Paris 1989/90

Paris 1989/90 Album

Quote
"The whole black nation has to be put together as a black army, and we gonna walk on this nation; we gonna walk on this racist power structure, and we gonna say to the whole damn government: stick 'em up, motherfucker; this is a holdup; we come for what's ours. . . . revolution has come; time to pick up the gun";
"Panther Power"; Paris, The Devil Made Me Do It, 1989/90, Tommy Boy Music, Scarface Music, Time Warner.

Article
      Paris' 1989/90 album, called The Devil Made Me Do It, opens with a news excerpt about white teenagers being charged in the killing of Yusuf Hawkins, a black teenager. In response to the news report, a voice on the track tells listeners that "black people are now to organize" so that they may "have maximum retaliation." An interviewer asks the male voice who threatened "maximum retaliation" whether changes have occurred in the Black Panther Party. The response is as follows: "what do you mean: what changes; we have a black man that's dead, murdered; that's a change." ("Intro.")

      Paris accuses "black radio" of playing only "mindless music for the masses." He claims that he is the "real rap master" and the "master of master plan" who will keep down the "wack" rappers. His music has "righteous bass," and he uses some Nation of Islam terminology, describing himself as the "Asiatic lord of light." (Blacks referring to themselves as Asiatics goes back as far as 1913 at least, and that was when Noble Drew Ali forbade the followers of his black Muslim sect from referring to themselves as "Negroes," "Black People," or "Colored Folk.") ("This Is a Test.") A Huey Newton declaration is excerpted as follows: "the whole black nation has to be put together as a black army, and we gonna walk on this nation; we gonna walk on this racist power structure, and we gonna say to the whole damn government: stick 'em up, motherfucker; this is a holdup; we come for what's ours." Paris goes on to sat that the Black Panther's Ten Point Program "frees the genocide." Paris is putting the "pigs and house nig's" in his "sights [as he] cock the gat back to the pro-black." Any officer who Paris judges to be "a racist cop" will be shot. Paris brandishes the phrase "Panther power," and he says he is "proud to be black." "Panther power protects the citizens," he says, and "revolution has come; time to pick up the gun." ("Panther Power.") A speech is excerpted as follows: "we declare. . . . to be given the rights of a human being. . . . which we intend to bring into existence by any means necessary." Paris raps about being "strong and black and proud," about being "gifted [at writing] pro-black radical rap," about using Allah as his "third eye" in order to lead the "movement," and about seeing why "skinheads end up dead." Paris describes his rap as "a call and a plea for unity," and he calls upon listeners to "keep pushing [because] our movement moves on." ("Break the Grip of Shame," Track 5 version.)

      Paris relays anger over what he views as police officers using excessive force to restrain a "brother," and Paris finishes with the following threats at officers: "young g. to the house and get the gat; then boom-boom-boom; now shit is equalized. . . . black people simply ain't having that; we just hit back." ("Warning.") Paris speaks of what he calls "my people" as being of "this color called ebony," and he dedicates the track to them, calling them "the chosen few." He says that he speaks the "truth." ("Ebony.")

      Paris says that he "breaks necks and wreck[s] MC's who ain't down with the sound of the Panther movement." He lets loose on the track, showing his affiliation to Nation of Islam doctrines. "In 1930, it all began," Paris says, "a movement. . . . led by Allah in the form of Farad; but later by the last true prophet of God, Elijah Muhammad, a dominant black leader of the lost-found Asiatic pack; and later by Malcolm whose point was straight stressing a black nationalistic state." Paris next enjoins the Black Panther's hatred of police officers with today's Nation of Islam. He describes "Huey Newton and [Eldridge] Cleaver and [Bobby] Seale [as] sons of Malcolm with intent to kill." He says that listeners "best believe [that he] won't stop teaching science and step with Farrakhan; drop a dope [great] bomb; word [support] to Islam." He is "calling all brothers to order," and he earnestly gives "the warning, The Final Call: we're heading for Armageddon; so get [the] gat." The government is committing "tactical genocide" of blacks who chase a "chemical high." He threatens black drug dealers and lushes. He lets listeners know that he will keep them "fresh on the movement tip." ("Brutal.")

      Paris says that he is "pro-black and it ain't no joke." He says that revolution has never been simple and that "the revolution won't be thwarted." He says he is following a path laid out by Allah, and that he "came with the master plan" that has "the brother man" knowing "who is opposed to the dominant dark skin." "Beware the beast-man," fans are warned, for "he is the devil's pawn [and] he kills for sport." Paris says that his raps "spit on [the] Flag and government." The government never meant to help blacks, he says, for "food stamps and free cheese [money]" never could "be a cure for a sick disease." Plight faced by blacks has been "just the way the devil had planned it; rape then pillage everyone on the planet; then give them fake gods at odds with Allah." He again says that crack cocaine is "genocide to black folks." Paris lifts the responsibility for his violent racism off of himself and places blame on whites as follows: it is "the devil" who made "a Panther" like him go "crazy" because blacks are "lost in a white supremacy." ("The Devil Made Me Do It.") He says that he is "qualified" to teach blacks to get along and "to keep the peace." The Islamic greeting "As-Salamu 'alai-kum" is given. ("Mellow Madness.")

      "Asiatic discipline is frightening" to blacks who are "weak in the wake of true black militants." Listeners should "praise Allah because in his energy made [blacks] the cream, Asiatic, earth born man-child." Again it is said that "cocaine is the plan the devil derive." Using terms from Nation of Islam, Paris says that "the so-called Negroes," or "original citizens," are being annihilated by crack cocaine due to "the malevolent game plan." Now there is a new drug "controlled by the man" for the purpose of "genocide." Fans should buy his music, he says, because it keeps "Panthers taught," and all the while, "skinheads are flatfoot." The "wack [rappers] can't get with the pro-black program" because they are ignorant, he says. It is common for rappers to use the word "Babylon" to refer to societies dominated by whites, and Paris does so when he says that the mindset of "wack" rappers is Babylon. Paris says that he is "making the mark of a start of a movement." There is an excerpt from a speech in which Malcolm X says that blacks are still slaves, and that, as Malcolm is quoted, "the only politics in this country that's relative to black people is the politics of revolution." He says that he is "a chosen one [who] came forth from the darkness to the lead the lost." "Time is running out [so] call to arms," he commands, and "revolution is in the house."

      In the list that follows, Paris gives ten stipulations from the 1966 Black Panther Party platform, and of note is how the platform lifts fundamental responsibility off of blacks: 1) the first demand makes it seem as if blacks are oppressed: "freedom and power to determine our destiny"; 2) "full employment for the black community"; 3) a hint of Marxist-Leninism is revealed: "fight the capitalists with a raised fist"; 4) "decent housing"; 5) "education and truth for the black youths"; 6) "black men exempt from military service"; 7) "a quick end to police brutality"; 8) "release of all black men who are held in prison"; 9) "black juries when our brothers are tried in court"; 10) "land, bread, and housing, and education, clothing, justice, and peace for the black nation." ("Escape from Babylon.")

      Blacks are slaves today because they are "ashamed to be black," and there is a plan to keep them down. "Brothers [who are] scared of revolution" should be thinking instead of how life would be for blacks. "Miss Blue-Eyes" tried to put one over on black men but his "skin is still black." Paris spells out the word "sedition." Some rappers put out "mindless music for the masses" that makes blacks think less about "the one that hates" them. Rappers should not throw "stink" at Paris' reputation because blacks "can't run from the one whose primal instinct is to thwart the words [he] taught [them]." "Our mob is known as Scarface," he says, and repeats the description of it as "pro-black." Although some people think that his messages are "pro-hate," they are instead, he says, "a call for unity." ("Wretched.")

      The second version of "Break the Grip of Shame" is nearly the same as the first version, yet there are new words at the beginning and at the end. The track begins with a statement about what is of concern, in particular, "the black agenda . . . the needs and suffering of our people." At the end listeners are called upon as follows: "this is a call; black is back, so strong; now, the posse is ready." ("Break the Grip of Shame," Track 16 version.)

      In the CD pamphlets, Paris gives gratitude to Allah, and he gives recognition to many artists of whom some are MC Hammer, Too Short, Public Enemy, Professor Griff and the Lost Asiatic Disciples, Digital Underground, and Queen Latifah. He aligns himself with Nation of Islam, its "mighty" Fruit of Islam, Uhuru House, Zulu Nation, and The Omega Boys Club. There are four pages that give the history of Nat Turner, Marcus Garvey, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X (El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz), Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, and the Black Panther Party. Some statements made in the pamphlets are telling. When describing the week before the start of Nat Turner's slave rebellion, the pamphlets present as a factual report that the sun appeared to turn "blue-green," and in turn, that "Turner interpreted this as a sign from heaven." In the pamphlets it is written that "Malcolm X was killed by an agent of the US government in New York City," and the view is presented as fact with no further discussion of the assassination. At the end of the history about Huey Newton, the pamphlets present that he was shot by "unknown assailants," and no further description is given about his death. At the end of a section entitled "Panthers and the Law," it is concluded in the pamphlets that "black militants were unfairly treated by law-enforcing groups."

Reference
The Devil Made Me Do It, Paris, 1989/90, Scarface Records, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner.

For information about events surrounding the murder of Yusuf Hawkins and about media coverage, go to the following link: Murders of Yusuf Hawkins and Huey Newton.

Posted at http://home.att.net/~phosphor on June 30, 1999.

Update: 8-9-10: link to info on Yusuf Hawkins.

Go back to list of artists awarded GRAMMY's.

Go to homepage.