I was listening to Kayne West’s new album and came across his song, ‘Blood on the leaves.” This song is a cover of Billie Holiday’s song we listened to in class, “Strange fruit.” I think it is really powerful to see such an influential performer push the boundaries on taboo subjects such as race that we have such a hard time talking about in this country. I wonder if this method of discussion these issues, similar to the idea of a horror film catching people’s attention, works to send a message to his targeted audience.  The image of Kanye below (sorry if it’s blurry), shows him standing in front of a field of trees, trees that presumably were the location of targeted racial lynching. I find this image to be very interesting because his fans are below his feet and seem to be praising him as he stands confidently looking up almost as if he is distancing himself from the trees. If you have time, I would check out the song and if you are a Nina Simone fan, she is also featured on the track!

http://www.mtv.com/news/1709304/kanye-west-blood-on-leaves-strange-fruit/