Episode 136: Paris

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Oscar “Paris” Jackson Jr. is a rapper, songwriter, and producer who has been a militant voice for justice in the rap world since the 1980s. He came out of the Bay Area’s small but diverse and creative hip-hop scene towards the end of that decade, and made a splash with his 1990 debut album The Devil Made Me Do It, which mixed innovative musical choices with Black Panther-inspired politics and a Nation of Islam-influenced spiritual bent.

But it was his second album, 1992’s Sleeping With the Enemy, that really brought Paris to the notice of the masses. A song from that album called “Bush Killa,” about assassinating then-President George H.W. Bush, and another one about revenge killings of police officers called “Coffee, Donuts and Death,” got him attention from the Secret Service and dropped from his label.

But that didn’t stop Paris, who continues to release albums, including this fall’s Pistol Politics, and to rail against injustice in his rhymes.

Tracks featured in this episode:

1. Paris - Back in the Days
2. Cindy’s Psycho Episode
3. Too Short f/Danger Zone & Rappin’ 4-Tay, “Don’t Fight The Feelin’”
4. Too Short, “Playboy $hort II”
5. Digital Underground, “Underwater Rimes”
6. Paris, “Brutal”
7. MC Hammer, “Let’s Get It Started”
8. Public Enemy, “Rebel Without A Pause”
9. Paris, “The Devil Made Me Do It”
10. Jay Z f/Jay Electronica, “We Made It”
11. L.A. Dream Team, “The Dream Team Is In The House!”
12. The Egyptian Lover, “And My Beat Goes Boom”
13. DJ Shadow, “Lesson 4”
14. Paris, “This Is A Test”
15. Paris, “This Is A Test”
16. Paris, “Panther Power”
17. Paris, “Break The Grip Of Shame”
18. Paris, “The Devil Made Me Do It”
19. Public Enemy, “Caught, Can We Get A Witness?”
20. Bobby Byrd, “Hot Pants”
21. Paris, “Break The Grip Of Shame”
22. Paris, “Scarface Groove”
23. Paris, “Brutal”
24. Spice 1, “Ghetto Thang”
25. Paris, “The Hate That Hate Made”
26. The Hate That Hate Produced - Part 1
27. Paris, “Guerillas In The Mist”
28. Paris, “Bush Killa”
29. N.W.A., “Fuck Tha Police”
30. Paris, “Coffee, Donuts, & Death”
31. DJ Shadow f/Mos Def, “Six Days - Remix”
32. Blackbyrds, “Mysterious Vibes”
33. Paris, “The Days Of Old”
34. Paris, “It’s Real
35. Paris, “40 Ounces And A Fool”
36. Paris, “Back In The Days”
37. Paris, “Hard Truth Soldier – Redux”
38. Public Enemy, “Plastic Nation”
39. Public Enemy, “Anti-Nigger Machine”
40. The Conscious Daughters, “Shitty Situation”
41. Paris, “Murder Suit”
42. Paris, “Truce Music”
43. Paris, “Hard Truth Soldier - Redux”
44. Paris “The War Dance”
45. Paris, “Assata’s Song”
46. Paris, “The Days of Old”
47. Paris, “Night of the Long Knives”
48. Paris, “Buck, Buck, Pass”
49. Paris, “Give the Summer Drums”
50. Paris f/dead prez & Kam, “Martial Law – Redux”
51. Paris f/T-K.A.S.H. & The Conscious Daughters, “Raid”
52. Insane Clown Posse f/Paris, “Surviving the Game”
53. End of Watch Gangsta Barbeque Scene
54. KIll the Messenger
55. KNBC, School Pride: The TV Show

Show notes:

1. The Daily Beast, “The FBI Agent Who Hunted N.W.A”