Nas, Vic Mensa & Game Hold Nothing Back On the Year’s Most Explosive Soundtrack (Audio)
The Birth of a Nation is already one of 2016’s most talked about films, and it hasn’t even been released yet. On October 7, the Nate Parker directed sensation will arrive in theaters, and due to its simultaneously historic and timely content, it already has American movie lovers buzzing. The film depicts the true story of the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831 Virginia. It draws its title from a controversial silent film, a piece of KKK propaganda released in 1915, but that isn’t where its controversy ends. Parker’s film arrives amidst a turbulent time in American race relations, and its celebration of the oppressed violently claiming power over its oppressor has made many worried that it will inspire violence in real life.
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All of that remains to be seen, but what is known is that the film’s soundtrack is remarkable and filled with the contributions of Black artists, many of whom provide some of their most explosive work to date. First up is Vic Mensa, who on the song “Go Tell ‘Em” holds no bars, which include “they chained us to the auction block but now we changin’ the locks, ’cause even Bill O’Reilly’s daughter out here drinkin’ Ciroc.” Likely a reference to the fact that, despite Black culture permeating every facet of American social life, the contributions of African Americans are not given proper due and are in fact stolen by those in power.
Nas Raps About The Struggles Of Being A “Black Man In A White World” (Audio)
On “War,” Nas takes a direct shot at Donald Trump and the conservative fervor he’s inspired with the line “no 40 acres and a mule and despite that, watch out for the traitors/and when they say make America great again, do they mean make us all slaves again?” The Game is joined by Marsha Ambrosius on “Sins of Our Fathers,” with the former diving right into provocative lyrics with “I could hit you with the ‘yes massa'” before rapping “the White House a plantation but they teachin’ our kids it’s a castle built by slaves.”
Other featured artists on the Birth of a Nation soundtrack include Killer Mike, Pusha T, Lil Wayne, Lecrae, Wale, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz, Gucci Mane, NE-YO, Anthony Hamilton, Leon Bridges, and more.