DPZ - Turn Off The Radio

"Hey Mr DJ. Turn the m**ther f**king tables off n**ga. Ho Ass N**ga. Get the white mans d**k out yer mouth!!! What you spinning, bulls**t. Red White Blue Flag waving ho ass n**ga - This is the RGB connection here!!!" - they set their stall out from the beginning and if there was one band who put politics in the front-line it's Dead Prez now going under the moniker of DPZ.

Taking a totally different route to "Lets Get Free" the guys take the idea of mix tapes to the extreme and rather than spit "Let's Party" over instrument tracks they take the basic ideas of the debut album and offer condensed versions and slogans for the RGB army. "Turn Off The Radio" is a simple concept and for those who know the basics of hip hop will know that the likes of Nelly is simply a distraction of the real war on the Streets and that most Black Stations are ran by the white man to control the masses. That's putting it in its most simplistic form possible, but to relate it back to the UK it's the equivalent of MP Kim Howells deciding if we can listen to So Solid Crew or Ms Dynamite or whether we need a safer alternative.

"That's War!" and "Know Your Enemy" are the most comprehensive lyrical manifestos with the latter offering the common sense chorus of "Know your enemy. Know Yourself. That's the politic George Bush is way worse than Bin Laden is". It's hip hop as a voice for the ghetto rather than a means to get a lexus and 5 women on your arm. "Hit Me, Hit Me" is open request for those Black people in positions of power and the wealth to change things to simply put their hands in their pockets and help the communities in need of hospitals and education which is neatly followed up by the "Food, clothes & shelter pt 2" which were the 3 needs as expressed by the Black Panthers.

I could simply sit here an write pages and pages about the ideas expressed on "Turn Off The Radio" but it's simply easier for you to go out and buy one of the essential albums hip hop albums of the year. It's a return to what hip hop truly means and if you think it has no relevance to your life than ask yourself why you're 7 times more likely to be stopped by police if your Black, why a whole race of people and style of music are being blamed for gun shootings and yet the government reduce help and funding to these areas involved and on overtly racist ideals why Eminem is up for an Oscar next year for 8 Mile and is considered one of the most influential figures in hip hop while the likes of DPZ are considered underdogs and censored at every opportunity. If you think this is irrelevant to your life then the powers that be have already won the war. Read about your history, buy "Turn Off The Radio" and start fighting on the front-line for your right to equality!!!

Alex McCann

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