The Goats 2615014 224021600 2008-07-06T23:36:46Z PlankBot 7310603 Robot-assisted disambiguation: Redneck - Changed link(s) to [[Redneck (stereotype)]] '''The Goats''' were an [[alternative hip-hop]] [[quartet]] from [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], [[United States]]. Their members included [[rapper]]s '''Oatie Kato''' (the [[frontman]]), '''Madd''' ("the M-A-the-double-D"), and '''Swayzack'''. Most members of the group were [[Native Americans in the United States|Aboriginal American]]s, and their concern with Aboriginal causes is reflected in their lyrics. The Goats held that [[Christopher Columbus]] was responsible for [[genocide|genocidal]] crimes against the Aboriginal inhabitants of pre-colonial America, including the [[rape]] of innocent women by his crew. Their fury was expressed in the signature song, "Tricks of the Shade", which contains the lyrics, "''Columbus killed more Indians than [[Holocaust|Hitler killed Jews]]; but on [[Columbus Day|his birthday]] you get sales on shoes.''" They developed a [[cult following]] after the release of two well-respected albums, ''Tricks Of The Shade'' ([[1992]]) (produced by [[record producer|producer]] '''Joe "the Butcher" Nicolo''') and ''No Goats No Glory'' ([[1994]]), on [[Ruffhouse Records]] and [[Columbia Records]] respectively; both are presently [[out of print]]. The Goats' political consciousness found them compared to [[Public Enemy (band)|Public Enemy]], although they were more playful (devoting a number of songs to singing the praises of [[marijuana]] à la [[Cypress Hill]]) and certainly less [[militant]] (although they did express nominal support for [[Louis Farrakhan]]). However, where Public Enemy was exclusionary in its [[Afrocentric]] viewpoint, the Goats were not anti-[[white people|white]] per se and instead advocated the responsibility of all non-white peoples to stand up for [[self-determination]] (including [[African-Americans]] and Aboriginals like themselves as well as [[Latino]]s and, notably, [[Asian-Americans]], whom they depicted as brothers-in-arms in their struggle, in contrast to the virulent anti-Asian [[racism]] of their contemporary [[Ice Cube]]). They used the [[Hip hop skit|skit]]s on their first album to criticize then-[[President of the United States|US President]] [[George H.W. Bush]] and those whom he propped up, including the [[bourgeoisie]] and proponents of the [[Redneck (stereotype)|redneck]] mentality. They were very vocal in their support of those who they believed had fallen victim to the racist [[status quo]], including [[Nelson Mandela]], [[Willie Horton]], murdered youth [[Yusef Hawkins]], and especially the imprisoned Aboriginal American activist [[Leonard Peltier]]. Their political affiliation was decidedly more [[liberal]] than was fashionable at the time in [[hip-hop culture]]. Oatie described himself as an opponent of [[homophobia]] in the song "TV Cops" (a position only publicly taken at the time by [[Ice-T]], though they were seconded by [[Common (rapper)|Common]] in [[2002]] and [[Kanye West]] in [[2005]]). Further, their skit "Rovie Wade, the Sword Swallower" and the following track, "Aaah D Yaaa", were [[pro-choice]] songs concerned about the possible negative ramifications of a reversal of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''. ==External links== * [http://jimmyluxury.com/thegoats.htm The Goats] (official website) * [http://www.myspace.com/thegoats1992 The Goats Fan Myspace Page] * [http://www.stanstammers.com Stan Stammers] (official website) bass player, The Goats *[[Stan Stammers]] Wikipedia Page * [http://www.myspace.com/stanstammers Stan Stammers Myspace Page] * [http://www.steve-onpoint.com Steve-Onpoint] (official website) newest member, The Goats * [http://www.myspace.com/steveonpoint Steve-Onpoint Myspace Page] * [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:tp0xlfae5cqt Entry at All Music Guide] [[Category:American hip hop groups|Goats, The]] [[es:The Goats]]