Hello all,
Recently, I have
been listening to “Nothin New” by 21 Savage. The first time I played through
it, I did not find that much in it. I was not really listening to it, and it
just played in the background while I was reading something else, completing an
assignment or the like. However, as I kept replaying it, liking the beat and
the rhythm, the song started to scream this historical perspective to racism, oppression,
and subjugation according to race and color lines. His chorus runs,
“Another
nigga made the news, it ain't nothin' new
He
done dropped outta school, it ain't nothin' new
He
done got his first tool, it ain't nothin' new
Mama
on that dog food, it ain't nothin' new
He
smokin' weed and he changin', it ain't nothin' new
All
his friends gang bangin', it ain't nothin' new
Got
a pocket full of hundreds and they all blue
Another
nigga from the hood tryna ball too,” (21 Savage, “Nothin New”)
And through it,
he constantly points to this unsaid historical background to it all, “it ain’t nothin’
new” (21 Savage, “Nothin New”). Everything in the song (descriptions of the
current political climate, the affects on people of color, and the wholesale
attempted dehumanization of black folk) is considered within a context of
nothing being new. 21 Savage constantly points back to the history of black and
brown incarceration, how people of color were lynched and killed for being
people of color, and how merely speaking is a crime as a person of color. In
the end, one of the most evocative lines is when 21 Savage makes the move to
(individually or not) devalue Christianity and how it has historically upheld
different black communities in the US. In its stead, he raps, “Lost his faith
in Jesus Christ, he prayin’ to a bandana” (21 Savage, Nothin New). In its
stead, this institution of Christianity and more interpretatively the institution
of state protection (police and the like) is replaced by a bandana (gangs),
which gives himself and others a sense of protection against a racist system. Ultimately,
everything within the song harks back to history, “it ain’t nothin’ new” (21
Savage, Nothin New); the murder of black folk by white hands has its place in
history, the imprisonment of black folk (primarily men) has its place in
history; and the need of protection also and consequently has its own place in
history . . . “it ain’t nothin’ new (21 Savage, Nothin’ New).
I too was surprised to hear 21 Savage a rapper known to rap about killing people and possesses a knife tattoo on his face show a conscious side and shine a light on problems plaguing America. Mr. Savage addressed a cycle that can be traced back to the War on Drugs and so on. This cycle being that of the black dropout (especially the black male) who turns to the streets to find his knowledge and role models which ultimately leads the individual to being dead or in prison. I also believe this song is introspective for him by him being able to acknowledge he was able to personally break that cycle. He was born and raised in what can be deemed as the black capital of the US in Atlanta, GA where there is plenty of gang violence that claims innocent lives every day. Now he has the pleasure of being a millionaire, make it out the hood, and be the voice for those that do not have a voice with his platform.
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