Common - Letter to the Free

Common - Letter to the Free blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to create a comprehensive case study for Common's 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 Sunday night (April 23).

2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?

The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the US."

3) What were the Black Codes?

The Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866 in the United States after the American Civil War with the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans' freedom, and of compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt.

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?

Some people suggest that the legacy of slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture because of how traumatising the whole things was for black people.

5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?

Ava was inspired to make the Netflix documentary, in order to draw attention to the fact that slavery still exists in America today.

6) Focusing on genre, what was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?

The 1980s marked the diversification of hip hop as the genre developed more sophisticated styles, for example the political rise of hip hop.

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?

George and Common addressed the differences in hip-hop as activism now, with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper, versus when Common's career was just kicking off.

"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.

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.

Black America Again is the eleventh studio album by American rapper Common, Letter to the Free was taken from this album. Black America Again received widespread acclaim from critics.

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).

In this video, there is a wide range of long shots used throughout the music video, this could be done to create a clear narrative and realism, as it is trying to make the video as realistic as possible, this then makes sure there is an absence of close ups, but there is some evidence of some medium shots used in this video.

2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?

The moving camera could likewise imply how dark Americans were always moving around in America, and never truly got settled, additionally a more profound significance into subjection could proposes how slaves were relied upon to function extended periods and continually moving from spot to put, and in this video the camera is moving at a moderate pace, and that is the means by which it could have felt for the slaves amid subjugation, and the agony that they suffered when confronting circumstances, for example, these.

3) Why is the video in black and white?

This video could be shot in highly contrasting in which to connote the genuine tone of this melody.

4) How is mise-en-scene used to construct meaning for the audience - prison setting, costume, props, lighting, actor placement?

They have utilized a jail setting, to mean how dark individuals feel in America, always caught, abused and so on. It likewise fortifies the generalization where dark individuals are dependably in jail, and utilizing the jail as the focal topic, could demonstrate how they done it deliberately to strengthen the generalization, and bring issues to light on the issue.

5) Focusing on the track, what are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?

Basic is likewise a referencing Ava Duvernay's narrative thirteenth. "Letter to the Free" is the tune Common pitched to Ava, "as an impactful summation of her ground-breaking narrative", and it shows up in the narrative also.

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 floating black square suggests that black people are trapped in the system and there is no way out of it.

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.

8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?

The most striking reference to bigotry in this video, is again through the dark square toward the finish of the video, the building up shot of this spot demonstrates the dark square in a cotton field, which again could demonstrate another way subjugation is being displayed as frequently dark Americans needed to work at fields.

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

10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?

Racism in America within the black community.