Awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics, Common’s “Letter to the Free” speaks out against a justice system which helps to perpetuate the terrible inequality endured by many African Americans .The lyrics criticise the money-making “business” of the “prison” system when these institutions should be a tool for positive reform and rehabilitation. Released in 2016, the rapper also worried about “staring in the face of hate” of Trump’s vision of America.
Common’s “Letter to the Free” was written for a documentary exploring this criminalisation of African Americans. Directed by Ava DuVernay The “13th” also focused on the “systems of racial control” and state laws which seem to discriminate against impoverished ethnic minorities who are then more likely to be convicted of a crime and imprisoned. For instance, despite making up 13% of the total US population. black inmates account for nearly 40% of prison population.
common
Common is an advocate for criminal justice reform and is the founder of Imagine Justice, a non-profit organisation dedicated to “empowering communities and fighting injustice wherever it appears”. “Letter to the Free” is his rally call against racism and the different forms of slavery still being used in America.
Common eventually teamed up with Karriem Riggins and Robert Glasper to create “Letter to the Free,” a powerful track off his latest album Black America Again that delves into slavery and mass incarceration. “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.”
common is worth 45 million dollars.
lyrics
‘We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make America great again‘ – when was America great? do you need to turn black people into your slaves to make it great again?
‘No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For America to rise it’s a matter of Black Lives’ no comfort for the black community who have been dragged through the mud
‘Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery’s still alive, check Amendment 13′ pastoral meaning used for the keeping or grazing of sheep or cattle. implies that black being were treated more like animals instead of human. amendment 13 = 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.”