Freedom Freestyle by Joe Budden (2016)
Joseph Anthony Budden II, known as Joe Budden is a n American former rapper, cultural critic, broadcaster, and media personality. Born on August 31, 1980 was first famous as a rapper, best known for his single Pump It Up. In 2016, Budden released a new single and video inspired by the struggle for black civil rights in America, Freedom Freestyle. The video contains a wide mashup of footage, including the 1960s old-school videos of the Civil Rights movement merged with videos of police brutality and protests. The clip shows a powerful picture of the United States for people of color. [1] [2]
Key Lyrics
Sandra Bland didn't come off as suicidal to me
Y'all play around, thinkin' we on safe ground
They killed Tamir Rice and his rights, right on that playground
Eric was selling cigarettes, "I can't breathe," it was said
The bigger threat he was a nigga, I bet, but listen
Last year I went to church with my Mother Fay
We sat behind Ms. Garner, and it was Mother's Day
She sat strong, inside I cried for her
My eyes tucking the water as I was hugging his daughter...
Philando Castillo told him he had a weapons permit
Was murdered moments after without a complexion permit
That's bloodshed with his daughter in the car
I'm only upset for our sons and daughters tomorrow
Question, how many cities we gotta march through?
Signs we gotta hold up, or are they tryna provoke us ? Cause when them 9s load up, and land mines blow up
And the crime don't slow up, they'll chime in and say they told us
Or is it only a crime when done by poor us
Food for thought, my mind don't run off of cold cuts
Raw and evident, Alton was offed, heaven sent
Recorded the negligence, they just ignore the evidence
And make it seem as if we in y'all way
Maybe our government is governed by the NRA
That would make a diseased Capitol, in need of capital
They even legalized weed for the Capitol
But be black, sell in the street, they get mad at you
Casually clap at you, it's Uncle Sam sayin' taxes due
Our epidemic systemic [3]
Black Empowerment
The video opens along with a clip of Facebook live video that Diamond Reynolds is a girlfriend to Philando Castile, the 32-year-old man who was fatally shot by police at a traffic stop in his car, in Falcon Heights, Minn. The video was posted after Castile’s death with her younger daughter, saying: "It's okay. I'm right here with you."
The video also includes the footage of Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and Black Panther. Budden continues, "Some deem us threatening now by sheer design. We are not. We are loving, passionate, cultured and proud, even during unrest. However, with every life viciously and maliciously taken by costumed evil, we grow more and more afraid. What will occur when too many of us are afraid? #IfYouDontValueMyLifeEYEWill #GodHelpUsAll #TheMissionIsGreat"
In his YouTube channel, the singer wrote caption of the freestyle’s video :
"I was told there was once a world where slaves communicated with each other via music, and tho I wasn't present for that, the HipHop I fell in love with always encouraged me to do the same (Thank you Public Enemy).... Let this act as an unfortunate reminder that times change and they don't. #BlackLivesMatter #YallLivesMatter #OurLivesMatter ... I'm afraid to wonder what happens when we as a ppl decide to stop saying it." [4]
References
- ↑ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Budden Joe Budden}. Wikipedia. Retreived January 18, 2021
- ↑ Mench, Chris. Premiere: Joe Budden Shares Powerful New Song "Freedom (Freestyle)". Complex. July 13, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021
- ↑ Freedom Joe Budden. Genius. Retrieved January 18, 2021
- ↑ Platon, Adelie. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/7438966/joe-budden-freedom-freestyle Listen to Joe Budden's Powerful Freestyle Over Beyonce's 'Freedom']. Billboard. July 15, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2021