The Rapper: A Short Story

Rap is a genre in music that consists of rhyming or being poetic over a certain unique beat. The origin of rap is significantly different from any other form of music. The flow, change, subject of the music, and the instrumentals behind the rapping has all changed with time. Most people would underestimate the complexity of the music and the evolution it has undergone. The real roots of rap music began in the late 1980’s with the “Golden Age.” It was innovative and mostly based around the party scene. Gangsta Rap followed the Golden age and was very impactful on the young culture. After the Gangsta Rap era came the time in rap referred to as Crunk Rap which combined the country sound with the party lifestyle. Conscious

The book I chose to read is Tupac Shakur:The Life & Times of an American Icon. This book hasn’t been out for very long. It’s publication date was January 26, 2010 so it is a somewhat newer book. Fred and Tayannah examined very closely and did a great deal of research to write this book. They had to examine all the theories and myths about Tupac Shakur. So i’m guessing you can imagine how hard they worked to write & publish this biography.

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes is a documentary created and produced by Bryon Hurt. The documentary challenges the dominant discourses of hyper masculinity and the misogynist treatment of women in commercialized rap. Of the many mainstream phenomenons that are discussed by Bryon in the documentary, the issue of hyper masculinity in Hip Hop is questioned greatly. Throughout the film, the producer was able to show the wide acceptance of hyper masculinity not only in Hip Hop but also American culture as well. He defined America as a hyper masculine and hyper violent nation for the reason that using a gun to defend one’s family became a metaphor for masculinity and a tool for widespread violence. The issue of issue of hyper masculinity can be

Have you ever wondered what famous person you would want to meet? What you would want to do with them, or talk about, or where would you be? Let me tell you about how my encounter would be.

stuff, so I don't listen to that genre all that much, but there are many

1. Keyes points out that rap music derives from what she refers to as the “West African bardic tradition.” What is this tradition? What is the role of the griot in this tradition? What parallels do you see between the groit and a hip hop MC (the rapper, often the main writer of lyrics for a group)?

Cobb, Michael D., and William A. Boettcher. “Ambivalent Sexism and Misogynistic Rap Music: Does Exposure to Eminem Increase Sexism?” Journal of Applied Social Psychology, vol. 37, no. 12, 20 Nov. 2007, pp. 3025–3042., doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00292.x.

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

The victim was able to escape from the vehicle and run inside of the Pius Library. The vehicle continued west on Lindell out of sight. The victim sustained minor injuries.

It was a hazy morning, It was the opening day of rifle season. We had just sat down and we were getting all settled in, We were hunting on state land just outside of Tawas Mi. We had been hunting for about 3 Hrs and we were getting hungry so we decided to head to town and stop at a restaurant and pick up some cheeseburgers for us to eat for lunch.

Chapter 4 – Case StudyJay Z the Rap Artist and Business Mogul: His Rise to the TopPlease read Chapter 4's Case Study on pages 116-118 and answer the following questions: 1. As mentioned in the case, Jay-Z wears several hats with respect to the several business ventures he manages. What does this say about his time management skills? Time management means techniques designed to enable people to get more done in less time with better results. Jay-Z is known for multitasking. In the text it says research has found that people who multitask are actually less efficient than those who focus on one thing at a time. This was not the case for Jay-Z.

As I walked into the intermediate room at Monsters of Hip-Hop, the nerves inside of me built up like a hot air balloon. I was stretching in jealousy of other girls and boys as they showed their amazing talents. I start to worry if I mess up on the choreography, out of nowhere the choreographer Laura Edwards comes in. I look at my mom in fear,

“American Gangster” is based on the true story of Frank Lucas’ life. It is the story of how he cut out the middleman in the heroin business and the story of how Ritchie Roberts caught him. Throughout the film we see the parallel between a cop and a criminal as we inch forward to see their lives finally meet.

With things, such as explicit lyrics and depiction of women, drugs, and violence an assumption can be made that gangster rap represents a masculinity that rappers portray themselves as in their songs. Dating back to its origins, African Americans had always been the face of gangster rap, with such names like Tupac, Biggie, Jay-Z, DMX, and much more, as covers of rap magazines. Gangster rap had always been seen as what people interpret it to be and that is a raw rhythmic and explicit version of poetry in motion, but gangster rap depicts more than what people interpret it to be. Gangster rap depicts the image of how a strong African American male should look like, a bold, angry, rebellious, and fierce man. Strong African American males are subjective to gangster rap, mainly because of how gangster rap portrays masculinity. In “Brotherly Love: Homosociality and Black Masculinity in Gangsta Rap Muscic” Oware argues that although gangster rap music portrays the masculinity of African American males through the use of hyper masculinity, misogyny, and violence in lyrics, gangster rap music also provides a way for rappers to express themselves to commemorate their fellow friends through lyrics that depict family/friend relationships, success by association, and have a tribute for lost friends.

The most popular and influential form of African-American pop music of the 1980's and 1990's, rap is also one of the most controversial styles of the rock era. And not just among the guardians of cultural taste and purity that have always been counted among rock 'n' roll's chief enemies--Black, White, rock and soul audiences continue to fiercely debate the musical and social merits of rap, whose most radical innovations subverted many of the musical and cultural tenets upon which rock was built. Antecedents of rap are easy to find in rock with other kinds of music. Music is often used to tell a story, often with spoken rhymes over instruments and rhythms. Talking blues, spoken passages of sanctified prose in gospel,