Cult of Personality

A "cult of personality" is when a political or religious leader is exalted, allowing that person to lead with unquestioned authority. This leader is often charismatic and authoritarian; examples include Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, and Kim Jong-Un. They're dangerous because they can get away with anything; they can tell their people that one and one makes three, and will be believed (or at least acquiesced). In this song, it's US president Ronald Reagan with the cult of personality. He was in his last year in office in 1988 when the song was released.

The most popular song by Living Colour, "Cult of Personality" opens and closes with famous quotes: And in the few moments we have left, we want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand. This is Malcolm X from his "Message To The Grass Roots" speech in 1963. The point was to unify African Americans. The ending quotes start with John F. Kennedy's famous: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. This is from his inaugural address in 1961. Both quotes are from men who were assassinated. Most of the song seems to be denouncing idolatry, but there is the one stanza containing the line, "A leader speaks, a leader dies." Living Colour also seem to make no distinction between good and evil, as each time they mention a hero, they pair him with an enemy: Mussolini and Kennedy; Stalin and Gandhi. The final words are: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. This is a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt's first inaugural address on March 4, 1933. Roosevelt used the address to announce his "New Deal" program and encourage the citizens of the United States to overcome their economic problems as they emerged from the depression.

Living Colour doesn't have a standard songwriting method, but guitarist Vernon Reid usually has a hand in it. This song is a group composition, with William Calhoun, Corey Glover and Muzz Skillings credited on the track along with Reid.