August 26, 2008

Before There Was Hip Hop...

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My brother Steve recently laid a copy of a book on me that I hadn't seen in almost 40 years, A Panther Is A Black Cat by Reginald Majors. Thumbing through it, I found a description of a "Free Huey" rally where Baby D read a poem by Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter (gunned down by members of the US organization in L.A., January 17, 1969). Struck by the excerpt Majors included, I dug up the whole thing here, as printed in the Black Panther newspaper, January 3, 1970.

NIGGER TOWN

In Nigger Town
In Nigger Town
The streets are made of mud
Infested with rats and bats and bugs

In Nigger Town
In Nigger Town
The streets are made of brick
Ask any swinging dick that happens past
Why won't he get off his big, fat, black, funky ass

A grumbling snitch
A shot of shit for a dope fiend bitch
Hid behind the cemetery in the fog
A leg, a hog, a short dog of Elderberry
Misery spreads and brothers dead
Cause Charlie's runnin' in the reds

In Nigger Town one day
Four little children kneeled to pray
in Jesus name
Boom!
Four little children gone
And Jesus never came

Now you say, you're tired of all this shit
You suck-a-pawed son-of-a-bitch
If you was, you'd ball you mitt
DO SOMETHING nigger! if you only spit

Tell the truth snaggle-tooth
I know you're scared you mother goose
With niggers in Nigger Town
I'm fed up to my neck
About a drunk, a thief, a punk
I wouldn't give a husky heck
In Nigger Town.

"Bunchy"


Check the language, the attitude, the rhymes. If this ain't hip hop, I'm Barry Manilow.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My uncle was way before his time. But, I Thank God he was sent in my time. Love you Uncle Bunchy❤️