Well now folks, the summer season is really in full swing. The BBQ’s are all sparked up, the coolers are packed with ice and whatever your favorite “drank” is. But what would summer be without a great murderous anthem like southern rapper Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared”?
Let’s look at the lyrics and see what kind of self degrading rhymes this young brothers cooked up, shall we? I think the lyrics goes something like “Let a choppa go PLOOOOOOWWW! to your melon/Now the plasma is oozin’ outta yo cerebellum/ AttenCHUNNNNN! F### n####, now you swellin’!!!”
The video for this track is pretty impressive. It’s structured as if you were flipping through a comic book. Old Bone Crusher is stompin’ through the city like Godzilla smashing up the town, making his best “I’m crazy” face and all that good stuff.
I have heard this track on the radio, and seen the video countless times. My questions though are these…Why do songs that celebrate Black people killing other Black people get so championed by the radio and video outlets? Who puts up the money for high powered videos like these? What A&R decided this was “the one”? Who are the program directors that think this song should be memorized by urban youth across America? When did dancing to Black death become the thing to do? What does it mean that you buy or dance to music like this?
Understand that these media outlets are feeding poison to our youth through videos and music like “Never Scared”. However, rap songs that suggest violence is entertaining only get major rotation when the victim is another Black person.
I challenge Bone Crusher to make a new song. One called, “I Ain’t Never Scared of the Patriot Act”, “I Ain’t Never Scared of Cops Who Abuse Me” or “I Ain’t Never Scared of the IRS”. Let’s put money on that he won’t (actually, I’m Muslim and I don’t bet). But if he does, I’d wanna bet you that you’d never hear of Bone Crusher again. That is, unless you are trying to find him at his old job.
The bottom line is that Black on Black death anthems have become commonplace in the rap industry. These are different than songs that are talking about the pain and why’s and how’s of it all. Today they have us dancing into our graves- to our own music!!! It’s genius really. Because while all of this money gets made, the videos get played etc., people NOT from the Black community are getting paid the most.
Have you ever asked yourself why Bone Crusher gets more love than Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Paris and the Coup? Don’t tell me the conscious stuff aint’ got beats!!!! Boots and Paris alone will smoke a gang of fools beat wise. And Paris, Talib, Boots and Dead Prez got wicked flows. WICKED!!! So lets not talk about rhyme styles either.
Bottom line is, there are people in the rap industry that want us singing songs of Black on Black death. They WANT our children to enjoy watching these video that they cleverly package into comic book themes. They want to make our minds and spirits numb to seeing our brothers, uncles, and nephews and even our precious women die in the street. They are encouraging that we do these things, and create songs to help us mentally achieve it. They tell how “dope” 50 Cent’s “Many Men”, and Baby’s “What Happened to that Boy” are. They spin it, and when you see the video you wish you were in it.
Honestly, I’m not really mad at Bone Crusher personally. Because I don’t think he even fully understands how this music industry, this political and social system work and manipulate people like him. I don’t think he has ever critically thought about the Black male image in America and how corporations exploit it.
What you learn though because of songs like these, is that at the end of the day, it is good to be brave. It is good to pick up the gun and blast one for protection of self. It’s good to defend your pride, and your territory. As long as the other person is Black. Don’t’ EVER be scared, of Black people. Party hard and keep it crunk, all the way to the grave. You slave.
