“My journey has taken me through hell and back. It’s all in my music—the parties, the pain, the oversized ego, the insane obsessions.” Rick James…
So Let’s go back to the start of the career now belonging to the man known as the “best rapper alive”…
Kendrick uses this opportunity to make his music video and lyrics to rap about the complete opposite. The song is meant for those who are arrogant and aren't modest about it and he shows it by playing that character in his video. After he flaunts about all the things he has, he says,“Bitch, be humble (hol’up, bitch) Sit down” directing it to the big headed people, telling them to stay humble about all the things they have. Another example of this is in his video every time he is bragging the video shows all the cliques but when he says, “Be humble” the video shows him in a sea of men all dressed the same but he either looks different from him with his clothes or hair. He uses rap stereotypes in his video by showing a lot money, women, and god references. In the beginning video Kendrick is made out to look like a god by standing alone in a church wearing a priest outfit with a light coming from a window hitting him from the back. Later, we see a shot that is meant to recreate the famous painting of “The Last Supper” Kendrick is seen sitting on a table surrounded by his “disciples” breaking bread. These two scenes in the video are meant to represent how rappers are seen or see themselves as gods/idols. In the second scene it shows Kendrick laying on a table holding a gun that blows out money with two women in their bikinis counting cash. He uses the cliques of money and exploiting women as he raps about the things he remembers when he was poor like “syrup sandwiches and crime allowances”, then raps about how he could buy someone else's girl the world. This is another clique meaning wealthy people have so much money and they can get any girl. This song is art because the creator, Kendrick Lamar used the song title in an unexpected way to get his point across with symbolic lyrics and…
apply to his life. One of Drake’s most recent hits is titled “Started From The Bottom”. In this song Drake raps about how he started out with very little before he made it big as a rapper, and he made it sound like he was a true rags to riches story. Many argue that Drake never actually did start from the bottom however, and that he is portraying this image to better fit the stereotypical rapper, which in turn would help his sales more.…
Eminem has a history of drug abuse and adultery but is revered by millions of people. He rose from poverty to become famous and wealthy. Some may say he is the king of the rap industry. Gilgamesh was admired for his physical strength. The trapper’s father said “My son, Uruk lives Gilgamesh, no one has ever prevailed against him, he is strong as a star from heaven.” Eminem is admired for his strength in his lyrics. Gilgamesh lost his friend Enkidu which made him realize “what my brother is now I shall be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of my own death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom they call the Faraway, for he has entered eternal life.” Eminem lost custody of his daughter because of drug abuse and realized he would never see her again unless he changed his ways. Both Gilgamesh and Eminem had tragic events occur in their lives before reality finally set in.Every true hero knows that he did not get to where he is by himself and they consistently gives credit to other people or divinities for their…
Father Boyle talks about how people ask him to tell them success stories (167). People want to hear these positive stories because it is something they can dream about and maybe one day they can be successful too. Further, a successful story makes people feel good and you look forward to what the future might hold. Homies and the outcast especially want to hear these stories because all their lives they believe that they will never succeed so they dream about being successful. Some homies are successful and leave the gang life because Father Boyle shows them that they are someone and they can achieve anything as long as they put their hearts and minds to it. However, success is not achieved without some form of complexity. It is a constant…
One of her quotes said, “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated” (Maya Angelou quotes). It's telling people all over the world that just because you've hit the first hard obstacle or stumbling block in life you don't give up. She lets people know that things happen to everybody on their journeys in life its how you choose to deal with it and learn from it. Angelou message of enduring is inspiring and powerful;if we give up at the first sign of trouble, we wouldn't achieve anything that's important or of great value. These test of endurance mold us into who were going to be and teaches us how to pick ourselves back up. Being on the bottom doesn't mean that you're stuck there it just means that you have a lot of pulling up to do. With the right amount of perseverance you can accomplish…
He wrote this song from his real life experiences or his close friends as he does all of his songs it seems. I believe that makes him unique from many artists that just sing lyrics someone else wrote. Runnin’ Down a Dream provides a very up tempo beat that can lift crowds out of their seats. When you listen to this song you can’t help but to dream of success, and also realize the pathway to success can be bumpy, if you will. The song also tells you that in order to make his dreams come true he had to run them down. Dreams don’t just come to you have to go get them, which I believe is an excellent message.…
This song does not have a ton of concrete lyrics which can be related to finding redemption. However, there is one recurring lyric that can related to the idea of finding redemption in life. That particular lyric would be “It makes me wonder how I keep from going under” (AZ Lyrics). This lyric is repeated throughout the song and really says something about the determination of African American and inner-city communities. It shows determination because even with all the problems that are referred to in the song that are being faced, they are still persevering and not “going under”. Another way of finding redemption was outlined in the reading by Craig Watkins. In that reading it was consistently mentioned how African American communities were looked at as the reason for the downfall of inner-city communities. Even though they were looked at in a distasteful way, the African American communities persevered and found redemption by creating a life for…
In verse two he uses rain as reference to his current situation. ‘You know it's funny when it rains it pours”(2pac). Meaning when bad things happen other more difficult situations seem to occur at the same time. Another figurative language that he uses are Idioms. He doesn't have that much , but he is trying to make it the best way he can. “I'm trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cent” (2pac). One of most interesting part of this song is when he talks about blaming his mother for turning his brother into a crack baby. “We ain't meant to survive , cause it's a setup” (2pac). Which goes in to explain that the government want the black community to…
Lose Yourself- EminemLose Yourself is a song about a young rap artist who has one shot to make it big. If he succeeds he can finally become rich and famous and get away from the normal life. This has always been his dream and he now has the chance to get it.…
The song Cold Feet by Tracy Chapman is an inspirational song about how our wants and needs can drive us to not only success but also to our graves. The song which was released in 1995 describes the story of how one man had everything he could have dreamt for in life, love, a roof over his head and a loving wife. But naturally in the society we live in not only today in the 21st century but also the society that was mid 1990’s, man desire more to satisfy themselves and others around them. Initially he wanted to give himself more to keep him from suffering the hard times in life; the “Cold Feet”. When he met his wife, he naturally wanted to provide her with more of life’s treasures that she currently didn’t have. He wanted to be the provider, he wanted to be a man and leave behind the shadows of his boyhood. He needed to show that he could provide for her, and in order to do so he would work hard and do anything to get what he required. In the end the superficial things that weren't the things that made him the loving, hard-working man he was, would become his undoing. The man, just like many people in today’s world fell into society’s dangerous trap of “Getting Rich quick”; speeding up the process of getting their desires but unfortunately facing no luck and winding up dead. Tracy Chapman artistically describes throughout the song how the dangers of society and our superficial world can lead you to a world six feet under ground.…
I chose the song “Started from the bottom” by Drake as an example of poetic language in song. In the lyrics there is a reoccurring theme of how Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) is implying how he came up with nothing, but now is living the dream. Being a young successful, rich, and popular young artist. The theme of the song is if you work hard for your dreams they will come true. Drake mentions in several lines about the late nights he would work as a teen and then focus on his music after. He experienced much doubt in the people around him and was told he couldn’t make it as a rapper. The hook at the end of the song he pretty much tells the fake friends that want to be apart of his life now that is famous to screw off, and he only associates with the crew that stuck by his side even when he wasn’t big.…
“Run the World” is an influential song written by American singer-songwriter Beyoncé which encourages feminism. While the singer herself might not be flawless, she is still a good role model to men, women, and children everywhere. As a loyal fan of Beyoncé, I have witnessed her do many great things that make a difference in this world. In particular, she has promoted the idea that we should all be ourselves and not someone else. Also, she is benevolent as she has done a lot of charity work. As for this song, it is a one of her best works as it conveys a powerful message not only to women, but to men as well. The purpose of the song is not to provoke anyone, but to promote equality between individuals regardless of their gender.…
I, however, worked hard to get to where I am. I didn’t get to where I am by slacking off and letting life pass me by. I’m not saying that I’m perfect; nobody is. It’s just that I’ve been through a lot of things that have made me who I am; I’ve had experiences that have made me stronger, experiences that taught me valuable lessons. Like any other person, I’ve made mistakes and I’ve learned from them.…