Lil Wayne A Seat At The Table Analysis

In this song, Chance the Rapper states he wants to be an independent musician. He is sick and tired of today’s music industry treating music as a way to make money. Nowadays, almost all of the musicians are signed by record labels and forced to make music for the money purpose. However, Chance The Rapper wants to be a true artist and has entire freedom to follow his heart to make music just like his predecessors did decades ago. He respects to the old generation artists and the freedom of music creation, so he decides to be an independent musician and make this song to tell people that he won’t join any record label.

The artist, Destiny Frasqueri, explores what it means to be young and brown in today’s America through her spoken word poem “Brown Girl Blues.” Frasqueri informs listeners of the hardship and oppression on the black community and the racial divide the government keeps on society. This argument makes sense. With the pandemonium that appears on the news and the riots that happen daily it’s obvious the reasons behind Frasqueri perspective. Though Frasqueri is talking on such deep and demanding material she stills keeps an optimistic disposition on the topic. Destiny Frasqueri has spent her whole artistic career writing about the injustice of minorities. Many of her other pieces have a more dark and isolated tone, but not “Brown Girl Blues”. The jazzy and soulful instrumental integrated with a video of young, black, powerful females gives a unique and hopeful vibe to

In the essay, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal Of Black Women”(221), by Jennifer McLune, she vents her feelings regarding hip-hop songs that are rhythmically diminishing the value of black women. She provides example on how the lyrics are being voiced and how hip-hop artists do not seem to care. Kevin Powell in “Notes of a Hip Hop Head” writes, “Indeed, like rock and roll, hip-hop sometimes makes you think we men don’t like women much at all, except to objectify them as trophy pieces or, as contemporary vernacular mandates, as baby mommas, chicken heads, or bitches” (221). There have been apologizes for what the rappers have said but nothing to resolve the dehumanization of black women. McLune informs the readers that hip-hop singers belittle black women and make them invisible. Jay-Z, a popular hip-hop artist is brought to center stage by McLune. The essay shows the example of a part of Jay-Z song that says, “I pimp hard on a trick, look Fuck if your leg broke bitch hop on your good foot” (222). This lyric is a perfect example of how hip-hop artist have no remorse in the words they sing. The hurt feelings and loss of self-esteem black women suffer, is of no concern to the rappers. McLune expresses that those who are underground hip-hop artist follow the footsteps on being sexist and using crude words in their lyrics just because they yearn and dream of being in the spotlight. Upcoming rappers want to be loved like Jay-Z and other famous notorious rappers.

Music can rock your world, enlighten your mind and change your perspective. When you think of rap music who comes first to mind? Without hesitation, it must be the self acclaimed best rapper alive, Lil Wayne. He alone can make such statements as “My picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of definition” (Wayne, “Shoot Me Down”). Lil Wayne is a prominent force in the rap world. His debut Album in 1999, Tha Block is Hot went double platinum upon its release and even his lowest selling album is still certified as gold according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rollingstone Magazine declares “Lil Wayne is one of the most popular — and prolific — recording artists in the world” (Kreps). Top this with

From the album, A Seat at the Table, her song, “Don’t Touch My Hair,” remains a hit for black females around the world. This is Solange’s ode to black women where she aims to uplift and remind these women to be proud of who they are. The song is enriched with strong black pride. “Don’t Touch My Hair” is controversial and it stood out because of its powerful lyrics, how she used the visuals to illustrate the message, its relatability, and the way in which she brings awareness to current issues in her song.

I establish that Adele had the platform to make this speech because she was given the power to do so. The Academy awards handed this power to her literally in the form of an award and in turn, the Grammy awards exposed the underlying racial problems they have been hounded about for years. It is worth noting that mainstream categories like the Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year , Adele was nominated for are considered to be “white privileged” while other categories like “Best R’n’b” and “Best Urban contemporary album” are considered to be “black”. These awards meant to celebrate artists have become boxes in the forms of categories designed to “zone” artists based on race. This play of power in the form of white privilege and its use to “box” black artists will be best understood from a historical and relatable perspective. The New york Times offers an informatory perspective from which we can understand how the Grammys conceptually segregate artists. Then, the pattern of conceptual segregation will exposed by examining racial zoning in early urban planning movements and its relation to conceptual segregation. Most importantly, Adele’s speech provides a primary and individual vantage point to understand conceptual segregation in its basic

Tonight (August 17, 2015) on 'Love and Hip Hop Atlanta' it started where it ended off. Jessica Dime had Margeaux perform "Start A War" at the show, Mimi put together but things did not go well after the performance. See clip below.

Over the past few years, racial tensions in America have heightened. During this period, Black America undergo the daily struggle of witnessing the killing of unarmed black men and women. Victims of these endless killings and police brutality, turned into one of many hashtags, which led to the formations of the Black Lives Matter movement. Solange Knowles, younger sister of Beyoncé, soul singer and songwriter was viewed as the angry black woman. Solange used her platform to speak up. She became the most outspoken black artist for black activism in recent years. She embodies the image of a carefree black girl who is willing to let the world know that she is proud of her blackness.

Over the past few years tragic events seem to be surrounding our society. An array of killings, social protests, police brutality and racism have startled the nation. Lately celebrities have been addressing these issues more and more on TV, in interviews and in the public eye. One incredible artist just used her talent to address all of these issues and more in her new music video "Formation". Beyoncé is an iconic figure in our culture, spreading her talent, feminist views and activism worldwide. This video is one of a kind. It is not centered on her but on Black America. There have been many critics disagreeing with Beyoncé 's video. They felt that she spread negative messages of police throughout her video. Others, however, loved her video. They felt she used her platform to reach out and address issues. Supporters and critics of the video have expressed their opinions in many different ways. In this paper I will analyze this video that has been shared worldwide. The question I ask is: "How does Beyoncé depict the complexity of Black Americans?" In order to answer this question, I will apply Pentadic criticism to analyze this discourse.

Molefi Asante is the author of It’s Bigger than Hip-Hop: The Rise of the Post Hip-Hop Generation. In this article, Asante predicts that the post-hip-hop generation will embrace social justice issues including women’s rights, gay’s rights, and the anti-war movement. To challenge these stereotypes, Asante speaks to the personification of the African-American ghetto and the need to stop glorifying black suffering. For Asante, the post-hip-hop generation no longer expects hip-hop to mobilize disenfranchised youth. Asante states, “The post-hip-hop generation shouldn’t wait for mainstream musicians to say what needs to be said…No movement is about beats and rhythms…. it must be bigger than hip-hop.” Because hip-hop is controlled by corporations, Asante says hip-hop will never be the focus of political change. Asante argues that “old white men” have dictated hip-hop, and by extension the actions of black youth, since 1991. “Allowing white executives, not from the hip-hop culture, to control and dictate the culture is tragic because the music, and ultimately the culture, as we can see today, has not only lost its edge, but its sense of rebellion and black movement- the very principles upon which it was founded.” Asante calls for the rise of “artivism,” a new social movement that uses art to improve community police relations, failing schools and the criminal justice system. Asante encourages the post-hip-hop generation to unite with Latino/Immigration Rights and Black Civil Rights

On February 15, 2016, Kendrick Lamar took the stage at the 2016 Grammy Awards show. Shackled in chains, he moved lethargically across the stage in a prison uniform. Words began to stream out of his mouth and I imagined the elephant that filled the room as an unapologetically black male made a statement to the world about African American oppression in the United States. Kendrick Lamar’s showcase included an intricate set that addressed social issues such as mass incarceration with song, “The Blacker the Berry”, while keeping hope towards better days with song “Alright”. The elaborate performance on February 15, 2016 would be a performance that will go down in history. An artist used his platform to discuss important issues in the United States to a diverse audience. With so much passion invested into the song, it was almost impossible to pick any other song besides “The Blacker the Berry”, as it discusses a wide range of issues within the United States, especially related to the black body.

Beyoncé Knowles, a well-known singer, songwriter uses two of her songs: “Freedom” and “Formation” to tell the story of herself. “Freedom” is the beginning of her story where she is searching for freedom and equality showing that there is still much inequality and injustice for African Americans in America today. The song slowly transitions to a more positive tone when she seems to have made something beneficial out of her difficult situation. “Formation,” however, has a completely different tone. While she does address negative situations from the past at the beginning of the song, she quickly transitions to a more positive tone full of pride in where she came from, who she has become, and what she has overcome. Together, the two songs

The music is normally flooded with shallow lyrics, catchy hooks, and a deafening bass. Ideally, the musicianship is designed to be of low intelligent quotient – makes it easier to dance to. In contrast, “conscience” music is subgenre that contains material of reality and substance and in light of recent events dealing with police brutality, racism and equality, this type music seems to have the perfect platform to present itself on. Though shallow art is mainstream in today’s society, some artists go against the grain and stand upon the platform of conscience, spanning from D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah” to Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “We Should All Be Feminists” to Banksy’s critically acclaimed art pieces – all demonstrating to fellow artists the importance of slowing down the high speed mirage of big booty women and drug money to highlight a different message; a conscience-driven message to the

In the song, I Know the Future by Lil Wayne the lyrics "Like a circle of knives I got the sharpest flow around" were stated to let the world know that Lil Wayne is the best artist around. Lil Wayne is definitely a household name when you even think about the genre hip-hop. Lil Wayne has been one of the best and most consistent hip-hop artists for years. Not everyone likes the same genre of music, but Lil Wayne is the type of artist to make you take a listen to a genre that you might not always listen to. Lil Wayne is not your average hip-hop artist. This rapper has been nominated for 23 Grammys and has won five of these prestigious awards since 2006 (Odyssey). He's not only just a distinguished rapper but also a great role model for

Kendrick Lamar took the music industry by storm last year after his release of his sophomore album To Pimp A Butterfly. Immediately, the album quickly became critically acclaimed and resulted in multiple awards such as winning four grammys this past winter. The album goes deep into Kendrick’s personal struggles as new found celebrity, while also touching on subjects surrounding the black community. For this paper I took a look at the standout song off the album Institutionalized, that deals with the internal struggle people go through in life because of the barriers of thinking they are imprisoned to in their lives. Along with this, the song also has elements that tie