"I'm tired of you good little niggas, saying increase the peace and let the violence cease, when the black man built this country, but can't get his for the prejudiced honky"
Willie D is best known for being a member of the legendary Geto Boys, but just like Scarface he's an exemplary MC in his own right. I'm Goin' Out Lika Soldier was Willie's second album released in 1992 a full three years after his first solo album. That may not seem like a large gap today but at the time most rappers who took a three year break were just gone. Willie D showed just how good he was by jumping back in headfirst without the backing of other artist, no matter how much people wanted to see otherwise.
The production on this album is somewhat ridiculous when you take into account the time period. Willie D didn't just stick to the typical Texas style production as most artist in Texas were doing. He stepped out and brought in styles from all over the place. New Orleans Bounce music was taking off and you can hear elements of that in the beats he used. For example, when you hear "Fuck Rodney King," you kind of want to dance. In addition he settled on live instruments for parts of the album. While you still hear drum machines and things portions of songs were played live in the studio. Sampling on the album is rare but when used it's made up of tracks that would be unheard of at the time. Everyone knows about the West Coast G-funk movement but Willie D had a Funkadelic sample before that even took off. He also had Betty Wright, James Brown and Madona.
You can tell Willie D was out to create an album that would reach a lot of people. He was simply ahead of his time with this. He kept the things that made him fans while implementing things like Funk and Bounce. He may not be a pioneer of these movements but he's right there at the start which adds to his legacy. At this point Willie D was already an established artist, all he had to do was keep doing the same old thing to maintain his popularity. Instead he was one of the first artist to reach into experimental territory. There was a large chance that this would have failed, but it didn't, it only helped elevate him, all without sacrificing lyrical content to sell records.
The title track "I'm Goin Out Lika Gangsta," may seem like it's going to be some pure gangster rap, but it's not. It's a track about how suburban parents are trying to censor rap music. Willie D takes the time to justify his lyrics with quotables like, "don't know shit about me, you don't see me running, I'm from the ghetto, so I keep coming, with more nerves, more verbs, more cuss words, to fuck with the suburbs, you can't stand me or can me, bullets gonna go thru people if you ban me, cause you fucking with my livelihood." Also pointing out that rap music is a way for a lot of young black people to make money legally. It's their livelihood, it's how they feed their families. He goes on to make threats about killing the president George H.W. Bush. Later in the album he states that he's not a killer and doesn't plan to be unless it's self defense, but as he says in the track "survival comes before principles and morals."
"Die," takes aim at a immortal breed of rapper. The type who don't care about the music they make, they only want to live the lifestyle. They skimp out on paying people and good production so they can live at the studio and take pictures. At the time Public Enemy was the face of the pro-black movement in rap, and they lived it. The problem is others started hopping on that train and pretending to be pro-black but weren't about it. They simply did it to sell records and Willie D wasn't with that. He also takes aim at producers who are stuck in the past and do anything for a dollar. As well as producers who think they're great but "should've stayed out, four tracks done played out, your production is booty bro." If that isn't enough he plainly states it on the outro of the track "this goes out to all you wanna be, ain't never gonna be shit, rappers on a local scene acting like you're all that, jealous ass, ain't paid no motherfucking dues, ain't sold no motherfucking records, but run around with T-Shirts with your name on em."
The song "Clean Up Man," is an ode to Betty Wright best known for her song "Clean Up Woman," the classy term for a side check. In the extended live version of the song she warned women of the clean up man. Willie D is the clean up man. It's a funny track that even flips the hook of Betty's song. In the song he also says "Swept her right up off her feet, and entered the jag, cause you was using her face as a punching bag, if you gotta beat her, you don't need her." Domestic violence isn't funny but the line itself is funny because at the time when people wanted rap music banned, stating it was all misogynistic, here's Willie D stating that beating women is off limits. He wasn't the first, nor was he the last to do so, but the media only tells you what they want you to hear.
Lines like "You ain't no gangster, so why you say it on your songs, everybody knows you used to get chased home," and "you feel important to your homies, who like you or a bunch of damn phonies," are the type that fill "U Ain't No Gangsta." It's a track about how everyone wants to pretend to be a gangster for popularity but they're lying, especially rappers. Willie D makes it clear, he isn't a gangster, but he's from the streets and can tell if you're really a gangster or not. He also promises to knock you out if you try to use your act to intimidate him. He's not a gangster but Willie D is a golden gloves boxer so if he says he'll knock you out, he'll do it. The track that follows is called "Trenchcoats-N-Ganksta Hats," it's a comedic track in a way. You can tell from the spelling Willie D is just showing how easy it is to make a track about selling cocaine and being straight gangster. It's funny because it's the most confrontational song on the album and he's just making fun of how simple it is to create a fake image on a track.
"Fuck Rodney King," opens with news clips trying to shame rioters, that sounds really familiar 2015. It's not a song that takes aim at just Rodney King, it takes aim at almost everyone. He admonishes people who wanted to end the riots because peace is the only logical way. People like to quote Martin Luther King Jr. when they say black people shouldn't riot but MLK did state:
"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."With that said, Willie D wants you to break some windows. Willie D is also not a fan of Rodney King suddenly forgiving police. "Rodney King, god damn sell-out, on TV crying for a cop, the same mothafuckas who beat the hell outcha, now I wish they would've shotcha." Rodney was crying for the police, but not the rioters who are victims of the same beatings he was. If Rodney had died he could have at least be a martyr. Instead he lived and simply made the problem worse. The line "Cause this shit is deeper than Vietnam, and ain't no room for the Uncle Tom," is really poignant. Anytime black people get beat up or killed by the police, people start saying there's more important things, like supporting the troops. It's always about supporting the troops raging war in other countries when war is being waged against black Americans, and we're wrong for speaking on it.
"I'm glad that niggas stayed out of check, cause that's the only thing rednecks respect." is the perfect line to demonstrate riots. Willie D was talking about the L.A. Riots but I'd like to look at the Baltimore Riots, because it's the same thing almost 20 years later. Nobody talked about the peaceful protest all through the weekend, because it was time for the annual correspondents dinner, and that was more important. The moment someone kicked out the window of a police car the media suddenly cared, but they were paying attention and ready to react. They don't respect black lives, but they respect damaged property. It's followed immediately by the line "we don't want your welfare checks, nigga need a real job to buy a rolex," and it's true. Jobs are kept outside the black community and people are given welfare. The thing about welfare is it's meant for people below the poverty line, and even if you're below the poverty line, you can't get welfare if you have a job.
The second verse continues to point out how stupid it is to sing "We Shall Overcome," when it hasn't been working for decades. That worked during the Civil Rights movement but for every peaceful march someone was rioting. Third verse takes aim at politicians, judges and black leaders:
"It's high time that we take out some judges, and some congressmen and senators who cheat us, and all of these so called black leaders, like Craig Washington, nigga sound dense, trying to play both sides of the fence, brown nosing cause he was chosen, by the whites to make niggas act right, you can't lead the black struggle, and be friends with the enemy, mothafucka, while you trying to keep your fucking job, black folks getting robbed"Yes, Willie D suggest we start killing the people who keep systematic racism in place, because if there's no system, the system can't oppress. Craig Washington was a democratic member of The House of Representatives. He preached respectability politics and was elected on the grounds of promising to help black people. Once elected he just kept telling them to hold on, and began preaching respect yourselves and the cops will. To Willie D's credit, Craig Washington shot a car full of black teenagers in 2008 for no reason, received no time, the case sealed and had his law license revoked in 2014.
"Go Back 2 School," is a cool track. Willie D was kicked out of school for fighting and never graduated, but he tells kids not to be like him. He talks about how he couldn't get a job at McDonalds because he wasn't qualified. He almost started selling drugs but his conscious got the best of him. He also points out how there's a lot of kids who only get to eat at school. The track "U Still A aggiN," takes aim at people who try to deny their blackness. He specifically takes aim at Michael Jackson for lightening his skin and Paula Abdul for pretending she's one hundred percent white. He also brings in the Reggae Artist K-Rino to do the breaks on the track.
It's a great album, not just for it's musical content. Willie D is similar to Public Enemy in the sense that he doesn't believe in simply waiting for racism to end by singing. However Willie D might be more militant than Public Enemy. Willie D boldly stated we should start killing politicians, judges and police. At a time when politicians wanted rap music censored Willie D was calling for the death of the president. The best part is he's unapologetic about all of this. Willie D has never backed down from any of it.
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You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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Great review of classic album
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