Link to performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytjFlay4cOQ
This week I have chosen to analyze a song that J Cole performed on “The Late Show with David Letterman”. This version is slightly different from the audio single he originally released. This is one of the most powerful performances I’ve ever seen so I think it is very important to share. J Cole performed this in December of 2014 when the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri had the countries attention in the fallout of the killing of Michael Brown. I have seen various spoken word and hip hop presentations but none have effected me like this one did. Though the performance was from almost 2 years ago many of the words still remain true.
J Cole starts by saying that he is one of the many Americans who cannot believe the blatant racism that occurs in this country. He says that it doesn’t take much to see through his smile that he puts on for the cameras. Though he is at an elevated status, he realizes what is going on in local communities and it pains him to see.
J Cole then moves on to the chorus where he says “All we wanna do is take the chains off. All we wanna do is be free.” This quote is very important and is repeated various times throughout the song. Cole is stating the feelings of many blacks who simply want to be seen as equals to whites. The chains are a reference to not only slavery but the constant chains of oppression, brutality, and injustice that minorities, especially blacks, face on an everyday basis. The desires of african americans are the same as they have always been, to live in a country where they are free to live as equals to everyone else. There is no denying that inequality exists and it is about time that we move away from that and towards a country where people are truly equal.
Cole’s second verse contains two different messages. The first is a message of frustration when Cole asks, “Can you tell me why every time I step outside I see my people die?” This can be seen as a reference to the many police brutality cases that occur, especially those that end in fatalities. His second message is one of resilience when he says that there is no gun that can kill his soul. He is saying that he will continue to talk about the issues present and there is no one who will take that fight for a better future out of him.
The third verse was added by Cole specifically for his performance on Letterman. In it he talks about how excited the African American community was after Obama won. He jokes that they celebrated his victory as if he was going to finally get reparations for blacks. He then goes on to say that Obama’s victory was a false hope of change. He says that though Obama may have had good intentions, he was unable to accomplish much especially in regards to racial equality due to the flaws of the system. Cole then goes on to say “They let a nigga steer the ship and never told him that the ship was sinkin'” which is one of my favorite quotes because I believe it sums up the Obama presidency perfectly.
Cole then goes on to talk about how there needs to be more positive role models for blacks not just NBA players and rappers but people with degrees. This song is very powerful and I believe this performance needs to be seen by more people because of the effects it can leave on a person.
Nice post, this song reminds me of a documentary I recently watched. The documentary is called “13th.” It’s about how the government has bent it’s laws to oppress African american and Latin american communities. No longer does this form of oppression titled ” discrimination against black people” it’s now known as ” the war on drugs.” They call it that because they associate the usage of drugs such as heroine an cocaine to be mostly used by these kinds of communities. You should check it out, the documentary is on Netflix.