F*ck tha Police

Problem
Police brutality against African Americans was causing unrest in many communities

Background
"F*ck tha Police" was produced in Los Angeles, California on August 9, 1988

Sample of lyrics
A young n*gga got it bad 'cause I'm brown

And not the other color so police think

They have the authority to kill a minority

F*ck the police

F*ck the police

F*ck the police

F*ck the Police

Events
Instances of police brutality where gang members and many African Americans were being unfairly arrested and killed by cops in LA. The victims were not usually arrested on charges of murder, rape, or robbery, but charged with possession of small amounts of marijuana. The police would usually violently arrest them and then send them to prison ensuring that they could not be released on a bond. In addition, in 1980 the Liberty City section of Miami erupted in protest after the police killing of an unarmed African American man. During a period of three days, 18 people were killed and some 1,000 arrested. Events like these were seen throughout the decade, brewing anger in African American communities throughout the country.

Places
Where instances of police brutality occurred; primarily in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and New York

People
Easy E was the one who proposed the song to Ice Cube; he originally rejected it but eventually decided to help produce and rap in the song. The members of NWA felt like they were part of an African American community that was being unfairly persecuted by the police, causing them to create this song. The people that produced and rapped in this song include Easy E, MC Ren, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, and Dr. Dre.

Relevance
The first three phrases are important because they explain the grievances NWA has against the police and how they are being unfairly treated. The second set of phrases are the most profound phrases from this song, and express the feelings NWA had against the police because of the injustices they faced.

Significance of Song in History
This song was a direct challenge of the authority of the police in the Los Angeles area and was sensational in its blunt language criticizing the police for their violent tactics against gang members and the African American population. In particular, the use of the f-word was especially vulgar, disrespectful to the police, and offended white mainstream sensibilities. Protest songs before "F*ck tha Police" were much more peaceful and less alarming to the general American population, but NWA was able to make a statement with the chorus of their hit song that sparked a movement based off the lyrics, "F*ck tha Police". Movements from the 1990's to today have used this slogan to protest police brutality, unfair arrests, and government corruption. Even NWA said they did not create "F*** tha police" for people to enjoy; they made it specifically for people who wanted to hear the truth.

Contemporary Connections
One contemporary connection is with the Black Lives Matter movement that seeks to highlight police brutality against African Americans. Movements against police brutality in the late 1980's, as embodied in "F*** tha Police", were minimized as gang vs. police conflict. Today's Black Lives Matter movement has been successful because it has moved into the main stream, although it draws from a long history of friction. This song is able to bring awareness for a movement that has been around for decades and still has the power to inspire people to stand up for what they believe is right.

A quote from Ice Cube about "F*ck tha Police"'s relevance today: “I think it just shows the problem at hand. The problem is, first of all the police are trained to win no matter what. Win an argument, win a situation — that’s how they’re taught. You add racism to that and it’s just an evil combination, and people are starting to recognize that. The camera phones, social media, everybody’s more in tune with each other. Things are shown instantly, so it’s really up to the prosecutors and the judge and the politicians to start holding these officers more accountable. Even captains, lieutenants and chiefs have to hold their own officers more accountable for what they do and not always [have] just tons of excuses.”

Trivia

 * 1) The profane language and content in "F*** tha Police" caused this song to be one of the first songs with a parental advisory warning and a censored title.
 * 2) This song caused the FBI to write NWA a letter of disapproval saying they were misrepresenting the police.
 * 3) People on the streets in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in 1996 constantly chanted the lyrics to "F*** tha Police" during protests against electoral fraud.
 * 4) Ice Cube, one of the members of NWA, played a cop in the movie "21 Jump Street".
 * 5) NWA was banned from singing "F*** tha Police" on their 1989 tour of Straight Outta Compton.

Reason we chose this song
We saw the major connection between the issue addressed in this song in current trends impacting society. The Black Lives Matter movement gained a lot of momentum in this decade due to an increased amount of police brutality against African Americans. Both the Black Lives Matter Movement and "F*** tha Police" were able to draw such a large following due to their use of media to convey their sentiments. Popular media has also been used throughout history to draw attention to the need for improving equal civil rights for African Americans in particular. Songs like Nina Simone's "Strange Fruit" (1939) and J. Cole's "Be Free" (2014) were both monumental in bringing attention to important civil rights issues, just like "F*** da Police" was in 1988.