Black Gothic Mixtape

 Eddie Hilliard

Professor Harris

English 2017-64187

1 May 2023

Black Gothic Mixtape

Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown: No Air

  • This song related to my theme because it’s a song about two people (both young and black) loving each other so much that they can fathom the idea of being apart from one another. This is a clear case of codependency (a sign of PTSD) which is similar to that of Candy-man and the community in which he was created. In both cases each of these things needs the other one in order to be a functioning entity.

Usher: Let it burn

  • This song related to my theme because in this song Usher (a middle aged black man) steps out of a relationship, he was in which ultimately causes it to “go up in flames”. This correlates to Tucker Caliban in the scene when he destroys all of the material things, we worked so hard to accumulate. Because we don’t know how or if this actually benefitted tucker on a personal level one could argue that this was an act of self-sabotage or self-destruction to some degree and the same could be said for Usher.

Ashanti: Unfoolish

  • This song relates to my theme because in the song, Ashanti (a young black woman) talks about basically being in a toxic relationship that she can’t seem to get enough of. One could argue that this is because her and the man in question have developed a sort of trauma bond routed in complacency which is a clear indicator or PTSD, Similar to the bond of John Caliban and the Wilsons in A Different Drummer. Although this is the case for John the toxicity didn’t affect that relationship directly but the one, she shared with his grandson Tucker Caliban

Notorious B.I.G: Mo money Mo problems

  • This song relates to my theme because in this song B.I.G and everyone featured express how much they enjoy accumulating wealth but in doing so are ultimately causing problems for themselves.

N.W.A: Fuc* tha Police

  • This song relates to my theme because it expresses extreme distain towards the police for racial motivated things they’ve don’t to black people for hundreds of years. For example, the patrollers in kindred closely resemble what the police resemble in today’s society. Which has causes black people all over to have an internalized fear of police of a different race all over the United States. 

Jay-Z ft. Beyonce: 03’ Bonnie & Clyde

  • This song relates to my theme because in it Jay-Z and Beyonce talk about not wanting or needing anyone but themselves in a way that isn’t the healthiest. This particular song relates to the relationship shared between Dana and Kevin and hints at both pairs having some form of abandonment issues which more times than not is rooted in PTDS.

Akon: “Locked Up”

  • This song relates to my theme because it comes from the perspective of a young black man who has been arrested. This song signifies how easy it is for a black man to fall victim to the system. The reality Is that this is the case for countless young black men (and women), mass incarnation is simply modern-day slavery. The same as when Dana went back in time in Kindred wrapped in a bunch of laws to make it more morally digestible. Which is why a lot of younger black people suffer from a innate feeling of discomfort towards authority figures!

J. Cole: No Role Modelz

  • This song relates to my theme because it in it a young black man voices how easy it is for children of color to grow up never having figures in their lives that they can call role models. This closely relates to the children in Kindred because the black adults in that timeframe weren’t allowed to be proper role models. They simply imitated what they saw happening around them, as well as countless children today thus resulting in self-doubt (a symptom of PTSD) being almost ingrained in them. 

Twista: Overnight Celebrity 

  • This song relates to my theme because in a way it perpetuates the stereotype of the jezebel. This song talks about being with a woman in a light that doesn’t suggest marriage or longevity thus promoting the hyper-sexualization of young black women, exactly how Dana and Alice were in Kindred at the hands of Rufus. This is also creating an unsafe space for black women which leads to, a fear of assault rooted in PTSD.

Beyonce: Irreplaceable

  • This song relates to my theme because in it, Beyonce talks about her significant other being replaceable in a manner that suggests that she feels as though people are expendable thus not allowing people to ever really get too close in fear of having to “replace” them in the same way that Tucker Calliban treated his wife for a period of time in their relationship. 

2Pac: Me Against the World

  • This song relates to my theme because like one before it promotes the unhealthy obsession with pushing people away but this time from the standpoint of a young black man. This perfectly fits my theme because we’ve seen why this particular form of PTSD is so relevant in the black community in the book kindred when Luke was sold away from his family. It’s the idea that any and everything that you love can be taken away in a blink of an eye.

2Pac: So Many Tears

  • This song relates to my theme because it’s from the perspective of a young black man who from a very small child felt as though death would eventually consume him. In this song 2pac talks about not being able to find a place to rest in his own mind due to the chaotic state of his environment. The many instances where 2Pac talks about the losses of loved ones most likely contribute to his sense of a “foreshortened future”. Which is the idea that one won’t live as long as others due to unnatural circumstances or reach milestones in their life. Similar to Montrose Freeman of Lovecraft Country.

2Pac: Life Goes On

  • This song relates to my theme because it outlines the lengths that systematic racism has went to in order to destroy everything attached to black people. More specifically our neighborhoods, this song talks about the effects of redlining and impoverished neighborhoods and how the creation of the ghetto has stained black communities all over the United States quite similarly to what was mentioned in the article “the case of reparations”. The system has strategically created crime for these areas using the hands of the very people that inhabit them. Thus, creating a sense of division amongst black people as a whole. This could also be looked at as a form of antiblackness or self-hate within the black community with can be linked back to, you guessed it, PTSD.

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