Terminator X. ft Juvenile Delinquintz “Juvenile Delinquintz”

31Mar/105

Terminator X. ft Juvenile Delinquintz “Juvenile Delinquintz”

Teddy CD over at T.R.O.Y. recently wrote about the surprisingly overlooked solo career of Terminator X (of Public Enemy and ostrich raising fame), focusing on his first album from 1991, Terminator X And The Valley Of The Jeep Beats. Terminator's second album (1994's Super Bad) remains a cult favorite; the singles "It All Comes Down To The Money" featuring Whodini and "Under The Sun" featuring Def Squad affiliate Joe Synister, are sometimes cited as lesser known gems of that era. Valley Of The Jeep Beats, though lauded when released, is rarely praised nowadays. That's a shame because the single "Juvenile Delinquintz," which features the youthful rap group of the same name, is a compelling indictment of the public education system, perhaps one of the best the rap genre has to offer.

A little while back I posted a piece describing how my eighth grade social studies class, encouraged by increased media coverage of the "culture wars" and the politically outspoken rap of the time (early 90s) staged a mini-rebellion against our well-meaning but passively eurocentric instructor. I recounted that we were particularly moved by songs such as Leaders Of The New School "Teachers, Don't Teach Us Nonsense" and YZ's "When The Road Is Covered With Snow." Both songs identify explicit targets -- inefficient schools and the eurocentric version of history -- but also tend to be a bit roundabout in their critique, opting to valorize contrariness rather than deconstruct an opponent's claims. "Juvenile Delinquintz" employs a much more confrontational approach to similar grievances - this song is meant to amplify collective rage and elicit an immediate and powerful response from the listener.

The group's vocals and visuals are noticeably more aggressive than the other artists I mentioned. The video has moments of levity but the group members, rapping in loud, enunciated styles clearly influenced (perhaps coached?) by Chuck D and Ice Cube, never come off as childish. The unashamed masculine swagger on display in this video is a risky move given the frequent defamation of minority youths in the national media during the years following the peak of the crack epidemic, to say nothing of the eagerness of commentators to link violent rap lyrics with criminal behavior. The dramatized rowdiness complements the bassy energetic music and fits within the aesthetic norm of early 90s rap videos but could easily be misconstrued as an advocacy of violent or at least disruptive behavior by observers who are unsympathetic to the group's protest and/or uninterested in analyzing the song as a knowingly stylized piece of art.Contrary to such expectations, however, these young rappers take on a more complicated task than establishing a mood or eliciting a combination of disgust and pity. They actually engage in thought provoking analysis by linking the assumptions that inform a eurocentric curriculum that devalues and obscures black accomplishments to the attitudes of school authorities who rely on similarly dehumanizing generalizations to police their captive audience.

According to the logic of this song, the miseducation of black youth, especially in regards to history but also in regards to preparation for participation in the future economy, is catastrophic enough to justify disobedience. I do not know whether or not the rappers wrote their own lyrics and I cannot guess the extent to which Terminator X may have assisted in the direction and execution of the song and video. The rage that characterizes the verses certainly feels authentic and I believe it is safe to assume that even if the lyrics were entirely ghostwritten, it is improbable that the rappers' views on public education diverged sharply from the ones expressed in the song. In any event, the main question posed by the song is probably worth asking today: if black youth are labeled public enemies prior to any wrongdoing and such historically rooted slander can decimate one's chances of overcoming economic obstacles through the legal route of educational pursuit, how could one choose to sit idly by and not disrupt the classroom during a lesson that refuses to acknowledge blacks as humans, let alone participatory citizens?

Terminator X. ft Juvenile Delinquintz "Juvenile Delinquintz"

Thanks to Verge at T.R.O.Y. for ripping and uploading the vinyl single.

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Tagged as: juvenile delinquintz, race, rap, school, terminator x Leave a comment

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Teddy C.D.
April 1st, 2010 - 15:23

This was great, Thun. Props for this. I’m a fan of all subjects, including social studies/history, and I do believe there is a lot to learn from the history of all cultures/civilizations: American, European, African, Asian, etc., but your analysis of the song was spot on.
However, what’s your stance on the subjects outside of Social Studies? Don’t you think it’s wise for kids to study the Sciences and Math to legally overcome economic obstacles through the education system? What about English? There are always options.
And damn, I can’t stop bobbing my head to Juvenile Delinquentz… Do you have any information about what happened to them, or did they for sure only release one track?
Thun
April 1st, 2010 - 22:28

Teddy – I do not have any additional information on the group. This is their only released recording, to my knowledge.

Have you ever read Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol? It might give you some additional insight into the context of this song. The book is a searing indictment of inequities and disparities in the public school system, with some very detailed descriptions of inadequate facilities, incompetent instruction, and everyday hell of inner city school. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Inequalities-Children-Americas-Schools/dp/0060974990

The song isn’t so much anti-school, as it is anti-inequality, IMO. Could an inner city youngster pursue a different field if his history education was less than stellar? Sure. Do inner city kids need to improve their math and science scores to be competitive job applicants in the future? Yep. The problem is, though, that if you eliminate non-white achievement in the historical narrative, you tarnish the perception of non white students’ ability to learn and achieve int he public eye, and this impacts the way their teahcers teach and the way that suburbanites vote and the way that resources are allocated and reforms are implemented.

For a good read about the systemic racism inherent to the American public school system, and to learn about the concept of “caste minorities” and the relationship between upbringing, education, and labor participation, I suggest John Ogbu: http://www.amazon.com/Minority-Education-Caste-Cross-Cultural-Perspective/dp/0125242506/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270175196&sr=1-4

And if you like those suggestions, read the more recent works by both authors.
Teddy C.D.
April 2nd, 2010 - 00:20

Great, thanks for the recommended reads Thun.
“The song isn’t so much anti-school, as it is anti-inequality, IMO.” I agree with that.
I know that inner-city schools are seriously f*cked up in America. It’s a long line of events that have all contributed to the deteriorated public school systems in poor neighborhoods–kind of a chain reaction, if you will. Schools have given up on students, who have then given up on their schools, and vice versa.
My school of thought is that you can accomplish what you want if you really put your mind to it; anyone can make something out of their lives, no matter the circumstance (okay, up to a certain point of course. If you’re a child soldier in decolonized Africa with no food or shelter you’re likely not going to be flipping through a textbook), and the top students in any race WILL more than likely overcome economic obstacles. However, this is over-simplifying the problem in inner-city schools. If the system is f*cked, which it is, and a chain of historical/social problems have affected minorities to this day, the chances for success are unquestionably reduced–and there isn’t just one finger to point anymore (ie. at the students); something needs to be done about the system. This we can agree on.
I’m not sure if this is how the US public school system works, but if it is–it doesn’t help when school funding is based solely on test score performances.
I’ll have to check out those books some time though. Props.
lj
April 10th, 2010 - 15:09

late pass … and very happy to read about the criminally underrated TX album which a favorite of mine.
“yeah we say fuck school but we still get through” – always felt that was a quite mature (yet fatalistic) statement.
Chief Chinchilla
May 4th, 2010 - 13:22

Props for posting this. I remember hearing somewhere that one of the MC’s in this group went on to be one of the members of the Hoodratz, a Queens duo who came out with an album in 1993 called Sneeke Muthafuckaz. They had some shit, but were written off as Onyx ripoffs by a lot of people. I checked the credits and both “Juvenile Delinquentz” and the songs on the Hoodratz album have a writer name in common. Pretty big coincidence, so I’m assuming that statement is true. Nonetheless, thanks for biggin up a song that was so dope (and an album that had some serious beats) but just got swept under the rug in a ’91 summer that just had too many dope albums.