Worst Song Lyrics: New Kids On The Block

Musicians may feel that the only way to increase sales is to make their lyrics as graphic as possible. It seems as though the lyrics to songs are giving permission to listeners to do wrong and immoral things (Tanner). As stated in the article “How Much Are Violent Lyrics to Blame?” by Emily Tanner, “Music is important in today’s society and when music becomes corrupt in its meaning then society may in turn become corrupt and immoral.”

Music containing sexually explicit content makes people in today’s world more calloused and more accepting of sexually activity. How do lyrics play a role in all of this? Lyrics play a huge role in enabling our society to normalize sex in everyday conversation. Songs with sexually explicit lyrics reinforce the idea that premarital sex is okay among younger generations. Studies show that premarital sex is more accepted by adolescents if they listen to explicit music compared those that do not listen to explicit music (Zhang, 2008).

As a growing number of teens use technology on a daily basis, teenagers are reading less poetry. Accordingly, they are listening to more and more music. Numerous examples of poetic merit can be found in music at their fingertips. Thus, it is safe to argue that song lyrics are today’s main form of poetry. “Rocky Mountain High” by John Denver and Mike Taylor is an excellent example of this, for it includes figurative language, imagery, and a thematic statement. All of which are elements of poetic merit.

The lyrics of a song often have no substance and a clear example would be any Britney Spears song. The lyrics of “All Falls Down” are very deep. They talk about the ideal situation in life; We should go to school, get a good job and make money to buy what we want. The lyrics then ask, what if this doesn’t happen? This is prevalent in the first verse. “She has no idea what she doing in college. That major that she majoring, it don’t make no money.” The song questions these everyday values because we focus so much on these things, we don’t realize there are more important things in life such as life itself. Even Kanye admits that he spent money at Jacob’s Jewellery store before he thought about a house. “I went to Jacob with

Music is not just music, or just a source of entertainment; rather music is “a major force and presence in contemporary American adolescence” (Christenson and Roberts 11). Besides the belief that music is just music, another popular belief is that, “Nobody pays attention to lyrics” (Christenson and Roberts 7). This assumption is not completely true or false. Lyrics are often learned accidentally during the listening experience, but almost every adolescent has a favorite song that he or she can recite word for word. Therefore, whether the learning of the lyrics is intentional or not, adolescents do learn

Ulmer 1Derek UlmerInstructor HarrisEnglish 15.23-RARD15 September 2017Is a Dollar Worth It?Kendrick Lamar, a thriving African American rap artist, grew up in Compton, California, a city notorious for gang violence and drugs, exposing him to the realities of gang life from a very young age. Kendrick writes about his many experiences in his songs, and usually attempts to deliver a message through his lyrics. Lamar’s song, “How Much a Dollar Cost,” on his album,“To Pimp a Butterfly,” is one song that is clearly intended to deliver a specific message to theaudience. This song intertwines a deep religious message while describing an interaction Lamar has with a homeless man. Since it’s told from Lamar’s

“There are a number of different lyrics used in songs that have been derived from poetry” (Kumar). Poetry is an older form of art and song lyrics have evolved from the art. However, it is a great debacle over which one can be considered the higher art form. The underlying question is if song lyrics have evolved past poetry, or has poetry remained artistic and intellectual. Despite bearing some superficial similarities, the differences between “To a Daughter Leaving Home” and “Never Grow Up” in imagery, message, and point of view are prevalent causing poetry to be considered a higher form of art.

For this paper I decided to analyze the content of lyrics and music videos by hip hop artists. The reason why I decided to use these media outlets is because they contain the powerful images and words preformed in music videos and songs. Music videos help create the visual portrayal of hip hop artist that is used to promote the songs they release. Lyrics within songs are ways artists communicate, for example,

Music with explicit lyrics or content started having black and white parental advisories on them in 1994 (http://www.riaa.org/Parents-Advisory-4.cfm). Are these labels necessary? Is controversial music molding our society and causing teenagers to turn to drugs? Is censorship necessary to protect the youth of our nation. Generally, younger people are against censorship on this issue. Music is an outlet and even an anti-drug for many teens; however, parents and society feel differently. Should parents censor their children or society, many parents would like to raise their own

““I said ‘Bitch, why you such a stupid hoe?’ You lil’ bitch, you never could fuck with this. And every bitch that don’t like it, she can suck my dick.” These lyrics were taken from the song “Call her a bitch” by the rapper Too Short. With song lyrics like this one, it is very difficult for people both biased and unbiased to hip hop to even try to defend it. Although it is not the only music genre to have lines objectifying women, it is once again, as with other less than glorious topics, associated with the hip hop/rap genre the most. Throughout this chapter Rose makes very valid points with supported reasoning. As long as the public continues to support the objectivity of women, why would hip hop

Less than a month ago, there was a case in which a famous singer was heavily criticized because of the lyrics of a song. The english artist Ed Sheeran launched his new album with a song called Barcelona, a city he has admitted enjoying going every time he has a chance. The lyrics became controversial in a few hours, since many people claimed they had nothing to do with the reality —it does show either how Barcelona looks like, nor how the citizens are. This anecdote did not last very much, but Ed’s message was bitterly misinterpreted.

Music is a creative way for a person to express themselves, but some want to take away that creativity because they believe that the lyrics are too much and can be harmful to a child's development when in fact that is not the case. Recently, people have been debating whether or not the lyrics in music today are harmful to children. To most, the vulgar statement might seem a bit much, but past that the songs that artists create are actually creative, inspiring and even educational. "Hip-hop compositions are masterful poetry: The form of the standard hip-hop song is three verses of 16 bars written to various beats-per-minute patterns, which mirrors Shakespeare's use of iambic pentameter" (Perkins 1). Perkins is explaining how hip-hop songs

materialism, and misogyny (Rap Rehab). This here validates everything that has been prefaced in regards to the issues that are negatively impacting the state of hip hop from the moment it became mainstream (as previously mentioned during the 1990’s). People don't realize the psychological effect that these white men in suits inflict on the African American youth when they present black people in such a negative light. When you have negativity constantly thrown at your face, you as an individual is set to become a physical embodiment of themalice that surrounds you. Along with deliberate misrepresentation of black people in the media, “Corporations pretend to avoid “controversial” topics and themes. Yet, when it comes to songs featuring black

“How Much a Dollar Cost” by Kendrick Lamar is more so a story than a song. The song is about one of the challenges Kendrick faces often, in specific, a beggar. It begins with him being confronted by a homeless man while gassing his car. The man asks for $1, but Kendrick refuses, thinking the man would just spend the dollar on alcohol or drugs. The man continues to pester Kendrick for the dollar, and Kendrick keeps refusing. One last time, the homeless man asks but reveals his true identity: he was God. The situation was simply a test and as a result, God tells Kendrick he has lost his spot in heaven. When inspecting the song, it’s simply a parable—a lesson to convey a message. Kendrick is trying to convert the message on how money has corrupted

(Weisstuch). The underlying message is that women live exclusively for the sexual gratification of men based on male power, privilege and preference. These images serve as a grim reminder that women are being exploited as sexual objects through rap videos. Therefore, the objectification of women through the means of rap music is a major influence in the exploitation of women.