CS Column 2: Evolution

Mobb Deep’s Vision on Evolution Theory

“Yo, yo
We livin’ this till the day that we die
Survival of the fit, only the strong survive”

Mobb Deep, Survival of the Fittest (1995)

While I seriously doubt Mobb Deep’s ‘Survival of the Fittest’ song was intended to enlighten their audience with the ideas of evolution theory, I’d like to refer to this song to discuss the famous “survival of the fittest”-slogan. Because next to the Mobb Deep song (from the album ‘The Infamous’), it’s also a famous, popular and punchy ‘summary’ of Darwin’s evolution theory. It was introduced by Herbert Spencer in 1851 – seven years before Darwin re-used it in his revolutionary “The Origin of Species”.

In their song, Mobb Deep rap about living and surviving the harsh street life in Queens, New York City. Listening to this fine piece of East Coast rap made me wonder how scientifically valid this ‘street knowledge’ they provide us could be…

In the chorus Mobb Deep further elaborate on their title: ‘Survival of the fit, only the strong survive’. Shouldn’t that be ‘Survival of the fit, only the well adapted survive’? It might not sound as nice, but it would be more correct, at least from a evolution theory point of view. Darwin’s evolution theory does not imply the strongest or most physically fit will survive. It implies that individuals that fit best in their environment will! This misinterpretation of the word ‘fit’ in ‘survival of the fittest’ is (unfortunately) a very common one.

Darwin’s evolution theory is not about being strong, it is about adapting to the environment, surviving, and ultimately about reproducing to pass on genes. So, while Prodigy (one of two rappers in Mobb Deep) raps “I’m goin’ out blastin’, takin’ my enemies with me / And if not, they scarred, so they will never forget me” one could argue he’d be better off staying at home and reproducing (which, to be fair, is another recurring theme in Mobb Deep’s work).

But before we accuse Mobb Deep of misunderstanding the the word ‘fit’, let’s consider a possible alternative explanation: the artists of Mobb Deep might completely disagree to the evolution theory as Darwin formulated it. Rather, they might be strong advocates of Herbert Spencer’s ideas – the man who invented the slogan.

Spencer was a firm believer of Social Darwinism (before it was called Social Darwinism): the integration of Darwin’s evolution theory on ideas on human society. It dictates that in society, the strong will survive at cost of the weak, and that man should not offer a helping hand to the weak in society, as that would go against the natural order of things.

A controversial philosophy, especially today, but could it make sense if we put it in the context of Mobb Deep? The rappers came from poor life in the ghetto, worked their way up, sold millions of albums and eventually became wealthy through it. One could argue that Prodigy and Havoc are in fact the fittest to survive in contemporary human society!

Whatever the case, misinterpretation of a word or strong Social Darwinism, the fact remains that ‘survival of the fittest’ is a pretty strong and powerful slogan – one of which I personally do not mind if it’s applied in scientifically correct ways or not!

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