Kanye West
I’m loving the way Kanye West got his anti-prison message across with his new song ‘New Slaves’.. He stepped outside the box and had the video beam on sides of buildings in 66 cities.. That got every talking.. His appearance on Saturday Night Live added to the hype and of course him calling out private prisons (CCA-Corrections Corporation of America) took it over the top..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BKGp1XqddM
peep the lyrics to Kanye’s song..
[Verse 1]
My mama was raised in an era when/Clean water was only served to the fairer skin
Doing clothes you would have thought I had help/But they wouldn’t be satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself
You see its broke nigga racism/That’s that “don’t touch anything in the store”
And there’s rich nigga racism/That’s that “come in and buy more”
What you want a Bentley, fur coat and diamond chain?/All you blacks want all the same things
Used to only be niggas /Now everybody play me
Spending everything on that Alexander Wang/New Slaves
[Hook]
You see it’s leaders and it’s followers/But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower
You see it’s leaders and it’s followers/But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower
[Verse 2]
I throw these Maybach keys/I wear my heart on my sleeve
I know that we the new slaves/I see the blood on the leaves
I see the blood on the leaves/I see the blood on the leaves
I know that we the new slaves/I see the blood on the leaves
They throwing hate at me/Want me to stay at ease
Fuck you and your corporation/Y’all niggas can’t control me
I know that we the new slaves/I know that we the new slaves
I’m about to wild the fuck out/I’m going Bobby Boucher
I know that pussy ain’t free/You niggas pussy, ain’t me
Y’all throwing contracts at me/You know that niggas can’t read
Throw him some Maybach keys/Fuck it, c’est la vie
I know that we the new slaves/Y’all niggas can’t fuck with me
Y’all niggas can’t fuck with Ye/Y’all niggas can’t fuck with Ye
I move my family out the country /So you can’t see where I stay
So go and grab the reporters/So I can smash their recorders
Yeah they confuse us with bullshit/Like the New World Order
Meanwhile the DEA/Teamed up with the CCA
They tryna lock niggas up/They tryna make new slaves
See that’s that private-owned prison/Get your piece today
They prolly all in the Hamptons/Braggin’ ’bout they maid
Fuck you and your Hampton house/I’ll fuck your Hampton spouse
Came on her Hampton blouse/And in her Hampton mouth
Y’all ’bout to turn shit up/I’m ’bout to tear shit down
I’m ’bout to air shit out/Now what the fuck they gon’ say now?
Brother J
While folks ponder over Kanye’s lyrics and the overall concept behind this song, we should keep in mind other artists who have hit on the subject of the prison industrial complex..and a return to slavery.. One of my favorites is Prisons by X-Clan‘s Brother J..along with jazz man Christian Scott.. This song came out a few years ago and went all the way in on this topic.. it starts off with political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal speaking and was a good precursor to Michele Alexander‘s ground breaking book the New Jim Crow.. which hit a year or so later.. Brother J’s lyrics are searing much the same way as Kanye’s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF5BddCHDfs
dead prez
The classic cut that everyone should re-listen to is Police State by dead prez.. This is off their debut album Lets Get Free and features Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the Uhuru Movement.. Like Brother J.. dead prez goes all the way in on the topic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c_UdWo4Zek
sister souljah
This next song/video is a serious throwback to the hey days of Public Enemy and the Golden Era of Hip Hop.. Long time activist Sister Souljah was introduced to us via the song Buckwylin, put out by Terminator X of PE ..This led to her securing a record deal with Epic Records.. This song Final Solution: Slavery is Back in Effect was her first single..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcWgPEUT_x0
Lastly if folks want more info on prisons and their connection to Hip Hop be sure to read this article we posted a few weeks a back from rap artist Homeboy Sandman..Here he talks about the investment BET and MTV have in CCA and other private prisons.. You can peep that article HERE
Ummm…I maybe want to get behind Kanye putting this out there, but if I read it right, he is still talking unapologetically about grabbing all his goodies his wealth gets him and talking about running off to live in another country etc. He may touch on the issues, but he and a bunch of his peers are not really doing anything with their amassed wealth but giving it back to the white man for trinkets of wealth like Maybach cars, diamonds (mined by folks in slavelike conditions), designer threads and private jets, etc. and not doing anything significant to help these children who are being funneled directly into these prisons. And I mean doing something truly significant, not just tossing off some charity $$ for p.r. and tax benefits. What a waste. The other artists you shared in this excellent mix (thank you, brother) are activists. Kanye has some stuff, but I’m putting my energy behind folks whose values put community ahead of infatuation with the trappings of wealth.
Yes Ms. Lina, and give our respect to brother Kanye for speaking up. There are still some perpetrators pointing fingers from the sideline.
You should add Tupac’s Trapped to this list of songs that deal with slavery.
DAMN KANYE…I can’t stand that aggin. Watch the video and listen to the lyrics of Monster. Biggest HIP HOP Illuminati advocates ever. It’s guys like him and Jay Z who are enslaving the youth of today. Never would these two cristal drinking idiots be on the same level as 2 Pac, PE, X Clan or Dead Prez IMO.
Don’t know if Kanye’s song should be grouped with songs like “Prison” that encourage actual thought or a call to action . . . just sayin’
school them Davey D!!!!!
I wonder what’s Kanye’s real agenda, but any exposure is better than no exposure…. Do ya thang Yeezy!
Reblogged this on OCG.
He speaks the truth 70% of the time, too bad one must dig through the buffoonery
Hey Davey D! Right on for keepin’ it real all the way, everyday. In that spirit, just thought I’d let you know the voice on the intro to the X-Clan joint is the Jewish radical academic Howard Zinn – R.I.P.
PEACE!