Jay-Z

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

In the first verse, he reveals the irony of the situation by contrasting on how the relationship was better when the both of them were struggling to how their problems started when he gained fame. The line: “We was together on the block since free lunch/ We should’ve been together having Four Seasons brunch” suggests that their relationship started when they were kids at school trying to get food for free, and yet they can’t enjoy luxurious food together as successful adults. He admits to letting the money and fame complicate the relationship in the second verse as it seems rather innocent in the beginning (as innocent as a relationship with 90s Jay-Z could be): “On repeat, the CD of Big’s “Me and My Bitch”/ Watching Bonnie and Clyde, pretending to be that shit/ Empty gun in your hand saying, “Let me see that clip”/ Shopping sprees, pull out your Visa quick.” However, things don’t stay good for long– “We was so happy poor, but when we got rich/ That’s when our signals got crossed, and we got flipped.” The signals getting crossed serves as a metaphor for the mistake of him neglecting his ex while she continued to support him; because, when two cars follow signals that conflict each other, there’s going to be an accident that can end up hurting everybody involved. The third verse illustrates Jay-Z’s original contempt towards his ex after she decided to move on with somebody else: “ A face of stone, was shocked on the other end of the phone/ Word back home is that you had a special friend/ So what was oh so special then? You have given away without getting at me.” “A face of stone” refers to the feeling of being so shocked that you freeze on the spot, which would be a reasonable reaction to finding out that somebody that you’re involved with is suddenly seeing

You may know him from his Lisa Simpson haircut or his mouth full of 24-karat gold teeth; he is the 19-year-old rapper that is taking the music industry by storm. In the past, two years his music has gained national recognition and appealed to all types of fan bases. He is a force not to be reckoned with and his name is Kodak Black. He is the self-proclaimed “Project-Baby” from South Florida that is giving rapper a run for their money. Jon Caramanica, from the New York Times, described Black as “an unlikely savior for a hip-hop industry that has lately been preoccupied with melodic-minded Drake clones. Instead, he’s an old-fashioned literalist and represents the perennial power of grit even in a time that’s squeaky clean.” Kodak Black is an

Keef is well aware of the trials and tribulations facing the youth who grow up on his gang riddled streets. He is also aware of his claim to stardom, as well as his influence and power, with which should come a greater sense of social responsibility. Imagine being a thirteen year old growing up with a single mother in Compton or Chicago, two communities heavily inflicted with poverty and gang violence. Too quote the website, Teen Ink says "American youth are a target of the marketers of rap and hip-hop. In many low-income areas, some youth, particularly African-American males, are growing up with limited opportunities. Some of them have no important male role model in their lives, so they look up to a rap or hip-hop artist." Without a father figure, American youth is subject to the dignitaries of rap and to those 'higher ups ' behind the scene who target and take advantage of the disadvantaged kids; living in broken homes, without an identity, and desperate to be a part of something. It is so easy to exploit troubled youth because a vast majority of the artists influencing these young kids came from the same city, started from the same projects, and escaped from a similar, hopeless situation.

Black pathologies include characteristics such as rising rates of poverty and crime, selling of drugs, and being unemployed. It appears that some elements of Jay Z’s biography fit this “tangle of black pathology” stereotype. Jay Z was born into poverty, and his father left his family when Jay Z was younger; the idea of poverty and of the father figure leaving are black stereotypes. Jay Z would also go on to become a hustler, selling drugs to others in his community. Some might argue that the actions blacks undertake result in characteristics such as unemployment. However, there are also several aspects of Jay Z’s biography that do not fit the “tangle of black pathology” stereotypes. Today, Jay Z is a very successful man who escaped poverty.

A person’s traits are important because they are characteristics upon which talent is dependent, and talent is no less an important factor to success than opportunity is. If a talent without opportunity leads to little to no achievement, then what kind of outcome does one get from opportunities without talent? The opportunities that Wallace received as Biggie Smalls were simple, and ones that Gladwell would most certainly agree with. Like hundreds of other black youths, Biggie grew up in the 1980s, during the golden age of hip-hop. Hip-hop, to young blacks and the recently paroled, was a means of leaving the streets and a life of poverty ("Remembering the Golden Age of Hip-hop."). He took to rapping on street corners, which was also a popular thing to do at the time ("Notorious B.I.G. Bigger Than Life"). The biggest opportunity of his life was probably Sean “Puffy” Combs’ insistence that he be signed to a record deal. But why Biggie Smalls and not the countless other young rappers, such as Chico Del Vec and Lonnie “Common” Lyn, who also rapped on the street corners of New York, given the same opportunity? Furthermore, how did he become so successful despite being an overweight, dark black kid with a lazy eye during a time when hip-hop was

Originally from Marcy Houses housing project in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City,[9] Jay-Z was abandoned by his father Adnes Reeves and shot his brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry[10] when he was twelve years old.[11] Jay-Z attended Eli Whitney High School in Brooklyn, along with rapper AZ, until it was closed down. After that he attended George Westinghouse Information Technology High School in Downtown Brooklyn, with fellow rappers The Notorious B.I.G. and Busta Rhymes, and Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, but did not graduate.[12] He claims to have been caught up in selling drugs, to which he refers in his music.[11]

Marshall has absorbed a lot to become one of the best history painters of our time. He is on a mission to make black people and black culture exist in the

When a major social or political movement is occurring, popular figures that get involved or talk about those subjects serve as an influence for the public. An example of an entertainer that had influence would be Paul Robeson. Although Jay-Z and Robeson are known for their artistry and business reputations, the glaring difference between the two is political influence. When prominent leaders were needed, Robeson was involved with political activism during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960’s. The issues brought forward by those leaders were broader and more easily seen. In his music, Jay-Z talks about the obstacles he faced while growing up in the streets of New York. Poverty-redden ghettoes are present today, but there is not much being

Born Shawn Corey Carter on December 4,1969 in Bronx, NY and raised by his mother in the projects (Marcy Houses), after being abandoned by the father.

“Yo Taylor, I’m really happy for you…I’ll let you finish. But Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!” (West). Most people if they don’t know anything about Kanye West, they know this quote. When anybody hears his name everybody always has an opinion. Some people love him, while a lot of other people hate him, each for a variety of reasons. Though most people only see the arrogant and egotistic side of Kanye, the more important side that people don’t always see is the hardworking musician. In order to fully understand Kanye’s motives and to fully appreciate him, people have to know how he got to the point he is now today.

He started rapping not because other people was rapping and getting their names known, but because he wanted to do it for his mother who died from breast cancer, but that’s not what he always wanted to do. The two things he was known most for though were being fun and good on the court. He played basketball up to his junior year where he couldn’t play anymore because he was to busy in the streets.

West a great artist is the fact that he has never been shy of his identity. Kanye West burst on to the music scene when 50 Cent was bringing gangsta rap back and on the extreme contrary Ye was talking about the mundane aspects of his life such as love, relationships, dreams and middle-class upbringing. Tim’m West, an educator and performance artist, recollects his thoughts about Kanye West in his article “Hard to Get Straight”. “Kanye West is the “tell all” confessional animal exposes his dirt so no one else can dig him into a hole” (115) emphasizing the fact that during his early years in music many questioned Kanye and his credibility to be a “rapper”. He did not fit into the rapper mold; Ye was quiet, calm and collected.

In my own perspective Belafonte do not have the guts picking on anybody and tell them what to do or what not to. He can say whatever he wanted about Jay Z but Jay acknowledges the facts about the music and knows how to change it to his benefit or favor. I personally support Jay Z because he is a very crucial personality in the modern society and he also serves as an inspiration, hope, role model

Another rap artist she used in her argument was Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z. Jay-Z did not have a father as he grew up. Both Tupac and Jay-Z grew up as adolescents, who sold drugs, had guns, lived in the ghetto, and had a mentality of a thug or gangster. Even though they had those cons, they both rapped about being good parents will prevent your kids to be like them. “The fact that child abandonment is also a theme in hip-hop might help explain what otherwise appears as a commercial puzzle—namely, how particular music moved from the fringes of black entertainment to the every center of the Every teenager mainstreams” (Eberstadt). Hip-hop music does not only symbolize adolescent black teens, but also disobedient white teens.