Sam Amico
R&B singer Jill Scott has come under fire for changing the lyrics during a rendition of the national anthem, with some referring to it as a two-minute bashing of the country.
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Scott sang her version of the Star Spangled Banner at the Essence Festival, and Essence has since said Scott’s version is the only one it will recognize moving forward. Essence is a lifestyle publication geared toward Black women.
During her performance at the festival, Scott sang that America is not the land of the free, “but the home of the slaves.”
For the record, slavery in America was abolished in 1865, or 158 years ago.
Still, Scott recently told Jemele Hill that the racial climate in the country has had her occasionally considering moving away.
“There are some things you don’t have to deal with in other countries. We’re looking at Holland,” Scottr said. “The education is dope, the healthcare is dope. There’s very few confines on your personality. If you want to go get some a– or buy some a– ain’t nobody tripping on you… I like the idea of people being able to be free as long as you’re not harming anybody.”
Scott, 51, is a college dropout who hit it big on the music scene after early beginnings as a spoken-word artist. She was once sued by Hidden Beach Records for leaving halfway through her six-record contract, so her career has not come without its fair share of controversy.
But based on the blowback, nothing is quite as controversial in music as changing the lyrics to the national anthem.
Her version:
“Oh say can you see by the blood in the streets / That this place doesn’t smile on you colored child / Whose blood built this land with sweat and their hands / But we’ll die in this place and your memory erased / Oh say, does this truth hold any weight / This is not the land of the free, but the home of the slaves!”
