26. Vibrations
Explicit content warning
09/01/21 • 31 min
1 Listener
There was a moment, somewhere between the 1980s and 1990s, when Black music turned gangsta. This moment shaped two of the world’s most influential genres: American Rap and Jamaican Dancehall. The story behind the music is one of oppressed Africans unlocking the ancient powers of their ancestors to break free. The dark side of this story is that many of those Africans, descended from slaves, embraced the pattern of violence that had cursed them for so long and slowly turned against each other. Was gangsta music the explosion of Black culture, or the implosion of Black power? In the end, the market decides.
Warning: This episode contains very strong language and language which may offend, as well as adult themes.
Credits:
Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick.
With music from:
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight Billy Boyo - One Spliff A Day Ninja Man - Murder Dem Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full Super Cat - Boops Ice-T - New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme) Mad Cobra - Bad Boy Bounty Killer - Copper Shot The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear Remix Bounty Killer - Disrespect The Notorious B.I.G - Hold Ya Head (feat. Bob Marley)
All original music is written by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Thank you to:
Benbrick, my Groomsmen and my nephews. My team: Sandra, Vidhu and Birungi. Dylan Haskins and the team at BBC Sounds, Alex Entwistle, Adam Eland. BBC Concert Orchestra.
Archive:
The first four clips document scenes of street violence and are taken from various YouTube channels. The channel names are Toyin Made (used at 01:14), axolotol (used at 01:18), Eyez-wide-Videos (used at 01:41), and The Scuttlebutt Report (used at 02:01).
The clip of Sam Cooke used at 03:27 is taken from his interview with Dick Clark on American Bandstand.
The clip about Rastafari used at 03:51 is taken from the BBC documentary “Roots, Reggae, Rebellion”.
The clip about Black people expressing their true selves used at 04:21 is taken from the BBC documentary “Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music”
The two clips used at 05:06 and 05:22 are taken from the BBC documentary Jamaica 40: Blood and Fire.
The clips used at 07:55, 08:03 and 08:08 are taken from the ABC News 20/20 Hip Hop special report from 1981.
The clips used at 19:40, 20:36 and 21:01 about Bounty Killer are taken from the 1994 classic feature with Jamaica TVJ ER host Anthony Miller.
The clips used at 19:51, 20:21 and 20:58 is taken from the Yendi Phillipps Untold Journeys interview with Bounty Killer.
The clip used at 20:46 is taken from the BBC documentary “Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music”
Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds.
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Senior Producer: Alex Entwistle Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins
There was a moment, somewhere between the 1980s and 1990s, when Black music turned gangsta. This moment shaped two of the world’s most influential genres: American Rap and Jamaican Dancehall. The story behind the music is one of oppressed Africans unlocking the ancient powers of their ancestors to break free. The dark side of this story is that many of those Africans, descended from slaves, embraced the pattern of violence that had cursed them for so long and slowly turned against each other. Was gangsta music the explosion of Black culture, or the implosion of Black power? In the end, the market decides.
Warning: This episode contains very strong language and language which may offend, as well as adult themes.
Credits:
Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick.
With music from:
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up The Sugarhill Gang - Rapper’s Delight Billy Boyo - One Spliff A Day Ninja Man - Murder Dem Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full Super Cat - Boops Ice-T - New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme) Mad Cobra - Bad Boy Bounty Killer - Copper Shot The Notorious B.I.G - Juicy Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear Remix Bounty Killer - Disrespect The Notorious B.I.G - Hold Ya Head (feat. Bob Marley)
All original music is written by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Thank you to:
Benbrick, my Groomsmen and my nephews. My team: Sandra, Vidhu and Birungi. Dylan Haskins and the team at BBC Sounds, Alex Entwistle, Adam Eland. BBC Concert Orchestra.
Archive:
The first four clips document scenes of street violence and are taken from various YouTube channels. The channel names are Toyin Made (used at 01:14), axolotol (used at 01:18), Eyez-wide-Videos (used at 01:41), and The Scuttlebutt Report (used at 02:01).
The clip of Sam Cooke used at 03:27 is taken from his interview with Dick Clark on American Bandstand.
The clip about Rastafari used at 03:51 is taken from the BBC documentary “Roots, Reggae, Rebellion”.
The clip about Black people expressing their true selves used at 04:21 is taken from the BBC documentary “Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music”
The two clips used at 05:06 and 05:22 are taken from the BBC documentary Jamaica 40: Blood and Fire.
The clips used at 07:55, 08:03 and 08:08 are taken from the ABC News 20/20 Hip Hop special report from 1981.
The clips used at 19:40, 20:36 and 21:01 about Bounty Killer are taken from the 1994 classic feature with Jamaica TVJ ER host Anthony Miller.
The clips used at 19:51, 20:21 and 20:58 is taken from the Yendi Phillipps Untold Journeys interview with Bounty Killer.
The clip used at 20:46 is taken from the BBC documentary “Reggae: The Story of Jamaican Music”
Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds.
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Senior Producer: Alex Entwistle Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins
Previous Episode
25. Who Hurt R&B?
R&B music has changed. It was once the soundtrack of love, but is now more like a journal of pain. Through this music, George tracks the breakdown of the African American family since the 1970s. He discovers that higher poverty and incarceration rates among African Americans left a generation of children to fend for themselves. By the 1990s Gangsta rappers were displaying disrespect to women - and the market loved it and rewarded it. At the same time, Black women were pushing back through songs calling out immature men, and celebrating financial independence.
Warning: This episode contains very strong language and language which may offend, as well as some adult themes.
Credits:
Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick.
With music from:
Ginuwine - Differences Jhené Aiko - P*$$Y Fairy (OTW) Kaash Paige - Love Songs George The Poet - Baby Father Cardi B - WAP (feat. Megan Thee Stallion) Megan Thee Stallion - Cash Shit (feat. DaBaby) Rick Ross - Sanctified (feat. Kanye West & Big Sean) Drake & GIVĒON - Chicago Freestyle Chris Brown - Loyal (Instrumental) Candi Staton - Young Hearts Run Free Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop (That Thing) Whitney Houston - It’s Not Right But It’s Okay Dr Dre - Bi*****s Ain’t S**t Destiny’s Child - Bills, Bills, Bills Sunshine Anderson - Heard It All Before TLC - No Scrubs Jazmine Sullivan - Pick Up Your Feelings
All original music is written by Benbrick and recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra.
Thank you to:
My team: Sandra, Vidhu, and Birungi. Dylan Haskins and the team at BBC Sounds, BBC Concert Orchestra. Torrie Maas. My Common Ground team: Anne Whitehead, Darshan Sanghrajka, and Benbrick.
Archive:
The clips of Candi Staton used at 07:31, 08:05, 08:28 and 08:59 are taken from her interview with Paul Morley on Guardian Music.
The clips of Jay-z used at 11:06 are taken from his interview on the Scandinavian talk show Skavlan, and his interview with Sway for MTV.
The clip of Tupac used at 11:32 is taken from his BET Networks interview with Ed Gordon.
The clip of 50 Cent used at 12:23 is taken from his interview with Larry King for Ora TV.
The clip of Barack Obama used at 13:01 is taken from CBS News.
The clip of Lauryn Hill used at 14:26 is taken from her 1998 BET Rap City interview.
The clip talking about crack used at 20:05 is taken from the Glide Memorial Church conference “The Race Against Crack”.
Have You Heard George’s Podcast? is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds.
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Senior Producer: Alex Entwistle Commissioning Executive for BBC: Dylan Haskins
Next Episode
27. True Love
As a soon-to-be-married man, George reflects on all the things that made him propose to his partner, Sandra. He thinks about teamwork and the value of culture, sharing what he has learned about both through the transition from friendship to relationship to marriage.
Credits:
Written by George the Poet Produced by Benbrick and George the Poet Mixing, recording and editing by Benbrick.
With music from:
WizKid - True Love Benbrick - Memories Sara Tavares - Balancê Benbrick - Sandra’s Hand Chosen Blood & Winnie Nwagi - Yitayo Vinka - Overdose (feat. Kent & Flosso) Orezi & Sheebah - Sweet Sensation Mac Ayres - Jumping Off the Moon
Archive:
The clips of Prince Harry & Meghan Markle used at 00:47 and 02:20 are taken from their Spotify podcast Archewell Audio, from the Episode ‘2020 Archewell Audio Holiday Special’.
The poem by Vidhu used at 19:15 is called ‘My Name is Vidhu’ and is on her YouTube page BananaSharma.
Thank you to:
Sandra! Meghan and Harry, Archewell Audio, and Spotify. My brothers Kenny, Nathan, Freddie, Barney, Damini, Benbrick, Suuna, James, Michael, and Marc. Shout out to Vidhu and Birungi. GRM daily. Thanks to Amara Agili-Odion for the voice note about Sandra, and of course for attending our Barbican show.
Have You Heard George’s Podcast is a George the Poet production for BBC Sounds.
Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Senior Producer: Alex Entwistle Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins
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