Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Update: February 13, 2020
This pancocojams post explores the possible meanings of the line "melanin too dark to throw her shade" in Beyonce's 2019 song "Brown Skin Girl".
This post also features the verse from that song that includes that line.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composers of this song and thanks to Beyonce for her musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
-snip-
Much of the content of this post was written as comments in this July 21, 2019 pancocojams post https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/brown-skin-girls-throughout-world.html "Brown Skin Girls Throughout The World Comment About Beyoncé's Song "Brown Skin Girl" "
Please share your explanations for that line in the comment section below. Thanks!
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PARTIAL LYRICS FROM BEYONCE'S SONG "BROWN SKIN GIRL"
[Verse 2: Beyoncé]
"Pose like a trophy when Naomi walk in
She need an Oscar for that pretty dark skin
Pretty like Lupita when the cameras close in
Drip broke the levee when my Kelly roll in
I think tonight she might braid her braids
Melanin too dark to throw her shade
She minds her business and wines her waist
Gold like 24k, okay"
Click https://genius.com/Beyonce-saint-jhn-and-wizkid-brown-skin-girl-lyrics for the complete lyrics for this song.
****
MY COMMENTS POSTED TO THE PANCOCOJAMS POST ABOUT BEYONCE'S "BROWN SKIN GIRL" SONG
Azizi Powell, July 23, 2019 at 4:14 PM
"Here's a link to a July 23, 2019 article about Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl": https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/beyonc-brown-skin-girl-not-160516568.html
If I correctly understand its main point, that article states that Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl" is and should be directed only toward dark skinned Black females. [Note: I disagree with this point.]
The author of that article reached that conclusion by explaining a line in that song whose meaning I'm still not sure about:
"Beyoncé is deliberate in her intention by mentioning beautiful brown beauties Lupita Nyong’o, Naomi Campbell, and Kelly Rowland in the lyrics of the song.
She added to her specific pigment description by saying “melanin too dark to throw her shade.” For those of us with basic knowledge of the parts of speech, we know that the word “too” is an adverb that emphasizes the adjective “dark” to create a stronger sense of the darkness being referred to.
To break it down: Mathematically, that “too” would more than likely be represented as a power symbol on top of a number to show that the number is to be multiplied to equal something of greater value. Extra. More. Additional. This degree of melanin is specifically devoted to women who are often berated for their Blackness, women who represent African ancestry and heritage and are mocked for it.
This song is for those Black woman."...
****
Azizi Powell, July 23, 2019 at 5:10 PM
"I think that article's author Imani Bashir, is suggesting is that the lyrics "melanin too dark to thrown her shade" means that the person's melanin is "extra dark" and therefore it can provide shade (against the hot sun)- better than melanin that is not extra dark.
And that might be what those words mean in the context of that song. However, part of my problem with this interpretation is that in American English "too [something]" is usually a negative -examples: "too big", "too loud", "too much".
The word "too" might mean "very" or "so". I don't suppose that Beyonce's song means that a dark skinned person's melanin is too dark (extra dark?; very dark?, so dark?).
Maybe it's just my socialization that makes me think of this interpretation.
Clearly, the word "too" isn't supposed to be a negative in this song or is this song throwing shade?"
****
Azizi Powell, July 23, 2019 at 5:13 PM
"Am I the only one that thinks about the African American drag originated phrase "throwing shade" when they hear or read the phrase "melanin too dark to throw her shade"?
A definition for "throwing shade" is "making an artfully executed verbal or non-verbal insult".*
Are the words "too dark melanin" supposed to be throwing shade at people who have dark skin colors? (This can't be correct given Beyonce's song is sung in celebration of dark brown skin.)
But dark skinned people -and not just dark skinned Black people-are used to being subtly and directly insulted by people because of their skin color so, there's that.**
What do you think the lyrics "melanin too dark to throw her shade" means (in the context of Beyonce's song)?.
*Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/04/throwing-shade-definition-and-non.html for a pancocojams post about "throwing shade".
**Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/07/two-reprints-of-non-pancocojams.html for a pancocojams post that mentions the 2008 Trinidadian/Tobagan Reggae song "Darkie" by Orlando Octave and documents how "darkie" in that Caribbean nation isn't a put down but a descriptive and often complimentary referent for dark skinned females and males."
-snip-
UPDATE: July 24, 2019 7:29 AM
I woke up thinking about the "melanin too dark to throw her shade" line in Beyonce's "Brown Skin Girl" song.
It occurs to me that other parts of that song includes references to "skin like pearls" and "your skin, it glow like diamonds". Perhaps the "melanin too dark to throw her shade" means that the skin shines so brightly it can't be hidden by the shade (of a tree?).
By the way, I just posted the question "what does "melanin too dark to throw her shade" in the discussion part of the lyric page on https://genius.com/Beyonce-saint-jhn-and-wizkid-brown-skin-girl-lyrics. Hopefully, some commenters will share their thoughts on this line. If so, I'll quote them in this pancocojams post.
****
UPDATE: February 13, 2020
The 1929 novel The Blacker The Berry, written by African American author Wallace Thurman popularized the saying "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice", I've been thinking about that saying after recalling that Tupac included the line "The blacker the berry" in his 1993 Hip Hop song "Keep Ya Head Up" and Kendrick Lamar used that same line as the title of his 2015 Hip Hop song.
It occurs to me that the line "melanin too dark to throw her shade" in Beyonce's 2019 song "Brown Skin Girl is another way of praising very dark skin color. If "melanin too dark" in those lyrics mean "skin so dark" or "very dark", and if "throwing shade" means that you are putting down (insulting) someone, then those lyrics can have the same or similar sentiments as "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice".
The terms "melanin" and "melanated" have been widely used since around 2014 among certain populations of African Americans (those who are "woke" - conscious of the political & social realities of race). Among this population, "melanated" is an adjective that means "full of melanin" (i.e. full of Black African ancestry). "Melanated" is especially used to refer to Black people with dark brown skin.*
My guess is that "Melanin so dark to throw her shade" means that the person's skin is so dark that- just by that person's very presence- it throws shade (put down/insults anyone who isn't that dark. In other words, her very dark skin (melanin) by its very being excels over anyone who isn't that same skin color.
If this is the correct meaning of "melanin so dark to throw her shade", then that line is a contemporary version of "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice". As such it's the complete reversal of how colorism usually operates throughout Western history and culture, in that colorism usually considers light skin (skin color that is white or near white) to be far better than black or brown skin.
From https://www.bustle.com/articles/37427-5-truths-about-colorism-that-ive-learned-as-a-black-woman-in-nyc "5 Truths About Colorism That I've Learned As a Black Woman In NYC" by Kristin Collins Jackson, Nov 18 2014
..."Colorism is the principle that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher regard than those with darker skin, and it happens both between racial communities and within them. Media outlets have long been accused of using Photoshop to lighten darker-skinned folks in order to make them more appealing to the masses. During Obama's first run for president, sources audaciously pointed out that our first black president was a light-skinned man, suggesting that he may not have been elected or had the same opportunities to be elected if he were darker-skinned. This discrimination has historical roots — during slavery, lighter-skinned black people often worked in the house, while darker-skinned black people were relegated to work in the fields.
[...]
colorism is one of the worst types of discrimination, it in itself does not discriminate. It exists everywhere, in all cultures, and in all races."...
"Melanin so dark to throw her shade" lyric is part of the contemporary "Black girl magic"/"melanated people" meme that echos the much older "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice" saying. Although these sayings are reactions to deep seated prejudice against dark skinned people, my position is that colorism that favors dark skin people over light skin people is just as problematic and poisonous as its reverse.
*Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/05/what-does-term-melanated-mean-when-did.html for the May 2019 pancocojams post entitled "What Does The Term "Melanated" Mean & When Did "Melanin" Become A Popular Referent For Black People?"
****
COMMENTS FROM OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT THE LINE "MELANIN TOO DARK TO THROW HER SHADE" IN BEYONCE'S "BROWN SKIN GIRL" SONG
Source #1:
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng3y6ddBoWM BROWN SKIN GIRL, [sound file published by Beyoncé on Jul 19, 2019]
(Numbers assigned for referencing purposes only; All these comments are from July 2019.)
1. Omni EyeAm
"Melanin too dark to throw her shade! Say it louder for the ones in the back!"
**
REPLY
2. Jessica Cooper
"I felt that in my soul!!"
**
REPLY
3. Karen Adkins
"❤️"
**
REPLY
4. nichail Miller
"I finally got it😂 I’m so slow🙈🤷🏾♀️😂😂😂"
**
REPLY
5. DIVA & QUEEN
"I actually dont understand that verse can someone explain please"
**
REPLY
6. nichail Miller
"DIVA & QUEEN Melanin protects you from the sun. You don’t need shade....I think 💕"
****
Source #2
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk_snRm99J8
Beyonce - Brown Skin Girl (Dance Video) by The Happy African Kids (Dream Catchers) ft. Wizkid
Dream Catchers Dance, Published on Jul 20, 2019
1. mAya SquAw
"Melanin to dark to throw her shade👸🏿🌍❤️"
**
REPLY
2. la joie X
"mAya SquAw what this part means?
People can’t stop to repeat that"
**
REPLY
3. 10hooper
"@la joie X it means nothing can phase them. Their skin is a shield to the hatred and negativity"
-snip-
The commenter meant "faze" and not "phase". https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/chooseyourwords/faze-phase/ "To faze is to disturb, bother, or embarrass, but a phase is a stage or step".
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Saturday, April 1, 2017
What Kendrick Lamar's Hip Hop Song "King Kunta" Means (With Special Attention To What He Meant By "Yams")
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information about Hip Hop rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar. This post also includes quotes from internet articles and comments about Kendrick Lamar's 2015 song "King Kunta" with special attention to the meaning/s of the word "yams" in this Hip Hop track.
Partial lyrics* to Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta" are included in this post along with a link to a YouTube video of "King Kunta".
*This blog only provides partial spelling for profanity and a form of what is commonly referred to as "the n word".
The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.
All rights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Kendrick Lamar for his musical legacy. Thanks to each of the composers of this Hip Hop song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KENDRICK LAMAR
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendrick_Lamar
"Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. He embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE)...
Lamar won his first Grammy Award for "i", lead single from his critical acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). The album drew on free jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word, debuted atop the charts in the U.S. and the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 58th ceremony...
Lamar has received a number of accolades over the course of his career, including seven Grammy Awards. In early 2013, MTV named Lamar the number one "Hottest MC in the Game", on their annual list.[1] Time named Lamar one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.[2] Aside from his solo career, Lamar is also known as a member of the West Coast hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside his TDE label-mates and fellow South Los Angeles-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.[3]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KENDRICK LAMAR'S "KING KUNTA"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kunta
"King Kunta" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, taken from his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). It was released as the album's third single on March 9, 2015....
Writing and composition
"King Kunta" is a reference to the archetypal rebellious slave Kunta Kinte,[2] the basis of the main character from the Alex Haley novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The song contains an interpolation of "Get Nekkid" (2000), written by Johnny Burns and performed by Mausberg; resung lyrics from "Smooth Criminal" (1987), written and performed by Michael Jackson; elements of the 1974 James Brown song "The Payback", written by Brown, Fred Wesley, and John Starks; and a sample from the 1994 song "We Want the Funk", written and performed by Ahmad Lewis.[3] Background vocals are provided by Whitney Alford.
Critical reception
"King Kunta" was placed at number seven on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Songs of 2015" list, with the editors commenting, "The fiercest and most funkadelic track on To Pimp a Butterfly takes aim at everything from Lamar's haters to "the power that be." We already knew Kendrick was a great lyricist; turns out he's kind of a badass, too."...
****
[PARTIAL] LYRICS: KING KUNTA
(Written By Ahmad, Redfoo, Johnny Burns, Thundercat & Kendrick Lamar)
[Hook]
B&tch*, where you when I was walkin'?
Now I run the game, got the whole world talkin'
King Kunta
Everybody wanna cut the legs off him
(King) Kunta
Black man taking no losses, oh yeah
B&tch*, where you when I was walkin'?
Now I run the game, got the whole world talkin'
King Kunta
Everybody wanna cut the legs off him
When you got the yams—(What's the yams?)
[Verse 1]
The yam is the power that be
You can smell it when I'm walkin' down the street
(Oh yes, we can, oh yes, we can)
I can dig rappin', but a rapper with a ghost writer?
What the f&&k* happened? (Oh no!)
I swore I wouldn't tell, but most of y'all sharing bars
Like you got the bottom bunk in a two-man cell
(A two man cell)
Something's in the water (something's in the water)
And if I gotta brown-nose for some gold
Then I'd rather be a bum than a motherf___n'* baller
[Hook]
[Verse 2]
The yam brought it out of Richard Pryor
Manipulated Bill Clinton with desires
24/7, 365 days times two
I was contemplatin' gettin' on stage
Just to go back to the hood, see my enemy, and say… (oh yeah)
[...]
Source: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-king-kunta-lyrics
-snip-
The complete lyrics to this song are given on that page.
*These words are completely spelled out on that page.
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8 for a YouTube video of this song (WARNING: Includes profanity and a form of "the n word".)
****
ANALYSIS OF KENDRICK LAMAR'S "KING KUNTA" (With Special Attention To The Meaning Of "Yams" In That Song)
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only
Excerpt #1:
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-king-kunta-lyrics
About the lyrics to this song, Created by UBOOBOO, 2015
"Kunta Kinte, a fictional 18th-century slave, is the main character of the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. Kinte is known for having his right foot cut off because of his attempts to escape his plantation.
Kendrick presents Kunta Kinte’s name as a “King Kunta” to contrast the lowest and highest levels of society, and provide a feeling of empowerment similar to ‘i’*. In addition, the sentiment illustrates Kendrick’s personal growth from being in the hood, to the present day as a major voice in hip hop. He further explained the influences behind writing this song to NME". [video blocked in the USA]
-snip-
*From the Wikipedia page quoted above: [Kendrick] "Lamar won his first Grammy Award for "i", lead single from his critical acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)".
-snip-
The lyrics ..."where you when I was walkin'?" refers to the times when Kendrick Lamar was struggling to make it in life (or specifically, in Hip Hop) in contrast to him now being chauffeured around in expensive cars because he is so successful.
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://justrandomthings.com/2015/03/14/kendrick-lamar-releases-new-single-king-kunta-analysis-and-meaning/ KENDRICK LAMAR RELEASES NEW SINGLE “KING KUNTA” (ANALYSIS AND MEANING)
by Adam@JRT, March 14, 2015
"Make way Hip Hop, King Kendrick is back. And he is very clear about it in his latest single “King Kunta” from his upcoming album ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’. Like his previous single “The Blacker The Berry“, Kendrick addresses Black oppression in “King Kunta”. Looks like the new album is going to be single-themed. Alongside the rich meaning behind the song, it is also a musical beauty, as K Dot spits some fiery lines on some stripped down beats
[...]
Verse 1 has Kendrick talking about ‘yams’ which is a slang for cocaine. He speaks about the drugs issues in the world, as has he done in “The Blacker The Berry” too. He says how openly (freely) the drug trades are carried out in the streets–often protected by powerful hands who are there to stop them. “Oh yes we can” scream is a drug seller’s confidence as to what he does.
[...]
-snip-
Selected comments from this article:
1. Grant, 2015
"Yams is not exclusively drugs but is more generally power. It comes from the novel "Things fall apart" where the power of a man was determined by the amount of yams they were able to harvest. Yams can be anything that gives someone power."
**
2. DK, 2015
"I agree with Grant. He's referencing a power structure - the powers that be, the industry or something bigger."...
**
3. Trader Joe, 2015
"I'll give you something else to consider about "yam".
yam is the chant if you will of the heart chakra.
heartz of men by Tupac is also in reference to this chakra and contains a sample of Richard Pryor throughout the song."...
-snip-
Regarding that article's reference to Kendrick Lamar and "The Blacker The Berry", in African American vernacular culture the complete, often used saying is "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice".
Here's some information about Kendrick Lamar's use of that saying from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacker_the_Berry_(song):
" "The Blacker the Berry" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on February 9, 2015 as the second single from his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly.[1] The song features vocals from Jamaican artist Assassin. It shares its title with the novel The Blacker the Berry by American author Wallace Thurman, which deals with similar themes of racism. The album version of the song also features additional vocals from neo soul singer Lalah Hathaway."
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/kendrick-lamars-grammy-2016-performance.html for the pancocojams post "Kendrick Lamar's Grammy 2016 Performance (Songs: "Blacker The Berry" & "Alright").
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8
2017
1. Andrew Erickson
"What are these "yams" he is referring to?"
**
Reply
2. Ghazi
"Andrew Erickson This line includes an allusion to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man; the unnamed narrator is walking down the streets of New York City when he smells yams, triggering memories of his hometown in the South. The yam is used as a symbol of authenticity; the protagonist famously declares, “I yam what I am.” Here Kendrick is declaring his own authenticity, unlike the rappers he disses in the rest of the verse.
Yams are a key ingredient in African cuisine and have significance in some parts of Africa as a sign of social status. In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe begins by documenting how a man’s worth in Igbo society was largely determined by his yearly yam yield. When Kendrick says he “got the yams,” he means he has attained money, power and prestige.
Big butts on healthy ladies and balloons filled with drugs (particularly heroin) are also colloquially known as “yams”."
**
Reply
3. Andrew Erickson
"soooooooo.... What is up with the throne?"
**
Reply
4. Harmen Luth
"If you haven't heard of it yet, genius.com is a great lyric site, the community and sometimes even the artists annotate lyrics to explain their meaning or references.
The throne here is obviously there to state that he is the king of the game at this time, 'now i run the game, got the whole world talkin'.
Kunta, by the way, was a slave in a novel by Alex Haley whose foot was cut off ('Everybody wanna cut the legs off him') because he tried to escape his owners. By calling himself King Kunta we can see the meaning of a lot of Kendricks work - the slave (growing up in a poor family and bad neighbourhood) became the king (of the rap scene).
Basically, King Kunta is a contradictio[n] in term[s], and so is Kendrick."
**
Reply
5. Donger Ino
"Yams also is an innuendo for testicles, which is why he talks about Richard Pryor, (who had 7 wives and children) and Bill Clinton (who got impeached after scandals about his affair with his wife, Hillary Clinton)"
**
6. Glambylitabe
"sneek diss on drake"
**
Reply
7. Dep99_#5
"Glambylitabe pretty sure he's dissing ghost writers in general, not just directly at Drake""
**
2015
C D
8. "Yams? Everyone knows Jeezy hide yams at his aunty house."
**
Reply
9. mrsuns10
"Akon Weezy Jeezy holding down New Jersey"
**
Reply
10. ShadowJin
"had me laughing"
**
Reply
Kickz&Chicks
11. "+Chris D And Then what?? Lol"
**
Reply
12. ThunderNick
"Can someone explain I feel stupid for not getting it. I know who Jeezy is like I just don't understand the joke."
**
Reply
13. Lyon Hart
"+ThunderNick Jeezy track off thugmotivation101 he says hid the yams in my auntie house on the hook #AndThenWhat"
**
Reply
14. Tyler
"+Chris D He's* referring to the yams that the African civilization in Achebe's book Things Fall Apart used as a form of currency. The story told of a black civilization being destroyed by white men forcing their culture on black civilizations through missionary efforts."
-snip-
*He" in this comment refers to Kendrick Lamar and not "Jeezy".
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Jeezy
"Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977),[2] better known by his stage name Young Jeezy (or simply Jeezy), is an American rap artist from Atlanta, Georgia."
-snip-
In Jeezy's above mentioned song, I'm assuming that "yams" referred to drugs.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post provides information about Hip Hop rapper and songwriter Kendrick Lamar. This post also includes quotes from internet articles and comments about Kendrick Lamar's 2015 song "King Kunta" with special attention to the meaning/s of the word "yams" in this Hip Hop track.
Partial lyrics* to Kendrick Lamar's "King Kunta" are included in this post along with a link to a YouTube video of "King Kunta".
*This blog only provides partial spelling for profanity and a form of what is commonly referred to as "the n word".
The content of this post is presented for cultural purposes.
All rights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Kendrick Lamar for his musical legacy. Thanks to each of the composers of this Hip Hop song and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KENDRICK LAMAR
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendrick_Lamar
"Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. He embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE)...
Lamar won his first Grammy Award for "i", lead single from his critical acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). The album drew on free jazz, funk, soul, and spoken word, debuted atop the charts in the U.S. and the UK, and won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 58th ceremony...
Lamar has received a number of accolades over the course of his career, including seven Grammy Awards. In early 2013, MTV named Lamar the number one "Hottest MC in the Game", on their annual list.[1] Time named Lamar one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.[2] Aside from his solo career, Lamar is also known as a member of the West Coast hip hop supergroup Black Hippy, alongside his TDE label-mates and fellow South Los Angeles-based rappers Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q.[3]"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT KENDRICK LAMAR'S "KING KUNTA"
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kunta
"King Kunta" is a song by American hip hop recording artist Kendrick Lamar, taken from his third album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). It was released as the album's third single on March 9, 2015....
Writing and composition
"King Kunta" is a reference to the archetypal rebellious slave Kunta Kinte,[2] the basis of the main character from the Alex Haley novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family. The song contains an interpolation of "Get Nekkid" (2000), written by Johnny Burns and performed by Mausberg; resung lyrics from "Smooth Criminal" (1987), written and performed by Michael Jackson; elements of the 1974 James Brown song "The Payback", written by Brown, Fred Wesley, and John Starks; and a sample from the 1994 song "We Want the Funk", written and performed by Ahmad Lewis.[3] Background vocals are provided by Whitney Alford.
Critical reception
"King Kunta" was placed at number seven on Rolling Stone's "50 Best Songs of 2015" list, with the editors commenting, "The fiercest and most funkadelic track on To Pimp a Butterfly takes aim at everything from Lamar's haters to "the power that be." We already knew Kendrick was a great lyricist; turns out he's kind of a badass, too."...
****
[PARTIAL] LYRICS: KING KUNTA
(Written By Ahmad, Redfoo, Johnny Burns, Thundercat & Kendrick Lamar)
[Hook]
B&tch*, where you when I was walkin'?
Now I run the game, got the whole world talkin'
King Kunta
Everybody wanna cut the legs off him
(King) Kunta
Black man taking no losses, oh yeah
B&tch*, where you when I was walkin'?
Now I run the game, got the whole world talkin'
King Kunta
Everybody wanna cut the legs off him
When you got the yams—(What's the yams?)
[Verse 1]
The yam is the power that be
You can smell it when I'm walkin' down the street
(Oh yes, we can, oh yes, we can)
I can dig rappin', but a rapper with a ghost writer?
What the f&&k* happened? (Oh no!)
I swore I wouldn't tell, but most of y'all sharing bars
Like you got the bottom bunk in a two-man cell
(A two man cell)
Something's in the water (something's in the water)
And if I gotta brown-nose for some gold
Then I'd rather be a bum than a motherf___n'* baller
[Hook]
[Verse 2]
The yam brought it out of Richard Pryor
Manipulated Bill Clinton with desires
24/7, 365 days times two
I was contemplatin' gettin' on stage
Just to go back to the hood, see my enemy, and say… (oh yeah)
[...]
Source: https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-king-kunta-lyrics
-snip-
The complete lyrics to this song are given on that page.
*These words are completely spelled out on that page.
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8 for a YouTube video of this song (WARNING: Includes profanity and a form of "the n word".)
****
ANALYSIS OF KENDRICK LAMAR'S "KING KUNTA" (With Special Attention To The Meaning Of "Yams" In That Song)
These excerpts are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only
Excerpt #1:
https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-king-kunta-lyrics
About the lyrics to this song, Created by UBOOBOO, 2015
"Kunta Kinte, a fictional 18th-century slave, is the main character of the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley. Kinte is known for having his right foot cut off because of his attempts to escape his plantation.
Kendrick presents Kunta Kinte’s name as a “King Kunta” to contrast the lowest and highest levels of society, and provide a feeling of empowerment similar to ‘i’*. In addition, the sentiment illustrates Kendrick’s personal growth from being in the hood, to the present day as a major voice in hip hop. He further explained the influences behind writing this song to NME". [video blocked in the USA]
-snip-
*From the Wikipedia page quoted above: [Kendrick] "Lamar won his first Grammy Award for "i", lead single from his critical acclaimed third album To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)".
-snip-
The lyrics ..."where you when I was walkin'?" refers to the times when Kendrick Lamar was struggling to make it in life (or specifically, in Hip Hop) in contrast to him now being chauffeured around in expensive cars because he is so successful.
****
Excerpt #2:
From http://justrandomthings.com/2015/03/14/kendrick-lamar-releases-new-single-king-kunta-analysis-and-meaning/ KENDRICK LAMAR RELEASES NEW SINGLE “KING KUNTA” (ANALYSIS AND MEANING)
by Adam@JRT, March 14, 2015
"Make way Hip Hop, King Kendrick is back. And he is very clear about it in his latest single “King Kunta” from his upcoming album ‘To Pimp A Butterfly’. Like his previous single “The Blacker The Berry“, Kendrick addresses Black oppression in “King Kunta”. Looks like the new album is going to be single-themed. Alongside the rich meaning behind the song, it is also a musical beauty, as K Dot spits some fiery lines on some stripped down beats
[...]
Verse 1 has Kendrick talking about ‘yams’ which is a slang for cocaine. He speaks about the drugs issues in the world, as has he done in “The Blacker The Berry” too. He says how openly (freely) the drug trades are carried out in the streets–often protected by powerful hands who are there to stop them. “Oh yes we can” scream is a drug seller’s confidence as to what he does.
[...]
-snip-
Selected comments from this article:
1. Grant, 2015
"Yams is not exclusively drugs but is more generally power. It comes from the novel "Things fall apart" where the power of a man was determined by the amount of yams they were able to harvest. Yams can be anything that gives someone power."
**
2. DK, 2015
"I agree with Grant. He's referencing a power structure - the powers that be, the industry or something bigger."...
**
3. Trader Joe, 2015
"I'll give you something else to consider about "yam".
yam is the chant if you will of the heart chakra.
heartz of men by Tupac is also in reference to this chakra and contains a sample of Richard Pryor throughout the song."...
-snip-
Regarding that article's reference to Kendrick Lamar and "The Blacker The Berry", in African American vernacular culture the complete, often used saying is "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice".
Here's some information about Kendrick Lamar's use of that saying from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacker_the_Berry_(song):
" "The Blacker the Berry" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar. It was released on February 9, 2015 as the second single from his third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly.[1] The song features vocals from Jamaican artist Assassin. It shares its title with the novel The Blacker the Berry by American author Wallace Thurman, which deals with similar themes of racism. The album version of the song also features additional vocals from neo soul singer Lalah Hathaway."
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/02/kendrick-lamars-grammy-2016-performance.html for the pancocojams post "Kendrick Lamar's Grammy 2016 Performance (Songs: "Blacker The Berry" & "Alright").
****
Excerpt #3:
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRK7PVJFbS8
2017
1. Andrew Erickson
"What are these "yams" he is referring to?"
**
Reply
2. Ghazi
"Andrew Erickson This line includes an allusion to Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man; the unnamed narrator is walking down the streets of New York City when he smells yams, triggering memories of his hometown in the South. The yam is used as a symbol of authenticity; the protagonist famously declares, “I yam what I am.” Here Kendrick is declaring his own authenticity, unlike the rappers he disses in the rest of the verse.
Yams are a key ingredient in African cuisine and have significance in some parts of Africa as a sign of social status. In his novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe begins by documenting how a man’s worth in Igbo society was largely determined by his yearly yam yield. When Kendrick says he “got the yams,” he means he has attained money, power and prestige.
Big butts on healthy ladies and balloons filled with drugs (particularly heroin) are also colloquially known as “yams”."
**
Reply
3. Andrew Erickson
"soooooooo.... What is up with the throne?"
**
Reply
4. Harmen Luth
"If you haven't heard of it yet, genius.com is a great lyric site, the community and sometimes even the artists annotate lyrics to explain their meaning or references.
The throne here is obviously there to state that he is the king of the game at this time, 'now i run the game, got the whole world talkin'.
Kunta, by the way, was a slave in a novel by Alex Haley whose foot was cut off ('Everybody wanna cut the legs off him') because he tried to escape his owners. By calling himself King Kunta we can see the meaning of a lot of Kendricks work - the slave (growing up in a poor family and bad neighbourhood) became the king (of the rap scene).
Basically, King Kunta is a contradictio[n] in term[s], and so is Kendrick."
**
Reply
5. Donger Ino
"Yams also is an innuendo for testicles, which is why he talks about Richard Pryor, (who had 7 wives and children) and Bill Clinton (who got impeached after scandals about his affair with his wife, Hillary Clinton)"
**
6. Glambylitabe
"sneek diss on drake"
**
Reply
7. Dep99_#5
"Glambylitabe pretty sure he's dissing ghost writers in general, not just directly at Drake""
**
2015
C D
8. "Yams? Everyone knows Jeezy hide yams at his aunty house."
**
Reply
9. mrsuns10
"Akon Weezy Jeezy holding down New Jersey"
**
Reply
10. ShadowJin
"had me laughing"
**
Reply
Kickz&Chicks
11. "+Chris D And Then what?? Lol"
**
Reply
12. ThunderNick
"Can someone explain I feel stupid for not getting it. I know who Jeezy is like I just don't understand the joke."
**
Reply
13. Lyon Hart
"+ThunderNick Jeezy track off thugmotivation101 he says hid the yams in my auntie house on the hook #AndThenWhat"
**
Reply
14. Tyler
"+Chris D He's* referring to the yams that the African civilization in Achebe's book Things Fall Apart used as a form of currency. The story told of a black civilization being destroyed by white men forcing their culture on black civilizations through missionary efforts."
-snip-
*He" in this comment refers to Kendrick Lamar and not "Jeezy".
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Jeezy
"Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977),[2] better known by his stage name Young Jeezy (or simply Jeezy), is an American rap artist from Atlanta, Georgia."
-snip-
In Jeezy's above mentioned song, I'm assuming that "yams" referred to drugs.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Spoken Word Performance - "Black Girl Blues" by MasterPiece Poet (video with partial lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a video of the spoken word "Black Girl Blues" by MasterPiece Poet.
Partial lyrics of this spoken word poem are included in this post along with editorial notes about some of the references in that poem. This post also includes brief information about MasterPiece Poet, as well as selected comments from this video's discussion thread.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to MasterPiece Poet for her powerful spoken word "Black Girl Blues". Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to All Def Poetry, the publisher of this post on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MASTERPIECE POET
From https://www.reverbnation.com/masterpiece83
"Artist Bio
MasterPiece the poetess was born in Dallas, Tx. She also lived in Arizona for seven years while studying Theatre Arts and Business Administration at the University of Arizona. She began performing and acting at the age of 6 and also discovered a love for poetry at 13. Her passion for poetry and performing arts has inspired many people. The debut album Mind of MasterPiece introduces a new genre of music coined by MasterPiece herself: rhythm and poetry. The cd chronicles her story through powerful words, emotions, rhyme, thought provoking lyrics and smooth rhythmic music that has a hint of hip hop, soul, and jazz all mixed into one. Fans recognize her as a dynamic writer with poise, talent, and beauty. She continues to maintain a balance between the arts and business by being an extraordinary poet/performer and business woman. Her hobbies include basketball, dancing, cooking, designing webpages, traveling, and watching movies. Her poet name MasterPiece stems from the idea that all artists strive to achieve and put forth their best work possible. It is a metaphor for a successful artist."...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Masterpiece Poet - "Black Girl Blues" | All Def Poetry x Da Poetry Lounge
All Def Poetry Published on Aug 19, 2015
Subscribe for more poetry! http://bit.ly/alldefpoetry
....All Def Poetry is a new channel brought to you by Russell Simmons - a world-renowned champion of the spoken word art form. Fresh, riveting, and featuring some of the best voices in the genre, All Def Poetry brings you the raw power of spoken word! #AllDefPoetry
****
SELECTED LYRICS FROM THIS SPOKEN WORD
[1:22- 1:39 of this video]
Black girl, free yourself.
And when you fly
Tell ’em Fannie Lou Hamer sent you.
Tell ‘em, you are your own queen.
Tell ‘em your brown suga maple syrup can't be bought off shelves.
Tell ’em dark don’t mean dirty,
Nappy don’t mean nasty.
Loud don’t mean ratchet.
Bold don’t mean problematic.
[2:07-2:39 of this video]
We have a purpose here.
You can’t take that away.
You can’t Emmett Till our sons no more.
You can’t 16 Street Baptist Church burn our bodies no more.
You can’t walk up in the church and shoot us in prayer no more.
You can’t kill us in the jail cell and call it suicide no more.
This ain’t open season.
Black girl, you are brick.
You are mortar.
You are designed.
You are ceiling.
More than just measurement.
Raise your head.
This Black girl ain’t got no Blues tonight.
You be you.
In your Blues you beautiful as you wanna be.
Dark eyes, thick thighs, we don’t need to apologize.
-snip-
These words flow together in rhythmic form. I added the spacing for reading clarity only.
I'm sorry for any mistakes in this partial transcription. Any corrections are welcome.
Here's information regarding some of the historical references in this excerpt of "MasterPiece Poet's "Black Girl Blues" spoken word:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Lou_Hamer
"Fannie Lou Hamer ... October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and philanthropist. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi's Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey."...
-snip-
Regarding why she was a civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer said “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired”.
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church
"The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, that is frequented predominantly by African Americans. In September 1963, it was the target of the racially motivated 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls in the midst of the American Civil Rights Movement. The church is still in operation and is a central landmark in the Birmingham Civil Rights District. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006."...
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till
"Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman...
Till's body was returned to Chicago. His mother, who had mostly raised him, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. "The open-coffin funeral held by Mamie Till Bradley exposed the world to more than her son Emmett Till's bloated, mutilated body. Her decision focused attention not only on American racism and the barbarism of lynching but also on the limitations and vulnerabilities of American democracy.
...Till's murder is noted as a pivotal catalyst to the next phase of the Civil Rights Movement."...
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS SHOWCASE VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date-except for replies- with the oldest comment given first. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.
2015
1. Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi
"This is one of the dopest poems I've heard in a long. She had the wordplay and righteous aggression spelled out for you, undeniably witty but easy to digest with urgency like milk to a babe."
-snip-
"dopest" = African American Vernacular English term meaning "the very best"
**
2. MasterPiece [2016]
"+Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi Thank you so much!!!"
**
Reply
3. Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi1 month ago
"+MasterPiece no problem, thank you for creating & sharing."
**
4. lobster0right
"said the woman wearing a weave"
-snip-
"weave" (hair weave) = real or fake hair that is woven or glued to person's real hair to add length and/or fullness. (also called "extensions")
**
Reply
5. Jamesha Michelle
"Excuse you, but a hairstyle defines nothing."
**
Reply
6. Kai Jolly
"What the [profanity deleted] does that have to do with anything?"
**
Reply
7. inspirebabe_
"+lobster0right She can do what she want with her hair!"
**
8. Monkey Teeth
"+Jamesha Michelle you can't have it both ways! You can't recite verses about the veneration of black women and the uniqueness of the black women while simotaneously wearing the hair texture of a white women...some serious self worth issues going on here"
**
Reply
9. Nae2588
"+Monkey Teeth my niece is dark as night, but she was born with straight black hair, she's 8 now, and my friend her hair is still straight, never been touched by a perm, nor a flat iron or a pressing comb. her mom mainly did her hair, and her mom got thrown in prison on drug charges, so if it was nappy someone needed to do it, because white European hair as u claim, we all know can fix itself, just as soon as they get out of bed."
**
Reply
10. wild heart
"+Monkey Teeth What do you mean? She is clearly a black woman who loves herself unapologetically. Plus Black women get judged for whatever they do with her hair. Black women should be able to do whatever they want with it without being criticized."
**
Reply
11. Kai Jolly
"+wild heart I agree."
**
Reply
12. Velvet Velours
"+Nae2588 that's your niece. 90% of black people do not have naturally straight hair"
**
Reply
13. Kai Jolly [2016]
"+Zhang Yixing But some of them do lol.
-snip-
It appears that Zhang Yixing is another screen name for Velvet Velours.
**
Reply
14. Dana Newman [2016]
"+lobster0right It's not about her hair..."
**
Reply
15. Asia Speights [2016]
"....? Because white women don't wear weaves? [Profanity initials deleted] does her hair have to do with ANYTHING."
**
16. Rebecca Shogunle
"strong. powerful. insightful and definitely true beyond doubt"
**
17. Monkey Teeth
"Look how confident and proud she seems. Snatch that wig off her head and watch her confidence instantly disappear as she runs off stage embarrassed of her God given hair !"
**
Reply
18. Azandria Hudson [2016]
"Her weave isn't a mask just simply a style. You don't have to wear your natural hair 24/7 to love yourself and be woke"
**
19. Nae2588
"amazing. black power"
**
Reply
20. G Den [2016]
"Stop it! this is not about "Black Power" or hating others. it's about uplifting our Black women, specifically those who are less mixed than others (Dark Skin). I will not allow YOU to make something so beautiful ugly.
-Black Activist/Community Member"
**
21. mrschrisbrown416
"love this with the entire life of me."
**
22. Emmanuel Mango
"What's her name?"
**
Reply
23. MasterPiece
"+David Emmanuel MasterPiece.... Check out masterpiecepoet on IG"
-snip-
"IG" = "Instagram".
**
24. Snoopy Thompson
"She Tells It Like It Tis"
****
2016
25. Awo Abdi
" "our sons don't need sunscreen, they run from protection" you're lying if you say you didn't get chills."
-snip-
This comment refers to this portion of that spoken word [from 1:40-1:53] in this video:
"They say 'The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice'
But nowdays it's 'The blacker the baby, the longer the noose.'
Our sons don't need sunscreen.
They run from protection.
They get their vitamin D from laying 4 hours face down on the ground."
-snip-
"The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice" is a recurring saying in African American folk culture since at least 1922 (Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Songs: Wise & Otherwise (song/poem "You Love You Girl". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/06/timeline-for-cultural-use-of-saying.html for a pancocojams post on that saying.
The line "they get their vitamin D from laying face down on the ground" is probably a referent to the August 9, 2014 shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by Darren Wilson, 28, a White Ferguson police officer and Michael Brown's body laying unattended for hours after the shooting.
**
26. Adrian Ware
"talk about the power. You can definitely here it in her voice. So moving. The queen just spoke"
-snip-
Since the late 1960s Black nationalist movement in the United States "queen" has been a complimentary referent for a Black woman.
**
27. jack
"Great poem oh my lord! I have chills.
For anyone asking, the song is Behind Closed Doors by Muoi."
**
28. Lemonslay
"You're beautiful with your skin like moonlight and your eyes like the moon."
-snip-
These words may be found in this spoken word, but I'm not sure where they are in this video.
**
29. Sade Tucker
"I give this millions of snaps!!! Incredibly executed!"
**
30. angela modifo
"amandla!!!"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amandla_(power)
"Amandla is a Zulu and Xhosa word meaning "power". The word was a popular rallying cry in the days of resistance against Apartheid, used by the African National Congress and its allies. The leader of a group would call out "Amandla!" and the crowd would respond with "Awethu"[1] or "Ngawethu!"[2] (to us), completing the South African version of the rallying cry Power to the People!.[3] The word is still associated with struggles against oppression."...
**
31. Vikki Costello
"what !! amazing Queen! all I can say is powers to the most high & #Kudos cause that was God sent"
**
32. mariemonstre
"Very powerful but also a little saddening. As a mixed child, I feel hurt that she talks about us mixed children are made out of some desire to purge undesirable traits. But I say my parents loved each other. As apparently unbelievable as it seems. And she stays she doesn't want to be attacked for her appearance, yet she attacks us. Think about that."
**
Reply
33. mariemonstre
"Says* not stays"
-snip-
mariemonstre is referring to the portion of the line that is spoken at around 1:00 in this video "She got flavor- ain't that how those mulatto babies are made?"
**
34. Nina H
"Does anybody know where I can find this typed out? I cant understabd her in some parts :("
**
Reply
35. MasterPiece
"+Nina H Book will be released soon ;p"
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a video of the spoken word "Black Girl Blues" by MasterPiece Poet.
Partial lyrics of this spoken word poem are included in this post along with editorial notes about some of the references in that poem. This post also includes brief information about MasterPiece Poet, as well as selected comments from this video's discussion thread.
The content of this post is presented for cultural and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to MasterPiece Poet for her powerful spoken word "Black Girl Blues". Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to All Def Poetry, the publisher of this post on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT MASTERPIECE POET
From https://www.reverbnation.com/masterpiece83
"Artist Bio
MasterPiece the poetess was born in Dallas, Tx. She also lived in Arizona for seven years while studying Theatre Arts and Business Administration at the University of Arizona. She began performing and acting at the age of 6 and also discovered a love for poetry at 13. Her passion for poetry and performing arts has inspired many people. The debut album Mind of MasterPiece introduces a new genre of music coined by MasterPiece herself: rhythm and poetry. The cd chronicles her story through powerful words, emotions, rhyme, thought provoking lyrics and smooth rhythmic music that has a hint of hip hop, soul, and jazz all mixed into one. Fans recognize her as a dynamic writer with poise, talent, and beauty. She continues to maintain a balance between the arts and business by being an extraordinary poet/performer and business woman. Her hobbies include basketball, dancing, cooking, designing webpages, traveling, and watching movies. Her poet name MasterPiece stems from the idea that all artists strive to achieve and put forth their best work possible. It is a metaphor for a successful artist."...
****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Masterpiece Poet - "Black Girl Blues" | All Def Poetry x Da Poetry Lounge
All Def Poetry Published on Aug 19, 2015
Subscribe for more poetry! http://bit.ly/alldefpoetry
....All Def Poetry is a new channel brought to you by Russell Simmons - a world-renowned champion of the spoken word art form. Fresh, riveting, and featuring some of the best voices in the genre, All Def Poetry brings you the raw power of spoken word! #AllDefPoetry
****
SELECTED LYRICS FROM THIS SPOKEN WORD
[1:22- 1:39 of this video]
Black girl, free yourself.
And when you fly
Tell ’em Fannie Lou Hamer sent you.
Tell ‘em, you are your own queen.
Tell ‘em your brown suga maple syrup can't be bought off shelves.
Tell ’em dark don’t mean dirty,
Nappy don’t mean nasty.
Loud don’t mean ratchet.
Bold don’t mean problematic.
[2:07-2:39 of this video]
We have a purpose here.
You can’t take that away.
You can’t Emmett Till our sons no more.
You can’t 16 Street Baptist Church burn our bodies no more.
You can’t walk up in the church and shoot us in prayer no more.
You can’t kill us in the jail cell and call it suicide no more.
This ain’t open season.
Black girl, you are brick.
You are mortar.
You are designed.
You are ceiling.
More than just measurement.
Raise your head.
This Black girl ain’t got no Blues tonight.
You be you.
In your Blues you beautiful as you wanna be.
Dark eyes, thick thighs, we don’t need to apologize.
-snip-
These words flow together in rhythmic form. I added the spacing for reading clarity only.
I'm sorry for any mistakes in this partial transcription. Any corrections are welcome.
Here's information regarding some of the historical references in this excerpt of "MasterPiece Poet's "Black Girl Blues" spoken word:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Lou_Hamer
"Fannie Lou Hamer ... October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist, civil rights leader, and philanthropist. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi's Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey."...
-snip-
Regarding why she was a civil rights activist, Fannie Lou Hamer said “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired”.
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16th_Street_Baptist_Church
"The 16th Street Baptist Church is a Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama, that is frequented predominantly by African Americans. In September 1963, it was the target of the racially motivated 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that killed four girls in the midst of the American Civil Rights Movement. The church is still in operation and is a central landmark in the Birmingham Civil Rights District. It was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2006."...
**
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Till
"Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was an African-American teenager who was lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman...
Till's body was returned to Chicago. His mother, who had mostly raised him, insisted on a public funeral service with an open casket to show the world the brutality of the killing. "The open-coffin funeral held by Mamie Till Bradley exposed the world to more than her son Emmett Till's bloated, mutilated body. Her decision focused attention not only on American racism and the barbarism of lynching but also on the limitations and vulnerabilities of American democracy.
...Till's murder is noted as a pivotal catalyst to the next phase of the Civil Rights Movement."...
****
SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS SHOWCASE VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
These comments are given in chronological order based on their publishing date-except for replies- with the oldest comment given first. However, these comments may not be in consecutive order. I've assigned numbers to these comments for referencing purposes only.
2015
1. Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi
"This is one of the dopest poems I've heard in a long. She had the wordplay and righteous aggression spelled out for you, undeniably witty but easy to digest with urgency like milk to a babe."
-snip-
"dopest" = African American Vernacular English term meaning "the very best"
**
2. MasterPiece [2016]
"+Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi Thank you so much!!!"
**
Reply
3. Kendrick-Kamau “StreetPolitik” El-Negasi1 month ago
"+MasterPiece no problem, thank you for creating & sharing."
**
4. lobster0right
"said the woman wearing a weave"
-snip-
"weave" (hair weave) = real or fake hair that is woven or glued to person's real hair to add length and/or fullness. (also called "extensions")
**
Reply
5. Jamesha Michelle
"Excuse you, but a hairstyle defines nothing."
**
Reply
6. Kai Jolly
"What the [profanity deleted] does that have to do with anything?"
**
Reply
7. inspirebabe_
"+lobster0right She can do what she want with her hair!"
**
8. Monkey Teeth
"+Jamesha Michelle you can't have it both ways! You can't recite verses about the veneration of black women and the uniqueness of the black women while simotaneously wearing the hair texture of a white women...some serious self worth issues going on here"
**
Reply
9. Nae2588
"+Monkey Teeth my niece is dark as night, but she was born with straight black hair, she's 8 now, and my friend her hair is still straight, never been touched by a perm, nor a flat iron or a pressing comb. her mom mainly did her hair, and her mom got thrown in prison on drug charges, so if it was nappy someone needed to do it, because white European hair as u claim, we all know can fix itself, just as soon as they get out of bed."
**
Reply
10. wild heart
"+Monkey Teeth What do you mean? She is clearly a black woman who loves herself unapologetically. Plus Black women get judged for whatever they do with her hair. Black women should be able to do whatever they want with it without being criticized."
**
Reply
11. Kai Jolly
"+wild heart I agree."
**
Reply
12. Velvet Velours
"+Nae2588 that's your niece. 90% of black people do not have naturally straight hair"
**
Reply
13. Kai Jolly [2016]
"+Zhang Yixing But some of them do lol.
-snip-
It appears that Zhang Yixing is another screen name for Velvet Velours.
**
Reply
14. Dana Newman [2016]
"+lobster0right It's not about her hair..."
**
Reply
15. Asia Speights [2016]
"....? Because white women don't wear weaves? [Profanity initials deleted] does her hair have to do with ANYTHING."
**
16. Rebecca Shogunle
"strong. powerful. insightful and definitely true beyond doubt"
**
17. Monkey Teeth
"Look how confident and proud she seems. Snatch that wig off her head and watch her confidence instantly disappear as she runs off stage embarrassed of her God given hair !"
**
Reply
18. Azandria Hudson [2016]
"Her weave isn't a mask just simply a style. You don't have to wear your natural hair 24/7 to love yourself and be woke"
**
19. Nae2588
"amazing. black power"
**
Reply
20. G Den [2016]
"Stop it! this is not about "Black Power" or hating others. it's about uplifting our Black women, specifically those who are less mixed than others (Dark Skin). I will not allow YOU to make something so beautiful ugly.
-Black Activist/Community Member"
**
21. mrschrisbrown416
"love this with the entire life of me."
**
22. Emmanuel Mango
"What's her name?"
**
Reply
23. MasterPiece
"+David Emmanuel MasterPiece.... Check out masterpiecepoet on IG"
-snip-
"IG" = "Instagram".
**
24. Snoopy Thompson
"She Tells It Like It Tis"
****
2016
25. Awo Abdi
" "our sons don't need sunscreen, they run from protection" you're lying if you say you didn't get chills."
-snip-
This comment refers to this portion of that spoken word [from 1:40-1:53] in this video:
"They say 'The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice'
But nowdays it's 'The blacker the baby, the longer the noose.'
Our sons don't need sunscreen.
They run from protection.
They get their vitamin D from laying 4 hours face down on the ground."
-snip-
"The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice" is a recurring saying in African American folk culture since at least 1922 (Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Songs: Wise & Otherwise (song/poem "You Love You Girl". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2015/06/timeline-for-cultural-use-of-saying.html for a pancocojams post on that saying.
The line "they get their vitamin D from laying face down on the ground" is probably a referent to the August 9, 2014 shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri by Darren Wilson, 28, a White Ferguson police officer and Michael Brown's body laying unattended for hours after the shooting.
**
26. Adrian Ware
"talk about the power. You can definitely here it in her voice. So moving. The queen just spoke"
-snip-
Since the late 1960s Black nationalist movement in the United States "queen" has been a complimentary referent for a Black woman.
**
27. jack
"Great poem oh my lord! I have chills.
For anyone asking, the song is Behind Closed Doors by Muoi."
**
28. Lemonslay
"You're beautiful with your skin like moonlight and your eyes like the moon."
-snip-
These words may be found in this spoken word, but I'm not sure where they are in this video.
**
29. Sade Tucker
"I give this millions of snaps!!! Incredibly executed!"
**
30. angela modifo
"amandla!!!"
-snip-
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amandla_(power)
"Amandla is a Zulu and Xhosa word meaning "power". The word was a popular rallying cry in the days of resistance against Apartheid, used by the African National Congress and its allies. The leader of a group would call out "Amandla!" and the crowd would respond with "Awethu"[1] or "Ngawethu!"[2] (to us), completing the South African version of the rallying cry Power to the People!.[3] The word is still associated with struggles against oppression."...
**
31. Vikki Costello
"what !! amazing Queen! all I can say is powers to the most high & #Kudos cause that was God sent"
**
32. mariemonstre
"Very powerful but also a little saddening. As a mixed child, I feel hurt that she talks about us mixed children are made out of some desire to purge undesirable traits. But I say my parents loved each other. As apparently unbelievable as it seems. And she stays she doesn't want to be attacked for her appearance, yet she attacks us. Think about that."
**
Reply
33. mariemonstre
"Says* not stays"
-snip-
mariemonstre is referring to the portion of the line that is spoken at around 1:00 in this video "She got flavor- ain't that how those mulatto babies are made?"
**
34. Nina H
"Does anybody know where I can find this typed out? I cant understabd her in some parts :("
**
Reply
35. MasterPiece
"+Nina H Book will be released soon ;p"
****
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