“Ghetto Gospel” By Hugely Worshiped, King Of Rap, 2Pac

The rest of the chapter talks about the similarity of minstrel images in 1990s hip-hop, as evidenced by the defining characteristics of greed, violence, hyper sexuality and pathos in “gangsta rap” (a sub-genre of hip-hop further defined in chapter two). Ogbar balances this landscape with challenges to what he calls “neo-minstrelsy” from both inside and outside the hip-hop community, including discussions of the Spike Lee movie, Bamboozled, underground conscious hip-hop groups such as The Roots and Little Brother, and the activist “Stop Coonin’ Movement”, to name a few. Throughout the book, Ogbar explains how rappers strive for authenticity by “keepin’ it real”. And that is defined by how they rap, walk, talk, and make their

Unlike other Hip-Hop songs of the time, “The Message” was not intended to be a party anthem or upbeat happy song. It was, however, one of the first hip-hop songs that rapped about and documented the struggles within the urban area of the city. The chorus of the song, “It’s like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under” (Anthology of Rap, pg. , line 1-4), emphasizes how the artists, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, felt about living in the city. While the rest of the lyrics illustrate a vivid picture of the overall surroundings of the urban city, “Broken glass everywhere, people

Throughout the song, Tupac gives an inside look on the social problems affecting African-Americans and suggests possible solutions. In the first stanza of the song, Tupac first talks about how certain social issues are linked together; he makes a correlation between his skin color and being poor. Tupac says “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.” Then he explains how poverty causes crime by saying “My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.” And finally, he demonstrates the relationship between police brutality and race by saying “Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.”

On May 16th, 2010 Aiyana Stanley-Jones, a seven-year old Black girl from the east side of Detroit, Michigan was fast asleep at her grandmother’s home when Detroit Police Department’s Special Response Team mistakenly entered the residence during a midnight raid. Officer Joseph Weekley discharged a bullet that entered Stanley Jones’ head leaving her body lifeless. Initially, Weekley was charged in connection with Stanley Jones’ death but prosecutors cleared him in 2015, ensuring he would face no repercussions for his negligence that resulted in the premature death of Aiyana Stanley Jones.

The external factor that stands out the most in “Boyz N The Hood” is the systemic issues of classism and racism. The plot of the movie develops in a prominently black community where there is know violence and is portrayed to be a low class neighbour

“There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion,” said Malala Yousafzai (BrainyQuotes). Separation was one of the huge parts of the 1800's through the 1900s that had many individuals talking and even had an action set against it. Though the act tried to help get rid of it, it did not go as planned. People are mainly against individuals who are much different than what the norm is. Discrimination mainly focused on racism and the act of believing what someone else does is wrong. Along with immigration and sexism to go with everything else.

Thesis: the paper’s focus on hip-hop as a music genre that has changed the lives of the black Americans

The decade of hip-hop is what some may call it. Tupac, Naz, Biggie Smalls, as well as other artists, were major contributions. Not only for the people who are trying to find their footing, but Buck as well. Throughout the book various lyrics were embedded in order to create a better understanding for its readers. In addition, this book is based upon a 90s lifestyle within Philadelphia, which included drugs, gang activity, crime, hip-hop, and havoc. Malo was directly in the center of everything, the girls, the fights, the guns. His experiences shed light towards what it’s like to as an African American individual living in or near the hood. Not everyone realizes what people go through while living there, but now it gives some readers an image of what goes on. Though times have changed, not all previous feelings

In the introduction of the video to “Alright” by Kendrick Lamar, he uses footage of “the hood” or a rough neighborhood in California to expose the harsh conditions of income based housing in rough black

Many contradicting views surround rap music’s controversial subjects and use of language. While some consider it highly offensive, there is some validity to the rhetoric applied in political rap. In the 1990’s racial inequality is rampant with uprisings and segregated neighborhoods that condemn minorities and lower socioeconomic classes to inhumane living conditions. Specifically, Tupac Shakur’s posthumous song “I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto” combines an emancipatory lyric with a hopeful and upbeat instrumental to assess the racial inequality in society and the possibility of a better future.

Along with this, it also talks about the increased isolation that ensued as a result and left both groups of people from rarely ever integrating with each other. This hypersegregation thus resulted in huge gap in resources, levels of crime, and price levels between predominantly white and black neighborhoods. The effect of this hypersegregation is constantly seen in Kendrick’s song as he describes growing up in a neighborhood full of crime, and few people working. However, through Kendrick’s verses the listener can see the internal struggles hypersegregation has on a human being living in the ghetto away from any other life different than his surrounding. This is not only seen internally in Kendrick as he deals with the struggle of getting exposed to a whole new environment and shaking away the tendencies of the old one. The effect is also is seen in his friends when he raps “But something' came over you once I took you to the fuckin' BET Awards, You looking' at artists' like the harvests, So many Rollies around you and you want all of them” (Source). His friends are experiencing two effects of hypersegregation, the first being that they are shocked to see a whole new world other than the poverty stricken neighborhood they always are around. The Second is that as a result of only operating in one segregated setting Kendrick’s friends

The song "The message" by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five depicts the struggle of young black adults growing up in society. The struggle to make it out of poverty can be compared to survival of the fittest in a jungle. Only the strong would survive and adapt to the changes to fit in. Trying their best to make a betterment with whatever little society offers. Being a young black African American in the early 1980's was not easy. It was easier to live the fast life and gain fast money by being part of the drug community. Drugs, guns, and money was glamorized and this is what the young adults looked at as a means of getting rich. In the songs, a young man talks about how he is trying hard to hold on to the little bit of sanity he has left in his soul. He talks about the struggle he endures while trying not to get pushed over the edge. He was born an innocent child who's blind to the ways of mind kind. Growing up he faced many challenges and had to fight

The rudimentary components of racial isolation are principals that have transcended over time. The guiding principle, mandated through Jim Crow, of “separate but equal” was only personified through the New Deal not abolished. Racial segregation in the U.S. has transcended through the history of a nation that has used race/ color as a means of distinguishing right from wrong, good from bad, holy from evil, and it’s in this association the mammoth race issues we battle today enfolds itself. Most view racial division in the U.S. as a social canon that’s always held a dark presence in U.S. culture from the beginning of American history. Conversely, racial tension in America was introduced then further woven into American fabric through methodical structure as a means of standardization. Racism was institutionalized with systems that were originally perceived as being set in place to leverage African American’s with economic stability, but had an inverse effect that continues to rip through Detroit today.

“The Blacker the Berry” by Kendrick Lamar was released February 9th, 2015. This incredibly racially motivated song has created controversy throughout America because it tackles racism, hypocrisy, and hatred head on. Although Stephen Best argues that the past defines the present without question, and Hartman believes that many important African American stories have been silenced due to lack of evidence, Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Blacker the Berry” complicates and adds to their arguments by introducing a certain level of hypocrisy that forces the listener to understand a much more complicated moral position than is generally allowed, perhaps an inevitable one.

King of Rock n Roll, Elvis Presley, had a song in 1969 that took a drastic turn in theme from many of his other tunes relating to love, dancing and rock n roll. This song tells a tragic story which has very realistic connotations to the social problems of crime and poverty that were not only applicable to 1960s society but to our 21st century society. In this paper I will examine that song, titled “In the Ghetto”, highlight how the themes of the song relate to social disorganization, and further examine how the main character’s neighborhood takes the characteristics of a socially disorganized ecological environment perfectly.