Captain Rapp is the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Larry Earl Glenn, an American hip hop/

post-disco Post-disco (also called boogie, synth-funk, or electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash against disco music in the United States, leading ...

musician, producer and

West Coast Rap West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the e ...

pioneer. He is best known for his politically conscious song " Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)", which was a West Coast response to

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Saddler (born January 1, 1958), popularly known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is an American DJ and rapper. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Hip Hop DJing, cutting, scratching and mixing. Grandmaster Flash and the Fur ...

's " The Message."

History

Glenn's musical career started in 1981 when he was signed to a small

indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

called Rappers Rapp Records. His first record, party-oriented, "Gigolo Rapp" was a minor hit on the East Coast yet the record failed in his home state. In 1983, his most successful single "Bad Times" came out on Saturn Records and reached number 23 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Dance Charts. The single was arranged and performed by emerging

Contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip hop music, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive Recor ...

moguls

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

. with Rich Cason. In 1992, Glenn recorded a sequel to his previous hit single, titled "Bad Times, Part 2: The Continuance."

Themes

"Bad Times" lyrically touches sensitive topics, including

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the refer ...

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

, AIDS,

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition or ...

and even

nuclear war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear wa ...

, in contrast to uptempo

synth-funk Post-disco (also called Boogie (genre), boogie, synth-funk, or Electro (music), electro-funk) is a term to describe an aftermath in popular music history Wiktionary:circa, circa 1979–1985, imprecisely beginning with an unprecedented backlash aga ...

melody and soulful vocals. The song is a West Coast variant of " The Message" whereas the title is lampooning a name of the most sampled song in hip-hop history, "

Good Times ''Good Times'' is an American television sitcom that aired for six seasons on CBS, from February 8, 1974, to August 1, 1979. Created by Eric Monte and Mike Evans and developed by executive producer Norman Lear, it was television's first Afric ...

" by

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionar ...

Discography

Charts

Singles

;"Bad Times"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Captain American satirists American dance musicians West Coast hip hop musicians American boogie musicians American electro musicians Musicians from Los Angeles Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people