The Watts Prophets - Things Gonna Get Greater (2005)

The Watts Prophets
Things Gonna Get Greater (2005)

It doesn't matter if you agree with the politics of the Watts Prophets. It really doesn't. Partly because they probably wouldn't care what you think, and mostly because nitpicking their politics is missing the point entirely. I could go on for days about the sense of paranoia or the contradictions of what they discuss (by their definition, the only truly black people on earth can be narrowed down to themselves and Malcolm X, and even adding themselves to the list raises some doubt in their minds). I could sit here and be offended about the fact that they have nothing good to say about me, my college education, my support of birth control, my natural hair, or especially my white wife, but I realize that none of that matters here.

Things Gonna Get Greater is a compilation of the Watts Prophets' first two albums: 1969's On the Street in Watts, and 1971's Rappin' Black in a White World. Both albums are excellent (for the record: I slightly favor the ladder, though the former seems to get more praise). Together they are almost overwhelming. Often complimented with a light backing of jazzy bass, bongos and trumpet grooves (with some piano and a Capella melodies), the Prophets deliver poems filled with emotion and frustration of the world around them; perfectly encapsulating the anger that must have existed in the time period leading up to, during, and following the Watts Riots of 1965. Regardless of the conclusions they've drawn, their anger is justified. It is as real as the poverty and brutality faced by the black community in 1960's Watts, and it makes for one of the most intense listening experiences of my life.

This is not just an album, it's a historical statement. It should be required listening to black history departments in liberal arts colleges nationwide. It does not matter if you agree with all of it. I don't agree with much of it. But taking offense to it isn't constructive because it clouds the very real frustration from which this was born. Enjoying this album is not an endorsement of everything the Watts Prophets stand for, it's simply evidence that you still have the ability to appreciate a work of art when presented with one.


Score: 10/10


"Dem Niggers Ain't Playing"


"Part-E, S"


"Black Pussy"