One Mic
Encyclopedia
"One Mic" is a song by American hip hop
rapper Nas
, released April 16, 2002 on Columbia Records
and distributed through Ill Will Records
in the United States. It was issued as the third single from his fifth studio album, Stillmatic
(2001). The song samples a portion of Phil Collins
's "In The Air Tonight
". The single peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100
, making it Nas's third top-fifty hit on the chart.
. The song sample
s English musician Phil Collins
's "In the Air Tonight
" (1981). On selecting the sample for "One Mic", Nas stated "I'm a huge fan of Phil Collins and I just wanted to take the vibe from 'In the Air Tonight'." Steve Juon of RapReviews wrote that the song features a production technique previously implemented by such hip hop artists as Outkast
and The Roots
, which he described as "a quiet groove that steadily increases in energy and intensity until an increasingly amped Nas lets his lyrical rage boil over like a Final Fantasy
fighter smacked ONCE too often." Music writer Nick Butler described the song's structure as "slowly building up from a simple 'In the Air Tonight' sample toward the full production ... like hearing two mini hip-hop versions of 'Stairway to Heaven
', before Nas flips the script for the third verse and does the same thing in reverse."
According to Juon, the final verse has a reversal of this formula, in which Nas "goes from amped up to soft-spoken, drawing you even closer into his rap." "One Mic" begins with a slow, deliberate flow and beat. Music critic Brett Berliner wrote "'One Mic' starts out with a slow beat reminiscent of a crappy R&B
song. Throughout the song, Nas' lazy flow turns into an angry rant over a fast paced beat, and finally a siren
." According to Mark L. Hill of PopMatters
, the song "crescendos until Nas is nearly screaming over the subtly elaborate track."
and dystopian themes. Keith Harris of City Pages
described the lyrical structure of "One Mic" as "urban claustrophobia distilled and digitized, with Nas's reportorial eye zooming in on a detail, then pulling back to a panoramic overview." One writer described the song's lyrical scheme as "building slowly to a crescendo of declaration and rage, then coming back, to seek a way to make a difference, with that precious one mic." Del F. Cowie of Exclaim!
described Nas's narrative in the song as "Memento-inspired ... with typical visual flair." One music writer wrote that the lyrics "emit a sense of reality and call to action." In an interview for Rolling Stone
magazine, Nas discussed the theme of the song, stating "'One Mic' is just about the power. It's almost like Hip Hop is Dead
in its infant stages, saying how much this is a blessing to be out here, speaking about what's happening in my neighborhood, having the whole world understand and relate." He also referred to commentator Bill O'Reilly
's criticism of "Shoot 'Em Up", a song from Nas's fourth album Nastradamus
(1999), as he stated "If I didn't have a microphone, I could never talk about 'Shoot 'Em Up', and I was talking about Queens, New York, being shot up. What do I have to do to get somebody to turn around and hear what I'm saying and take it serious? I'm not here just to be in your face talking nonsense, we're talking about reality. For him to be upset or people like him to be upset is insane to me. It just shows how ignorant people are." In the interview, Nas continued to discuss his inspiration and the song's lyrical theme, stating:
In the song, Nas also asks God
to forgive him for his sin
s. In the hip hop book Beats, Rhymes & Life (2007), music writer Ytasha Womack compared Nas's lyrics on "One Mic" to the work of rapper Tupac Shakur
, analyzing it as a song with strong religious, Christian
overtones and lyrical themes. Womack wrote that "Nas's references ultimately humanized Jesus
, with attempts to show direct parallels between our quest and that of the Wayshower." Womack concluded with analyzing the incorporation of religious themes by Nas in his composition, stating "Nas clung to spiritual questioning, expressing a desire to be like the early mystics, in order to possess their knowledge and powers. While he expresses that he has the potential of the greats, in 'One Mic' he asks God to show him how to do things his son did. Nas intertwined his day–to–day life and decisions with the pressures felt by Jesus and others, doing so almost as a means to somehow transfer their spiritual gifts to himself."
singles chart on April 20, 2002, debuting at number 79. It peaked on the Hot 100 at number 43. On June 8, 2002, "One Mic" made its debut on the Hot Rap Tracks
chart at number 9, before eventually peaking at number 7. The single peaked on the Hot Rap Singles at number 23,, the Rhythmic Top 40 at number 32, and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart at number 14. A remix of "One Mic", featuring a sample of Mtume
's "Juicy Fruit
" (1983), was later released on the remix album From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (2002).
Critical response to the song was generally positive, as writers and music critics cited hailed it as a "classic". Steve Juon of RapReviews lauded the song's production, while Marc L. Hill cited it as Stillmatics "standout track", and described Nas as "our magnificently human rap god." Del F. Cowie described "One Mic" as the album's "centrepiece epic", and Sputnikmusic
's Nick Butler cited "One Mic" as "the best rap song of this decade". Butler went on to describe his first listen of the song, stating "This song blew me away on first listen, and it's still having the same effect now. Not many rap songs can send chills up my spine. This is one of them." A columnist for MVRemix called "One Mic" a "perfect song", and also wrote of his first listen of the song, stating "when I first heard this I almost literally blacked out since I did not breathe at all from listening to the whole song the first time. There also have been reports of this song almost causing car accidents, so skip this if you're driving. And no, I'm not kidding." Brett Berliner of Stylus Magazine
was particularly favorable of the song's use of a siren, as he called the concept "Truly incredible, and one of the best ideas for a song I’ve ever heard in my life."
Negative criticism came from Kathryn McGuire of Rolling Stone
, as she wrote "The hyperbolic urgency of 'One Mic' feels staged." In spite of this, a columnist for Blender
lauded the song's lyrical detail, and James Poletti of Yahoo! Music
cited it as "some of the best hip-hop recorded last year." A writer for the website BlackPrint described "One Mic" as "soon to be legend ... perfect in every way." The columnist continued to write "This track is simply incredible and will be the measuring stick of every other deep soul searching type of rap joint from here on out." Steven Potter of the Journal Sentinel
called the song a "testament to the lyrical skill only the best emcees possess." In retrospect, IGN
's Jon Robinson viewed "One Mic" as a comeback for Nas, writing that it "proved that he was still not only one of the dopest MCs in the world, but possibly the most gifted writer of the rap community." According to music critic Steve Juon, the song signalled a return for Nas to his early musical roots, stating "you know that the rapper we all once called Nasty Nas has truly returned." In 2005, the song was ranked number 54 on About.com
's list of the 100 Greatest Rap Songs.
. Robinson stated in an interview with MTV that he had wanted to feature the 1976 Soweto uprising in a video, and had eventually won Nas over to the idea. However, the video's production ran into difficulties due to the restrictions on travel after the September 11, 2001 attacks
. Instead, the scene of the riots was filmed in Los Angeles with participants from a local inner-city baseball team playing the rioters. The scene of the rock being thrown in the direction of the camera was taken over 10 times (the actor "had a bit of a curve on his throwing arm," according to Robinson) before post-production work managed to complete the desired effect. Robinson also told his director of photography to open and close the shutters of the camera in the apartment scene, creating an effect of blurred streaks of light.
" onto the asphalt. The suspects and the police dramatically part around Nas, who is rapping in the middle of the street, as they continue the chase around a corner. As Nas shouts "The Time is Now!", the scene cuts back to Nas rapping in the barren apartment room with the microphone. Soon, the camera transitions to the scene in Soweto
at the beginning of the 1976 uprising, in which a protester rallies a crowd of residents against the government while baton-wielding black and white soldiers of the SADF
prepare for the impending crackdown on the protesters. Gradually, the scene escalates to violence, with the impetus being a rock thrown in the direction of the camera. Soon, the two sides clash on the dirt road, and Nas pauses to a steady iteration of "One Mic" while standing contrastedly in the middle of the ongoing violence, the scene ending with the silent scream (symbolized by a descending piano) of a little bystanding Soweto girl as the scene cuts back to Nas, in the apartment room, kicking the chair and launching headfirst into a full-blown litany. The scene is interpolated with various scenes of young people listening and lip-syncing the lyrics, including a teenager wearing headphones in an apartment bedroom beside her younger sister, a group of Latino men sitting in a car and a young, angry Los Angeles County
prisoner behind bars. Gradually, as the camera overlays a view of Nas upon the forward-moving shot of a street, the video then calms down alongside the descending tone of the song, the facial determination of Nas and other participants in the video remaining visible as the video draws to a close with the light in the apartment window turning off.
.
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
rapper Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, released April 16, 2002 on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and distributed through Ill Will Records
Ill Will Records
Ill Will Records was an American vanity record label founded by Nasir "Nas" Jones. The label was named after Willie Graham, Nas' childhood neighbor and best friend, was shot dead on May 23, 1992 when both were teenagers...
in the United States. It was issued as the third single from his fifth studio album, Stillmatic
Stillmatic
Stillmatic received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
(2001). The song samples a portion of Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
's "In The Air Tonight
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The...
". The single peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, making it Nas's third top-fifty hit on the chart.
Musical style
Production for "One Mic" was handled by Nas and hip hop producer Chucky ThompsonChucky Thompson
Carl E. "Chucky" Thompson is a hip hop/R&B record producer. Thompson was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's "Hitmen" team of in-house producers during the 1990s, and worked with Bad Boy mogul Sean Combs on material for artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Mase. He was responsible for album...
. The song sample
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
s English musician Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
's "In the Air Tonight
In the Air Tonight
"In the Air Tonight" is a song by Phil Collins that first appeared on his 1981 album Face Value. It was recorded in 1979 and was the first single of Collins' solo career, and remains one of his best-known hits. The music video, directed by Stuart Orme, was released in 1981.-The song/recording:The...
" (1981). On selecting the sample for "One Mic", Nas stated "I'm a huge fan of Phil Collins and I just wanted to take the vibe from 'In the Air Tonight'." Steve Juon of RapReviews wrote that the song features a production technique previously implemented by such hip hop artists as Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
and The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, which he described as "a quiet groove that steadily increases in energy and intensity until an increasingly amped Nas lets his lyrical rage boil over like a Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
fighter smacked ONCE too often." Music writer Nick Butler described the song's structure as "slowly building up from a simple 'In the Air Tonight' sample toward the full production ... like hearing two mini hip-hop versions of 'Stairway to Heaven
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...
', before Nas flips the script for the third verse and does the same thing in reverse."
According to Juon, the final verse has a reversal of this formula, in which Nas "goes from amped up to soft-spoken, drawing you even closer into his rap." "One Mic" begins with a slow, deliberate flow and beat. Music critic Brett Berliner wrote "'One Mic' starts out with a slow beat reminiscent of a crappy R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
song. Throughout the song, Nas' lazy flow turns into an angry rant over a fast paced beat, and finally a siren
Siren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
." According to Mark L. Hill of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, the song "crescendos until Nas is nearly screaming over the subtly elaborate track."
Lyrical content
The lyrics of "One Mic" discuss Nas's desire for a simple life ("Only if I had one gun, one girl, and one crib/One God to show me how to do things his son did") and obstacles that prevent it ("[if] One ni**ga front, my face on the front page"), and a lifestyle in which Nas proclaims "All I need is one mic - fuck the cars, the jewelry". It has been noted by music writers for its political consciousnessPolitical consciousness
Following the work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Karl Marx outlined the workings of a political consciousness.-The politics of consciousness:...
and dystopian themes. Keith Harris of City Pages
City Pages
City Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...
described the lyrical structure of "One Mic" as "urban claustrophobia distilled and digitized, with Nas's reportorial eye zooming in on a detail, then pulling back to a panoramic overview." One writer described the song's lyrical scheme as "building slowly to a crescendo of declaration and rage, then coming back, to seek a way to make a difference, with that precious one mic." Del F. Cowie of Exclaim!
Exclaim!
Exclaim! is a monthly Canadian music magazine that features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with special focus on Canadian and cutting-edge artists...
described Nas's narrative in the song as "Memento-inspired ... with typical visual flair." One music writer wrote that the lyrics "emit a sense of reality and call to action." In an interview for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine, Nas discussed the theme of the song, stating "'One Mic' is just about the power. It's almost like Hip Hop is Dead
Hip Hop Is Dead
Hip Hop Is Dead is the eighth studio album by American rapper Nas, released December 15, 2006 on Def Jam Recordings. His first album for the label, it was co-financed by Nas's previous label, Columbia Records, which once distributed for Def Jam...
in its infant stages, saying how much this is a blessing to be out here, speaking about what's happening in my neighborhood, having the whole world understand and relate." He also referred to commentator Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly (commentator)
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television...
's criticism of "Shoot 'Em Up", a song from Nas's fourth album Nastradamus
Nastradamus
Nastradamus is the fourth studio album by American rapper Nas, released November 23, 1999 on Columbia Records in the United States. It was originally scheduled to be released as a follow-up album composed of material from recording sessions for his third album, I Am… on October 26, 1999...
(1999), as he stated "If I didn't have a microphone, I could never talk about 'Shoot 'Em Up', and I was talking about Queens, New York, being shot up. What do I have to do to get somebody to turn around and hear what I'm saying and take it serious? I'm not here just to be in your face talking nonsense, we're talking about reality. For him to be upset or people like him to be upset is insane to me. It just shows how ignorant people are." In the interview, Nas continued to discuss his inspiration and the song's lyrical theme, stating:
In the song, Nas also asks God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
to forgive him for his sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
s. In the hip hop book Beats, Rhymes & Life (2007), music writer Ytasha Womack compared Nas's lyrics on "One Mic" to the work of rapper Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
, analyzing it as a song with strong religious, Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
overtones and lyrical themes. Womack wrote that "Nas's references ultimately humanized Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, with attempts to show direct parallels between our quest and that of the Wayshower." Womack concluded with analyzing the incorporation of religious themes by Nas in his composition, stating "Nas clung to spiritual questioning, expressing a desire to be like the early mystics, in order to possess their knowledge and powers. While he expresses that he has the potential of the greats, in 'One Mic' he asks God to show him how to do things his son did. Nas intertwined his day–to–day life and decisions with the pressures felt by Jesus and others, doing so almost as a means to somehow transfer their spiritual gifts to himself."
Release and reception
The single entered the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart on April 20, 2002, debuting at number 79. It peaked on the Hot 100 at number 43. On June 8, 2002, "One Mic" made its debut on the Hot Rap Tracks
Hot Rap Tracks
Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...
chart at number 9, before eventually peaking at number 7. The single peaked on the Hot Rap Singles at number 23,, the Rhythmic Top 40 at number 32, and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart at number 14. A remix of "One Mic", featuring a sample of Mtume
Mtume
Mtume was a funk and soul group that had several R&B hits in the 1980s. Its founder, percussionist James Mtume, previously played with Miles Davis in the 1970s. Other members of the group included Reggie Lucas and Tawatha Agee.-History:...
's "Juicy Fruit
Juicy Fruit (song)
"Juicy Fruit" is a funk song written by James Mtume and released as the lead-off single from Mtume's sixth album, also titled Juicy Fruit. The mid-tempo song is arguably Mtume's most well-known, proving enormously successful on R&B radio stations and nightclubs when first released...
" (1983), was later released on the remix album From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (2002).
Critical response to the song was generally positive, as writers and music critics cited hailed it as a "classic". Steve Juon of RapReviews lauded the song's production, while Marc L. Hill cited it as Stillmatics "standout track", and described Nas as "our magnificently human rap god." Del F. Cowie described "One Mic" as the album's "centrepiece epic", and Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's Nick Butler cited "One Mic" as "the best rap song of this decade". Butler went on to describe his first listen of the song, stating "This song blew me away on first listen, and it's still having the same effect now. Not many rap songs can send chills up my spine. This is one of them." A columnist for MVRemix called "One Mic" a "perfect song", and also wrote of his first listen of the song, stating "when I first heard this I almost literally blacked out since I did not breathe at all from listening to the whole song the first time. There also have been reports of this song almost causing car accidents, so skip this if you're driving. And no, I'm not kidding." Brett Berliner of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
was particularly favorable of the song's use of a siren, as he called the concept "Truly incredible, and one of the best ideas for a song I’ve ever heard in my life."
Negative criticism came from Kathryn McGuire of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, as she wrote "The hyperbolic urgency of 'One Mic' feels staged." In spite of this, a columnist for Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
lauded the song's lyrical detail, and James Poletti of Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
cited it as "some of the best hip-hop recorded last year." A writer for the website BlackPrint described "One Mic" as "soon to be legend ... perfect in every way." The columnist continued to write "This track is simply incredible and will be the measuring stick of every other deep soul searching type of rap joint from here on out." Steven Potter of the Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It is the primary newspaper in Milwaukee, the largest newspaper in Wisconsin and is distributed widely throughout the state...
called the song a "testament to the lyrical skill only the best emcees possess." In retrospect, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Jon Robinson viewed "One Mic" as a comeback for Nas, writing that it "proved that he was still not only one of the dopest MCs in the world, but possibly the most gifted writer of the rap community." According to music critic Steve Juon, the song signalled a return for Nas to his early musical roots, stating "you know that the rapper we all once called Nasty Nas has truly returned." In 2005, the song was ranked number 54 on About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's list of the 100 Greatest Rap Songs.
Production
The music video was directed by Chris RobinsonChris Robinson (director)
Chris Robinson is an American film director working mostly with music videos and commercials. He has directed commercials for brands such as iPod, Coca Cola and Verizon and music videos for songs like "Fallin'" and "You Don't Know My Name" by Alicia Keys, "Roc Boys" by Jay-Z, the grammy nominated...
. Robinson stated in an interview with MTV that he had wanted to feature the 1976 Soweto uprising in a video, and had eventually won Nas over to the idea. However, the video's production ran into difficulties due to the restrictions on travel after the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Instead, the scene of the riots was filmed in Los Angeles with participants from a local inner-city baseball team playing the rioters. The scene of the rock being thrown in the direction of the camera was taken over 10 times (the actor "had a bit of a curve on his throwing arm," according to Robinson) before post-production work managed to complete the desired effect. Robinson also told his director of photography to open and close the shutters of the camera in the apartment scene, creating an effect of blurred streaks of light.
Synopsis
The video begins with a montage of scenes from inner-city areas of New York City, followed by a camera shot of an apartment window in which a light has just been turned on. The video then centralizes upon a view of Nas reflectively rapping with a single microphone in a bare apartment room. While Nas is rapping, the video switches to a scene of a routine police stop of four suspects which quickly escalates to an on-foot chase of the suspects by police as a surprised elder bystander "fiend drops his HeinekenHeineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
" onto the asphalt. The suspects and the police dramatically part around Nas, who is rapping in the middle of the street, as they continue the chase around a corner. As Nas shouts "The Time is Now!", the scene cuts back to Nas rapping in the barren apartment room with the microphone. Soon, the camera transitions to the scene in Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
at the beginning of the 1976 uprising, in which a protester rallies a crowd of residents against the government while baton-wielding black and white soldiers of the SADF
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force was the South African armed forces from 1957 until 1994. The former Union Defence Force was renamed to the South African Defence Force in the Defence Act of 1957...
prepare for the impending crackdown on the protesters. Gradually, the scene escalates to violence, with the impetus being a rock thrown in the direction of the camera. Soon, the two sides clash on the dirt road, and Nas pauses to a steady iteration of "One Mic" while standing contrastedly in the middle of the ongoing violence, the scene ending with the silent scream (symbolized by a descending piano) of a little bystanding Soweto girl as the scene cuts back to Nas, in the apartment room, kicking the chair and launching headfirst into a full-blown litany. The scene is interpolated with various scenes of young people listening and lip-syncing the lyrics, including a teenager wearing headphones in an apartment bedroom beside her younger sister, a group of Latino men sitting in a car and a young, angry Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
prisoner behind bars. Gradually, as the camera overlays a view of Nas upon the forward-moving shot of a street, the video then calms down alongside the descending tone of the song, the facial determination of Nas and other participants in the video remaining visible as the video draws to a close with the light in the apartment window turning off.
Reception
Released on December 17, 2001, the video received heavy rotation on the music television network MTVMTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
Chart history
| Charts (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
43 |
| US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 14 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Singles | 10 |
| US Billboard Hot Rap Tracks Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
7 |
B-Side
- "One Mic" (Instrumental) (4:36)
- "2nd Childhood" (Explicit) (3:51)
- Produced by DJ PremierDJ PremierChristopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
- Produced by DJ Premier
External links
- Review of music video at PopMattersPopMattersPopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
- One Mic: News
- Music video analysis: Icons of Hip Hop
- Comparison to Poe: Hip hop and philosophy