Krayzie Bone

Krayzie Bone's 1999 Album

Quotes
"We the people got the power; let's ride. . . . I get violent. . . . God is passionate and hears the cries of the needy; devils is greedy. . . . wanted to beat you and mistreat you. . . . could never be equal. . . . black women and black men, it's not too late to repent your sin. . . . AK-47. . . . I got the power that can take over the world. . . . into this army suit. . . . we got a million thugs. . . . I'm ready to . . . pump and dump the enemies";
"Power--featuring Thug Queen"; Krayzie Bone, Thug Mentality 1999, 1999, Krayzie Bone Productions, Ruthless Records, Relativity Records, Relativity Entertainment, Red Distribution, Sony.

"Get up, my soldiers, ride. . . . revolution in my heart. . . . revolution on my mind. . . . a revolution is the only way [to] stop this internal warfare. . . . I wanna talk about revolution. . . . it's already 1999; this is real; we ready for revolution. . . . we making a push on Babylon the great. . . . squashing every enemy. . . . we need to suit up in boots; recruit us some troops to start mashing; I'm packing my sawed-off. . . . this one is for the revolution";
"Revolution"; Krayzie Bone, Thug Mentality 1999, 1999, Krayzie Bone Productions, Ruthless Records, Relativity Records, Relativity Entertainment, Red Distribution, Sony.

Article
      Krayzie Bone and guest rappers make calls for revolution on his 1999 solo album that are more direct than such calls made on previous albums. On previous albums the word "revolution" was not often used, and instead the rappers talked about rioting and overthrowing the law. Made up of 38 tracks on two discs, and called Thug Mentality 1999, the album's first disc opens with a call to arms, for thugs to go war against "the opponent," especially against the police. They talk of standing up for what they want and of going to war. A message for their fans is as follows: "I say: we burn this motherfucker down." (From "Intro--Thug Invasion.") There are numerous phrases on the album in which the rappers boast that they will kill peace officers, referring to officers as po-po's, coppers, the police, the law, and the enemy. On the few occasions in which the rappers speak of bringing about peace among black gangbangers, they drown out those messages with louder threats to kill rivals. On one track, for example, "peace" is mentioned, but then threats to greet rivals with "heaters [handguns]" is said more loudly. ("Relay--Thugline--featuring Relay.") The rappers threaten to kill "haters," and they call themselves "real soldiers" who are "coming to get the riot started." ("Thugz All ova the World.")

      "We've been poor long enough," they holler, and asks fans if they can "feel that ghetto love." They address people who they refer to as "my people" or as "street people." Listeners are told that "the system" gives out "welfare" because there is "guilt on they conscience." Blacks should attack police officers like "beasts" because officers "treat us like animals." For the time being, there are some people who smoke "crack" and the rappers' people are the ones who work 9-to-5, but with the world ending soon, the rappers say, they will become "full-time soldiers." The Bible gives people two choices, either repent or die. ("Street People.") The world is in "combat," and the "real motherfucking thugs" should put their "guns in the motherfucking air." ("World War.") The rappers say that they deal drugs in order to end their poverty and that they are "marching, ready for war; buck the law [because] they ain't on our side." They say that they are "so sick of oppression." ("Pimpz, Thugz, Hustlaz, & Gangstaz.") They and their "niggas" are marching in "big black boots" and in "fatigue suits; ready to shoot, running with the AK-47." Their "army" has a strategy, they say, and the enemy is the police. Guest rapper Snoop Doggy Dog talks of his "entourage" being in "camouflage." The tracks ends with the following threat: "more dead enemies I count up, the merrier. . . . fuck all you player haters and you po-po's; fuck all you politicians; this is war; dedication to the criminal nation; let the real thugs even the score. . . . that's exactly how we play, screaming bloody 'Murder Mo' all day; the buckshot's spray daily." ("The War Iz On--featuring Snoop Doggy Dog, Kurupt, Layzie Bone.")

      The rappers imagine that when they die, they will face the devil, holding shovels, and will challenge the devil with the following words: "brace yourself." ("When I Die.") They call themselves "black nigga killers," "realer gravediggers," former dope dealers, and "Natural Born cap-peelers [cap meaning cranium]." Whenever a CRIP or a Blood sees a "thug," he better "show some love" to the thug. ("Thug Alwayz.") The purpose of their crime, they say, is to take from the rich, to keep some of the booty for themselves, and to "give the rest to the poor." The enemy must be terminated and eliminated, and the enemy is not ready for the war. Fans are told to keep their "suits on [and] boots on, [to] keep trooping on. . . . across the nation," and to pump their fists. They ask the Lord to "maintain" them while they are soldiers at war. ("Thug Mentality.") Krayzie Bone calls on blacks, who he describes as "dressed in fatigues" and as "military-minded," to go to the prisons in order to "free all the convicts, and let the killers ride with us." He proposes to "get rid of the law," and the crime will not stop "until they 'Body Rott," being a reference to a Bone Thugs-N-Harmony song in which white police officers are singled out. Listeners are reminded of blacks who have died, and then are told to "keep popping at these coppers." ("Where My Thugz At.") It is good to smoke marijuana. ("Smokin Budda" and "Smoke & Burn--featuring Up In Clouds.") The rappers describe themselves as committing armed robbery because they desperately need to put food on the table. All police officers must be killed, they declare, and they say that committing crimes helps out "the revolution." "Because we simply get the raw end," they threaten, "let the law end." ("Won't Ez Up Tonight.") Nearly every one of the 38 tracks praises criminals and calls on gangbangers to commit more crime. The female artist Mariah Carey, who was awarded GRAMMY's in 1991, joins in on a track in which she imagines keeping her love for Krayzie Bone who describes himself as a "cold-hearted" thug. Mariah Carey's character does not show concern for Krayzie's boasts of thuggery, for she cares only about "our loving, baby." ("I Still Believe.")

      The end of the world is coming soon on the "wicked planet," they forebode, so they resolve to "call in the soldiers" in order to be "ready to bomb back on them." "The soldiers" should know the enemy's position at all times. ("We Starvin.") A racial interpretation of the scriptures is given in the following way: "God is so passionate and hears the cries of the needy; devils is greedy." Blacks could never be equal to whites in the system, Mo Thug rapper Thug Queen says, and whites are referred to in the following way: those who "beat you and mistreat you, and at the same time have a smile when they greet you." Thug Queens says that the rappers are "Revelation angels." Blacks should keep their "eyes posted high into the sky." Taking crime to whites is called for in the following phrase: "we the people got the power; let's ride." "We've got a million thugs," they say, and they are ready to "pump and dump the enemies." Listeners are warned about "they," that "they got a plan to try to kill us all." ("Power--featuring Thug Queen.") "Babylon the great has fallen," while "offspring's of the Wicked One" crawl around. Listeners are told to prepare for Armageddon, and the rappers declare that "it's time to recruit" for "this war," in which blacks should "be prepared to shoot" whenever they loot. Blacks who know better must teach other blacks to get themselves together before they are "marked by the Beast" for eternal damnation during Armageddon. There is a description of catastrophes that come with the opening of the Seventh Seal. ("Armageddon--featuring Souljah Boy, Mo! Hart, Thug Queen, and Felecia.") "Revolution is the only way " to stop black-on-black "warfare," says Bob Marley in a song sample. (Bob Marley, the black raggae artist, pushed Rastafarianism with his music. Rastafarianism originated in Jamaica, and it adherents hold that at the beginning of the new millennium blacks will be led back to Ethiopia, "the promised land." Rastafarianism has a history of pushing black nationalism, of calling for revolution to supersede white dominated societies, and of promoting black supremacy.) Blacks are told to "ride with the warriors" and make "a push on Babylon the great." Blacks will bomb the police and squash the enemy. Listeners must "recruit us some troops [in order] to start smashing." The song is dedicated as follows: "this one is for the revolution." ("Revolution--featuring The Marley Brothers.")

Reference
Thug Mentality 1999, Krayzie Bone, 1999, Krayzie Bone Productions, Ruthless Records, Relativity Records, Relativity Entertainment, Red Distribution, Sony.

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

Last edited September 30, 1999.

The above is not a complete summary of Krayzie Bone's connections to violently racist music, and readers may want to research and expose more of it.

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