Black Exodus: How Black Rappers Use Their Music as Messages of Resistance, Resilience, and Power
Nas is also a controversial artist that talks about social injustices within the African American community. His music is a collection of issues he had to face in Queens and issues he saw within the Black community as well. His Song, “Can’t Stop Us Now” features references of slavery, poverty, violence, police brutality, cultural appropriation, etc. It was released on July 15th, 2008. It contains an abundance of lyrical and musical artistry which really helps listeners understand the struggle of being Black. Musical artistry is the way an artist uses musical sounds to display the message of their songs. Lyrical artistry is the way an artist uses different lyrical tactics (like rhyme scheme and other literary devices) to communicate the message of their songs as well. Nas uses a combination of musical and lyrical artistry to enhance feelings/ emotions, create long lasting effects, and evoke a change in mindset to resist and overcome social paradigms surrounding the black community. The way now does this is by using different musical sounds, rhyme schemes, and allusions.
Music is designed to not only help use express how we feel but also work in a way that enhances and alters them as well. Typically, instruments, samples, and other tactics are used to create musical sounds that help us attach more to the artists piece. played in a minor (low) key will often depict sad or contemplative feelings. In this song, Nas uses minor keys while he is rapping to draw attention to how he feels about major issues. The minor keys are then joined by major ones in the chorus. The chorus is one of the most important parts of the song when it comes to revolution and resistance. This is because the accompanying of the major keys makes us feel triumphant, victorious, happy, resilient, etc. The reason Nas uses musical artistry is to help depict certain emotions and envoke sub-conscious thought. In addition to this, the songs start off, and continues, with a sample. The sample used in this song is from The Whatnauts’ “Message From a Black Man”. This song is about pride in getting back up when all odds are against you. The melody of both songs made it sound smooth. In Nas’ song, the melodic character is mostly conjunct. However, there is some disjunct pieces that come in when the high notes are introduced. The melodic contour adds to this. In my opinion, the contour almost takes on a curvy zigzag like pattern and could even mimic a heartbeat. These things are important to consider in musical artistry because it keeps the listener on their emotional toes. Even more so, the sue of the sample also adds to the meaning of the song for a few reasons. One of those reasons tie into where The Whatnauts come from and what they’ve dealt with personally or as a group. The song is also played in andante- meaning it is moderately slow. This allows the listener to really baste in the message behind his words/message of resistance.
The way he uses lyrical artistry is unique as well (Chia-Hui Preston, Graham). He uses a collection of allusions and rhymes to connect the topics in his verses together. For example, he rhymes the words Superfly/ties in verse 1 to talk about how black people are the influencers in the fashion world and are supporting big brands like Gucci and Louie. Similarly, in verse 2 he uses the rhymed words Dateline/Crimes/time/canine to display the hatred/dehumanization for black people by referencing that an altercation between a black man and a dog is a hate crime. Also brings attention to animal abuse. In Verse 2, he uses both rhymes and allusions to add to his message. The line says, “Now we getting our papers. They try to censor the words and stop our money comin’, but you can’t escape us- haters”. This talks about the album’s name being changed from “Nigger” to “Untitled” (Genius). In order to understand this, you must have some context behind it. His album created a bunch of controversy when it was first being marketed because of the use of the word “Nigger” . This cause a plethora of unease amongst the white community, so they tried to get rid of it by not supporting it. This adds to the song’s meaning because it both conforms and resists to the social unease around the word “Nigger”. It does this by showing that even though they may try to control the way our message is publicized (in a way that doesn’t offend them) we will still produce the truth. This line also represents how much control and influence white people have on the industry, the artist, and the audience. The way he uses lyrical artistry here, attracts the listener to the words. In verse 1, the line, “Picture wax museums full of Black Panther triple OG’s” adds a different perspective to the song. It references the Madame Tussauds wax museum where famous people get made into wax statues (Genius). While almost all the statues are of “famous” white people there are a few exceptions like Michael Jordan, Samuel L. Jackson, Biggie Smalls, etc. Nas used this line to encourage and create accuracy in historic places that include black people. The purpose of this is to give us the chance to picture/predict a future where the history of famous black people is displayed and receive the same attention as white ones (Genius). This helps with the portrayal of black people and creates a positive label for us. It also shows resistance because it shows that we aren’t going to sit around and allow them to portray us like we are nothing and didn’t have any power or influence. All in all, Nas uses a combination of musical and lyrical artistry to enhance feelings/ emotions, create long lasting effects, and evoke a change in mindset to resist and overcome social paradigms surrounding the black community.
In conclusion, Nas uses a combination of musical and lyrical artistry to create long lasting effects and evoke a change in mindset to resist and overcome social paradigms surrounding the black community. This song brings light to issues like police brutality, violence, drugs, etc. This is because he talks about a lot of issues and uses lyrical devices like allusions and metaphors to mentally engage the listener as well as audibly engaging them. This works as a form of political/social activism and is designed to get his listeners to be more socially conscious of what is going on in the black community and find ways to challenge and change it. He does this using musical sounds and allusions. His lyrical artistry throughout his song attacks society in a way that creates conformity and resistance. In the same sense, it also impacts the listener by making it resonate more aurally and mentally
SOURCES:
Chia-Hui Preston, Graham. “‘My Pen Rides the Paper’: Hip-Hop, the Technology of Writing and Nas’s Illmatic.” Journal of Popular Music Studies (Wiley-Blackwell), vol. 20, no. 3, Sept. 2008, pp. 261–275. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1533–1598.2008.00161. x.
Genius. (n.d.). You Can’t Stop Us Now. [online] Available at: https://genius.com/Nas-you-cant-stop-us-now-lyrics [Accessed 2 Dec. 2019].
