The Last Call 1/21/09

If good looks was a minute/ You know that you could've been an hour- Smokey Robinson, 'The Way You Do The Things You Do'

Mathematics by Mos Def

Today, everybody wants to talk about the Inaugral Address. What did you think of it? Did it embolden you to risk a path less taken? Did it leave you wanting more? I don’t believe any of those questions touch at the heart of the matter. Yesterday was profound not for what we heard but what we saw. A black president taking the oath of office. A black commander-in-chief receiving salutes when in the midst of our military. A regal black woman from our segregated urban ‘ghettoes’ dancing with her husband as America watched. That is what made yesterday profound. Those images, broadcast all over the world, will remain in our memories in a way that words never will.

The best words spoken during the inauguration ceremony came from Rev. Joseph Lowery. Their power emanated from the ancient rhythm of black spoken word. Begun in the call-and-response of field calls, strengthened in the epic services of black Churches, mastered by oral wizards as disparate as Dr. King and Malcolm X, black speech propels the listener. It defeats monotony by attracting our musical ear. We want to hear more because it sounds good. President Obama’s speech yesterday did not equal some of the rousing triumphs he has given us. But it was in no way a failure. A president should be measured by deeds, not words. From this day forth, we will perceive the true measure of our new leader.

President Obama will find himself held responsible for his brothers’ keep to a degree no politician has ever known. The condition of the American black male is woeful. Whether impoverished, incarcerated, or uneducated, too many black males fail to make positive contributions to society. If you listen to hip-hop, you’ll hear lots of fear, lots of anger. But you won’t hear many solutions. Nine years ago, Mos Def released his first solo album, Black On Both Sides. The album, and the track ‘Mathematics’ in particular, work as a State of the Black Male address which could easily help President Obama know those for which he is now responsible. And Obama’s on the hook for a lot.

Rock your hardhat black cause you in the Terrordome
full of hard niggaz, large niggaz, dice tumblers
Young teens and prison greens facin life numbers
Crack mothers, crack babies and AIDS patients
Young bloods can’t spell but they could rock you in PlayStation
This new math is whippin motherfuckers ass
You wanna know how to rhyme you better learn how to add
It’s mathematics

DJ Premier provides the old-school scratching. Mos Def’s early work as an MC has equals, but no betters. In college, when most hip-hop was either too violent or too pop-sheen, his flow doubled as a hip-hop primer.The albums Black Star and Black On Both Sides blew me away. They were proud but not preachy, fun but not fake or forced. They made you think- think about what we do for others, how we always take care of ourselves. Mos Def, like all great MCs, understands black oral tradition. He knows it is not only the word that has power, but the pause before the word as well, to paraphrase Miles Davis’ definition of jazz. And sure, this joint is nine years old, but ain’t nothing listed in this track that hasn’t gotten worse under Bush.

Young soldiers tryin to earn they next stripe
When the average minimum wage is $5.15
You best believe you gotta find a new ground to get cream
The white unemployment rate, is nearly more than triple for black
so frontliners got they gun in your back
Bubblin crack, jewel theft and robbery to combat poverty
and end up in the global jail economy
Stiffer stipulations attached to each sentence
Budget cutbacks but increased police presence
And even if you get out of prison still livin
join the other five million under state supervision
This is business, no faces just lines and statistics
from your phone, your zip code, to S-S-I digits
The system break man child and women into figures
Two columns for who is, and who ain’t niggaz
Numbers is hardly real and they never have feelings
but you push too hard, even numbers got limits
Why did one straw break the camel’s back? Here’s the secret:
the million other straws underneath it – it’s all mathematics

It may not be fair to lay this all on Obama. But others’ expectations are infrequently fair. What he can do is continue the dialogue we all started during his campaign-what does it mean to be Americans? What do we owe our fellow citizens? Honest answers to those questions may present solutions the majority of us can find palatable. Maybe they will begin to address the staggering figures surrounding the black males’ condition. But one thing is certain. We will always need words on which we can reflect. And we will all get behind a leader whose work we can respect. Amen.

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