Derick Recinos
Janel Spencer
Writing 101s
03 October 2019
Analysis of “I’m Not Racist”
Has it ever crossed your mind that some people could hate you just purely based off of the color of your skin? American singer, Gary Maurice Lucas Jr. more famously known by his stage name Joyner Lucas in “I’m Not Racist”(2017), asserts that there are two sides to Racism and that each side needs to take a look from the others point of view. In this song he portrays a young black adult and a younger to middle aged white man and in this piece they are yelling at each other and saying what they dislike about each other and how they see the other from their perspective. Lucas supports this when he says ” I’m not racist, but there’s two sides to every story, I wish that I knew yours”. When Lucas says this he is mainly speaking to younger people and america in general to get the conversation of racism out there and for people to talk about it. Lucas employs rhetorical appeals through the use of Real Life examples, Emotional tone and his experience as an artist who makes songs with a deep message to inform the audience on the seriousness of racism.
Lucas’ use of Logos in this song comes in the use of scenarios that happen in america currently. An example of this would be when Lucas says “I don’t really like you white motherfuckers, that’s just where I’m at Screaming “All Lives Matter” Is a protest to my protest, what kind of shit is that?”this is a direct reference to the Black lives matter protest. This line of the song is showing that the black community was upset by white Americans not choosing to stand with the black community and fight against violence and systematic racism. Another reference to current america are the lyrics “ You don’t know what it’s like to mind your business
And get stopped by the cops and not know if you ’bout to die or not You worry ’bout your life, so you take mine” this is referring to the fear instilled in black Americans by many events of unarmed black Americans being pulled over and killed by police officers. The final example I will analyze of logos comes in the lyrics “ I’m not racist, my sister’s boyfriend’s black I’m not racist, my sister-in-law’s baby cousin Tracy got a brother and his girlfriend’s black” this is a statement some people will say and then go on to think that it is justifiable to say some racist comments.
Pathos can be seen throughout this song by the emotional tone Lucas evokes into the audience by using strong language. Lucas shows this through the lyrics “ The power in the word “Nigga” is a different sin We shouldn’t say it but we do, and that just what it is but that don’t mean that you can say it just ’cause you got nigga friends. Nigga, that word was originated for you to keep us under and when we use it, we know that’s just how we greet each other and when you use it, we know there’s a double meaning under”. These lyrics show pathos through showing that when black people use this word that there taking away its power that kept them down but when a white person says it even if unintentionally there’s a double meaning and it frustrates them and causes an emotion of anger. Another example of emotional language is “even if I wasn’t picking cotton physically that don’t mean I’m not affected by the history my grandmomma was a slave, that shit gets to me and you ain’t got no motherfucking sympathy, you pussy nigga!” this is an emotional statement in which its saying that even he wasn’t a slave himself that he has a family member that was and that it does impact him too. Also by saying this he’s showing that it makes him angry and in a sense he’s making a comparison to the way black people were treated back then to now and how it is frustrating that black people are still being treated poorly. Lucas shows pathos in a lot of the song and addresses many problems in America that black people face on a daily like just not feeling safe or just ok in the country as referenced by these lyrics “I’m sorry you can never feel my life Tryna have faith, but I never felt alright It’s hard to elevate when this country’s ran by whites Judging me by my skin color and my blackness”.
Lucas uses his experience of making songs with a deep message in them to show his audience he is credible to speak on this subject and others like this. Lucas has made a career out of making music where he covers a serious topic, an example of this would be the song “I’m Sorry” this is a song where Lucas covers the topic of suicide and depression through the perspective of a young African American man. In this song he covers the thoughts and the feelings that cause someone to think of commiting suicide and he also shows the perspective of himself, where he attends the funeral and says some words to the dead body about what he could’ve done to help or just how he shouldn’t have tooken the easy way out. Another song where he tackles a serious topic would be “ADHD” where he speaks on ADHD and how it affected and how he was perceived and just in general what he experienced as a child growing up with ADHD as he mentions in a facebook post. Through the use of his songs Lucas shows his knowledge on topics such as depression, racism, suicide and the abuse of drugs furthermore building his credibility to talk on these topics.
Lucas Effectively used ethos,pathos and logos throughout this song to convey his message that the serious problem of racism is an ongoing issue in present America. Lucas’ call to action is for Americans of all colors to stand up and fight against the racism of minorities and to help achieve equal treatment for everyone. I believe Lucas did a great job of this because it got the conversation started and made people more aware of what is happening to minorities in this country.
Works Cited
Lucas, Joyner. “Joyner Lucas – I’m Not Racist.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 Nov. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43gm3CJePn0.
Sinyangwe, Samuel. “Mapping Police Violence.” Mapping Police Violence, 26 Sept. 2019, https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/.
Lucas, Joyner. “Joyner Lucas” – When I Was a Kid I Was Diagnosed with…, 18 Oct. 2018, www.facebook.com/JoynerLucas/posts/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-diagnosed-with-adhd-they-said-i-was-aggressive-fidgety-hy/2473329516027623/.
Lucas, Joyner. “Joyner Lucas – I’m Sorry (508)-507-2209.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Aug. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjKbw1Cqpt0.
Thomas, Fred. “Joyner Lucas: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/joyner-lucas-mn0003558622/biography.
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