"By the Time I Get to Arizona" is a song by American hip hop group
Public Enemy
"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe p ...
from their 1991 album ''
Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black''. The song was written by frontman
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...
in protest of the state of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, where governor
Evan Mecham
Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...
had canceled
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...
and the people voted against its reintroduction.
It was released as a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
to the single "
Shut 'Em Down" in January 1992,
but had its own
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
. The video was controversial for its depiction of black paramilitaries assassinating Arizona politicians in revenge for
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
, who was non-violent. Some black activists and King's widow
Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...
condemned the themes of the video. Chuck D and Public Enemy's spokesman
Harry Allen defended the video as a fictional revenge for
King's assassination.
Background and composition
![Evan_Mecham_(Arizona_governor)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Evan_Mecham_%28Arizona_governor%29.jpg)
Public Enemy frontman
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...
wrote the song in protest at the state of
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, where Governor
Evan Mecham
Evan Mecham ( ; May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008) was an American businessman and the 17th governor of Arizona, serving from January 5, 1987, until his impeachment conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of World War II, Mecham was a ...
had canceled
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is a federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Mond ...
and the people of the state voted against a proposition to reintroduce it.
Backlash to this decision included the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
moving
Super Bowl XXVII
Super Bowl XXVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Buffalo Bills and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the ...
to California, losing around $100 million in revenue for Arizona.
[
Chuck D preferred to come up with titles before writing songs, and devised "By the Time I Get to Arizona" due to his appreciation for ]Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, actor, songwriter, and composer. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwri ...
's cover of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix
"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" is a song written by Jimmy Webb. Originally recorded by Johnny Rivers in 1965, it was covered by American country music singer Glen Campbell on his album of the same name. Released on Capitol Records in 1967, Camp ...
".[ ]Gary G-Wiz
Gary Rinaldo (born May 3, 1969), better known by the name Gary G-Wiz, is an American record producer and film score composer. Most known for being a member of the hip hop production team the Bomb Squad, G-Wiz is a longtime Public Enemy producer a ...
produced the track, with the main riff sampled
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
from funk band Mandrill's "Two Sisters of Mystery" (1973), and a 45-second bridge from the Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
's "Walk On" (1971). According to Evan Serpick of ''Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' magazine, the organs
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
in the latter sample "evoke civil rights protesters calling from the grave".[ The rap was originally recorded over the beat that was used for " Shut 'Em Down".][
In the lyrics of the song, Chuck D says "neither party is mine, not the jackass or the elephant", indicating that he and the black community will not challenge Arizona by voting for the Democratic or ]Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
parties represented by those mascots.
During live performances of the song, the group would hang a Klansman
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
effigy. They performed the song as their only song when opening for U2 at Sun Devil Stadium
Sun Devil Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium in the southwestern United States, on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona. It is home to the ASU Sun Devils football team of the Pac-12 Conference. The s ...
in Tempe, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Vale of Tempe
, image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg
, imagesize = 260px
, image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...
in 1992. Their early exit from the stage was supported by U2 singer Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
.[
]
Video
Though not released as a single, "By the Time I Get to Arizona" had a music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
. It opens with a white Arizona politician telling the press that Martin Luther King Day will never be observed in the state. Guest artist Sister Souljah
Sister Souljah (born Lisa Williamson, the Bronx, New York, Bronx, New York) is an American author, activist, and film producer. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party candidate Bill Clinton criticized her remarks about race in the U ...
then declares that paramilitary forces are being sent to Arizona so that it will be observed. Footage of the paramilitary committing assassinations is interspersed with black-and-white recreations of King and the Civil Rights Movement receiving violent abuse.[ The video was directed by ]Eric Meza
Eric Exequiel Meza (born 8 April 1999) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Colón.
Career
Born in Santa Fe, Meza joined Colón's youth categories in 2009, from city rivals Unión de Santa Fe. After eleven yea ...
, who had previous credits with N.W.A.[
]
The video was criticized by some scholars of King, and older black activists, for its violent scenes.[ His widow ]Coretta Scott King
Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...
condemned it. The video was removed from MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
's regular rotation.[
According to Rybacki and Rybacki, the synthesis in the video between the violence towards King and the Civil Rights Movement, and the fictional retaliatory violence by black Americans against Arizona politicians, creates a verbally violent "thromise" – separate from both King's peaceful activism and violent resistance.][ Chuck D said on the day of its MTV premiere that the video is a fantasy to show white viewers the importance of a public holiday honoring a black leader; he also said that in the modern era King would be a more radical "Martin Luther King Farrakhan".][ Public Enemy spokesman Harry Allen concurred that King would have radicalised if he survived being shot: "we wonder what he would have stood for, if he had been able to stand after that bullet ripped violently through his neck. Being assassinated, it’s been said, will often change your political viewpoint".][ Chuck D reiterated in 2011 that he did not see a problem with a violent video to honor a non-violent activist: "I’m for peace, but I can make a visual statement about how I feel about what happened. The actuality is that I shot a video in rebuttal to something that happened in real life".][
]
Reception and legacy
A 2020 list in the ''Phoenix New Times
''Phoenix New Times'' is a free digital and print media company based in Phoenix, Arizona. ''New Times'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue ...
'' named it among the 27 best songs about Metro Phoenix, calling it "harshest critique of Arizona, and with good measure". In February 2014, around the time of controversial LGBT-related Arizona SB 1062, Christopher Federico of ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' chose the song for "The week in one song".
Chuck D and academic Gaye Theresa Johnson co-authored a 2010 article for ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' in which they said that the anti-black racism decried in the song still existed in Arizona politics but directed toward Hispanic immigrants through Arizona SB 1070
The Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act (introduced as Arizona Senate Bill 1070 and commonly referred to as Arizona SB 1070) is a 2010 legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona that was the broadest and strictest an ...
. In 2011, amidst the backdrop of the same immigration legislation, Chuck D collaborated with painter Ravi Dosaj for an artwork based on the song. The song's title was used for a 2012 paper on young Mexican Americans in Arizona and their experiences with racism.
The song was on the soundtrack for 2002 video game ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4'' is a skateboarding video game and the fourth entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision under the Activision O2 label in 2002 for the GameCube, PlayStation, Xbox, ...
''.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1991 songs
Public Enemy (band) songs
Protest songs
Songs against racism and xenophobia
Songs about Arizona
Songs written by Chuck D
Songs written by Gary G-Wiz
Song recordings produced by the Bomb Squad
1992 controversies
Music video controversies
Obscenity controversies in music
Songs about Martin Luther King Jr.