Personal Narrative: If I Got A Gun

The rest of the chapter talks about the similarity of minstrel images in 1990s hip-hop, as evidenced by the defining characteristics of greed, violence, hyper sexuality and pathos in “gangsta rap” (a sub-genre of hip-hop further defined in chapter two). Ogbar balances this landscape with challenges to what he calls “neo-minstrelsy” from both inside and outside the hip-hop community, including discussions of the Spike Lee movie, Bamboozled, underground conscious hip-hop groups such as The Roots and Little Brother, and the activist “Stop Coonin’ Movement”, to name a few. Throughout the book, Ogbar explains how rappers strive for authenticity by “keepin’ it real”. And that is defined by how they rap, walk, talk, and make their

Then on a spontaneous occurrence, racial exclusion and divide began to change as the 1970’s hit. Hip hop emerged on the East Coast in the Bronx in the early 1970’s and gained popularity as conflict increased between gangs. From the novella Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Jeff Chang describes that gangs would compete through lyrics and song, “The song climaxed with a promise: ‘We are gonna take you higher with Ghetto Brother Power!’” (Chang, 106). This was vital to the establishment of hip hop culture as this conflict between gangs influenced a yearning for competition, thus allowing for hip hop to be explored and practiced. While these gangs may have been a battleground for turf wars and anarchy, hip hop was bringing peace and unity amongst the Bronx population. John Surico, a writer for Vice News, interviews the director (Shane Nicholson) of Rubble Kings (gang violence and birth of hip hop culture) and asks the director why he wanted to tell the story about gangs in the late 1900’s. About gang violence in the 1970’s, the director stated, “I lost my best friend in 1992, and for everyone involved, we wanted revenge. He was murdered, and there was no rhyme or reason for it… These guys chose peace over violence… That was not the norm of the day” (Surico, 2015). It can be seen that hip hop changed the view of gang members which is surprising despite the fact that revenge in the Bronx was highly common. On the contrary, the gangs were redirecting their violent

“Rap is poetry” (xii). To any avid fan of the genre, it is a statement that seems obvious. The words could easily be the musings of a listener first introduced to the art form, not the focal point of an entire work of contemporary criticism. Yet in Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop, Adam Bradley’s primary focus is this very point, the recognition of traditional poetic elements within rap music. With the global cultural and economic phenomenon that hip hop has become, it is easy to forget that the style of music is barely thirty years old, that scholarly criticism of it has existed for only half of that time. When viewed within this relatively new arena of scholarship, the importance of Bradley’s text is

He makes many references to the south and shout outs to his home state Georgia, “Overall Georgia, Overall Clean,” a feature and act common in southern rappers and southern rap to do as well as, “Dirty South mind blown, Dirty South bread,”. Ludacris takes his listeners on a trip to the south with his imagery of staple food and drink of the south, “catfish fried up, Dirty South fed,” catfish being a popular south plate and, “sweat for the lemonade, sweat for the tea,” lemonade and sweet tea also being staples of the south. Ludacris also HINTS to African Americans and slave culture in his song. While talking about the south ludacris states, “sleep in a cot pickin Dirty South bed,” referencing to the cotton picking slaves of the south and then continues through alliteration, “Afro picks, Afro chicks,” and “Afro-American, Afro thick,” the later verse being more emphasized as Ludacris strategically had some of the music and beats fade as he rapped it. Another southern factor Ludacris shows his listeners is the mean thuggish ways in which he has to and can be, “Southern Hospitality or overall mean,” as well imagery of threats and violence. Coming from the street and struggle, one must establish not to be messed with as Ludacris does, “Forty Glock cal’ keep your mouth on hold,” with threats of guns and threats to a snitch, “rip ya tongue ‘cause of what your mouth told,” ending with, “DTP stay doing thugged

The study of hip hop music has been cited well throughout its growth over time. The purpose of this paper is intended to discuss hip hop culture and address cultural stereotypes associated with rap and hip-hop music, but also how its original lyrical intentions were forms of expression and art. It will begin by guiding the reader through how it originated, its influence with the African-Americans with its subculture and popularity in urban areas, its styles of evolving, the introduction of hip hop and rap to the public, the depiction it gave off with its criticisms from outsiders. An evaluation of hip hop artists songs by Sugar Hill and the Gang, Run DMC, Queen Latifah, and N.W.A. Including lyrics from the songs “Rappers Delight”, “King of Rock”, “Latifah’s Law”, and “Niggaz4Life”. In the conclusion it exposes how hip hop music is clearly for black Americans to express themselves freely and in fact did not cause violence.

The decade of hip-hop is what some may call it. Tupac, Naz, Biggie Smalls, as well as other artists, were major contributions. Not only for the people who are trying to find their footing, but Buck as well. Throughout the book various lyrics were embedded in order to create a better understanding for its readers. In addition, this book is based upon a 90s lifestyle within Philadelphia, which included drugs, gang activity, crime, hip-hop, and havoc. Malo was directly in the center of everything, the girls, the fights, the guns. His experiences shed light towards what it’s like to as an African American individual living in or near the hood. Not everyone realizes what people go through while living there, but now it gives some readers an image of what goes on. Though times have changed, not all previous feelings

Masculinity in the Hip-Hop culture has been redefined repetitively as the genre grows in popularity. Created in the late 70’s, Hip-Hop was started as an outlet for residents of urban communities to express them and have fun through the music. As Hip-Hop grew into the 80’s and 90’ the genre also evolved as the artist began to voice what was going on in their day to day lives and in their communities; Hip -hop became a form of storytelling. Being that a lot of Hip-Hop artist had street, and gang related backgrounds, their music would reflect their past lives that were violent and controversial. Despite their brave and unapologetic storytelling, the era of ‘gangster rap’ set the standard of what it meant to be masculine in the

Picture this, you are teenager growing up in Los Angeles, on your way to school and you turn on the radio. “Yo thanks for tuning into to the hottest radio station in the streets of LA. Up next we got N.W.A. with their new single Appetite for Destruction.” That was common for nearly every person who lived in LA and enjoyed hip-hop music. During the early 90s and late 80s, West coast hip-hop was dominated by the gruesome realities of gangster rap and g-funk. Rap at the time was intense, authentic, and unbearable. Ultimately, this wave of “fuck you” sprouted from the injustices that plagued many impoverished communities. Individuals were angered from the oppressive acts that hindered any attempt to reach success, and gangster music within LA served as the platform to express the frustration under such terrible circumstances. Although the sound was revolutionary and taking over the entire nation, still Los Angeles needed a fresh of breath of air to display the artistic talent that came out of Los Angeles. New York could play with both sides of the hip-hop spectrum of light-heartedness to aggressiveness, but unfortunately for LA, they only had one sound. In New York, they had artists from Kid N Play to Public Enemy. If Los Angeles were ever going to snatch the throne from New York, they needed to do so quickly before the dawn of Golden Age ended.

1. Kelley, R. (1996). Kickin' reality, kickin' ballistics: Gansta rap and postindustrial Los Angeles. In W.E. Perkins (Ed). Droppi" science: Critical essays on rap music and hip hop culture (117-158) Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

The competitive nature of hip hop can be somewhat violent at times, but only because it reflects what street dancers go through and do everyday just to be on top of the cliff. “A battle can get mean; you can get your opponent so humiliating that they will want to fight you” (Swift, Ken. The Vibe History of Hip Hop 55). To any b boy the battle is the very test in your abilities as a dancer. Competition, of course, is an

“Meanwhile in another part of town/ Rubin Carter and a couple of friend are drivin’ around/…When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road/ Just like the time before and the time before that./ In Paterson, that’s just the way things go./ If you’re black you might as well not show up on the street,/ ‘less you wanna draw the heat.”

“Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” by Tim O’Brien and “Here, Bullet” by Brian Turner share striking similarities in their content. Although O’Brien’s story is extensive and Turner’s poem is quite short, the two works share a similar tone and message. The overall shared message is that of resignation to the inevitable, whether that is giving oneself to a bullet or to Vietnam itself; and the adrenaline rush that goes along with this resignation.

In these two rap songs, "Ain't Nothin' But A Word To Me" by Too Short (feat. Ice Cube) (1996) and "Bitch Ass Niggaz" by Dr. Dre (feat. Snoop Dogg, Hitman & Six-Two) (2001), explains how women are gendered as sexualized objects that are disposed after use, and racializes the importance of men’s hegemonic masculinity. In this paper I will compare and contrast how women are described as sexual, disposable trash, and men as cowards from the word “bitch.” The concept of "Bitch" is how a person (not necessarily a woman) is thoroughly disliked. In the first song by Too Short the first verse, “She won't complain about shit because, she's my hoe” which he refers to women will not complain. Women will do whatever Too Short tells her. Women belong

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.

Y’all niggaz on lyrical degeneration and as a result are the only product in demand