McKay Class Anthology volume 1 | Page 51

Hip-Hop/R&B

wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends/Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother/A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover/The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug/If you never know truth, then you never know love”. The love is weak because there isn’t any respect anymore among the citizens to each other, to the government, and to the world. The search for love continues but it isn’t impossible since each person is capable of loving and respecting but they have to find it in themselves to do so first.

Apl. de. app bases his rap on the belief that greed is consuming everything that everyone has worked so hard for. He states “I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder/As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder/Most of us only care about money makin'/Selfishness got us followin' the wrong direction”. He fears for the younger generation and how the media and government manipulate the people by stating “Wrong information always shown by the media/Negative images is the main criteria/Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria/Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema”. And the end of it all, he goes back to the plea echoed by his bandmates “Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity/Whatever happened to the fairness and equality/Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity/Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity/That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under/That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down/There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under/Gotta keep my faith alive 'til love is found/Now ask yourself/Where is the love? [Repeat 4x]”. This last independent rap acts a summary and reflection of the previous singers by pleading for respite and love while searching for ways to end the hatred.

It is also important to note that this song was released a week after the formal announcement of the War on Terror and troops were deployed overseas to Iraq. This song can be seen as a form of protest by usage of social media. In the music video, the band shot the video in East Los Angeles and have various individuals of both genders and different ethnicities participating in the chorus. Will and Taboo drive a van that play their message/song through giant speakers, Fergie runs around placing a question mark inside a black background (the song’s symbol), and Apl. plays a criminal trying to spread the word through extreme methods. In the end, the message is the same as it is eleven years later: Where is the love, because “we only got one world”.

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