Sir Mix-a-Lot Awarded at the 35th Annual GRAMMY Awards

Quote
"I've been attacked by the racist scum, and here I come, Klan; run, because revenge is fun. . . . make you tap-dance with a shotgun. . . . meet and greet the Glock 19 in you nostrils; I'll splatter your dreams. . . . dispose of you and your skinhead crew. . . . I dump a hollow-point slug in your windpipe. . . . Nazi. . . . I'm gonna get you back like it ain't no thing. . . . long-range scopes for the whole damn group. . . . the wicked one dropped, two shots in his butt. . . . Satanists, I got to fix them; I want to fix them with a crucifixion; and nail them to a cross and burn them; burn 'em; burn 'em; burn 'em. . . . scandalous skinheads. . . . wrote: death to the black man. . . . I'm gonna cause some pain, physical and mental. . . . blast his skull into pieces of puzzle. . . . skinheads, taking them out, bloodshed, taking them out; caught one of them. . . . .38 straight to his forehead; I hit him hard and he hit the spot. . . . gotta get him back; got to get the gat; got to get the axe; call it the revengeful murderous pact; call it the jackback. . . . black wants payback; I rack up killing stats; now I'm on the hunt with a 12-gauge pump. . . . it ain't done until the punk stops bleeding; watch Kunte Kente get even. . . . I got the metal to his dome, a Desert Eagle dipped in chrome. . . . I'm taking him out; he shouts when the barrel is in his mouth. . . . I got a murderous attitude; I'm gonna put them in a casket mood. . . . American pyscho and I'll smoke any skinhead racist with a black Glock that's in my fist; and the morgue will be packed and bodies stacked. . . . caught the leader of the skinhead clan. . . . a crow bar . . . in the left ear, out the right eye; then I took my knife to his chest, carved a wicked message in the bloody mess; that was a warning for the rest of his pack; this nigga got him with a jackback";
"The Jack Back"; Mack Daddy, Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1992, Def American Recordings, Rhyme Cartel, with Time Warner in 1992.

Article
      Sir Mix-A-Lot was awarded "Best Rap Solo Performance" on February 24, 1993, for "Baby Got Back" from Mack Daddy. On his 1988 solo album, Sir Mix-a-Lot boasts that he makes a lot of money, has great wealth as a result, and has many women begging to be his wife. He says that outraps other rappers, and he uses violent imagery to describe how he would kill other rappers should they challenge him. He says that he is being "serious" when he says that his "intention is to overthrow the rap government," "to take over the rap land." A sexual song is put on the album, and so is a track that labels and describes a type of women that he finds to be ugly. On the track "Iron Man," he says that he is "too black to tan," that he had a hard life in the ghetto, growing up and fighting there, and that he does not use drugs. On the track "Hip Hop Soldier," he says that he will kill blacks who challenge him, and, as some kind of proof of his commitment, he rattles off names of various caliber's or models of firearms. On the same track he says that peace officers cannot be trusted, and he calls on blacks to take up arms. The calls are as follows: "give a criminal a gun, and your public is losing; so you got to fight back because the pigs ain't black; no protection in your section; now it's time to act. . . . you need rapid fire. . . . big battle rifles can make a sucker's day; you mess around with Mix-a-Lot, you might get blown away." On the liner notes he give thanks to Ice-T, Rhyme Syndicate, and NWA.

      Typical hip-hop themes are on his 1989 album. He says that his rap style is "brand new," and he uses violent imagery to describe how he would destroy other rappers. ("Seminar," "I'll Roll You Up," "My Bad Side.") He and his friends have beepers and fancy cars, and they have sex with many women. ("Beepers," "I Got Game," "Something About My Benzo.") He speeds around in his three Mercedes at speeds well over 100 miles per hour, and he reacts to someone on TV who he calls "Mr Lolly" by saying that he is not a "dopeman," by saying that people like "Mr Lolly" hate to see "black success." ("Something About My Benzo.") When a woman becomes a stripper and then eventually a prostitute, she is a "product of the system." ("The--Peek-A-Boo--Game.") Huey P. Newton was shot in cold blood, we are told, and without anything more being said about the Black Panther, he immediately goes on to say that Oliver North was let off easy, and that "Tawana was brutally raped." Those who claim she did it to herself are referred to as "you fools." Gangbangers are "locked in a trap by Republican villains [in] pinstripe suits [who are] experts at killing." We are told that "a black man is dogged by an all white court." For some reason Sir Mix-A-Lot tells listeners that he is not "a Communist." He says that in the system he is "a modern slave." It is "a shame," he says, that "Vietnam vets [are] on the street." He says that "hippies [and] dope-smoking critics" should not blame the Vietnam War on the government, not on vets. "The President is the dope-man's friend," and the rapper raises suspicions about CIA involvement in drug importation. ("National Anthem.") Sir Mix-A-Lot sometimes drives around in a dumpy car, and he has problems with his ex-girlfriend who shot out his car's headlights and who called the cops on him. A policeman who pulls him over says the following: "damn, they all look like Tyson." ("My Hooptie.") He and his friends wear expensive Gortex suits and go around picking up on women. ("Gortex," "My Hooptie.")

      On his 1992 album, Sir Mix-a-Lot's distrust of peace officers echoes again, but this time with a description of an incident. The opening track is about his claims that a white male peace officer in King County, where Seattle is located, pulled him over and beat him. Sir Mix-a-Lot does not indicate he gave a reason for the officer to restrain him, but rather portrays himself as a victim of police brutality. He refers to the officer as "Mr. Officer" and "Officer Friendly." He refers to law enforcement generally as "cops" and "one-time." Sir Mix-a-Lot says that after he was pulled over, the officer called him "Leroy," "Jerome," and "Muhammad," and then told the rapper that he "tear[s] soul brothers apart." We are told that a black female officer showed up, supported the white officer, and also beat the rapper. Sir Mix-a-Lot says that he, along with his team of lawyers, won at trial and that the female officer was fired. He tells listeners that he "fought with the brain and not with the gat [handgun]." ("One Time's Got No Case.")

      Most of the time he suggests to listeners that fighting with the "gat" is the way to act. For example, he repeatedly uses violent imagery to threaten other rappers who talk badly about him. His "gat is [his] lawyer," he says. ("The Boss Is Back.")

      Black identity phrases occur throughout. There are rappers who are not true "gangsta" rappers, he says, for each is really just "another black wanna be" when screaming out about themselves that they are "true black" and that they are "as black as [they] gotta be." They are "faking the rhymes" when they rap "a Malcolm X line." Sir Mix-a-Lot poses the question about who is worse: competing rappers "or the KKK?" Other rappers should not tell him "to stay low in [his] ghetto," because then their wordings are no different than that expressed by "the Klan." Martin Luther "King died so [a black rapper] could buy [his] throne," he says. ("The Boss Is Back.")

      While giving advice in songs to his listeners, he refers to them as "brothers" and "black." In a song about picking up women for sex, he says that he is "calling out skirts like Chuck D." He describes riding around with friends as riding "cartel with Def American [his record label]," and he describes being aroused by the women who they eye and chase after as "getting brothers sprung like Farrakhan." It is unlikely that Sir Mix-a-Lot ever condemned Louis Farrakhan's racist messages.

      The song for which he won the GRAMMY, "Baby Got Back," opens with a woman talking about the large size of another woman's buttocks. The woman who speaks sounds disgusted and says that the woman she is looking at is "just so black" and must be a prostitute. Sir Mix-a-Lot jumps in to announce that he likes "big butts." He goes on to praise women who have larger derrieres, and some such women are so "fine" that "even white boys gotta shout."

      On the track called "Seattle Ain't Bullshittin," he describes his life growing up. While other men have a "nine millimeter image," he boasts that he owns an assault rifle. He does not hate black gangbangers who want to get him, he says, for they are simply jealous of his rap success, and besides, "to the masses" he is "just a coon." In fact, he follows up by giving praise to "the criminal nation."

      However, he makes it clear on another track that he is willing to kill criminals who try to rob him. His house is "full of guns," he warns, and he does "not give a damn about a stupid-ass burglar." Blacks should not be for gun control because then there would be "a bunch of unarmed innocent victims, getting fucked by the system." If guns were banned then criminals would not be stopped. In addition, afterwards the effect would be that "the only ones with guns [would be] the cops," of whom "brothers" have difficulty trusting. He relays a story about police officers who respond after his home is robbed: the "cops laugh while my Mom just sob; 911 only works for the rich ones." Gun control would result in black men becoming criminals because they would go out to buy "hot guns" in order to protect their homes. Blacks should vote against members of Congress who support gun control. ("No Holds Barred.")

      Crack cocaine makes people bow to it, including women and children, and including drug task force officers who get on the take. ("I'm Your New God.") Sir Mix-a-Lot boasts that he is a great rhymer and that he performs "revolutionary lyrics." ("Testarossa.") Sir Mix-a-Lot makes over thirty violently racist phrases in a single track. The violence is directed at any white who Sir Mix-a-Lot perceives as a racist. He labels whites that he condemns to death as "racist scum," "skinheads," "Satanists," Nazis, "the wicked one[s]," the "Ku Klux Klan, and Aryan Nation." He describes killing whites in many ways as follows: shooting whites through their nostrils with a Glock, shooting them in their windpipes, nailing them to crosses and burning them, shattering their skulls with gunfire, using axes to kill them, hunting whites down with shotguns, thrusting gun barrels into their mouths and blowing their heads off, carving messages into their chests with knives, and driving crowbars into their ears, through their heads, and out their eyes. Other weapons of choice for killing whites are high-powered rifles, .38 caliber handguns, 12-gauge shotguns, and .50 caliber Desert Eagles.

      Reasons for killing whites are as follows: Sir Mix-a-Lot has been "attacked by the racist scum"; such whites plan to overthrow the system; they rob blacks; they spray-paint "death to the black man" on walls; they burn crosses; "the wicked one is talking trouble"; they say that blacks are slaves; they want to reincarnate Hitler; they call blacks "African Sambo"; and "revenge is fun." Sir Mix-a-Lot says that he wants to go with other black gangbangers to kill whites they perceive as racists: "call it the revengeful murderous pact; call it the jackback." Whites today should pay with their lives for historical slavery: "watch Kinta Kunte get even. . . . remember the days of slavery; they hung many black men from a tree."

      In the CD's liner notes the following are among a long list of those thanked: God, Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Terminator X, Professor Griff, S1W's, Ice-T, Rhyme Syndicate, MC Ren, Dr Dre, Easy E., Ice Cube, Black Entertainment Television, and MTV.

      On his 1994 album he continues with black identity lyrics. He calls himself "black" and a "black man" on several occasions. Women are called "sisters," "chocolate masterpiece[s]," and "brown sugar."

      The IRS audited him, froze his accounts, and put a lien on his house, he says, because "the IRS has a thing for a brother like [him]." He worries because "this is how Capone got hung." "The government is trying to keep a brother scared," and is "trying to send a brother upstate [to prison] fast." Because the IRS audited him, he asks listeners the following: "who's the real crooks." He says that he has "seen the eyes of the big bad bear." He asks: "why you wanna take my stash, Mr. Governor?" ("Take My Stash.")

      He describes his childhood neighborhood and his growing up years as tough in an effort to challenge younger rappers who say that he did not have a tough life in the ghetto. Young rappers who challenge his authenticity, he says, are hypocrites because, while they do rap about killing, they never held a gun in real life. He says that he went from making money in street-life to making money in a rap career.

      He says that he was influenced by ex-Black Panthers. He says that he will not pimp "sister[s] in the streets," for instead he will "focus on the real enemy"--he will pimp the system, the President being his whore. The "mainstream" wanted him to keep his music clean, but he cannot, he says. ("What's Real.")

      On many of the tracks he boasts that he has sex with many women, and on one track, he says that his "macking" is "keeping Rush Limbaugh restless," and that "now the right-wing want[s] to test [him]." ("Monsta' Mack.")

      "Cops" think that he is a drug dealer when he rides around in fancy cars, and the system wants to send him to prison. He calls competing rappers his "enemies." ("Just Da Pimpin' In Me.")

      He says that rappers who do not keep the money they make are themselves to blame for not handling their business affairs properly. He also says the following on the final track: "a word to the cops, I can't be stopped; a word to my enemies [competing rappers], I don't drop pops [pop hits]; a word to the Klan, I don't pick crops; you can run up with your whips, but you'll just run up and get popped; a word to the Tipper [Gore], rap won't fall; a word to the bourgeois, fuck all y'all; a word to apartheid, you about's to fall; you can kill a couple brothers, but you'll never get us all." ("I Check My Bank.") In the liner notes he thanks Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, who both helped write a track, and Ice-T is also thanked.

References
Swass, Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1988, Def American Recordings, Rhyme Cartel.
Seminar, Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1989, American Recordings, Rhyme Cartel.
Mack Daddy, Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1992, Def American Recordings, Rhyme Cartel, Time Warner.
Chief Boot Knocka, Sir Mix-A-Lot, 1994, American Recordings, Rhyme Cartel, Time Warner.

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

Last editing was posted on 10-29-99, 8-31-99.

The above article is not a complete summary of Sir Mix-A-Lot's connections to violently racist music, and readers may want to research and expose more of it.

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