Downset. – Downset.
Released
in 1994
I can still remember the day I discovered Downset. It was in high
school, on a t-shirt. I did not know at the time, but the image I saw
was the cover of their self-titled album. It came as a surprise.
Without context. For all I knew, the person wearing the t-shirt was
into metal, but this seemed different. The image most definitely
exhuded heavyness. However, there was an element of austerity to it.
Something angry and political. I had seen cover art for Metallica’s
albums. I had seen Slayer’s. This wasn’t it. A face blindfolded
by lies. A person with the American flag as a gag. A battlefield, in
the background and the Constitution written in a burning sky. At a
time when I was obsessed with punkrock, most of my favorite bands
conveyed political ideas and discontent, but it was intertwined with
lighter themes. I was unable to imagine any lightness about what I
was looking at. I made a mental note to look them up, when I got the
chance. Keep in mind this was before the Internet allowed you access
to a worldwide library of pretty much all that crosses your mind. IF
you had a computer at home, and IF you had a dial-up connection, and
IF your siblings were not spending their entire evenings on the
phone, and IF someone or some record label had a webpage, you might
be lucky enough to catch a .wav with an excerpt of a song. I imagine
the mental note was buried under a thousand others as it was some
time later the idea of looking them up crossed my mind while I was on
the computer. What I heard put things into perspective. It was a
blend of worlds that did not often cross paths. It was rap. It was
metal. It was angry. It was focused. It was no-non-sense. Tapping
into that corner of your personality that would not take it anymore.
Perfectly eye-opening and proper for a teenager with authority
issues. But, how so?
Anger
Anger
Hostility towards the opposition
187
LA trademark
Don’t come to the killing fields if you ain’t
got no fucking heart
‘Cause Willie, Ira and Daryl will get you
Got you
Fucked up and dead will be the way you walk
Damn right
I hate LA swine with a passion G
‘Cause my pops was killed by the fucking LAPD
Yes, they killed my daddy
Yup, they killed my daddy
And if I don’t blast ‘em back, you know they gonna’ fucking
kill me
Do me like they did Latasha
Back turned from a gat
Hollow tip to the dome they got ya
April 29
LA swine not guilty
Fools down for the payback on Florence and Normandie
Anger
I’m coming straight from the LA concrete
True blue motherfucker about four generations deep
But who’s the real motherfucker, though
And what does that fake know about motherfucking South Central?
Fool!
What you know about a set or a sign, fake motherfucker
Never ever seen a nine
But if I catch you slippin’ punk, I’m gonna’ fade ya
‘Cause y’all ain’t down with that ghetto perpetrator
Anger
I got that anger
Drop that motherfuckin’ anger
April 29, Florence to Normandie
Jack for my human rights you’re about to catch a puu puu!
818
Yes, they breed the killer
213
Yes, they breed the killer
310
Yes, they breed the killer
They breed the killer, yes they breed the killer
The city of LA
[…] they breed the killer
Straight to a tomb, fool
Bust a cap in them
Seemingly rare are the hardcore and punk records that begin with a
few lines spoken over no music. All sampling excluded, of course.
Although not entirely unique, this element of surprise is
destabilizing and succeeds in commanding the listener’s attention
on what is being said, as there is litterally nothing else going on.
Reminiscent of what is now known as Slam, one can imagine a dark room
with a spotlight on Rey Oropeza. The focus is on words and what is
being said. The image being conjured. So, anger is being directed at
an opposition, but who would the opposed parties be?
Street culture will be very present throughout the record, and the
way the ice is broken is symbolic of exactly that. The term “187”,
the first words pronounced over music, referring to the Penal Code
187 of the Law Code of the State of Californiai,
is a prominent image in gangsta rap, all over the world. Those
familiar with the genre will undoubtedly be accustomed to it, by now.
Among the most famous examples of its use would be Dr. Dre and
Snoop’s Deep Cover songii,
released in 1992, or Master P’s Time for a 187iii.
The term has become synonymous with murder, as it is indeed the
subject of this particular penal code. More precisely, the “unlawful
killing of a human being, or a fetus, with malice aforethought”
(Appendix D, p.2). Interestingly, the code contains provisions for 25
and 20 year sentences of imprisonment for people recognized guilty of
killing a police officer performing their duty or for people firing
firearms from a motor vehicle (Appendix D, p.3). This detail is made
interesting by the idea that Dr. Dre and Snoop refer to the code in
order to image the murder of an undercover cop, that street gangs
have popularized “drive-bys”, and that Downset. are referring to
the code to address the subject of police brutality. Therefore, the
reference to the code, in this present instance, does not seek to
establish street credibility, but rather sets the table perfectly for
the issue about to be presented. It is not simply thrown lightly. It
is opening the meeting with the first item on the order of the day.
As the context of police brutality has not yet been established when
murder is established as an “LA trademark,” one may make the
assumption that it refers to the quantity of murders performed in the
streets of Los Angeles. However, in retrospect, after the theme of
police brutality has been established, it becomes a comment on its
alarming recurrence. So alarming, in fact, that a great deal of heart
will be required for anyone desiring to survive in such an
environment.
The link with the police is drawn so directly that individuals are
being called out by name. It could be argued that Willie, the first
in the trilogy of names called upon, is a reference to William H.
Parker, who was Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from 1950
through 1966iv.
He was chief of the department on August 11th 1965, when
riots erupted after things escalated between the police and the
community, near Avalon Boulevard and Imperial Highway. A California
Highway Patrol officer named Lee Minikus stopped Marquette Frye for
possible drunk driving and a few hundreds of people started gathering
around them. The help of the Los Angeles Police Department was
requested and things went South, figuratively speaking. These events
are now referred to as the 1965 Watts Riots. Six days of turmoil,
resulting in over thirty deaths, thousands of injuries and arrests,
and millions of dollars in damages. The Civil Rights Digital Library
states that they were the “largest and costliest urban rebellion of
the Civil Rights erav.”
According to issue 72 of the Los Angeles Police Museum dating back to
April and May 2016 (referenced above), police officers placed part of
the blame for the events that took place on a “community out of
control” (p.11). Government investigations into the events
identified “unemployment and poverty as contributing to the riots”
(p.11). Although these factors were highlighted by the commission
mandated to take a closer look at the causes and the way events
unfolded, the Civil Right Digital Library states that “city leaders
and state officials failed to implement measures to improve the
social and economic conditions of African Americans living in the
Watts neighborhood.” The Watts Riots occuring during William H.
Parker’s time as Chief of Police, combined to the impression of
failure to effect positive change to the living conditions of the
community could be the reason why Willie would be out to “get you.”
The second of the names listed could refer to Ira Reiner, who was
the 39th District Attorney of Los Angeles, from 1984 to
1992vi.
According to a Metropolitan News-Enterprise article, after thirteen
months in office, Reiner announced that two murder suspects would be
extradited to a different state for prosecution before he was
corrected by the Governor’s Officevii,
stating it was not his decision to order extradition. He also dropped
charges against five people charged in the McMartin Pre-School child
molestation case, a case that had been started by his predecessor.
These details contribute to the establishment of Mr. Reiner’s
character. Of greater pertinence to the subject at hand, however, his
name is more likely listed next to Willie and Daryl’s names because
of his involvement in the Rodney King case and the 1992 Los Angels
riots. A pattern emerges, with the second reference to riots sparking
from police intervention. According to a Los Angeles Times article
from 2016 about the 1992 LA Riots, Reiner said he called then Chief
of Police Daryl Gates to implore him to take action only to realize
the latter was incapable of itviii.
However, a more critical point would be the acquittal of the four
police officers responsible for the beating of Rodney King which
triggered the riotsix.
The jury gave their verdict on April 29th, 1992x.
As to the direct involvement of Ira Reiner, according to another
Metropolitan News-Enterprise article, he was blamed for not putting
King on the witness stand and for not resisting sufficiently a
transfer of the case from the Los Angeles County to the Simi Valley
one, with an “African American population of about 1.5 percent.”
His involvement in the trial characterized as ineffective in
obtaining a conviction for the police officers caught on tape beating
Rodney King may be the reason why he could be perceived as out to
“get you.”
The last of the three names might be a reference to Daryl Francis
Gates, who was the Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from
1978 to 1992xi.
He was placed on administrative leave, in 1991, after the assault on
Rodney King by four Los Angeles police officers, confirming the
pattern that was emerging with the first two names listed. On the
first day of the riots, a truck driver was pulled from his truck and
beaten to death, at the intersection of Florence and Normandie
avenues, an intersection mentioned at the end of the song. On a side
note, when Gates was 16, he apparently punched a police officer when
being given a ticket, but the charges were dropped after he
apologized. I am leaving this here in case anyone would attempt at
building a racial profiling argument or debate the double standards
of privilege. Furthermore, still according to his obituary
referenced, earlier, as a police officer, Gates patrolled during the
1965 Watts riot, who also involved the arrest of a motorist. On a
second and final biographical side note regarding Gates, he
apparently helped create the Police Quest: Open Season and Swat video
games. In retrospect, this taps into a certain nostalgia for the
1990’s, as I have fond memories of playing the second title from
that franchise, way back when. That was way before I was introduced
to the ACAB acronym. Not to imply that I completely adhere to the
latter, even though I may understand the sentiment, especially when
it comes to profiling. Gates’ involvement in both the 1965 Watts
Riots and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots supports the idea that he is
indeed the one referenced in the list of names of people out to “get
you.”
Rey Oropeza’s anger is not directed at only these three
individuals, however, but at the entirety of the “LA swine.” This
visceral hatred stems from personal past experience, as Rey indicated
in a piece written on Downset.’s website about Anger, back
in 1994. In this piece, he states that:
I
must say that my resentment and anger can be heard in this song. When
your loved ones are murdered by the hands of this system and you are
exposed to a lifelong dreary existence at the mercy of the welfare
system and practically useless schooling by the LAUSD, I will
garantee you that you will build and feel a hate that only a starving
poor ghetto-barrio child could fully understand. Driving down the 101
freeway with my homeboy Joke through downtown L.A. I could barely see
the tall corporate skyscrapers of this modern babylon through the
dingy grey blackened smoke. Within and interwined in these clouds of
ashes and smoke I could see thousands of my native american ancestors
faces. Limitless corrupted police beatings, dead starving children,
homeless, jobless, crying mothers, murders, countless Daryl Gates
LAPD and FBI and CIA evil plans, numerous rapes, beggars in the
streets, child pronography rings, endless covered up police and
government scandals under the name of national security, and even the
spirits of of my dead homeboys and my father's soul rising into the
sky into the arms of the great spirit.
The
anger of a generation was being heard all over this world and I knew
from this day on that the people of L.A. would never be the same
after this. It was the beginning of the end. Anger. Anger. On April
29 of 1992 love
was gone and hatred in the hearts of man was more important than
compassion. It is inevitable in a society that treats people like
animals... I am not an animal and have been treated like one. I am
the descendent of the Native American. I am not an animal or a
wetback... I am a human being and as human as ones you love. I am
humanity. xii
Not only does this quote confirms the identity of the Daryl
mentioned in the song, it also provides a much more detailed backdrop
to the song, with both a source for the anger expressed rooted in
personal tragedy and an actual witness account for the riots. Rey
confesses as much as he reveals his “pops was killed by the fucking
LAPD.” The argument is moving further and further away from a
generic ACAB cry. There is cause for the outrage.
Combined with the anger expressed is the expression of an intent, as
Rey states that he has to “blast ‘em back.” Rey feels compelled
and obligated to retaliate in some way because, otherwise, he fears
he will be the next one to go. His own personal history, as well as
the recurrence of police brutality demonstrated by the police
department has instilled an anger in the singer’s heart and calling
them out in Anger is the way
he might have selected
to fire back at them. Raising
the audience’s awareness to the cause might just be the way to
effect positive change from the riots, potentially succeeding where
the authorities have failed, time
and again.
So
much violence transpires from Anger,
and it does not only originate from gang culture or police brutality.
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots were not a reaction to an isolated event.
The beating of Rodney King was a tipping point for an unrest that had
been accumulating through years and years. One event part of that
accumulation would be the March 16th
1991 murder of Latasha Harlins by a Korean-American
store owner because she thought the victim was stealingxiii.
She
was shot in the back of the head while trying to exit the store after
a scuffle with the owner over the accusations. Hence
the lines
“back turned from a gat / Hollow point to the dome.” The
police found 2$ on
Latasha’s body, indicating that she had been trying to pay for the
orange juice she had put in her backpack. Sounds
familiar? Thought it was a stereotype? Some
of you might have seen the Hughes Brothers’ 1993 movie Menace II
Society. The intro to the movie portrays the characters of O Dog and
Caine going to get OE’s from a Korean-American-owned
convenience store only
to
be pressed to make their purchase and leavexiv.
Not to spoil the movie for anyone who has not yet seen this classic,
but, in retrospect, perhaps
the outcome could be argued to be a reaction to Latasha’s murder.
Not necessarely a way to make wrong things right, but maybe a form of
revenge. The Wayans Brothers’ 1996 movie Don’t Be A Menace to
South Central While Drinking your Juice in the Hood also parodies the
Menace II Society introduction scenexv.
Even
though the latter is a parody movie, it does contribute to the
establishment of the stereotype by offering an echo, some years
later. If
not the origin of the idea that Korean-owned supermakets in the Los
Angeles area were hostile towards young african americans, the murder
of Latasha Harlins did attract the “wrath of the neighborhood.”
How
could a 25 square mile area of a city attract so much racism and
injustice? The
above-referenced LA List article mentions that “[t]ensions had been
building for years between blacks who lived in South L.A.
Korean-Americans who, like the Dus, ran businesses there.” This
supports the idea that unrest had been growing and those in positions
of power were either not paying attention, taking
appropriate actions,
or underestimating the consequences. By
referencing to Latasha Harlins, Rey Oropeza not only weaves yet
another charged piece of violent history into his backdrop, but he
also details how hopeless an environment Los Angeles might have been
from a young person growing up. In order to simply survive, one would
have to survive gang violence, police brutality, harassment and
racism, amongts other hurdles. When
some of these elements mix together, over time, a vicious cycle may
form. For example, according to the same LA List article, weeks prior
to the murder of Latasha Harlins, the son of store owner had to
testify in court against gang members who had been stealing and
harassed employees. The prevalence of gang culture impacted the
community and contributed to the development of racist stereotypes
directed at innocent by-standers, who were then literally caught in
the crossfire. The
tragedy then fanned the flame of another growing racist stereotype,
building up an unrest that exploded into riots because of police
brutality. On
the subject of racism, on May 31st,
1994, before playing My American
Prayer,
Rey Oropeza said: “[w]e’re
from Los Angeles and there’s a big problem there, and it’s called
racism. Black Power is bullshit. White Power is bullshit. Any
race that has a philosophy that says you’re better than anybody
just because of genetic values is a lie. The only superiority you
have in this world is the fucking chance to be the best individual
you can in this lifetime. Very
simple. Racism is a myth. It’s bullshit.”xvi
By
this point, references to April 29, not guilty verdicts for police
officers or a community out for payback at the intersection of
Florence and Normandie have been explained. With
the following lines, Rey Oropeza stakes his claim by stating that he
is a product of the described environment. The
expression “true blue” could be expressing loyaltyxvii
to the place in which he grew up. His statement is used as a way to
establish that he knows what he has been talking about, as opposed to
fakes who would express opinions about South Central without having
first-hand experience of gang violence. On May 31st,
1994, before Downset. played Breed the Killer,
Rey stated that “[g]ang
violence is not to be glorified
or to be made
fun of.”xviii
This supports the idea that
he takes the situation very seriously and that he does not condone
gang activity. Interestingly, on July 27th,
2014, before playing Empower
at the This is Hardcore 2014
festival, Rey dedicates the
song as he says:
“This one goes out to Roger. It goes out to Freddy, Hoya,
Ezec, the whole DMS crew. It goes out to all my lion brothers and
sisters in the house today. Keep it coming. This country will never
be complete until we figure out who killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
We will not be the country that we were meant to be until we find out
who did that to him, to Biggie, and everybody else…”xix
What makes it interesting is that the quote expresses the complex
relationship between gang culture and Civil Rights. It is
simultaneously saluting crews, which could be argued to be a synonym
for gang, and acknowledging the importance of the fight for Civil
Rights.
An alternate version of this song appears on the Our Suffocation
demo, in which Rey calls out Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the
Machinexx,
in the second verse, saying :
And what does Rage know about motherfucking South Central
Zach whatcha’ know about a set or a sign
Fake motherfucka’ never even seen a nine
But if I catch you slippin’ punk
I’m gonna’ fade ya
This
is a direct reference to the Rage Against the Machine song Settle
for Nothingxxi,
from
their self-titled album released on November 3rd,
1992, in
which Zack says “I got a nine, a sign, a set, and now I got a
name.” The
song critiques gang culture being passed down from generation to
generation. Rey’s
point of contention might have been that Zack would not have
sufficient experience of gang culture to denounce it. As though you
would have to be a German to denounce the Nazis? It might give weight
to a statement, but it should not be the first requirement, should
it? Moreover,
according to a biography on the ThoughtCo website, Zack de la Rocha
lived part of his childhood in Lincoln Heights, Los Angelesxxii.
If gang culture was as widespread as Rey Oropeza suggests, it is
possible that Zack would have been close enough to experience either
some form of it or its impact on the community, living
less than an hour away from the area where the riots took place.
About
the change in the lyrics for Anger
between the Our Suffocation demo and the self-titled album, guitar
player Rojelio Lozano explained, in a 2024 interview, that “[i]t
had different lyrics and they were directed at somebody, at Zack
de la Rocha, […] and, so, then, we changed it because we just
didn’t… Actually, I, myself, made him change the lyrics because I
didn’t want to have any kind of friction with anybody and make
enemies right away. Getting in this business, you know, and, right
off the bat you have enemies. So, we changed it, and it was still
successful for us and it turned out… […] I
bring it up because Nuclear Blast also put out a 7 inch of the first
demos […] and it has the original version. At
first I was reluctant to having it released, I was like, ‘are they
gonna’ bring back bad memories and make enemies again…’ You
know, it’s part of our history. It’s part of our past.”xxiii
The idea that the lyrics were changed at
the demand of Rojelio does not indicate a change of mind from Rey
Oropeza about Zack de la Rocha’s street credentials, but the lyrics
were changed, nonetheless. Hence, one
may argue that politics influenced their art. Making
things a step more complex is the idea that Downset. covered Inside
Out’s Burning Fight
on their May 31st,
1994 show at Rio’s Bradford. Inside Out being Zack de la Rocha’s
second
band. Before playing the song, Rey says “this one is about putting
up with all the rockstar bullshit. ‘Cause there’s a lot of
assholes out there that always tries to put somebody down for no
reason.” Could
this have been a way to make amends? Does
that make his commitment to fade him if he were to catch him slipping
invalid? Or
does it display a certain maturity occurred, somewhere along the
lines?
Similarly
to the way the song started placing focus on the angry reaction
directed at forces of oppression, the repetition of the date over and
over again attempts at making sure its importance is not
underestimated and that it will not be forgotten. At
the very least, it states that they will not forget if the
authorities have.
Foreshadowing
Breed the Killer,
a song appearing later on the album, the ending of the song lists
three area codes, stating that they are breeding grounds for killers.
The first of these area codes, 818, corresponds to the San Fernandino
Valley region of Los Angelesxxiv.
The
second one, 213, “serves the central region of Los Angeles.”xxv
Finally,
the last area code listed, 310, serves Los Angeles as well as other
surrounding cities.xxvi
By
listing these area codes covering a large portion of Los Angeles and
its surrounding area, indicating that they generate killers, Rey
indicates that the cycle of violence maintained by gang culture,
police brutality and racism, is not centralized in South Los Angels,
but widespread throughout.
Ritual
Do you know what it is like to run?
Do you know what it is like to live in fear?
Because she knows what it’s like to run
Because she knows what it’s like to live in fear
Rape ritual
How can I stand in silence while you are raping my sister?
Ritual!
Throw it in the wind because I ain’t with that
Say, what have we done with mother, sister, daughter, lover?
Beat them down to submission
Into that corner of constant fear
Humanity reduced to a sexual commodity, objectification, pretty faces
Molded imagery
Damn they drop the dirty mack demands
She’s more than booty to me
Bypass
her sexuality
Tradition
Your
sexism is what you want me to learn
Surrender
gender hatred
Fade
it to kill it
Compassion
returns
One
out of three, and they say my sisters are free
Incarcerated
by hatred
Propagated
by sodomy
Continual
ritual
Victimizing
my sister
Physical
rape is psychological murder
Ritual!
Jenny!
Hoe! Slut! Trick! Bitch! Buddy!
Terms
that burn in our popular brutality
That
media camera’s at you
Trying
to show you what’s up
Illusion
magazine
Fantasy
got you fiending to bust a nut
Body
identity suffocates in her nudity
She’s
dying inside
Fashion’s
asking
Won’t
let her be
Strip
her to flesh for apathetic male ego
You
bet the set ain’t down with your wack rape ritual
We
got to meet this hate with love
We
got to meet this hatred with love
Why
do we fall for it? Fuel it?
Sexual
violence equality?
Please
So-called
alternative movement statistics never confess her wounded aloneness
Internal
inferno
Locked
away
Calm
diminishment
Sharon
Stone, you ain’t all that
Madonna,
you ain’t all that
Sell
you shallow shock value
Charade
is wack
Sister,
put a fist in what’s expected of you
Deny!
Defy!
False
definition of you, too
There’s
no excuse for this brutality or this lack of humanity
Rape
ritual
I
say I throw you into the wind
I
say your traditions means nothing to me
Similarly
to how Anger presented the
violent environment of Los Angeles to an audience that might be
unaware, informing an outside
world of a reality that contrasts their,
Ritual introduces
another victim’s point of view. This time, the issues
at hand are
rape and
the subjugation of women. By
showing rape as a ritual, Downset. is suggesting that rape does not
occur randomly, all over the country. It posits that it has become
part of a
culture. That the horrible act has perhaps taken a more subtle and
insidious form, through
normalization.
Just
as police brutality had been identified as a trademark of Los
Angeles, the word is once more applied. By
referring to the victims of rape as “mother, sister, daughter,
lover,” Rey removes the distance that desensitization
would have
placed between the victims and the perpetrators or
the audience and the issue.
Once the listeners are able
to imagine the victims as loved ones, it becomes more difficult to
ignore the issue or turn a deaf ear to it. Interestingly,
the victims may be people close to the public, but so may
the perpetrators. A
retrospective study published on the National Library of Medicine
comparing sexual assaults
done by strangers in comparison to those done by people known to the
victims observed that, in 76%
of the cases they reviewed, the sexual assault had been committed “by
a person known to the victim.”xxvii
Moreover, 68% of the assailants of these cases were acquaintances of
the victims. 21% of the 849 cases reviewed identified the perpetrator
as the “boyfriends
or spouses.”
This is corroborated by the
Amnesty International website.xxviii
When Rey asks his
question, making sure the
victims are identified as direct relatives or intimate partners, he
highlights the alarming nature of inflicting such suffering on those
we claim to love.
The
point of view of the victims adopted by Rey describes victims being
forced to both “run” and “live in fear.” Rey
calls upon the audience’s empathy, asking them to place themselves
in the shoes of these victims. He describes the living conditions of
these victims as beaten “down into submission / into that corner of
constant fear.” These acts
can take various forms. It can take the shape of objectification,
exploitation, sexism, or the
actual physical act. As
to the source of the
influence for such behaviors, one potential suspect could be
the society standards for beauty. Keep
in mind this song was released around four
years prior to the release of Britney Spears’ Baby One
More Timexxix,
which, it could be argued,
triggered the appearance of the debate on
the oversexualization of teenagers in popular culture (for
the generation who grew up in the ‘90’s, at least).
Shedding a light on how these
people we should love must be feeling and all these processes ranging
from subtle, unconscious influence to all out physical pain being
inflicted, Rey Oropeza is stating that society is overdue for an
examination of its conscience.
In
a 2017 article published on Frontier in Psychology, Bhuvanesh Awasthi
reviewed various studies and new findings related to the role of
appearance, objectification, perception in instances of assaultxxx.
The abstract of the article
states that “[s]exual violence is a consequence of a dehumanized
perception of female bodies that agressors acquire through their
exposure and interpretation of objectified
body images” (p. 1). The
claims that rape victims were asking for it because of the way they
dressed have been heard too often, throughout the world, but
when does attraction and arousal turn into objectification? And when
does objectification motivate assault? Amongst
the studies reviewed for the Bhuvanesh article, one observed that
“when wearing underwear or a swimsuit, a person could be viewed as
a mere body that exists for the pleasure and use of others (Bartky,
1990)” (p.2-3). Another
study
observed that “focus on appearance rather than on personality
diminished the degree of human nature attributed to females (Heflick
and Goldenberg, 2009)” (p.3). The
less human nature one confers to a person, the more they
objectify them. Other studies
reviewed observed that “[s]exual objectification has more adverse
consequences for women than for men (Moradi and Huang, 2008; Saguy et
al., 2010; Gervais et al., 2011), affecting mental health,
intellectual performance and increasing the risk of depression (Jack,
1991; Whiffen et al., 2007)” (p. 3) and that “[o]bjectification
also tends to make women behave as lesser beings in social
interactions (Saguy et al., 2010)” (p. 3). These
observations support Rey Oropeza’s message as they identify women
as suffering more negative
impacts of objectification than men. The
Bhuvanesh article also looked at the experiments conducted by Vaes et
al., in 2011xxxi,
that indicated “that only objectified women were associated with
less human concepts” (p. 3) and
“that sexually objectified women shift a man’s focus toward a
female target, away from her personality and more onto her body,
triggering a dehumanization process” (p. 3). The
same experiments also observed the perceptions of women towards other
women, who reacted “by distancing themselves from the sexualized
representations of their own gender category” (p.3). Rey
pointing a finger at “molded imagery” as sharing part of the
blame in the negative way in which women are treated is therefore
supported by many studies observing the impact of appearance in the
objectification of people and the effects objectification has on the
perception of others.
On
a piece describing the motivation behind writing Ritual
on Downset.’s website, Rey wrote:
Rape…
physical rape. The raping of women is the physical manifestation of a
society that continually prop[a]gates
women as being nothing more than sexual objects and sexual
commodities. Out of all our songs, this statement is one [of]
the
most valued to me (Rey). I do think that most people do not really
understand the immense size of this problem, it affects 1 out of
every 3 women and 2,000 rapes a day is a burden that sets in my
deepest of self. It's everywhere I go... TV, sexist music,
billboards, etc... this illicit sexual propaganda is everywhere and
it's shoved down my throat. I wish I could eject it but it's still in
the air and worse than that, the majority of people in this age just
don't give a fuck!
We
are exposed to a continual false definition of womanhood. Is the
shock value traits Madonna and Sharon Stone, etc. the sure and true
definition of modern day females? I think not. I myself have talked
to many women who are mostly under the age of 25 and most of them are
hurt and sickened at the treatment they get from the male populus.
Also their cry silent opposition to many actresses and performers of
all kind because they feel that most males get their definition of
womanhood through the eyes of the high sexual media imagery and
through the sexually blated modern day definition of this brutal
popular culture.
There
is more to a woman than her breast[s], legs, eyes, face, hair, skin,
etc... What have we done? In the name of all that is right! What have
we done to our sisters? In the name of our corporate economy which
parasites and targets our animal nature and sexuality. In the name of
our modern day entertainment we have reduced women's modern day
purpose to be nothing more than sexual. In my opinion, bulimia,
anorexia, insecurity, obsessive body consciounsness, self-hatred,
feeling of weakness and low self[-]esteem are all results of our
plastic narrowed definition. A magazine movie womanhood.
I
must say that I am a male. A heterosexual male who has a deep feeling
and hurt about rape and it's victims. I have never been sexually
assaulted so I can understand only a fragment of this. What the fuck
are we going to do about this brutality against our sisters? I feel
so fucking angry! I swear I feel so hurt! What more can I say to have
you reconsider your gluttonous sexual demands and attitudes. I do not
feel like I have said enough in this explanation to have you fully
grasp a woman's feelings as a rape victim but I can tell you that I
believe that if we do not reconstruct our society's treatment of
womanhood and try to stop and at least be objective to the exploiting
propaganda we are exposed to everyday, that the savage and brutal
rapes and treatment of women is an unnavoidable occurrence in our
modern times.
Is
it really fucking worth it? NO! Fuck no! If you are a victim of rape
it is not your fault and you are not to blame! I have faith in my
sisters! You can overcome this theivery.. is this a sexual
exploitation? I think it's a fair question. My feelings are with you
my sisters.xxxii
The
complacency of a society allowing half of its population to be
sujected to the various forms of rape transpires from the quote, and
it
only
facilitates the assimilation of the stereotypes of beauty vehicled by
the media, implanting a “false definition of womanhood” in
the minds of people all over the world. These
images, capitalizing on a certain thirst and attraction, only
benefits corporations selling products, while turning half the
population into animals reacting to instincts, and subjecting the
other half to a life of fear, self-doubt
and feelings of inadequacy.
Ritual
is about rape. It is about the objectification and subjugation of
women through prostitution. It
is about sexism. It
is about the female models put forth by the mainstream media and
the fashion industry
influencing
generations to come. It
is also about how
the
victims of these treatments are the ones imprisoned by these
mechanisms and everyone allowing it are the jailors making sure they
cannot escape. The
penal system metaphor is supported through the lines “incarcerated
by hatred” and “locked away.”
In
addition to identifying the victims of this rape ritual, there is an
emphasis placed on the impact it has on their lives. Being
beat “down to submission,” forced to live “in a corner of
constant fear,” being “reduced to a sexual commodity,”
objectified,
perceived as mere “pretty faces” or
just a “booty,” being subjected to sexism and
“gender hatred,”
being
labeled
as “Jenny,” “hoe,” “slut,” “trick,” and “bitch,”
are
all elements that generate
a
“bypass” to
their sexuality. It
has an
effect on them that transcends physical pain. That is what Rey
qualifies as “psychological muder.” It
influences the way the “body identity” is developed, shaping
their self-perception, hinders
the growth process, and causing internal death, to a certain extent.
Through
it all, no justification is offered as to why such
“brutality” and “lack of humanity” should be directed at
them.
Although
the origin remains mysterious, the solution is not so, according to
Downset. “Love” and “compassion” are
the keys.
Take ‘Em Out
Gotta’ flex that skill
Yup!
As I watch them kill
Greed
The seed
It’s called inequities
Vanity
Banking
Ganking
Justified
How many more will have to suffer?
How many more will have to die?
Well, stop buying the lie
Bold beautiful crying brown eyes
Technical superstate built on the means of hate
Dominant symbol
Corruption escalates
Can they distinguish life from death?
Should a dollar bill give a man a right to kill?
Hell no!
Because life is priceless
This fight from the affirmative
Wicked brutal force of course justifying the means
Death with no remorse
Covert operations above the law
Killing for God, for countries
A fraud
Got to take ‘em out!
Violation of human rights
For the life of the suffering
Symbol of wickedness
Post-dictatorship economic elite
Starving children bowing to their feet
Smokescreen patriotism
Won’t deny the lie
Can’t cloud my soul vision
F.E.M.A.
See you
Got you on sight
No law should cut constitutional rights
No one more hopeless than those that think they are free
Bounded minds of this human machinery
What I am is what I am!
Crying to jah
You know I am praying for payback
All truth will soon come
Be in light
Federal judge
You know they got them on check
Federal courts
You know they got them on check
Central banking system
You know they got them on check
Federal agents
You know they got them on check
Federal prisons
You know they got them on check
Population control
You know they got it on check
Cry for life
Gotta’ take ‘em out
The world depicted in Take ‘Em Out is divided into two
classes opposing an elite, relying on tactics not unknown to gang
culture in order to maintain their position, and those suffering in
the name of their profit. Characterized by “greed,” “vanity,”
“corruption,” dominance, being “above the law,” Religion,
wickedness, and patriotism, this “economic elite” has established
a form of “population control” through the corruption of “federal
courts” and judges, the “central banking system,” “federal
agents,” as well as the “federal prisons.” In Downset.’s
class war, profit is placed above human interests.
In a 1927 article discussing the League of Nations, Edward A.
Harriman defines the term “superstate” and indicating “merely
that there is an organization, of which a state is a member, which is
superior to the members themselves.”xxxiii
If Downset.’s reference to a “technical superstate” were about
technology, the term should have been “technological superstate.”
Therefore, “technical superstate” rather hints at a
“technicality” on which superiority is established. It is
possible that it has only been affirmed by projecting an image and is
simply a matter of perspective.
In defense of Life, Downset. proposes to “take ‘em out” and
end this “violation of human rights” and starvation of children.
A paralel is drawn between this struggle and the one of the Rastafari
movement through a reference to Jah, to whom Rey would be “praying
for payback.” According to an article published on Black History
Month website, the movement would be, in part, based on the teachings
of Marcus Garveyxxxiv.
In a 1921 speech, Garvey called for unification of his “fellow
citizens of Africa […] for the purpose of bettering our industrial,
commercial, educational, social, and political conditions.”xxxv
However, if Garvey saw each race as being responsible for the fight
for their own destiny, separately, this reference to the Rastafari
movement would be the only allusion to ideas of Race.
If the “economic elite” refers to an abstract entity, there is
one entity that is called out by name: FEMA, which stands for the
Federal Emergency Management Agency. According to their website, they
are an organization “helping people before, during and after
disasters.”xxxvi
The connection between an agency providing help to people, at a
federal level, and the opposition between two social classes can be
unclear. The lines “see you / got you on sight / no law should cut
constitutional rights” do not provide sufficient details on the
point of contention other than there may be an infringement of
constitutional rights. When it was created in 1979, by Jimmy Carter,
its mandate was to manage emergencies and civil defenses. In 2003,
FEMA was merged with other 21 other organizations to create the
Department of Homeland Security. As Downset.’s record was released
in 1994, whatever the criticism may be, it has to be based on an
event that occured before then. Their management of civil rights may
be a clue. According to the US Constitution website, federal aid to a
state requesting it has to be authorized by the president.xxxvii
It also states that “some have questioned FEMA’s constitutional
validity due to its establishment by executive order.” The idea of
cutting constitutional rights appears closely related to acting on
questionable legality as it evokes an idea of an assumed authority.
Is it possible that injustice was done under the guise of crisis
management? Amongst the results generated when researching for such
an eventuality is the idea of a certain fear to the effect that, in
the event of a crisis, civil rights could be suspended by FEMA
(through declaration of Martial Law, for example), allowing them to
detain citizens or move them into camps.xxxviii
Extrapolation and a negative opinion of the authorities might lead
one to fear that such power could be used and abused to remove
certain individuals.
Take ‘Em Out’s depiction of a class war opposing an
“economic elite” placing corporate interests over human lives
suggests those in control have become too powerful. There could
hardly be a more American response than Rey’s call to arms, as it
it textually woven into the very fabric of the nation, when then
Declaration of Independence states:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the
pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of
the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or
to abolish it...xxxix
Under the surface, however, it is designed to serve as a wake-up call
to the oppressed and a reminder to the authorities of their own
history of emancipation.
Prostitutionalized
Gots no Milli Vanilli in me
Sincerity
Constantly
No prefabrication
Prefabrication!
The words live free
Question the intentions of this alternative generations
And do we even realize all that we do affects all life?
Let us not stifle statement beneath false egos, style, or trends
Or we surrender that which can salvage human life
Can’t prostitutionalize it
Will we let the external taint the internal?
Be the brother in struggle
But don’t sucker yourself
Our words exceed the eminence of the musical
Is Doc Martens more important than a movement?
Or is it so cheap that a passing style is what makes you sleep?
You must understand the value of your light
Don’t prostitutionalize it
These eyes will not sleep
I am more than a musical byproduct
There is continuity between Take ‘Em Out
and Prostitutionalized,
as both imply that profits are prioritized over human interests. The
desire to attain the highest levels of popularity to ensure financial
gain or adulation implies a certain amount of catering, as creativity
is directed by market research. Supply
and demand. Reliance on the example of Milli Vanilli demonstrates
both the message and poetic justice for Downset., who acknowledge the
revolutionary potential and
the sanctity of music.
A German lip-syncing duo, with
low English proficiency, thick
accents, but perfect English
appearing on their records (even
In Living Color parodied themxl),
achieving commercial success,
selling 14 million
records worldwide, and 33
million singles, with videos
all over MTV, performing
on-stage and experiencing technical difficulties when
their songs
starts to skip.xli
Ironically, they even won
three American Music Awards
and a Grammy
for best new artist, which they had to return.xlii
One more layer of irony would
be that the song performed when these technical difficulties occurred
was actually released two years prior by another band from
Baltimore.xliii
The history of Milly Vanilli
illustrates the absurdity of the process and
reveals its somber mechanisms.
Prefabrication
takes place when, for example, a white German producer creates songs
and hires two people to lip-sync them. When
the producers refuse to consider using the vocals of the artists they
have hired to lip-sync because their mind is set on using a specific
kind of vocals to sing their songs. When
they push their arrogance as far as relying on different singers
between singles, thinking the audience would not notice the change,
although the lip-syncers
remain the same. When
the lip-syncers never even meet the true singers. It
takes place when the parties involved analyze other pop icons to
determine a formula designed to please an audience better. In this
instance, Fab Morvan has stated that the choice of the adoption of
dreadlocks was made upon the realization that other celebrities were
recognized because of their hair.xliv
Prefabrication occurs when
the artists are performing because they are contractually obligated
to do so, and not because they feel the need to express themselves.
Prefabrication can also take
the form of a predetermined recipe for success, which
can be replicated from artist to artist. For example, once an
artist has
reached the top of the charts
in Europe, they
should move
on to conquer America.
In
his interview to VladTV, Fab Morvan confessed the negative effects he
would experience, after they had enjoyed their fame for some time,
when he was alone after everybody had left the aftershow party. As
the singles increased their popularity, which
rested on their secret being kept, so
did the internal effects of the fraud. Combined with the fatigue of
an unrelenting schedule and the coping mechanisms developed, the
physical and mental consequences question the process. All
the accolades they would receive from an industry they were trying to
seduce would only have a bittersweet taste. After
the fraud was revealed and admitted, Rob and Fab even faced lawsuits.
Is this practice only
worthwhile for those who can sustain the lie? What
about those going through the charade only to realize that they
cannot?
Illusions
generated to exploit trends is central to the mainstream
entertainment industry. The
exception taken is not exactly about achieving commercial success. It
is rather about using this
commercial success to manipulate kids. In this case, the “alternative
generation.” Why would
major record labels pay any attention to a group of dirty little kids
if not for the opportunity to profit from it? Once
a band like Nirvana, for
example, signs to such a
label, and a lot of other bands with similar sounds and attitudes
start appearing, and their videos suddenly get played on television,
does
it not look suspicious? Artists
interviewed for the documentary titled the Chaotic Rise & Fall of
Alternative Rock acknowledge the climate change that occurred at the
end of the 1980’s and beginning of the 1990’s, once major labels
began showing interest in the movement.xlv
What used to be confined to
timeslots nobody wanted were all of a sudden played during the day.
After the market is
infiltrated and the product becomes diluted, it becomes harder to
sort out the prefabrications from the genuine articles. This
is the doubt Downset. is showing when they question the “alternative
generation.”
With
the question “[i]s Doc Martens more important than a movement / or
is it so cheap that a passing style is what makes you sleep?”
Downset. are questioning the reasons people are drawn to a certain
style. A paralel may be drawn with H2O’s What Happenedxlvi,
in which Toby can be heard
wondering how the hardcore scene has turned into a fashion show. When
people are drawn to a music genre because of the aesthetics, some
of its potency may be left on the table. When
Rey states that he is more than a musical byproduct, he expresses his
desire to be recognized for the ideas coming out of their texts,
rather than being sold as an image printed on posters to attract
investments. In support of
that idea, before playing Prostitutionalized,
on May 31st
1994, at Rio’s Bradfor, Rey said that “[i]n the course of
five years, this music might not be so much important. The lyrics we
have to offer you as a band are timeless because a statement is
timeless. So I ask all you people here, if you guys wanna’ buy our
album -we got an album coming out July 12th […] if you
gotta’ chance, buy it. Read the lyrics. Check ‘em out. It’s the
most important thing to me. […] Don’t just come to a show, drink,
get drunk, smoke cigarettes, and fucking bang your head. Because in
five years, that’s not gonna’ mean anything at all.”xlvii
Once more, attention is drawn to the revolutionary potential of the
media, in contrast to adhering to a style because of peer pressure.
Downset
Well, I’m doing this from that place where the young bodies stuck
to bluest of blue skies
A child grown quick
Kicking it with an icepick
Age of 8
Babyface
Straight up scared to die
Seen one little, two little, three little homicides
Kids don’t rank so they shank in front of baby eyes
Bullet-scarred
Prison-barred
The one times got my face to the ground
They want me down
Downset at the bottom
On the come up to say some
Down
Downset at the bottom
Coming up from the slum
Down! Down! Down! Down!
Bronze complexion
Converse and khakis
Enough for the fuss of C.R.A.S.H. to straight jack me
Brothat, brotha, brotha
How you make ‘em get down?
Systematic static can’t stifle the set’s sound
Jack for the mic and I’ll still get it going on
Making my statement with a fatcap and Krylon
Peeping my voice from the LA underground
The plan from the man is to demand they keep me down
Downset at the bottom
Got ya! Got ya!
Yeah, you know I straight ya!
Reveal to heal in our sectarian obstacles
Wipe the dirt off the eyes of the hate child
Damn with the program
Imposed since the juvenile
Shit is so thick
You don’t want to deal with it
Set’s got heart to consist like an activist
Ain’t going to live in comfort while shit gets worse
I got the voice of the voiceless and life comes first
So what are you going to do?
What are you going to do?
What you gonna’ do when the shit comes down on you?
The set’s gonna’ be down
Yeah, you know, like we’ve always been
The ghetto survivors got no soldier extinction
The man ain’t down with multiethnic ethics
Division is wicked and Downset ain’t with it
My word is my fire for life and love is the sound
You got to kill me to silence me, fool
You can’t keep me down
Downset at the bottom
Freedom in a cage
Trauma is part of growing up as every new experience is bound to
change the individuals going through threm. Witnessing homicide
repeatedly, at a very young age, will undoubtedly leave a mark.
Through a few autobiographical lines, the audience is once more
exposed to ideas of what childhood might have been like for those
growing up in Los Angeles. It raises the question of expectations for
those coming of age through these hurdles.
When Downset. is located at the bottom, it may suggests that they
have hit the proverbial rock bottom, but it also may imply that they
are being kept at the bottom because of access to elevation and
opportunity. A glass ceiling, perhaps? The lines “bronze complexion
/ Converse and khakis” suggest profiling, which, it could be
argued, is a mechanism that prevents its victims from reaching higher
standards. Profiling and harassment go hand in hand and generates
aggravation, apprehension, and a negative outlook towards the
perpetrators.
It is possible that the reason why so many homicides were witnessed,
growing up in L.A., might be linked to an increase in gang activity.
Drawing upon the references of Anger,
the shadow of Chief Daryl Gates reappears, through the mention of the
Community Ressources Against Street Hoodlums (C.R.A.S.H.) program.xlviii
In reaction to the expansion
of gang culture towards the
end of the 1970’s and beginning of the 1980’s,
the city created a program with the mission of targeting gang
members. Part of the training
of the police officers assigned to this unit involved learning as
much personal information on gang members as possible. Studying gangs
from the outside and interacting with them on a daily basis may be
perceived as similar to profiling, as they would develop a certain
knowledge of gang attributes and rely on this knowledge during their
daily activities. Their routine involved patting down suspected gang
members and questioning them, under the guise of casual interaction.
In the
PBS Frontline article just
referenced, Sergeant Brian
Liddy, a member of the task
force, is quoted describing
the Los Angeles Police Department as such: “it doesn’t have any
real corruption problems, so to speak of. It’s an honest police
department. It can be called a lot of things. But until now, it’s
never been called a dishonest police department.” However,
a Law & Order episode on the Rampart Scandal released in 2000
reports otherwise,xlix
comparing the division to the
criminals they were mandated to oppose.
In a different PBS Frontline
article, the case of Rafael Perez is explained, detailing how a
former police officer was caught stealing drugs from the LAPD
evidence room and then testified on the corrupt practices plaguing
the department.l
Profiling, oppressive methods
characterized as “systematic
static,” and corruption are
therefore the elements evoked through the reference to the complexion
and the way Rey dresses.
Downset symbolizes the manner elected to denounce the
oppression Rey has experienced and witnessed, living in Los Angeles.
Through the use of a “mic,” as well as a “fatcap and Krylon,”
which could be qualified as peaceful protest, the situation is shared
with an audience. Through words such as “heal,” “heart,”
“life,” and “love,” the suggestion is made that one should
prioritize the interests of individuals rather than seeking to
perpetuate a cycle of violence. That resolution will not come by
living “in comfort while shit gets worse.” That because one is
born in an environment imposing such conditions does not mean they
have to accept it.
My American Prayer
Metzger! Farrahakan!
Yup, we got it going on
Race in the mix and melting pot’s hot
Well, I don’t know where you’re at but I know where I’ve always
been
Downset at the bottom with my underclass freedom
The birth of this nation
Birth of the systematic jack
From land grab to whips across black’s back
No progress
Money means more
Humanity less
Nothing done changed in this land of soaked bloodshed
Liberty only to an economic few
Patriarchal tradition to
economically gaffle you, fool
Racism? Guilty!
Thievery? Guilty!
Sexism? Guilty!
Executed traditionally
Living in the shadow of five centuries
Misery
Homie blind
Forced in your game
Choked equality
Why am I gonna’ be like that?
Why must I pack that vocal gat
Because of the blood of humanity
Your pockets are getting fat?
This is America the hateful
I’m gonna’ be down to live this protest
I’m gonna’ be down to die this protest
America better check itself before it wrecks itself
Because differences seem to be bad for its health
Black! White! Yellow! Brown! Christian and muslim!
Heterosexual! Homosexual!
All want to get some
Democrat! Republican!
They putting that work in
Aryan nation! 5% nation! Native American wants division
Man’s diversity is Amerca’s biggest enemy
N*****! Woods! And eses’ stifled with apathy
Standing strong like a soldier
Struggling like a soldier
Taking bullets of hatred
Watching my soul get colder
Circumstancecs dance on interracial romance
Separatist fist bomb on this love at first chance
America taught me to hate you
America taught me to hate you
Taking shot at the external even though I never knew you
Will you fade and follow
Doubtless
Next in the death rate
Or love
Suffocate beneath this fashion of hate
I was taught to hate you
And you were taught to hate me
Love sees no color
But America always will
Humanity means nothing in this place where we learn to kill
I don’t believe in this hatred anymore
Red, white and blue is gonna’ kill you
I throw the brick of my protest through the window of your inhumane
corruption
And watch the fragments of your greed shatter to the frigid ground
And it’s like that
Martin Luther King
Ruben Salezar
Malcolm X
John F. Kennedy
Red,
white and blue is gonna’ kill you
The
name of the leader of a white supremacy groupli
mentioned next to the one of
the leader of
a black muslim grouplii
suggests some form of association between the two, although,
at first glance, both groups might appear to be at opposite ends of
an ideological spectrum.
However,
one
of the common grounds between the two would be their hatred of other
groups based on race or religion. One
point on which both of them align exactly would be
anti-semitism. Racism
has been a recurrent theme, so far, throughout the album. Songs
also often reference to other songs
both in ideas and in direct quotation.
For
example, My
American Prayer borrows
the phrase “Downset. at the bottom” from the song Downset.
This
repetition of certain elements brings to mind an intrically woven
pattern mixing violence, racism, and social justice. In
addition, Downset. references other artists to support their claims,
establishing that it is not only them expressing their disapproval.
When they say “America better check itself before it wrecks itself
/ because
differences seem to be bad for its health,”
undoubtedly a reference to Ice Cube’s Check
Yo Selfliii.
This association with a fellow Los Angeles resident provides strength
in numbers to Downset.’s depiction of their environment. It
is no longer their own assessment of the situation. It is becoming
generalized.
According
to the Southern Poverty Law Center article on Thomas Metzger cited
previously, he quit an anticommunist group he was a part of because
they did not “share his antisemitic zeal.” In addition, he was
promoted to the state of California leader of the Knights of the Ku
Klux Klan by David Duke. He also rose to the position of minister in
the Christian Identity movement, a group recognized for their
antisemitic views.liv
In 1980, he won a seat at the American Congress, foreshadowing a
speech he gave in January 2004 at a hate-rock concert outside of
Phoenix underlining the necessity of infiltrating the military, the
government, and law enforcement, in order to further their racist
agenda.lv
On a general knowledge side note, for those desiring to see the
individual’s influence in action, one may look at the 1988 Geraldo
Rivera show when a scuffle erupted between Thomas Metzger’s son and
Roy Innis during which Geraldo’s nose was broken by a thrown
chair.lvi
This resume provides support for the idea of Metzger being a racist
and antisemite. Furthermore, in 1985, Metzger and his followers
demonstrated their support for the Nation of Islam and their leader,
Louis Farrakhan, reinforcing the link between the two groups and the
relation between the two names, as used by Downset.
Affirmation,
identity, justice, are a few of the themes that transpire from
interviews with Louis Farrakhan. However, these notions that could be
established as having a positive connotation, in and of themselves,
are often paired with more accusatory and divisive statements. For
example, in an interview on the Phil Donahue show, a finger is
pointed at jews in Hollywood for their characterization of
african-americans as “buffoons.”lvii
The mixed reaction drawn from the crowd of the Donahue show is an
example of how hot the proverbial melting pot alluded to by Downset.
really is.
My
American Prayer, in the perspective of Race, addresses the notion
of identity. Partially echoing some of Farrakhan’s ideas, Downset.,
through the use of the term “underclass freedom,” establishes
that freedom and equality are two separate notions. The freedom of
the privileged would be different from the freedom of the underclass,
and the origin of this injustice would date back to the very birth of
a nation built on “land grabs” and slavery. The illusion of
progress hides, under the surface, a portion of the population
profiting from others. Race, opportunity, as well as gender, are
identified as the factors on which are based the dividing lines
deciding what one’s American experience will be.
The
notion of responsibility appears as Rey poses the rhetorical question
of the motives behind the words that he speaks. By educating on these
conditions, he is, in a way, protesting. The enumeration of
communities victim of this disadvantage, pitted against the
enumeration of perpetrators exploiting this imbalance, unifies
subgroups for a common cause. Against a common enemy. The conflict is
characterized as a war through the use of words such as ‘soldier,’
‘bullets,’ and ‘bomb.’ On the description of the song that
used to appear on Downset.’s website, Rey provides more concrete
details about his American experience:
“America...
It's very hard for me to swallow a pride for a stolen land that is
built on the blood of millions of innocent human beings. The rivers
of America flow with the blood of massacred people of all races and
creeds. My hatred for whites and blacks creeps up on me since my
struggle for survival in L.A. (818 Valle) has led me to circumstances
in some instances involving life or death. I myself will admit with
no shame that I have been struggling to overcome my racist thoughts
and feelings for many years now. I am progressing but [it]
is
one of the bloodiest struggles of my life. I am a Chicano and that is
not all I am but it is one of the major elements that describes my
existence in this country.
I
remember when I was a child during the first ten years of my life
about 1979 I was at a park in my barrio-ghetto and it was the middle
of the summer. Right about sundown the soldiers of my hood about
thirty-five of them gathered like always to do pull ups, push ups,
slap box and hit the park punching bag. The tall muscular creased
khaki soldier-like images of these guys and girls were my idol and
the chemical smell of PCP lingered in the air. The bronze tattooed
skin of these people looked so threatening to me but since they were
my family by blood and barrio, I was accepted.
The
funk and soul music made a mood of a native-like war party who were
waiting to go and kill. How deceived I was by their inspirations to
be like them but it was all that we knew and all that this fascist
eurocentric system and society had given us. These soldiers were my
examples and they taught me to be a racist and how to survive on days
like this. My mother told me to stay away but it was my school, home,
friends, etc... Since my father was struggling with the chained
sickness of the Vietnam war, it was hard for him to discipline me. My
environment taught me to kill and survive at any cost... no matter
what.
On
this summer I was to change in a direction that would impact me the
rest of my life. On this same night homeboys from another hood-barrio
were killed hours before and the CRASH officers thinking that we had
done it, raided us. Being that I was only seven years or eight it was
even more intense and scary to me only being a child. Sirens on
lights flashing in blue and red. Screeching tires. "Let's get
the fuck out of here!" Bodies running. Chain fences shaking.
Cars stop. Shotguns being cocked and drawn. "Get the fuck on the
wall you wetbacks. Hurry now you fucking beaners. Hands up
motherfuckers or I'll kill your fucking asses [u]p."
Not
too many cooperated and "Fuck you white motherfucking pigs"
was yelled back. Billy clubs and the brutality was on! Brown fist to
white face. Black Billy club to khaki pants and shaved heads. Blood
on the concrete. Six or seven or even eight on two or three, some
stopped and blood was shed on both sides. I was so scared shivering
that I could only think of my mom.
Eight
of us got caught mostly all under the ages of 20. All in line and our
knees leglocked. Sounds of walkie talkies and stomping boots filled
the air. "You fucking bastards don't learn, do you? Separate
these Mexican bitches from these fuckers now!" A couple of girls
were with us and they were treated no different than the guys were.
Five boys left. The longest 30 minutes or so of my life was about to
begin. The first cop. "Who killed so and so?" he asked. "I
don't know a fucking thing and if I did I wouldn't tell you white
motherfucker." The police officer put his hand on the head of
this kid and kicked him in the back. I remember flinching at the
sound of his yell. I looked towards the officer and my homeboy was
being beaten when a female cop kicked my ribs so hard I started
crying. "Don't look you fucking punk. I said don't look you
fucking wetback."
On
down the line they went. I was the second to the last "What's
your name fucker?" he said with his thick blondish red
moustache. The lights of a helicopter made the scenery a bluish
daylight and more scary and intense. "This little pussy
motherfucker is crying." the officer said. "Don't cry."
said Tony "These white motherfuckers like that." he added.
"You motherfucker shut up." "Fuck you honkie."
"Kick that wetback's ass." And they did. Blow for blow.
STOP! Almost all of us said. One of the girls was so fucked up on PCP
that she got up and started fighting with the cops that were beating
Tony. The cops laid them both face down on the ground. Boot to the
back of the head. Flesh of face to glass and concrete. You could hear
their muffled voices cursing the officers. Back to me they went. My
knees hurt so much. Kneeling for about 15 minutes on rigid concrete
and glass. My knees started to bleed through my beige khakis.
"See
what you wetbacks started" he yelled. "Now who are you
motherfucker? What's your name asshole? What do they call you? Answer
me." they screamed in my face. I started to cry so much that I
think they actually started to feel sorry for me. "What the fuck
are you crying for punk?" Looking at everyone else the cop said
"Look at your homie here, he's crying like a little bitch!"
Then and there I stopped crying. One of my homegirls said "he's
just a fucking kid, man." "Don't be such a fucking puto,
you white motherfucker." "How old are you fucker?" he
said. I replied stiffer and colder my age. Lifting me off my knees he
put his head next to my ear and whispered "Tell me who killed so
and so. Tell me or I'm gonna beat you[r] fucking Mexican ass fucker."
"I don't know" I said. He replied by saying "feel this
stick in your ribs you little fucker? I have beaten plenty of wetback
ass and I'll do it again. Tell me. Tell me." I grew colder and
the tears started to run bitter hatred. He frisked me and his hand
patted all over my baggy white t-shirt and khaki beige pants. Looking
at my black and white Converse shoes he sneered "All you dirty
fuckers look the same to me. If I'll catch your fucking wetback ass
[...] you up fucker! Hear me? Hear me?" "Yes" I said.
Turning
my body towards the street he pushed me jerking my head back. I
looked back and he said "What the fuck are you looking at
fucker?" Then his final shove sent me flying palms first to the
ground. On my way back from that fall I was never to be the same. A
thousand thoughts of murder were going through my head and on my way
home I started to cry so bad. Pulling the pieces of glass out of my
hands I could only think of what I was going to tell my mom. I have
been through similar things in my life but that one time stays in my
memory because it was my first time being caught in a CRASH raid.
This
was my America. School was just as bad. Being bussed to white schools
under some kind of integration program was just as bad. Being called
a dirty wetback by teachers can make you resent school and its whole
system. Fighting with white and black kids in the fourth grade
everyday can make you distracted from school's true purpose.
This
is my America. Heroin addict, Vietnam veterans, fucked schools,
welfare system, gang violence, police brutality, drugs, hate. This
was my America. Will the spectrum of diversity here in America be our
downfall? Chicano, black, white, Asian, homosexual, heterosexual,
rich, poor, Christian, Muslim, Aryan nation, 5% nation, native
American, democrat, republican, etc... How long will these racial,
economic and philosophically different beings be able to live with
each other before we destroy each other?
And
our history is just as dark with assassinations of leaders who tried
to change things for the better. It's such a hurt in my heart to
think that we have not learned after all this murder. I don't know
where you are, but it's getting worse where I'm at. Is this what I
should be proud of - a life of blood and chemically tanned agent
orange [...] who thought he was fighting for freedom for the same
America that discriminated against him and his children. We have two
choices: to live with each other with respect in community, or to
kill each other in cohabitation. It's up to us. Completely up to
us... The flag is drenched with hypocrisy, blood, lies, hate, fear,
etc... and not one patriotic blind man can deny it. It's true and
no-one can deny it.
America
the hateful. And one day it will answer to Jah for it. America the
hateful. Awake or fall. Love or hate. Red, white and blue.”lviii
This
anecdote encapsules everything denounced in My American Prayer,
from the portrait of the division reigning in America to the
escalation of the conflict into militarized positions, and the
injustice of opportunity. This biographical layer adds a degree of
emergency to the issues as they are harder to brush off under the
excuse of “it only happens to others.”
Holding Hands
Gentle you were in your first presence
Hazel to brown eyes
Embraced innocence
We dressed each other in colors of intrigue
First words to each other sang comfort’s melody
Childlike was your first gracious allurement
Her offering hands touched mine in content
Laughter filled the air
Illuminated portraits
Silence was the moment that gave dawn to this kiss
Elation shined off our vivid souls
In waves of euphoria
Emotions were thrown
Sunshine’s fire in embodied eyes
So full of truth and when we held, we held tight
Lifeless
So lifeless
I felt her image
Sorrowed face nods to the ground
Grey clouds
Suffering was her sound
She screamed deep, but desire claimed her
Collapse
Gone to nothing
Then her frigid mask
Her own remorse
Her lifeless companion
Tongue stained in duplicity’s song
Gentle hands stifle
I
Perishing
Suffering
This isn’t her
This could never be her
Diminishing
Forsaken all
I
Offering entirety
Left empty to cry
She cried with me
Danced with me and kissed me
She was filthy in lies
Gentle, always
Lifeless
I say she left me lifeless
The appearance of gentleness suggests that the narrator was present
before the events alluded to have happened. When referring to the
gentleness displayed between two people, one of the first images
conjured could be for a boy to refer to either a mother or a lover.
In the case of a mother, the narrator would have been the one
arriving, as the son rarely comes to life before their mother.
Therefore, the setting of Holding Hands appears to involve the
narrator and a lover.
A gentle apparition, the evocation of nuances between two different
shades of basically the same color, an innocence embraced, as well as
the “intrigue,” depict some form of gracious dance between two
individuals. A smooth, peaceful, and fluid state. Two bodies acting
as one. The phyiscal contact between the two individuals creates
ripples in the form of amusement and pleasure. The reference to
“illuminated portraits” most likely indicates the smiles on their
faces. Otherwise, it could be argued that the scene is taking place
in a museum. Although the probabilities are slim, the image does lend
a certain artistic quality to the description that would further
support the grace and harmony of the setting. The reference to
sunshine, later on, increases the odds in favor of this taking place
somewhere outdoors, although not entirely. It would still be possible
for the sun to shine through a window. This ambiguity adds a layer of
mystery compatible to the earlier mention of intrigue.
The ripples evolve into waves as the situation leads to the exchange
of a first kiss, instantly setting the souls of the individuals on
fire. With only the indication that “silence was the moment that
gave dawn to the first kiss,” it remains unclear whether or not one
or the other of the two individuals initiated the action, and their
motive behind doing so. The noun “silence” being qualified as a
time, rather than an excuse, the idea that the kiss might have been a
reaction to an awkward moment cannot be confirmed. Such detail might
have been helpful in interpreting the consequences. The illumination,
the shine, the “vivid souls,” “sunshine’s fire,” provide a
warm and passionate quality to the description. In a manner
reminiscent of a chain reaction, the brightness of the song
dissipates, plunging the narrator into a world of dark, freezing
death. The question arises as to the quantity of matter there was for
the fire to consume, in the first place, as the moment appears to
have lasted only a brief instant.
The dynamic image depicted transforms into a still portrait as the
gracious dance becomes “lifeless.” “Laughter” turns into
sorrow, as the person with the narrator wilts, much like a flower.
The companion becomes a mere “image,” losing their human quality.
The change in the environment also expressed in the gathering of
“grey clouds” introduces an increasing notion of alarm. The
catalytic element of the kiss appeared to have been consensual,
initially. However, the appearance of pain and internal conflict
indicate consequences opposite to bliss. Suppressing the actor’s
agency, “desire” erupts as the culprit. Could the kiss still be
interpreted as deliberate and consensual when one of the actors claim
they were acting under the influence of an infatuation? Possessed by
an emotional force, her hand was forced and the actions were not her
own, which explains the remorse ensuing.
With a growing awareness of the transformation occuring in their
companion, the narrator realizes their exchange was based on lies.
The pristine image shatters, leaving denial and disbelief in its
wake.
This is the first song on the album, so far, that appears to not
rely on any social or historical references, making it personal on a
different, less-detailed level. This absence almost confers to the
song a generic quality. Instead of being grounded into the harsh
reality of the world we know, Rey relies on a metaphorical dreamscape
to convey an experience that has undoubtedly left him scarred. The
juxtaposition of the theme of innocence to the one of remorse creates
an atmosphere of doubt. Doubt that reality may not always be what it
appears to be, at first sight. It could be argued that Holding
Hands is a cautionary tale about first love.
About to Blast
Step up to this
Witness anger from this raised up fist
The hood is jacked up bad
And more pain will come to exist
Well, whose fault is it?
And who’s to blame?
Well, I’m pointing my fingers at the ones who set up this game
This is what you’ve given us and that is what you’ve taken
Jail won’t cure your given disease
You are straight mistaken
Child to child
Bloodstain on the flag
Down on the solo creep, fool
And it’s about to blast
It’s gonna’ be on, fool
‘Cause it’s about to blast
Mind control and it’s fading fast
Huh, world, ‘cause it’s about to blast
Children crying and bullets crack
Yup, ‘cause it’s about to blast
And it’s aiming at you
So, what are you gonna’ do?
Give it to ‘em
Inner city erosion
Political racial explosion
Mental repression fuels that murder rate’s explosion
From canons straight to the bloods and crips
I say they got you on lockdown with birds and a 20 dip
The system fuels that anger
The killing goes on strong from 818 to 213
Bloodshed from your timebomb
You making a move on me?
Fool, you better move fast
Dying in the killing fields and it’s about to blast
It’s about to blast
Boom
Another dead youngster on my block
Look in his face, politician
When a gun blast makes his body drop
Your system killed him
Mediocracy handed to him
Statistical product
You and the concrete made him useless
Incarceration
Institution
5 x 7 corruption
Kill his mind is how you do him
Realize as they dehumanize our lives
That they construct a raging humanity with fury in their eyes
Welfare
The opportunity that disables the application of the generate crutch
Clear the way for defective maturity which leads to psychopathic
institutional conduct
Lies, rape, intimidation, sovereign inflection of all
Socially declared obscene
Application of reconstructive formula, fool
I’ve had enough of the blood rainfall on me
818, 213, 310
About to blast from that time bomb
Boom
At
this point of the album, injustice, discontent, and gentrification
are reoccuring themes the audience has become accustomed to. The
title About to Blast offers a warning that the scales may have
reached their tipping point. As the social parameters depriving some
of the population access to elevation are once more identified as
part of the cause of the misery experienced, the claim is made that
the game is rigged. The situation applies to the proverbial hood, and
because they are providing a false solution to problems they have
created, the blame is laid on the administration. The false solution
in question would be the penal system.
As
the hint of who the antagonist may be in this setting is given, the
phrase “more pain will come to exist” conjures the idea of a
cycle. Pain is experienced in the present and it appears likely that
it will generate more, in the future. The negative connotation
attributed to pain would make it a vicious cycle. Moreover, the
comparison to a “bloodstain on the flag” lends both a shameful
quality to the mix and a national quality. The ability of this
condition to reproduce or multiply is reinforced with the line
“[c]hild to child,” as it evokes either something handed from
generation to generation, or spreading throughout a community. On the
generational perspective, it could be argued that a way of living
experienced by an individual over one life cycle is almost certainly
going to apply to their descendants. On the community perspective, it
would imply that the condition affects particularly the children and
that a good proportion of the young ones in a community will share
the same experience. A common rite of passage, perhaps. The image of
the flag identifies the location at which the described situation
applies. As Downset. are from America, it can be assumed that it is
where the action is taking place. The later mention or area codes
818, associated with the San Fernando Valley, 213, associated with
South Los Angeles, and 310, associated to West Los Angeles, supports
this conclusion.
The
line “[d]own on the solo creep, fool” is reminiscent of an
activity common in street gangs. The picture it paints could be some
form of urban hunting, as an individual would be hiding or moving
stealthily to surprise an opponent. The sense derived would be
similar to creeping up on someone, for example. The term “[m]ind
control” is not completely estranged to the world of street gangs
either. The movie South Centrallix,
produced by Oliver Stone, portrays a gang member witnessing their son
being drawn to the world of street gangs, and realizing how the gang
culture they have co-created endoctrinates young children by grooming
them and preparing them, slowly, to a life of crime. An argument
could be made that endoctrination is a form of mind control, as it
influences the decision-making ability of individuals through
normalization of ideas that might have been deemed unacceptable, had
it not been for the manipulation from the perpetrators. There appears
to be no indication that, in the present context, the term mind
control would refer to an hallucinogenic drug such as LSD or theories
about the MKULTRAlx
program. However, The line “[c]hildren crying and bullets crack”
simultaneously offers more details to the environment described, with
the sound of cries and the popping sound of gunfire reverberating in
the air, as well as the use of the word “crack.” Ever since 1996,
a popular idea has circulated among conspiracy theory enthusiasts to
the effect that a certain intelligence agency would be responsible
for introducing crack in neighborhoods in order to finance their
involvement in wars overseas.lxi
Although farfetched, the idea that this would be the purpose of the
line does, to a certain extent, bring this theme to mind, presenting
compatibility with the attitude of questioning authority as well as
making the image depicted a heavier-loaded one.
The
argument being made by Rey Oropeza in About to Blast would be
that prison is not the appropriate solution to gang culture.
According to him, the results it produces are quite opposite from
being beneficial. The state of the municipality would be detriorating
while the racial tensions would be rising. Revisiting the title About
to Blast, the reliance on the word “blast” could be thought
to evoke a bomb when drawing links between the aggravating factors of
the vicious cycle, the population taken hostage by the increase of
popularity in gang culture, and the absence of significant support
from the authorities. However, the line “[a]nd it’s aiming at
you” hints more at a firearm, as it may prove difficult to aim a
bomb at a precise target. Aiming may come into play when something is
projected, as an object moves from a source to reach a particular
target. A bomb is most likely to be set somewhere until it is
detonated. Therefore, it is more likely that the reference is
directed at firearms. Guns would be one more element prominent in the
culture of street gangs. The appearance of the word “canon,” in
the lines “[f]rom canons straight to the bloods and the crips / I
say they got you on lockdown with birds and a 20 dip” supports this
conclusion, while also clarifying the place of gangs into the theme
explored and some of the means by which the mental repression is
occuring. The “birds” would be the tools mainting fear and the
“20 dip” would be exploiting a certain weakness, allowing them to
be in a position of power over the community.
While
the existence of the vicious cycle has been established, few details
are provided as to its nature until the line “[m]ental repression
fuels that murder rate’s explosion.” If gang violence is the
vicious cycle to which the penal system is not the proper answer,
murder would be one of its consequences. By associating this end
result to a cause such as mental repression, a source is identified,
and, perhaps, a better understanding of the situation can be allowed.
Anger is presented as a reaction to mental repression, generating a
surge in the murder rate. If that were the case, it may imply that
street gangs and social rights movement are parent, in a way, as both
may display anger as a reaction to oppression. Identifying the cause
of one of the consequences of gang violence does not equate to
shedding light on the origin of the phenomenon itself. In this
perspective, the statistical increase is merely explained.
With
mental repression as a catalyst to discontent, the proverbial system
is presented as a source feeding a fire that is burning through a
community. Sharing their environment with gangs might have caused
people to develop a survival instinct, as suggested in the lines “you
makin’ a move on me / fool, you better move fast.” The narrator,
not claiming either side in the ongoing conflict, displays a certain
bravado, implying that they will not get caught in a crossfire. This
is significant in the sense that even by-standers have been forced to
develop instincts similar to the ones developed by their antagonists,
through practice and experience. Moreover, refering to your home as
the “killing fields” depicts a warzone, just outside your door.
One is compelled to ponder upon such a way of life, in which you
enter a battleground every time you open the front door to go to the
store to get supplies or even something as mundane as going to school
in the morning.
Between
symbolic “booms,” the point made is summarized. The victims are
clearly identified in the form of young people losing their lives.
The perpetrators are held accountable, as a politician is asked to
witness the situation decried. The institutionalization of the penal
system, on the one hand, is providing authorities with jobs that they
are allowed to fulfill in a corrupt way, while on the other citizens
are held hostage by a vicious cycle with no end in sight other than
uprising. With no opportunities to provoke change, the population are
mere pawns. Being trapped with no access to elevation begs the
question as to the purpose of existence. A human experience that
never begins as humanity is denied from birth. The symbolic “booms”
signal the explosion Rey Oropeza had been warning the audience about.
In
an explanation about the song About to Blast taken from
Downset.’s website,lxii
the singer relies upon a conversation he had with a friend from the
neighborhood to give more details about the reality described in the
song:
Talking...
to my homeboy Scam. He lives in Watts and he's lived there all his
life. You would think that after all the riots and the rest of the
turmoil that has happened in this city that the police would change
thair attitudes towards people, but he told me how cops continually
harass people and set people up for no reason. People that live in
these ghetto-barrio places can only put up with so much harassment.
He had to leave his home because the harassment was too much and jail
just for being or living there was not right.
Is
this our idea of the law. Is it? NO! But as long as people have to
live in poverty and flashlights in their faces, the anger will build
and it can get worse. More riots will come if things in this system
do not change soon.
I
wrote fragments of this song about two years before the riots and
it's gotten worse over the years. Why can't we learn? 818 about to
blast! 213 about to blast! 310 about to blast! LA is not a joke, this
place is brutal.
It
can happen again.
While
the song appears to focus more heavily on the impact of gangs and the
idea that incarceration does not rehabilitate, but rather perpetuates
a vicious cycle, this quote does provide additional support to the
point as it details the impending menace of incarceration and the way
in which it could happen for no reason. It
also resonates with the song Fuck
‘em,
by Ice Cube,lxiii
when it issues a warning that riots will happen if things do not
change, soon,
and Ice Cube can be heard saying “anything you want to know about
the riots was in the records before the riots.”
Once
more, it is not just Downset. and their friends making the claim, but
it is an opinion that appears to be shared.
Breed the Killer
Brown and black blood to the concrete
Exposed to the systematic terrors and atrocities
Generations of blood-soaked families
Economic prison and self-hate is my birthright, see?
Fratricide, homicide, suicide, genocide
They wanna’ kill the n***** and wetbacks silently
Fueled by hate
Fear and forced self-denial
Black kill black
Brown kill brown
LA style
They breed the killer
Born in the middle of ghetto-like battlefield
Denied human rights and the wounds won’t heal
Our mothers shout a suffocating painful cry as they watch more
generations of black and brown die
Dignity defined by sacrificial death
To die for the blood is all I have left
The system at hand must see one thing clearer
The city of LA’s the black and brown killers
Blood to the concrete
Systematic terror
Historical facts will prove the system guilty
Hypocrisy existed when there should have been equality
Mental enslavement to loss of self-confidence
Self-defence ends in death of intelligence
Drown in abyss of insufficient education
Prosperity cannot exist through moderation
Forced on the culture
Death in the bloodline
Father to son
The mind will be confined
818
Yes, they breed the killer
213
Yes, they breed the killer
310
Yes, they breed the killer
The system at hand must see one thing clearer
The
city of LA is breeding black and brown killers
A
variation on the theme of the mechanisms in place, in the city of Los
Angeles, holding minorities prisoner of a way of life. Simply by
being born in the area, they appear to be pre-destined to enter
street gangs and a life of crime. The juxtaposition of the images of
“blood” and “concrete” confer a negative connotation to what
some people may call street life, a term popular among gang culture.
A song we have heard before on this album, phrased a little
different. Perhaps this particular wording will have the message get
through mental barriers of those who did not hear, either
deliberately or by lack of attention.
This
time, the adjective “silently” suggests that the authorities
responsible for establishing these mechanisms would like to achieve
their goal without the general public noticing. A subtility that
implies a devious nature behind the scheme. However phrased, the
fratricides, homicides, and suicides have but one result -genocide.
Even if the population of the targeted groups never reach zero, by
implanting these life-taking mechanisms, the system cycles in a way
similar to a scheduled maintenance. The apparent objective of
extinction is being achieved by instilling hatred and fear into
people. Resembling the expression “blind rage,” these concepts
are distorting the perspective of individuals and turning them
against each other. Instead of uniting minorities against a common
enemy, these ingredients are encouraging them to commit violent acts.
A primal behavior consistent with “mental enslavement.” While the
minorities’ human status is denied them, their environment is
pressuring them towards crime, making every murder a sacrifice
reaffirming their position. By not implementing measures to ensure
equality for everyone, the authorities become complicit, and
therefore guilty.
There
is a hint of irony in referring to “historical facts” in one of
the few songs on the album that is not packed with references to pop
culture or moments in history. Perhaps the effect it creates is that
Downset. are past intellectualizing the oppression and have now moved
on to a more emotional, angrier stance. If the message has not been
heard, by this point, a more concise statement might be the only
remaining verbal option. This resonates with the line “[s]elf-defense
ends in death of intelligence.” In a binary point of view, physical
confrontation and rationalization are mutually exclusive. This is
further supported by the line “[p]rosperity cannot exist through
moderation.”
With
a personal testimony given on Downset.’s website touching on the
way Rey Oropeza and his family grew up, the emotional aspect of Breed
the Killer is emphasized:
Gang
Violence... This song is probably one of the most personal to me
(Rey). I write this song having been in the actual nucleus
and core of this self-murdering atrocity. Since the turn of the 20th
century chicanos have been engaging in tribal-like murders and crimes
beyond any level of evil. Thousands and thousands of countless
murders have been intentional and accidental. So many that the bodies
can probably stack up to the sky. The popular culture all over this
country and world have completely parasited this gang culture that
has impacted so many people. The way people dress. The cars they
drive.
The rap industry and some so called "rap-rock"
acts have tried to parasite this actual madness but having be that I
am a chicano and having lived a whole life in this surrounding and
being from a family and a neighborhood that has been involved in gang
violence before any "Blood" or "Crip" was in
sight, it makes me angry that most of these people don't have any
idea of what this systematically wicked murder is really about.
The
prisons are filled with my chicano/a brothers and sisters who
probably never had a chance to really make a life for themselves in
this system. The graveyards are packed with ghetto-barrio soldiers
that have been sacrificied to this wicked god of a system. In my
opinion gang violence is a direct offspring of a system that has
failed in education, opportunities in jobs, welfare, prison systems,
juvenile lockups and also a society that is on a total nazi-like
moral degeneration, etc... Generation after generation this murder
has been almost non-stop. I think there is something more than what
we can see. The FBI, the CIA, the LAPD and so on have not altered
this plague at all because locking up people is not the full answer
to this problem. The true gang lifestyle that my people created in LA
is a holocaust-lie tragedy in my eyes. And to be exposed to
information that would lead me to know that members of our government
have actually smuggled in drugs to our country and filtered them into
the minds and bodies of children and young adults to create
population control over my people is heart breaking.
I
do not want trouble. I am not a criminal. I am just concerned with
wanting to help my people get out of the projects and to understand
that there is more to life than the ghetto-barrio. There are
solutions that I have been involved in. Members of the Youth Gang
Services and Edward James Almos, Robert Graham and actress Angelica
Houston got members of gangs from East LA, Venice, San Fernando,
Highland Park and Lopez Maravilla and gave us a job. Taught us skills
in the arts and some of us were hardcore criminals that have been
through much and some of us were taught things that held us back from
the madness in our barrio-ghetto. So if you give, some will take the
chance and some are just too far into the bloody mind state that they
can never turn back, but if you have nothing not even a chance then
you might be the same way. This is not a music video to me and this
is not a bullshit rap song. This is a tragedy upon my people and it's
nothing more than a holocaust. Blood to the concrete! Systematic
terror!lxiv
The
anecdote provides support to the idea that sentences of imprisonment
do not rehabilitate or discourage legally reprehensible behavior. In
a certain perspective, incarceration has become glorified by a few
cultures, equating to street credit. The prison system is either
insufficient or not the proper solution to rectify the problem that
violence has become in some communities. Other avenues exist, and may
have a higher rate of success in rescuing lives from a criminal
carreer.
Dying
of Thirst
They
got you dying of thirst
Don’t
even try to front, fool
Like
you ain’t on check
Under
layers of vanity
Uncertainties
got your soul wrecked style?
Veil
Chained
Mask
strapped tight hide cries from inside
Behind
Vain
lies chew the shattered glass
Sex,
hate, envy, greed
Living
in suffocation
Misery
bleeds
So-called
alternative
Imagery
Definition
of false me
There’s
more to indentity than bodily misery
They
got you dying of thirst
Living
in suffocation
Illusion
is all up in you
Alternative
must be more than this
Biological?
Chemical?
Science
says I’m pure physical
Lower
me to equality of dust with no destiny
Molecular
structure
If
this is all that I be
Then
humans weren’t killed in the holocaust
They
were just machines
Reject
void supplement
Man
equals rag equivalence
Humanity
is more than a complex form of existence
Human
capacity a third of its brain
No
reliance on science
I
cry soul defiance
Dying
of thirst
I’m
more than a mathematical equation
I
am more than a chemical combination
My
existence cannot be reduced to scientific theory
The
first notion introduced in Dying of Thirst is the one of
thirst and it immediately appears to be problematic as the narrator
suggests the person being addressed is dying from it. Either from an
unquenchable quality or a destructive effect caused by it. This
thirst is associated with hypocrisy, as Rey implies an attempt was
made at hiding it. Precisions come with a link made between the
thirst and “vanity,” a notion often closely related to
appearance. Therefore, it is possible that the thirst referred to
would be for attention. This idea is reinforced by the line “[s]ex,
hate, envy, greed,” which introduces a concept of exploitation. In
this perspective, the noun “sex” could symbolize the thirst for
attention causing one to focus on appearance in order to please
onlookers. The noun “hate” would symbolize that this effort is
not necessarily appreciated by both the person working on the image
and the spectators. “Envy” may imply desire or jealousy. This
could be from the person trying to project a particular image to
others, but it could also be from the people staring, confirming a
certain amount of success in achieving an aesthetic result. Finally,
“greed” brings an element of profit from the exercise. The
negative connotation is supported by the use of themes of suffocation
and bleeding. It could be argued that the statement being made about
this quest for attention results in a miserable way of life.
By
linking the vain nature of people seeking to please by modifying
their physical appearance to the greed in people attempting to
profit, a suggestion is made that there is a particular image being
exploited. With the mention of “alternative imagery,” it is
possible that the image in question would be the looks attributed to
a counter-culture. The idea here, for example, would be that
outsiders would manufacture and market a product from less than
genuine elements, attempting to cash in on a genre’s popularity.
One form this might take is stores adding t-shirts from grunge or
punk bands to their collections.
With
the line “[d]efinition of false me,” Rey oropeza is making a
claim that a person cannot be reduced to a physical appearance.
Identity is more complex than just an image. The song becomes a
metaphor for the principle of content over form. In Rey’s point of
view, adhesion to the cult of appearance results in “misery.” The
thirst being unquenchable causes people to chase pipe dreams with no
satisfaction on the horizon. From the reliance on the idea of
“illusion,” it is possible to make the inference that image is a
facade and does not reflect the quality and complexity of one’s
identity in a reliable way.
If
a being is more than just their physical form, what are the other
parts made of? Emotions, for example, do exist, as people experience
them on a daily basis. However, they are intangible, as they cannot
be touched. Are they simply a chemical reaction? If a person is the
sum of their body and their soul, is the soul also a chemical
reaction? Dying of Thirst, by suggesting that the quest for
attention and the cult of appearance are vain and that a person’s
identity cannot be defined solely by their image, confirms Downset.’s
belief that the soul is more than can be explained by biology and
chemistry. In their perspective, if humanity were only “biological”
and “chemical,” humans would be nothing more than machines
performing their programming. Downset. end Dying of Thirst
with a powerful affirmation of their identity, with the lines “I am
more than a mathematical equation / I am more than a chemical
combination / My existence cannot be reduced to scientific theory.”
In
a text discussing the lyrics of Dying of Thirst published on
Downset.’s website, Rey adds an element of spirituality that may
not necessarily have been possible to derive, as he writes:
“Soul...
Spirit... in my opinion this song will be the most unpopular one we
have because it deals with what I think is the ultimate question and
the one thing I think we have all asked ourselves and have ignored.
Is their such a thing as soul, spirit, God? I know what I feel and I
am not going to dictate any of your feelings or thoughts, but this is
what I know and feel and what I will share.
When
I think of Ghandi, Martin Luther King. Jr., and their love and deep
feelings for humanity was it all just a bunch of chemical equations
and molecular impulses within their bodies that strived them to fight
for equality? Were they just a sack of atoms fighting another sack of
atoms or molecules and electric energies releasing themselves to
create a movement of the body? NO! The love that I feel and fear that
I have a cannot be reduced to a one-third brain capacity logic
scientific theory! If we are just a sack of atoms and just biological
machines? Then what science is saying is the millions of Jews, Native
Americans, etc. that were slaughtered were just biological mechanisms
that were turn off! Were they just machines? Well? Were they? Do you
believe these scientific theories? It's a question I think you should
ask yourself. The love of Martin Luther King was not a scientific
theory. It was his spiritual beliefs that were the foundation of his
every move. Not a mechanical impulse that is reduced to scientific
chemical combinations. I am not a machine - I am soul and spirit! If
I believe in soul and spirit or even science, then ultimately I have
to ask myself is there something that created all this? Did we just
happen by chance? Are we here because of a big explosion? If we are,
then where did the gases come from? Nothing? Can science tell us that
everything including ourselves came from nothing? Can science create
something from absolutely nothing? Can a painting be created without
a painter? Is there no authority? Is all of our shouts of "Fuck
Authority" mean anything at all? Because the law of time and the
authority of time are stronger than we will ever be. If we are Gods,
which is a philosophy of this modern day popular culture, then why
don't these so-called Man Gods with all their power and intellect
stop themselves from dying? What kind of Man Gods are they when their
bodies they are in will be a feast for the worms and a dust that will
blend with the soil of the Earth? What kind of Gods are these men?
They must be weak Gods. Science is not evil but it is not the answer.
The more science knows it's a deeper circle of things and questions
they don't know. Place your faith in the hands of science and their
philosophy is completely up to you. Through my belief in soul and God
I have developed the biggest and most intense struggle of my life. I
have begun to ice pick away at the frigid programming of this
physical world. I have learned to bypass people's sexuality, race,
economic status, religion, style, etc. I have to learn to appreciate
woman for who they really are inside and not value them because of
their physical traits. I have also realised that I am no authority at
all and since I believe in spirit then the needs of my physical
gratification should not be satisfied at the expense of woman or
others. I am part of something bigger and realising this position. I
know that my spirituality cannot exalt myself to judge since I will
be at the mercy of the same God that will judge all. I killed the
deepest of myself with the shallowest of TV, commercials, billboards,
popular culture lies, and my struggle is both personal and external
since I am a part of the whole Jah then I must humble every hate,
physical desire, thought of exploitation and fear in my life.
My
spirituality should not be confused with fascism, judgment or
bureaucratic religion. My beliefs are my beliefs and should be
respected just like your beliefs. If you don't respect me or my
beliefs then you are the close-minded censoring fascist that you cry
against. We all serve something! And we cannot deny it. Service is in
our nature as humanity. We serve our jobs, lovers, ourselves, our
fashion, our cars, our money, our sex, our bands, our drugs, our
race, our philosophy, our parents, our tongues, our scene, our
government, our pride, our time, our careers, our intellect, our
science, our bodies, our hate, our brutality, our ignorance, our
stupidity, our fascism, and even if we serve nothing at all then we
are serving nothing at all for no reason but we will serve. So I will
give service and channel my love to the soul because soul is eternal
and forever and I will not create a sense of security through sex,
hate, college, money, myself, body, cars, bud, graffiti, music etc.
Because when I die it's all gone and there is nothing I will be able
to take with me. Not anything at all but my love and hate to great
spirit. I will not have a sense of security in these castles of sand
that will be washed away i the stream of time. According to science I
am the equivalence to grime or dirt because if we are not nothing but
physical then we are to the same physical equality of a rag. The
atoms and molecules that are in this rag are the same in our bodies
and science says this is what I am. I am not this body and a rag
equivalence. So the only difference according to science between us
and faeces or spit is that we humans are just a more complicated and
complex form of physical existence. Do you believe this? It's your
choice. I do not have all answers and explanations only thoughts and
beliefs I will carry to my physical death. These are just questions
and beliefs. I am not perfect and am struggling not to eat meat, not
to use others for sex, not to get attached to material things etc.
This is my choice! I do not limit your choices to hate, kill,
exploit, etc. But I will never condone it. Your choices are respected
as should be mine.”lxv
One
of the elements that transpire from this quote is that, according to
Rey, Science cannot explain everything because history and destiny
cannot be contained in a matrix where physical entities perform
exactly according to an algorithm. The
enumeration of the things humans serve raises the question of
purposes and free will, as they are choices people make based
upon emotional factors.
Gratification
may or may not come as the result of these choices and if everything
resides in the material sphere, then, these choices and the emotions
resulting from them would
become
random and irrelevant, and
our actions would become mere reactions to impulses.
This
affirmation of identity is a suitable way to conclude Downset.’s
self-titled album as it motivates
a certain introspection and demands that the lessons learned
throughout their album, if any, be applied to the lives of those in
the audience who were paying attention.
Police
brutality, the glorification of gang culture, rape, the
objectification of women, racism, the gap between the haves and the
havenots, are all as much a part of today’s world as they were,
back in 1992. As cliché as it will sound, it appears either the
right people were not listening or the message, as intensely and
concise as it was presented, did not get through. In a time of
autotune, robot music, and online platforms and applications
exploiting artists with little remuneration, it appears the landscape
has only changed shape, remaining similar in its core. Was Downset.’s
popularity a symbol of them preaching to the converted? There would
be fewer memories of experiencing profiling, even for someone living
on the opposite coast of the Americas, and they would not be as vivid
if corruption had disappeared and profiling were no longer part of
the training of police officers. Furthermore, gang members continue
to represent an alarming proportion of prison population. With hip
hop’s increase in popularity taking it to the halftime show of the
Superbowl, the values some of the rappers are putting forth reach a
wider audience. The glorification of street life reaching mainstream
with it. Finally, with influencer becoming a career choice, vanity
has not only surged, it has become banal and trivialized. The idea
that the relevance of Downset.’s self-titled has not diminished,
and might even have increased, over the last thirty-one years does
beg the question of whether or not it made any impact at all. Is it
that the people open to a change are at a numerical disadvantage? How
much clearer does the message have to be to tip the scales?
