Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def, flips the script in this response to the Jay Z and Kanye West song, N****s in Paris.

We support the appropriation of cultural forms such as hip hop for liberatory purposes. In this case, Bey challenges ideas of sitting at the table of oppressors and the adoption of the bourgeois mindset. He instead posits the realities of conditions for oppressed people inside the US and around the world. In his last bar, Bey states, ‘Allah is in control.’ While belief in a deity or other metaphysical ideas may lead one to adopt righteous and revolutionary positions and actions, ultimately class conflict is the driving force behind history. Revolutionary struggle, not deference to the supernatural unknown, is needed to set the world onto a more equitable, just path. -Nick