Music Video: Common - Letter to the Free

Music Video: Common - Letter to the Free

Our first Music Video CSP is Common - Letter to the Free.

This is a stunning music video and protest song that documents black American culture and the legacy of slavery.

Notes from the lesson

Common: a pioneering artist

Common is a Black American cultural icon who has maintained a political and social concern in his music. At one of the most charged periods in American history, the video Letter to the Free is presented as his contribution to the divisive political and social issues of contemporary America, a sense that he is attempting to draw attention to initiating a new wave of ‘protest music’.

Michael Eric Dyson on Common

Dyson on black stereotypes and Common: “Many critics don’t account for the complex ways that some artists in hip hop play with stereotypes to either subvert or reverse them. Amid the pimp mythologies and metaphors that gut contemporary hip hop, rappers like Common… seize on pimpology’s prominence to poke fun at its pervasiveness.

“Hip hop is still fundamentally an art form that traffics in hyperbole, parody, kitsch, dramatic license, double entendres, signification, and other literary and artistic conventions to get its point across.”


Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)

Common - Selma soundtrack

Common and John Legend wrote Glory as the soundtrack for Selma, a 2014 film portraying the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, a key moment in the Civil Rights Movement.



The marches were a non-violent protest to demonstrate the desire of black Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

Common returned to the theme of protest with Letter to the Free – highlighting the mass incarceration of black Americans.

Common: Letter to the Free

Letter to the Free was directed by Bradford Young (the cinematographer on Selma). The video has the camera moving at a slow, aching pace through an empty prison where Common, singers Andra Day and Bilal, and other musicians perform the song in different spaces in the prison rooms. 

A black square hovering in the air appears throughout the clip, which, in a final shot, is framed as empty space in a field.

Amendment 13: ‘Black Codes’

The song was written for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th focusing on the historic legacy of the 13th amendment to the US 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. The so-called Black Codes, introduced at state level in the southern states, provided for forced labour as punishment for petty crimes that in reality only applied to the newly emancipated black slaves.

 

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 continued to focus on recording as seen with albums Finding Forever(2007; No. 1 on Billboard), Universal Mind Control (2008), The Dreamer/The Believer (2011) and Nobody’s Smiling (2014). Yet he has also increasingly turned to acting, having made his television debut with a role on the sitcom Girlfriends. Later TV projects included One on One and Hell on Wheels, with Common playing 19th-century character Elam Ferguson for several seasons.   https://www.biography.com/people/common

2) What is the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution?
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and 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 United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.".

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?
because history never goes away and the fact that black people and other ethnic minorities still face very serious problems, with slavery being abolished only to be replaced with the jim crow law. Jim Crow was the name of the racial caste system which operated primarily, but not exclusively in southern and border states, between 1877 and the mid-1960s. Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life. slavery is still such a heavy topic of conversation because no justice was ever brought for those who suffered.

5) Why was Ava DuVernay inspired to make the Netflix documentary 13th?
"I gave myself a 100-minute limit. Netflix was very flexible on the format. They just wanted me to tell the story in whatever form fit best. I wanted to be more rigorous than letting it be a free-for-all, told over six or eight episodes, mainly because I didn’t think that people would watch it, and it was important to me that it be seen. It’s hard enough to get a national conversation in America going about race in a meaningful way, that’s not in reaction to something bad happening." she was inspired by the fact that when the 13th amendment was ratified into law on December 6, 1865, it abolished slavery, with one key caveat: “except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.” More than 150 years later, that exception has proven much more than a mere footnote to history. More African-American men are incarcerated, or on probation or parole, than were enslaved in 1850, and the United States, which accounts for 5% of the world’s population, counts nearly a quarter of the world’s incarcerated people.

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

Hip-hop DJs in the early 1970s were defined more than anything by their technique, captivating funk fans in a way never before ventured – and their way was led by Jamaican-born spinner Kool Herc in the Bronx. He discovered a way to emphasise the "break" (the part of a record where the kick drum is most prominent) to get inner-city kids on the dance floor at his parties, and used this point to mix one song with another, with the help of two turntables. Throw in his "rapping" – rhythmic announcements that later became the sole job of the master of ceremony, or MC – and you have the revolutionary birth of hip-hop music.

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?

In their discussion, 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. "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. 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. And I don't want to overlook that, because spirituality was something powerful in hip-hop ... I also believe that I do my best to put my spirituality and belief in the creator before anything because, that in itself, no matter where I go, if I carry that with me, then I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing."other artists such as j cole big Sean meek mill and many more show hints of political interests and meanings through their music

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 received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 88, based on 13 reviews.^[8] Andy Kellman of AllMusic said, "All that's here, dark or bright, is vital."^[9] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune said, "One of the year's most potent protest albums. ... The album sags midway through with a handful of lightweight love songs, but finishes with some of its most emotionally resounding tracks: the "Glory"-like plea for redemption "Rain" with Legend, the celebration of family that is "Little Chicago Boy", and the staggering "Letter to the Free"."^[10] Eric Renner Brown of Entertainment Weekly said, "It's the MC's empathetic and clear-eyed rhymes that truly make this a vital contribution to the national conversation."^[11] Erin Lowers of Exclaim! said, "Black America Again isn't an album meant for casual listening, but rather a socio-politically charged album meant to be absorbed so that everyone can truly recognize the "Bigger Picture Called Freedom"."^[19] Andy Cowan of Mojo magazine stated, ""Pyramids"' borrowing of Chuck D's mantra "I don't rhyme for the sake of riddlin'" is emblematic of his still-abrasive mood, whether dissecting the prison system's failures on "A Bigger Picture Called Free" or unleashing his most heartfelt rallying cry on the thrilling Robert Glasper-produced, Stevie Wonder-starring title track."

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).
Throughout the video the camera shots well all inside and long shots which showed the audience the surrounding prison suggesting that black people are still trapped even if they are free from chains.

2) What is the significance of the constantly moving camera?
the constantly moving camera may suggest the constant changing and the moving forward of black people in society.

3) Why is the video in black and white?
it emphasises the meaning behind the video but also gets the audience to focus on the lyrics rather than the visuals

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

the setting suggests that freedom is not yet here for black people we are still being incarcerated by laws that didn't stop it from  happening but changed the rules slightly. the prop of the floating black box represents blackness and how you cant pin it down pr define what it is exactly. common wanted to make something unapologetic "We dealt with the whole subject matter from slavery to Jim Crow to mass incarceration which is what we’re dealing with right now," he explained. "We wanted to make something that was strong, unapologetic, but that was also hopeful." 

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

"Southern leaves, southern trees we hung from" While slavery in America was at its peak in the 1800s, many slaves were lynched by white slave owners.Lynching was often used as a punishment for slaves that attempted to run away from the plantations and their owners. African American slaves made up 72% of the lynched population at the time.

"Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13 Now whips and chains are subliminal  Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal' Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country"Common is referring to how despite the fact that the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery, slavery can still be used as means of punishment for criminals. Guess who has been locked up the most?

"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for CRIME whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction"

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.
common states the floating black box represents blackness and how you cant pin it down pr define what it is exactly.

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.
"Slavery's still alive, check Amendment 13 Now whips and chains are subliminal  Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal' Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country"Common is referring to how despite the fact that the 13th Amendment had abolished slavery, slavery can still be used as means of punishment for criminals. Guess who has been locked up the most?
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for CRIME whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction"

8) How can Gilroy's idea of black diasporic identity be applied to Common's Letter to the Free?
Gilroy’s work focuses on the concept of the African diaspora. The term diaspora is taken from the Greek ‘dispersion’ meaning ‘scattering of seeds’ this implies that maybe common is spreading his message and identity through his music.

9) What other theories of race and ethnicity can be applied to this video? E.g. Hall, Rose or Dyson.
Stuart Hall claimed that media texts go through stages of encoding and decoding. ... The theory is an active audience theory which sees the audience as being actively engaged in the interpretation of media texts, rather than passive consumers. The audience would be able to actively interpret the meaning behind the video as common left lots to be interpreted.

10) What current events in America and worldwide are referenced in the song and video?
"Shot me with your ray-gun, And now you want to trump me"

"Blood of black being, a pastoral scene"

Considering Common has already once referred to Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” we should consider this line in that context. In “Strange Fruit,” Holiday is referring to pastoral as those country-centric themes that are usually idealized. The pastoral theme in lyric, literature, and poems is more common in Southern American literature, and mistreatment of blacks historically has been concentrated in the South. So here, Common is referring to Holiday’s connection of the pastoral or romanticized depiction of an America that subjugates the black individual and the black community under the promise of an American dream that hasn’t really been made available to blacks.

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