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    1. The 1980s: Bruce Hornsby and the Range—The Way It Is

      Setting the scene: the song was released in July 1986 as a single from the band's debut album The Way It Is. It was a great success and the band won the 1987 Grammy Awards in the Best New Artist category. The success of the song has had a long-lasting effect in the music industry: it was sampled by other artists and included in songs such as 2Pac's Changes and Polo G's Wishing for a Hero. The singer has "never counted it" but he has read that his song "has now been recorded 17 times by hip-hop artists" (https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/bruce-hornsby-interview-way-it-is-non-secure-connection-1036032/). In order to understand the following lyrics, it is necessary to place the song in its historical context. The 1980s were years in which several issues emerged: * The process of de-industrialization (that is, the process in which American companies moved their seats abroad, outside the country) deeply affected the job market: tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs. In particular, Blacks were the ones who suffered the most since the majority of them were employed in various industrial fields. As a consequence, poverty spread: 30% of black work force was jobless in 1982. * The conservative Reagan presidency (1981-1989) reduced federal (governmental, that is) economic support to people in need by 20%. The cut to financial measures combined with the ongoing industrial crisis was disastrous. Il presidente Ronald Reagan * White supremacy movements and groups (such as the Ku Klux Klan) reignited and engaged in violent acts against African Americans, firebombing of churches and campaigns against affirmative actions programs and integration in schools. "Millions of white Americans had become convinced that “too much” had been given to blacks". * Poverty, hunger and hopelessness paved the way to the abuse of drugs; crack was especially consumed by poor Americans as it was inexpensive and easily available. As a consequence of the combination of low employment, educational poverty and drug popularity, drug dealing became the source of income for young people and violence increased significantly in Black neighborhoods.

      What was the government's response? Aggravated levels of violence and crime were responded with the "War on Drugs", which entailed: 1. the elimination of parole (that is, the conditional release of a prisoner, often on the basis of good behavior in prison); 2. stricter penalties for drug sale and possession; 3. building a larger network of prisons.

      Needless to say, African-Americans were the most targeted ones. Mass incarceration as a system of control (see the "home" of the website for more on the topic) started to bloom.

      https://www.amistadresource.org/the_future_in_the_present/social_and_economic_issues.html