Hip-Hop Artist J. Cole, Rap Artist

Have you ever wondered what famous person you would want to meet? What you would want to do with them, or talk about, or where would you be? Let me tell you about how my encounter would be.

Martinez 1 Erick Martinez WR 399 Professor Meyer 29 October 2017 The Life of Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur could possibly be the most effective and irresistible of all rappers. What made Tupac (aka 2Pac, or Makaveli) so distinguished and legends was his abundance of talent, his spotlight amiable appearance,

Though rap started out as a force for positive social change, popular subgenres of hip-hop such as "gangsta rap" have since eroded much of the art form's value to society. Impressionable young people are negatively affected by rappers' obsession with guns, drugs, sex, and material possessions. Since record companies do

Tupac When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family

The evolution of Rap Music Rap is a genre in music that consists of rhyming or being poetic over a certain unique beat. The origin of rap is significantly different from any other form of music. The flow, change, subject of the music, and the instrumentals behind the rapping has all changed with time. Most people would underestimate the complexity of the music and the evolution it has undergone. The real roots of rap music began in the late 1980’s with the “Golden Age.” It was innovative and mostly based around the party scene. Gangsta Rap followed the Golden age and was very impactful on the young culture. After the Gangsta Rap era came the time in rap referred to as Crunk Rap which combined the country sound with the party lifestyle. Conscious

Cole’s ability to redefine what it means to be masculine in Hip-Hop still receives backlash from Hip-Hop critics claiming that his music is bland and lacks shock value. The conflicts that are mentioned in J. Cole’s music is centered around him coming from a small town and being limited with opportunity him struggling to define his destiny beyond his hometown. The album, “2014: Forest Hills Drive” is a soundtrack to Cole’s evolution into manhood, that doesn’t include any typical hip-hop themes of violence, wealth, and negative depictions of women. Composing this rhetorical analysis from a cult of masculinity theoretical lenses allows the complexity of Cole’s

[youtube Cole was close to falling off after two albums that just didn't give the fans what they want, only to come back and be crowned as one of the biggest industry acts. He went from being a young kid from Fayetteville, North Carolina trying to make his dreams happen in New York City, to a rapper many consider one of the three kings of Hip-Hop, standing beside the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Drake who have also had their own shaky moments. J. Cole is really the representation of the great rap dream, beating the odds and several threats to his career by sticking to his guns. In a rap game where it seems like you'll have to go pop to do numbers, J. Cole did the very opposite by releasing 2014 Forest Hill Drive with no pop records and doing major numbers despite the sudden release of his album in a month’s time of announcement and his lack of records and promotion beforehand. From the fighting his way off the bench to his tireless effort to become a major player, J. Cole really did tell the best sideline story with his

On the other hand, some people are not as receptive to the criminal justice debate that Meek Mill’s sentencing has sparked. Rahman Hammond posted a Facebook post criticizing those who choose to blame the criminal justice system “for the choices of grown men” (Hammond). He believes that people are not holding Meek Mill accountable for his actions while he knew that he was on parole. Even though Meek Mill is not innocent in this situation as he violated New York law by riding a dirt bike, an unauthorized motor vehicle, his sentencing and the background for his case serves as a striking reminder of the harsh sentencing that black people face, no matter their wealth, notoriety, or popularity. Meek Mill is now 30 years old, yet he is still on parole for a crime he was convicted on when he was 19 years old. He spent over 10 years on parole not allowing him to practice any civil liberties. Even though the dirt bike charges were dismissed, the judge still sentenced him to two to four years in prison. People should be held responsible for their actions; however, the courts should also be held responsible for giving people unnecessarily harsh punishments compared to their white counterparts for crimes they have committed. Even though people say that Meek Mill is made an example of for black people, they also fail to realize the privilege that Meek Mill has a famous, wealthier black man. Black individuals who are typically exploited by the criminal justice do not have the finances to even hire a lawyer to properly defend their case. By examining Meek Mill’s case, individuals will hopefully understand the injustice that occurs within the black community and also understand what is at stake by ignoring or deflecting the concerns of a part of the population that essentially has no voice.

J. Cole has continued to look forward to the future and what is ahead in life. He once said, “Anything I want to do, I want to do it well.” What he meant when he said that was that no matter what he wants to look forward to doing, he

You’re standing in a crowd amongst thousands of fans at an Eminem concert, people from all over, shoulder to shoulder in a massive stadium, singing along every word of their favorite song for hours. People from all over are connected to each other through the power of music. When it

The beginning of J. Cole At age 12 his cousin introduced him to freestyling and he followed that inspiration and became one of the best hip hop rappers of this generation. At his young age he fell in love with storytelling rappers such as Nas, Eminem, and Canibus. By the age of 17 he would post his raps online

50 Cent (born Curtis James Jackson on July 6, 1975[1] in Queens, New York) is a popular African-American rapper, also known as Fitty or Fifty, who rose to fame following the success of his 2003 debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

There are many men and women who want to become rappers. Some may want to rap because it’s their passion and some may want to rap to send positive messages to the youth and try to better the community. When starting your career in rap or just music in general

John's University in New York City, where he majored in Communication and minored in Business. Being in college, he could also continue  his passion of being a musician. J Cole was eager to give Jay Z his demo!  He stood outside of Jay-Z’s building for hours. A few days later, he received a text message to meet J-Zay’s for a business meeting, where he heard his song, Lights Out. After hearing the song, J Cole was the first artist to be signed to Jay Z's Roc Nation. If you’re wondering what’s Roc Nation is, it’s an American Entertainment Company, founded by Jay Z in 2008. The company has offices in New York City, London, Nashville, and Los Angeles. After that, he knew he had to improve and drop more songs for his album. He was then featured in his mentor's (talk about the role the mentor played in developing J Cole’s career)  album The Blueprint 3 on the track A Star Is Born.  From there, Cole was a known collaborator, working with Wale, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, B.o.B, and many

Hip- hop has become a phenomenon throughout youth culture. Many believed hip-hop was only a phase of music like disco, but as the genre continued to expand and evolve, it became clear that hip-hop was here to stay. (History of hip- hop: past, present, future) Hip- hop is made up