Can I live?

On his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z has a song entitled "Can I live?".  After reading his book Decoded I had a greater understanding of what he was thinking when he wrote the song.  Jay-Z poses a question with the title of the song that on the surface seems rhetorical because to ask  a person "Can I live?" would induce a general response of, yeah you can live, I mean long as you have breath in your body you're alive.  Some religious folk may even say yes you can live as long as God see's fit for you to life.  However, Jay-Z is raising that question in a existential way that makes one have to think about the existence of one's life or humanity in general.  To me it seems that he is really focusing on the thought "How will life be for me?"  It rest in the analysis of his context growing up in the Marcy Projects of Brooklyn, NY where he saw hustlers, pimps, prostitutes, and hard working everyday residents struggling to get by as they were reaching for the American Dream.  In an interview about the song entitled "What's the point in being average" on YouTube he talks about how he wrote the song from the mentality that he had growing up in such dire circumstances.  That mentality was a "By Any Means Necessary" context that saw crime as a viable option versus going to school, or getting a 9-5 and barely making ends meet.  A sense of nihilism, or hopelessness was connected with that mentality, that we see pervading the thoughts of today's black youth, especially our young men.  In the opening line of the song Jay-Z says "We welcome you to something epic, y'all know/ Well we hustle out of a sense of hopelessness. Sort of a desperation/ Through that desperation, we 'come addicted, sorta like the fiends we accustomed to serving./ But we feel we have nothing to lose so we offer you, well, we offer our lives, right?"
Read that line again if you need to to digest the hopelessness in that statement and to think about what it would take for a person to come to that point.  Or better yet, do some introspection and ask yourself have you been there before or am I there right now with life?  There is another line in the song in which he says, "Lock my body can't trap my mind, easily explain why we adapt to crime, I'd rather die enormous than live dormant that's how we on it..."  He is stating the hustlers anthem like other rappers have penned in their lyrics (50 Cent, "Get Rich or Die Trying", Drake "YOLO - You Only Live Once", Ace Hood "Hustle Hard", T.I. "Trap or Die", and the list goes on.)  What I always appreciate about Hip-Hop (I'm talking about real Hip-Hop with lyricism and content) is it will make you wrestle intellectually and philosophically.  Where did they get this "get it how you live" mentality from?  Where do we as American citizens get this ambitious mentality from?  Hmmmm, I wonder could it possibly be connected to the American Dream?  Could it be fostered by the fact that we live in a society of capitalism, which encourages free enterprise?  Could it possibly be undergirded by the Constitution of the United States which encourages the "Pursuit of Happiness" through opportunity and ingenuity?  If you ask many rappers, and I argue Americans in general, the answer to those questions would be a resounding yes!  Those in power would not dare want to admit that and would argue that the framers of the Constitution did not have that in mind but as the old saying goes "the road to hell is paved with good intentions"!
As I type this I can't help but think about how imperative it is that we give young people, and adults, in these tough economic and political times a different view of life!  We have to try and help them see that a life solely tied to tangible possessions and the fulfillment of lofty dreams is not enough to ensure happiness.  If that were the case integration would have righted all the ills that were prevalent during centuries of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and blatant racism.  The reality is that Jay-Z's context is a reality far to many individuals in our society now deal with; regardless of race.  If we do not find a way to foster more hope, re-frame what success looks like in our society, and balance the economic scales we will continue see hopelessness abound.  The cries of us in the majority (that is the 90% living on10% of the world's wealth) will continue to raise the question "Can I live?" My fear is that the question won't remain an internal thought but will become a loud roar accompanied by more crime and devastation!  May we pray for God's justice and righteousness to prevail!
                                                               Jay-Z - "Can I Live"

Jay-Z - What's the point of being average