Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Big Daddy Kane & Biz Markie - Erase Racism

What this video is

Released in 1990 as the second single from Kool G Rap & DJ Polo's album Wanted: Dead or Alive, 'Erase Racism' was a direct artistic response to the August 1989 murder of 16-year-old Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn — a racially motivated killing that galvanized New York's hip-hop community. The reunion of Juice Crew members Kool G Rap, Big Daddy Kane, and Biz Markie for an explicitly anti-racist track…

Why it matters

A landmark document of socially conscious Golden Age hip-hop, demonstrating that hardcore rap acts could pivot to direct political address without abandoning street authenticity. The Juice Crew's collective presence elevated it beyond a single-artist statement into a movement-level intervention.…

The director

Born August 31, 1959 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. American visual artist, filmmaker, hip-hop pioneer, and graffiti art architect. First host of Yo! MTV Raps (late 1980s). Made music video directorial debut with Boogie Down Productions' 'My Philosophy'…