Music for Equality
One of the biggest problems that the world is facing is inequality. The UK rapper David Orobosa Omoregie, also known as Santan Dave, born on 5 June 1998, demonstrates the problems of inequality in the world and tries to find solutions. He is a great lyricist that raps about discrimination, social issues, and deeply personal issues such as mental health. I want people to know how much Dave is fighting for and why his songs are usually tangled with equality. Dave is an UK artist known for his educational lyrics and wise words.
So how do Dave’s songs relate to equality? Well almost all his songs talk about this subject, like “Heart Attack,” “Black,” “Hangman,” etc. By listening to songs like these, people started to learn more and more about what is really going on when it comes to inequality in the world. For example, in the song “Heart Attack,” Dave says, “Night club toilet, you peed on the seat, because you don’t know how it feels, when your mom gotta clean shit.’’ He explains how women are treated, and how they are seen as nothing. He is also mentioning something that is very personal to him; he is talking about his mom and what she had to go through as a woman. He is also talking about how people who have low income are treated like garbage. I believe this is one of the reasons that Dave talks about inequality. Anyone and everyone should be treated the same, no matter what type of job they have or what race they are — that isn’t the case today. Dave’s music is uplifting, empowering, and motivating people.
Dave also talks about the impact of racism in this world. On his famous song called “Black,” Dave opened so many eyes to this issue. He told a story, more than writing a song, and that caught many people’s notice. This song explains well why Dave is rapping about equality. He explained how people are destroying black people’s history and life. But there is one quote that catches attention: “Blacker the berry the sweeter juice, blacker the killer the sweeter the news, if he’s white he’s either ill or confused, but if he is black, see, arm, and shoot’’ (“Black”). This line demonstrates how it is difficult to live as black person in the world. A black person is treated differently than a white person by the police, and the media. Dave is an artist who has fought, and is still fighting, for equality with every song he releases, captivating a lot of audiences. Through his artwork, he states what he believes is right.
Dave was born in Nigeria and immigrated to live as a young black man in London. He had a difficult childhood (“Dave”). That is one of the reasons he relates his situation to speak to his fans. Dave always finds ways for people to listen to what he stands for and what he is fighting for, whether it is through an interview or through music. Dave always tries to encourage his fans to support equality. He gets his message across very well to his audience. Dave always says he wants to leave a big impact in the world once he is done. In an interview, he said: “The best musicians say something that has impact. It’s very, very difficult to do” (“Dave interview 2021”). And he is leaving the greatest impact of all through his songs.
Playlist for Equality
Music has played a part in the fight for equality.
The first video I selected is called “Black,” written by Dave. This song talks about inequality and how black people are seen differently. The video gives a visual experience of what black people go through in their daily lives and how much they struggle. In the song, Dave says, “The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice the kid dies the blacker the killer the sweeter the news. And if he’s white give him a chance he’s ill and confused, if his black he’s probably armed you see him and shoot.” For example, here Dave explains, that in the same situation, black people and white people are treated differently. He shows that black are people are seen as the bad and dangerous ones, so they don’t get the same opportunities.
The second video that I chose is called “Heart Attack.” The inequality that Dave describes in this music is gender inequality. He talks about women and how they are so undervalued by people. This song was written to uplift women to be powerful; their work is not underappreciated. Dave best describes how women are undervalued in these verses: “Night club toilet you peed on the seat cause you don’t how it feels when your mom’s gotta clean shit.” This lyric is personal to Dave, because his mom had to work multiple jobs to support him and his brothers. It shows how bad workplaces could be for a woman.
The third song I picked is by Childish Gambino, and it is called, “This Is America.” The reason that I picked this song is the message that it delivers through the video and the lyrics. In this song, the artist talks about life in America for black people and how they are treated. He tries to make a fun and powerful video so that people are entertained and still receive the message. Childish Gambino sends his message by saying, “This America don’t catch you slipping on now police be tripping now.” The police brutality shows how unfairly treated, and how difficult life can be for a black person living in America.
For my fourth song I picked Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5.” In the music video, he changes into different celebrities. He talks about the lives they live, what they accomplished, and how they influence people. Kendrick Lamar changed his face several times to represent other artists and celebrities, sending a clear message to the audience. He morphed into people like Kanye West, Jussie Smolett, Kobe Bryant, Oj Simpson, and the great Nipsey Hussle, pointing out their remarkable legacy and how they have influenced the world.
Discrimination against people of color and women — these topics are important for me. I believe that we live in a world where technology and social media has made it too easy to spread hate. Once a picture is posted, people can write mean comments , the comments can be racist or sexist. They do this easily by hiding behind their computers. We saw this during the 2020 Euro Cup final when two young black players from England missed the penalties. Their Instagram was filled with horrible racist comments. It could easily happen to a women who posted a picture on Facebook, and she will receive sexist messages. Daily, people have to face discrimination online, at work, at school, on the street, on public transportation, in restaurants, and so on. That is why this issue is important for me, because those comments can really affect people. It is important to discuss these social issues because they do exist. I feel like having this kind of conversation is important to the audience, because it affects us all. These issues are not issues that we can be silent about, even if it doesn’t affect us directly. It definitively affects someone we know, a friend a sister, a neighbor, a classmate or a colleague…
As individuals I believe we are responsible to educate ourselves by learning as much as we can and standing with those that are facing inequality or discrimination. There is always something we can do. Institutions and communities are supposed to educate the younger generation about these issues. I believe that arts like music, murals, paintings, and movies are a great way to spread awareness and to educate people across the world. And that is why I want to say — MUSIC FOR EQUALITY! MUSIC FOR A BETTER WORLD!
- “Bundles.” Santan Dave, 2022, https://santandave.com/collections/bundles. Accessed 16 Dec. 2022“Dave.” Contemporary Black Biography Online, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Biography, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1606008756/BIC?u=mcc_chandler&sid=bookmark-BIC&xid=fa33f531. Accessed 16 Dec. 2022.
- “Dave — Black.” YouTube, YouTube, 21 Feb. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDUPSNdmFew&ab_channel=SantanDave.
- “Dave (Rapper).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Oct. 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_(rapper). Accessed 16 Dec. 2022.
- “Heart Attack.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 July 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uQM-n_y-Hs&ab_channel=Dave-Topic.
- Thapar, Ciaran. “Santan Dave: ‘When I Write, I Think, ‘I Cannot Afford to Fail.” That Pressure Is Exhausting’.” British GQ, 6 July 2021, https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/dave-interview-2021.
