Being, to “be”, to exist, to survive, to live, to thrive… it’s what most of us find ourselves fighting to do. If you were born in the hood–whether literally or figuratively–the chances of making it out alive is slim, let alone making it out unscathed by the social and political repercussions that find you as its target. They may limit you, but it doesn’t mean we should stop fighting to be free. On this musical episode of The Axiom Amnesia Theory, Heit & Cheri challenge you to think beyond the hand that you’ve been dealt to imagine the possibilities–even if you never actually leave the “hood.”
The show starts with a discussion presidential politics and Lupe Fiasco’s beef with D.L. Hughley because he doesn’t vote. You’ll also hear songs by Sharon Jones & The Dapp Kings, Willow Smith, Brother Ali, Bobby “Blue” Bland, UGK, Elvis Presley, and Big K.R.I.T.
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Segment 1
Song 1: “100 Days, 100 Nights” – Sharon Jones & The Dapp Kings
100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
And a little more
Before he knows his ownYou know a man
Can play the part
Of a saint
Just so long
For a day comes
When his true, his true self unfoldsHe maybe mellow
He maybe kind
Treat you good
All the timeBut there’s something just beyond what he’s told
100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
And a little more
Before he knows his ownWait a minute
Maybe I need to slow it down just a little
Take my timeI had a man
Tell me things
Made me feel
Just like a queen
And I thought
He was the one
I would hold
Oh yes I did
But one day
I looked around
That old man
Was nowhere to be found
100 days for this heart to unfold100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
100 days, 100 nights
To know a man’s heart
And a little more
Before he knows his own
- This song sounds like it was recorded in the 1950s or 1960s, but it was actually recorded in 2006. There are still bands out there making music.
- The thing that Heit & Cheri liked best was Sharon Jones’ voice. This coupled with the music, would have made a great song with any lyrics.
- Heit points out that this is a man-bashing song. Cheri explains a different dimension–that “man” can also apply to females in a broader context of the theme of the song.
- How do you know someone, when at first people try to project an attractive image of themselves? As time moves on, it’s hard to not be you, and that will eventually shows through in their actions. This notion reminds Heit of the quote attributed to Plato, which says, “You can learn more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
- Nothing replaces the value of time spent in a relationship–the more time you spend with a person, the more opportunities you have to observe their behaviors.
- People closest to folks will often know them better than they know themselves.
Song 2: “I Am Me” – Willow Smith
[chorus]
I’m meee, I’m mee, and that’s all I can be
I’m meee, I’m eee, it’s my one ability
I’m free
And you can’t stop meee,
I’m free, and that’s all I can beDays pass, I’m tryna find who I really am
I’ve been looking
People don’t like the way I dress
So it won’t matter, I’ve been looking
I’ve done my hair and it’s not just that easy
I’ve been looking
Your validation it’s not just that important to me[Chorus]
I’m meee, I’m mee, and that’s all I can be
I’m meee, I’m eee, it’s my one ability
I’m free
And you can’t stop meee,
I’m free, I’m meee, and that’s all I can beNight falls and I find it here I am in peace
I’ve been looking
Making friends with spirits lost
And it sets me free, I’ve been looking
Express myself cause it’s my liberty
I’ve been looking
Your validation it’s not just that important to me[Chorus]
I’m meee, I’m mee, and that’s all I can be
I’m meee, I’m eee, it’s my one ability
I’m free
And you can’t stop meee,
I’m meee, I’m free, and that’s all I can beI am me, I am me, I am me
I am free, I am free, I am free
I am me, I am me, I am me
I am free, I am free, X 2Ooooooooooooohhhhhhh
Create yourself, redo yourself
Renew yourself
Be you, do what you do,
Hold your head up high, everything’s gonna alright
You’re you, I’m me, let’s livei n harmony
Coexist with each other, love each other
Be yourself
You have to be yourself, be real, be honest
Cause ain’t nobody got time for that
They really don’t, so listen to me
Listen to this song, because this is real facts
That will help you move along, yeah
That’s all I wanted to say, so I love you guys so much
Hope you like the song and you know, yolo, misfits, argh haha.
- Heit & Cheri like the transition between the talking and singing toward the end of the song. It was almost like she is telling a story about herself, then she breaks it down to quietness and laughter at the end. The song has so many different musical elements that all come together to make a great piece of music.
- Willow Smith is the 11-year-old daughter of rapper/actor Will Smith and actress Jada Pinkett Smith. She’s never known not being a wealthy child, and the consequences are not the same for her. The way others perceive her really doesn’t have that much bearing on her life. On the other hand, the average person is compelled to conform so that they can be accepted in order to be successful in life.
- If the playing field was more level, then everyone would be allowed to be themselves without automatic consequences for being different or deviating from social norms.
- Heit’s favorite lyric is “Your validation it’s not just that important to me.” If you are living for others’ validation and confirmation, you’re not even allowed to be yourself.
- Discussion about peoples’ desire for approval.
- Cheri’s favorite line is “And it sets me free, I’ve been looking, Express myself cause it’s my liberty, I’ve been looking.”
- The fact that she is 11 and addressing this subject is impressive. Even if she doesn’t completely believe it yet, she’s got a great direction.
- Discussion about the “self talk” that artists often use to talk to themselves (as a form of inspiration) in addition to the message to their audience.
- Another line that stood out was “You’re you, I’m me, let’s live in harmony
Coexist with each other, love each other.” Everyone being themselves is what provides the variation that makes it a harmony. - Discussion of the lyrics, “Create yourself, Redo yourself, Renew yourself.”
Song 3: “Only Life I Know” – Brother Ali
[Hook]
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only one that I’ll ever know
Feeling extra low
Please let me go
Hold on, no
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only that I’ll ever know
And it stressed me so
Oh God, bless me soul
Hold on[Verse 1]
Wether it’s the projects or a trailer park mess
Raggedy the apartment complex
With a stressed out single mom sitting on the steps
Waiting on the mailman, looking for a check
Boys on the corner, pushing out the chest
Questing for anything that resembles respect
Young girls swinging their hair with every step
Looking for affection, settling for sex
Bodies decorated with tattoos and chains
Trying to put armor between you and pain
Wood grain steering wheel, the bass bang
But not enough to drown out the hatred in your brain
The only out is smoking out
Get lean, get wet, get meth, get tore down
Cause who the hell would want to stick around?
Put me in a haze, I ain’t never coming out[Hook]
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only one that I’ll ever know
Feeling extra low
Please let me go
Hold on, no
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only that I’ll ever know
And it stressed me so
Oh God, bless me soul
Hold on[Verse 2]
They just wanna get you in the system, stick you into prison
List you in the military ship you to the desert
Pigs don’t exist for you to make a decent living
But we got three illegal wars to shoot the pigs from
Keep stressing marvels and personal decisions
Tell me what’s marvel about these conditions
Who decided you don’t got enough to teach children?
Stay spending billions, on stadiums and prisons
How many roles can folks really choose?
When you’re oppressed only three lead to you
First one is follow the rules and stay in school
Be the square dude, that society approves
Get a little job or a shitty appartment
Sub-prime mortgage in a failing house market
The after your life dedication and hardship
You died just as poor as you was when you started
Fuck that, what’s up with the second option?
You could always hit the corner and try to get it popping
Get fast guap when you’re out dropping and clocking
But, chances are that you’ll probably die violent
The best hope that you got is getting knocked
And end up with a job in a prison metal shop
They ain’t paying nothing but three hots and a cotch
Don’t you know that’s the biggest hustle they got?
Or door three you can get on that welfare
But they ain’t trying to help, they’ll put you in hell there
Give you just enough so you’re not gonna starve
And constantly harass you while you’re looking for a job
Do lock up and someone that got you to punch a clock
And they found about it and your check is getting dot
Can’t win for losing, dehumanizing
You’ll never get caught up, you caught up in a cycle[Hook]
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only one that I’ll ever know
Feeling extra low
Please let me go
Hold on, no
(It’s my life)
Yeah, the only that I’ll ever know
And it stressed me so
Oh God, bless me soul
Hold on
- Brother Ali is Muslim, who also happens to be both legally blind and albino.
- Discussion of the song that Brother Ali did with Immortal Technique, called “Civil War.”
- Brother Ali’s new album is called “Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color.”
- In this song, he touched on just about every social condition facing the country’s poor, whether in the projects on in the trailer park, or anywhere else.
- You come away from this song schooled about the limited options available to the masses of poor people.
- Discussion of the significance of the line, “You died just as poor as you was when you started.” This is in contrast to the rich, who in every generation become more and more rich.
- Discussion about it being the exception for a person to escape the hood. Most remain there and die there, just as they were born there.
- The illusion perpetrated upon the people is that everyone has the same chances and options for success.
- Discussion about the tenacity of the youth, and how it feeds into wanting to try as hard as possible to make it out of the hood.
- Discussion about people affected by Hurricane Katrina who lost homes they had worked their lives to own. They worked all their lives for the home because of the propaganda sold to their generation.
- There have only been 44 presidents. You have a better chance of becoming an NBA star than becoming president of the United States. Yet, parents discourage people from trying to play professional ball. Melissa Harris-Perry pointed this out in one of her lectures.
- Discussion about the military options presented in the song.
- Cheri liked the lines:
Keep stressing morals and personal decisions
Tell me what’s morals about these conditions
Who decided you don’t got enough to teach children?
Stay spending billions, on stadiums and prisons
How many roles can folks really choose? - If survival is your reality, there are some things that you never get the opportunity to contemplate. You may have to do something that is considered immoral in order to survive. Do you choose being “moral” over eating and having basic needs met.
- Discussion of the lyrics, “Can’t win for losing, dehumanizing. You’ll never get caught up, you caught up in a cycle.”
- Discussion of the lyrics, “Bodies decorated with tattoos and chains. Trying to put armor between you and pain.” This falls along the ideas of trying to be someone else–making it look like someone other than who you are.
- Discussion about people who get tattoos with meaning–ones that reflect the conditions in which they live.
- Discussion about a website dedicated to telling people what their tattoos of Chinese characters really mean.
Song 4: “Years of Tears to Go” – Bobby “Blue” Bland
Oh Lawd, Oh Lawd
When I wake up in the morning,
I say a little prayer,
Lord give me the strength to go on,
I can’t make it by myself,
Today I lost my job,
And when I get home I got a family to tell,
Lawd have mercy on me,
I need it more than anybody elseChorus:
Years of tears,
I’ve seen them come and I’ve seen them go,
I don’t worry about tomorrow,
What waits for me I already know,
If I could see into my future, Oh I’m sure for me that it would show
I’ve got years of tears, oh Lawd, to goMy baby need clothes,
Oh we run out of food,
To some people life has been so sweet,
To me it’s been so cruel,
I say “Baby we gonna make it,”
But in my heart I don’t see how,
It’s the same sad situation day in, day out[Chorus]
Oh Lord, somebody!
I’ve got years of tears, oh Lawd, to go[Chorus x2]
- Discussion about the blues. If you really wanna have a song you can feel depressed to, this one is it!
- Bobby “Blue” Bland’s voice is raspy and it even sounds painful. His delivery is so believable. It sounds like his life has been more bad than good. Guess that’s why they call it the blues.
- Discussion about how the inspiration to write comes so often from unhappiness.
- One thing that is unique about the hood is that people will come up to you and start unloading all of their problems to a total stranger.
- Life can be so hard, and that condition is one that gives people the need to purge those feelings. This is why some of the best writings are the ones that express pain and sadness.
- Cheri’s favorite lines were:
“Lord give me the strength to go on,
I can’t make it by myself,”AND
“Lawd have mercy on me,
I need it more than anybody else.”
When you are going through something these lines speak to how people feel like their situation is exceptionally bad. Also, these likes speak to how people look outside of themselves in desperate circumstances. - Heit’s favorite lines were:
“Today I lost my job,
And when I get home I got a family to tell,”AND
“I say ‘Baby we gonna make it,’
But in my heart I don’t see how,
It’s the same sad situation day in, day out.”He is taking the role of reassuring his wife, even though he doesn’t believe what he is telling her. He just doesn’t want her to worry.
- Discussion about the burden of men who take responsibility for caring for the family during tough economic times.
- Discussion about Jack Bauer, of the TV drama 24, saving the world, yet not having a chance to let his feelings out and cry at the end of a very bad day:
- The guitar sound in the song was wonderful, in addition to the rest of the dramatic music. Heit says he’s gonna learn to play the guitar, and sing a song like this.
Song 5: “Hi-Life” – UGK
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life, mmm
(Hi life, mmm)I’m tired livin’ fucked up, tired of livin’ bad
Tired of hearing grandma tellin’ me
When you gonna go to church Chad
Now I’m tryin’ to live up to the imageThat she would want me to be
But I got one foot in the street
And every week I flip a Ki
I never wanted to be a GBut niggas depend on me
It ain’t safe to hit I-10
So niggas fear with meAnd all the niggas that I went to school wit
Got cool wit, went to fool wit
I dealt selling that white shit
Pushin’ cocaine, niggas holding pistolsDependant on the game
What ya want me to do?
It’s like somebody cut my throat
Got 20,000 dollar tryin’ to turn it to a hundredAnd ain’t nobody got no dough
So niggas came to smoke, bad habits do exist
And if this bitch came thinking to ease my mind
By sucking my dickBitch make up for a minute ’cause that ship never lasts
In 1996 niggas is dyin’ from layin’ on that ass
First Magic Johnson got it, then Eazy-E died
And you wonder why yo’ niggas out there smokin’ fryI wish that I could tell you, I wore a rubber every time
But if I told you that nigga you know that I be lyin’
And I’ve been fucking pussy since the tender age of nine
It’s gettin’ to be a full-time job just tryin’ to stay aliveAnd Crackers tend to smirk
Offended by the weed smoke comin’ off my shirt
But still I puts in work and front for my folks
‘Cause where I come from nigga, family just ain’t no jokeNow D be gettin’ married and Edgar on the boat
But what about Baby Doe, some say that nigga’s selling dope
And you know that I ain’t lyin’, that just how family talk
But what you gonna do when the Devil poke you with his forkAnd everybody sittin’ in the pulpit ain’t saved
Most preachers are false prophets
Fuckin’ hoes and gettin’ paid, I’m lookin’ for theHi life, we livin’ that hi life
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life, mmm
(Hi life, mmm)You only got one life to live
That’s all they give you to do it
You could bullshit your way through it
Or stay true, it can be complicated‘Cause niggas be gettin’ shot in the cross
People and names get lost
The people in the lane get tossed
The streets’ll eat your ass aliveTake your positions with pistols, bare hands and knives
And nobody’s surprised if somebody
Don’t survive the dusk to see dawn
It’s treacherous how we was left to dieOn the streets that we be on
Motherfuckers sleepin’ on them corners that you pee on
Probably ’cause society felt they didn’t belong
Now who in the fuck made it this way for us?Got all these little niggas slangin’ that yay
Because it ain’t like they make high levels gain able
And that punk piece of American pie just ain’t obtainable
So how can I substain a full life before deathMan, I’m left out here to make it by my goddamn self
Now c’mon, who gives a damn
When you can’t afford the turkey or ham
Livin’ off of Raemon Noodles, beef jerky, and SpamNow that’s sad, but that’s a fact of life
All I can see in front of me is up for grabs
Come off that slab
‘Cause poverty will push a nigga over that brinkOver the edge especially if you don’t know your ledge
So instead of being without, I’m hustling
Tryin’ to get through these ungodly days
Thinkin’ of ways to get the fuck outta this mazeA man will commit a crime ’cause a fuckin’ crime pays
I’m going through a phase you don’t grow out
Until there’s a reason a mother fuckers gots to pour out
His 40 on the curb, disturbed and left with no doubt in his mindBut still sometimes he don’t know why he walkin’
Around just hopin’, he can get one more try to make it
It’s bullshit he going through but yo, he gots to take it
You can’t fake it, to get that hi lifeHi life, we livin’ that hi life
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life, mmm
(Hi life, mmm)Hi life, we livin’ that hi life
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life, mmm
(Hi life, mmm)Hi life, we livin’ that hi life
Hi life, we livin’ that hi life, mmm
(Hi life, mmm)
- This song is like traditional blues, but with a twist.
- This is Heit’s favorite UGK song, because it explains everything and the music is great.
- Cheri likes the theme of God, church, and it’s place within the social culture. There are things that the church fails to address.
- Discussion about the notion of “generation gaps” and the older generations’ selective amnesia when it comes to the things they did in their youth. People have always had sex and done drugs.
- Discussion about the section of the song that focuses on HIV and AIDS.
- Discussion of the media’s role in the way that the different generations view HIV and AIDS.
- Discussion about drug-resistant gonorrhea.
- Cheri’s favorite line from the song was:
Tryin’ to get through these ungodly days
Thinkin’ of ways to get the fuck outta this maze
A man will commit a crime ’cause a fuckin’ crime pays
The assumption is that people committing crimes are bad people with no morals, who just want to do illegal things. - Heit points out the lines, “It ain’t like they make higher levels gainable, and that quote piece of American pie just ain’t obtainable.”
- What does “Hi” in the hook refer to? It probably means being high on drugs, but could also be an element of sarcasm, with the understanding that people in the described conditions are leading anything BUT a high life.
- Discussion about how the altered state of mind that happens with drug use is needed to switch up the mindset as a coping mechanism.
- Discussion about how guardians don’t get bragging rights on their drug-dealing children. It does, however, take a special skillset to survive and do well in the drug game.
- Discussion of having the appearance of living the “hi life,” and that due to their limited options, they have hit their ceiling.
Song 6: “In the Ghetto” – Elvis Presley
As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghettoAnd his mama cries
Cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need
It’s another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghettoPeople, don’t you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our headsAnd look the other way
Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghettoAnd his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghettoThen one night in desperation
A young man breaks away
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don’t get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghettoAs her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’,
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
- When it comes to the music business as a whole, Elvis basically raped Black culture and got rich from it. Nevertheless, this is a pretty good song.
- Cheri liked the song, but felt that there were some stereotypical elements: 1) The presence of no man, and 2) The reference to the boy with the runny nose.
- Discussion of the conditions that ultimately lead to the death of the young man.
- Discussion about the assumption that the police killed the young man, although there is no mention of whom killed him.
- Discussion of the line, “On a cold and gray Chicago mornin’.”
- Heit’s favorite lines were:
“And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto”
He was trying to find a way out of that life or trying to put food on a spoon. - The fundamental part of human beings is this will to survive. His lack is his motivation. His desperate move came from his circumstances.
Song 7: “2000 and BEYOND” – Big K.R.I.T.
2000 and beyond
2000 and beyond
2000 and beyondTricks and hoes, bitches and stripper poles
shake it for dollar signs, let me see from behind
the ghetto’s a fairytale, pimps and jazzlebells
dealers with chrome rims with products for you to sell
chemistry in the kitchen, alleys with rubber in it
tires go round and round, windows heavy tinted
cush is in the inside, pull me over
now they talkin bout a k9. black man face dine
charge it to game, bums warm their weary souls over open flames
junkie caint find god watch him find his vein
preacher walk by like he aint seen a thang
pass the collection plate
niggas thought thangs was gonna change on election day
healthcare H1N1 they was sprayed
got me scared to hit the block
wear my flag as a mask tote a glock, in 2000 and beyondin 2000 and beyond
in 2000 and beyondpost on, scrape dollars and the last of their income tax
on impalas whips, ???, church gives awards to the best dress
[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/2000-beyond-lyrics-big-krit.html ]
have to drive a bentley, got me thinkin, i was the less blessed
cause i let a middleman, he was cappin wit em askin
i dont understand, how you fit that many rings on a helping hand
tired of deception, but i pay his tuition cause im tryna get to heaven
aint it crazy, scared to have a baby
how can i protect it from the same streets that made me
concrete gladiator blood shed overflowin
in real life some places russlle crow will never go
pimp tyte flossin, look at what it cost me
peace of mind no sleep late night tossin and turnin
waitin on the end, pray to god forgive me for my sins, in 2000 and beyondin 2000 and beyond
in 2000 and beyondas a child i was cold with a chip on my shoulder
grandma told me becareful cause ther’re sharks in the water
they will kill you, let the good lord steal you
dont worry bout the government
cause baby they dont feel you
martin luther king had dream, we was right there
i wonder what he saw when up and had nightmares
quite scared, all the work he had done
couldnt stop what we’ve become, in 2000 and beyond
- Big K.R.I.T. was heavily influenced by Pimp C. You can hear it in his flow–the way he raps.
- People cheat themselves when they choose not to listen to different genres. Big K.R.I.T said a whole lot in this song.
- Discussion of the mention of the income tax check, and it serving as a poor person’s savings plan.
- We have focused on social responsibility consistently for the past few months, and Heit was reminded of this when he heard the lyrics, “How you fit that many rings on a helping hand?” The guy is a preacher and he is supposed to be helping people and you’re just adorned with jewelry.
- Discussion about pulpit pimps.
- Cheri’s favorite line is, “Niggas thought thangs was gonna change on election day, healthcare H1N1 nasal spray.”
- Heit’s favorite line is, “Junkie can’t find God, watch him find his vein. Preacher walk by like he aint seen a thang. Pass the collection plate.”
- Is there too much pressure put on preachers–like they should fix all things for their congregation? The church should be providing assistance to its members who have needs. They should be held to a higher level of expectation
- Another line that stood out was, “Martin Luther King had dream, we was right there
I wonder what he saw when he up and had nightmares.” Some of the songs we listened to today describe nightmares. - Discussion about the need to highlight the problems in society. Things will never be addressed if we just bury our heads in the sand and ignore this.
- All of these songs describe the desire to be one’s authentic self, to survive, and the wish that things weren’t the way they are.
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