Collaborating with Ghanaian artist King Promise, Chance the Rapper has recently shared a dynamic music video for his new song “Yah Know,” a single that both advocates for black liberation and educates all listeners about black history across multiple countries through Chance the Rapper’s integration of Ghanian slang and the numerous references to Haiti and many political invigorators advocating for liberation and equality for a minoritized race such as Dr. Kwame, Selassie, Nnamdi, and Gandhi. Through his lyrics, the rapper urges listeners to maintain resilience and remain steadfast in the face of trouble and tribulation so as to fully redeem and regain the efforts of their liberatory predecessors who fought for the level of freedom they now have, and hope with all their might that they don’t become a martyr. He writes that: “Good God, this the heist for the ages/From the cages, straight to the majors/Liberation, you gotta take it/Free yourself, learned that from the Haitians/Smile through the tears, learned that from a crocodile/Speak your mind like a pocket dial
/Got fully-auto rocket power/So any damn door, it’ll knock it down/Just call my phone when you make it down.”

According to Tom Breihan of Stereo Gum, “YAH Know” is pretty much exactly the kind of thing that Chance The Rapper should be doing right now, at least in my opinion. The song mostly avoids the cornier sides of the whole Chance presentation, but it’s still the kind of song that only Chance could’ve or would’ve made. The song rides a fast, choppy Chicago house/juke beat, and it also chops up gospel. Chance raps intricately written lines very, very quickly, and he gets into matters of Black pride and history without being preachy. I don’t know why the song needed to be six minutes long, but it’s good.” 

The official music video for “Yah Know” reflects these ideals perfectly as Chance the Rapper raps in front of alternating backgrounds and scenes that shift from an abandoned dystopian city with rickety buildings close to being fully destroyed to driving a yacht as the rapper adopts a captain’s persona to three young adults dancing at the top of a flight of stairs or at a party without a care in the world. This backdrop of contrasting information displays the disparity between what is, what was, what could have been, and what the future may be like if liberation is ever fully attained.

Check out the video below.

After being yelled at by Kanye West last year, according to leaked footage, Chance the Rapper says he “re-evaluated his friendship” with the controversial artist.

Chance the Rapper also announced a Black Star Line Festival in Ghana with Vic Mensa.

Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna