There Goes the Neighborhood (Body Count song)
Encyclopedia
"There Goes the Neighborhood" is the twelfth track of Body Count
's self-titled debut album
. The song is a sarcastic response to critics, sung from the point of view of a racist white rocker who wonders "Don't they know rock's just for whites? / Don't they know the rules? / Those niggers are too hardcore / This shit ain't cool." For the song's music video, the word "nigger" was replaced with the phrase "black boys". The music video, directed by Matt Mahurin
, ends with a black musician implanting an electric guitar
into the ground and setting it on fire. The final image is similar to that of a burning cross
.
Body Count
Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1990. The group is fronted by rapper and actor Ice-T, who founded the group out of his interest in heavy metal music, taking on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of the group's songs. Lead guitarist...
's self-titled debut album
Body Count (album)
Body Count is the eponymous debut album of American heavy metal band Body Count. Released in 1992, the album material focuses on various social and political issues ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. The album presents a turning point in the career of Ice-T, who co-wrote the album's songs...
. The song is a sarcastic response to critics, sung from the point of view of a racist white rocker who wonders "Don't they know rock's just for whites? / Don't they know the rules? / Those niggers are too hardcore / This shit ain't cool." For the song's music video, the word "nigger" was replaced with the phrase "black boys". The music video, directed by Matt Mahurin
Matt Mahurin
Matt Mahurin is an American illustrator, photographer and film director. Mahurin's illustrations appear in Time, Newsweek, Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, Esquire, Forbes, and The New York Times.Mahurin's work as a photo essayist has dealt with subjects such as homelessness, people with AIDS, the...
, ends with a black musician implanting an electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
into the ground and setting it on fire. The final image is similar to that of a burning cross
Cross burning
Cross burning or cross lighting is a practice widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan, although the historical practice long predates the Klan's inception...
.