When the revolutionary band “Black Flag” adopted this name in 1979 as they began crafting the first chapters of hardcore punk history, they recognized the flag as a symbol of anarchy and rebellion against polite society. For Black Flag Records, the same simple flag is no less symbolic and no less significant, but the meaning is quite different. To us, it symbolizes the struggle for Freedom. The black flag is linked to the Irish Hunger Strikes of 1981, and Irish Republicanism, an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic. During this chaotic period of Irish history, imprisoned freedom fighters went on a hunger strike to protest the horrific living conditions inside the British prisons where they were held. When the British government refused to give in to prisoner demands for basic rights, IRA leader Bobby Sands and nine other men died of starvation. Following the deaths, there were riots in the streets of Northern Ireland, and international condemnation of the British government. The black flag was adopted and flown by Irish Republicans as a new symbol of their fight for Irish rights and freedom, and to memorialize the brave men who gave their lives to this cause. The black flag or “flag of strikes” had long represented working class people “living in the struggle” of everyday poverty. Now it meant so much more. Black Flag Records 2009 Today, Black Flag Records represents a new wave of underground hip-hop artists, emerging from the South with a tight sound and an undeniable message. Underground Hip-Hop is the blues music of our generation, using rhymes and beats as vessels to communicate the everyday struggles of the working class, and their fight for something better. We refuse to follow the rules of the modern Hip-Hop world, to live as prisoners to auto tuners, lifeless rhymes and tired lyrics. We’re gonna bring Hip-Hop back to the people. Watch us rise up from the Hip-Hop underground carrying a new flag, An independent flag, A freedom flag. We are Black Flag. “Hip Hop is a Life style, rap is a buisness, don’t get it twisted.” A.Moss Home.html