“Numbers is hard and real and they never have feelings

But you push too hard, even numbers got limits

Why did one straw break the camel’s back?

Here’s the secret

The million other straws underneath it

It’s all mathematics”

Mos Def (Yasiin Bey) – Mathematics

Mathematics has no clear definition because scholars define it in different ways. Aristotle described it as “The science of quantity”, Comte described it as “The science of indirect measurement” and Benjamin Pierce with “Mathematics is the science that draws necessary conclusions”. However, in the Oxford dictionary, it is defined as:

“The abstract science which investigates deductively the conclusions implicit in the elementary conceptions of spatial and numerical relations, and which includes as its main divisions geometry, arithmetic and algebra.”

In 1787, the “Three-Fifths Compromise” was reached during the United States Constitutional Convention. At that time, slavery was widespread and a large number of black people made up the “general population”. In order to determine the number of seats each state would have in the United States House of Representatives – which is the lower chamber of the Congress – the compromise was made. Three out of every five slaves was to be counted as “one person” when determining the seats, allowing slaveholders to largely dominate the US government.

Wordplay and puns are generally what defines the word Paronomasia. In Calculus, a limit can be defined as “f(x) gets close to some limit as x gets close to some value”, meaning that the function of x gets close to its limit when the actual value of x reaches a certain value. Mos Def is among the most lyrically skilled and “woke” rappers and these lyrics are no exception to his talent. In Mathematics he compares black people living in America to numbers in calculus, whereas numbers don’t have feelings. Human beings have feelings, so if numbers can reach limits when a certain value is applied then what happens to a group of humans who experience a certain value of force?

The Arabic proverb القشة التي قصمت ظهر البعير literally translates to “The straw that broke the camel’s back”. It is used to describe the routine and insignificant seeming action that causes an unpredictably large reaction. In the history of the Arabian Peninsula, camel’s were used to transport humans and possessions. A camel breaking its back isn’t mentioned in its literal meaning, however, a camel’s legs would give way when the weight is too much. What the proverb is saying is that if a million straws are loaded on a camel’s back and another one is added at which point a camel collapses – it is that final straw that caused the effect.

Mos Def twists this to relate to the inhumane oppression the black community faced/faces in the States. Playing on the proverb, Mos Def says that the only reason the final straw broke the camel’s back is because of the million straws underneath it – meaning the people won’t rise up against the oppression because of one event but rather because of the million other events that led up to that final moment.

At the end of the day, everything in life is relevant to some aspect of greater mathematics especially statistics.

History repeats itself.

What are your thoughts?

#HoodIntellectuals