Wit With Ready To Die

Rap music, also known as hip-hop, is a popular art form. Having risen from humble origins on the streets of New York City during the mid-1970s, hip-hop has since become a multifaceted cultural force. Indeed, observers say, hip-hop is more than just music. The culture that has blossomed around rap music in recent decades has influenced fashion, dance, television, film and—perhaps what has become the most controversially—the attitudes of American youth. For many rappers and rap fans during it’s early time, hip-hop provided an accurate, honest depiction of city life that had been considered conspicuously absent from other media sources, such as television. With a growing number of rap artists within this period, using hip-hop as a platform to call for social progress and impart positive messages to listeners, the genre entered a so-called Golden Age

McBride uses emotional, logical, and ethical appeals to drive his point. His use of emotional appeals are used to get attention and provoke thought from people who may have similar backgrounds to his, or those who may have a strong opinion towards hip hop culture. An example of this would be “hip hop remains an enigma, a clarion call, a cry of ‘I am’ from the youth of the world” (McBride 1). A clarion call is a strongly expressed demand or request for action- a plea, essentially. This pairs with the word “cry” to create a sense of despair in the youth of the world. By grabbing the reader’s heart as well as their attention, this moves the reader to consider the music as more than just defiance.

As a teen in high school, Desmond-Harris was truly affected by the murder of Tupac, a gangsta rap icon, for she and her best friend Thea could relate to his very much mixed identity as an artist. He not only had a fun side, but also had a side full of anxiety and anger. Through Tupac’s songs, both Desmond-Harris and Thea were enabled to learn what it truly meant to be biracial. To say the least, Tupac’s songs had aided the coming-of-age journey the two mixed-race girls had embarked on together.

When BIG introduced himself to the world on September 13th, 1994, he was a black timbs & black hoody wearing kid from Brooklyn who was filled with so much anger & depression that was caused by his poverty stricken community. It's the reason why his delivery on a majority of "Ready to Die" sounds very aggressive because it was fueled by rage & frustration from growing up struggling everyday with poverty. Three years later as Big's income increases from the huge success of "Ready to Die," those negative feelings start to decease, creating a new life for him. With this new life comes a new feeling, which brings us to his sophomore album "Life After Death," an album that was best described by Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone magazine as "a conscious continuation of Ready to Die."

Perry ultimately analyzes Hip Hop music through the meaning of the lyrics and the impact that the song has on its surroundings. This criteria for examination can be applied to the analysis of the differences and similarities between “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and “N.Y. State of Mind” by Nas. Although both records are significantly different in terms of the musical aspects of each song, they are ultimately similar in that they both portray the reality of the ghetto areas in New York through the significant use of rapping. Thus, both records have significantly impacted the evolution of rap music and rap’s role in the music industry today. Both ultimately are used to promote an awareness of continuing racial and social injustices and the need for it to be diminished.

Was it when I heard the smooth rhymes of Biggie Smalls for the first time, or when I first heard Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Bedrock”. No, it had to be when I first saw the video for Missy Elliots “ Work it.” Consequently, attending this event challenged me to discover the initial moment I truly fell in love with hip-hop. As shown above, I simply listed songs and artists that I liked that happened to perform hip-hop, but it was when I heard “Brenda’s Got A Baby” by Tupac Shakur that I firmly distinguished my love for hip-hop. This song wasn’t your normal turn up, booty shaking record, but it told a story that had the potential to affect the entire the world. It introduced topics such as teenage pregnancy, incest, welfare, and poverty, which invaded the neighborhoods back in 90’s but is still relevant in today’s world as well. It was at that moment that I one, fell in love with Tupac Shakur, but hip-hop as well.

Jenée tells a coming of age story about what it is like to grow up in a white privileged community, and how she learned more about her blackness through Tupac’s music. Her and Thea, her best friend who is also bi-racial, come together when they learn of Tupac’s death. They mourn in obvious ways: listening to his songs and sobbing all night. The two value his music. Tupac’s influential raps change Jenée’s perspective, and she learns more about who she really is.

In your article “Hip Hop Planet”, you write about the global impact of hip hop, and the powerful message it contains. You first came across hip hop at a party, and didn’t like it much. In fact you seem to hate it, until 26 years later, when you started to regret that you have missed a very important and cultural event. A vision is going through your head about your daughter falling in love with a rapper, which caused you to think twice about hip hop. Although, you don’t seem to like the sound and the beat from hip hop, you begin to realize how the lyrics contain powerful and meaningful messages. In the article, you talk about your first experience with hip hop, and your thoughts about it. You also describe the stereotypes of hip hop, and how

As one of the world’s most successful musicians, Marshall Mathers’ is the target of intense controversy. Mathers, better known for his stage names Eminem or Slim Shady, is often labeled as violent, misogynistic, and homophobic. However, behind his hateful songs, is a hero that few people see. Mather’s story suggests that people are too quick to categorize others, and therefore misjudge them. While his songs are undoubtedly profane, Mather’s purpose behind them reveals his true nature, as well as that of the unlikely hero.

. During the 1980s, the way Americans perceived homosexuality, race, and violence was challenged. In response, Prince’s eccentric and extravagant music style and attire dismantled conventional gender barriers of what it meant to be masculine and feminine in American society. Therefore, his musical creations set an example by pushing the limits of authenticity and self-expression. Prince’s fearless dedication to breaking down conventional expectations of style, music, gender norms, and conformity can be seen in his vocals, instrument choice, and lyrics. In the late 1980s, Prince was a music icon who blended funk, soul, pop, and hip-hop and presented his work in an androgyny atmosphere to advocate for racial and gender equality. His musical creations and appearance had disrupted the societal confines that fenced in the minority groups and pushed the limits of what it meant to be a black man. Prince’s distinct attire, extravagant performances, and persona helped contribute to a new music era of funk-rock and challenged the taboo concepts of the 1980’s. Prince’s musical work impacted society by encouraging wildly free and creative behavior during a time where it was not acceptable to be who you were. In this paper, I will analyze the auditory significance of two of Prince’s songs: “If I was your girlfriend” (1987) and “I Would Die 4 U” (1984). Analysis for both songs were based on music videos and a scene from Prince’s film, Purple Rain. In addition to these songs, Prince’s

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.

A phenomenological design was used in this qualitative study. Phenomenology is “A philosophy and research method that explores and describes everyday experience as it appears to human consciousness in order to generate and enhance understanding of what it means to be human” (Fain, 2013, p. 238). This method looks at how people sense, and perceive their experiences. This method was chosen to allow the understanding of how individuals interpret, process, and experience rap music. Meaningful questions are used in this type of study in order to elicit the essence of experiences. The use of open-ended questions makes this a qualitative study.

When faced with the decision of which pop song really stood out to me during my youth and adolescent years, the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem immediately came across my mind. From listening to this song during soccer game warm ups, to quietly being indulged in my own headphones while studying for high school exams, this song was like no other in my ITunes library. On top of its amazing use of musical elements, I especially love this song because of its connection to certain socio historical factors and the pure raw meaning behind its lyrics. Although the reaction to this song was quite mixed, and stirred a lot controversy, it was the most defining rap song of the early 2000s. While sitting at my seat pondering about this piece, it brought

Nelson Mandela’s “I Am Prepared To Die” speech aided in furthering the Civil Rights movement in South Africa, which was done so by addressing all of the accusations made against him, advocating for the end of apartheid, and assuring the non-white majority of South Africa that equality was a right that belonged to them too. Apartheid had a long history and tragic history even before Mandela’s speech at his trial, finding its roots at a time when the majority of the world was slowly moving forward from racial prejudice and segregation. While other countries were decolonizing and promoting equality, South Africa adopted stricter racial laws in the policy known as Apartheid, which was meant to benefit all the different races living in South Africa.

A lot of people who listen to hip-hop know that most artist come from poor rough communities, the person who I’m about to introduce you to is an artist by which hip-hop had change his life from a negative place in life to a positive place in life. The rap artist is The Game, if you’re not familiar with him he is also from Compton. The Game was involved in a lot of gang violence growing up, in his A and E Documentary “The Streets of Compton” it talked about how hip-hop changed The Game’s life. The Game was a well-known gangster who ran with the Bloods a notorious gang in Los Angeles. The Game had no other choice but to join the gang because he needed money and had nothing else to do. The Bloods were always feuding with the Crips which is another violent gang in LA. But one day when The Game was in a hotel some Crips came and shot him in the chest multiple times, he was later rushed to a hospital and he was in a coma for a couple of months. When he woke up he soon realized that he needed to change his ways or he would die for real. So, The Game had decided that he wanted to become a rapper and express his feelings about how he felt about his life. The Game had believed that him being alive today was a message from god. The Game had begun to teach himself how to rap and eventually he turned it into a career and laughed his first album “The Documentary” in 2005. This album had changed his life and made him realize that being a gang member can affect your life. The Game had mentioned that if he never would have done rap he would have probably gone the wrong path and probably would have ended up dead. The Game is one of many rappers that hip-hop had a positive impact on him. I personally believe that if he didn’t choose to become a rapper he would have ended up in a casket. This is one good example on how hip-hop had a positive impact on him. Not