Kanye West’s ‘New Slaves’ & 3 Other Dope Songs U Should Know that Tackle This Subject

Kanye West

I’m loving the way Kanye West got his anti-prison message across with his new song ‘New Slaves’.. He stepped outside the box and had the video beam on sides of buildings in 66 cities.. That got every talking.. His appearance on Saturday Night Live added to the hype and of course him calling out private prisons (CCA-Corrections Corporation of America) took it over the top..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BKGp1XqddM

peep the lyrics to Kanye’s song..

[Verse 1]

My mama was raised in an era when/Clean water was only served to the fairer skin
Doing clothes you would have thought I had help/But they wouldn’t be satisfied unless I picked the cotton myself
You see its broke nigga racism/That’s that “don’t touch anything in the store”
And there’s rich nigga racism/That’s that “come in and buy more”
What you want a Bentley, fur coat and diamond chain?/All you blacks want all the same things
Used to only be niggas /Now everybody play me
Spending everything on that Alexander Wang/New Slaves

[Hook]
You see it’s leaders and it’s followers/But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower
You see it’s leaders and it’s followers/But I’d rather be a dick than a swallower

[Verse 2]

I throw these Maybach keys/I wear my heart on my sleeve
I know that we the new slaves/I see the blood on the leaves
I see the blood on the leaves/I see the blood on the leaves
I know that we the new slaves/I see the blood on the leaves
They throwing hate at me/Want me to stay at ease
Fuck you and your corporation/Y’all niggas can’t control me
I know that we the new slaves/I know that we the new slaves
I’m about to wild the fuck out/I’m going Bobby Boucher
I know that pussy ain’t free/You niggas pussy, ain’t me
Y’all throwing contracts at me/You know that niggas can’t read
Throw him some Maybach keys/Fuck it, c’est la vie
I know that we the new slaves/Y’all niggas can’t fuck with me
Y’all niggas can’t fuck with Ye/Y’all niggas can’t fuck with Ye
I move my family out the country /So you can’t see where I stay
So go and grab the reporters/So I can smash their recorders
Yeah they confuse us with bullshit/Like the New World Order
Meanwhile the DEA/Teamed up with the CCA
They tryna lock niggas up/They tryna make new slaves
See that’s that private-owned prison/Get your piece today
They prolly all in the Hamptons/Braggin’ ’bout they maid
Fuck you and your Hampton house/I’ll fuck your Hampton spouse
Came on her Hampton blouse/And in her Hampton mouth
Y’all ’bout to turn shit up/I’m ’bout to tear shit down
I’m ’bout to air shit out/Now what the fuck they gon’ say now?

Brother J

While folks ponder over Kanye’s lyrics and the overall concept behind this song, we should keep in mind other artists who have hit on the subject of the prison industrial complex..and a return to slavery.. One of my favorites is Prisons by X-Clan‘s Brother J..along with jazz man Christian Scott.. This song came out a few years ago and went all the way in on this topic.. it starts off with political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal speaking and was a good precursor to Michele Alexander‘s ground breaking book the New Jim Crow.. which hit a year or so later.. Brother J’s lyrics are searing much the same way as Kanye’s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF5BddCHDfs

dead prez

The classic cut that everyone should re-listen to is Police State by dead prez.. This is off their debut album Lets Get Free and features Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the Uhuru Movement.. Like Brother J.. dead prez goes all the way in on the topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8c_UdWo4Zek

sister souljah

This next song/video is a serious throwback to the hey days of Public Enemy and the Golden Era of Hip Hop.. Long time activist Sister Souljah was introduced to us via the song Buckwylin, put out by Terminator X of PE ..This led to her securing a record deal with Epic Records.. This song Final Solution: Slavery is Back in Effect was her first single..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcWgPEUT_x0

Lastly if folks want more info on prisons and their connection to Hip Hop be sure to read this article we posted a few weeks a back from rap artist Homeboy Sandman..Here he talks about the investment BET and MTV have in CCA and other private prisons.. You can peep that article HERE

NEW MUSIC: Kane Hustle feat. ReLo ViBin – “Bottles In V.I.P.”

Guest Post from http://www.theentertainershub.com

Oklahoma Senators Coburn & Inhofe are Shady When it Comes Aiding Storm Victims

With the devastation that took place in Moore, Oklahoma this afternoon leaving 91 dead including dozens of children and massive EF4 and EF5 storms for all of us to be in deep reflection about, we offer heartfelt prayers and condolances..No one deserves to have a lost one lost especially their kids..The look on people’s faces and seeing the storm itself on TV will no doubt leave ineligible marks on our minds..Whats more disturbing is more severe storms are expected..

Tom Coburn

With this in mind, it’ll be interesting to see what punk politicians like Oklahoma Senators Tom Coburn and Jim Inhofe do.. For those who don’t know, these are two gentlemen who decided to stand on staunch political ideology and perverse set of principles in the wake of the Hurricane Sandy tragedy where more than 100 people died..These two clowns pumped out their chest and voted to deny aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy citing too much government spending while falling back on the nonsensical belief that global warming had nothing to do with spawning these storms..Coburn also voted against giving aid for Hurricane Katrina victims.

Jim Inhofe

On top of that it was just last week Inhofe had a woman tossed out of his DC office who came to talk to him about the environmental concerns. We must fight to keep our humanity and understand that the survivors of this storm deserve help..Thank God for the first responders and thousands of volunteers who have jumped in at a moments notice to help those in dire straits. Victims of these storms deserve better treatment than what these two bozos senators unleashed on others in times of need..

.We should not forget the evil and mean spiritedness these two Senators embraced and watch to see if they behave in the wake of this new disaster which unfortunately impacted their own backyard. We know in the past the pair have voted to have emergency funds come to their state while crapping on and blocking emergency aid for others states. But with the recent denials of aid for Hurricane Sandy victims, lets see how they behave now that president Obama has declared Moore, OK a disaster area.