Common - Letter to the free

Social / Cultural Contexts

What other projects has Common been involved in over recent years?

• He soundtracked the movie 'Selma' [2014], with the song 'Glory' featuring John Legend. He also starred in the recent film 'The Hate U Give'.

What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?

• The 13th Amendment, allows unpaid labour to be utilised if the person is incarcerated therefore it created loopholes for slavery to still occur through the mass imprisonment of Black people in the US

What were the Black Codes?

• They were the rules/laws introduced at state level provided for forced labour for petty crimes that targeted newly emancipated slaves. 

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?

• The isolation of Black people in American society is still abundant even in 2019. Mass incarceration, Police brutality and racially motivated murders did not stop the day that Slavery did and a lot of culturally important aspects of society is formed from Slavery. The 13th Amendment allowed the criminalisation of Black people in the societal point of view and fueled this stereotype for years after Slavery was abolished, this is perhaps why people suggest that slavery is still a crucial aspect to American culture.

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

• To bring awareness to the 13th Amendment and it's impacts and consequences on the people effected by it

What was the most significant time period for the rise in political hip hop?

• 1980s

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?

• Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Donald Glover, Logic, 

What album is Letter to the Free taken from? What was the critical reception for this album? 

•  Black America Again. It was critically acclaimed and reached an average of 4 and a half star ratings from most critics. 

Close Textual analysis and Representation

How does the Letter to the Free music video use cinematography to create meanings for the audience? 

• Handheld shot - places audience there, and allows the audience to adopt a spectator perspective apt to a documentary genre
• Constant but slow camera movement - shows slow but progressive ideologies of time?
• Absence of close ups - ambiguity - lack of personal narrative and suggests that this is a widespread issue and not just isolated to a handful of Black people
• Lack of identity - spreads the political message
• The long shots show a subversion to Hall's theory- perhaps a polysenic message and a stand against the stereotypes implemented into society
• Genuine representations - not constructed by a white male perspective - arguably a 'true' representation which could have positive and negative connotations depending on the socio political stance of the audiences.

What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?

• The constantly moving camera could be a symbol of the progression towards freedom, but also amplifies the isolation present in the prison and consequently for Black people in America.

Why is the video in black and white?

• The absence of colour, gives the music video a serious atmosphere. But also makes the contrast of black/white in the video extremely prominent. 

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

• The seperation of the actors - symbolises isolation of Black people
• Unbranded clothing - lack of monetary gain/motivation for the project, the message and ethos is the most significant aspect of this video
• The shaded lighting, leaves ambiguity of the artists identities in the prison cells perhaps alluding to the thousands of Black prisoners who were incarcerated. 
• The Piano - this video feels like a performance video despite the melancholic narrative which could construct a reclamation of identity and power for the musicians for the audience.

What are the key lyrics that suggest the political message of the song?

• 'Institution ain't just a building, But a method, of having Black and Brown bodies fill them'
• 'They stop, search and arrest our souls'
• 'Black bodies being lost in the American dream'
• 'Shot me with your ray-gun And now you want to trump me'

What is the significance of the floating black square motif? 

• Common says it 'represents the infinite thing about Blackness and Blackness can't be defined in time or space'. I interpreted it as a reference to diasporic Black identities in society due to the misrepresentations of society and static perceptions leaving a lack of true definition in our society. Black people have become less defined by individual identity but rather time, actions and institutions, which is something that calls for a change in contemporary society but we have not began the correct discourse regarding it.

How does the video reference racism, slavery and the oppression of black culture? Make reference to specific shots, scenes or moments in the video.

• The words 'No excessive noise' on a white wall, perhaps alluding to the 'Loud' stereotype or the silencing of Black voices by the white majority. The fact these white walls enclose the Black performers could also link to the fact White people are the majority of the people partaking in this oppression of Black culture. The ending shot of the black square in a field, could link to freedom but also be interpreted as showing how blackness will always be connected to slavery and that it's in the very roots of what society has come to view as stereotypes/denotations and how we have yet to progress from this.

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

• The ambiguity of the performers due to the lack of close up shots, and the black floating square are both aspects of the video that we can apply Gilroy's theory to. In relation to the diasporic identity theory, the black square is an undefined symbol of blackness, that quite literally has no roots, or 'place' until the very ending. In relation to Gilroy's theory, the lack of close ups also links back to the idea that identity, even today, is hard to define in America. The lyrics also support this.

What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.

• Hall's theory of Black archetypes cannot be applied to this video, the performers in this video do not fit the stereotypes however it does support the theory since they are entertainers and from the bare bones, singing for entertainment value as well as to spread the ethos. It also supports Rose's theory of the utilisation of hip hop music to articulate Black experience and challenge hegemonic caucasian ideologies and perspectives in society, without conforming to the commercialised composition of contemporary hip hop.

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

• Trumps Inauguration, Police brutality, mass incarceration of Black people.