Paris 1998 Album

Quotes
"I'm seeing bloody bodies on the motherfucking rug. . . . white boys. . . . white bitches. . . . I'm known for putting devils on they motherfucking back; blast through the front door. . . . blaow; now the nine had no motherfucking mercy. . . . bow down or, motherfucker, you can die when we start robbing. . . . fucking Jews. . . . make you want to get your brick and snatch his ass up out the car. . . . fuck that devil";
"Record Label Murder"; Paris, Unleashed, 1998, Unleashed Records, Whirling Records.

"Devils fear this brand new shit. . . . I bleed them next time I see them. . . . I pray on these devils. . . . look what it has come to; who you gonna run to when we get to mobbing. . . . filling his body up with lead, yah; cracker in my way; slitting, slit his throat; watch his body shake; watch his body shake; that's how we do it in the motherfucking Bay. . . . sitting on the dock of the dirty with my AK";
"Heat--featuring Jet and Spice 1"; Paris, Unleashed, 1998, Unleashed Records, Whirling Records.

".44 ways to get paid; are you ready; yah, I'm ready; are you; yeah; cool, because I'm through with talking to these devils; now I'm ready to blast";
"44 Wayz--featuring Mystic"; Paris, Unleashed, 1998, Unleashed Records, Whirling Records.

Article
      On his 1998 album, called Unleashed, Paris throws threats at rival rappers and at others he perceives who are trying to ruin his popularity, and the violent imagery he uses mimics or supports the conduct of gangbangers. Paris glorifies the following types of behaviors: running through alleyways while carrying guns, shooting people, smoking marijuana, having showdowns with guns, playing craps in liquor store parking lots, and dealing crack cocaine. On one track, he says that many blacks die "over money, wrong looks, cocaine, and who[re]s." He says that in the past he did "dirt too." Each black needs to take his "Million-Man-March-ass to school." Paris finds racial excuses in an instrinsic component to civilization, namely money, and an example of him doing so is as follows: "money be the reason that the murder continue, you see; it's the root of all evil." He calls himself a "street soldier with a capital 'S'" and also makes the comment that "real soldiers don't die, we just readjust." He threatens "player haters." He shouts out "peace to the homies in the pen' locked up." ("Root of All Evil.")

      Rappers' careers are reamed by record companies which Paris refers to as "the devil in drag." He considers rappers who rap like "wannabe g.'s" to be "fake." Paris threatens to get a "street sweeper [machine gun]" and shoot down "fake" rappers. He says that he will put their "house-nigga-ass in the dirt." "A soldier ain't nothing to fool with," he warns. He describes himself as "that nigga with the big black gat, that's looking for the payback." He describes himself also by spelling out the word "guerrilla." Such rappers should become "strong black" men, and they should realize the following: there is a plan, as Paris puts it, to make black rappers lose popularity; "it's war" out there; and "black folk [are] running out time." ("Street Soldier.")

      Paris has seen so many "homies" die that he "ain't got no feeling," and he tells listeners that he carries a concealed handgun and keeps on striving. He speaks matter-of-factly about gangbangers earning "their stripes" by killing other gangbangers. He warns that he will be "quick to blast" if anyone wants a confrontation with him. In his description of the rise and fall of rappers, Paris makes a statement about the system as follows: "I see these rap stars disappear like civil rights, and go from poor to rich to poor again, overnight." One way in which he remains successful, he says, is by having his lawyer keep "these motherfucking devils off me." ("Conversation.")

      Boasting of his toughness, a chorus on one track holds that he will "blast first and ask questions last." He says that he is busy separating out those who are his "enemy" from those who are "down with [his] team." "God bless all black people," he offers. When he sees police officers, he says, his blood runs "cold," and he shouts at them the following: "fuck all police 'till the day that I die." When Paris is just about to complete a sentence about how police officers treat "black folk," he breaks off his statement and instead finishes with the following phrase that refers to the two whites OJ Simpson was not convicted of murdering: "I be the nigga that the bloody glove fit." ("Blast First.")

      Paris blames record companies for the fall in popularity of Da Lench Mob. The following string of quotes shows how Paris uses the words "white," "devil," and "devils" interchangeably, and also of note is that he uses the word "Jew," which is not commonly done by "gangsta" rappers: "what would you do if I blast. . . . the whole staff. . . . I'm seeing bloody bodies on the motherfucking rug. . . . these white boys trying to do promotions, and white bitches trying to get fucked by these soldiers. . . . get your devil-ass stole on. . . . I'm known for putting devils on they motherfucking back; blast through the front door. . . . blaow; now the nine had no motherfucking mercy. . . . bow down or, motherfucker, you can die when we start robbing. . . . only making 10% dealing with these fucking Jews; now you losing every time; how many platinum niggas standing in the county line [for checks or food]; make you want to get your brick and snatch his ass up out the car [reference to Reginald Denny]. . . . this whole industry got niggas' shit on whitey dick. . . . fuck that devil; get your own man. . . . feeling free now 'cause I'm God; let that devil try his luck." ("Record Label Murder.")

      Paris says that he does not care about what "bitch critics" think of his music, and he says that "devils fear" his album. He says that he will "bust these roaches to the ground," and leave them bloody. He puts across to listeners that he is oppressed in America when he says that he is "real about [his] freedom." He goes on with further descriptions of killing whites, saying the following: "I bleed them next time I see them. . . . bang-bang when I blast; caught the motherfucker slipping [off guard]; serve him heat; then I mash [the gas pedal] to the Westside; I rides through every single day; I plays for keeps, mobbing deep, slingshots and razor blades; I pray on these devils; crosshairs in the cut [holding the crosshairs of a rifle scope on a target while hiding between houses]; my homie, Jet, shotgun in the back, who gives a fuck; buck them one to a two-three-four until they die. . . . look what it has come to; who you gonna run to when we get to mobbing. . . . I swear to God: you niggas better have something to shoot with because I'm prepared to mob. . . . my greed alone got me putting in overtime. . . . I had their blood up on the ceiling; don't give a fuck about you cops up in the [San Francisco] Bay; dropping a clip to get them bitches out of my motherfucking way; Spice 1 and P-dog [Paris] shooting slugs like a tank, coming up out of a cut with an infrared; up on my shank [knife] it's a dead body; chuck it. . . . filling his body up with lead, yah; cracker in my way; slitting, slit his throat; [rapper makes a slitting sound with his voice]; watch his body shake; watch his body shake; that's how we do it in the motherfucking Bay. . . . sitting on the dock of the dirty with my AK." ("Heat--featuring Jet and Spice 1.")

      Paris fantasizes about a beautiful woman who becomes his lover and criminal partner, and he is so overwhelmed that he asks the following: "are you the one to tame a Panther." In the chorus, Paris and the female rapper, Mystic, threaten whites with murder as follows: ".44 ways to get paid; are you ready; yah, I'm ready; are you; yeah; cool, because I'm through with talking to these devils; now I'm ready to blast." It is common for "gangsta" rappers to resemble themselves after white figures while at the same time threatening whites, and Paris does so as follows: "salaries getting swole[n] like Robin Hood; fuck a devil; we going for broke." Paris speaks positively of Apache's violently racist album, Apache Ain't Shit, when Paris says that Apache would label Mystic's character on the track as a "Gangsta [Bitch]." At the end of Paris and Mystic's criminal fantasy, their characters are killed, and just before being killed by a law enforcement officer, Paris' character praises Allah. ("44 Wayz--featuring Mystic.")

      Guest rappers Spice 1, Jet, Nuttso, and Mystic participated on several tracks. In pamphlets of his earlier albums, Paris praises "Allah," but in the liner notes for his 1998 album, he praises "God."

Reference
Unleashed, Paris, 1998, Unleashed Records, Whirling Records.

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

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