John River is direct and brutally honest in his latest single "Confessions of a Broke N***a."
The Toronto rapper and activist, who has long been battling illness, is adept at storytelling through his lyrics, with many socially conscious songs backed by a catchy tune and addictive beat. This is no exception.
In the track, River mentions that he's been stressed, working on a new project for four months, and delves into some of his reflections from the past year.
River is known for his activism, particularly his history of elevating the Black Lives Matter movement, where he wore a shirt with the BLM logo to the 2015 Much Music Music Awards, a bold statement at the time. A year later, the rapper attracted attention yet again when he wore a shirt that said "Stop Blaming Muslims" to the 2016 ceremony.
In "Confessions of a Broke N*gga," River continues his advocacy, speaking out on his opinion that white people should not say the N word. He breaks the reasoning down into vivid, and frankly, hilarious, metaphors. It's really "not that complicated," River says.
Check out the song below.
Quotable Lyrics:
In all-white world saying n***s just the wrinkle
Why am I allowed and you not?
You wanna say it so bad we’ll take the shit that you got
Like colleges, scholarships, nepotism, politics
Don’t forget our houses aren’t bigger than your cottages
Your best friends Black? That makes you an apologist
'Cause staring at the stars doesn’t make you an astrologist n***a