Kodak's Song Gave It All I Got

Can an ego be big enough for one to “trip over?” Ego-tripping is something undertaken to boost or draw attention to a person’s own image or appraisal of himself, and or something done primarily to satisfy one’s vanity. Nikki Giovanni was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on June 7. 1943. She graduated with honors from her grandfather’s alma mater Fisk University. The poem Ego-Tripping is about what she perceives as the true identity of an African American women. She explains how being powerful can open so many doors for a person if they just believe in themselves. This poem was written when Giovanni took her first trip to Africa in 1972, the same year the poem was written. The poet explains her past experience to show how lost she was during

All over the world many have gone through or are still going through the struggle of being in poverty. You don’t have to be homeless to be struggling, it could be just not have lights on in your home, past due rent, or maybe not having enough or anything at all to eat. Many have felt like just because they go through this that they will never be anything because they don’t have the resources to accomplish anything in life, and other people around you who doubt you can make you believe even more that you will never amount to anything in life. Christopher Wallace aka The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie small’s song “Juicy”, released in 1994 from his Ready to Die album, selling over 607,000 copies is a great example of all of this. He tells this exact story through his song about how people used to doubt him and even goes on to tell about his life in the struggle and coming up from it.

Today many people feel compelled to buy anything or everything with an expensive price tag. This includes Expensive designer clothes, latest gadgets, expensive vehicles and many other similar things. This form of consumerism has embedded itself in today’s society; where it's encouraged to invest in such materialistic possessions. Kanye West is an African-American rapper, producer, and entrepreneur, who articulates his struggle with consumerism and the struggle for those around him in his song “All Falls Down.” West, utilizes puns, rhyme, and juxtaposition to highlight the issues surrounding materialism that can be interpreted differently by different listeners such as African Americans and White Americans.

“Education is a major driver of development and is a strong instrument for reducing poverty, improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability” (The World Bank) - so why is it that students are often deprived from an extensive education? In Illinois, education funding has been an ongoing problem. Funding for schools is based on the property taxes where the schools are located, causing those who live in lower socioeconomic areas to receive less educational funding. This is unfair because children who live in lower socioeconomic areas are not able to receive the same opportunities and benefits that are acquired when a quality education is obtained. This is why educational funding in Illinois should be distributed evenly so that every

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.

Violent lyrics, a bad-boy image, and a long criminal record are what attracted and connected millions of young adults to the now legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a man of contradictions; for example, his music degraded and also praised strong women. Tupac Shakur rapped about problems that inner-city black Americans could relate to, along with his legal and personal drama; you could not get away from Tupac in the 1990’s. From the womb to the day Tupac Shakur died he went through the struggles many self-proclaimed “gangsters” these days do as well; but using these problems he took the rap and hip-hop game to another level.

A common theme among many scholars is modern poetry lacks poetic merit. The modern version of poetry is more often than not, found as music and more specifically as lyrics opposed to stanzas. “Traditional” poetry is known for its poetic merit; however, modern poetry, music, also has elements that can be found in traditional poetry. Poetic merit usually refers to the use of numerous poetic elements: figurative language, imagery, symbolism, allusions, etc. Though scholars may regard music as lacking in poetic merit, the song “Glory” by John Legend and Common proves otherwise through its use of symbolism, alliteration, and allusions to put forth its emotional lyrics that depict the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement.

In Jay McLeod’s influential book, Ain’t No Makin’ It (2009), he discovers new sociological theories and social reproduction through his research over many years. Through social reproduction McLeod shows us how education’s role gets passed down from one generation to the next from class inequality. He claims that aspirations/lack of aspirations is being reproduced. He deeply examines two resident groups of male youths that have opposing views on what their aspirations are in life. McLeod also deciphers what the American Dream is according to them. “The American Dream is held out as a genuine prospect for anyone with the drive to achieve it” (McLeod 2009: 3).

A sheet of paper can wield more power than an army. In Wayson Choy’s novel All That Matters paper’s power is portrayed as a double-edged sword; where it acts both as a catalyst for change and opportunity, but also as a tool to imprison and constrain individuals. Although paper “represents a significant tool of diasporic mobility” states literary critic Alena Chercover in her analysis of Wayson Choy’s All That Matters, she argues that there is a significant trade-off in its ability to facilitate “survival in the diaspora, [as] it often carries a steep price”(12). This price that results from passage across “national, ethnic, gender and class boundaries” (Chercover 12) appears to weigh more on female immigrants. Immigration and the papers

In the concept album, good kid m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar creates an autobiographical narrative that describes the societal pressures of growing up as a black teenager in Compton, and how his self-awareness and musical passion allowed him to escape from the city’s cycle of violence. Through the album’s storyline Kendrick makes the case that, despite coming from a hedonistic, gang infested city, he is able to transform into a puritan. Kendrick narrates this story through several different perspectives, including actual people from his life as well as his own psyche. Kendrick Lamar mainly invokes the persona of K.Dot, who is based on Kendrick’s actual seventeen year old self. This story begins from the first person perspective of naive K.Dot, who is characterized by a raspy, inflicted voice. The lyrics of this character show the ignorance and lack of direction in his life, as well his self-doubts and impressionability. It is eventually revealed that K.Dot has a passion for music. While K.Dot is a good kid at heart who is not gang affiliated, his innocence is tainted by the desires of the Compton lifestyle. After a violent encounter, a transformation begins to occurs from within K.Dot. He realizes that the negative influences of gang culture have corrupted him,

Tupac Shakur released the song “Keep Ya Head Up” first in 1993 on his album “Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.”, then as a single in 1994. Tupac’s “Keep Ya Head Up”, one of his most notable and recognizable singles, received acclaim upon its release and continues to do so. The record centers on the social climate in the 90’s, and Tupac’s own experiences from his youth. Around the time of the song’s release, Tupac’s indictment in a rape case colored the reception of the song although it remained mainly positive. Tupac speaks on multiple issues through his lyrics, making it effective as a critique of society; moreover, the other creative devices he uses – phrasing, rhythm changes, and samples – make the song effective as an artistic project and back up his social message.

“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.

Drake’s song “Too Good” is, in many ways an amazing work of art. Two amazing artists- Drake and Rhianna- sing this song. While listening to a song there are a few criteria’s that should be followed and those are: rhythm, meaning, and voice, in which all are met in this song.

John Legend wrote “All of Me” for his fiancée, Chrissy Teigen. There is no doubt that the song was for her. The whole song is about love and about giving up something, to gain so much more. This song consists of the couple loving each other and understanding sometimes things are hard and will not always make sense. But they also know that if they persevere through those hard times they will be unstoppable.

“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.