Political songs are not uncommon for Living Colour. In the presence of the Black Lives Matter movement, the all-black rock band did not shy away from making a song about it. For over three decades, they wrote songs to protest political figures, inequality, and gentrification. “Who Shot Ya?” would now tackle police brutality and gun violence.
Living Colour consists of lead singer Corey Glover, guitarist Vernon Reid, bassist Doug Wimbish, and drummer Will Calhoun. The British spelling of “Colour” comes from Reid, who was born in London, but formed the band in New York City. Most of the members have experience playing in a range of genres, including jazz, funk, metal, hip-hop, and punk.
Their best known hit, “Cult of Personality,” released in 1988 along with their debut album, Vivid, earning the band a GRAMMY Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1990. In recent years, people associate the song with professional wrestler CM Punk, who has become synonymous with the song.
“Who Shot Ya?” was the band’s hard-hitting return in 2016, their first single since 2009. It is clear that they never really left in the first place, their sound and lyrics remaining the same despite the short hiatus. They go back to their roots by covering Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
Although the original has violent lyrics, the band decided to put their own spin on it. The song begins with a static message stating “Gun violence takes the life of an African-American man every five hours. It’s the leading cause of death for black men under the age of 35” before diving into its strong political message.
The song released in 2016, originally a part of the Who Shot Ya? EP. It was later released on their sixth and most recent studio album, Shade.An additional Andre Betts remix features Prodigal Sunn, Black Thought, Chuck D, Pharoahe Monch, Kyle Mansa, and Sandy Starr.
Living Colour infuses hard rock, hip-hop, and belting vocals. Despite the rock sound, hip-hop fans can still vibe with the new sound and still find the original within it. The lyrics describe the feeling of being watched by the police, rather than dealing with personal enemies. It also makes reference to the streets of Brooklyn and the danger within them when it comes to gun violence.
There are minimal lyric changes, with the band switching between Biggie’s verses and a soulful vocal-heavy chorus. Half of the original second verse cuts out in exchange for one more chorus before breaking into a guitar solo.
The music video that accompanies the song features the names of people who have fallen victim to police brutality. Additionally, they provide statistics about gun violence and police brutality in the country throughout the song. Musical and political figures towards the end of the music video.
Living Colour has covered other songs to express their social justice. “Preachin’ Blues” by Robert Johnson and “Inner City Blues” by Marvin Gaye are also on their album Shade. Despite the age of the originals, the songs are still relevant decades later to be reinterpreted in the modern day.
The band is making their return in 2027 with a new album. Almost 45 years later, the band is still loud, angry, and unafraid to show it.
“Who Shot Ya?” Lyrics
Who shot ya? Separate the weak from the obsolete
Hard to creep them Brooklyn streets
It’s on nigga, fuck all that bickering beef
I can hear sweat trickling down your cheek
Your heartbeat sound like Sasquatch feet
Thundering, breaking the concrete
Finish it, stop when I foil the plot
Neighbors call the cops, when they heard mad shots, and I said
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Saw me in the drop, three and a quarter
Slaughter, electrical tape around your daughter
Old school/new school need to learn though
I burn, baby, burn like “Disco Inferno”
I burn slow like blunts and yayo
Peel more skins than Idaho Potato
Niggas know: the lyrical molesting’s taking place
Fucking with me. it ain’t safe
I make your skin chafe, rashes on them asses
Bumps and bruises, blunts and Land Cruisers
Big Poppa smash fools, bash fools
Niggas mad because I know cash Rules
Everything around me, two Glock 9s
Any motherfucker whispering about mine
And I’m Brooklyn’s finest
Come on, tell me
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
I seen the lights excite all the freaks
Stack mad chips, spread love with my peeps
Niggas wanna creep, gotta watch my back
Think the Cognac and indo sack make me slack?
I switches all that, cocksucker G’s up
One false move, get Swiss cheesed up
Clip to TEC, respect I demand it
Slip and break the 11th Commandment
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
Who shot ya?
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