Race, Labor, Capitalism... and Afroman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVqBgIZTP0s

Not even in my wildest dreams could I have envisioned a moment when I would get the opportunity to write about comedic rapper, Afroman, in an academic manner and talk about his lyrics in some relation to Marxist theory... yet here I am, about to have a go at doing just that. Mental.

'Fuck McDonald's and Taco Bell' is a song by Californian rapper, Afroman, that expresses the frustration of African-American workers who provide labor-power within the "modern day slavery" system of corporate capitalism. For me, the song provides a very tongue-in-cheek critique of the capitalist system as a whole and highlights the suppressive and exploitative similarities between modern day capitalism and the slave trade. Whilst the black population of America is free from literal enslavement, a large proportion are imprisoned within an intrinsically prejudiced capitalist system that exploits disadvantaged minorities for white corporate profit, with 45.8% of young black children (under six) living in poverty, compared to 14.5% of white children. The line: "Abraham Lincoln told me I was free, So I'm'a walk to the corner and do what I wanna," references this post-abolition enslavement that grants black people their 'freedom', that is to say, their freedom to sell their labor to the white capitalist. Afroman (Joseph Foreman) is demonstrating that in order to escape this cycle of enslavement and experience some sense of freedom, a number of citizens from economically disadvantaged minorities will sell drugs, rather than be complicit in a system that is so biased against them. They are becoming the capitalist, as opposed to be being enslaved by him.

This comparison between street crime and the crimes of corporate capitalism is prevalent throughout the song. The line: "Steal ya' car battery and sell it back to ya'" reminded me of the discussion we had in class about British imperialists buying up cloth from Indian sweatshops, then selling it back to Indians at a higher price. "Cooking crack like a black Chef Boyardee" is another line that entwines the corporate and criminal worlds. Also, when Foreman states: "Got a cellular phone, and ya really oughta' get it, Fo' a limited time, brother, the chip come with it", it's reminiscent of an advertisement, further presenting the connections between corporate capitalists and everyday criminals.    

In the chorus, the lyrics: "Can't see my kids, can't see my wife, Can't see a way to control my dog-on life", I found to be particularly poignant in relation to The Moynihan Report, which blamed absent black fathers for the large population of black families living below the poverty line. As Foreman rightfully points out; the biggest cause of absent black fathers in disadvantaged areas is the way these men are forced to work 14/ 15/16-hour shifts in a minimum wage job in order to survive. Meanwhile, the capitalist- the CEO's of McDonald's and Taco Bell- generate enough revenue to take their families on yet another Caribbean holiday for a few weeks, then have the audacity to blame 'lazy' and 'absent' black workers for their own economic hardship.