[HOST] Historically, hip-hop and the police
are like oil and water - they don’t mix.
From the recent headlines regarding police
brutality to even older sentiments in hip-hop
like the late 80s N.W.A hit, “Fuck The Police,”
rap’s mistrust of law enforcement is well
documented.
It stems from the Black communities’ own
anger with the boys in blue - something currently
on display once again in 2020 as hundreds
of thousands of people protest the deaths
of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and dozens
of other unarmed Black Americans at the hands
of police.
MALAIKA: Police repression is a 
feature and not a bug of the system. It was
created to control populations and not to
control crime.
[HOST] That’s Malaika Jabali, a public policy
attorney and journalist.
She spoke with Genius about the history of
police brutality in America and we pulled
some lyrics to underscore these facts.
In the comprehensive textbook on the history
of law enforcement Community Policing: A Contemporary
Perspective, the authors explain that modern
day police relates partly back to slavery,
explaining quote:
"The similarities between the slave patrols
and modern American policing are too salient
to dismiss or ignore. Hence, the slave patrol
should be considered a forerunner of modern
American law enforcement."
MALAIKA: Slave patrols are actually considered
by scholars to be the forerunner of modern
law enforcement. They had the authority to
control slave populations to ensure that they
wouldn't leave, that they wouldn't escape
North, they wouldn’t escape off of the planation.
[HOST] According to Malaika and many other
Black scholars, the over policing of Black
bodies is inherent in the system and can often
be deadly. A Washington Post study found that
quote:
...unarmed Blacks are still killed by police
at a higher rate than unarmed whites.
[HOST] Knowing this, interactions with police
can often devolve into tense confrontations.
KRS-One addressed this on the 1989 cut “Who
Protects Us From You.”
N.W.A famously sent a message on their hit,
"Fuck The Police," which has since become
a modern-day protest anthem and even saw a
surge on Genius.
EAZY E: Prosecute us for no reason at all.
Because you Black, you got a little bit of
money, beepers...all police ain’t bad police
just 90 % of them.
[HOST] And Kendrick Lamar put his feelings
on wax in a 2015 cut, “Alright.”
[HOST] These aggressive actions from police
do most often lead to protests but according
to Malaika, the anger of regular abuses without
justice can easily lead to unrest.
MALAIKA: Like if anybody else comes to you
and they pester you and they bother you in
a number of different ways, you can't always
explain what is going to be the tipping point.
[HOST] This pent up frustration is something
that’s compounded for decades as rapper
21 Savage noted it on his 2017 track, “Nothing
New”
21: One day it’s gon’ get to that point.
where you’re going to have to show them
Black lives matter. Shit the protesting, that
shit don’t work.
[HOST] As well as Lauryn Hill on her 2012
track, “Black Rage.”
Jabali also notes how the current unrest in
Minnesota following the death of George Floyd
is tied to years of unequal policing from
the Minneapolis PD.
MALAIKA: When you look at the police precinct
that burned down, that was the police precinct
that George Floyd's killer came from. Those
are often the targets of rebellions and they
usually have some sort of relationship to
a series of abuses that these residents have
experienced.
[HOST] Another infamous example that served
as a poignant moment in hip-hop, is the 1991
beating of Rodney King at the hands of the
LAPD that was caught on video.
REPORTER: All of a sudden, police brutality
had a human face. And it was being battered
by Los Angeles cops on a neighborhood street
in San Fernando valley.
[HOST] After the cops were acquitted in 1992,
the anger over a miscarriage of justice led
to widespread unrest across Los Angeles - something
noted by the late NWA member, Eazy E.
Eazy E: A lot of people don’t understand
at the time. And then when this Rodney King
situation happened, everybody opened their
eyes and was like o that’s why they did
‘Fuck the Police,’ and they understand
now.
[HOST] As well as 2Pac on “Soulja’s Story.”
And for many Black people, this adverse relation
with police is something learned early in
life.
MAXO: “My first real experience with the
police, I was 12 years old. They kicked in
our door to come grab my dad.
REPORTER: Back in March, three plain clothes
Louisville police officers stormed Breonna’s
home, executing a no knock search warrant.
MAXO: They had pistols at my mama, pistols
at everybody in the house.
REPORTER: Kenny, thinking intruders were violently
breaking in, grabbed his licensed gun and
fired a single shot, hitting one officer in
the leg.
MAXO: It's basically like, kick the door hit
the lick except they're the police.
REPORTER: The officers fired 20 rounds in
return, killing Breonna.
MAXO: They come in, they up their pistols,
and they take what they want. That's illegal.
You know? For us
to do it, but they're the police. So, I guess
they can do it, but man fuck 12.
KENNY: I don’t know what’s happening somebody
kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend.
Oh my God...
[HOST] Even beyond the more recent examples
of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, unarmed
Black people killed at the hands of police
remain etched in the memories of many in hip-hop.
From Michael Brown in 2014 to Sandra Bland
in 2015...
And even outside of hip-hop, Rage Against
The Machine’s 1992 “Killing in the Name”
speaks to the inherent racism of policing
in America.
Sadly, there are hundreds of other examples
both in real life and hip-hop that speak to
these experiences.
As for Jabali, she’s not convinced this
current moment can actually bring about change.
MALAIKA: I generally don't have a lot of hope
in this country...this isn't about individual
responsibility, this isn't about how well
you comply with the police officer and then
we see that they lie about that too. It's
about a system that is failing everybody.
[HOST] So for now, all we can do is fight
for what’s right and hope for change, as
musicians continue to amplify the voices of
those who need it the most.
I’m Jacques Morel with Genius News, bringing
you the meaning and the knowledge behind the
music. Peace.
