Defining the contemporary could be really simple. If someone broke into my house, shook me awake and asked what it meant, I would probably just tell them it means belonging to or occurring in the present. If that same person shook me awake, apologized for intruding at such an ungodly hour, and asked me to explain in lengthily manner how to classify the contemporary, I would talk to them about Claire Bishop and Common.

Claire Bishop’s Radical Museology touches on themes of presentism, temporality, and dialecticism. She defines the contemporary as something that “is understood as a dialectical method and a politicized project with a more radical understanding of temporality.”

Bishop warns against the dangers of presentism in describing the contemporary. She uses the example of the New Museum in New York as a case study of presentism. This museum attempted to function as an “anti-collection”, constantly swapping out art pieces from various collections. The museum’s reluctance to establish any type of permanence prohibited it from instituting a dialogue amongst various pieces. Bishop emphasizes the importance of creating a conversation between the past and the present in museums of contemporary art, something that was missing during this instance of “anti-collection.”

Common’s new song, “Home”, follows this conception of contemporariness. On the surface, this song is simply a declaration of Common’s reemergence into rap after a brief hiatus. He talked recently about how he felt the moment was ripe for political-minded hip hop after the recent successes of Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper. “Home” seems like an expression of self-assurance and confidence. He raps, “Your name is Common, you was born to fight the norm, I’ma put a hyphen on your name: rapper/actor/activist.”

This song follows Bishop’s vision of contemporary art. The song explores themes of black empowerment in a fashion that is deeply historical. In doing so, he relates classical examples of black oppression to the modern day. His uplifting message of authenticity and positivity gains more credence when he contextualizes the current struggle of African Americans with allusions to previous black leaders. He refers to Musa, the 14^th century King of Mali that may have been the richest man in the world, and Marcus Garvey, the former civil rights leader and advocate of the Pan-Africanism movement.

The prevalence of historical references in the song make it less about Common’s personal obstacles and more about black leadership and liberation. In the artistic space of this song, he evaluates these themes in a temporal method that matches Bishop’s standards for the contemporary. Common begins with a sample from Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and references examples of black excellence present in the bible. He floats in and out of modern and classic examples of oppression and resistance, thus creating a conversation between the past and the present.

Thus, Common does not present his song as an organized, sequential representation of overcoming black injustice in terms of temporality. It is not a history lesson, but rather a necessary contextualization of the persecution of black people today. The lack of chronology allows the listener to listen to and interpret the individual parts of the song in whichever way speaks to them. Common establishes non-presentist, multi-temporal contemporaneity in regards to the theme of black empowerment.

I wholeheartedly agree with this method of classifying the contemporary. I believe that the contemporary should aim to initiate a dialogue about pertinent themes or issues, and must utilize the past in order to rationalize and interpret the present. However, I don’t necessarily agree with Bishop’s claim that the contemporary must be political.

The contemporary has more to do with defying what society considers to be sensible than expressing political viewpoints. In George Cotkin’s Feast of Excess, he articulates the ways in which Jerry Lee Lewis is considered to be revolutionary. Lewis’ unabashedly sexual lyrics and chaotic performances (he even once lit his piano on fire). He defied the sensibility of the 50’s, a decade defined by conformity.

While most of the country seemed to embrace suburban conformity, Jerry Lee Lewis pushed the envelope with his antics and lyrics. Jerry Lewis’ songs did not overtly decry the conservatism of this era, nor did they have any hint of political motivation or social critique. But the sexual innuendo in his songs and mayhem of his performances struck a chord with the younger generation’s fascination with sex, which existed underneath the surface of conservatism.

Additionally, Lewis brought a traditionally black genre to the attention of white audiences. For years, some of the best musicians of the 20^th century were confined to a purely black audience because of widespread racism. These blues, R&B, and early rock and roll artists gained much more visibility because of Lewis and groups like the Rolling Stones that were heavily influenced by black musicians. By making music in a traditionally black genre, Lewis created a bridge between these established, extraordinarily talented blues and rock artists and the white population. This applies to the concept of creating a conversation between past and present. These black musicians went largely unnoticed in white America, but eventually entered the mainstream consciousness in part because of Lewis’ art.

Jerry Lee Lewis challenged the sensibility of his era, which I think is a crucial aspect of defining the contemporary. The contemporary should challenge and interpret our current moment while using appropriate context. This does not need to be overtly political in its intent, but can be. Overall, the contemporary can take a plethora of forms to create a diverse temporal landscape in order to comment on the times we live in.