Music Video: Common- Letter to the Free
Social and cultural context
Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free.
1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
Common has always been one to incorporate activism into his music, but perhaps one of his most moving works is the haunting "Letter to the Free" from his 2016 album Black America Again. He turned that song into an affecting visual, which he debuted a longer version of at Tribeca Film Festival. He also worked with John Legend to produce the soundtrack for Selma.
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
Theoretically written to outlaw slavery, the 13th Amendment had the effect of paving the way for local and State law reforms that created loopholes that effectively enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment.
3) What were the Black Codes?
The so-called Black Codes, introduced at state level in the southern states, provided for forced labour as punishment for petty crimes.
4) Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment?
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
While DuVernay wants the film to make people think feel, and even act, she also wants it also to inspire hope for the future she thinks those committed to advocating for change can hopefully bring about. “I make this film in a place of hope which is how I try to walk through the day,” she said.
6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
"I definitely have to first say that it was music in the late '80s and '90s that was truly reflective of a movement. It was the movement of black empowerment, black love, consciousness, just being aware. It was all of the above," Common said. "Obviously, things go through evolution, it changes. I don't think, right now as a whole, we have that in hip-hop. At that time, the majority of the hip-hop was a pro-black movement -- Big Daddy Kane, Mo D, N.W.A had stuff that was saying something too.
7) Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?
Big Daddy Kane, Mo D, N.W.A had stuff that was saying something too. I don't feel like we have that as a whole in hip-hop, I don't think hip-hop is the place we go to to listen for that voice of a revolution or to say 'this is how we're changing things.' But there are artists that do it, like Kendrick Lamar. I also think that Chance [the Rapper], though he may not speak in black consciousness, he has a consciousness about him, self-awareness and a spirituality.
Childish Gambino also has a strong political element to his work.
8) What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album? You'll need to research this - the Wikipedia entry for the album is a good place to start.
Letter to the Free is taken from the album 'Black America Again'. The album received widespread acclaim from critics, debuting at number 25 on the US Billboard 200.
Close-textual analysis and representation
Re-watch the music video several times to complete the following tasks in specific detail:
1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement).
The movement in the beginning of the music video really allows the audience to see what prisons are like due to the slow pace at which the camera moves in. It also symbolises what prisoners must have seen when they were in the cells. Movement is a crucial component of a music video. This music video is slow paced which shows that there isn't any crazy rapid fast paced shots which is usually common in most music videos. The simple clean movement adds a professional touch to the video but also doesn't distract the audience from the message that Common is trying to get across. All of out attention is on this message and this is due to the moderate and relaxed movement of the camera.
2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?
It symbolises the continuity of discrimination against Black people in America.
3) Why is the video in black and white?
It could symbolise the difference in race. How there are two separate sides fighting against each other but it can also symbolise the dullness and injustice of slavery and other political issues that are included in the song.
4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?
The prison setting- emphasising the 13th Amendment that enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment. The costumes- Can't really see what colour they really are. This puts all of the focus on the message because they are not that important. The props- The musical instruments show how it is music that has been one way for Black Americans to get their voices heard. Lighting- The black and white lighting is low-key. Actor Placement- Very minimal amount of people in the video. Usually you would have groups of dancers etc in music videos but here, each person is contributing to the song and their sole purpose is to get that message across.
5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?
"Shot me with your Ray gun and now you want to Trump me."
"Prison is a business, America's the company... fear and long suffering."
"No consolation prize for the dehumanised for America to rise it is a matter of black lives and we gone free them so we can free us."
6) What is the significance of the floating black square motif? Discuss your own interpretations alongside Common's explanation of it in the Billboard feature linked above.
The clip also features a symbolic black box, which Common explained in a conversation with filmmaker Nelson George after the premiere: "It represents the infinite thing about blackness and blackness can't be defined in time or space."
7) How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.
Jim Crow
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control.
"No excessive noise"- show the oppression of Black people.
8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?
The notion of not knowing where you belong can be applied to Common's letter to the free as it shows that discrimination towards black people is so vast that they have to resolve for political reform.
9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.
Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes. He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’.
Dyson suggests that political hip hop in the 1990s didn’t get the credit (or commercial success) it deserved and this led to the rap music of today – which can be flashy, sexualised and glamorising criminal behaviour. Dyson states: “Hip hop music is important precisely because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history and race. At its best, hip hop gives voice to marginal black youth we are not used to hearing from on such critics. Sadly, the enlightened aspects of hip hop are overlooked by critics who are out to satisfy a grudge against black youth culture…” Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)
10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?
Amendment 13
Jim Crow
Police brutality
Mass imprisonment of black people.
Read this Billboard interview where Common talks about Letter to the Free, political hip hop and contemporary American society. Use the article and the notes we have made in lessons (also available above) to answer the following questions on the social, cultural and genre contexts for Letter to the Free.
1) What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?
Common has always been one to incorporate activism into his music, but perhaps one of his most moving works is the haunting "Letter to the Free" from his 2016 album Black America Again. He turned that song into an affecting visual, which he debuted a longer version of at Tribeca Film Festival. He also worked with John Legend to produce the soundtrack for Selma.
2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
Theoretically written to outlaw slavery, the 13th Amendment had the effect of paving the way for local and State law reforms that created loopholes that effectively enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment.
3) What were the Black Codes?
The so-called Black Codes, introduced at state level in the southern states, provided for forced labour as punishment for petty crimes.
4) Why do people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture 150 years after it was abolished by the 13th Amendment?
In reality the punishments only applied to the newly emancipated black slaves.
5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
While DuVernay wants the film to make people think feel, and even act, she also wants it also to inspire hope for the future she thinks those committed to advocating for change can hopefully bring about. “I make this film in a place of hope which is how I try to walk through the day,” she said.
6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?
"I definitely have to first say that it was music in the late '80s and '90s that was truly reflective of a movement. It was the movement of black empowerment, black love, consciousness, just being aware. It was all of the above," Common said. "Obviously, things go through evolution, it changes. I don't think, right now as a whole, we have that in hip-hop. At that time, the majority of the hip-hop was a pro-black movement -- Big Daddy Kane, Mo D, N.W.A had stuff that was saying something too.
7) Common talks about other current artists that have a political or protest element to their music. Who are they? Are there any other hip hop artists that you are aware of that have a strong political element to their work?
Big Daddy Kane, Mo D, N.W.A had stuff that was saying something too. I don't feel like we have that as a whole in hip-hop, I don't think hip-hop is the place we go to to listen for that voice of a revolution or to say 'this is how we're changing things.' But there are artists that do it, like Kendrick Lamar. I also think that Chance [the Rapper], though he may not speak in black consciousness, he has a consciousness about him, self-awareness and a spirituality.
Childish Gambino also has a strong political element to his work.
8) What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album? You'll need to research this - the Wikipedia entry for the album is a good place to start.
Letter to the Free is taken from the album 'Black America Again'. The album received widespread acclaim from critics, debuting at number 25 on the US Billboard 200.
Close-textual analysis and representation
Re-watch the music video several times to complete the following tasks in specific detail:
1) How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? (Camera shots and movement).
The movement in the beginning of the music video really allows the audience to see what prisons are like due to the slow pace at which the camera moves in. It also symbolises what prisoners must have seen when they were in the cells. Movement is a crucial component of a music video. This music video is slow paced which shows that there isn't any crazy rapid fast paced shots which is usually common in most music videos. The simple clean movement adds a professional touch to the video but also doesn't distract the audience from the message that Common is trying to get across. All of out attention is on this message and this is due to the moderate and relaxed movement of the camera.
2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?
It symbolises the continuity of discrimination against Black people in America.
3) Why is the video in black and white?
It could symbolise the difference in race. How there are two separate sides fighting against each other but it can also symbolise the dullness and injustice of slavery and other political issues that are included in the song.
4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?
The prison setting- emphasising the 13th Amendment that enabled the continued enslavement of Black Americans through mass imprisonment. The costumes- Can't really see what colour they really are. This puts all of the focus on the message because they are not that important. The props- The musical instruments show how it is music that has been one way for Black Americans to get their voices heard. Lighting- The black and white lighting is low-key. Actor Placement- Very minimal amount of people in the video. Usually you would have groups of dancers etc in music videos but here, each person is contributing to the song and their sole purpose is to get that message across.
5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?
"Shot me with your Ray gun and now you want to Trump me."
"Prison is a business, America's the company... fear and long suffering."
"No consolation prize for the dehumanised for America to rise it is a matter of black lives and we gone free them so we can free us."
6) What is the significance of the floating black square motif? Discuss your own interpretations alongside Common's explanation of it in the Billboard feature linked above.
The clip also features a symbolic black box, which Common explained in a conversation with filmmaker Nelson George after the premiere: "It represents the infinite thing about blackness and blackness can't be defined in time or space."
7) How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.
Jim Crow
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control.
"No excessive noise"- show the oppression of Black people.
8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?
The notion of not knowing where you belong can be applied to Common's letter to the free as it shows that discrimination towards black people is so vast that they have to resolve for political reform.
9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.
Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes. He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’.
Dyson suggests that political hip hop in the 1990s didn’t get the credit (or commercial success) it deserved and this led to the rap music of today – which can be flashy, sexualised and glamorising criminal behaviour. Dyson states: “Hip hop music is important precisely because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history and race. At its best, hip hop gives voice to marginal black youth we are not used to hearing from on such critics. Sadly, the enlightened aspects of hip hop are overlooked by critics who are out to satisfy a grudge against black youth culture…” Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)
10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?
Amendment 13
Jim Crow
Police brutality
Mass imprisonment of black people.
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