Heal Yourself From The Self Destruction Cause We're All In The Same Gang

Self Destruction - Stop The Violence Movement
We're All In The Same Gang - West Coast All Stars
Heal Yourself - Human Education Against Lies

Today we'd like to kick a little self awareness at The Funk. We have three of the more known "Posse Protest" tracks that were done in the early 90s to try to help combat the spread of Black on Black/Brown on Brown/etc. violence that was (and still is) plaguing the nation. So, in an effort to try to bring back some of the socially conscious hip hop (Mos Def/Talib/Dead Prez notwithstanding) into the minds and ears of the hip hop community, we here at The Funk present the above tracks.

Self Destruction is one of those songs that you could listen to over and over again (aka Kevin Simonds it) without it really getting tired. I looked for a history of The Stop The Violence Movement but all I could come up with was,

"The same year, during a BDP/Public Enemy concert, a young fan was killed in a fight; galvanized into action, KRS-One founded the Stop the Violence Movement and organized the all-star charity single "Self-Destruction," which raised half a million dollars for the National Urban League in 1989. "

The cultural significance of this song, that we need to wake up/change our ways before we are all dead and gone still rings true to this day. With all of the staged beef between 50 and his list of "enemies", BIG/PAC/BIG L/JMJ/Etc., now more than ever it seems that Stop the Violence needs to be reintroduced to the younger generation. Enough with my rant, check out the lyrics and you tell me if they still apply today.

Hell, if you think about it all three tracks need to be reintroduced to today's youth who think killing others for fun is just a way to get points in a video game. Here are the other lyrics for you to check out. Do yourself and the kulture a favor and send these songs to as many folks who listen to hip hop as you can think of. We need to do something.

But I'll leave it at that for two reasons. 1.) Nobody really wants to deal with problems unless they somehow affect their personal space, and 2.) I forgot to renew my Preachers Permit, hence the Brother B instead of Reverend B. Paperwork was never my strong suit.

Sorry for the shortness/lack of discussion/info today. I'm apparently infected with a rare form of the flu that can only be cured by bangin' beats and a hot young woman. HIYO! I should be better soon. :)

Take it Lyte.
Brother B.

* Here is a link to the "Self Destruction" video. It may or may not work depending on your browser or media player.