The premiere performance of Kanye West's single "Black Skinhead" also written as BLKKK SKKKN HEAD on Saturday Night Live "SNL" in May sent chills up my spine. Spine-tingling fear and the aggression that can be found in the depths of the human spirit that resides in all of us ( even those with a "sunny" disposition ). Are we brave enough to tap into it? Are we able to go so deep into forsaken and/or unforeseen waters that we can at worst get lost in it and can't find our way out? Or will we be liberated and set free by standing face to face with what scares us most? West seems to abashedly find home dwelling in the darkest places of the human mind. Whether he finds "peace" there or plagues him in all waking aspects of his existence, through his subconscious he releases these demons to depict the chaos that resides in the world we all live in. West has the ability to take what is fact from his worldview and translate it in the way that will best affect us; visually and through listening. The artistic elements and the down to the bone attacking truth West is known for gives you exactly the type of feeling you fear or feel empowered ( even if it's dark ) by. In "Black Skinhead" there are many points of view to see and declaring the result to be either positive or negative is cutting short of everything it comprises. Paying homage? Embracing? Mocking? or SHOCK-Value? Perhaps multiple reasons with many answers to compile together.
Live on SNL "Black Skinhead" |
INTENSE MEDIA CONTENT: For Mature Audiences
The hard-edge hip-hop combo melded very well together with a melody culled from Marilyn Manson's 1996 hit "The Beautiful People. Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter, who laid down the live and programmed drums for the LP, said that West was "kind of screaming primally, actually” through the recording session. Ray Rahman of Entertainment Weekly cited "Black Skinhead" as one of the album's best songs, describing it as "a galloping punk-rap manifesto". The backbeat is a revamped take on Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll" aka "The Hey Song". The "NOT FOR SALE" instantly triggered the word Slavery for me.
Live on SNL Kanye West "New Slaves" NOT FOR SALE visualization |
Black Slavery in American history. The tone is already racially political in nature. The "New Slaves" price tag flashes across in the visual behind him and it sets a new mindset towards today's world with racism. Is it worse? Is it transformed into a new form with today's generation? Kanye forces us to think and consider so much that it can be overwhelming. It is chain-breaking. The rising crescendo in his word delivery intensifies like a ticking time bomb ready to explode. It definitely ruffles your feathers and works your body up. An announcement, call to action, rallying the army to get ready for a fight. By the shows end I was stunned and felt like I had been abused. Not to be taken as a joke, it truly will work nerves in you. The unexpected that is lurking in the abyss. Going as far as he can go it is masterful. Taking "no prisoners" and making "no apologies" - quoted by himself.
ADULT LANGUAGE & INTENSE MEDIA CONTENT: For Mature Audiences
Black Skinhead "BLKKK SKKKN HEAD"
For my theme song, my leather black jeans on
My by any means on, pardon I'm getting my scream on
Enter the kingdom but watch who you bring home
They see a black man with a white woman at the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong
Middle America packed in, came to see me in my black skin
Number one question they asking, f*ck every question you asking
If I don't get ran out by Catholics, here come some conservative Baptists
Claiming I'm overreacting like them black kids in Chiraq bitch
Four in the morning, and I'm zonin'
They say I'm possessed, it's an omen
I keep it 300, like the Romans
300 bitches, where's the Trojans?
Baby we livin' in the moment
I've been a menace for the longest
But I ain't finished I'm devoted
And you know it, and you know it
So follow me up cause this shit's about to go down
I'm doin' 500, I'm outta control now
But there's nowhere to go, now
And there's no way to slow down
If I knew what I knew in the past
I would have been blacked out on your ass
Four in the mornin', and I'm zonin'
They say I'm possessed, it's an omen
I keep it 300, like the Romans
300 bitches, where's the Trojans?
Baby we livin' in the moment
I've been a menace for the longest
But I ain't finished, I'm devoted
And you know it, and you know it
Stop all that goon shit, early morning cartoon shit
This is that goon shit, f*ck up your whole afternoon shit
I'm aware I'm a wolf, soon as the moon hit
I'm aware I'm a king, back out the tomb bitch
Black out the room bitch, stop all that coon shit
These niggas ain't doin' shit, these niggas ain't doin' shit
Come on, homie, what happened?
You niggas ain't breathing you gasping
These niggas ain't ready for action
(Ready, ready for action)
Four in the mornin', and I'm zonin'
I think I'm possessed, it's an omen
I keep it 300, like the Romans
300 bitches, where's the Trojans?
Baby we're livin' in the moment
I've been a menace for the longest
But I ain't finished, I'm devoted
And you know it, and you know it
So follow me up cause this shit's about to go down
I'm doin' 500, I'm outta control now
But there's nowhere to go, now
And there's no way to slow down
If I knew what I knew in the past
I would've been blacked out on your ass
God [11x]
Source: AZ Lyrics
At the beginning the vision of three masked closed-eyed KKK members in black breaks down and distorts what we know of the KKK in America with white robes. Even though they wore black and colors ranging from various spectrum of the rainbow ( when skin "color" is the issue in their eyes ). The image of black dogs blended into the blackness of the background violently barking and howling places you at a time of the hunt during slavery, when escaped slaves were hunted down by their owners and decades later when the KKK hunted blacks "to teach them a lesson" reminding them of their place in society.
Art elements and symbolism are very strong with the usage of white and black to continuously remind us what West is pushing us to understand and to stay focused on. The contrast of black and white, what separates us and pulls us together, the interchangeable strong emotions that can come from either side.
The triangle shapes to mimic the cone shape or "spires" of the masked-hats the KKK wears - from black to white. The group circle of shirtless bald black men ( digital graphic multiples of Kanye possibly ) giving you the organizational mannerism and regiment with "skinheads" based upon their proposed mission or purpose to fulfill. There is a strong use of 3-D creative manipulation with Kanye as the subject matter transformed into a pulsating, bulging heap of muscle, Incredible Hulk style several folks have pointed out his resemblance to a 2K Sports athlete or a Sims character, and the depiction of a slave that has been whipped and scarred. From more advanced sources with inside connections what looks like scarification (which you'll learn about in Art History like I have are raised tattoo impressions in the skin) is called subdermal implants. Fascinating and new I've never heard of. We're also able to see how far the design process goes when we see the skeletal formation of his body with a helmet, spikes, and a shield. The erratic, flailing losing control arm movements and head turns gives you the impression something has taken over his body, mind, and soul much like in the lyrics:
Art elements and symbolism are very strong with the usage of white and black to continuously remind us what West is pushing us to understand and to stay focused on. The contrast of black and white, what separates us and pulls us together, the interchangeable strong emotions that can come from either side.
The triangle shapes to mimic the cone shape or "spires" of the masked-hats the KKK wears - from black to white. The group circle of shirtless bald black men ( digital graphic multiples of Kanye possibly ) giving you the organizational mannerism and regiment with "skinheads" based upon their proposed mission or purpose to fulfill. There is a strong use of 3-D creative manipulation with Kanye as the subject matter transformed into a pulsating, bulging heap of muscle, Incredible Hulk style several folks have pointed out his resemblance to a 2K Sports athlete or a Sims character, and the depiction of a slave that has been whipped and scarred. From more advanced sources with inside connections what looks like scarification (which you'll learn about in Art History like I have are raised tattoo impressions in the skin) is called subdermal implants. Fascinating and new I've never heard of. We're also able to see how far the design process goes when we see the skeletal formation of his body with a helmet, spikes, and a shield. The erratic, flailing losing control arm movements and head turns gives you the impression something has taken over his body, mind, and soul much like in the lyrics:
Four in the morning, and I'm zonin'
They say I'm possessed, it's an omen...
They say I'm possessed, it's an omen...
....So follow me up cause this shit's about to go down
I'm doin' 500, I'm outta control now
But there's nowhere to go, now
And there's no way to slow down
If I knew what I knew in the past
I would've been blacked out on your ass
I'm doin' 500, I'm outta control now
But there's nowhere to go, now
And there's no way to slow down
If I knew what I knew in the past
I would've been blacked out on your ass
still from Kanye West's Black Skinhead official video |
Musically I can hear the resemblance associated with "skinhead" through what I've seen in film & media. This "Neo-Nazis" militant, "hardcore" hard rock edge. To be governed, dictated, and ruled by.
It is a rude awakening to learn what I know to be "skinhead" is not what it originally is. This whole racial prejudice I've come to believe came from a separation of a movement that started off with youths in the late 1950's taking disposable income from the post-war economic boom and using it as a way to keep up with the latest fashion popularized by American soul groups, British R&B bands, movie actors, and so on. When there's a paradox of this kind using two extreme words "Black" and "Skinhead" you have the idea right in place because the movement for Skinhead separated into Political extremism (right or left) and White-Power groups.
Bling Dictionary defines skinhead as:
- somebody with shaved head: somebody whose hair is very short or whose head is shaved
- short hairstyle: a closely-cropped hairstyle
- racist young white man: one of a group of young white men with closely-cropped or shaven hair, characterized by extreme right-wing views and aggressive behavior
The most noted that I'm familiar with is the 3rd definition unfortunately. West characterizes the aggression to a T and you're feeling it throughout the media. I'm sure many of you like myself will find it fascinating to know a skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in London, England in the 1960s and then soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, and later to other countries around the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian (specifically Jamaican) rude boys and British mods, in terms of fashion, music and lifestyle.[1] Originally, the skinhead subculture was primarily based on those elements, not politics or race but, since then, race and politics have become factors by which some skinheads align themselves. The political spectrum within the subculture now ranges from far right to far left, although many skinheads are apolitical.[2] Contemporary skinhead fashions range from clean-cut 1960s mod-influenced styles to less-strict punk and hardcore influenced styles.
Would it be so candid to say that his vision could also be implying "black power" too? For instance bound and set in their beliefs, The Black Panthers standing for their communities.Two opposing ends: Skinhead & Black Panther. The Black & The White engaging in warfare as chess pieces on a board. Meshing the two extremes together creates a unified whole without much difference...[ For my theme song, my leather black jeans on ] which can simply be stated with just clothes. Contemporary skinhead fashions range from clean-cut 1960s mod-influenced styles to less-strict punk and hardcore influenced styles. It's a call to action. Pay attention to the devastated urban areas of the nation and the stereotypes towards black people of the United States which form our perceptions. Most commonly towards black men with lines:
Enter the kingdom but watch who you bring home.
They see a black man with a white woman at the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong
Middle America packed in, came to see me in my black skin
They see a black man with a white woman at the top floor they gone come to kill King Kong
Middle America packed in, came to see me in my black skin
EurWeb.com describes Kanye's message with his ravenous lyricism as such:
The lyrics touched on America’s racial politics. West describes America as a place where people “see a black man with a white woman at the top floor” and “come to kill King Kong” and rips Catholics and “conservative Baptists” for fearing him “claiming I’m overreacting like them black kids in Chiraq”; “Chiraq” being a combination of Chicago and Iraq, is a reference to the high levels of violent crime in the city.
The Last word echoes with disturbance in my membrane God...God...God...God...GOD! 11 times.
If that doesn't send chills up your spine then you're one tough cookie! The beginning is just as chill-tingling as the ending. Overall the more I listen the more I see the genius in a masterpiece. It may be hard for many to understand especially if it touches a soft spot with the focus on racially tinged trigger words and subject matter. But if you're able to dissect the Artist's work Kanye truly is a master at his craft. We all can attest from his past work that he is gifted in his field. He has a lot on his mind whether "pleasant or controversial." But he has something to say and takes music and media artistically to higher heights.
Kanye's handwritten lyrics |
Surprising news giving a complete Uh Oh it's gonna be sumthin! is a remix with Miley Cyrus recorded Aug 25. After her VMA's performance twerking the mess out on Robin Thicke's (No pun on "Thicke) groin and doing the worst with a foam finger lol what could possibly be in store for this duo to shock us even more with a remix to the already nerve rattling, menacing, bad ass work of West Art.
Learn more about the origins of how the term "skinhead" started here
You will be amazed at how it started and how it came to be known for what it is today.
What are your thoughts about the live performance, video, and message Kanye is trying to tell us.
What is your view on Kanye's message to the world using the extreme words "Black & Skinhead" as a song title?
Share your comments below.
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