How Accurate Is This Rap Song? (ancient, Egyptian, 1990s, European)
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The lyrics likely were written by KRS-One and DJ Scott Larock, but I'm not sure if Larock was alive when the song was written. In any event, BDP was a forerunner to so-called "gangsta rap" genre that emerged in the early 1990s.
Essentially there are two strains of hip-hop: party music (Sugar Hill Gang, 2 live crew, lil Wayne, fitty cent (spelling), etc.) and social/black consciousness hip-hop (Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, dead prez, etc). People like KRS-One wanted to direct hip-hop in the late 1980s in a new direction and get away from the party music associated with acts like Run-DMC, etc. and challenge the prevailing racial hierarchy.
KRS's lyrics reportedly are within the tradition of the latter stages of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly when the alliance between the Big Five Civil Rights Orgs (NAACP, SCLC, SNCC, Urban League, CORE) disintegrated circa 1965 and more African Americans affiliated with and identified with the goals and methods of the so-called Black Power organizations (Black Panthers, the Guards, Republic of New Africa). Black Power, largely undefined in the 1960s, meant three things: access to the political process would produce no benefits for African Americans without economic independence and freedom of economic opportunity. Likewise, blacks' access to the political process would produce few results unless African Americans attained positions of political power, and they couldn't do this without economic power. Lastly, none of this would mean anything nor produce any results unless African Americans had racial pride like whites have.
KRS-One prided himself on being a teacher and is mostly concerned with political and educational epistemology. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that concerns the role of knowledge in the human experience--how knowledge is produced, how knowledge is disseminated, how knowledge is controlled, and what counts for knowledge. In KRS's opinion--based on the many BDP songs I've listened to in my lifetime, he believes that African Americans have largely been victims of the white power structure's stranglehold on the educational system. Again, this type of rhetoric has its origins in the Civil Rights Movement and I'll throw out one example to illustrate what I'm talking about here. In 1964, activists associated with mostly SNCC and CORE "invaded" Mississippi (the most recalcitrant and violent anti-Civil Rights states during the 1960s). Their goal was two-fold: to register African American voters so they could participate in the political process and this is important because the population of the state at the time was nearly 45% black and if African Americans could elect blacks to state and local government then the situation in Miss. would certainly change for the better. The activists found that few Miss. blacks would indeed register thanks to years of violent reprisals meeting an black who stepped outside of the prescribed role. So the activists developed another goal and that was to educate the black population.
Activists set up freedom schools. The curriculum at these freedom schools would cultivate black consciousness and teach the things African Americans did not have access to in the state's dual public school system. In that system at all-black Miss. schools, students learned an abbreviated curriculum in comparison to their white counterparts. Blacks learned largely an agricultural education or one that prepared them for domestic service as maids and laundresses. The freedom schools taught black children and adults basic U.S. government devoid of the white supremacist ideology that characterized the official state curriculum. Freedom schools also taught black history, which was a rarity in the white controlled dual school system. Rather, U.S. history classes focused on the anglo-American heritage, the role of slave owners in antebellum society, and a basic top-down history that relegated blacks to the margins of history, which reflected the times. Freedom schools also taught math, especially algebra and geometry and here Bob Moses was particularly influential. (for more on freedom schools, see Charles Payne's classic work, I've Got the Light of Freedom, Cal-Berkeley Press, 1995).
So KRS is basically saying in Why Is That? that African Americans all over the country are victims of white control of the education system. Since whites control the education system, they control what counts for knowledge. He's asking listeners to investigate why all children in the public school system are told the proper way to act, which is, KRS one believes, is a "white" way of acting and any other way of acting is uncouth or improper or a "black" way of acting. He's saying the schools teach conformity based on a bunch of standards created by the white power structure.
As for his biblical lesson, that's something that involves scripture, which is circumspect no matter who is teaching it. Consider that the Bible has been translated over and over and we lose things in translation. Consider as well that there were definite political decisions made by each translator. Also, it's important to note that the books of the Bible were multiple books written long after the events they chronicle and are a poor source when it comes to history (not only that but the orthodox books were determined by the Nicean Council that had to choose from hundreds of religious texts, which was a political decision in and of itself to determine which works were "directly from God" and which ones were "heretical).
KRS, I believe, is and was religious and he like many African Americans place a racially conscious stamp on their interpretation of scripture. And I think he's got a point, after all, middle easterners are not considered to be "white" by most Americans. Most of the events of the Bible take place in the middle east, yet depictions of Moses, Jesus, et al, are Greek-looking or "white" in appearance. In contrast, African American depictions of the same individuals are shown as "blacks."
In any event it's clear that the ideology of race has affected KRS-One to a great degree and his lyrics imply that there are essential "white" and "black" characteristics. Actually, these are the result of racism in American society rather than something determined by one's race or nature. Whether each individual line is true or false is merely a matter of perspective and interpretation. Yet I think judging the lyrics this way misses KRS's main point in the song and in all other BDP songs. It's merely designed to question "white" epistemology.
Krs One seems to be saying that those people were black. He used to wear a t-shirt back in the early 90's saying Jesus was an African even though he wasn't born in Africa. How was Jesus an African?
Krs One seems to be saying that those people were black. He used to wear a t-shirt back in the early 90's saying Jesus was an African even though he wasn't born in Africa. How was Jesus an African?
How do you know he wasn't? What sources do you go by? Probably Josephus was the best historical source regarding Jesus, but even it is problematic.
Geography, like history, like religion, like everything, is determined by political decisions. Where does Africa end and the middle east begin? I think most Americans would consider Libya to be part of the middle east, but it's actually North African. The people who live there are of Berber descent and are olive-skinned. Are they black or white? I think most Americans would say that they are not white. What about Palestinians living in Palestine (Israel)? Are they white? are they black? Is Palestine (Israel) in Africa or are they in the middle east? Why call that area of the world the "middle east"? Why not call it Africa? It's connected to Africa.
If KRS-One claims that Jesus was African, I think it's coming from his skepticism about the way culture, politics, history, etc. have determined geographical boundaries.
The middle east certainly is a good example that demonstrates the arbitrary nature to geography. Also consider the American "South" as a region. Where does it begin and end? Is Maryland a "southern" state? What about Florida? Maryland is pretty far north and its culture is very similar to east coast cities, especially in Baltimore. Florida is in the geographical south, but is it "southern"? It's culture is certainly polyglot very much unlike rural areas in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, northern Louisiana, and east Texas. In these locales, there's more homogeneity among the people, their culture, their beliefs, practices, and politics whereas places like Texas and Florida have a large latino population, have numerous Catholics, and its bigger cities tend to be more liberal than say places like Birmingham's or Memphis's suburbs.
...Genesis chapter eleven verse ten
Explains the geneology of Chem
Chem was a black man, in Africa
If you repeat this fact they can't laugh at ya
Genesis fourteen verse thirteen
Abraham steps on the scene
Being a descendent of Chem which is a fact
Means, Abraham too was black
Abraham born in the city of a black man
...
If you go back a few generations, then Shem is decendant of the people of Canaan. Canaan ran from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean which is not part of Africa. That far North would have given them olive colored skin and not black. Just go back to chapter six and all the places listed there were from that region. So as you move forward through the chapters, even if they were born later in Northern Africa that does not make them black.
If you go back a few generations, then Shem is decendant of the people of Canaan. Canaan ran from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean which is not part of Africa. That far North would have given them olive colored skin and not black.
One thing I've been trying to do is find Egyptian images of Black people who were from outside of Egypt. The only clearly identifiable black people I can find who were portrayed by the Egyptians were the Nubians. All the semitic speaking people don't appear "black" in Egyptian art.
Here's are some Egyptian wall carvings and paintings of Canaanites who may have physically been similar to the ancient Israelites:
This discussion is getting rather comical because the whole idea of race (black, white, yellow, red, etc.) occurred long after the books of the Bible (the Latin Vulgate) had been chosen. The ideology of race occurred much later in human history. So if people like Abraham, Moses, et al were actually real people (as opposed to composite characters), I don't think they were concerned about what one's race was because the concept is more appropriate to the years between 1400 and 1600 of the common era.
Ok I know many will say that race is a social construct etc.
But if you just focus on physical looks as portrayed by the Egyptians I have yet to find any Semitic speaking people being shown by the Egyptians as having the physical looks that most would associate with black people or black Africans. The Nubians seem to be the only people the Egyptians portrayed that most people would call black people.
Anyway do you agree that KRS One should have done more research on this issue before recording a song where he so boldly called all these biblical people black?
Anyway do you agree that KRS One should have done more research on this issue before recording a song where he so boldly called all these biblical people black?
Spin sells so why bother.
Look how Christ is depicted around the world. He's depicted as a white european and not as semite. Realistically how many people would hang a painting of him if he had Arab features and looks?
Spin is spin.
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