I just heard Nature of the Threat by Ras Kass-- 1996, I was 10 years old, so all the old gym teacher hip hop heads who love to pounce and say "I can't believe people are just hearing such-and-such," save it-- last night in one of the two threads on it and I was reading up on it, which prompted a thought:
In order to distinguish, I'm going to post two reviews I've seen on the Internet of songs that apparently don't meet that standard. One I have already seen posted here, re: Ras Kass, but the first one (which also prompted the author of the Ras Kass review to write) is of one of my absolute favorite rappers and focuses on one of his most uplifting songs:
So, does anyone remember that Nas song from his 2002 album, God’s Son, that ever so inspirational “I Can”?
Better yet, does anyone remember what he said in the third verse?
Be- be- fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian, Arabs and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
Now, as an African (to be more specific, Nigerian) and a longtime history buff, I was rather disturbed when I first heard it. As much as I love Nas’ work (which I proved by getting God’s Son the day it was released), and as much as I respect him as one of my favorite rappers, I was very disappointed with the third verse of “I Can”. As intelligent as I still think he is…I mean, how could he…?
Anyways, on to dissecting the large portion I lifted from the third verse of “I Can” to let you guys know the number of things that I found wrong with it:
ANALYSIS:
Be- be- fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
Okay, I’m not even going to discuss the main ways in which slaves were obtained for the Atlantic slave trade; let’s just stick to using common sense - if all Africans were kings and queens, who did they rule over? Obviously he was trying to counter a more recent racial slur placed upon black Americans, but there should be a wiser and more realistic way of doing so than using that all-too-common romanticized concept about all black Americans descending from kings and queens. If that’s the case, I should have royal blood running through my veins, not the warrior-class blood of my ancestors. Please!
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian, Arabs…
Okay, so Nas gets off to a good start here. Yep, believe it or not, we Africans had our own several glorious political units before the colonial era – from the mighty trading states of Ghana, Mali and Songhai to the flourishing forest kingdoms of Dahomey, Oyo and Benin; from the long-standing empire of Kanem-Borno to the west to the dynamic Zulu Empire of Shaka south of the continent.
He is also right about Timbuktu. Founded in about 1100, Timbuktu – which is now situated in the West African republic of Mali - gradually grew to become the heart of the Songhai Empire (1464-1591). It also became Africa’s most famous city, becoming a metaphor in the West for an exotic and distant land, thus the saying: “from here to Timbuktu.”
One of the reasons for its fabled status is its scholarship – indeed, it became one of the centers of literary tradition in Africa, and this attribute is its contribution to Islam and world civilization. Timbuktu had several centers of Islamic learning, the most famous of them being the University of Sankore (it served as the center of the Islamic scholarly community in the city). It produced its share of renowned black African scholars – the “black teachers” Nas refers to. Ahmed Baba (1556-1627), perhaps the most famous of them all, is best known for his chronicle on West African history – the Tarikh al-Sudan.
It is no surprise that people outside the African continent were attracted to Timbuktu. But did “every race” come to Timbuktu to “get books”? Obviously Nas focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Timbuktu was at its scholarly peak. Being that the scholarship was Islamic, it would make perfect sense that the visitors to Timbuktu’s leaning centers were Muslim, thus they came mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. So Nas was correct in throwing “Arabs” in there. But “Asians”? That’s very questionable. When people think “Asians,” they automatically think “Indians,” “Chinese” or “Japanese” - the Muslim influence never penetrated that deep into the Far East. If Nas was in fact using that term to apply to Middle Easterners in general, he surely used a really vague, ambiguous and misleading one.
And how the heck did “Greeks and Romans” get into the mix? The Islamic faith was founded in, what, the seventh century A.D.? Hadn’t both peoples long faded by then in terms of power and influence? The Greek civilization had dissipated long before Jesus Christ was born; and the Roman Empire, at least the western half, had collapsed in A.D. 476, a century and a half before the prophet Mohammed walked the earth. So what was Nas thinking? Oh, did he mean the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the newly-christened Byzantine Empire? Couldn’t be – it was as Greek Orthodox Christian as you can possibly get.
Or did Nas use “Greeks and Romans” as a generalizing phrase for “Europeans”? Not likely, I suppose – he can’t be that stupid, can he? In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Europe was firmly Christian. In fact, the Europeans have been giving shout outs to Charles Martel ever since he routed a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in A.D. 732. If he had lost, Islam could have swallowed Europe just like it did North Africa and the Middle East. So what business did Europeans have going to Timbuktu if not to engage in Islamic studies? Wealth, perhaps? Yeah, but that was not until three or four centuries later, long after Timbuktu’s heyday. Ironic, eh?
As you can see, I’m trying to help my man out here, but Nas’ inaccuracies mar whatever good research he has made. Anyways, onward we march:
…and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
Ah, the beauty of gold! If only these empires, most particularly Mali, had the same value for it as the Europeans! I mean, look at Mansa Musa (c1280-1337). The greatest of the Mandingo emperors and a devout Muslim who ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337, Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and gave out so much gold in Cairo, Egypt that the commodity's value there did not fully recover for the next twelve years! Musa’s extravagance was exemplary of the abundance of gold in this side of the world – West Africans had gold up their a*ses.
It’s just that they hardly used gold as currency – it was a medium of exchange in trade for the things that West Africans needed or wanted, like salt, dates, horses, luxury goods and firearms. This complex trade network between and among West and North Africans led to a gold trickle to Europe.
By the time Musa died in 1337, he was an international superstar. Due to his expensive hajj, he and Mali were popular in both the Islamic and the Christian worlds. In fact, he was depicted in world maps afterward, with a fat-a*s gold nugget in his hand.
That must have whetted the Europeans’ appetites tremendously – a mere gold tickle wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Hey, why not just go out there and jack the poor bastards for their bling? By the end of the sixteenth century, the golden glory of Mali had long passed. But no, that didn’t stop them from getting gold from somewhere else – that’s why the Spanish had decided to pay the Aztecs and the Incas a visit. Before the rest of the world knew it, gold became the basis of the European monetary standard, and it led to the development of a system that is partly responsible for the West’s future world economic dominance – capitalism.
Damn it, if only the West Africans knew…
Anyway, good job, Nas. Too bad he couldn’t keep it up.
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred
“The Persian military invaded” where, Africa? That never happened. Or perhaps Nas had the Moroccans in mind, but they are certainly not Persians! Undoubtedly they knew about the “gold” and the “teachings” of the Songhai empire, which had by this time replaced the crumbling Mali as the largest and most powerful political unit in West Africa; and inherited the attributes that had made its predecessor great. That prompted the Moroccans to defeat the Songhai forces at the Battle of Tondibi in March 1591 and effectively end Songhai’s reign as the premier West African power. As for the “Persians”? Well, let’s just say the Shah of the Persian empire at that time – Abbas I – was more concerned about maintaining his territory in and around Iran than going on some military excursion to some distant land thousands of miles away.
Yep, the Persians never invaded Africa.
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
That is correct. Enough said.
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
This is what I believe is the most ridiculous and bizarre part of Nas’ inconsistent history lesson.
The “mountains” Nas is referring to is the famed limestone Sphinx, a sculpture that was built by ancient Egyptians and is at least thirty-five centuries old. But let’s start from the beginning. Yes, Alexander the Great not only “went” to Egypt; he conquered it. At least he got that part right. But was Alexander a racist towards blacks? Nobody knows. Even if he was, how the heck did he “shoot” off the “Negroid” nose of the Sphinx in the desert, with arrows and javelins?
Oh, wait a second! Does he not mean Napoleon? It is a popular Afrocentric theory – that the troops of the famed Corsican general, on his expedition to Egypt in 1798, were so angered by the wide nose of the gigantic sculpture that they ended up shooting at it with their firearms, to the point that today the Sphinx’s face looks more like a skeleton.
Then again, they could have done it “just for kicks.”
Regardless of the motive, it has never been proven, and the Napoleonic theory is just one of the many embarrassments in the Afrocentric approach to history, which now eschews reasonable thought for blind passion and irrational romanticism; which now condemns European history as the evil counterpart to the history of people of African descent; and which has gradually descending from a balancing and remedial outlook on human history to a pseudo-science that has become tantamount to the racist ideologies of 18th and 19th century European imperialists.
See, there is even a fallacy in Nas’ fallacy.
And what is up with this black American obsession with Egypt? I could care less about ancient Egypt’s accomplishments, or the race of its inhabitants. I’m West African. The African ancestors of black Americans are primarily of West African stock, and ancient Egypt was like, where, North Africa? So what the heck are we doing with Egypt – or with Kush, Axum, Meroe and Abyssinia for that matter? Do we necessarily have to look outside from our region of origin? I don’t think so - West Africa alone has a lot to offer. There’s the aforementioned Mali and Songhai, famed for their trading fortunes, centers of learning, and efficient administration. There are mythical golden empires of Ghana and Asante. The Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife and Benin are world-famous for their classically-styled sculptures, and the latter is also known for the brass plates of historical depiction adorning the walls of the king’s palace. The region has its own stories, folktales and achievements, its own share of heroes and statesmen and warriors and rulers – Idris Alooma, Ewuare the Great, Queen Amina, Jaja of Opobo, Sango…who was deified in death as the Yoruba god of thunder…
I could go on and on…
If these Afrocentrists want to use a certain civilization as the center of African cultural inquiry, or black people in general are looking for a source of inspiration and identification, there are surely better examples than Egypt.
And as for Nas’ implication that inferiority is being “impose[d]” upon the black race by teaching bad history, well, that is another topic altogether…
CONCLUSION:
Whether they like it or not, rappers have a considerable influence on American society. No matter how utterly stupid some lyrics from these rappers are, there are people who are just as stupid, and who treat the words of their favorite rhyme spitters like Christians and Muslims do their holy scriptures. That is why you have some misguided youth shooting a state trooper and blaming it on 2Pac. Or Eminem writing about an obsessive fan that grows to resent the perceived neglect he gets from his favorite rapper and commits femicide, feticide and suicide.
Or, more recently, that fat buffoon. The guy defended his use of the N-word when clobbering a black kid by implicating rappers’ general use of it as a term of endearment instead of an instrument of hatred.
Yeah, they’re some really gullible people out there. Bloody robots will do anything they hear.
Bearing that in mind, Nas – as well as rappers who consider themselves socially conscious - have to be really careful. Much props to him for attempting to teach the youth a history lesson, and in a song released as a single at that. Considering that many young black Americans – and Africans, I might add – care so little about learning from or preserving their history, his effort is really commendable. Moreover, he did get a few thing right. However, by putting out inaccurate history – and indeed, inaccurate information – socially conscious rappers can just be as harmful as the materialistic and nihilistic ones. Having to hear that all whites are devils is just as dangerous as having to think that all black men care about is making money and having sex. The third verse of “I Can” is a prime example of what happens when a rapper lets his zealousness go too far.
Jay-Z of all people certainly wasn’t joking in “Takeover” when he said, “Your s**t is garbage, but you try and kick knowledge?” – hey, at least Nas tries to kick knowledge. It’s just too bad he stumbles with “I Can”. Nice try, Nas, but you need to step your game up.
Besides, I surely don’t want to hear that Mandingos ruled over England in the eleventh century anytime soon. --------------------------------
The idea of a black over-obsession with Egypt has certainly been discussed on this board recently, and I think the author has a real point when he speaks of the "descen[t] from a balancing and remedial outlook on human history to a pseudo-science that has become tantamount to the racist ideologies of 18th and 19th century European imperialists."
Nas is a great lyricist-- I never thought to look at the historical accuracy of this song, but with both this and the next song, the amount of false information makes me want to disregard it altogether. Isn't this-- if not, at worst, outright dishonesty and disregard for the truth-- at best the result of laziness, not taking the time to do it right? I have no doubt that Nas could, and probably Ras Kass too (although I really don't know his work). Let the people who don't want to put time in make "Chicken Noodle Soup," I want a goddamned turkey buffet. And speaking of turkey, the best lines of this song turned out to be pure bullshit, way worse distortions than Nas put out there:
“Let freedom ring with a buckshot, but not just yet
First we need to truly understand the nature of the threat
And a pale man walks in the threshold of darkness
Roughly 20,000 years ago the first humans evolved
with the phenotypical trait, genetic recessive
Blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin
Albinism apparently was a sin to the original man - Africans
So the mutants traveled North of the equator
Called Europeans later, the first race haters
So here's the Devil's alpha to the beta
Cause history's best qualified to teach one
Quoting German philosopher Schopenhauer
"Every white man is a faded or a bleached one"
Migration created further mutation
Genetic drifts, evolution through recombination
Adaptation to the climate
As the Caucus Mountain man reverted to that of a primate
Savage Neanderthals, until the late Paleolithic age
That's when the Black Grimaldi man came
With the symbol of the dragon, fire and art
Check cave paintings in France and Spain to the Venus of Willendorf”
Bold statements about a period of history that has very little information of which we can be sure about. The afrocentristic theme of the song kicks off with him suggesting that those who were fair colored just left Africa as it was looked down upon to be lighter skinned. He also calls them “mutants”. Well that’s certainly a great way to seem unbiased. I can’t comment much because nobody knows for sure what really happened during these ancient periods. I don’t even get the point he was trying to make with the Venus of Willendorf. What I know about that statue was that it was found in present day Austria and that it is one of the oldest pieces of artwork ever found. Same goes with the Cave Paintings…is he suggesting that these were done by Africans? Hmm…
"Around 2000 B.C. Southern Russians migrate in small units
Those who travel West populated Europe”
What the fuck? Russians? Sorry, but Russians don’t even exist until about 3 millenniums later. I think he means the Aryan tribes…
“Those who went East settled in Iran, known as Aryans
1500 B.C. some crossed the Khyber Pass into India and
created Hinduism, the first caste system, the origins of racism
A white dot on the forehead meant elite
The black dot - defeat; untrustable, untouchables
They wrote the holy Vedas in Sanskrit
That's the language that created Greek, German, Latin and English”
Ah, the Aryans, of course. He’s right about the Aryans coming from the what is now known as Iran…but he is way off on the date. 1500 B.C? The Aryans had already long settled in India by then and the Indus Valley civilization was thriving by 3000 BC. Not so sure about the Caste System being the origins of racism, as all cultures have been known to have racial prejudice in some form or another. The line about Sanskrit is actually true, as modern theorists have hit some breakthroughs that lead them to believe that Sanskrit is the origin of the European languages (and proving that the Aryans spread to Europe as well?)
“Now the Minoans around 2000 B.C.
Starts on the island of Crete, in the Agean Sea
The Greek culture begins Western Civilization
But "Western Civilization" means "White Domination"”
What pisses me off is his assumption that only white people are racist. Obviously Western Civilization would be dominated by whites…it’s mostly white people! Just as Ancient China was “Asian Domination” and African cultures were “Black Domination”. What does Ras Kass expect? Civil rights in 2000 BC?
“Myceneans learned from Kemet, called Egypt in Greek
It existed since at least 3000 B.C.
Creatin geometry and astronomy
This knowledge influenced Plato, Socrates and Hippocrates
Cause Imhotep, the real real father of medicine
Was worshiped in Greece and Rome in the form of a Black African”
The idea of the early Greeks taking their knowledge from Egypt is a mere assumption, as we cannot expect that an entire civilization started from mere borrowing. Besides, the Myceneans could not be a product of Egypt when there was already the Minoan civilization (which he mentioned, so he should know) that preceded them and who they eventually conquered. Plato and Socrates were two philosophers that were the first of their kind, I don’t see how much knowledge from Egypt could influence them for what they became known for. Imhotep is considered to be the first physician, but I’m not sure about how he was worshipped in Greece. I know that the Egyptians worshipped him so much that they eventually made him a God, but I don’t remember reading about him in Greece.
“The word Africa comes from the Greek "Aphrike"
meaning "without cold"; the word philosophy means "love of knowledge"
Stole from first man, Greek power expands
The first Greek fraternities band
The word gymnasium is Greek for "naked"
This was the place where adolescent boys were educated, and molested
This was accepted because Greek culture was homosexual
For example, Sappho trained girls on the island of Lesbos
Hence, the word lesbian ”
There are several suggestions on where the word “Africa” comes from, but I personally accept the same theory that Ras does. One of the more well-known points in this track is his accusation of Greece’s homosexuality. I really don’t see how a culture can be homosexual…because if it was – how would they pro-create and reproduce? I am well aware that bisexuality was prominent among men, but this was more of a fad for the prominent males, if you will. It was thought that women were inferior, so many of the important or intelligent men spent a lot of time together, and tried their hand at making love as well. Yes, I know, sounds strange…but I don’t think it was a naturally homosexual civilization. The point about the Island of Lesbos is true, however.
“December 25th, the birth of Saturn
A homosexual god, now check the historical pattern
December 25, now thought the birth of Christ
Was Saturnalia, when men got drunk,
Fucked each other then beat their wife
Fact is, it was still practiced, till they called it Christmas
So put a gerbil on your Christmas list”
How is Saturn a homosexual god when he considered to be the father of all the main gods in Greek Mythology. Doesn’t make sense to me. The rest just seems Ras Kass is trying to belittle Christmas for some “evil origins”.
“The Hellenistic Era, Alexander the Great
Conquers all the way to India leavin four successor states
By the Fifth century B.C., R.O.M.E.
succeeds to be the conqueror of Egypt and Greece
But had the threat of the Black Phoenicians in Sicily
The Punic Wars began 264 B.C.
The Black general Hannibal and Carthaginian Peace
In 146 B.C. Carthage fell after a six-month siege”
5th Century BC? By then the Romans had not even left the Italian peninsula. The Roman Principate only started in 31 BC. He’s right with the dates for the Punic wars…but he is wrong about those Phoenicians. Black Phoenicians? Is he serious? The Phoenicians were a Semetic people, meaning they were about as black as Saddam Hussein. They were typical Middle Eastern people. I guess having ANY color to your skin means that you are black, to Ras Kass.
“Rome sold every citizen to slavery
The first genocide of history
And more bisexuality in sight; Julius Caesar was known as
every woman's husband and every man's wife”
First genocide of history? That term could be pushing it. Oh, and COME ON with the homosexuality! There are constant speculations of celebrities being gay today that aren’t true…how are we going to be sure of the sexual orientation of a man who lived before the birth of Christ? As far as I see it, the dude had relationships with women, and had a son…so he was straight.
“Spartacus Revolt, a slave rebellion that lost
Where 6,000 slaves was nailed on a cross
Cross? Aw, sh1t! Jesus Christ! Time for some-act-right
Christians get your facts right
Cause Christ was not his name
That's Greek for "One who is anointed"
Yoshua Ben Yosef was his name, do Christians know this?
So who do you praise, do you know his name?
Or do you do this in vain?
Accepting the religion they gave slaves to behave
Peep the description of historian Josephus
"Short, dark, with an underdeveloped beard was Jesus"
He had the Romans fearing revolution
The solution was to take him to court and falsely accuse him
After being murdered by Pilate how can it be
these same white Romans established Christianity”
This is probably my favorite part of the song, bar none. He is quite deadly and accurate in this one. Yoshua Ben Yosef was really Christ’s name, something a lot of Christian followers seemed to have miss from all their Bible study. Citing Josephus’ description is significant, as it shows that Christ is not how we commonly picture him to be, the white man that the Europeans would draw him as. As well as the interesting piece that it was Pilate’s own people who would spread Christ’s religion.
“Constantine would later see the cross in a dream
In his vision, it read "En Hawk Signo Wonka":
"In this sign we conquer" - Manifest Destiny
In 325 he convened the Nicean Creed
And separated god into three
Decided Jesus was born on December 25th
and raised then on the third day is a myth
Plus to deceive us
Commissioned Michelangelo to paint white pictures of Jesus
He used his aunt, uncle, and nephew
Subconsciously that affects you
It makes you put white people closer to God”
The parts about Constantine and Nicean Creed are true…except I’m not sure that they decided that his birthday would be on December 25th. Also, Constantine commissioning Michaelangelo? They lived about a 1000 years apart…so it’s highly doubtful.
“True indeed, fuck it, Jihad
In the eighth century Muslims conquered
Spain, Portugal and France and controlled it for 700 years
They never mention this in history class
cause old faiths are threatened when you get the real lesson”
It’s true that they ruled those areas, but was it for really 700 years? I’m guessing Ras Kass had a horrible history class, because they always did mention the power of the Islamic conquests in my school.
“Moors from Baghdad, Turkey threatened European Christians
Meaning, the white way of life; hence the Crusades for Christ
On November 25th, 1491
Santiago defeats the last Muslim stronghold, Grenada
King Ferdinand gave thanks to God for victory
And the Pope of Rome and declared this date to forever be
A day of "Thanksgiving" for all European Christians
.. Now listen, when you celebrate "Thanksgiving"
What you are actually celebratin
is the proclamation of the Pope of Rome
Who later, in league with Queen Isabella
sent Cardinal Ximenos to Spain
to murder any blacks that resisted Christianity
These Moors, these black men and women
were from Baghdad, Turkey
And today, you eat the turkey, for your "Thanksgiving" day
as the European Powers destroyed the Turkeys
Who were the forefathers of your mothers and fathers
Now fight the power, you bitch-ass niggas!”
This is the part where Ras Kass is most remembered for going absolutely LOONEY. Baghdad, Turkey? What was he smoking? Baghdad is in Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia)…separate of Turkey (which wasn’t even called Turkey until the 20th Century. It was known as the Ottoman Empire, Mr. Ras Kass). In any case, the Moors were not from Baghdad but from North Africa. Granada was actually defeated on January 2nd, 1492, and this doesn’t have the slightest relation to the American Holiday of Thanksgiving.
“Now around this time, Whites started callings us Negroes
That's Spanish for black object meaning we're not really people
but property, and the triangle trade begins - they seize us
Queen Elizabeth sends the first slaves on a ship named Jesus”
Now this is pretty hard to refute, and those first 2 bars are some of the most famous ones from this song.
“Stealin land from the indigenous natives
Gave them alcohol to keep the Red Man intoxicated
Whites claim they had to civilize these pagan animals
But up until 1848 there's documented cases
of whites bein the savage cannibals, eatin Indians
In 1992, it's Jeffery Dahmer
They slaughtered a whole race with guns
Drugs, priests and nuns
1763, the first demonic tactic of biological warfare
As tokens of peace, Sir Jeffery Amherst
passed out clothin and blankets to the Indian community
Infested with small pox, knowin they had no immunity
Today it's AIDS, you best believe it's man made
Cause ain't a damn thing changed.. let me explain…”
This is true for the most part, though I haven’t read about the colonists practicing cannibalism (aside from the Donner Party). Also, I’m not a huge fan of conspiracy theories, so naturally I’m a bit skeptical of the idea that epidemics are created by the government.
“Now since people of color are genetically dominant
and Caucasoids are genetically recessive
and Whites expect to be predominant, meaning survive as a race then
they simply must, take precautions
That's why they're worried about their future now
Cuz by 2050, almost all the Earth's population
will be brown, then black, so understanding that, whites counter-react
(I'm sayin.. man.. them fools
ain't nothin but a teaspoon of milk in the world color majority)
So they created a system
to force blacks into an unnatural position
That re-enforces the position of natural inferiority
In addition, created guns and developed the ethnocentric view
that God justifies every fuckin thing they do”
It’s a pretty bold prediction that in 50 years nearly everyone will have a darker skin pigment. Not to say it’s impossible, but the chances are slim. We’ve had civilization now for at least 10,000 years, and 2/3rd’s of the world still isn’t black. I don’t see the racial proportions changing that soon.
“Condition people to perceive whites' culture as civilized
and every other culture considered primitive - not true!
Racism is the system of racial subjugation against nonwhites
in every areas of human relation
Entertainment, education, labor, politics
Law, religion, sex, war and economics”
Ok, so this once again is pretty outrageous. Basically he suggests that only white people are racist, and the underlying theme of racism is to see whites as civilized and others not. Well…nowadays this is pure bullshit, so I wont even comment for modern times. To go along with past times…of course there was an ethnocentric view for whites, and we know that because we are an English speaking country, so we read from white people. Why hasn’t he thought about the fact that the Far Eastern peoples (who kept themselves isolated from the world for centuries, especially Japan) may have also seen themselves as superior. Hell, I’m sure natives of African empires would also see any white visitors as “lesser people”. Why? Because they are different. To suggest that only a Caucasian person can be racially discriminating is IN ITSELF quite a racial discrimination
“See blacks were 3/5ths of a man with tax purposes intended
You think you're Afro-American?
You're a 14th amendment and a good nigga
Jews don't salute the fuckin swastika
but niggaz pledge allegiance to the flag that accosted ya”
Ok, so this is ill. This is very on-point and deadly. While considering the American Flag to be the equivalent of the Nazi swastika may be pushing it, the overall idea is understood. The first 3 bars of that might be the best lines in the song, honestly.
“They never teach about the break of islands like Jamaica
But before slaves came here whites would take a
pregnant women, hang her from a tree by her toes
Slice her stomach with a knife
and let the unborn baby fall to the flo'
And stop an unborn child in front of all the slaves
to inbreed fear, so they'd be scared and behave
and not rebel more
Understand all whites must be perceived as potential predators
I paraphrase historian Ishakamusa Barashango
"Understand that regardless of the lofty ideas ingraved on paper
in such documents as the Constitution or Declaration
the basic nature.. of the European American white man
remains virtually unchanged".. so check
This is the nature of the threat”
Well that anecdote about cruelty is true I guess, but newsflash: White people are not the only culture to be vicious. The second half of that is a perfect wrap-up to this rather biased song. Citing Baroshango about white people, how appropriate. Let’s get an afrocentric writer as our “unbiased source”. It’s the equivalent of citing David Duke about African-Americans...stupid. But of course, Ras Kass wouldn’t care.
So, about a handful of historical inaccuracies and biased anti-white comments…but you know what? I still listen to this song all the time. Now THAT is an unbiased stance, because despite the fact that he displays some touchy opinions here, I can still appreciate Ras Kass’ skill as a rapper.
-------------
This review hit a bit too hard with the "reverse racism" theme and I discount this reviewer when he writes stuff like "What pisses me off is his assumption that only white people are racist. Obviously Western Civilization would be dominated by whites…it’s mostly white people!" Yeah, well, we live in Western Civilization and people don't understand the roots of it and how it came to be what it is, so obviously this needs to be explained. The hypocrisy in the Declaration of Independence is flagrantly obvious, but people still need to have the obvious explained to them; many people do not understand the obvious. So I would tell the reviewer to shut the fuck up as far as that is concerned, while still suspecting myself that Ras Kass is probably racist. Still, after sifting through all the bullshit in the song, the question remains...
What is the best rap song that drops knowledge that is meaningful, educational, and accurate?
In order to distinguish, I'm going to post two reviews I've seen on the Internet of songs that apparently don't meet that standard. One I have already seen posted here, re: Ras Kass, but the first one (which also prompted the author of the Ras Kass review to write) is of one of my absolute favorite rappers and focuses on one of his most uplifting songs:
So, does anyone remember that Nas song from his 2002 album, God’s Son, that ever so inspirational “I Can”?
Better yet, does anyone remember what he said in the third verse?
Be- be- fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian, Arabs and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
Now, as an African (to be more specific, Nigerian) and a longtime history buff, I was rather disturbed when I first heard it. As much as I love Nas’ work (which I proved by getting God’s Son the day it was released), and as much as I respect him as one of my favorite rappers, I was very disappointed with the third verse of “I Can”. As intelligent as I still think he is…I mean, how could he…?
Anyways, on to dissecting the large portion I lifted from the third verse of “I Can” to let you guys know the number of things that I found wrong with it:
ANALYSIS:
Be- be- fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
Okay, I’m not even going to discuss the main ways in which slaves were obtained for the Atlantic slave trade; let’s just stick to using common sense - if all Africans were kings and queens, who did they rule over? Obviously he was trying to counter a more recent racial slur placed upon black Americans, but there should be a wiser and more realistic way of doing so than using that all-too-common romanticized concept about all black Americans descending from kings and queens. If that’s the case, I should have royal blood running through my veins, not the warrior-class blood of my ancestors. Please!
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian, Arabs…
Okay, so Nas gets off to a good start here. Yep, believe it or not, we Africans had our own several glorious political units before the colonial era – from the mighty trading states of Ghana, Mali and Songhai to the flourishing forest kingdoms of Dahomey, Oyo and Benin; from the long-standing empire of Kanem-Borno to the west to the dynamic Zulu Empire of Shaka south of the continent.
He is also right about Timbuktu. Founded in about 1100, Timbuktu – which is now situated in the West African republic of Mali - gradually grew to become the heart of the Songhai Empire (1464-1591). It also became Africa’s most famous city, becoming a metaphor in the West for an exotic and distant land, thus the saying: “from here to Timbuktu.”
One of the reasons for its fabled status is its scholarship – indeed, it became one of the centers of literary tradition in Africa, and this attribute is its contribution to Islam and world civilization. Timbuktu had several centers of Islamic learning, the most famous of them being the University of Sankore (it served as the center of the Islamic scholarly community in the city). It produced its share of renowned black African scholars – the “black teachers” Nas refers to. Ahmed Baba (1556-1627), perhaps the most famous of them all, is best known for his chronicle on West African history – the Tarikh al-Sudan.
It is no surprise that people outside the African continent were attracted to Timbuktu. But did “every race” come to Timbuktu to “get books”? Obviously Nas focuses on the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Timbuktu was at its scholarly peak. Being that the scholarship was Islamic, it would make perfect sense that the visitors to Timbuktu’s leaning centers were Muslim, thus they came mostly from the Middle East and North Africa. So Nas was correct in throwing “Arabs” in there. But “Asians”? That’s very questionable. When people think “Asians,” they automatically think “Indians,” “Chinese” or “Japanese” - the Muslim influence never penetrated that deep into the Far East. If Nas was in fact using that term to apply to Middle Easterners in general, he surely used a really vague, ambiguous and misleading one.
And how the heck did “Greeks and Romans” get into the mix? The Islamic faith was founded in, what, the seventh century A.D.? Hadn’t both peoples long faded by then in terms of power and influence? The Greek civilization had dissipated long before Jesus Christ was born; and the Roman Empire, at least the western half, had collapsed in A.D. 476, a century and a half before the prophet Mohammed walked the earth. So what was Nas thinking? Oh, did he mean the eastern half of the Roman Empire, the newly-christened Byzantine Empire? Couldn’t be – it was as Greek Orthodox Christian as you can possibly get.
Or did Nas use “Greeks and Romans” as a generalizing phrase for “Europeans”? Not likely, I suppose – he can’t be that stupid, can he? In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Europe was firmly Christian. In fact, the Europeans have been giving shout outs to Charles Martel ever since he routed a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in A.D. 732. If he had lost, Islam could have swallowed Europe just like it did North Africa and the Middle East. So what business did Europeans have going to Timbuktu if not to engage in Islamic studies? Wealth, perhaps? Yeah, but that was not until three or four centuries later, long after Timbuktu’s heyday. Ironic, eh?
As you can see, I’m trying to help my man out here, but Nas’ inaccuracies mar whatever good research he has made. Anyways, onward we march:
…and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
Ah, the beauty of gold! If only these empires, most particularly Mali, had the same value for it as the Europeans! I mean, look at Mansa Musa (c1280-1337). The greatest of the Mandingo emperors and a devout Muslim who ruled Mali from 1312 to 1337, Musa embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and gave out so much gold in Cairo, Egypt that the commodity's value there did not fully recover for the next twelve years! Musa’s extravagance was exemplary of the abundance of gold in this side of the world – West Africans had gold up their a*ses.
It’s just that they hardly used gold as currency – it was a medium of exchange in trade for the things that West Africans needed or wanted, like salt, dates, horses, luxury goods and firearms. This complex trade network between and among West and North Africans led to a gold trickle to Europe.
By the time Musa died in 1337, he was an international superstar. Due to his expensive hajj, he and Mali were popular in both the Islamic and the Christian worlds. In fact, he was depicted in world maps afterward, with a fat-a*s gold nugget in his hand.
That must have whetted the Europeans’ appetites tremendously – a mere gold tickle wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Hey, why not just go out there and jack the poor bastards for their bling? By the end of the sixteenth century, the golden glory of Mali had long passed. But no, that didn’t stop them from getting gold from somewhere else – that’s why the Spanish had decided to pay the Aztecs and the Incas a visit. Before the rest of the world knew it, gold became the basis of the European monetary standard, and it led to the development of a system that is partly responsible for the West’s future world economic dominance – capitalism.
Damn it, if only the West Africans knew…
Anyway, good job, Nas. Too bad he couldn’t keep it up.
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings and everything sacred
“The Persian military invaded” where, Africa? That never happened. Or perhaps Nas had the Moroccans in mind, but they are certainly not Persians! Undoubtedly they knew about the “gold” and the “teachings” of the Songhai empire, which had by this time replaced the crumbling Mali as the largest and most powerful political unit in West Africa; and inherited the attributes that had made its predecessor great. That prompted the Moroccans to defeat the Songhai forces at the Battle of Tondibi in March 1591 and effectively end Songhai’s reign as the premier West African power. As for the “Persians”? Well, let’s just say the Shah of the Persian empire at that time – Abbas I – was more concerned about maintaining his territory in and around Iran than going on some military excursion to some distant land thousands of miles away.
Yep, the Persians never invaded Africa.
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
That is correct. Enough said.
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
This is what I believe is the most ridiculous and bizarre part of Nas’ inconsistent history lesson.
The “mountains” Nas is referring to is the famed limestone Sphinx, a sculpture that was built by ancient Egyptians and is at least thirty-five centuries old. But let’s start from the beginning. Yes, Alexander the Great not only “went” to Egypt; he conquered it. At least he got that part right. But was Alexander a racist towards blacks? Nobody knows. Even if he was, how the heck did he “shoot” off the “Negroid” nose of the Sphinx in the desert, with arrows and javelins?
Oh, wait a second! Does he not mean Napoleon? It is a popular Afrocentric theory – that the troops of the famed Corsican general, on his expedition to Egypt in 1798, were so angered by the wide nose of the gigantic sculpture that they ended up shooting at it with their firearms, to the point that today the Sphinx’s face looks more like a skeleton.
Then again, they could have done it “just for kicks.”
Regardless of the motive, it has never been proven, and the Napoleonic theory is just one of the many embarrassments in the Afrocentric approach to history, which now eschews reasonable thought for blind passion and irrational romanticism; which now condemns European history as the evil counterpart to the history of people of African descent; and which has gradually descending from a balancing and remedial outlook on human history to a pseudo-science that has become tantamount to the racist ideologies of 18th and 19th century European imperialists.
See, there is even a fallacy in Nas’ fallacy.
And what is up with this black American obsession with Egypt? I could care less about ancient Egypt’s accomplishments, or the race of its inhabitants. I’m West African. The African ancestors of black Americans are primarily of West African stock, and ancient Egypt was like, where, North Africa? So what the heck are we doing with Egypt – or with Kush, Axum, Meroe and Abyssinia for that matter? Do we necessarily have to look outside from our region of origin? I don’t think so - West Africa alone has a lot to offer. There’s the aforementioned Mali and Songhai, famed for their trading fortunes, centers of learning, and efficient administration. There are mythical golden empires of Ghana and Asante. The Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife and Benin are world-famous for their classically-styled sculptures, and the latter is also known for the brass plates of historical depiction adorning the walls of the king’s palace. The region has its own stories, folktales and achievements, its own share of heroes and statesmen and warriors and rulers – Idris Alooma, Ewuare the Great, Queen Amina, Jaja of Opobo, Sango…who was deified in death as the Yoruba god of thunder…
I could go on and on…
If these Afrocentrists want to use a certain civilization as the center of African cultural inquiry, or black people in general are looking for a source of inspiration and identification, there are surely better examples than Egypt.
And as for Nas’ implication that inferiority is being “impose[d]” upon the black race by teaching bad history, well, that is another topic altogether…
CONCLUSION:
Whether they like it or not, rappers have a considerable influence on American society. No matter how utterly stupid some lyrics from these rappers are, there are people who are just as stupid, and who treat the words of their favorite rhyme spitters like Christians and Muslims do their holy scriptures. That is why you have some misguided youth shooting a state trooper and blaming it on 2Pac. Or Eminem writing about an obsessive fan that grows to resent the perceived neglect he gets from his favorite rapper and commits femicide, feticide and suicide.
Or, more recently, that fat buffoon. The guy defended his use of the N-word when clobbering a black kid by implicating rappers’ general use of it as a term of endearment instead of an instrument of hatred.
Yeah, they’re some really gullible people out there. Bloody robots will do anything they hear.
Bearing that in mind, Nas – as well as rappers who consider themselves socially conscious - have to be really careful. Much props to him for attempting to teach the youth a history lesson, and in a song released as a single at that. Considering that many young black Americans – and Africans, I might add – care so little about learning from or preserving their history, his effort is really commendable. Moreover, he did get a few thing right. However, by putting out inaccurate history – and indeed, inaccurate information – socially conscious rappers can just be as harmful as the materialistic and nihilistic ones. Having to hear that all whites are devils is just as dangerous as having to think that all black men care about is making money and having sex. The third verse of “I Can” is a prime example of what happens when a rapper lets his zealousness go too far.
Jay-Z of all people certainly wasn’t joking in “Takeover” when he said, “Your s**t is garbage, but you try and kick knowledge?” – hey, at least Nas tries to kick knowledge. It’s just too bad he stumbles with “I Can”. Nice try, Nas, but you need to step your game up.
Besides, I surely don’t want to hear that Mandingos ruled over England in the eleventh century anytime soon. --------------------------------
The idea of a black over-obsession with Egypt has certainly been discussed on this board recently, and I think the author has a real point when he speaks of the "descen[t] from a balancing and remedial outlook on human history to a pseudo-science that has become tantamount to the racist ideologies of 18th and 19th century European imperialists."
Nas is a great lyricist-- I never thought to look at the historical accuracy of this song, but with both this and the next song, the amount of false information makes me want to disregard it altogether. Isn't this-- if not, at worst, outright dishonesty and disregard for the truth-- at best the result of laziness, not taking the time to do it right? I have no doubt that Nas could, and probably Ras Kass too (although I really don't know his work). Let the people who don't want to put time in make "Chicken Noodle Soup," I want a goddamned turkey buffet. And speaking of turkey, the best lines of this song turned out to be pure bullshit, way worse distortions than Nas put out there:
“Let freedom ring with a buckshot, but not just yet
First we need to truly understand the nature of the threat
And a pale man walks in the threshold of darkness
Roughly 20,000 years ago the first humans evolved
with the phenotypical trait, genetic recessive
Blue eyes, blonde hair and white skin
Albinism apparently was a sin to the original man - Africans
So the mutants traveled North of the equator
Called Europeans later, the first race haters
So here's the Devil's alpha to the beta
Cause history's best qualified to teach one
Quoting German philosopher Schopenhauer
"Every white man is a faded or a bleached one"
Migration created further mutation
Genetic drifts, evolution through recombination
Adaptation to the climate
As the Caucus Mountain man reverted to that of a primate
Savage Neanderthals, until the late Paleolithic age
That's when the Black Grimaldi man came
With the symbol of the dragon, fire and art
Check cave paintings in France and Spain to the Venus of Willendorf”
Bold statements about a period of history that has very little information of which we can be sure about. The afrocentristic theme of the song kicks off with him suggesting that those who were fair colored just left Africa as it was looked down upon to be lighter skinned. He also calls them “mutants”. Well that’s certainly a great way to seem unbiased. I can’t comment much because nobody knows for sure what really happened during these ancient periods. I don’t even get the point he was trying to make with the Venus of Willendorf. What I know about that statue was that it was found in present day Austria and that it is one of the oldest pieces of artwork ever found. Same goes with the Cave Paintings…is he suggesting that these were done by Africans? Hmm…
"Around 2000 B.C. Southern Russians migrate in small units
Those who travel West populated Europe”
What the fuck? Russians? Sorry, but Russians don’t even exist until about 3 millenniums later. I think he means the Aryan tribes…
“Those who went East settled in Iran, known as Aryans
1500 B.C. some crossed the Khyber Pass into India and
created Hinduism, the first caste system, the origins of racism
A white dot on the forehead meant elite
The black dot - defeat; untrustable, untouchables
They wrote the holy Vedas in Sanskrit
That's the language that created Greek, German, Latin and English”
Ah, the Aryans, of course. He’s right about the Aryans coming from the what is now known as Iran…but he is way off on the date. 1500 B.C? The Aryans had already long settled in India by then and the Indus Valley civilization was thriving by 3000 BC. Not so sure about the Caste System being the origins of racism, as all cultures have been known to have racial prejudice in some form or another. The line about Sanskrit is actually true, as modern theorists have hit some breakthroughs that lead them to believe that Sanskrit is the origin of the European languages (and proving that the Aryans spread to Europe as well?)
“Now the Minoans around 2000 B.C.
Starts on the island of Crete, in the Agean Sea
The Greek culture begins Western Civilization
But "Western Civilization" means "White Domination"”
What pisses me off is his assumption that only white people are racist. Obviously Western Civilization would be dominated by whites…it’s mostly white people! Just as Ancient China was “Asian Domination” and African cultures were “Black Domination”. What does Ras Kass expect? Civil rights in 2000 BC?
“Myceneans learned from Kemet, called Egypt in Greek
It existed since at least 3000 B.C.
Creatin geometry and astronomy
This knowledge influenced Plato, Socrates and Hippocrates
Cause Imhotep, the real real father of medicine
Was worshiped in Greece and Rome in the form of a Black African”
The idea of the early Greeks taking their knowledge from Egypt is a mere assumption, as we cannot expect that an entire civilization started from mere borrowing. Besides, the Myceneans could not be a product of Egypt when there was already the Minoan civilization (which he mentioned, so he should know) that preceded them and who they eventually conquered. Plato and Socrates were two philosophers that were the first of their kind, I don’t see how much knowledge from Egypt could influence them for what they became known for. Imhotep is considered to be the first physician, but I’m not sure about how he was worshipped in Greece. I know that the Egyptians worshipped him so much that they eventually made him a God, but I don’t remember reading about him in Greece.
“The word Africa comes from the Greek "Aphrike"
meaning "without cold"; the word philosophy means "love of knowledge"
Stole from first man, Greek power expands
The first Greek fraternities band
The word gymnasium is Greek for "naked"
This was the place where adolescent boys were educated, and molested
This was accepted because Greek culture was homosexual
For example, Sappho trained girls on the island of Lesbos
Hence, the word lesbian ”
There are several suggestions on where the word “Africa” comes from, but I personally accept the same theory that Ras does. One of the more well-known points in this track is his accusation of Greece’s homosexuality. I really don’t see how a culture can be homosexual…because if it was – how would they pro-create and reproduce? I am well aware that bisexuality was prominent among men, but this was more of a fad for the prominent males, if you will. It was thought that women were inferior, so many of the important or intelligent men spent a lot of time together, and tried their hand at making love as well. Yes, I know, sounds strange…but I don’t think it was a naturally homosexual civilization. The point about the Island of Lesbos is true, however.
“December 25th, the birth of Saturn
A homosexual god, now check the historical pattern
December 25, now thought the birth of Christ
Was Saturnalia, when men got drunk,
Fucked each other then beat their wife
Fact is, it was still practiced, till they called it Christmas
So put a gerbil on your Christmas list”
How is Saturn a homosexual god when he considered to be the father of all the main gods in Greek Mythology. Doesn’t make sense to me. The rest just seems Ras Kass is trying to belittle Christmas for some “evil origins”.
“The Hellenistic Era, Alexander the Great
Conquers all the way to India leavin four successor states
By the Fifth century B.C., R.O.M.E.
succeeds to be the conqueror of Egypt and Greece
But had the threat of the Black Phoenicians in Sicily
The Punic Wars began 264 B.C.
The Black general Hannibal and Carthaginian Peace
In 146 B.C. Carthage fell after a six-month siege”
5th Century BC? By then the Romans had not even left the Italian peninsula. The Roman Principate only started in 31 BC. He’s right with the dates for the Punic wars…but he is wrong about those Phoenicians. Black Phoenicians? Is he serious? The Phoenicians were a Semetic people, meaning they were about as black as Saddam Hussein. They were typical Middle Eastern people. I guess having ANY color to your skin means that you are black, to Ras Kass.
“Rome sold every citizen to slavery
The first genocide of history
And more bisexuality in sight; Julius Caesar was known as
every woman's husband and every man's wife”
First genocide of history? That term could be pushing it. Oh, and COME ON with the homosexuality! There are constant speculations of celebrities being gay today that aren’t true…how are we going to be sure of the sexual orientation of a man who lived before the birth of Christ? As far as I see it, the dude had relationships with women, and had a son…so he was straight.
“Spartacus Revolt, a slave rebellion that lost
Where 6,000 slaves was nailed on a cross
Cross? Aw, sh1t! Jesus Christ! Time for some-act-right
Christians get your facts right
Cause Christ was not his name
That's Greek for "One who is anointed"
Yoshua Ben Yosef was his name, do Christians know this?
So who do you praise, do you know his name?
Or do you do this in vain?
Accepting the religion they gave slaves to behave
Peep the description of historian Josephus
"Short, dark, with an underdeveloped beard was Jesus"
He had the Romans fearing revolution
The solution was to take him to court and falsely accuse him
After being murdered by Pilate how can it be
these same white Romans established Christianity”
This is probably my favorite part of the song, bar none. He is quite deadly and accurate in this one. Yoshua Ben Yosef was really Christ’s name, something a lot of Christian followers seemed to have miss from all their Bible study. Citing Josephus’ description is significant, as it shows that Christ is not how we commonly picture him to be, the white man that the Europeans would draw him as. As well as the interesting piece that it was Pilate’s own people who would spread Christ’s religion.
“Constantine would later see the cross in a dream
In his vision, it read "En Hawk Signo Wonka":
"In this sign we conquer" - Manifest Destiny
In 325 he convened the Nicean Creed
And separated god into three
Decided Jesus was born on December 25th
and raised then on the third day is a myth
Plus to deceive us
Commissioned Michelangelo to paint white pictures of Jesus
He used his aunt, uncle, and nephew
Subconsciously that affects you
It makes you put white people closer to God”
The parts about Constantine and Nicean Creed are true…except I’m not sure that they decided that his birthday would be on December 25th. Also, Constantine commissioning Michaelangelo? They lived about a 1000 years apart…so it’s highly doubtful.
“True indeed, fuck it, Jihad
In the eighth century Muslims conquered
Spain, Portugal and France and controlled it for 700 years
They never mention this in history class
cause old faiths are threatened when you get the real lesson”
It’s true that they ruled those areas, but was it for really 700 years? I’m guessing Ras Kass had a horrible history class, because they always did mention the power of the Islamic conquests in my school.
“Moors from Baghdad, Turkey threatened European Christians
Meaning, the white way of life; hence the Crusades for Christ
On November 25th, 1491
Santiago defeats the last Muslim stronghold, Grenada
King Ferdinand gave thanks to God for victory
And the Pope of Rome and declared this date to forever be
A day of "Thanksgiving" for all European Christians
.. Now listen, when you celebrate "Thanksgiving"
What you are actually celebratin
is the proclamation of the Pope of Rome
Who later, in league with Queen Isabella
sent Cardinal Ximenos to Spain
to murder any blacks that resisted Christianity
These Moors, these black men and women
were from Baghdad, Turkey
And today, you eat the turkey, for your "Thanksgiving" day
as the European Powers destroyed the Turkeys
Who were the forefathers of your mothers and fathers
Now fight the power, you bitch-ass niggas!”
This is the part where Ras Kass is most remembered for going absolutely LOONEY. Baghdad, Turkey? What was he smoking? Baghdad is in Iraq (then known as Mesopotamia)…separate of Turkey (which wasn’t even called Turkey until the 20th Century. It was known as the Ottoman Empire, Mr. Ras Kass). In any case, the Moors were not from Baghdad but from North Africa. Granada was actually defeated on January 2nd, 1492, and this doesn’t have the slightest relation to the American Holiday of Thanksgiving.
“Now around this time, Whites started callings us Negroes
That's Spanish for black object meaning we're not really people
but property, and the triangle trade begins - they seize us
Queen Elizabeth sends the first slaves on a ship named Jesus”
Now this is pretty hard to refute, and those first 2 bars are some of the most famous ones from this song.
“Stealin land from the indigenous natives
Gave them alcohol to keep the Red Man intoxicated
Whites claim they had to civilize these pagan animals
But up until 1848 there's documented cases
of whites bein the savage cannibals, eatin Indians
In 1992, it's Jeffery Dahmer
They slaughtered a whole race with guns
Drugs, priests and nuns
1763, the first demonic tactic of biological warfare
As tokens of peace, Sir Jeffery Amherst
passed out clothin and blankets to the Indian community
Infested with small pox, knowin they had no immunity
Today it's AIDS, you best believe it's man made
Cause ain't a damn thing changed.. let me explain…”
This is true for the most part, though I haven’t read about the colonists practicing cannibalism (aside from the Donner Party). Also, I’m not a huge fan of conspiracy theories, so naturally I’m a bit skeptical of the idea that epidemics are created by the government.
“Now since people of color are genetically dominant
and Caucasoids are genetically recessive
and Whites expect to be predominant, meaning survive as a race then
they simply must, take precautions
That's why they're worried about their future now
Cuz by 2050, almost all the Earth's population
will be brown, then black, so understanding that, whites counter-react
(I'm sayin.. man.. them fools
ain't nothin but a teaspoon of milk in the world color majority)
So they created a system
to force blacks into an unnatural position
That re-enforces the position of natural inferiority
In addition, created guns and developed the ethnocentric view
that God justifies every fuckin thing they do”
It’s a pretty bold prediction that in 50 years nearly everyone will have a darker skin pigment. Not to say it’s impossible, but the chances are slim. We’ve had civilization now for at least 10,000 years, and 2/3rd’s of the world still isn’t black. I don’t see the racial proportions changing that soon.
“Condition people to perceive whites' culture as civilized
and every other culture considered primitive - not true!
Racism is the system of racial subjugation against nonwhites
in every areas of human relation
Entertainment, education, labor, politics
Law, religion, sex, war and economics”
Ok, so this once again is pretty outrageous. Basically he suggests that only white people are racist, and the underlying theme of racism is to see whites as civilized and others not. Well…nowadays this is pure bullshit, so I wont even comment for modern times. To go along with past times…of course there was an ethnocentric view for whites, and we know that because we are an English speaking country, so we read from white people. Why hasn’t he thought about the fact that the Far Eastern peoples (who kept themselves isolated from the world for centuries, especially Japan) may have also seen themselves as superior. Hell, I’m sure natives of African empires would also see any white visitors as “lesser people”. Why? Because they are different. To suggest that only a Caucasian person can be racially discriminating is IN ITSELF quite a racial discrimination
“See blacks were 3/5ths of a man with tax purposes intended
You think you're Afro-American?
You're a 14th amendment and a good nigga
Jews don't salute the fuckin swastika
but niggaz pledge allegiance to the flag that accosted ya”
Ok, so this is ill. This is very on-point and deadly. While considering the American Flag to be the equivalent of the Nazi swastika may be pushing it, the overall idea is understood. The first 3 bars of that might be the best lines in the song, honestly.
“They never teach about the break of islands like Jamaica
But before slaves came here whites would take a
pregnant women, hang her from a tree by her toes
Slice her stomach with a knife
and let the unborn baby fall to the flo'
And stop an unborn child in front of all the slaves
to inbreed fear, so they'd be scared and behave
and not rebel more
Understand all whites must be perceived as potential predators
I paraphrase historian Ishakamusa Barashango
"Understand that regardless of the lofty ideas ingraved on paper
in such documents as the Constitution or Declaration
the basic nature.. of the European American white man
remains virtually unchanged".. so check
This is the nature of the threat”
Well that anecdote about cruelty is true I guess, but newsflash: White people are not the only culture to be vicious. The second half of that is a perfect wrap-up to this rather biased song. Citing Baroshango about white people, how appropriate. Let’s get an afrocentric writer as our “unbiased source”. It’s the equivalent of citing David Duke about African-Americans...stupid. But of course, Ras Kass wouldn’t care.
So, about a handful of historical inaccuracies and biased anti-white comments…but you know what? I still listen to this song all the time. Now THAT is an unbiased stance, because despite the fact that he displays some touchy opinions here, I can still appreciate Ras Kass’ skill as a rapper.
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This review hit a bit too hard with the "reverse racism" theme and I discount this reviewer when he writes stuff like "What pisses me off is his assumption that only white people are racist. Obviously Western Civilization would be dominated by whites…it’s mostly white people!" Yeah, well, we live in Western Civilization and people don't understand the roots of it and how it came to be what it is, so obviously this needs to be explained. The hypocrisy in the Declaration of Independence is flagrantly obvious, but people still need to have the obvious explained to them; many people do not understand the obvious. So I would tell the reviewer to shut the fuck up as far as that is concerned, while still suspecting myself that Ras Kass is probably racist. Still, after sifting through all the bullshit in the song, the question remains...
What is the best rap song that drops knowledge that is meaningful, educational, and accurate?
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i guess ur shit was glitching!
