Nas - Affirmative Action (St. Denis Style Remix)

So I'm taking French II, right? And we got these projects where we have to make a presentation about some aspect of French culture before the class. We have people doing projects on paintings, movies, clothing, Marie Antoinette, and music. I wanted to do music, and someone else is speaking on Daft Punk. Maybe I should do mine on something hip-hop? Sounds good. I know a lot about hip-hop. But French hip-hop? This is all I know.... 

"Affirmative Action" is originally from Nas's 1996 album, It Was Written. "Affirmative Action" was the mafioso themed introduction to first line-up of the New York-based supergroup known as The Firm. This here is a bit of an international remix. They scrapped Cormega and Foxy's lackluster performances, leaving only Nas and AZ's epic verses with the addition of the duo known as Suprême NTM. NTM stands for "Nique Ta Mere", which according to Yahoo! Babelfish translates to "Screw Your Mother." This is an official remix, the only version of this song to have a music video. 

   

I have no idea WTF these French rappers are talking about, but I know that they are going hard as hell. I can hear the intensity of their voices. I see them in their beanies and heavycoats, perfectly pulling off the hand gestures. Even when they are waving around those glow sticks, they pull it off. They look like they're in the right place, in front of the projects, and in midst of a big ass cypher with Nas and AZ. Back then, AZ and Nas were yin and yang as the voices of the American streets. These guys from Suprême NTM looked, and sounded like their French counterparts.

I am really digging the style of this video. I noticed that it's very reminscent of 1995's "La Haine". "La Haine" is a French film, directed by Matthieu Kassovitz. In a nutshell, it's a day in the lives of three street kids living in the French projects. It was championed in the United States by Jodie Foster, of all people. I finally saw it, and it became one of my favorite movies.

 

Anyways, there are uncanny similarities between the urban winter gear of the characters in the film, and the people of "Affirmative Action." "La Haine" and "Affirmative Action" are obviously both black an white. And they have plenty of shots of the projects to go around.  My first thought was that the music video was definitely inspired by "La Haine." But "La Haine" was art imitating life. So was "Affirmative Action" for that matter, but I get the impression from paying attention to NTM that the lifestyle that they lead is similar to that of the three main characters in "La Haine." Maybe "La Haine" just realistically depicted the common reality for so many kids from the street. 

 

Whatever the case, these are two works of media arts that illustrate hard times in '95 and '96. The international remix of "Affirmative Action" and "La Haine are both testament to the fact that there are ghettos on both sides of Atlantic Ocean.