I chose the song “Peculiar Mathematics” by Yasiin Gaye. Amerigo Gazaway is an emcee/dj who’s become known for his sampling. He created an album combining the music of Yasiin Bey (aka Mos Def) and Marvin Gaye, creating the artist Yasiin Gaye. Many times, samples of old favorites or lost gems give a new song the appeal they need to sell. The familiar samples allow the audience to hear a song they might not otherwise listen to. This album, however, combines two artists whose music stands solidly in it’s own right, and creates a new way to enjoy both. “Peculiar Mathematics” is one of my favorite songs on the album. It also happens to directly correlate to topics we’ve discussed in class, including Erica Dawson’s book, “When Rap Spoke Straight to God.”

One of our first class discussions centered on creative copyright. Artists have always “borrowed” form other artists, be it influence or outright theft. The act has garnered both support and opposition. I think this album is a positive example of creative license. The pairing of these two artists is very complimentary, both politically minded artists from different eras, who also just make catchy/good music. The politics of it all is why I chose this song in particular. Mos Def makes many references to how the system is stacked against black Americans, and the class system in general. Marvin Gaye’s fun music behind Mos Def’s harsh analysis makes the song for me. Erica Dawson does a similar juxtaposition in her book. She uses Bible references with her own work to turn her story all at once empowering and vulnerable. It doesn’t seem like the Bible would lend to this, at least for me, but she seems to marry it in a way that works as well as this collab. Both tackle the systems set up against them, whether it be the color of their skin, or for Erica, her sex.