As of late, my mind has been preoccupied by the seemingly endless examples of state-sanctioned violence against black & brown people, and I don’t like it…not one iota. I remember thinking not too long ago, before the brutal murders of Alton Sterling & Philando Castile violently grabbed the nation’s attention, that there soon would be more hashtags for my Facebook & Twitter newsfeeds to learn, because there are always more. And so it was. What a terrible thing to know.
The cover art for this collection is a still from the 1992 L.A. Riots. It’s an event in American history that utterly fascinates me, because while it seems so unreal and movie-like, we’ll probably see something like it happen again in our lifetimes. Also, the energy of the riots was captured perfectly by Ice Cube on his The Predator LP (represented by two songs on this collection, as the album is something I always find myself listening to after any incident featuring police misconduct and the resulting civil unrest), as well as the anger, helplessness, and frustration many felt following the Rodney King case verdict. Like, damn…it was on camera! It was/is all there; black & white, clear as crystal.
Anyways. This mix is: some old, some new, some gangsta, some conscious, some unconscious. Some Compton, some Philly, some New York, some Detroit, some otherworldy (namely ELUCID, who is amazing on the beats and the rhymes; you should cop his recently released Save Yourself record if you hasn’t). some good ass music.
Who got the camera? —Small Pro
