This song by all-female R&B group En Vogue was recorded and released in response to the 1992 Los Angeles Rodney King riots. King, who was black, was a Los Angeles resident who became internationally famous when he encountered police brutality from four white Los Angeles police officers, who beat him with police sidearm batons and tasered him. A bystander, George Holliday, recorded this incident from a distance. In spite of the evidence of the video, three officers were acquitted and one undecided on charges of police brutality. The news of the verdict hit the streets, and racial tension sparked a massive wave of riots, arson, and general violence. The case is historic for being one of the first significant uses of citizen surveillance and reporting.
The line, "Free Your Mind" was popularized by George Clinton in his song and album "Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow." The phrase is a funk mantra, as George and his P-Funk crew always looked to expand their horizons, often with herbal and chemical assistance. En Vogue uses a more literal interpretation of the phrase, although their lyrics, "Free your mind and the rest will follow," are often misheard as "...your ass will follow."
The song opens with the lines, "Prejudice, want a song about it? Here you go," which comes from the TV series In Living Color, spoken by David Alan Grier's character Calhoun Tubbs.
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