Released: 1999
In “Mathematics,” Mos Def brings a cold, calculated approach to showcasing the social, economic, and political problems plaguing urban African American communities. Every bar of this rap classic is a statistical incision into the grim reality of societal ills like drug abuse, high incarceration rates, and systemic racism.
The track opens with Mos recognizing his roots, his people, and his craft, while shouting out to the icons that came before him, with “Charlie Hustle” referring to E-40, and “Steady Rock” likely being Big Daddy Kane or B-Real from Cypress Hill. He goes on to paint a vivid picture of the universe from a cosmic level, pulling it back to his personal experience, asserting that his verses hold immense power, just like our physical world.
This leads into Mos’s lamentation of the “nationwide projects, prison-industry complex,” a reference to the systemic societal traps disproportionately impacting African American communities across the United States. He deftly uses literal numbers and mathematics to illuminate the harsh disparities in the socioeconomic system. His mention of “16 ounces to a pound, twenty more to a ki” is a nod to drug dealing as a desperate means to survive. The “five-minute sentence hearing” is a profound comment on the swift and brutal realities of the criminal justice system.
Mos Def then describes the worrisome landscape of the modern world, where every word can be heard due to surveillance technology, represented by the figure of 40% of Americans owning a cell phone. He calls out the irony of spending billions on defense while people live in fear and how the war on drugs disproportionately affected black communities, echoed in the line, “That’s why they gave Ricky Ross all the crack.”
The second verse starts with a haunting reference to the three strikes policy, highlighting the grim future for many African Americans. He brings attention to the young lives lost to violence and the ever-growing allure of quick money through illicit means. He lays bare the stark racial disparities in employment and how it drives individuals to illegal paths of survival.
Mos Def’s “Mathematics” is a masterclass in lyrical storytelling and brutal honesty. The heavy usage of numbers throughout the track isn’t just a slick lyrical device, but a way to emphasize the systemic issues clouding his community. He force feeds the listener with sobering statistics, insisting that if you want to understand the reality – the streets, the struggle, the grind – you better know your math. Because in this world, it’s all a numbers game.
