There Goes the Neighborhood (1992)
There Goes the Neighborhood" is the debut single by Body Count. It is the twelfth track on the band's self-titled debut album which was released on 1992. 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."[1]
Key Lyrics
Here come them fuckin' niggas
With their fancy cars.
Who gave them fuckin' niggas
Those rock guitars?
Who let 'em in the club?
Did you make 'em pay?
Who let 'em on the stage?
Whose lettin' 'em play?
Don't they know rock's just for whites
Don't they know the rules?
Those niggas are too hard core
This shit ain't cool.
Those blacks want everything in the fuckin' world.
That nigga plays so good,
He took my muthafuckin' girl.
There goes the neighborhood
There, there, there, there goes the neighborhood.
Music Video
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.[2]