Why Fear Of Black Man Album.
Beyond my love of Public Enemy and my opportunity of meeting and taking a Hip-Hop class with Chuck D at UCLA, plus having a chance to interview Public Enemy’s Media Assassin aka Harry Allen, I pick the Hip-Hop group, Public Enemy because of their strong Black radical lyrics. I wanted to take that 1990 classic album, Fear Of A Black Planet and pick out five tracks to Krip it into Black Krip-Hop politics.
Krip-Hop is an international network of Hip-Hop artists with disabilities communicate through music, art in person and on social media, to target educators, journalists, activists, the industry, conferences and the international Hip-Hop community. The network uses hip hop music as a means of expression for disabled people, providing them an opportunity to share their experiences. Krip/Crip is sometimes used as a proper noun, “Crip,” and sometimes even as a verb, in which “cripping” something means applying a disability justice lens to it. In this and many ways, the reclaiming of “crip” and make it political from a disabled activist community’s viewpoint. I picked out five songs from that 1990 album that were not only simple to Krip but the original lyrics could be easy to put a Krip-Hop political message to it as follows.
1. Fight the Power Krip it to Fight Black Ableism
2. Fear of A Black Planet Krip it to Fear of A Black Disabled Man
3. Welcome to the Terrordome krip it into Welcome to Kripdome
4. Burn Hollywood Burn Krip it to Krip Hollywood Limp
5. Brothers Gonna Work It Out Krip it to Krip-Brotherhood
Even the intro track although original is also political, Intro: PE Krip-Hop Remix. All the tracks are speaking to the Black community except for the track, Burn Hollywood Burn Krip it to Krip Hollywood Limp. The title track, Fear of A Black Disabled Man I flip the fear into how the public especially White society and the police views Black disabled man and at the sometime calling out Hip-Hop for not work on ableism in the industry. The album cover comes from when I first met Chuck D at KPFA Radio station in Berkeley, CA.. 2023 has been so far incredible year for Krip-Hop Nation as we are in two Hip-Hop textbooks on university presses with one will have a whole section entitled, Part VI “Krip-Hop”: Disability and Hip Hop with pieces written by myself, Anna Hinton and Mikko O. Koivisto coming out November 16th/23. The album hit all internet sits like CDBABY, Spotify and other sites. Yes, I realize that this album is heavily speaking from a straight Black disabled male perspective and the Black community in generally thus I hope other Black disabled poets/Hip-Hop artists especially Black disabled women artists will add their creative talents to Krip their favorite Hip-Hop artists from their experiences.
I’m proud of this album and I hope the world will bump it.
By Leroy F. Moore Jr.
