Not many people would think I could leave my Legacies of the Ancient World class where we just discussed the importance of Socrates, and on my way to practice I shuffle my “Getting Pumped Up” playlist and begin to learn more from the wise words of Socrates. That is exactly what happens in the song “No Church in the Wild” by JAY-Z, Kanye West, featuring Frank Ocean.

Socrates writing the lyrics

In the opening scenes to this music video we see Kanye West leading a group of hundreds of people to protest and riot against the police. Socrates would always be one to go against with grain and fight people of power. All though he would not physically fight them. Socrates would not take the route of violence, he would find a more pleasant way of doing this. Socrates would rather be shown as a lawyer figure, fighting for what is right in a peaceful way. Kanye West, Jay-Z and Frank Ocean relay many of Socrates thoughts and beliefs in this song. While beginning to dissect the opening lyrics you could pick up on this right away. One of Socrates main ideas was that he was not afraid to challenge what was considered normal. Frank Ocean opens the song in a short chorus, “What’s a god to a non-believer who don’t believe in anything?”. In relation to Socrates, this is exactly what the government in Athens was worried about him doing. They were worried that Socrates’ ideas would influence people to not believe in god. In 399 AD Socrates was fighting for his life in a trial that accused him of not recognizing the gods that were recognized by the state. Socrates would go around and inform people that they can make decisions like this for themselves, decisions on who they believe in. Frank Ocean is describing the exact worry that many people of Athens had during the time. He is saying that if people do not believe in God, then God will mean nothing to them. This is not what the Athens government wanted to see happening. The powerful people in Athens wanted to convey God as someone who everyone can look up to and believe in. Socrates was not helping with this, and this is one of the main reasons why he was put on trial.

The deeper meaning of lyrics

Thousands of people every day listen to songs and disregard the true meaning of their lyrics. With this song it is hard to ignore what the lyrics are really saying. In the opening verse after the chorus Jay-Z states “Lies on the lips of a priest”. This is beginning to create the idea that you cannot always trust what is coming from the people that many look up to. Especially in a religious context. He is saying you must challenge what these priests and other religious leaders are saying, because what they are saying might not be true. This is exactly why Socrates went on trial, for rejecting religious norms and trying to preach different messages instead. One of the most famous things Socrates is known for to this day is, not being afraid to question anything and everything. This is something that is seen in the song. Jay-Z goes even as far as directly incorporating Socrates’ name directly into the song. He states “Socrates asked, whose bias do y’all seek?”. This line from Jay-Z is related directly to one of Socrates’ main ideas,  the idea that everything in life, whether we read it or hear it is coming from someone who holds some type of bias. Socrates was clear about fighting for what he thought was right, he wasn’t afraid to tell people that they need to be able to have their own opinions and stand up for themselves no matter the consequences.

The after life of the lyrics and video

In today’s society we can see the importance of Socrates and some of his most powerful thoughts and ideas. The lyrics in the song “No Church in the Wild” clearly conveyed some of the same thoughts that Socrates had conveyed for his entire life. All though the music video began with a violent protest. This is not exactly how Socrates would have acted when he would go against social norms. He would choose peace over violence. In the lyrics you can see that the words from Socrates are passed on, just as the way Socrates spoke them. Rather than the music video, where you can see they were changed.

You can’t just believe it because you see it

Socrates didn’t always trust what people told him, he wanted to go out and discover things for himself. He wanted to find out what he believed and have a good reason for why he had this feeling. In another post on our website written by Isabelle Malone you can see why it is such a problem to always believe what you hear and see. Pictured in this post is an image painted by Masaccio, it shows Adam and Eve in pain and misery. Rather than the artist choosing to paint them as beautiful religious figures as they are described in the Book of Genesis. Masaccio does this to show the pain that humans will feel if they disobey God. This is exactly what Socrates was worried about. Socrates would want you to question “if you don’t believe in god will this actually happen?” Or is this someone else trying to convince me to believe something they want me to. Socrates once said “I know you won’t believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others”. Now up to this day we have world famous artists like Kanye, Jay-Z and Frank Ocean attempting to continue to relay this message of the importance of questioning everything to people all over the world. 

Keegan Records

Author

I am from South Kingstown Rhode Island. I am a sophomore at Colgate University where I plan on majoring in Political Science.