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Dead Prez "They Schools" Video
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Dead Prez Press Release
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Dead Prez Tour Dates |
DEAD PREZ DENIED FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Dead Prez, heralded by Rolling Stone's Kris EX in a 4-star review as a group that delivers "rabble-rousing oratories," is encountering problems getting its second video, "They Schools," played on national video outlets because of its content. The group's label, Loud Records, has been asked to make edits to the video that would dilute the critically acclaimed group's artistic expression. One thing in particular Loud has been asked to edit from the video (which enlists Brooklyn, New York, high school students with the same beliefs as Dead Prez) is the noose the group wears around their neck. The noose is a metaphor that makes a dire attempt to express the serious detriment this country's school's system is in. M1 of Dead Prez states, "The video for 'They Schools' doesn't just represent Dead Prez, it represents our people--poor and oppressed--trying to claim their right to a fair and just life. The U.S. educational system has been the primary force behind the miseducation of our people and is a system that leaves us powerless and hopeless. In the video, the wearing of the noose, the rebellious students, and the presence of the police and military in our educational process represent a hostile environment that our children are miseducated in. This is a serious situation. 'They Schools' is a tool for change; to change the video would be an injustice."
"They Schools" is laden with metaphoric expression. Some metaphors include:
* A worm eating a rotten apple represents a decaying school system. Last year, the New York Daily News reported that New York schools in particular are failing thousands of students.
* The burning of the books symbolizes an end to a decaying educational system.
* The holding up of The Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey and The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Alex Haley, reflects the need for a new educational system in line with history and the reality of what's needed today.
* The role of janitors that Dead Prez portrays in its performance shows what type of worth the school system sets the children up for: maintenance of the same oppressive status quo.
M1 continues, "Our society puts an emphasis on having a job-any job-instead of putting emphasis on our people using their minds to come up with new and revolutionary ideas." Dead Prez will soon go on tour with Mos Def and The Roots. They begin production of their sophomore album in September and are nominated for the Source Awards in the "New Artist of the Year" category.
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"They Schools"
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