Lupe Fiasco sparks a conversation with the powerful video for “Bitch Bad,” the latest single off his upcoming album Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1, due September 25. The outspoken MC contemplates the long-term psychological effects of the word “bitch,” by weaving together a narrative of a young boy and girl who are both exposed to the degrading language.

“Whether right or wrong, some things need to be said in order to start a conversation … that’s all I try to do with my music,” Lupe told MTV News.

He dedicates the Gil Green-directed clip to Paul Robeson and the “many black actors who endured the humiliating process of blackface in America.”