In an earlier article I wrote through Odyssey, I talked about the importance of protest art. I will make an effort throughout the year to highlight some awesome contemporary examples of protest art, especially works which aren't getting the recognition they deserve. For real, these folks are making some great content and deserve some more visibility.
"Time Crisis" by New York-based rapper Sammus is riotously clever. The song centers around her frustration with society's expectations for her, and women in general, to 'settle down' upon reaching the age of 30. Sammus wastes no time tearing in to this idea, using some incredible lyricism to explore the ways in which her gender is used by society to discredit her right to live her life unquestioned. Beyond simply weaving together some awesome wordplay ("So call me a narcissists / You want a war I want armistice / You want to spar then you are dismissed / Art is my heart I will not risk this"), she also strikes directly at the heart of how the world disregards her autonomy because of her gender ("My vagina’s not a timex / So why you all up in my privates? / Tell em’ it’s my body to decide if / I’mma be about it or I’m childless").
Sammus isn't afraid to be completely explicit about what's getting in her way. When says that "we live in system / In which aging’s an act of resisting", she's making it clear that she's not going to be silenced by society at large. The chorus echoes this sentiment, with her singing that "I'm living my life / And I wish you would live yours". She even goes so far as to acknowledge "I’ll admit I am not optimistic / You can change everything in an instant" - certainly, the recent election and the rise of hate speech in this country shows that her desire to simply be treated as a human may not even be certain in the coming years. However, with unshaking conviction and a lyrical mastery unparalleled in mainstream hip-hop today, Sammus makes this powerful statement of humanity in the face of intolerance and deserves enormous respect for it.
You can check out the rest of Sammus' discography and support her work at her website: https://sammusmusic.com/.
