Bob Dylan Uses the N-Word for Good

Music has a powerful ability to change the world. That’s what we realized when ‘Hurricane’ by Bob Dylan fatefully played on our Pandora station this week.

 



After being abruptly intrigued by the song because of Dylan’s use of the n-word, our team at We Take Note realized we needed to investigate this Nobel Prize winner’s lyrics a bit further.



 



So we took a deep dive into the song & its main protagonist: Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter. Our team of millennials was supremely surprised that we had never heard of this story or the song that soon came to follow it. But, we’re glad we decided to learn more.



 



The story of Hurricane that Dylan sings about feels all too familiar in today’s world of police brutality and social injustice. A once promising middleweight boxer, that even the late Ali himself supported, was wrongfully accused of a triple homicide in 1966 – the same year the Black Panther Party was founded.



 



The United States was clearly divided at this time and Hurricane was right in the eye of the storm. With the civil rights movement swiftly gaining momentum, the climate was right for allies like Dylan to make a statement. We’re thankful he did. It is pure proof that Dylan is fully deserving of the Nobel Prize for Literature. His lyrics to this song in particular are so poignant and somehow still timely even today:



 



Here comes the story of the Hurricane / The man the authorities came to blame / For somethin’ that he never done / Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been / The Champion of the world



 



And to the black folks he was just a crazy n***** / No one doubted that he pulled the trigger / And though they could not produce the gun / The DA said he was the one who did the deed / And the all-white jury agreed



 



To see him obviously framed / Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land / Where justice is a game



 



In Paterson (New Jersey) that’s just the way things go / If you’re Black you might as well not show up on the street / ‘Less you want to draw the heat



 



We learned that when these lyrics were released, they stirred up quite a bit of controversy, but more importantly support. That’s when our vision came: as if our soul’s desire to make the world a better place was somehow transformed into a creative thought that flowed through us like an animated volt of electricity.



 



We realized that it would be so beautiful to have a rapper, with a poet’s mindset, like Kendrick Lamar, Common or Nas perform Dylan’s lyrics in a hard-hitting way that only a rapper can convey. We’d like to film this rendition to pay homage to the late Hurricane & Dylan (of course) so that we can share this story with millennials who perhaps may be unfamiliar with it.



 



We are all about changing the game and bringing awareness to Hurricane’s foundation Innocence International. It’s devoted to preventing and rectifying wrongful convictions (such a worthy cause). We’re also completely enamored by foundations like Question Bridge & Campaign for Black Male Achievement. They would also be amazing allies for this project as well.



 



This wish we have to creatively cultivate a short 7-minute film is inspired by Dylan’s song and Hurricane’s story, but also by Black injustice. These issues were not properly handled in the 60s and so it’s unfortunate we still have these same issues today. Because of this, we want to share this video with the world to educate and inspire other change makers. We believe with your help, we have the power to make this happen!



 



If you’re interested in helping or getting involved, email us at info@wetakenote.com



 



Story by: Ashley Coffey and Andrew Bogart of We Take Note for The Wishwall Foundation | Photo Credit: Billboard