Gil Scott Heron Essay

In this book, Jeffrey Ogbar talks about the beginning of rap, where it started, some of the artists of this genre and some of the controversial topics the artists rap about. He also talks about the usage of the N word as well as men calling women the B word. In the first chapter of the book, Ogbar contextualizes the debate by talking about the history of the minstrel figure in American popular culture, relying mainly on the work of W. T. Lhamon and Patricia Hill Collins. He talks about how the earliest manifestations of hip-hop music in the 1970s came from the Black Power movement and often included direct rejections of minstrel tropes for example in the artist KRS-One’s song “My Philosophy”. Before going on a chronological study of the internal debates that many rappers have over their relationships with the minstrel trope, Ogbar finds the source of the debate in early twentieth-century black writers’, mainly W.E.B Du Bois, interest in elevating many portrayals of African Americans in the arts, versus Harlem Renaissance writers’ rejection of the emphasis on

Poetry has changed over the course of many years and numerous events in history.Music, as well, changed the sound and lyrical meanings due to many events in history. Whether music is poetry or not can be argued, but I believe music is an art represented through sound and lyrics. Music is a form of poetry with a little tune to it. Music has a message to it just as poetry would. Modern day music can reflect on many things, just as poetry sometimes refers to events going on in the world. Many years ago a very controversial topic was the discussion of slavery, and later the inequality of colored men to whites. Popular American poets, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, are two of the very few who would talk about these controversies. Their poetry consisted of slavery, racial relations and inequality, opportunity, and hope. Their poetry captures the despair and faith in the colored people through all their oppression. Modern day music genre and style of hip hop or rap is a style created by African Americans. Present day rap artists, J Cole and Kendrick Lamar, are two rap artists who have revolutionized music and have become idolized by many African Americans. The two are known for discussing the reality of what it is like being a black man in today’s society. The poems of Hughes and Dunbar are very comparable to the songs of Cole and Lamar that discuss oppression, inequality, and hope within black

Rap music has become one of the most distinctive and controversial music genres of the past few decades. A major part of hip hop culture, rap, discusses the experiences and standards of living of people in different situations ranging from racial stereotyping to struggle for survival in poor, violent conditions. Rap music is a vocal protest for the people oppressed by these things. Most people know that rap is not only music to dance and party to, but a significant form of expression. It is a source of information that describes the rage of people facing growing oppression, declining opportunities for advancement, changing moods on the streets, and everyday survival. Its distinct sound, images, and attitude are notorious to people of all

If we look back at the origins of hip hop it is clear that rap began as a form of expression that allowed black people to stand up to prejudice. The soul that hip hop music communicates is rooted in oppression and marginalization from white people as far back as slavery, to the long time fight for freedom and equality. Hip hop is a

After reading or listening to the song, one might wonder if there were any allusions at all to the civil rights movement. These references are placed in the middle of the song and compared to the pop culture and commercial references; there are only a few of them. In the song Heron alludes to police brutality, Whitney Young, a prominent civil rights activist, and Roy Wilkens, the director of the NAACP at the time. In the allusions to the civil rights movement, there is a mixture of reality and fiction. In his allusion to police brutality, he uses the phrase “instant replay” (27-28).

The lyrics gather the attention of those African-Americans enduring racial discrimination to be prepare for a change, “You will not be able to stay home/brother/You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out”(lines 1-2).It feels like the Heron is conveying a sign of desperation to those listeners.Unity is essential for everyone who happens to

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

Frederick Douglass was one of the most important black leaders of the Antislavery movement. He was born in 1817 in Talbot County, MD. He was the son of Harriet Bailey and an unknown white man. His mother was a slave so therefore he was born a slave. He lived with his grandparents until the age of eight, so he never knew his mother well. When he turned eight, he was sent to "Aunt Kathy," a woman who took care of slave children on the plantation of Colonel Edward Lloyd. When he was nine, he was sent to Baltimore where he lived with Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Auld. He started to study reading with Mrs. Auld but Mr. Auld forbid it. However, he still managed to learn anyway. To cause him to comply with slavery more easily, Mr.

“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” is a poem and song by Gil Scott-Heron. It was written in 1970 for his album “Small Talk at 125th and Lenox”. During this time there was a profound shift in the struggle for equality as the fight for civil rights gave way to the demand for Black Power. Scott-Heron tried to attract and encourage all people to continue being actively involved in the revolution and not to just watch it from a safe distance. He also warned people to be wary of the media and their portrayal of African-American society. The song looks at the power of the media not just in observing society’s politics but in shaping them. He reminds us that big corporations own everything we see on television and even when we do get involved in the revolution, there will be no news coverage on it. The song aims to denounce “the elusive nature of political culture in Nixon’s America, and the inability of the mainstream to capture the real heart of the people” (Smith).

Rap Culture's Influence on Black Communities Rap music, originated in the United States in the 1970s. Since the beginning of the rap era, rap stars have had a distinctive style that susceptible listeners have mimicked as rap has become increasingly popular. Rap stars set trends that their fans emulate, they contribute a lot to what is seen as fashionable to the youth. This leads to the exploitation of the black community and unrealistic body goals. From Rap Stars to Fashion Icons Rap originally was used to express the feelings of African Americans who were oppressed and often lived in crime-ridden neighborhoods and came from lamentable environments.

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,

Although the genre of music is fairly new, the idea of rap is very old. What is classified as rap and hip-hop music was created thousands of years ago. Ancient African storytellers or “groits” used handmade instruments while communicating their stories in a fashion similar to what is seen as modern day rap music. The concept of speaking over music is rap music in its most rudimentary form. Rap has been created to provide an outlet for individuals to expose injustices, the artist’s thoughts and feelings of oppression, and their reaction to a dominant culture. They present those ideas in an artistic medium to a wide audience, those within their community and those far from it. Most commonly, rap aims to expose and comment on socio-political injustices, nationalism, or self-esteem. The rap genre was originally created by men, however female involvement; Salt-N-Pepa, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte were some of the first female rappers, emerging on the previously male dominated scene in the 1980’s. Although the genre is typically male dominated, the involvement of women is bringing a new perspective and vision to the genre, instead of using blatant machismo, their life experiences as women are tied throughout their lyrics.

Music is one of the purest ways for a person to express themselves. It is able to explain topics such as love, good times, and even oppression in ways that are beyond unique. In modern times the genre of hip hop has started to take over the mainstream community, similar to how rock did in the 20th century. Most of these artists write music for pure entertainment, rapping about money, cars, girls, partying, so on and so forth. But at the same there are artists that state social and political problems in society. So many of the popular rap artist these days have been able to put both elements in their music, having songs that provide entertainment and excitement but at the same time state powerful messages. Regardless many people still ponder

“ When words fail, music speaks”-Shakespeare- Music is something we hear every day. It can soothe us or it can make us very emotional. We hear music in our cars, at home, on our phones, at school, even at the gym. Music is a part of our culture, it makes us who we are. Music can either have a positive or negative impact on your life. One of the more popular forms of music that has been made much more recently is Rap/Hip Hop. There are many components of rythmes strung together over musical beats. There are extra loud bass and various drum beats that are commonly incorporated. In the early stages of hip hop, raps were performed by DJs. The beats, drums, and sounds were comprised from turntables and mic checks have been incorporated into many rap songs. “The majority of early raps were live, performed at parties instead of concerts which is why, Hip-hop is a form of popular music that is comprised mainly of emceeing and deejaying,”(Bambaata 2002). DJing has continued to play a large role in interpreting the sounds of rap. As for the lyrical portion of hip hop; songs are extremely varied in content. Although the lyrics displayed in songs have become more displayed as rap advanced, many early artists performed songs that were about both poverty and violence. Drug references have often been made, even in the twenty-first century, adding to hip hop’s explicit implications. Most lyrics reflect the humble beginnings of hip hop, but lyrics have come to border a wide spectrum with

Our world as we know it is fascinating, multifaceted, and cultured because of the literary aura that has been present throughout time. Just like the people that fill our world, some literature has been hurtful, some is beneficial to certain groups and cultures, and some is for pure entertainment. However, the great thing about it is that literature has the ability to connect any form of art through the past and present. Literature has no age and therefore can speak to generations and help enlighten future leaders of communities. No matter the topic, there is always a way to connect the piece of literature, whether that be a song, poem, or script, to the conditions of society. In the lives of African Americans, this idea of literature being a centerpiece of culture has continued in the past and into the present. Writers, songwriters, and poets alike all share a commonality that unites the African American community through similar aspirations, realizations, and views of the world around them. The circumstance in most literature of the past done by African Americans shares what their place in American society is like. Literature acted, at the time, as a glue that kept thoughts and morals together in the African American community in America. Today, African American culture is shared through various forms of illumifying arts that have roots given by the African American literary leaders of the past. Specifically, the “Black Lives Matter” movement and forms of media creations