Malia Kay
Professor Rippeon
WRI 101
24 March 2019
WRI Essay #2
“Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze/Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees” (Meeropol). This is just a snippet of the powerful lines in Abel Meeropol’s famous poem, “Strange Fruit” and Billie Holiday and Nina Simone’s performances of the poem in the 1930s. Abel Meeropol’s poem about the protest of lynching was a paramount moment in African American history. In his hit “Blood on the Leaves,” Kanye West uniquely samples “Strange Fruit” and puts a modern spin on this empowering song about black violence. His version can be seen as both offensive, as well as a vocal masterpiece. He expertly juxtaposes Simone’s voice with his messages of the modern life of an African American man. Kanye sings about who he was, who he is, and his desire to show how African Americans still face similar challenges as people of color in the past. Kanye alludes to bigger issues than just voice or sound by tackling the controversial concepts of race and violence, while simultaneously turning it into a popular rap song.
“Strange Fruit” caused a national outcry. In the wake of this song began one of the first cultural rebellions against lynching in our nation. Without the presence of this iconic song, it is unclear how many more tragic deaths among people of color would have occurred. Nina Simone’s rendering of the song initially starts off with her raspy voice singing the haunting words of Abel Meeropol. She begins by specifically mentioning the “southern trees” and this “strange fruit,” which serves as an extended metaphor throughout the piece: “Southern trees bear strange fruit” (Awka). Simone goes on to discuss the blood on the leaves and graphically depicts dead bodies suspended from tree branches: “Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze” (Awka). The song becomes increasingly graphic and emotional when it describes the mangled bodies acting as fresh meat for the birds to pluck: “The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth/Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh/Then the sudden smell of burning flesh/Here is fruit for the crows to pluck” (Awka). This powerful language flows from Simone’s tongue in an incredibly haunting and morbid manner. This deeply resonates with the listener and allows us to feel the harrowing pain of Simone as she sings. With Meeropol’s revolutionary song, wider audiences were able to experience a minute fraction of the grief that African Americans felt during this period of lynching.
In his pop song “Blood on the Leaves,” Kanye West creates a unique blend of ideas with his use of both sampling and original soundtracks. He not only presents to the public a catchy and “ hip” song, but also addresses deeper cultural issues pertaining to African Americans. While he distinctly alters the way in which the original song, “Strange Fruit” is presented, Kanye maintains much of the underlying meaning in his rendition. While lynching is no longer a widespread problem in the United States, Kanye compares the constant scrutiny of black celebrities in modern America to lynching in 19th and 20th centuries. Although they are not exactly the same by any means, Kanye draws many reasonable parallels between the two situations.
Kanye’s song “Blood on the Leaves” addresses both the press and his audience with regard to how he believes that everybody in the world seems to be against him. Splicing in Simone’s voice at the beginning of the song–and intermittently throughout–seems controversial at first. West is referencing a historically rich song about the graphic lynching of African Americans while he sings about women and drugs. When first hearing the lyrics, I thought West’s use of “Strange Fruit” in his song was incredibly inappropriate; but as I reflected on the words and researched the song, I began to understand where he was coming from. West states that: “All want somethin’ out me/Then they talk about me” (West). He implies that everyone is out to get him and exploit him because of his fame. West sings about how he sometimes feels alone in the world because his popularity has cost him important relationships in his life. He feels overexposed and scrutinized by the public: “We could’ve been somebody/Thought you’d be different ’bout it/Now I know you not it” (West). He references this relationship with a woman whom he thought was “the one,” but then quickly realizes this was not the case because she rapidly changed when Kanye became famous. One comparative analysis on “Strange Fruit” and “Blood on the Leaves” even recognizes that: “The limelight makes it easy to lose your identity and almost impossible to maintain a healthy relationship, and this is where his loneliness comes from” (Colvin). This is akin to the metaphorical version of modern-day lynching: black celebrities are heavily scrutinized and criticized by the press, almost as if they are being “judged and hung” by the surrounding white masses, drawing parallels to American history.
The context in which Kanye samples Nina Simone’s voice in “Blood on the Leaves” has incited major public criticism. However, while Kanye does sing about drugs, abortions, and women in an offensive manner, he also conceals deeper meanings in his work that is missed by much of his audience. I myself was unaware of the cultural context rooted within the song until I completed thorough research. Now I recognize how this is a clear demonstration of the sonic color line that Jennifer Lynn Stoever discusses in her book, The Sonic Color Line. Here, Stoever explains how ideas related to white supremacy and racism are not simply a visual practice, but an audible one as well. According to Stoever, the sonic color line is not visible or audible until someone who is not “allowed’ to cross this line-does. Prior to my effort to better understand West’s music I considered myself to be as ignorant as some of the people that Stoever mentions in The Sonic Color Line: “The inaudibility of whiteness stems from its considerably wider palette of representation and the belief that white representations stand in for ‘people’ in general, rather than ‘white people’ in particular” (Stoever 12). I naively assumed that what Kanye was saying was offensive towards a racial community that I am not even apart of. I generalized my personal views (a white person) and inflicted it onto everyone else. According to Stoever, “That right there, the fact that [I] and so many white people have this same ‘black voice’ in [our] heads, is the sonic color line” (Stoever 8). This invisibility of privilege and assertion of white dominance is what many of West’s viewers are employing when they scrutinize his work.
Another reason why West is judged so harshly is because much of what he says is controversial. Kanye has this enormous God complex and views his own opinion as the only opinion. Though he is hyper aware of himself as a black man in popular culture, he has done and said some incredibly impulsive things that have shocked and offended his fans. However, this very idea of the transgressions of voice shows that we as a culture have preconceived notions of what we think is appropriate and acceptable. In our society today, African Americans still face higher rates of incarceration, gang violence, poverty, unemployment, and police brutality (Breeze). West sings about these issues in his Yeezus album and desperately wants to help change them through his musical platform. Kanye takes this chilling song and turns it into something that many modern day people can comprehend: “The song takes something from the slave and oppression era and transposes it in a contemporary setting” (Colvin). By taking “Strange Fruit,” this extraordinarily powerful song, and transferring it a relevant platform, Kanye allows his audience members–who take the time to dig deep enough–the privilege of understanding the harrowing things that the black community still deals with to this day.
Without Kanye’s god complex and artistic risks this wouldn’t be possible. Kanye masterfully took a piece that previously made such a vast cultural impact and turned it into a relevant and modern phenomenon: “…having that Nina Simone sample up front that would bring everyone in, using postmodern creativity where you kind of lean on something that people are familiar with and comfortable with to get their attention.” (McQueen) Nonetheless, many people still do not agree with the artistic feats that West chose to utilize in his songs, especially “Blood on the Leaves,” however those who are most offended don’t seem be putting in enough effort to understand the perspective that Kanye is coming from. According to a 2013 interview that West gave about his Yeezus album, he states, “It’s very important to me that [my lyrics are] completely in sync with what’s happening in society at that time—that they’re very timeless, but very up to date …” (McQueen). Kanye is determined to make his songs relevant to society today, even if that means sparking controversy in the process.
Although his sampling of “Strange Fruit” was seen as “inappropriate” by many, these people have a different understanding of the song than Kanye himself. I had this very dilemma when first hearing his music, but digging more into West’s main purpose for creating his album has helped be better understand his message. At first glance, “Blood on the Leaves” seems like another rap song about women, drugs, and sex with the inappropriate addition of a historical musical landmark. However, if one takes the time to attempt to understand West’s perspective and goal to expose and correct current issues in the African American community, a whole other side of his music is revealed.
Works Cited
Breeze. “The 10 Most Pressing Issues Facing 21st Century African Americans.” Americans Perspective, 20 Aug. 2015, americansperspective.com/the-10-most- pressing-issues-facing-21st-century-african-americans/.
Colvin, Jessica. “Comparative Analysis of ‘Strange Fruit’ and ‘Blood on the Leaves.’” Medium, Medium, 11 July 2017, medium.com/@jessica.colvin10/comparative- analysis-of-strange-fruit-and-blood-on-the-leaves-9ac2855d3e5c.
Awka, Dan, director. Nina Simone-Strange Fruit. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Jan. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnuEMdUUrZQ.
McQueen, Steve. “Kanye West.” Interview Magazine, Interview Magazine, 28 Jan. 2014, www.interviewmagazine.com/music/kanye-west#_.
Meeropol, Abel. “Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit.” Genius, genius.com/Billie-holiday- strange-fruit-lyrics.
Stoever, Jennifer Lynn. The Sonic Color Line: Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening. New York University Press, 2016.
West, Kanye, director. Blood on the Leaves. YouTube, YouTube, 8 Feb. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn0Pu2Qun-E.
