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48 Cal. W. L. Rev. 369 (2011-2012)
What a Load of Hope: The Post-Racial Mixtape

handle is hein.journals/cwlr48 and id is 373 raw text is: WHAT A LOAD OF HOPE: THE POST-RACIAL MIXTAPE JEREMIAH CHIN* I get down for my grandfather who took my momma Made her sit in that seat where white folks ain't want us to eat At the tender age of six she was arrested for the sit-ins With that in my blood I was born to be different That's why I hear new music and Ijust don't be feeling it Racism's still alive they just be concealing it.' INTRODUCTION As a hip-hop producer, Kanye West draws on a huge library of music to create beats and rhymes that underscore his message. On his first album, he samples the hook from a Blackjack song, sung by Michael Bolton, to create the lyrical critique embedded in the track Never Let Me Down. In the first eight bars of his verse, Kanye West summons his mother's and grandfather's involvement in the sit-ins of the civil rights movement, citing and personally engaging a history that has been diluted with post-racial rhetoric that denies the persistence of race. But the history alone isn't enough. Kanye West confronts the recording industry and social standards in two quick lines: That's why I hear new music and I just don't be feeling it / Racism's still alive, they just be concealing it.2 Kanye is openly * Jeremiah Chin is a J.D. candidate at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Justice and Social Inquiry, both at Arizona State University. I would like to thank Dr. Mary Romero, Dr. Bryan Brayboy, and Jessica Solyom for their help in shaping the ideas and analysis in this piece. I would also like to thank the members and participants at LatCrit XVI for listening and commenting on the presentation of this piece. Finally, I would like to send special thanks to Dr. Sumi Cho for helping to inspire this piece and aiding my attendance to LatCrit XVI. 1. KANYE WEST, Never Let Me Down, on COLLEGE DROPOUT (Roc-a-Fella Records 2004) (emphasis added). 2. Id. 369

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