Monday 26 September 2011

Another example of Phil Collins' profound influence on Rap

Willie Dee - Trip Across From Mexico
(From Controversy; 1989)


When The Convicts released Illegal Aliens in 1991 as the stand-out cut on their self titled masterpiece, the general consensus was that the song was a wholly successful attempt to surpass Ice Cube's xenophobia. But Rap-A-Lot is a label that's always bequeathed N.W.A and Phil Collins with equal levels of reverence and so Big Mike & 3-2 would probably be the first to admit Illegal Aliens was merely retreading ground Ill Phil had firmly staked his claim on 7 years earlier with the most astonishingly racist pop single of the 80s:

Genesis - Illegal Alien
(From Genesis; 1983)


Even though the single version omits the lyrics from the LP version where Phil offers his sister's sexual favours in exchange for admittance across the American border, Phil's bizarre faux-Mexican accent, video costume and "over the border is the promised land/where everything comes easy, you just hold out your hand" stanza from the song are still more willingly offensive than anything Big Mike & 3-2 had to say on Illegal Aliens; The Convicts song is designed to shock, where the jovial tone of the Genesis banger makes it all the more jaw-droppingly racist.




8 comments:

done said...

Totally considered making a racist raps compilation there recently but thankfully not for very long, I'm not built for that. Wouldn't have been able to choose between this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obhDvPGJCOc&feature=related

or the inferior original that has Nina X's clarification "My pussys prejudiced - not only to the white man, but to anybody that is not black - that goes for mexicans and to any slanty eyed chink with a liquor store" anyways.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Unless you wear a fake-moustache in the video, you're half-stepping in your xenophobia.

Still can't believe the movie version of American Psycho didn't feature the part where Patrick extols the virtues of Illegal Alien.

done said...

I need to read that book.

The CritIQ said...

Eric Crapton did of course release an entire concept album about The Civil War; from the Confederate perspective.

Spartan said...

A very young Phil Collins has an uncredited cameo as an ice cream man in David Greene's problematic I Start Counting(1969).

Stumbled upon a 1080p rip of on YouTube and ended up watching it.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Any good?

Spartan said...

Yeah, it was cool.

Went in expecting a proto-slasher, ended up essentially a coming of age drama. The horror elements merely bookended the film.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Phil Cobain in that clip.