Bronx emcee KEMBA (formerly YC The Cynic) gears up for his NEGUS album release with a new thought-provoking video for “The New Black Theory.”

The visual stems from Geraldo Rivera’s coverage of the Trayvon Martin case and media coverage of Ervin Edwards’ death from being tased in his jail cell. Although Geraldo’s prejudice comments clearly profile men wearing a hooded sweatshirts with baggy clothes as criminals, KEMBA’s perspective shows that respectability politics and a change of attire aren’t the solution to racist ideologies and assumptions. KEMBA picks apart Pharrell’s popular ‘New Black’ saying, explaining that our race isn’t the blame for our issues. It’s not about our pigmentation. It’s a mentality, and between marginalized people and the undertones of victim-blaming, KEMBA challenges the theory that conforming to more mainstream sensibilities will stop black people from being harassed by police, women harassed by men, etc…

Watch the video above and stay tuned for NEGUS, set to drop July 22.

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