Editorial By Michael Partis

What is Hov talking about on his new track “History” ? Is it about more than “History” and “Victory?”

There is always the tendency to feel as if we are thinking too much; that we are taking it too far. It becomes a feeling we have when looking at all forms of art: music, paintings, poetry, dance, etc.

But the great artist is the one that legitimates our search for something more. They make you see further, think longer, listen closer—they make you believe there is meaning to their work; beyond the surface; beyond the first encounter; beyond the first layer.

Jay-Z - History

This ability is what makes Jay-Z one of the greatest rappers in Hip-Hop history: because his music makes us listen beyond the obvious.

“Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?” Jay-Z-”Renegade”

In his new song entitled “History” Hov chronicles the search for “Victory.” The “Victory” though is spoken of in a context that, if captured, would become “History.” There is a historical element to the win he seeks.

The lyrics are filled with personification and symbolism. “Defeat,” “Death,” and “Success” are people that you encounter on the journey to meet “Victory” and “History.” When listened to closely it feels as if every adjective, every noun, every word could be understood in more than one way; that it could mean more than how we normally use it. Every usage of “agony” or “dreams” seems like… feels like… it could mean more than what it appears to be.

So what does it mean? That is our job as listeners, to form an understanding of the message.

Given the recent events, and the timing of the leak, the song seems to be a strong metaphor for the election of Barack Obama and the journey that the Black community has traveled to reach this achievement.

We can easily see how the “Victory” being sought is equal to Obama’s winning the 2008 Election. And that with this “Victory” accomplished history is made: the first Black person to become President of the United States of America.

By no means was this journey easy. “Defeat” and “Success” certainly exemplify the bitter, and the sweet, of the African-American experience.

The defeats have been trying, hurtful, and protracted: whether they be the failed Presidential campaigns of Black politicians like Shirley Chisholm or Jesse Jackson; the assassinations of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, or other Black leaders; or the longer legislative battles to eliminate racist laws, end race-based discrimination, and obtain civil rights. It is an inescapable pain that accompanies Black life in America.

“her name is Defeat
She give me agony, so much agony
She bring me so much pain so much misery
Like missing ya last shot, and falling to ya knees
As the crowd screams, for the other team“

The successes have been fulfilling, joyful, and tantalizing: the largest Black middle-class in American history; breakthroughs in fields, careers, and positions that barred Blacks for so long; more Blacks with access to higher education.

The beauty of Jay’s message is that yes success is certainly better than defeat, and definitely a gain in the struggle. But success lacks longevity. It is not a victory, but only a gain. And while gains are historic in nature, victory is the end goal—victory is that which cannot be taken away, and so it lives in history forever:

“Ain’t in it for the fame, that dies within weeks
Ain’t in it for the money, cant take it when you leave
I wanna be remembered, long after you breathe
Long after I’m gone, long after i breathe
I leave all i am, in the hands of History
That’s my last will, testimony“

But is Obama’s win “Victory?”

Jay speaks of “Victory” as if it is in a relationship with “History;” they work together, to create something new: “Now Victory is mine, tastes so sweet/ She’s my trophy wife, coming with me/ We’ll have a baby, who stutters repeatedly/ We’ll name him History, he’ll repeat after me/ He’s my legacy, son of my hard work/ Future of my past, he’ll explain who I be…This is much more than a song, its a baby shower“

In using the metaphor of marriage and birth, we can understand that victory creates history but also create something new—something that continues through time. The birth of something new allows for the potential for remembrance, for legacy, but most importantly…to continue.

The 1st Black President of the United States is a tremendous victory of historic proportions that fulfills something many thought could never happen. It is victory because it can never be taken away. But it is not “Victory,” because the final victory has yet to be won.

There is still an economic inequality pervasively present along racial lines. There is still a criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates Blacks, Latinos, and people of color at exceedingly higher rates. Where’s fuller life for the victims of Hurricane Katrina? How can we help the under-told story of those heavily hit by Hurricane Ike? How can we fix the outrageous number of failing schools in Detroit, Atlanta, and cities across the U.S.? How the hell we will deal with the growing magnitude of the ever-growing current economic crisis?

We can look across the African Diaspora and see problems as well: in Puerto Rico, The Congo, Sudan, South African, Haiti—as a nation with a large immigrant population, and a huge global influence (as problematic as that is), these are things we can not take lightly. They absolutely affect us.

Liberation; equality; justice; that is the “Victory” we must seek.

The remarkable power of Barack Obama’s election to the highest office in the world, is that it fills us with the strength, belief, and joy that change is possible. Despite all the problems named above, Obama’s victory symbolized that we can do better. It drives you to say, “Yes We Can.”

Obama has often spoken about and built his campaign around this generation of hope, belief, and possibility. He’s calls us the “Joshua Generation:”

“Moses told the Joshua generation; don’t forget where you came from. I worry sometimes, that the Joshua generation in its success forgets where it came from. Thinks it doesn’t have to make as many sacrifices. Thinks that the very height of ambition is to make as much money as you can, to drive the biggest car and have the biggest house and wear a Rolex watch and get your own private jet, get some of that Oprah money. And I think that’s a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with making money, but if you know your history, then you know that there is a certain poverty of ambition involved in simply striving just for money. Materialism alone will not fulfill the possibilities of your existence. You have to fill that with something else. You have to fill it with the golden rule. You’ve got to fill it with thinking about others. And if we know our history, then we will understand that that is the highest mark of service…”

Jay-Z’s greatest is that he could convey the ideas of one of the greatest politicians in history using Hip-Hop’s voice. He poetically, skillfully, and thoughtfully has depicted the same message in a way that only Hip-Hop could; through Hip-Hop music. It is indicative of the power within this Hip-Hop community to seize this moment and turn it into our moment of history.

And just as Barack has fulfilled, and as Jay-Z has expressed, the Hip-Hop community and people from all over the world have been sharing what this moment means to them; to our history; and to our future. ColorOfChange.org has been gathering these stories since Election Night. The most poignant, and the strongest, came from Bronx rapper CATALYST:

“Martin’s Dream is now Reality, Malcolm’s By any means Came through Democracy, Rosa’s Bravery showed a Young African American that he could also Sit where ever he wanted to including the White House. Medgar Evers, Harriett Tubman, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Steven Biko, Frederick Douglas, and the Countless others that fought for Equality, Justice, Freedom, and Human Rights can rest easy knowing that what they all fought for was worth every sacrifice because in the end the reward was a divine Victory.”

What a political figure like Barack Obama expressed in speech; what a world-renowned artist like Jay-Z expressed in music; was just as articulately, just as knowledgeably, and just as eloquently shared by a little-known rapper from the Bronx.

That is our power. That is why we must seize this moment.

Michael Partis

michaelpartis@gmail.com

www.michaelpartis.blogspot.com

www.myspace.com/hiphopthought

http://my.rawkus.com/profile/ForeThought