{{Short description|1992 anti-police-brutality all-star charity rap song}}

"Get the Fist"
Single by Get the Fist Movement
ReleasedOctober 27, 1992 (1992-10-27)
RecordedMay 1992
GenreHip hop
Length
  • 3:39 (Street version)
  • 4:00 (Edit)
Label
Composer(s)DJ Pooh
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)
DJ Pooh singles chronology
"Mistadobalina"
(1991)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"It Was a Good Day"
(1993)
King T singles chronology
"Played Like a Piano"
(1990)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"I Got It Bad Y'all"
(1992)
Yo-Yo singles chronology
"Black Pearl"
(1992)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"IBWin' Wit My Crewin"
(1993)
MC Eiht singles chronology
"Growin' Up in the Hood"
(1991)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Streiht Up Menace"
(1993)
B-Real singles chronology
"Latin Lingo"
(1992)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Insane in the Brain"
(1993)
J-Dee singles chronology
"Guerillas in Tha Mist"
(1992)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Freedom Got an A.K."
(1993)
Kam singles chronology
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Peace Treaty"
(1993)
Threat singles chronology
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Let The Dogs Loose"
(1993)
Ice Cube singles chronology
"True to the Game"
(1992)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)
"Wicked"
(1992)
Mr. Woody singles chronology
"Guerillas in Tha Mist"
(1992)
"Get the Fist"
(1992)

"Get the Fist" is the only song released by the purpose-formed, all-star group of popular West Coast hip hop artists, Get the Fist Movement, to raise funds to assist in rebuilding communities affected by the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Although the song was recorded within days of the end of the riots, it received very little promotion and was not released until six months later.

Background

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Three-fifths Compromise

History of Los Angeles § 1950–2000

Historical racial and ethnic demographics of the United States

1964 California Proposition 14 -> Watts riots

Ethnic groups in Los Angeles

History of Korean Americans in Greater Los Angeles

List of criminal gangs in Los Angeles

Bloods, Crips and crack cocaine

During the late 1980's and early 90's rappers "reported" on conditions in LA...

Rodney King -> 1992 Los Angeles riots

After the 1992 Los Angeles riots rappers responded with a bunch of stuff...

[1] [2]

[3] [4]

[5]

[6] [7] [8] [9]

[10] [11] [12] [13]

[14] [15] [16]

[17] [18] [19] [20]

[21] [22] [23]

[24] [25] [26] [27]

Get the Fist Movement

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With some urgency, in the wake of the riots, Lisa Cortes, then vice president of Mercury Records, brought a project called "Get the Fist Movement" to her company.

Credited artist roles and associations[1]
Role Artist Associated with
Producer DJ Pooh
Co-producer T-Bone
Mr. Woody
King T[a]
Lyricist and rapper
Yo-Yo[b]
MC Eiht Compton's Most Wanted[c]
B-Real Cypress Hill[d]
J-Dee Da Lench Mob[b]
Kam[b]
Threat[e]
Ice Cube[f]
"—" denotes no cited association

The group was established to raise funds through sales of their four track 12-inch single "Get the Fist", to be donated to the Brotherhood Crusade's National Black United Fund, with the aim of helping to rebuild the communities affected by the riots.

Notable, contemporary, cause-oriented hip-hop all-star collaborations "Self-Destruction"—condemning black-on-black crime—by the Stop the Violence Movement, and "We're All in the Same Gang"—condemning gang violence—by the West Coast Rap All-Stars...

Project funding

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Production of "Get the Fist" was partially funded by a US$50,000 contribution from the malt liquor brewer McKenzie River, who had a long running professional relationship with DJ Pooh and Ice Cube, and who were donating to charitable causes with which Ice Cube was involved. The brewer received "special thanks" on the record sleeve along with Lisa Cortes and "everyone close who deserves it."[1]

Notes on the record sleeve go on to state that:[1]

The artists and others involved in this project are generously supporting and contributing to Los Angeles Brotherhood Crusade Black United Fund, Inc. and/or other charitable organizations in an effort to help rebuild and strengthen the Los Angeles inner-city community, and they encourage your contributions.

Brotherhood Crusade

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The Brotherhood Crusade was formed in 1968, and the organization founded the National Black United Fund in 1973.

Music video and release

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Lisa Cortes told the Los Angeles Times that a major cause for the delayed release of the single, was that use of news footage featured in the single's accompanying video required clearance.

Although the song was "mentioned prominently in post-riot news coverage, and was featured on MTV News"(emphasis added), it received little record label promotion and was not released until six months after it was recorded and the riots that inspired it.

No merchandise, posters etc...

Song content

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Lyrics

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The people talking in the song say some things about which people in the press said some things...

With its anti-police-brutality message, "Get the Fist" was called "probably the most belligerent charity single ever made" by Jon Pareles for the New York Times and "hardly conciliatory" with "incendiary lyrics" by Jimmie Briggs for the Washington Post in 1992.

Credited samples

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12-inch track listing

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All lyrics are written by King T, Yo-Yo, MC Eiht, B-Real, J-Dee, Kam, Threat and Ice Cube; all music is composed by DJ Pooh

Tracks repeat on both sides[1]
No.TitleLength
1."Get the Fist (Street version)"3:39
2."Get the Fist (Edit)"4:00

Charts

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Week ending December 5, 1992
Chart Position
Billboard R&B Singles Sales[h][i] 75[12]
Billboard Bubbling Under: Hot R&B Singles[h][j] 13[13]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ King T – courtesy of Capitol Records
  2. ^ a b c Yo-Yo, Da Lench Mob and Kam – courtesy of Atlantic Records
  3. ^ Compton's Most Wanted – courtesy of Big Beat Productions and Orpheus/Epic Records
  4. ^ Cypress Hill – courtesy of Ruffhouse/Columbia Records
  5. ^ Threat – courtesy of Da Bomb Records
  6. ^ Ice Cube – courtesy of Priority Records
  7. ^ Although "People Make the World Go Round" by the Stylistics was released by Avco Records,[25] "in 1984, Amherst Records acquired all the master recordings of the AVCO Embassy ... which included those of the Stylistics"[26]
  8. ^ a b The Billboard R&B Singles Sales are "compiled from a national sub-sample of POS (point of sale) equipped key R&B retail stores which report number of units sold to SoundScan, Inc. This data is used in the Hot R&B Singles chart"[12]
  9. ^ After one week on; labelled as "Singles with increasing sales"[12]
  10. ^ After one week on; "Bubbling Under lists the top 25 titles under No. 100 which have not yet charted"[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Get the Fist (Sleeve (back)). New York City: PolyGram Records. 1992. 864 431-1.
  2. ^ Get the Fist (Label). New York City: PolyGram Records. 1992. 864 431-1.
  3. ^ Mohammed-Akinyela, Ife J (June 5, 2012). Conscious Rap Music: Movement Music Revisited; A Qualitative Study of Conscious Rappers and Activism (Thesis). Georgia State University. pp. 38–39. Archived from the original on Oct 16, 2014.
  4. ^ Angeja Viator, Felicia (2012). Gangster Boogie: Los Angeles and the Rise of Gangsta Rap, 1965-1992 (PDF) (Thesis). University of California, Berkley. pp. 121–122. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2017.
  5. ^ Ellis, Mark; Wright, Richard (March 1999). "The Industrial Division of Labor among Immigrants and Internal Migrants to the Los Angeles Economy". International Migration Review (Journal). 33 (1). Archived from the original on June 21, 2020 – via Sage Journals.
  6. ^ Westhoff, Ben (September 13, 2016). "L.A.'s on Fire: A Good Day". Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap (Book). Hachette UK. ISBN 9780316344869 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Jenkins, Sacha; Wilson, Elliott; Mao, Jeff; Alvarez, Gabe; Rollins, Brent (March 25, 2014). Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists (Book). St. Martin's Press. p. 134. ISBN 9781466866973 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Baker, Soren (October 2, 2018). "Niggaz Wit Attitude: King Tee". The History of Gangster Rap: From Schoolly D to Kendrick Lamar, the Rise of a Great American Art Form (Book). Abrams. ISBN 9781683352358 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Quinn, Eithne (November 17, 2004). Nuthin' but a "G" Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap (Book). Columbia University Press. pp. 5, 194. ISBN 9780231518109 – via Google Books.
  10. ^ Rosen, Craig (May 30, 1992). "Ice Cube, Ice-T Projects To Benefit Riot Victims" (PDF). Artists & Music. Billboard (Magazine). Vol. 104, no. 22. pp. 12, 82. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 21, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  11. ^ Nelson, Havelock (October 24, 1992). "SSL's Smokin' Manhattan Performance; Buju Rises On Mercury; Diamond Shines" (PDF). The RAP Column. Billboard (Magazine). Vol. 104, no. 43. p. 32. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 25, 2021 – via World Radio History.
  12. ^ a b c d "R&B Singles Sales" (PDF). Billboard (Magazine). Vol. 104, no. 49. BPI Communications. December 5, 1992. p. 31. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  13. ^ a b c "Bubbling Under; Hot R&B Singles" (PDF). Billboard (Magazine). Vol. 104, no. 49. BPI Communications. December 5, 1992. p. 33. ISSN 0006-2510 – via World Radio History.
  14. ^ "Radio Rap" (PDF). The Gavin Report (Magazine). No. 1925. October 2, 1992. p. 12 – via World Radio History.
  15. ^ Oh, Minya (August 1997). "Word is Bond?". Vibe (Magazine). Vol. 5, no. 6. Vibe Media Group. p. 48. ISSN 1070-4701 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ "Gifts of the Heart". Christmas. Ebony (Magazine). Vol. 48, no. 2. Johnson Publishing Company. December 1992. p. 133. ISSN 0012-9011 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Briggs, Jimmie (November 29, 1992). "Pop Recordings". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
  18. ^ Coward, Kyle (April 21, 2015). "When Hip-Hop First Went Corporate". The Atlantic. The Atlantic Monthly Group. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
  19. ^ Hochman, Steve (November 1, 1992). "Rappers' Response to Riots Finally Out". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019.
  20. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 13, 1992). "POP VIEW; Rap After the Riot: Smoldering Rage And No Apologies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 28, 2013.
  21. ^ "Lisa Cortes's Biography". The History Makers. July 14, 2013. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.
  22. ^ Charnas, Dan (May 5, 2012). "Generation Yauch". Spin. Archived from the original on December 20, 2015.
  23. ^ "Lisa Cortes: Executive Producer". K2 Pictures. Archived from the original on September 29, 2014.
  24. ^ "Da Lench Mob - Relationships". MusicBrainz.
  25. ^ a b Easlea, Daryl (2010). "The Stylistics The Stylistics Review". BBC. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011.
  26. ^ a b "Amherst Records". MusicBrainz.
  27. ^ Mlynar, Phillip (April 25, 2012). "Hive Five: Exploring Rap's Response To The L.A. Riots". MTV. Viacom International. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
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Category:Hip hop songs