book cover courtesy of Writers and Readers Publishing. Inc.
Ah
oo
k R
eview
i
nitially published in 1973,
Revolutionary Suicide is the
I autobiography of Huey
Pierce Newton, Black revo
lutionary and co-founder of the
Black Panther Party.
Revolutionary Suicide tells the
story of a young man from
Louisiana who eventually
becomes one of the most influen
tial African-American leaders of
the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
The autobiography chronicles the
development of Newton’s revolu
tionary thought, from his first lit
erary encounters with Plato’s The
Republic to the implementation
of a designed program of com
munity upliftment.
The birth of the Black
Panther Party arrived when
Bobby Seal and Huey Newton
became disenchanted with the
format and progress of other
African-American organizations.
They later sat in an Oakland
youth recreation center to devise
a community-based
program to fight the
oppression and
exploitation of African-
American people. The
Black Panther Party’s
ten-point program and
platform was divided
into two parts, “What
We Want” and “What
We Believe.”
The party began
its movement with the imple
mentation of point #7, “We want
an immediate end to police bru
tality and murder of Black peo
ple.” The program was called
"patrolling;” it consisted of fol
lowing the police officers in the
Black community and observing
their actions. Party members
were armed with shotguns and a
precise knowledge of the law.
Soon after the first encounter
with the police, the Black Panther
Party's membership began to
increase in the Oakland area.
Before its decline, the Black
Panther Party had grown into a
nation-wide, multi-faceted organi
zation. Two of the most notable
“survival” programs were nation
wide sickle cell anemia screening
and free breakfast for children.
“Revolutionary suicide does not mean
that I and my comrades have a death
wish; it means just the opposite. We
have such a strong desire to live with
hope and human dignity that existence
without them is impossible. ”
-Huey P. Newton
Revolutionary Suicide tells
the story of Huey Newton’s
impoverished childhood and
strong family connections. Huey
grew up hustling and learned
everything he knew from “the
brothers on the block.” He grad
uated high school functionally
illiterate. Upon encouragement
from his older brother. Huey
taught himself how to read and
eventually attended college.
In college, Huey learned
about and experimented with dif
ferent philosophies. From Frantz
Fanon to Plato. Huey read all
that he could with the intention
of benefiting the Black communi
ty. With the formation of the
black Panther Party, Huey
Newton and Bobby Seale bril
liantly combined these philoso
phies and tailored
them into a program
for the Black commu
nity. Huey testifies to
the horrific conditions
and psychological tor
ture of the penal sys
tem after being impris
oned on several occa
sions because of the
Party’s success. The
book concludes with
an explication on communism.
“There is an old African
saying, ‘1 am we.’” If you met an
African in ancient times and
asked him who he was, he would
reply, ‘I am we.’ This is revolu
tionary suicide: I, we, all of us are
the one and the multitude.”
- Huey Newton
m
‘m fulfilling my purpose in life/ I was put here so wack n gg
would know how wack they are/ You ® ~
sh**’s saggin/ Word is Bond/ My s*"*’s TIGHTER THAN FIVE
VIRGINS IN A VOLKSWAGEN
Realness! Realness! Realness! Not Real mess! Skee-lo gets nom
inated for a Grammy because he wishes he was a little ®
Raekwon sits at home in Shaolin with his Butter Pecan Ricans? Well,
it’s time for the True-Heads Awards presentations given by
me, aNalltiKO, on behalf of the Hip Hop Nation;
Album of the Year. Tie Mobb Deep, Raekwon
Best New Artist: Tie Dogg Pound, Goodie Mob
Best Soundtrack: Tie The Show, Don’t Be A Menace...
Best Comeback: Tie Kool G. Rap, Fugees
The Nas Escobar Awa«i for Best Overall I^cs: Genius
Best Mix Tape: Funkmaster Flex’s 60 Minutes of Funk
Producer of the Yean RZA
I can keep ******* rappin’ till Biz Markie gets
cute. (That’s a long, long, long time..)
Well, I guess that RAPS up this week’s install
ment as well as the inaugural AnalltiKO
awards. Peace I’ve got a date with Lauryn i
of the Fugees. Oh, my bad! I meant Lahronda Hell, a
Haitian Refugee. Jeepers, Mr. Cleaver, I almost orgo
what those mad lyrics were that dotted the artic e.
There is a new MC in town. Actually e as roo
Fayettville, North Kakalak. He hails from Richmond, g
n
k
9
6
brings us all back to the roots of hip-hop. Mad Skillz produces music,
and 1 stress music, and lyrics unheard of since the days of Eric B. and
Rakim. I figured perhaps the greatest service I could do for this lyri
cal extraordinaire was to give you a sample of his flow.
When listening to his cuts, one reminisces about the days when
hip hop free-style battles raged out on every street corner and arcade.
All sixteen cuts are devoted to calling out whack MC s and money
grubbers. Being the rap guru, 1 highly rec
ommend this C.D. (or tape for the cavemen
audiophile).
Mad Skillz’ production crew .g
includes an all-star team of talent as
Jaydee, the Beatnuts, Buckwild, Clark ck
Kent, and the Large Professor whip out |
something tighter than "FIVE VIRGINS ^
IN A VOLSWAGEN.” If you just want to ®
seek me out on the yard or sample it for °
yourself on Franklin Street, make sure |
you check out “The Nod Factor” g
and the sexy, mellow R&B-
inspired cuts featuring the g
D,, tiMalTtiKO voice of Khim Davis “Get ^
Vour Groove on-and-Move «
Your Body.
Being politically incorrect, just do as the Korean-national shop
keeper told the young urban chemical-salesman 0-Dogg on Menace II
Society,”JUST HURRY UP AND BUY.” That is realness. There’s
just one thing left to say: Mad production, mad Lyrics, MAD SKILLZ.
* /
■ 1
• •
• •
• •
*