1

Music Genre Collaboration Project

Brainstorm Ideas:
1. Sources
- Citing the songs
2. It’s important to know who the artists are
- Can they relate to the minoritized/oppressed group?
3. Creating a Spotify playlist that is interactive
4. Annotating lyrics
5. Providing explanations in analyzing how the songs empower and/or challenge
racism/racial injustice as music enthusiasts
- Create a video
6. Top 10 songs
- Annotate 5 songs

List of Potential Songs:

1. Say It Loud- James Brown (I’m Black and I’m Proud)

2. This is America-Childish Gambino (Donald Glover)
3. What’s Going On- Marvin Gaye
4. Freedom- Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
5. La Gozadera- Gente de Zona ft. Marc Anthony
6. Rojo- J. Balvin
7. Borders- Amber Liu
8. Stay Calm- Amber Liu
9. Life Goes On- BTS
10. Problems-Bryce Vine

Mayra’s Songs to Annotate (3 key lyrics):

1. Freedom- Beyoncé ft. Kendrick Lamar
a. Lyric #1
i. “Singin', freedom! freedom! Where are you?/Cause I need freedom too!”
Explanation:
This song makes a powerful statement about police brutality and is an anthem for African
American empowerment. Repeating the word ‘freedom’ gives the emphasis that African
Americans need freedom as it relates to the themes of systemic racism and racial injustice.
Freedom is implied as something not had with the use of the adverb ‘too’ when Beyoncé sings “I
need freedom too!” By saying ‘too’ it is evident that freedom is something African Americans
ALSO need and by calling it out, the interpretation is that it’s something not obtained yet.

b. Lyric #2
 2

i. “I'mma riot, I'mma riot through your borders/ Call me bulletproof”

Explanation:
In this instance Beyoncé provides imagery about the actions of the police when responding to
protests. It is about when police line up at demonstrations with their batons and shields. That is
what is referred to by “borders” and despite that Beyoncé sings about the perseverance to riot (to
protest the injustices). “Call me bulletproof,” presents African Americans as determined and
strong but it also hints at the violence that they endure by police and their guns. With recent
events of 2020, Breonna Taylor was shot five times before dying at the hands of police brutality,
so this 2016 song is still relevant.

c. Lyric #3
i. "Six headlights wavin' in my direction/ Five-O askin' me what's in my
possession”
Explanation:
In this verse Kendrick Lamar raps about the interactions that African American men,
specifically, experience with the police. It is a known fact that Black and Brown people get
connected to illegal activity, more than others, because of the color of their skin such as with
how Lamar raps, “Five-O askin’ me what’s in my possession.” The word ‘possession’ relates to
the accusations of African American men having drugs or guns with them when they don’t (they
are unjustly connected to illegal activity). Yet, racial profiling is illegal and police still do it.
Lamar expresses racial profiling by giving imagery of “six headlights wavin’ in my direction”
referring to the headlights of police cars.

2. La Gozadera- Gente de Zona ft. Marc Anthony

a. Lyric #1
i. “Y se formó la gozadera, Miami me lo confirmo/ Y el arroz con
habichuela, Puerto Rico me lo regaló (And the party was formed, Miami
confirmed it to me/And the rice with beans, Puerto Rico gave it to me)”
Explanation:
In this song Gente de Zona and Marc Anthony are celebrating the unity of people across Latin
America by referring to different countries as with stating Miami and Puerto Rico in this lyric.
Although gozadera refers to a party, it is interpreted to mean that Latinos should come together
to celebrate one another, but it is not just limited to members of the Latinx community. The song
can be used to empower groups of people who are oppressed as the song makes a call to
solidarity or brotherhood/sisterhood.

b. Lyric #2
i. “El mundo se esta sumando, a la fiesta de los latinos (The World is
joining the Latino party)”
Explanation:
 3

As the song brings together many countries across Latin America in this lyric the artists are
expressing the invitation of others to join the gozadera, the party in saying that people are
joining the Latino party. This can take to mean that people are coming together in support of the
experiences of Latinx people. With events circulating immigration and discrimination against
members of the Latinx community (Black and non-black), the artists make a subtle empowering
statement about unity.

c. Lyric #3
i. “Ahora si! Nadie nos baja de aquí (Yes, now! Nobody gets us down from
here)”
Explanation:
“Nadie nos baja de aquí” (Nobody gets us down from here) is taken to mean that no one will
stop this party that is described in the song. In other words, no one is going to stop members of
the community and those joining from coming together to express who they are. Their identities
and culture will not be taken away and as a response to the constant message of “go back to your
country” the artists make a call to sing that Latinos are here to stay.

3. Borders- Amber Liu

a. Lyric #1
i. “All these people here staring and looking at me/ Shaking their heads,
eyes down strong on me”
Explanation:
In this lyric, Amber Liu makes reference to society scrutinizing her, not approving of her
“shaking their heads.” In this sense she creates a song where people who are marginalized on the
basis of who they are, their identity, can relate to. As an artist, the media always judges her for
the way she looks and comes to question her womanhood when she does not follow the norms of
wearing “feminine” clothes or not being “girly.” With that said, this song can be empowering to
all who are impacted by the harsh judgements of others just for being themselves.

b. Lyric #2
i. “Stand up, fall down, up again/ Up against the pressure I am in”
Explanation:
In this verse Liu explains the struggle she is facing of standing up, falling down, but then rising
once more and fighting against the “pressure” she is in. As an artist the lyric has personal
meaning to Liu, but as a music enthusiast one can take it to mean something that is personal to
them as well, as the lyric is open to interpretation. This song is a way to feel others feel like they
are not alone and more importantly to relate to the experiences of minorities and the judgement,
the “pressure” the prejudice, discrimination, and racism imposed by others.

c. Lyric #3
 4

i. “Fight your way, fight your way/ Through the borders”

Explanation:
Liu makes a call to action in her chorus. She informs others to not give up, to “fight” their way
through the “borders.” By borders she refers to the barriers that are imposed to those who are
judged. In today’s world, with the recent events that have circulated regarding the Black Lives
Matter Movement, this can be taken to mean the systemic racism that has oppressed the Black
community or the marginalization of Hispanics and Latinos with the recent events of the 2020
Presidential Election.

Celeste’s Songs to Annotate (3 key lyrics):

1. Problems-Bryce Vine
a. Lyric #1
i. All I see outside is problems, I been hidin' in my room, I don't think I'm
gonna solve 'em, But I can try, you know I do
Explanation:
The interpretation that is being used here is that the artist is suffering from what is going on in
society. This song was made in 2020, so the pandemic, BLM, and the movements that have been
happening after that are very prevalent in this lyric.

b. Lyric #2
i. Cause I'm not one to turn on a blind eye, There's things I should
acknowledge
And take responsibility for, Feel like I might die, Every time I walk out the
door
Explanation:
This lyric is much more than meets the eye. The singer feels like they are burdened while even
going outside of their door. This gives more interpretation to what the singer of a minority race is
feeling. There are outlandish things happening outside, and that refers back to the message of
racial injustice.

c. Lyric #3
i. All I see outside is problems, I been hidin' in my room, I don't think I'm
gonna solve 'em But I can try, you know I do
Explanation:
This choral lyric refers back to the many feelings that millions of Americans are feeling. There
are problems outside. There are racial injustices happening with jobs, police forces, and
throughout the last decade or so. Now that the media is using them to provide an uproar, then
things like racial injustices are really being thrown at these artists that are feeling the need to
write these lyrics.
 5

2. This is America- Childish Gambino (Donald Glover)

a. Lyric #1
i. You just a black man in this world, You just a barcode, ayy
Explanation:
The way that Donald Glover is portraying this lyric is meaning, he is targeting his own minority
race in what has led up to happening to all of minority races describing them as just another
barcode. A barcode is an object, and that object can be scanned. This case meaning, the scanning
is happening by the dominant race moving forward by treating them with injustices.

b. Lyric #2
i. You just a black man in this world, Drivin' expensive foreigns, ayy
You just a big dawg, yeah

Explanation:
This lyric also states Donald’s minority race that he is referring to as trying to make a name for
themselves because of what the foreign could actually mean. In this case, he is trying to explain
that this minority race works very hard for what they could be meaning by driving expensive cars
or foreign items.

c. Lyric #3
i. I kenneled him in the backyard, No proper life to a dog, For a big dog
Explanation:
This lyric signifies that race and wealth don’t go hand and hand. It has everything to do with self
preservation. This relates back to injustices because in today’s society, every race has some
thinking to do about what privileges and what other things a minority race might not have. That
is what I interpret from this lyric.

3. Say It Loud- James Brown (I’m Black and I’m Proud

a. Lyric #1
i. Some people say we got a lot of malice, some say it's a lotta nerve, But I
say we won't quit movin' until we get what we deserve
Explanation: This lyric is the spoken truth of a drive of a minority race that James Brown is
referring too. This lyric explains that there is a message that is going to be heard, and they will
not stop until they get the respect of others hearing that message. This takes me back to the
injustices that are still being thrown out the door today. It started a long time ago, and the fact
that it is still happening is crazy.

b. Lyric #2
i. Now we demand a chance to do things for ourselves, We tired of beatin'
our heads against the wall
Explanation:
 6

This is talking about the will and fight that minority races are feeling. The demand for a change
part of this lyric says so because the dominant race can try to set up things for the minority race
to follow. That is not right, so the feeling of the “beatin our heads against the wall” lyric makes
perfect sense as to the minority race trying to push a message or multiple messages that are
trying to be heard, but they constantly get overlooked.

c. Lyric #3
i. There's one thing more I got to say right here, Now, now we're people,
we're like the birds and the bees, We rather die on our feet than keep livin'
on our knees
Explanation:
This lyric signifies that the minority race that James Brown is referring to is tired of trying so
hard, that they would die for their cause instead of catering to the dominant race. What I mean by
this is the minority race wants to live free instead of having to abide in the shadows of what the
dominant race is trying to get them to do, say and so forth.