Bilingual Rap : Poetry, Pragmatics And Performativity

Moreover, Jay-Z explains how poetry hides beneath the surface of hip hop songs, making it a form of art. However, many individuals are unaware of the poetry due to them focusing on the beat and punch lines of songs or quickly labeling rap as provocative rather than hearing the message behind the lyrics. Jay-Z states an individual cannot half-listen to a

McBride begins the essay by telling the readers of his nightmare. He once feared that his daughter would arrive home one day with a stereotyped rapper husband with “ mouthful of gold teeth, a do-rag on his head… and a thug attitude” (McBride 1). He came to realize that he in fact, hip-hop, a genre that he once didn’t believe was music, had become one of the most known genres in the world. The speaker first heard his first rap song at a college party in Harlem in 1980. The jazz lover he was, cringed at the rap music he claimed to be so poorly thought out and written. For the next 26 years of his life, he went out of his way to avoid hip-hop music all together, as if It was never there in the first place.

As thorough and rewarding as Bradley’s close reading can be, it is this sole focus that becomes problematic in Book of Rhymes. He stays on the surface, privileging the discussion of linguistic elements over cultural impact. He begins his wordplay chapter with an anecdote about a friend who disapproves of the misogynistic and violent elements of the Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics, a qualm addressed by Bradley in a customary manner: “It’s not what he’s saying, it’s how he’s saying it” (86). Bradley is partially correct; how he’s saying it is the aesthetically appealing aspect of hip hop, the reason millions of people around the world enjoy the music. But what he’s saying is the more compelling aspect. The environment that produced the attitudes reflected in hip hop, the source of Biggie’s misogyny and violent imagery, must be given its proper treatment in order to understand rap music on deeper levels than the beauty and complexity of its poetic structures.

Method: The type of article would be an empirical study. The purpose of the study was to examine

What was the background for the research study? That is, what previous knowledge did the author describe as a foundation for the study in the “review of related literature”?

In this essay, I will be informing you, as the reader on the evolution of Hip-Hop/Rap. The key points will be where it is today, how this genre of music is not only used as music; but is used as communication to connect with the listeners, how it affects people; physically, mentally and psychologically. In other words, I will be addressing where it was created and how it is used to speak and communicate with the listeners.

It was twenty years ago that the rap group N.W.A with Ice Cube as its most vital lyricist released its album “Straight Outta Compton”. They called their music reality rap, everyone else called it gangsta and music history was made. Hip hop music came from the clubs and sidewalks of New York City as party music made with turntables and rhymes by performers who usually couldn’t afford music instruments. It was party music and then it came west and got a beat down by a swaggering collective that called itself N.W.A. They took the genre to the dangerous side of the street (Boucher,2008).

I choose these four articles below because either I could relate to them, in some form or fashion, or I gained knowledge of the events as well as people in the articles. The natural plumbing article I found insightful, how infrastructure has changed so much. The Anne Frank article I did not remember her story from childhood, through this article I have been encouraged to gain more knowledge about WWII and the concentration camps. Coronel Sanders and his celebrity reign with his franchise KFC encouraged me to stay focused and not give up. Hence why I am a non-traditional college student, I want to finish something I started years ago for self-gratification. The slave sold to save Georgetown I related to because of the similarity of recently finding out about my ancestry and who is in my family lineage.

What was the research question? (Some authors are more general and state only a “purpose” for the research study. If so, indicate the

As I introduce this topic selection, I must first give insight as to why I have chosen it.

The most popular and influential form of African-American pop music of the 1980's and 1990's, rap is also one of the most controversial styles of the rock era. And not just among the guardians of cultural taste and purity that have always been counted among rock 'n' roll's chief enemies--Black, White, rock and soul audiences continue to fiercely debate the musical and social merits of rap, whose most radical innovations subverted many of the musical and cultural tenets upon which rock was built. Antecedents of rap are easy to find in rock with other kinds of music. Music is often used to tell a story, often with spoken rhymes over instruments and rhythms. Talking blues, spoken passages of sanctified prose in gospel,

Your Research Question- Give your research question (may be a working question). Give background for your question.

An ode can be defined as a "ceremonious lyric poem on an occasion of dignity in which personal emotion and universal themes are united" (Ode, 2012). While hip-hop is known for its violent, masculine, and often, misogynistic lyrics, "Dear Mama" (1995), the first single from Tupac Shakur's album, Me Against the World (1995), can be considered to be a modern ode. Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac, one of hip-hop's most influential rappers, intended to pay homage to his mother through this song and frequently referenced it in many of his later songs. "Dear Mama" (1995) contains many elements that allow its lyrics to be analyzed from a literary perspective including tone, theme, and lyrical style.

I chose this topic because I wanted to focus on a matter that is relevant to the audience in order for them to be interested. Also, I wanted the audience to learn something new that they could apply to their lives currently.

Choosing a topic is always the first step of any research process. The statement seems simple, but the chosen topic defines all other stages of the process. In order to choose a topic, one has first to identify a problem whose remedy or eradication calls for research. This is then followed by the development of a research question. The question forms the statement that serves as the research topic. The topic, which is the focus of the study, provides keywords for the next stage of research, that is, the literature review.