A Rhetorical Analysis Of New Slaves By Kanye

Kanye West is an African American artist who often speaks his mind and uses his musical platform to address issues that are prevalent in today’s society. Kanye’s song “New Slaves” displays his anger towards particular authoritative groups and prejudice towards blacks. Despite laws against slavery and racism, Kanye develops the idea of blacks being “new slaves” in modern day society. The lyrics show that the reasoning behind this modern day racism is that other people or groups of people profit from it, whether it be saving money or saving time. The song aims to explain how African American’s social behaviors are being structured into something evil to benefit certain organizations. The song also reveals some of the stereotypes of poor and

wealthy blacks in the United States. “New Slaves” incorporates the issues of modern day racism, materialism, stereotypes, and corporations and agencies in America benefitting from their plans to lock blacks up in privately owned prisons.
Kanye expresses his many views and thoughts about American society through this aggressive rap song.

The first issues being racism and stereotypes. Kanye gives reference to racism in the past when he says, “My momma was raised in the era when, clean water was only served to the fairer skin.”(1-2) Then, he makes another reference to racism when he claims the people who criticize his clothing line would only be satisfied with his work if he picked the cotton to make the clothes himself. Clearly, Kanye addresses racism early on makes it known that blacks were treated unfairly. He does this to show the audience that racism was evil and wants people to remember how blacks were treated back in the day. After referencing past racism, Kanye shifts focus to racism in today’s world and it taking on a different form. He addresses stereotypes of African Americans and how blacks are still experiencing racism. He does this by rapping about how poor blacks are told not to touch anything in stores and are usually suspected of stealing items. Also, wealthy blacks are urged to come to the stores because they are known to spend all their money on expensive items, such as jewelry and clothing items. This is done to inform the listener that racism is still prevalent in society and despite laws that promote equality and aim to improve African Americans conditions since the slave era, blacks are still being treated unfairly and are victims of

prejudice.
Another issue presented in the song is materialism.

Materialism relates the strongest to the title of the song because people are mentally enslaved by materialistic thoughts, creating “new slaves.” People in our generation are obsessed with name brands and live their life trying to make money and buy the latest device or nicest clothes. This idea that life is about money and possessions creates a lifestyle that a majority of Americans live today. People are becoming slaves while living this money oriented lifestyle. Kanye expresses his feelings about materialism in the black community when he says, “What you want a Bentley, fur coat, and diamond chain? All you blacks want all the same things.”(8-9) This line reiterates my point that he’s pointing to materialism as one of the main causes of blacks being new slaves. While that line specifically referred to blacks, Kanye makes it clear that anyone is eligible to be a new slave in today’s world by saying, “Used to only be niggas, now everybody playin.”(11) The slavery most people in America are familiar with is African American slavery. Kanye acknowledges that slavery used to only include black people, but now everyone is at risk of falling into this new type of

slavery.
Throughout the song, Kanye displays his hatred for big corporations and companies that try to control people and dictate what we wear and how we live our life. Kanye repeats the phrase, “I see the blood on the leaves”(21-23) many times throughout the second verse. Through this phrase, he is telling his audience that he knows corporations are corrupt and not all these big name companies are great just because they produce good products. The leaves represent the companies, corporations, administrations, and agencies that are wealthy and have a huge influence in our everyday lives. The blood represents the corrupt and evil ideas of trying to control people’s emotions and actions for their own benefit. Kanye specifically called out the Drug Enforcement Administration and Corrections Corporation of America in the lines,” Meanwhile the DEA, teamed up with the CCA, They tryna lock niggas up, They tryna make new slaves.” (49-52)These lines display Kanye’s personal hatred for these two groups and his knowledge of their corrupt strategy. He’s referring to how the DEA tries to lock up as many blacks as possible so the privately owned prisons owned by the CCA remain full or close to full, which keeps the profits flowing for the CCA and much work for the DEA to profit from as well. This also ties in strongly with the title of the song, because black people’s lives are being controlled by these prisons for the CCA’s and DEA’s own benefit, creating a new form of slavery. Kanye’s dislike for these corporations and people in charge are evident through lines such as, “Fuck you and your corporation,” and “Fuck you and your Hampton house, I’ll fuck you and your Hampton spouse, Came on her Hampton blouse.” (57-59)He is referring to the higher up officials in the prison system and enforcement agencies that greatly profit from the strategy they created. Kanye is extremely frustrated by the fact these people are living extremely well off and probably having a great time in some rich neighborhood while the stem of their wealth are all sitting in prison.
Kanye uses profanity throughout the song to truly convey his anger about people, blacks in particular, becoming “new slaves” of Corporate America. He also uses racial slurs and addresses many problems people usually don’t take about so the audience can face the harsh realities and become knowledgeable of them, such as racism, materialism, and corruption in America’s corporations. The song uses a suspenseful lyrical tone that instills a fear into the audience. It forces the listener to reflect on the issues he is presenting and relate to his frustration. The constant suspenseful beat and the anger in his voice keeps the listener engaged in the lyrics throughout the whole song. The only time the sound completely cut off was when he was rapping about the people in the Hamptons. The sound paused which grabbed the listener’s attention and emphasized his hatred for the CCA and DEA officials in those lines.
“New Slaves” was created to educate people on modern day racism, stereotypes, materialism, and corruption in America regarding the prison industry and the drug enforcement agencies and so Kanye West could display his extreme anger and irritation regarding these problems. His lyrics also present a message that tells the world he will not fall victim to this new form of slavery. Kanye continuously repeats, “ Y’all niggas can’t control me”(29) and “Y’all niggas can’t fuck with me,”(41-43) illustrating that he is immune to being drawn into a materialistic lifestyle that many corporations promote for their personal benefit. Kanye West generates a new theory of modern day slavery in this song, which is people’s decisions being dictated by corporate America which in turn is a financial advantage for the businesses and corporations. “New Slaves” by Kanye West exhibits many jarring truths about aspects of modern day society and allowed Kanye to reveal his thoughts on the different issues.