That’s the first line of Saul Williams’ “List of Demands (Reparations),” which is currently, powerfully blasting in the TV spots for Nike’s new ad campaign.

I was really impressed that Nike chose to feature such a talented, creative artist for its commercials, and the drums and energy of the song really drive the ads. But, if you know Williams’ music, or actually listen to the lyrics of that song (which I’m guessing Nike doesn’t really count on) it’s not very fitting.

I knew immediately that there would be some unhappy Williams fans, so I visited his Web site and looked through the bulletin board. Sure enough, there was a long thread on the topic, and Saul himself responded to claims that he is a “sellout” by posting on this page.

I completely understand many of Williams’ points, as well as those of his less-than-pleased fans, and am glad he took time to address the concerns of his listeners. A sample from his post:

7. I have never seen a Nike ad and thought “I gotta get those shoes”, but I have thought, “who sings that? I gotta get that album”. which is to say, am I selling Nikes or is Nike selling Saul Williams albums?

8. I made $0 from the sales of that album….so far.

…

11. I might consider myself a sellout if I wrote a song FOR a corporation, but an ad exec asking me to use my song in their commercial, strikes me as not much different as a student asking to use my song in their film. Granted I can think of plenty of corporations that I would say no to and a couple of years ago I probably would have said no to Nike, just as I did to Mercedes (but they actually wanted me to write a poem about a car! A poem!). But, yes, I knew that Nike had made certain steps in addressing issues, which I had to research years ago as my neice, who is a formidable athlete, and daughter have both begged me for Nikes. Although I do not personally own a pair, I remember what it was like to be in junior high school. They’re both really excited about the commercial.

…

15. ipods ain’t green.

He later posts, in the same thread, about how he sat with Nike and discussed the past and present actions of the company as well as its lookout for the future and how it hopes to better operate.

This is a very interesting discussion that occurs when any beloved, underground artist is tied to a large corporation.

To be honest though, I’m really happy 1. to hear a great song on TV if I’m going to be forced to watch ESPN basically every evening, and 2. that an intelligent artist is at least taking the steps to create a dialogue with large, influential businesses.

Saul also wrote that Nike had been following the same thread, reading fans’ concerns over the ad and the company as a whole. No matter where you stand on the debate, or if you even care at all, that’s pretty cool.

Here’s the song in its entirety.