Grandmaster Flash’s Beat Street Breakdown (1985) was more than just a rap song—it was a prophecy wrapped in rhythm. In the first two minutes, he paints a stark, unfiltered picture of a world teetering on the edge, a world that, nearly forty years later, looks eerily familiar.

From the jump, his lyrics are a razor-sharp critique of systemic inequality, urban decay, and the widening chasm between the rich and the poor. He warns of a society where the powerful manipulate and exploit, where financial greed devours integrity, and where the struggles of the common people are drowned out by the noise of unchecked capitalism. He spits bars about economic disparity, corporate control, and the illusion of progress—ideas that resonate deeply in today’s world of skyrocketing living costs, automation-induced job losses, and social unrest.

The song speaks of dreams being crushed, people being left behind, and entire communities fighting for survival in a system rigged against them. He raps about corruption, about how those at the top dictate the rules while the people at the bottom suffer. Fast-forward to now, and we see the same themes playing out in real-time—widening income inequality, gentrification pushing people from their homes, and big corporations monopolizing wealth and power.

Another major theme Flash lays down in those first two minutes is the impact of technology and media. In the 1980s, television was already shaping public perception, feeding people narratives designed to pacify and control. Today, that warning has exploded into reality with social media algorithms, misinformation campaigns, and the mass surveillance state. The manipulation he rapped about has only intensified, with digital addiction, deepfakes, and AI-driven propaganda shaping the modern landscape.

Then there's the raw depiction of crime, desperation, and hopelessness. Flash wasn’t glorifying the struggle—he was documenting it, holding up a mirror to a society that would rather look away. Today, those same struggles are visible in different forms—rising homelessness, opioid epidemics, and entire generations drowning in debt while billionaires hoard unimaginable wealth.

What Beat Street Breakdown does, especially in its first two minutes, is deliver a warning that remains unheeded. Flash saw the writing on the wall: if we didn’t address greed, corruption, and inequality, the future would be bleak. Now, standing here nearly forty years later, it’s hard to argue that he was wrong.

He wasn’t just rapping about his time—he was calling out to the future. And that future is now.
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Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart talk about their fans and their music and what they really don't like about gangs and how wars start.

Early into her career Madonna is seen here live on stage at Madison Square Garden before she was really even known about in Australia and hadn't even made the trip "down under" yet!

David Bowie seen here with a long term friend in the industry Ian "Molly" Meldrum on Countdown Australia November of 1983.
The fun that was had and other information we her from David at this time in his career.

The title says it all!

The title says it all!
Portrait of Henry is my original portrait titled "Blue Henry" which was done in pastels in 2016.

David Bowie speaking to Molly Meldrum and the real meaning behind the "China Gir"l music video and the "Let's Dance" music video's both made in Australia during the tour that year.

The title says it all!
#DEVO

My latest audio NFT artwork in which we see an Ape, golden and black asleep upon the Surfboard "Kalki" Sleeping The Kali Yuga forever drifting upon the ethereal Ocean of life present, past & future, no longer "Surfing The Kali Yuga"! Long live forever Bruce Lee.

Early music video clips and interviews from Iggy show what a "real wild child" he was.
Get my latest limited edition Iggy Pop art & on thumbnail of this video @ https://jamesdeweaver.threadless.com/designs/iggy-pop-real-wild-one-2020/mens