On the other side of the pond, the UK, it's pretty much political season every day but it's been a while since I've heard a song so honest and blunt. Normally you have to be in the grime scene or listen to American hip hop to get an honest opinion about the reality of being black in the diaspora...
Swiss of So Solid Crew certainly managed to grab the attention of not just the underground scene but also mainstream media with his thought provoking track, N*Gg*R. It was basically a history lesson on the journey of the word. A very controversial track which opened up the discussion on it's effect, who can say the word and whether the term should be used at all.
I did struggle to understand the visuals of the track; Swiss had a noose tied around his neck in some scenes of the video. I think it's great that artist sometimes just want to show us images to make us think. A part of me also wishes, black artist went the extra mile and offered a solution too because we do not have much of those. It's great to make a statement. I guess a child who caught a glimpse of that video will ask questions, which is great but then what...what next?
I guess when we have slave movies, a music video that offers some explanation is helpful. It's a step in the right direction.
I also didn't understand the last lines of the lyrics..."everybody wants to be white".
Everybody wants to be white because every other race has a problem with skin bleaching and we must talk about it? After discussions and talks on race, what next?
Besides those last lines...it was an informative listen...