Black consciousness has awoken the black community, and has forced us to revolt against the injustice that constantly live through. From the civil rights movement being expressed through Nina Simone’s songs to the black lives matter movement being lived and sung by Solange Knowles these artists are strong activist for the issues in their time period. The song “F.U.B.U” song by Solange has a deeper meaning than just revolting against isolation. While listening to the song thoroughly in the second verse of “F.U.B.U” by Solange she sings strongly about who she wrote the song for, she sings, “All my niggas let the whole world know Play this song and sing it on your terms for us this shit is for us don't try to come for us”. As she sings us, she is reaching out to her African-American community, those who have been through similar injustice issues as her and other black people in this community. She wants this song to be played freely and …show more content…
As the song “F.U.B.U” by Solange continues she sings in verse seven, “When it's going on a thousand years and you pulling up to your crib and they ask you where you live again but you running out of damns to give I hope my son will bang this song so loud That he almost makes his walls fall down Cause his momma wants to make him proud Oh, to be us”. Here Solange is speaking on the injustice, you should not be questioned about your whereabouts because of the color of your skin. Solange has a son and she do not want him to be questioned and treated unfair for no apparent reason. In an interview with Solange herself she states, “Previously, that song was actually called “Be Very Afraid,” and the hook was, “Be very afraid of the color.” I named
On the night of December 13, 2013 Beyoncé, released her fifth self-titled album on ITunes. The album caught many people by surprise because Beyoncé did not set a date for the album, nor did she use any promotion; she did release a video on her Instagram asking her followers if they “were ready”. The buzz spread through social media like a wild fire. With no promotion or no warning, Beyoncé album took the world by storm and made it for her audience and critics to take in the album and it contents. Many people loved the album for not only its catchy songs, but also the growth and “looser” conservative Beyoncé. On the other hand many people did not feel that her album was growth, but a way to catch up to the overly sexual generation. Beyoncé has always been aware of her sexual side, pop side, and feminist side; this has been documented through her four previous albums. Yet, a lot of people have questioned if Beyoncé a feminist because of the content of her newest album. In order to answer that a person must ask him or her self; what is a feminist, why some people believe she is feminist, why others do not believe she feminist, and whether or not Beyoncé think she is a feminist.
When the speaker gets up the first thing she notices is that he is black, and she ends it with this quote, "We have come over a way that with tears has been wanted, we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered¨. Suddenly, she started to feel that blacks are back on top. She expresses that sentiment when she states, "we were on top again, as always again. we survived." She thinks that no matter what blacks always overcome any obstacle that comes in their way. This is a sharp contrast from what she was thinking earlier. At first she was thinking it wasn't beneficial to be black because of the racism she would have to face the rest of her life. Then its a sudden change when she hears the black speaker and she feel like blacks will always
Nina Simone used music to challenge, provoke, incite, and inform the masses during the period that we know as the Civil Rights Era. In the songs” Four Women”, “Young Gifted and Black”, and Mississippi God Damn”, Nina Simone musically maps a personal "intersectionality" as it relates to being a black American female artist. Kimberly Crenshaw defines "intersectionality" as an inability for black women to separate race, class and gender. Nina Simone’s music directly addresses this paradigm. While she is celebrated as a prolific artist her political and social activism is understated despite her front- line presence in the movement. According to Ruth Feldstein “Nina Simone recast black activism in the 1960’s.” Feldstein goes on to say that “Simone was known to have supported the struggle for black freedom in the United States much earlier, and in a more outspoken manner around the world than had many other African American entertainers.”
In the song “When Will We Be Paid for the Work We’ve Done?” by the Staple Singers, they use pop music and culture to spread their message. The song talks about how African Americans have done all this work for the white men but they don’t receive any repayment for it. The Staples Singers focus on many different aspects of African American history throughout the song. They used this song to reflect on African American history during the times of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. They also used the catchy tune to engage people and unite them by singing along in protest. The catchy tune that made the song easy to sing along irritated the officers that had to control the protests. This song was an easy way to express the thoughts of unequal
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality. Instead of spreading love we 're spreading animosity. Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity.” Here, they are questioning the actions of human beings by asking what happened to people’s values. In the same line, the Black Eye Peas tie back to their central question “where is the love” by asking where is people’s humanity. They then go on and question society’s fairness and equality tying back to discrimination and racism they talked about earlier in the song. By restating this problem, the Black Eye Peas are revealing to their audience that people today are choosing to set themselves apart from other people in their community, thus creating absolute separation. In addition, by using the word “animosity,” the idea of being in absolute separation and choosing to be strongly hostile leads to spreading more violence and cruelty into
Therefore, it shows that Lorde has to stand up for herself in order to go to the dining car. The essay reflects on when Lorde and her family visit a store, they were told to leave the store which made them feel excluded from the crowd. The author writes, “My mother and father believed that they could best protect their children from the realities of race in America and the fact of the American racism by never giving them name, much less discussing their nature. We were told we must never trust white people, but why was never explained, nor the nature of their ill will” (Lorde, 240). The quote explains that Lorde’s parents thought they can protect their child in United States from the racism, however, they had to go through it and face racism in their daily life. This shows that her parents were aware of racism, which they might have to stand up for their rights, but they did not take the stand for themselves as well as their child. Therefore, her parents guided them to stay away from white people. This tells readers that Lorde has to fight for the independence that she deserves along with going against her
For African Americans, gaining freedom has been a hard struggle. Through the Civil Rights Movement that continued well into the 1970s, African Americans fought to gain rights that would allow them the most basic privileges. Though not enslaved anymore, African Americans quickly learned that freedom was not as easy or what they thought it would be. “Freedom” was a white man’s life that included equality within all aspects of life and no discrimination. After returning from war, African American men began to want more equal rights and opportunities, they expected justice form the country that they had fought for. This included the right to vote, citizenship, and desegregation. For every black man and woman, no opportunity was simply given. If they were accepted, it was with criticism and discrimination. With the new freedom that disco music gave black artists, they began to have more options within society. With Disco, black men were given the opportunity to become more than the stereotype. They brought forth a new sophistication, masculinity and sexuality that allowed black “soul music” to create a stake for itself in popular culture and the music industry. “Disco provided a partial map of black America’s shifting relationship to masculinity, upward mobility, and politics in the post-civil rights era.” Their music, though many times seen as a form of conformity and a rip-off of pop music, gave them a presence. It allowed them to “move beyond stultifying racial categorizations that confined them.” No longer were they confined to the accepted stereotype of a male; they started be seen as smooth, lovable, and sexual, everything women wanted and began to respond to. While their music gave men new freedom, many people criticized thei...
After understanding this statement, I took a different intake on the song as I listen to it and really understood the purpose as to why Lady Gaga composed this song, she relates and supports others of different gender, race or sexual orientation. By her singing this song she is giving a voice to all those around the world who have been quite for so long to speak up and accept themselves regardless of what others think, Lady Gaga is promoting productivity by her communication through this song. Krista also mentions a racial division that exist in listening and how someone of a different race might intake something differently than someone who is of another race. Or how if something is being communicated by a white person it may be taken more serious rather than if it was communicated by another person of a difference race. “Listening is not necessary in U.S culture for white people as it is for non-whites;” (Ratcliffe,Krista.
Beyoncé, a popular recording artist, released her new song “Formation,” drawing massive amounts of attention to the Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement originating in the African-American community. Members of the movement regularly organize protests following the deaths of innocent Black people and instances of racial profiling and racial inequality. The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 after the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen. A year later, the movement grew nationally after two men, Mike Brown and Eric Garner, were killed by police officers. The media has spread the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” giving communities the chance to understand the movement and gain knowledge
Lamar’s Grammy Award winning best rap album To Pimp a Butterfly has a deep meaning starting with the theory of the album relating to Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The novel which is based on an innocent Black male, Tom Robinson, who is being indicted for committing a crime he never did. In the novel, the mockingbird is an allusion for Tom, a man who has never hurt anyone, yet is on trial and facing a death sentence. In Lamar’s politically fueled album, with response to racism, feminism, violence, and police brutality he created a pro-black record and sings it like a mockingbird would, a harmless album referring to the growth of a “butterfly”. However, he is the “butterfly” and the series of songs refer to his growth and transformation from the inner-city kid of Compton to the world renown artist he is today. While writing the album To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar pledged his dedication to bring positivity to his listeners. Through his own assessment of systematic problems facing the black community, he takes his music’s impact seriously. Since music is a truly powerful force, and “one of the most arresting facts Kendrick proved with the album is that music can be conscious and positive while still critically and commercially successful — something many rap fans have long insisted conscious rap could never achieve”
As it opens with imagery reminiscent of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, an event that devastated the black communities in the areas affected. The delayed assistance in New Orleans by the U.S. government stirred some controversy that led many to question how much America really cares about its black communities. Nonetheless, Beyoncé’s video is full of imagery that is associated with black culture, including historical references to black communities in the south. But what is really important about “Formation” are the lyrics. With lyrics like “My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana, You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas Bama” and “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros, I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils,” Beyoncé is undoubtedly declaring her pride for her blackness as well as defending her child Blue Ivy who has always been scrutinized for the way her hair looked. Thus, this song is obviously geared toward the Black community which is obvious due to the lyrics and the imagery in the music video. To put it plainly, this song is a proclamation of Black pride and shouldn’t be thought of in any other way. However, after performing it at the Super Bowl people of other ethnicities became aware of the song and became offended by her performance as well as the lyrics. Controversy arose as people pointed out her backup dancers were dressed similarly to the Black Panther
Such as, how Tupac used his song “Changes” to refer to the institutionalized racism in America in regards to law enforcement and so forth. On example from his lyrics states, “Cops give a damn about a negro/ Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.” Another commonly known song that makes ties with Hill’s is Kanye’s song “When It All Falls Down.” Kanye wanted the ties of her lyrics incorporated into his song so much that after his failed attempted to get Lauryn Hills sample cleared he got a replacement singer to perform it on his song alternatively. However, his concept for this song was different as its purpose was more of a self-contemplation of his individualized battle with consumerism. Today society is affected by artists like Lauryn Hill and her lyrics and often quote lyrics like that of hers as references for equality and moral rights in modern society. Today more than ever the incarceration rates are raising extremely. Not to mention, in the past year we have seen some of the biggest out cries for our African American communities with people using the power of social media to come together on a common ground in regards to law enforcement unjustly killing African Americans and other minorities while in the attempt of arresting them. With that being said as Lauryn Hills lyrics state “Ya'll can't handle the truth in a courtroom of lies. Representing security/Holding the word of God
He was tired of George Bush ignores the real problems that were going on at that time. Thousands of people died. Lil Wayne knew that this song would bring more attention to the disaster that was going on in New Orleans. Today in 2016, 10 years later, after hurricane Katrina, singer Beyoncé brought more attention to the city of New Orleans with her song entitled “Formation”. The filming took place in Los Angeles, but features references to Hurricane Katrina, with Beyoncé on top of a police car in a flooded street and later cut to a man holding a newspaper with Martin Luther King Jr. face on it with the title “The Truth”. Later a young hooded boy dance in front of a line of police officers with their hands up before the video cuts to a gratified wall with the words “stop shooting us “ tagged on it, at the end of the video the police car sunk with her on top. Not only did this song, bring awareness to the 10th anniversary of hurricane Katrina it also brought awareness to police brutality, racism, and the “black lives matter movement.” I stand with Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, the people of New Orleans and the countless others who are pushing for a change in the way minorities and the lower class citizen are
Black art forms have historically always been an avenue for the voice; from spirituals to work songs to ballads, pieces of literature are one way that the black community has consistently been able to express their opinions and communicate to society at large. One was this has been achieved is through civil disobedience meeting civil manners. In this case, it would be just acknowledging an issue through art and literature. On the other hand, there is art with a direct purpose - literature meant to spur action; to convey anger and shock; or to prompt empathy, based on a discontent with the status quo. That is, protest literature. Through the marriage of the personal and political voices in black poetry and music, the genre functions as a form
”(1) This statement isn’t surprising since it is one of the most prominent protest music and conscious hip hop that may be impossible to replicate ever again. While It Takes Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back wasn’t the only style of protest music, through its explicit lyrics spoken on behalf the African Americans about the societal discrimination and government oppression and its immensely creative beats through new musical techniques, the album informed the society of