How have you never heard F**k Tha Police???

That's what I thought, while looking at a picture a friend had just posted on Facebook.  It was of her car stereo.  She'd been listening to Sirius radio or something similar, and the song 'F**k tha Police' came on. She took a picture, and coupled it with an exasperated response.Then I thought, "Well, I'm sure there is a huge difference in upbringing between us."I can't speak for anyone else, but I was raised on the southside of Chicago, in the Wild Hundreds, with an older sibling.  My sister was a hip-hop head.  13 years older than myself, she would drive me to school some mornings (when she had a car) and the playlist would consist of Too Short, Eazy-Motherfucking-E, D.OC., AMG, and of course, NWA  Looking back on it, my sister was all about West Coast rap.

"Fuck the police coming straight from the underground!A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown!"

While I don't remember the first time I heard that song, I can imagine my reaction at the time. Straight Outta Compton, NWA's debut studio album was released in August of 1988.  I would be turning 9-years-old a month later in September, so I definitely would have heard the song sometime that year.  I'm sure I would've stared at the stereo incredulous. While the production of the song isn't anything stellar, that immediate verbal assault, especially for the time, clobbers you over the head.Though I was too young to realize it, or its significance at the time, 'F**k Tha Police' was a watershed moment for hip hop music.  No one had recorded something quite like that up to that point.  Ice-T would later recall that during shows, he would often say "Fuck the police" because he was often harrassed, however, he had never put that on wax.I remember it being a big deal at the time, because you were actually seeing NWA on the news, and it wasn't in a good way.  They were being picketed, boycotted, receiving letters from both the FBI and the Fraternal Order of Police, and of course Tipper Gore's stank ass was skulking around, trying to, and succeeding, in getting a parental advisory sticker on not only Straight Outta Compton, but everything else she could get her grimy little hands on.However, many years later, we can look back at 'F**k Tha Police' for what it really is.......a thesis.'F**k Tha Police' is a thesis of police interaction in black communities, then from the perspective of a teenager, that now, through research and study, we can find is predominantly true and accurate.Now, in the film Straight Outta Compton, we are led to believe that the song stems from a violent interaction between all of the members of NWA and the LAPD, being harassed during a recording session, and shortly thereafter, they went into the studio and penned the scorching tune.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBYiVoNwzQo][youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGmthB51XUc]However, that is not exactly how it went down.According to Ice Cube, the altercation between Eazy-E and Dr. Dre and the police was prompted by Eazy and Dre driving down the freeway, shooting at cars and people with a paintball gun.  Once the police caught up with them, yes they were thrown on the ground and had guns put their head, etc.  It's also important to note that Dr. Dre was not in favor of recording the song at first.However, police brutality was not unusual with the LAPD. While we were nearly a decade away from the Los Angeles Police Department RAMPART Scandal, and years prior to the Rodney King beating, the LAPD were well known to whoop peoples asses at will.The song is portrayed as a court preceding, with members of NWA sitting in as court personnel and prosecuting attorneys.Now, it's important to also note the emphasis on race during the court proceedings.According to Genius.com:

The Los Angeles Police Department has a sordid past in terms of racial relations and use of excessive force. Just seven days prior to the August 8th 1988 release date of this album, the infamous 39th and Dalton raid occurred.As a part of Operation Hammer (which was meant to decrease gang violence in Los Angeles) a fleet of police went to two apartment complexes where they confiscated drugs, beat tenants, and even put up graffiti praising the LAPD.This type of behavior inspired N.W.A to create an aggressive social statement against the police. In this introduction, Dr. Dre parodies the mannerisms of a racist judge by emphasizing the “witnesses'” black-ness.In reality, this only serves as a manner of reappropriating (or reclaiming) this derogatory language for a positive change – projecting one’s voice, regarding injustice, through hip hop.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSsaJ3YRfu4]I encourage you to read the lyrics of the song.  We now know that many of the issues raised are verifiably true, starting with

"A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brownAnd not the other color, so police thinkThey have the authority to kill a minority.

Racial profiling is well documented in policing across America.  Specifically here in Chicago, the headlines say it all:

• CHICAGO POLICE ARE 14 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO USE FORCE AGAINST YOUNG BLACK MEN THAN AGAINST WHITES

• CPD's 'stop and frisk' practice disproportionately targets black pedestrians, new report says

Additionally,

Racial profiling and discrimination reached a fever-pitch in the late-80s after the emergence of crack in 1986. By Straight Out of Compton’s release in 1988, there were 762,718 yearly arrests for drug possession, nearly twice as many as the 400,000 in 1981.This discrimination also manifested itself in 1986’s Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which made arrests for crack cocaine possession 100x worse than an arrest for powder cocaine, despite the two drugs being nearly identical on a molecular level; the only difference being “The only difference between the crack and powder forms of cocaine is the removal of hydrochloride”. This was detrimental for the African American community as it specifically targeted them because of the large percentage of crack cocaine users were African American, because they dealers sold it into Black communities, while powder cocaine was mostly used by higher class white people. Source

Police "fuckin' with me 'cause I'm a teenager" is also something that was mirrored right here in Chicago, in the form of the Chicago Gang Congregation Ordinance.We now know there are racial disparities in U.S. Criminal Justice System at every twist and turn, and in no surprise to anyone, black men get longer prison sentences than white men for the same crime.We now even know that "Black police showing out for the white cop" is a real phenomenon that has been investigated to some degree. Research shows that black cops are just as likely as white cops to kill black suspects. Some argue that this song advocates violence against police officers.  I don't think it does, but it is definitely a debatable point.  What we do know as fact however is that the song is protected free speech under the First Amendment.While doing research on the song, I loved the phrase that Rich Goldstein used in his article for The Daily Beast, 'A Brief History of the Phrase 'F**k The Police',

"How oppressed Americans turned three words into bullets."

In my opinion, 'F**k Tha Police' is possibly one of the greatest protest songs ever written.  Raw, real, and unflinching, it shines a bright light on segments of our society that some people choose not to look at or acknowledge.I've taken the Chicago Police Department exam twice in my lifetime.  My father always wanted me to be a police officer.  However, I could never bring myself to become a part of such a damaged and dysfunctional power structure.  While 'F**k Tha Police' is centered on the Los Angeles Police Department, I've heard many people in Chicago use the refrain in the shadows of the John Burge Scandal, and later in the Laquan McDonald Murder and the later hand slapping of murderer Jason Van Dyke. The reality of life is that Chicago has a legacy of police torture, harassment and mistreatment that easily rivals Los Angeles on all fronts.We got a long way to go before this song will no longer be applicable to American society.What are your thoughts on the song?  Are you a fan?  Do you loathe it?  Have you ever heard it? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments below.    Also, have you checked out my podcast? The show is Off The Beaten Podcast. You can find the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher, Spotify, or on our website. Who knows, maybe this topic will pop up over there. Also, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to see the sights of the city and what’s going down. Also, if you’re so inclined, Sign up to get Off The Beaten Podcast in your inbox.