Start A Riot By Jasiri X: Music Video Analysis

As hip-hop has developed over time, so have the mediums that the artists use to convey their message. The growth of the Internet, social media, and electronic devices has brought about a new wave of hip-hop related art: music videos. The ever-rising popularity of music videos has given hip hop artists a new way to translate their messages to their audience; and often times this can help their message become clearer. Such is the case for Jasiri X’s music video titled “Do We Need To Start a Riot”. This music video helps the audience completely understand the obstacles that black males have faced over history, and in recent times especially. The release of this music video coincided with an uptake in police violence, and bigoted racial profiling tactics in the African American community. The song, and music video alike, describes how police are discriminating against innocent, black males. Through a blend of meaningful expressions, racial unification, …show more content…
The colors, or the lack of, used in the video perfectly show this message. The completely black and white music video makes the viewer unable to tell who is black and who is white. It forces the audience to rethink how they view people, and how they view themselves. The purpose behind using only black and white is twofold. The first reason is to highlight the racism perpetrated upon blacks by white police. The second, deeper message is one of racial equality. It shows that when you take color out of the equation, we are all just humans. This idea of looking past one’s skin color is of the upmost importance in today’s era. If police officers were unable to distinguish between black and white we would not have to deal with the bigoted police practices that have become more and more frequent. Jasiri X’s use of only black and white is an artistic decision, but gets across a meaningful