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Tylor Peterson

Emily Kretzer

English composition 2

03 April 2020

Jesus walks Kanye west two video comparison

In the two jesus walks videos, Kanye West shows a glimpse into the unseen reality of

impoverished African Americans and their battle against the American system of discrimination.

The song lyrics are the exact same in each video, the only differences that occur are the scenes

portrayed in each. Kanye West is from the midwest city of Chicago and this song Jesus walks is a

part of his college dropout album. This is the album that rose him to stardom and fame. The

song has a religious christian background as he explains the turmoils of the hood and its

residents. Jesus walks is an extremely popular song earning kanye double platinum plaques.

This song is empowering as well as educational to many things unseen by those who have no

understanding of the world Kanye West hails from.

The first video he created ( both will be labeled and posted in the work cited section.)

Kanye is dressed like a preacher in a church. And throughout the song he is rapping to the

church like he is preaching. At the same time 3 scenes imerge of a prostitute, drug dealer and

gang member. All 3 of these people are running away from their impsoed lives they had to pick

up to survive. In environments like chicago getting by is very tough, and it is very hard for some

people to make it out of poverty. A prostitute never becomes a prostitute for the glory of the

job of being a prostitute. Most of the time women do that to make ends meet and they

swallow their pride to take care of themselves and their families. The same can be said for gang
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members. Now there are definitely those who join gangs for status and other benefits besides

necessity. Mostly being in environments like Chicago, people join gangs to receive protection

for themselves and their family members. At an early age many kids are forced into that world

and unfortunately that's all they know. Kanye says in his song “ Momma says only jesus can

save us, Well momma I know I act a fool but i'll be gone till november I got packs to move” In

this line he hints to selling drugs and this is more often than not a necessity in an impoverished

area like chicago. Notice how I say many are born and raised in a gang for protection and

survival and that's all they know. Inevitably with that lifestyle one would find himself or herself

encountering the law. Once one has a felony it is very very hard to get a job. So if someone has

a felony but cant get a decent job but they have kids or people to take care of and they must

make ends meet, many will resort to the sale of drugs due to necessity. Kanye says in his song “

Mcdonalds check won't pay the bills.” Hinting that a minimum wage job in chicago will almost

never meet ends meet.

In the second video Kanye is rapping in a flaming hallway and he shows clips of black

men in chains being overseered by white men with guns as they work. This second video

highlights the oppression of the impoverished African American community. In the song he

said “ They be asking us questions,they harass and arrest us, saying we eat pieces of Sh** like

you breakfast” he is hinting of the police oppression and disrimantaion of African Americans. In

the video you see a police officer beating an African American down with his club and after that

officer is off duty you see him going to a kkk rally with a flaming cross. These videos show the

unseen side of the dynamic of discrimination in this nation. A different picture than painted by

the media or politicians speaking of communities and circumstances they have NEVER lived
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through. This shows us to have more compassion and understanding for everyone around us

and that no one is born evil. This world is not black and white. It's more of a gray color, never

clear cut. The audience for this video is for all Americans!

Both videos show different sides of the coin. Video one shows the reality of life of those

who live in those communities and their tough predicaments. The second video shows the

oppression of today. Showing that racism has taken a different form since the days of slavery. If

we all come to see each other as equals and as brothers and sisters,there is no telling what can

be accomplished in this world. Promote love and unity like jesus. Don't accept hate in our

communities. We can make this world a better place.

Works Cited

Video 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9QEVs20jrg

Video 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYF7H_fpc-g