S1W (group)

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S1W, short for Security of the First World, began as a security organization in Roosevelt, New York under the name of Unity Force where they provided security at hip hop parties during the mid 1980s. The organization was headed by Professor Griff. Later they became part of the hip hop group Public Enemy and changed their name to S1W. Some members of the group were martial artists and some were part of the Nation of Islam. The name "Security of the First World" implies that Africans are not inherently Third World people and are rather First World people as they were the first people to inhabit earth. S1W were known for their aggressively militant stage presence because they would wear black military uniforms and would carry replica Uzi submachine-guns while performing. Chuck D of Public Enemy explains that the Uzis were a symbolic reaction to European oppression against black people.

[edit] Stage Purpose

Aside from providing medial stage security at (most) Public Enemy concerts, the members of the original S1W did little else except appear onstage to rile up the crowd (see hype man). Each member used a stage name, which, in a sense, was that member's fictional persona, as the S1W advertised itself as "the black man's military," implying that it was a vigilante secret society. Each member had a "role" in the group's fictional operations.

[edit] Members

• Professor Griff--the third party between Public Enemy and the S1W. He was often identified as the group's leader, although several members have been alluded to as the "head man." Following his alleged anti-Semitic remarks at a press conference, Public Enemy front man Chuck D expelled him from the S1W; from then on, order in the group's "ranks" was often ambiguous.

• Sista Souljah--Griff's temporary replacement. Following the release of Fear of a Black Planet, Sista Souljah, a then-amateur rapper, was listed alongside the other S1W's in the credits of the liner notes. Although her time in the group was brief (it is said that Brother James was given the role of the group's leader during production of Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age), she appeared alongside Pop Diesel and James Bomb, the only remaining members at that time, on Rebirth of a Nation. Coincidentally, Rebirth of a Nation is the only album since Fear of a Black Planet on which Professor Griff appeared.

• Pop Diesel--the "one-man specialty task force" of the S1W. In the group's "operations," he was supposedly given special campaigns, possibly assassinations. Although his name is sometimes spelled "Popp Diezel" in the liner notes of some albums, it is widely believed that this was either a typo or an inconsistency. His "campaigns" are supposedly in conjunction with those of James Bomb.

• James Bomb--another member with a unique role, his operations were always assumed to involve mass panic bombings, which led some political critics of Public Enemy to label him a terrorist. His name is, of course, derived from British action film character James Bond.

• Brother James--the supposed "leader" after Sista Souljah. There are several other, less well-known, and more numerous, members of the S1W with "Brother Something" as their name. After Professor Griff fell out of favor with Public Enemy frontline man Chuck D, several then-unknowns joined as "Brothers,' causing membership to be slightly ambiguous.

• Terminator X-- Because Public Enemy DJ Terminator X was often listed in liner notes under the S1W heading, and, on occasion, wore their trademark "undercover ops" garb, he is often identified as a member of the group. However, Public Enemy's current DJ, DJ Lord, apparently has no connection with the S1's, and due to Terminator X's prominent membership with the band, unlike that of Professor Griff, the rumor that he was an S1W is widely disbelieved.