Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #54

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

Saul Williams - List of Demands (Reparations) (2004)


The greatest bit of cognitive dissonant advertising this decade was watching a small, independently released hip-hop song militaristically demanding reparations in a Nike ad. For all the whiteness of indie rock, independent distribution was the most empowering creative development in hip-hop since the political rap of Public Enemy. It meant that that guy handing off records outside a Virgin Megastore could be more talented than the band at Webster Hall a few blocks away (perhaps explaining the revived ironic interest in Wesley Willis). What it meant for those producing hip-hop was that stardom was just around the corner in an industry that still rewarded talented rappers. Lil' Wayne was the commercial fulfillment of this promise, but Saul Williams was the artistic fulfillment; it's the first hip-hop song that was even scary to white indie kids who thought they could appreciate hip-hop with detachment. "List of Demands (Reparations)" uses the avant-garde rock tools of Throbbing Gristle and Pere Ubu (both of whom still scare indie kids) to makes it sound like there's a war coming. This is everything that the Fugees and Lauryn Hill promised to be, without the MTV whitewash.

Labels: 2000s, list of demands (reparations), lists, pop music, saul williams, songs of the decade