Summary Of Christopher Wallace's 'Things Done Changed'

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

Biggie makes it known throughout his entire song that he isn’t ashamed of how he grew up before the wealth. I think his main point was to let people know that he will never forget and that it’s the lessons he learned during those times that undisguisable got him to where he is now. Throughout the entire song Biggie tells us little parts of his past like “‘Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner” (verse 1, line 14). This is one of the things he went through was having times where would have eat like this because it was all that he had. Now honestly he didn’t always go days like this, but it

Ishmael Beah is described as a pre-teen, with a love of rap and hip-hop music. He finishes as a drug-addicted killing machine, out avenging the death of his entire family. Before being rescued by a United Nations Program, and eventually fleeing to New York for rehabilitation, it is a tragic and harrowing tale that gives substance to the term ‘Boy Soldier’, that isn’t really understood in most cases. Ishmael gives a gentle portrayal of his life, before the war reached his small village and forever changed his life. Abruptly he becomes fugitive fleeing for his life and eventually into a corrupted teen.

Throughout the song, Tupac gives an inside look on the social problems affecting African-Americans and suggests possible solutions. In the first stanza of the song, Tupac first talks about how certain social issues are linked together; he makes a correlation between his skin color and being poor. Tupac says “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.” Then he explains how poverty causes crime by saying “My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.” And finally, he demonstrates the relationship between police brutality and race by saying “Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.”

As thorough and rewarding as Bradley’s close reading can be, it is this sole focus that becomes problematic in Book of Rhymes. He stays on the surface, privileging the discussion of linguistic elements over cultural impact. He begins his wordplay chapter with an anecdote about a friend who disapproves of the misogynistic and violent elements of the Notorious B.I.G.’s lyrics, a qualm addressed by Bradley in a customary manner: “It’s not what he’s saying, it’s how he’s saying it” (86). Bradley is partially correct; how he’s saying it is the aesthetically appealing aspect of hip hop, the reason millions of people around the world enjoy the music. But what he’s saying is the more compelling aspect. The environment that produced the attitudes reflected in hip hop, the source of Biggie’s misogyny and violent imagery, must be given its proper treatment in order to understand rap music on deeper levels than the beauty and complexity of its poetic structures.

There is little question that he came from the streets, but this had been a growing comparison among the correlation of hip hop and the crack generation. “Not only did black teenagers in similar situations relate to what Eazy was talking about, but white suburban kids fantasized about being in his situation” (Eriewine).

Going through an era when the Vietnam War was a smash hit in your town, many high school senior boys would be drafted out if their number was on the list of people. The men drafted had to leave behind their families and aspirations. Tim O’Brien uses different perspectives in The Things They Carried to show if something tragic happens in life, consequently dealing with it may be hard. Moving on will help in the future.

Los Angeles possesses the characteristics of great fame and fortune as well as immense homelessness and poverty. Often times, young people are misled by the financial success of some and assume that is typical of city people. Writers Joan Didion and Carol Muske-Dukes characterize the realization that an adolescent’s lifestyle is not suitable for the demands of a city as signaling the dawn of the apocalypse. In the essay, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” Didion highlights how the failure of society is brought about by a family’s inability to fulfill traditional roles and a lack of education as exemplified during the Hippie movement. While poet Muske-Dukes utilizes gothic language and allusion to illustrate the notion of an apocalypse in the poem “Like This”.

He explains on how violent his life was and how he had to survive. In the song he mentions “ The projects is full of bullets, the bodies is droppin” showing that where he

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

Independently, Shakur’s lyrics suggest the inequalities he has experienced throughout his life and of his race in general. In the first verse, Shakur expresses his upbringing without a father and the struggles with the racial tension in his neighborhood. He implies that he has been pushed into a world of violence and crime because of his low socioeconomic status. He states that peace can only be attained if the African Americans are offered a place in the society. The second verse focuses upon the broader oppression of the black body where he addresses the police violence and inequalities of the system. His lyric analyzes the violence in the streets and the fear of police officers that are willing to shoot him because he appears threatening. Finally, the third verse expresses that he is still waiting on things to change, yet the answer is not present. The greater meaning to his

Artists such as New Edition, KRS-One, Mariah Carey, Lil Kim and others wanted their re-mixes done by the young entrepreneur. This being said to emphasize the power that the label had to sign other hot unknown artists. Faith Evans (now widow of B.I.G.), Total, 112, MA$E, and new artist Dream are all on the Bad Boy label. Every one of the artists has achieved gold, platinum, or multi-platinum sales. As a matter of fact "to date, all of the releases under the Bad Boy label have achieved these staggering sales figures…(AP Wire, December 5). Sales were solid for Bad Boy in 1995 and 1996, however 1997 was the year that the tiger was let loose on the hip-hop scene, and it has never been the same since. The year started off in March with what seemed to be a disaster. Chris Wallace a.k.a. "The Notorious B.I.G." was gunned down in front of Combs outside of an industry party in L.A. What looked like a catastrophe for the label was actually a godsend. The shooting in March of 24 year-old Christopher Wallace boosted the ascent of businessman/producer Sean "Puffy" Combs, Bad Boy Records. In fact during the summer of 1997, most of the songs on the upper reaches of the music charts were either by, featuring, or about "The Notorious B.I.G." (Cox News, Nov. 28). Combs and Wallace, joined by 19 year old protégé rapper MA$E, were at the top of the charts almost the entire year. Nothing prepared the label for the biggest selling single to come. Combs and R&B super

The poem The Change written by Tony Hoagland, carries a strong message, yet using western, modern examples. The poem is a story, written as if the poet is retelling it to a friend or just another person. It can also be taken, as if the poet is reflecting on an event that had just occurred. Hoagland seems to be writing to an American. Although it seems he is writing from a white, American male perspective it is unclear if he is writing to a specific ethnicity or just Americans in general. This is important to note since his message, whose over arching theme is change, has used the example of a African American female tennis player to show a moment of change. Hoagland uses extended comparisons, especially similes, to explain that change is inevitable

The chorus is very forte and it has quick volume increases by a synthesizer sounding instrument that accents the downbeats in the chorus. The use of the softness of the piano harmony complements this hardness perfectly in his three verses as you can hear it lingering in the back. The use of his fading in and out with the symbolic piano sound uses dynamics very effectively – especially his opening, which starts by only a unique piano melody creating that feeling of mystery, nostalgia, and adrenaline. Timbre plays a vital role in the layering of this track. The three main instruments come in at different times and add its own unique place in the song contributing to the overall mood of the song. First, it’s the light high pitched piano, which is unusual in a rap song. Then the dark low pitched guitar comes in when he starts asking the question and it’s soon followed by the heavy sounding drums as he starts to rap. The interesting use of timbre gives an acoustic and classical feel versus the drums and synthesizer of hip hop giving the song its diversity and originality.

After this experience all of his friends and family told him that his opportunity is over, and to give up his dreams of becoming a successful rapper. He knew he has his chance and he blew it, but he never gave up. A few months later he gets another opportunity to rap in front of a crowd. He knew he had to seize the chance, and to prove everyone wrong. The song comes on, and it describes how he’s feeling before he goes on stage. He uses sentences like, “his palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready to drop bombs…” He is telling himself that if he blows this, his dream is over, and that “you only get one shot so do not miss your chance to blow, because this opportunity once in a lifetime”. When he finally goes on stage, he’s feeling nervous, but he’s so ambitious to get what he wants, that he starts to rap like no one has ever heard. The crowd was astonished, and knew that his rap was the best they’ve ever listened to, which kick started his career as a rapper. The song starts out with a piano playing, and then the piano stops, and very fast music comes in, and the rap starts right away. The rapping is intense, because when you’re hungry to achieve something you have to act intense about it.