Hard Knocks

Hardknocks, a New York City hip-hop group formed in the early 1990s, issued their first full-length project, School Of Hardknocks, on the respected local imprint Wild Pitch Records. Several cuts on the album singled out law enforcement for sharp rebuke, among them “A Dirty Cop Named Harry,” “A Nigga For Hire,” and “Road To The Precinct,” each spelling out explicit arguments against young Black men enlisting in the police. The same uncompromising lyric sheet advanced tenets of Black separatism that echoed the Five Percent Nation outlook already championed by Brand Nubian and like-minded acts. These pointed rhymes rode over dense, aggressive beats modeled on the sample-heavy productions the Bomb Squad crafted for Public Enemy.