Social and cultural context
Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free.
1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
In 2003, Common won a Grammy for best R&B song for 'Love of My Life' (An Ode to Hip-Hop),' a collaboration with Badu that ended up featuring on the 2002 soundtrack Brown Sugar. In addition, he recieved another Grammy years later for the song 'Southside'.
In 2005, Common dropped an album that ended up reaching No.2 on the Billboard charts. The project featured production from fellow Chi-town artist Kanye West and singer John Legend also appearing on one of the tracks.
Common has continued to focus on recording as seen with albums: Finding Forever, Universal Mind Control, The Dreamer/The Believer and Nobody's smiling. He has also turned to more and more acting roles, having made his television debut with a role on the sitcom Girlfriends. Later TV projects included One on One and Hell on Wheels, with Common playing a character for several seasons.
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
It was theoretically written to outlaw slavery, the 13th Amendment had the effect of paving the way for local and State law reforms that created loopholes that enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment.
3) What were the Black Codes?
The Black Codes were introduced at state level in the southern states, provided for forced labour as punishment for petty crimes that in actuality only applied to the newly emancipated black slaves.
4) Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment?
It is still a crucial aspect to American culture because still in this day and age black people are still prejudiced against by mainly white people just because of their skin colour like how we see in this police shootings, wrong imprisonment of black people and just general violence, this shows how slavery could still be seen as a thing but just in a different way that doesn't go against the constitution. Another reason why is because obviously slavery is and forever will be a major part of American history that wont just be forgotten, considering how it ruined the lives of thousands of black people and families.
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
Her Netflix documentary focused on the historic legacy of the 13th amendment to the US constitution, which was written to outlaw slavery.
6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
Late 80's and 90's was truly reflective of a movement as it was the movement of black empowerment, black love, consciousness, just being aware. It was all of the above. Common stated, 'obviously things go through evolution, it changes. I don't think, right now as a whole, we have that in hip-hop -- Big Daddy Kane, Mo D, N.W.A had stuff that was saying something too. The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more complexity like the political rising style of hip hop.
7) Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?
Hip hop isn't the place to go to to listen for that voice of a revolution but there are artists that do it like Kendrick Lamar. I also believe Chance the Rapper, though he may not speak in black consciousness, he has a consciousness about him, self-awareness and a spirituality was something powerful in hip-hop. Common states, 'I also believe that I do my best to put my spirituality and belief in the creator before anything because, that in itself, no matter where I go, if I carry that with me, then i'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.'
8) What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album? You'll need to research this - the Wikipedia entry for the album is a good place to start.
Black America Again is the 11th stuido album by American rapper Common which Letter to the Free was taken from. The album recieved widespread acclaim from various crititcs. The album infact recieved an averga e score of 88 from Metacritic, based on 13 reviews. Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly said, 'it's the MC's empathetic and clear-eyed rhymes that truly make this a vital contribution to the national conversation.
Close-textual analysis and representation
Re-watch the music video several times to complete the following tasks in specific detail:
1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement).
There are a variety of long shots used throughout the video giving the audience a clearer look of what is around Common and the message he may be trying to represent and to show off a sense of realism. Throughout the video the camera movement is slow paced which could be done to show how the pace society is changing from back in the day is very slow showing that the government don't care or want change and want things to stay as they are. The shots also show facial expressions and body movement which shows their emotions.
2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?
The constant camera movement is significant as it could signify how black people had to constantly move around America as they were never greeted with acceptance, therefore having to find a place where they could call home which was very hard to come by.
3) Why is the video in black and white?
The video being in black and white stresses the rise of black empowerment and lifting up the black culture through media in order to make a name for ourselves. The black and white may also be done in order to convey the serious, depressing and sombre tone as this video is regarding a revolution that must be taken seriously because of the deep history behind it. Another use of the black and white is that it is done to show the evolution of America as black people and white people are living as equals.
4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?
For actor placement Common used good methods to create different meanings. For instance 'No exessive noise' is written on a wall and in front of it are black people playing musical instruments which shows the growing defiance black people have against this corrupt society that wants to try and control black people to live under their rules. In terms of lighting we see low key lighting being used in full effect, done to reinforce the serious tone of the video so the audience engages more and understands the meaning Common is trying to present. For costumes there is no sexual objectification and instead the clothing is very casual to show how we should be able to make our own choices and are in control of our own lives therefore we wear what we want and do what we want. For setting we see that the video is filmed in a prison which done to show the lack of freedom black people were and still are presented with, however by having Common rap about such revolutionary matters while in a prison is effective as it shows him putting up a stand for something he believes in.
5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?
The lyric 'Shot me with your ray-gun and now you want to trump me is very significant as it shows how social issues are mainly derived from the corrupt government from leaders like Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. Ray-gun and Trump is also use of word play in order to show how corrupt the government is.
6) What is the significance of the floating black square motif? Discuss your own interpretations alongside Common's explanation of it in the Billboard feature linked above.
The significance of the black square is that it signifies the black people living in America as we see how it goes from different place to place. For example how it is shown to be in prison and what it looks like to be cotton fields and so on, which is a clear representation of black people in America and how they were stereotyped to be in prison. Although at the end when we see the black box outside links to how black people have finally found freedom and can create their own identity.
Common explained in a conversation with Nelson George that, 'It represents the infinite thing about blackness and blackness can't be defined in time or space.'
7) How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.
The video references racism as we so the black box stuck in side a prison with nobody around to help or any background information and how at the end we see the black box in a cotton field which is reflective of how the slaves had to work n those said fields. In regards to the prison it is important as a regard to racism because of how thousands of black people over the years have been wrongfully imprisoned.8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?
Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture, this is evident through Letter to the Free as Common is trying to put across the message of how hard it was for black people to just live in America due to the white capitalist culture. Gilroy also mentions how the slave trade had a massive cultural influence on modern day America.
9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.
Stuart Hall suggests audiences often blur race and class which leads to the association of races with certain social classes. Hall also suggests how western cultures are mainly white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. This all links to the message Common was trying to spread through Letter to the Free.
10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?
Current events referenced in the song is the racism within America, especially within the policing system and the government since black people are constantly prejudiced against without even being given a chance to share their side of things. Donald Trump is also referenced in the song, highlighting how corrupt of a president he is and how he only does things for his own peoples benefit. Another issue referenced in the video is the equality problems black people are faced with when living in America as they are treated much differently for all the wrong reasons.
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