group formed 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Nixon · Sound-Effects · VC · Agent Orange · Jungle · Foxhole · Anti-Government · WW2 · Operation Rolling Thunder · War Lineage · Credibility Gap · Anti-War · Family Vet

In collections

Rap / Hip Hop Songs