Rapper Declaime shares his views on “the n word” in an innovative, symbolic song.
While some have defended the use of “the n word” as taking back their power, enabling them to move forward from the mind-numbing horror of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, others have seen the willingness to answer to it as centuries of conditioning, when slaves were forced to answer to the N-word or be met with death or torture, should they try to exert their own identity.
Rapper Declaime shares his own views with us on his latest release “No Mas Mayate,” which translates to “N*gga No More” in Mexican slang, a searing new single from his upcoming Southside Story LP, which will release later this year, exclusively on vinyl.
“No Mas Mayate” starts and finishes with chopped and screwed soundbites from Dick Gregory talking about the word over Chris Keys’ film noir style original instrumentation, which is laden with sullen vibraphones, and muted jazz guitars, sounding like an authentic 1960’s sample.
Declaime enters the soundscape’s arena with the sole purpose of obliterating the n-word from his vocabulary in a clever manner. He makes his intentions clear by the end of the song, when he becomes unable to utter it, manually muting his voice to mark not just its death, but the end of the track.
A closer examination of Declaime’s writing style reveals traces of legendary and celebrated black icons: Langston Hughes, The Watts Prophets, and The Last Poets.
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