J. Cole’s “Neighbours” tells a story of mis-integration revealing the (non)geography of segregation. The intro introduces us directly to the main issue at hand: racial discrimination.
“I guess the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope
Yeah the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope
Sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope”
This is sung in a neutral, resigned voice, hinting at the factual and suffocating presence of racial profiling. The logic behind this is brilliantly exposed in the simple story of a successful man seeking to move to a more quiet place.
He begins by telling the unlikely story of success of a young black man. He makes this apparent by presenting the alternative: “My sixteen should’ve came with a coffin”. Although unlikely fame and fortune did come to him. He then turns to explain the flipside of fortune and fame, especially fame: that one has no intimacy. This is set as cause of moving away in an area:
“That’s why I moved away, I needed privacy
Surrounded by the trees and Ivy League
Students that’s recruited highly
Thinkin’ you do you and I do me”
It is made evident by Cole that all he seeks is intimacy and peace of mind. He describes his new house in the same terms, as a place for relaxing and hanging out with friends. He also explains that his house has no special features that might attract suspicion or attention from the neighbours. It is just a house, with a garden where he smokes and laughs with friends, and with a normal car in front. This description ends with the exposition of one’s expectations regarding such a place:
“Welcome to the shelter, this is pure
We’ll help you if you’ve felt too insecure
To be the star you always knew you were”
The expectation is however swiftly interrupted by the reality of mis-integration:
“Wait, I think police is at the door”
First I need to explain what I understand by mis-integration. Cole explains it perfect. It is not the failure of integration, it is not the failure of doing everything required for integration. It is the a priori failure of integration in a racially pre-determined society, regardless of one’s actions or status. This is perfectly depicted by Cole. He continues with a new chorus:
“Okay, the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope
Hm, I guess the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope sellin’ dope
The neighbors think I’m, neighbors think I’m
I think the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope (Don’t follow me, don’t follow me)
I guess the neighbors think I’m sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope
Sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope, sellin’ dope
Well motherfucker, I am”
The new version of the chorus laments not only the racial preconceptions of the neighbours but also the response to these: “Well motherfucker, I am”. This is not meant to show that preconceptions are validated, but that preconception condition the possibility of integration as mis-integration. Integration itself preconditions the encounter between individuals through preconceptions. It shows that the initially geographical segregation has mutated to a societal one, without borders, without status, without reason. This is confirmed by the verses following the chorus:
“Some things you can’t escape
Death, taxes, NRA
It’s this society that make
Every nigga feel like a candidate
For a Trayvon kinda fate”
And
“Black in a white man territory
Cops bust in with the army guns
No evidence of the harm we done
Just a couple neighbors that assume we slang
Only time they see us we be on the news in chains, damn
Don’t follow me, don’t follow me
Don’t follow me, don’t follow me”
This irrefutably makes him accept and reinforce the social and societal segregation:
“So much for integration
Don’t know what I was thinkin’
I’m movin’ back to Southside
So much for integration
Don’t know what I was thinkin’
I’m movin’ back to Southside”
It is important to note the ironical note here. Cole is not saying that reinforcing segregation is the answer. He is saying that integration ironically confronts one with segregation and with its inherent failure. He is pointing out at the paradoxical character of integration done by the same dualistic logic of segregation. He is depicting the feeling of powerlessness confronting a young individual when attempting to integrate himself in what culture sells as normality, intimacy, safety. He also points at the ironical status of hip hop, of the capitalistic version of rap aiming at accumulating fortune and status to achieve safety and peace of mind. He shows that discrimination, segregation, preconception and discrimination are inherent to our current society.
His song is however not unidirectional. He isn’t charging (just) the white man. He is looking the dynamics of social interactions straight in the eye and describes the complex game of preconceptions, of their birth and perpetuation. Just as the neighbours assume that a black man in a rich territory must be doing something wrong and thus propagate the racial profiling, so too the response “well motherfucker I am” shows how easy it is to fall in that logic. How easy it is to sell yourself as a stereotype that is easily bought. This is also how Cole responds to the self-propagating stereotypes in hip hop in his “1985” songs directed at someone who dissed him.
“But have you ever thought about your impact?
These white kids love that you don’t give a fuck
‘Cause that’s exactly what’s expected when your skin black
They wanna see you dab, they wanna see you pop a pill
They wanna see you tatted from your face to your heels
And somewhere deep down, fuck it, I gotta keep it real
They wanna be black and think your song is how it feels”
Preconceptions make reality more digestible and aligning yourself to preconceptions makes you more attractive. This dynamic feeds into the logic of racism and discrimination.