Common - Letter to the Free blog tasks

Common - Letter to the Free blog tasks

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?

Common performs at Tribeca Talks where he also performed his song 'Letter to the Free'

2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?

It is the law that was inputted in the US to abolish slavery in 1865.

3) What were the Black Codes?

Laws passed onto the States to restrict African Americans' freedom, and made them have to work in a labour economy based on low wages.

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?

Because regardless of the law being inputted years ago, there is still unfairness and racism against black people in the States. 

It is also believed that the system works against black lives as black people tend to get sent to prison more easily and seem to be having to spend more years in prison for small things than Caucasians would have to. Statistics show that more black people seem to be getting into prison than to university.

5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?

“It started as just an exploration of the prison industrial complex and the profit—prison for profit-punishment for profit. I was always disturbed and fascinated by and furious with what we were not talking about the fact that, you know multi-billion dollar companies were profiting off of black bodies and people from my community, in prison,”

6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?

It was developed in the 1980's as it was inspired by political preachers from the 1970's.

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?

- Kendrick Lamar
- Chance (the rapper)
They both speak in consciousness and put a voice of revolution or to say 'this is how we're changing things' even though they know this isn't necessarily what people are looking for when they listen to hip-hop.

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.

- The song is from the album 'Black American Again'

- The album received widespread acclaim from critics

-  "Although there's no hit to rival the Selma soundtrack epic, "Glory", and a reunion with its vocalist John Legend is the worst of furrowed-brow, gluten-free beat poetry, this is intelligent, impressive work.

Close-textual analysis and representation

1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement).

The camera shots change from long shot, medium angle, close ups etc. so that we can get to see the location (surroundings) from the long shots, medium angle puts the focus on the person in the scene, and close-ups allows audiences' to have a look at the persons facial expressions where they could pick up more messages from and understand the characters emotions.

2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?

The significance is that is sows different parts of the location instead of staying in one place so audiences get to see the setting as well and that would also convey messages to them e.g. when they showed a prison cell. The camera work also constantly changes as different singers or musicians come into the song. Another reason for the camera constantly moving is so that they can feature all the artists involved in the music video.

3) Why is the video in black and white?

The black and white video creates a dull and serious atmosphere which sets the mood for the music video as they carrying out a serious message. 

It could also be because they are talking about things in the past such as the 13th and how they believe things still have't really changed years down the line.

4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?

Mise-en-scene is used to reinforce black culture e.g. when one of the musicians is scene playing an African drum. All the characters are dressed in 'normal' outdoor wear which you see in America which could be represent they are the same as everyone else. They have used low-key lighting to create the mood as this music video isn't intended to create a bright, happy feel as they are talking about black life struggles and inequalities. 

5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?

'Slavery's still alive, check amendment 13' which suggests that although the law was made 150 years ago, slavery still exists in the name of 'criminals' rather than directly referring to it as slavery.   

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 floating square could be used to represent a shadow over black in the States all throughout their lives as it is being shown throughout the music video. 

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.

It references them from 1.25 to 1.45 when the singer mentions how families were separated during slavery and how police still hold black people on suspicion and they get treated like criminals due to their colour.

8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?

Gilroy's theory can be applied to Letter to the Free as it is suggesting the message that black people still don't feel like they fit in due to race issues.

9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.

You can argue that stereotypes have been challenged in this music video because hip hop music s typically used to represent hood culture and create a bad image of black people whereas this video has been used to carry out a social message. Michael Eric Dyson has also previously spoken about these stereotypes.

10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?

'Make America Great Again' which Donald Trump's phrase however black people are still getting treated unfairly.