"Uncle Sam Goddamn" is the second single from

Brother Ali Ali Douglas Newman (born Jason Douglas Newman, July 30, 1977), better known by his stage name Brother Ali, is an American rapper, community activist, and member of the Rhymesayers Entertainment hip hop collective. He has released nine albums, ...

's second full-length album ''

The Undisputed Truth The Undisputed Truth was an American Motown recording act assembled by record producer Norman Whitfield to experiment with his psychedelic soul production techniques. Joe "Pep" Harris served as main lead singer, with Billie Rae Calvin and Bren ...

''. The single was released on May 4, 2007 as a

12" vinyl The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12) is a type of vinyl (polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a "single" or a few related sound tracks on each surface, compar ...

. There are three different editions of the single; a red version, a white version and a blue version each containing a different

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

. The song features a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

-influenced beat produced by

Ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

to assist its "bitingly critical" lyrics.Brown, Marisa. "The Undisputed Truth Overview"

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved December 13, 2007. Its lyrics harshly condemn the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

government for its past involvement in

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and the crack cocaine trade, and its failure to provide for the poor. Its music video contains controversial images of

cross burning In modern times, cross burning or cross lighting is a practice which is associated with the Ku Klux Klan. However, it was practiced long before the Klan's inception. Since the early 20th century, the Klan has burned crosses on hillsides as a way ...

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...

and

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

alongside images of American landmarks like the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

and

Capitol Capitol, capitols or The Capitol may refer to: Places and buildings Legislative building * United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C. * National Capitol of Colombia, in Bogotá * Palacio Federal Legislativo, in Caracas, Venezuela * National Ca ...

building. Brother Ali has been under pressure from the recording industry due to lyrics from this song, claiming creative interference from "somebody I don't wanna name, but some of you probably has their cell phones." The unnamed corporation ultimately withdrew its sponsorship of Ali, causing him to truncate parts of his 2007 tour. Furthermore, on the song "Second Time Around" with Benzi and Wale, Ali makes references to being kicked off a tour followed by the line "Verizon dissed me too, cuz I was too political." The song is notably critical of the United States government, with accusations that the political system is addicted to war. The introduction, in which Brother Ali says, "The name of this song is Uncle Sam Goddamn. It's a show tune, but the show ain't been written for it yet," is an allusion to

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

's "

Mississippi Goddam "Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". Composed in less than an hour, the song emerged in a “rush of fury, hatred, a ...

Track listing

12" vinyl (Red)

A-Side

# "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Censored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Uncensored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Instrumental)"

B-Side

# "No Alibis (Censored)" # "No Alibis (Uncensored)" # "No Alibis (Instrumental)"

12" vinyl (White)

A-Side

# "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Censored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Uncensored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Instrumental)"

B-Side

# "Palm the Joker (Censored)" # "Palm the Joker (Uncensored)" # "Palm the Joker (Instrumental)"

12" vinyl (Blue)

A-Side

# "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Censored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Uncensored)" # "Uncle Sam Goddamn (Instrumental)"

B-Side

# "Talkin' My Shit (Uncensored)" # "Talkin' My Shit (Instrumental)" # "Talkin' My Shit (Acappella)"

References

External links

"Uncle Sam Goddamn" music video on YouTube
{{Brother Ali 2007 singles Brother Ali songs 2007 songs Political songs Protest songs Songs about racism and xenophobia Uncle Sam