The Best Ever

Everytime I play this joint I feel like I'm doing something really life affirming...

In this time of bling when I am most critical of the artform that meant the most to me I find it important to look back on what I really loved. I find it hard to imagine that one of the most socially/politically relevant songs was released in 1984. I figure most people remember "The Message" which also bears that distinction, but I'm talking about the song from "Beat Street". Or moreso the last verse from that song. I always said that the when I listen to "The Message" I can walk outside and see all of those things still happening. It's the same with the song the only difference being I see this on the street and on B.B.C. Everytime I listen to this song I find it hard to believe that we as a generation could be so caught up in nonsense...most of us were alive when this song was out. The number of cats with a record deal who had yet to be born is miniscule. Everytime I hear this it reminds me why I write and why I don't want to give up on Hip-Hop. Not to mention the movie that it was featured in gave what I feel is the most tangible sense of the "vibe" that Hip-Hop culture first had. The vibe that it's often missing today. In addtion I also think that Melle Mel is continually overlooked on those lists of greatest Emcees of all time and if he's on the list he needs to be higher. So enjoy and tell me what you think.

A newspaper burns in the sand, and the headlines say ‘Man destroys Man!’
Extra! Extra! Read all the bad news on the war for peace that everybody would lose
The rise and fall, the last great empire, the sound of the whole world caught on fire
The ruthless struggle, the desperate gamble
The game that left the whole world in shambles
The cheats, the lies, the alibis
And the foolish attempt to conquer the skies
Lost in space, and what is it worth, huh?
The president just forgot about Earth
Spending multi billions, and maybe even trillions
The cost of weapons ran into zillions
There’s gold in the street, and diamonds under feet
And the children in Africa don’t even eat
Flies on their faces, they’re living like mice
And the houses even make the ghetto look nice, Huh!
The water tastes funny, it’s forever too sunny
And they work all month and don’t make no money
A fight for power, a nuclear shower
And people shout out in the darkest hour
Of sights unseen and voices unheard
And finally the bomb gets the last word
Christians killed Muslims, and Germans killed Jews
And everybody’s bodies are used and abused, Huh!
Minds are poisoned and souls are polluted
Superiority complex is deep rooted
Leeches and lice’s, and people got prices
Egomaniacs control the self-righteous
Nothing is sacred and nothing is pure
So the revelation of death is our cure
Hitler and Caesar, Custer and Reagan
Napoleon, Castro, Mussolini and Begin
Ghengis Khan and the Shah of Iran
Man spill the blood of the weaker man
The peoples in terror, the leaders made the error
And now they can’t even look in the mirror
‘Cause we gotta suffer while things get rougher
And that’s the reason why we got to get tougher
To learn from the past and work for the future
And don’t be a slave to no computer
‘Cause the Children of Man inherits the land
And the future of the world is in your hands
So just throw your hands in the air
And wave ‘em like you just don’t care
And if you believe that you’re the future
Scream it out and say ‘Oh yeah!’ (‘Oh yeah!’)
‘Oh yeah!’ (‘Oh yeah!’)
Raah!

Melle Mel - "Beat Street"