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Can a nigga get his basic human rights?<br />
Is that too much to ask? Should I say it more polite?<br />
Can us minorities get the same rights that every other human<br />
has in this country? We’ve been treated like second class citizens<br />
for long enough in this country. What do we have to do to get the<br />
rights promised to us in our nation’s constitution? Ask more politely?<br />
Or is that just too much to ask for?<br />
Shades of Blue- There’s Alot Going On (2016)<br />
Rain or shine, it’s all blue, it’s all blue<br />
Ain’t no sun, it’s all blue, it’s all blue<br />
The idiom “rain or shine” means that something is going<br />
to happen no matter what.<br />
“It’s all blue” is a phrase which refers to sadness. In this case, it<br />
can also refer to police. Vic has openly advocated against police<br />
brutality, and is a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement.<br />
No matter how serious the crime, it always seems as if the police<br />
are going to be biased against minorities. While rain is a symbol<br />
for depression, the sun is a stark contrast and a symbol for hope.<br />
However, it seems as if there’s no hope for minorities in the justice<br />
system.<br />
Shades of Blue- There’s Alot Going On (2016)<br />
Change gon’ come, it’s all you, it’s all on you<br />
A reference to the Sam Cooke song “A Change Is Gonna Come,”<br />
a classic civil rights song from 1964. The fact Vic is mentioning<br />
this song shows how far the USA still has to come for equal rights.<br />
In the Sam Cooke song he mentions the inaction of some African<br />
Americans and Vic here speaks to Americans telling them it’s<br />
going to have to start with the people.<br />
Shades of Blue- There’s Alot Going On (2016)<br />
And cigarettes’ll kill you on their own but they’ll kill you<br />
for a cigarette, I honor Eric Garner fam’<br />
I’m a part of him, he a part of me<br />
In the US, smoking causes about one in five deaths. Eric Garner, of<br />
Staten Island, NY, was killed in July 2014 after police accused him<br />
of (illegally) selling loose cigarettes to avoid tax. Tired of constantly<br />
being accused of petty crimes, Garner resisted arrest. The police<br />
officers put him in a choke hold and he died. The whole incident<br />
was recorded, including Garner saying “I can’t breath” eleven<br />
times. Coming fresh on the back of the death of Mike Brown, the<br />
incident received worldwide attention and sparked protests across<br />
the nation. It was later ruled a homicide, but the police officer<br />
responsible was not indicted for any crime.<br />
Shades of Blue- There’s Alot Going On (2016)<br />
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