Analysis Of ' I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto '

Tupac in the song changes explains the message that the world need change for the better of people. The reason why he feels the need for this change is because; he is tired of seeing the world as it is now with no justice. Shakur communicates his message by explaining that as black people we should not have to be shot, killed and blamed for everything that goes wrong in the black community. The artist purpose is to inform others that do not see what he sees that it’s an ongoing problem, so he gives them a vision through his lyrics and his video. The artist uses a formal tone for the people who listen to his music, which may seem harsh and mean but his tone is what lets you know that he is serious about what he is talking about.

Violent lyrics, a bad-boy image, and a long criminal record are what attracted and connected millions of young adults to the now legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a man of contradictions; for example, his music degraded and also praised strong women. Tupac Shakur rapped about problems that inner-city black Americans could relate to, along with his legal and personal drama; you could not get away from Tupac in the 1990’s. From the womb to the day Tupac Shakur died he went through the struggles many self-proclaimed “gangsters” these days do as well; but using these problems he took the rap and hip-hop game to another level.

The study of hip hop music has been cited well throughout its growth over time. The purpose of this paper is intended to discuss hip hop culture and address cultural stereotypes associated with rap and hip-hop music, but also how its original lyrical intentions were forms of expression and art. It will begin by guiding the reader through how it originated, its influence with the African-Americans with its subculture and popularity in urban areas, its styles of evolving, the introduction of hip hop and rap to the public, the depiction it gave off with its criticisms from outsiders. An evaluation of hip hop artists songs by Sugar Hill and the Gang, Run DMC, Queen Latifah, and N.W.A. Including lyrics from the songs “Rappers Delight”, “King of Rock”, “Latifah’s Law”, and “Niggaz4Life”. In the conclusion it exposes how hip hop music is clearly for black Americans to express themselves freely and in fact did not cause violence.

Many Americans today embrace the culture of hip-hop. Since hip-hop became mainstream its influence has surrounded most Americans. People engage in social issues from the hip-hop culture In his recent work, How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back, John H. McWhorter have offered harsh critiques of hip-hop for delaying and marring the success of black people. McWhorter asserts hip-hop music “celebrates a ghetto life of unending violence and criminality(10).” He believes hip-hop contributes to the stereotype nearly all Americans maintain in regard to black people. Reflecting on harsh song lyrics McWhorter attempts to strengthen his argument. McWhorter acknowledges not all hip-hop promotes violence in people. He concedes “not all hip-hop is belligerent

To gaze into the lyrics of both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur is like living in the ghettos of New York City where violence never stops. Both of these artists grew up seeing and living a life filled with violence. Gunshots and drive-byes, death and murder were a daily occurrence. Although the lyrics of both artists are simply telling their life stories and how hard it was to grow up in their “hoods” they contain vulgar, hateful, and sexual verses that send the wrong message to their listeners. Whether these listeners are teens or adults, white or black, they are continually sending notions of hatred and fear through their lyrics and actions. Ultimately,

Within History, Rap has been considered the “CNN for black people”; what started as a way to express struggles in the ghettos of New York has transformed into one of the most popular genres of music in America. The popularity of rap has allowed many to have their voices heard, created new fashion trends, and even developed popular modern slang used by people throughout the world. The commercialization of rap has resulted in a significant following of the culture in America but also a large number of people who oppose the music. The culture of rap music has a substantial impact on popular culture in America, and by using an open mind and looking past the violence and language, people can better understand the meaning behind rap and the perception that follows it in America today.

As the decade of the 1970’s came to an end, a new Black music emerged like much of the others - wrapped in social realities of an genuinely Black experience. Rap/Hip Hop bursted on the seams relating many of the same political messages and ideologies heard decades before. Echoing the Black Power movement and using the musical culture as a way to rebuild Black communities constantly under attack, rap brought real life stories of an urban, younger

We can surmise, then, that Obama’s image is directly related to the notion of the “post-racial” through his failure to explicitly discuss racism, which in turn, affects how notions of race and raciality are conceived and discussed in the American socio-political landscape as a whole; in contrast, hip hop is in a position to deal more explicitly with race and racism. As Jeffries argues, “Poverty, disorder, and ghetto culture are central to analyses of hip-hop meaning, thanks to the symbolic importance of the ghetto as an element of hip-hop authenticity and the historical importance of neglected urban space as the birthplace of hip-hop culture” (Thug Life 28). Thus, hip hop remains firmly rooted in traditionally Black spaces and experiences which lends hip hop and rap artists the

Frequently, the gansta rap has been the center of attention on national debates regarding the amount of violence in the media and its effects on America’s youth. In some occasions, there have been cases in where political experts and television analysts have accused individual rap starts for real life tragic events. However, it is imperative to understand that if hip hop music is violent, it is because the songs express the reality that African American live on a daily basis. In order to be objective on this matter, it is essential to look past the controversy and acknowledge that it is unrealistic for one particular

People around the world have different ways of expressing their emotions. Many people use music as a way to release the emotions they feel inside. When listeners analyze a song sometimes they can understand what an artist might feel or better understand their perspective. Many African American artists sing about how African American communities are dragged into a never ending cycle of poverty and criminal activity. Some artists many have a different perceptive on the future of these communities where they grew up in. Gang Starr’s “Code of the Streets” and 2Pac “Changes” exposes the experience of living, being raised in a poor community expressing different emotions in the song.

The cry of injustice has become louder and louder and those people who are knowledgeable about their ancestral history, feel hopelessness in the midst of this unfortunate rebirth of the New Jim Crow. Their hopelessness is further fed and satisfied by the powers that be who arrange for African-Americans to be unable to escape the extreme cycle of poverty forcing them to adapt the best way they can to their current situation; whether that be murdering someone like yourself or selling narcotics. Tupac Amaru Shakur, wrote the famous song “Changes” in 1992 but it was released after he was murdered, in October 1998. Tupac exposes the reality of commonly ignored societal ills such as racism, classism, and discrimination and establishes that unity is the only way out. Through the use of juxtaposition, allusion and call to action, Tupac illustrates his thoughts on racial desperation and its correlation to overarching racism during the period of social unrest in the United States and the importance of establishing a united front to fight back. Although written more than twenty-four years ago, currently we are facing a heightened cultural climate in the United States and the relevancy of Tupac’s song “Changes” is more than necessary. Tupac has become a spokesperson of not only his generation, but current American society.

To begging protesting with the song “changes” by Shakur is an anti-racism song relates to the social issues we still have today such as racism. Shakur talks about how people need to take a step back and realize that they need to change for the better. Shakur grew up with struggles and those struggles related to all the black people in his generation. The struggles of being judged by the color of their skin. Shakur states, “Cops give a damn about a negro/Pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero’ (lines 6-7). Shakur grew up in a world of hate and racism towards black people, his parents were leaders of the Black Panthers Group. Which was a black movement that retaliate towards white supremacist and cops. When cops killed a black person, cops were considered a hero as an act of protecting white people but was all due to racism. The song ranges about the young black selling cocaine on the streets and the American system. Though they knew selling drugs was wrong, but they had to survive. Shakur states in the song, “It’s time for us as a people to start makin' some changes/Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live/And let's change the way we treat each other”(lines 55-58). He knew that everything was wrong and that needed some changes for a better life. Considering all the deaths of the black community due to racism. He knew if the old ways wasn’t

America wants hip-hop for its feel good and popularity qualities rather than its underlying political messages in songs. Currently, hip-hop is the most popular genre in the world. Interestingly, hip-hop’s most popular sub-genres are SoundCloud rap, trap rap, and mumble rap. In most cases of trap and mumble rap, there is not a distinct or strong message to politics with most songs being about drugs, how the rapper is feeling, or just bragging about how rich they are. With less of a strong lyrical message in content, political substance in hip-hop is sometimes in the shadows.

From it's inception, rap indured a lot of hostility from listeners--many, but not all, White--who found the music too harsh, monotonous, and lacking in traditional melodic values. However, millions of others--often, though not always, young African-Americans from underprivileged inner city backgrounds--found and immediate connection with the style. Here was poetry of the

Throughout history, music has been used to express the feelings of people or groups whom may have no other outlet to express themselves. The best example of this occurrence would be the lower class of America’s use of rap music. Rap music started out as a fun variation of disco with the purpose to make people dance and enjoy themselves, but it later transformed into one of the best outlets to express the struggles of poverty in the United States. The genre gained popularity when the song “Rapper 's Delight” hit the charts in the early eighties; rap evolved into a plethora of different styles from there, Gangster Rap formed with NWA in the late eighties, and rap really hit it’s zenith in the mid nineties. Modern rap began in the early starts of the twentieth century. Because of the storytelling that rappers do in the music, it gained notice in the inner city where the demographic could relate. Many young teen in the inner city environment built dream to be famous rappers just like their own favorite artists . Rap connects to me by its style, its purpose, and its political incorrectness.