Coolio Awarded at the 38th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Quote
"I'm seeing bodies in the alley and blood in the Valley, from the shores of Maine all the way to Compton, Cali'; I'm calling rally to the homies in the street life. . . . I'm doing some recruiting to bring more troops in. . . . one day there's gonna be a Final Call. . . . when the revolution come I'm gonna be up front, with my finger on the trigger of a Mossberg pump [shotgun]. . . . with my nine in the air and braids in my hair; make everyone aware that the rebels of riots still smolders in spots like Newark, and Harlem, Chicago, and Watts. . . . but they don't believe it; the revolution is coming with this; you better watch out. . . . black folk. . . . I sing the song of the plight of the black man in America. . . . no longer will I accept second rate; I plan to set the record straight before I get some pay; it's a one-two combination punch to the throat. . . . South Central Los Angeles is a holocaust of flames and smoke as proud black warriors all come forth to reclaim our destiny and restore our hope";
"The Revolution"; Coolio, Gangsta's Paradise, 1995, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner.

Article
      In 1995, Coolio was awarded "Best Rap Solo Performance" for Gangsta's Paradise at the 38th Annual GRAMMY Awards on February 28, 1996. Not only do major music companies promote rappers who put out violently racist lyrics, but so do other major entertainment companies. Hollywood has put Coolio on television for national audiences, most of whom probably have no idea about his racist lyrics.

      His 1994 CD puts out messages that create nothing more than a jumbled collage of constructive and destructive messages. In one song, "Fantastic Voyage," Coolio says that he wants to get away from drug dealing and killing, but in other songs the activities are described as fact with Coolio passing no judgements. ("Mama--I'm in Love wit a Gangsta," "Ghetto Cartoon," "It Takes a Thief," "County Line," "Can-o-Corn," and "Smokin Stix.") He and joining rappers, from his backup group called 40 Thevz, speak positively about smoking marijuana and a drug called "Stix." ("Smokin Stix.") On the one hand, they seem to fret that young blacks kill each other with real guns rather than with toy guns ("I Remember") and that the smoking of crack cocaine is destructive ("N da Closet"); yet, on the other hand, they brag that they are the toughest drug dealers who kill rivals. ("I Remember" and "Thought You Knew.") Coolio uses verb tenses to switch past with present when he brags that he is "a thief and gangsta before [he] was a rap singer," and he describes himself stealing from anyone. He blames his violent past not on himself but on "brokeness." ("Sticky Fingers.") Additionally, Coolio and 40 Thevz fulfill the standard formula of "gangsta" rap when they direct violent imagery at other rappers, being an aspect of the formula which was set in place long before hip-hop music became widespread with many non-blacks listening. ("U Know Hoo," "Hand on My Nutsac," and "Thought You Knew.") Blacks kill blacks for little reason; blacks do what they want to when they deal drugs in order to make thousands of dollars; blacks should wear condoms; and successful blacks, who are called bourgeois-minded-ass house niggas, do not support the ghetto. A word of support is issued to gangbangers: "modern day Babylon, peace to the niggas from the street." "Black cop [and] white cop" should be shot. Gangbangers should make sure that they "bring back something for the 'hood." ("Bring Back Somethin fo da Hood.") Coolio describes as matter of fact that a "nigga got depressed" and got drunk over having to pay for child support after impregnating one of the "ugly bitches" with whom he had sex. It is simply matter of fact that he "went to her house and killed her." ("Ugly Bitches.") He invites listeners, "white or black," to hear the album's lyrical voyage, and he strongly suggests that they bring along guns and extra clips. ("Fantastic Voyage.") He briefly imagines a place where there "ain't no Blooding [and] no CRIPing" ("Fantastic"), but then he says that he, Coolio, writes lyrics "for the Bloods and CRIPS" gangbangers who want to hear about "danger-danger or gangsta-gangsta" ("Hand on My Nutsac"). He speaks approvingly of one lying, conning, and "fronting" in order to get oneself ahead. ("County Line" and "Fantastic Voyage.") Coolio says that "niggas" get killed in the ghetto and that he looks to past "greats" for inspiration. He finds it sound to compare present day predicaments with historical slavery. He will not make "the same mistakes that sealed [his] ancestors' fates," he says, and he would rather be in the "grave" than be a "slave." "The devil" wants his "soul," and his "mind is starving." At the end of the first stanza, he describes himself in a black-on-black gunfight, but, in the beginning of the second stanza, he tells listeners that blacks should settle for fist fights when fighting blacks and should instead fight whites. The following quotes shows how: "now it's time to step into the light; put up your dukes; there's gonna be a fight; and when it's time to fight, you better fight right; because if you don't fight white, out goes the light."

      On his 1995 CD entitled Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio teaches listeners mixed lessons that alternate between responsible and criminal behaviors, such as follows: people should practice safe sex; if a man has sex and the woman gets pregnant, then he should take care of the woman and help raise the child; blacks should watch out for other gangbangers and the police, and they should keep a bullet in the chamber; women who are not promiscuous and work hard deserve praise; criminals who try to get rich quickly always get caught; and record producer's who do not pay a rapper for a platinum album should be killed.

      On the track "Ghetto Highlites," Coolio details ghetto life and "be it wrong or right, right, right, these are the ghetto highlights." He puts his own name into the song saying that he has "homies" that will sell "you" guns or crack. The following stories are relayed to us about the ghetto: a minor attempted to murder someone, and he was caught to be tried possibly as an adult; the minor's mother likely is addicted to crack because she is always broke; young girls are "dressing more and more sleazy"; craps is played there; "Southern California" has "liquor stores and churches on every other corner"; some blacks remember their friends who died in gang violence; a black got himself off of unemployment and Section 8 [federal tax dollars offered for rent] by dealing drugs out-of-state; house-parties there end with gunfights; a black tried to defend himself with his gun when he was shot and killed; crack-heads sell "TV's and VCR's for 40 bucks"; a "homie" robbed a bank, ran from police with TV news covering the chase, and wound up in prison while his little girl was "taking training wheels off her bike"; "crack-head mamas" are "smoking" away county checks; "dope dealers . . . serve nickel pieces for sex"; and blacks go to school to be doctors while there are "late night sounds of gunshots and helicopters."

      He makes a positive reference to Nation of Islam: "o.g.'s joining the Nation and it's all good." ("o.g." means "original gangsta" and refers to a gangbanger who has been in a gang for a number of years.) A guest rapper says that his rap style is "rated-X like Malcolm." ("Exercise Yo Game," featuring E-40, KAM, and 40 Thevz.) On the track called "The Revolution" Coolio announces the following: "I'm calling rally to the homies in the street life. . . . I'm doing some recruiting to bring more troops in. . . . one day there's gonna be a Final Call. . . . when the revolution come I'm gonna be up front, with my finger on the trigger of a Mossberg pump [shotgun]. . . . with my nine in the air and braids in my hair; but they don't believe it; the revolution is coming with this; you better watch out. . . . black folk. . . . I sing the song of the plight of the black man in America. . . . no longer will I accept second rate; I plan to set the record straight before I get some pay; it's a one-two combination punch to the throat. . . . South Central Los Angeles is a holocaust of flames and smoke as proud black warriors all come forth to reclaim our destiny and restore our hope, to make everyone aware that the rebels of riots still smolders in spots" like "Newark, and Harlem, Chicago, and Watts." (The major race riots glorified by Coolio occurred in 1967 at Newark, in the years 1935, 1943, and 1964 at Harlem, and in 1965 at Watts.) In the liner notes, some who were thanked are 40 Thevz, Ras Kass, E-40, Rated R, M.A.A.D. Circle, and Naughty by Nature.

      Coolio repeats his themes on his 1997 album. On one track, he lifts some or all fundamental responsibility off of the backs of blacks who live in predominantly black neighborhoods, and he blames those who lied to "the people back then" for the existence of crimes by blacks. He says the following: "don't blame me if I trespass against you." He is "feeling oppressed and stifled." His ways are "the product of a distant nation" which gave "resistance" instead of "assistance." ("Knight Fall.") He says that he takes "from the richest [and] give[s] it to the poorest." There is a conspiracy, listeners are told as follows: "the master disguised want to see the people die." He makes a positive reference to the rap group Wu-Tang Clan. ("Throwdown 2000.") He expresses disbelief in rappers who, he says, want only fame and money instead of passing along important messages when, all the while, "the threat of this new world order is about to drive [him] crazy." He questions the actions of rappers who, he says, try to take away his fame when, all the while, "the invisible man got [his] back like a spine." ("My Soul.") Additional vocalists and guest rappers were 40 Thevz, Rass Kass, and Malika.

References
It Takes a Thief, Coolio, 1994, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner.
Gangsta's Paradise, Coolio, 1995, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner.
My Soul, Coolio, 1997, Tommy Boy Music, Time Warner.

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

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

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