Professor Griff 1990

Professor Griff's 1990 Album

Quote
"After all of this, Farrakhan says: 'let my people go,' and you refuse; poor Mr. President, it's reaping time now. . . . it's God that you'll be fighting";
"The Word of God Griff on Duty"; Professor Griff, Professor Griff and the Last Asiatic Disciples: Pawns in the Game, 1990, Skyywalker Records.

Article
      Professor Griff put out a solo album in 1990 called Professor Griff and the Last Asiatic Disciples: Pawns in the Game, in which he is more blatant than Public Enemy about sympathies for Nation of Islam and other violent racism. The album opens with Professor Griff rapping that he was "elected by the G-o-d" to tell the listeners about how it is to live "as a black man" in a country having a "plan designed by the man with the mark in his head [and] with the mark in his hand." He says that he is teaching lessons to "the so-called Negroes, the chosen people," who he also calls "pawns in the game," and, according to him, whites are sentenced to death by the Bible in Verse 16 of Exodus 21. Professor Griff calls on blacks to become independent, however, like Louis Farrakhan, Griff undermines his calls for self-reliance by passing some of the ultimate responsibility onto whites. "Revolution is sweeping the entire nation," he says, and so "game is over, checkmate." ("Pawns in the Game.")

      On the second track, in an imaginary courtroom, Professor Griff charges the United States government with being "the number one" murderer, deceiver, lier, kidnapper, and thief on the earth. A background voice says that the sheet must be pulled off. Griff says racism is imbued in radio and television, and for evidence he refers to the fact that he is a rapper who is not "wilding," in other words, not committing crimes. He seems to be saying that radio and television portray black rappers as criminals only, and that media rather than "gangsta" rappers are responsible for the portrayals. The system is geared for the destruction of blacks, we hear, and there are covert plans to keep the minds of people in "chains." "The motherfucking President has got a death threat," a Lost Asiatic Disciples rapper says, because the President is in control and puts his nose into the affairs of others. The rappers tell listeners that their raps are the truth and that blacks should not be fooled by "the mud of white civilization" because racism is still part of the "United Fate of America." We are told that "government hit men stalk black leaders," and that politicians and police officers of any race take payoffs. "Malcolm" is revered, and the rapper calls himself "the X." In the same web-site link mentioned above it was pointed out that members of Nation of Islam have their last names of European origin replaced by an X until a new name is given to them. The song's chorus expresses anger about slave ships, chains, and halls of justice. Like the first track, the divine sentencing of whites is issued forth: "the verdict is death; it's in the Bible." ("The Verdict.")

      The producer of the album, Luke Skyywalker, is also a rapper. On a track he says that he and Professor Griff are "anti-drug disciples." Not only on the third track, but also on a later track, whites in the system and the drug culture are referred to as "Suzi," and we are told that whites have a plan to train blacks and prevent them from knowing the "truth" in their "roots." According to the rappers, whites are responsible for selling drugs to black children, for getting people hooked on sports cars, and for catching the small-time criminals while letting the big-time ones get away. Some or all of the ultimate responsibility for an individual's success is lifted off the back of any black with the following statements: "don't blame it [drug addiction] on yourself, 'cause Suzi is to blame;" and the government blames drug problems on "a brother man," when really the government is to blame because it has the "upper hand." We are told that it does not make sense to teach the golden rule in school to black children. ("Suzi Wants to be a Rock Star.")

      Professor Griff makes an appeal to educated blacks, telling them to learn about black culture, black history, and black religion, for otherwise they are slaves even while successful in careers. Renowned universities have given them a "grafted miseducation." People do not interpret the Bible properly, for instead they pass along a belief in a "mythical god," otherwise called a "dog," god spelled backwards. Educated blacks who want blond hair and blue or green eyes are "Oreos" who hate themselves. The US is called "the United Snakes of America," and Griff calls himself an "African black Nubian Negro American." In the background voices repeat the word "justice" and also the following phrase: "black people, what y'all gonna do?" ("Real African People 'RAP' Part I.")

      The average school does not educate but instead indoctrinates, we are told. Professor Griff says that he will educate listeners, giving them the knowledge they need and letting them know that "peace is in its last days." He says that his words are "stronger than guns." The chorus chants: "pass the ammo; educate you what we gonna do." Rappers of the Last Asiatic Disciples join in to tell listeners that they are at "war" in the "devils' land," and that they must unify in order to "battle" the ones who have the "upper hand." The rappers describe themselves as black men, rebels, and soldiers. Blacks should protect their "own race" like their "brothers in the Middle East" do, the rappers say. They symbolize their conformity with Nation of Islam beliefs by referring to the "X" a few times. One rapper says the following of himself: "Mighty X is a soldier from Asia, original." ("Pass the Ammo.")

      The Preamble of The Constitution was not written by the "red/yellow/brown/black man," but instead by "the one who hides behind the Klan." Griff says that "real African people" must stick together and resist whites "before the white fans get ahold of the Griff plan." ("Real African People 'RAP' Part II.")

      Griff condemns blacks who "drop dime" on other blacks, and describes any such black as a "Judas." Black rappers who seek "to please some sorry-ass milk toast faggot" are "crazy" and have become "lazy." Whites, also called "short" guys who have a "complex," are "deceiving the black nation" whose people suffer from "mental starvation" in the United States which is one large "jail cell." Whites "distort the scripture of the man who paid the ultimate price," namely the Messiah, and then Griff alludes again to the creation of a white race: "6000 years later you claim to be doing us a favor by painting his face white." Griff says that he gives blacks "the last and Final Call, come on." He asks black families if they are ready to leave places at their tables for "Elijah" Muhammad in order for them to be ready for the era that begins "after the black[s] capture their freedom." Griff makes the following judgement about, apparently, white Jews in America: "it's pathetic to think you're Semitic." Griff says that he raps "black facts," "anti-Nazi rage," and the word of the "L.A.D." [Lost Asiatic Disciples], and that blacks are "together forever, brother to brother, P.E. [Public Enemy.]" ("Love Thy Enemy.")

      The Lost Asiatic Disciple rappers say that they should be regarded as "idols" and that they are rapping "direct from Asiatic descent." They describe themselves as the "X," as "Asiatic ghetto soldiers," and as "rap terrorists." ("Rap Terrorist.")

      The rappers call track 9 a "black awareness" rap about the need to destroy "white-type models." The rappers complain that they saw on television too many "Caucasian" faces and not enough "black" ones. The rappers give shoutouts to an audience in the background, praising black sororities and fraternities by their Greek letter titles, and the rappers tell everyone that the rappers stand on a "throne demanding justice." The rappers advise "Christian, Muslim, Jew" that there is only one god. Whites "are trying to affect a plan to take command," but the rappers tell listeners that they will not let it happen. ("1-900 Ste Oreo Type.")

      The rappers tell listeners that their music restores the knowledge of "black civilization" and "the chosen manuscript," taken away from blacks by "the crook." The rappers call themselves disciples, "the chosen ones," black men, rebels, "black terror," and "Asiatic ghetto soldiers." They say that their "words are like a scripture" and that they "roll hard with the power of God." Blacks must unite, they call out, and "whether black or white, once bright comes night--power to the people." "Fuck the lies," they say, because blacks are on the rise. Griff says that his raps make Mozart seem simple and that he can challenge persons' faculties in a way that compares to Einstein's theories. One way in which "gangsta" rappers say that their messages reveal hidden knowledge is through the use of the word "math." Nation of Islam uses numerology extensively, and Griff says on the track they he "kick[s] [or sends forth] the math." ("Last Asiatic Disciple.")

      On track 11 Griff reads off a letter the he addresses to the President and dates it January 5, 1990. He begins it as follows: "I am writing this letter to you to inform you that your time is up; God says he wants his Earth and his chosen people back; you've had it now for what: 6000 years; and you've used , abused, and misused it; you've dropped atom bombs on the brown man; stole gunpowder from the yellow man and made guns; made treaties and broke them with the red man. . . . enslaved the black man and de-humanized him." Griff says that whites, using test tubes, are trying to make a new race of people to believe in them, much in the same way tried by their "German brother, Adolph Hitler," and in the same way done by their "father, Yakub." The President is condemned by Professor Griff for the following: killing Khaddafy's little girl in Libya, dropping bombs on Syria, using the CIA to deal drugs through Latin America and importing them to the US, selling arms to Iraq and Iran at the same time they were at war with one another, trading with South Africa, stealing a country from the Palestinians, destabilizing governments with "IMF schemes," testing genetic warfare weaponry on humans, murdering every prophet that came forth with a "salvation plan," breaking down the wall in Berlin but building a wall of hate with "ex-slaves" who built the US, paying "reparations to Japan and the Jews" but not paying "for the kidnapping of the black man," saying that the Pope is "closest to God but he worships a black Madonna," developing an "anti-Christ mechanism entitled The Universal Product Code," and bringing "VD, AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea to the ends of the earth." Whites are described as a "blood thirsty, deceitful, sinful, slothful beast," and as having a "wicked, egotistical, pompous, jackass, whore mentality." Whites have "reprobate" minds, and they are "animal loving, underhanded, backstabbing, double-dealing, double-crossing devils." We find out that American astronauts did not actually go to the moon because "Allah would not permit it," and Griff delves into doctrinal rumor mongering: "[Allah] warned you through a little black man named Elijah what you would find there [on the moon], and he also told you he'd give you a peep into the heavens before he would destroy you." Griff closes with the following: "after all of this Farrakhan says: 'let my people go,' and you refuse; poor Mr. President, it's reaping time now. . . . it's God that you'll be fighting." ("The Word of God Griff on Duty.")

      The track is mostly instrumental, and it has sounds of sirens in the background. There is only one statement on the track, and repeated over and over again it is as follows: "you have the right to remain silent." ("The V Amendment.")

      Professor Griff says the following: fans should not believe "lies" about him; the media "misquotes" him and misleads fans; he is black and he educates "the blind" with his music; he is a rapper who wants to enhance black awareness and would not be bothered if he did not make a "dime"; blacks have limited freedom of speech in the US; there is "a GOP to keep your mind primitive;" the media let Jim Baker lie from the pulpit; MTV jumped on the bandwagon that was against Professor Griff; when negative criticisms came out about Griff, some rappers backed down and did not support him "as Judas faxed his master plan"; the interviewer refers to US blacks as "our African young men;" he is known as the Minister of Information with Public Enemy; and lastly, interviewer asks Griff whether rappers are being asked to condemn Professor Griff as they "saw [happen] with Farrakhan." ("The Interview.")

      On the last track Griff gives thanks to over 150 names of people or institutions. He rattles of names of black abolitionists, black nationalists, black militants, black civil rights leaders, other outspoken black leaders among whom some who make racist statements, other black individuals who made the news in the US over the issue of racism, black jazz musicians, black rappers, other black entertainers, black athletes, black colleges, black high schools, black African leaders, Arabic African leaders, and communistic revolutionary dictators or terrorists from Asia, Latin America, or the United States. ("It's a Black Thanx.")

      The back cover of the CD is colored with the red, yellow, and green stripes, corresponding to order of the colors of the Ethiopian flag. (The colors of the Ethiopian flag, both the order of the colors and the stripping of them, have evolved to represent Pan-Africanism and to be used by Rastafarians, and Rastafarians hold that the deceased Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is God. Rastafarian doctrine, which originated with blacks in Jamaica, has been steeped in black supremacy, racism, and calls for revolution. Raggae developed out of Rastafarianism, and raggae artists and fans wear the colors.) have The company who markets "Public Enemy" merchandise is called "Asiatic Merchandise," and its logo appears in ads occurring in the back of pamphlets inserted into 1991 and 1992 CD's. The ads show the name "Enemy," or the name "Public Enemy," or the figure of a Public Enemy rapper standing as the cross-hairs of a rifle scope center in on him.

      In the CD pamphlets, the Islamic greeting "As Salaam Alakium" is given along with "all praises are due to Allah to whom none is greater." Thanked were "black radio," Ice-T, Kool Moe Dee, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr Dre, Eazy-E, 2 Live Crew, Geto Boys, Afrika Islam, Rhyme Syndicate, Asiatic Ghetto Soldiers, Reverend Al Sharpton, Minister Louis Farrakhan and family, FOI and MGT, Heavy D and the Boyz, King Sun, LL Cool J, Wreckx-N-Effect, and Soul II Soul. Among those credited with "[k]nowledge, wisdom, [and] understanding" are NWA, Lakim Shabazz, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions, Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Run-DMC, Yo! MTV Raps, Doug E. Fresh, Too Short, Salt-N-Pepa, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Red Alert, Whodini, Brand Nubian, Above the Law, MC Hammer, Oaktown 357, Tone-Loc, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Kool G Rap, King Tee, and Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. On the 1988 track, called "Don't Believe the Hype," Public Enemy told listeners to disbelieve the "hype" created by the media which said that Public Enemy's message is a false one, and Professor Griff writes the following: "To all my Jewish friends, thanx for not believing the hype."

Reference
Professor Griff and the Last Asiatic Disciples: Pawns in the Game, Professor Griff, 1990, Skyywalker Records.

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

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