In an exclusive interview with a Chicago rapper known as Lil Herb, the teenager from the City of Chicago reflects on his experiences of living right in the center of the city’s brutality. He talks about losing around 20 friends over the course of his short life of 18 years. Most of Lil Herb’s songs illustrate his feelings and thoughts on growing up in the city and the struggle to stay alive. The message is clear to the Chicago’s youth that they must adjust to the street’s cruel ways. He gives personal insight on what it’s really like living in the City’s cold and harsh streets and sheds light on how most people live if born in Chicago.…
As I read the essay, “Trayvon Martin and I ain't shit” by Questlove, I could already see the inaccurate negative responses pile up in the original posting on facebook. Not for his writing or stance on the case but for his revelation that the world we live in today is still very racist. I felt the pain and inconvenience of a man who lived his life to extreme measures, to protect others while belittling himself. Questloves size, and race prohibited him from living his life to his full potential because he was afraid of the backlash he would have received. Though he tried his hardest, he could not avoid the inevitable scrutiny that people gave him due to his skin color. His particular story about the women in his building complex, really opened…
The struggles of the urban poor in Jamaica and third world countries are represented in the song ‘Concrete Jungle’, where it represents the poverty and tension found in any ghetto, as Casey Gane-McCalla wrote in ‘NewsOne for Black…
It has been twenty-eight years since the music group Niggaz Wit Attitudes, abbreviated as N.W.A, released their “Straight Outta Compton” music video in 1988. Twenty-eight years after the song’s release, racism and police brutality are still very much at the heart of Hip-Hop and black culture in contemporary America. During the music video, members of N.W.A portray images of the violent setting of Compton, California, a city that has been synonymous with poverty, drugs, rap music, sex, and gang violence for years. “Straight Outta Compton,” written in its crude and coarse manner, draws on the struggle of growing up in such a community, where the majority of youth end up being either a victim or perpetrator of gang violence by the time they reach adulthood.…
It would seem multi-platinum, Grammy-winning artist Erykah Badu, despite her abundance of talent and lengthy, tremendously successful career, probably wouldn’t be able to hack it as a New York City busker. The singer, once dubbed the “queen of neosoul,” posted a video on YouTube earlier today showing her spending about five minutes attempting to garner some spare change from passersby in the Times Square area. She dubs this performance of sorts a “Street Hustle Experiment.” Badu starts the video, entitled Live Nudity, by announcing her location, 42nd Street and Avenue of the Americas, and wondering aloud, “I just kinda always wanted to see what it would be like to, you know, sing for money on the streets.”…
1. Walls opens with the story of burning herself because it shows how she has been dealing with struggles ever since she can remember. The incident when cooking hotdogs showed how Jannette was independent at such a young age and got things done even with no help form others. It reads on page 14 “He pushed open an emergency exit door and sprinted down the stairs and out to the street…’You don’t have to worry anymore baby, ‘dad said ‘you’re safe now’.” By Rex doing this, taking her away from the hospital, is showing that the Wall don’t need help and handouts form anyone will they will do everything to help themselves.…
In “Just Walk On By: A Black Man Ponders His Power To Alter Public Space,” Brent Staples discusses the development of standard stereotypes that can not just affect the actions of the victim, but the suspect. Throughout the essay, Staples describes himself in a sequence of events, and proceeds to tell the readers how people around him react. Brent Staples was a tall black man and always faced the same reaction when walking the streets during his late night strolls. People that were walking late as well especially white women would avoid Staples either by crossing the street to avoid him or immediately be quiet and walk faster. Staples, being a six-foot two black man, appeared to be dangerous which caused the white women to cross the street or walk faster. When he is telling this story, he states that “it was clear that she thought…
Although Morgan addresses the negatives to hip-hop music and rap, she also highlights what she appreciates and admires about it. The things she values in this style of music is that it offers a rare opportunity for black men to voice their despair, and she values the fact that its popularity provides a channel for a strong voice commenting on their communities. Morgan argues that listeners should hear these sexist and angry lyrics as a sign that large-scale changes that are necessary in the opportunities available to black men.…
“If i stay” by Gayle Foreman is about a seventeen year old girl named Mia Hall who had everything, a perfect relationship, a loving family and best friend, and a future of becoming a professional cellist with a goal of attending Julliard. One snowy day, when school is out, her family decides to go on a roadtrip to visit friends and there is a tragic accident. That day Mia lost everything, her parents, her brother and almost her own life. From that moment on Mia’s spirit, trapped between life and death, lives amongst the ones she loves the most and she has to decide whether to stay or go. The movie and the book both show this but in different ways, the book has much more detail and more character description, where the movie felt more rushed and kept out a lot of detail that may have been needed.…
Rap music effectively shows the conditions of the "hood" and helps to open the eyes of the listeners that life for everyone isn't easy and worry-free. In the song "Changes" by Tupac Shakur, the rapper illustrates an image of the common inner-city urban street. In his lyrics, Shakur describes a scene where white and blacks are enemies, and crack sellers are around every corner. Yet, even though these lyrics talk about the violence in the streets, it talks about needing to make a change within the society. Shakur raps "We need to make changes, Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers. And dats how it's supposed to be. How can the devil take a brother if he's close to me, uh, I love to go back to when we played as kids, but things change, and that's the way it is." In the previous lyrics Tupac is encouraging peace within the community. He is encouraging whites and blacks to see each other more as individuals rather than two different enemies, but in the end he says that is just the way the life is (filled with hatred). The ability that the rap and hip-hop genre has to expose how life really is in the ghetto not only can promote change, but it helps to show people of all socioeconomic backgrounds that life everywhere isn't truly kosher. Many of the rap lyrics composed by various artists focus on the neighborhoods that they live in, not generally depicting masculine views, but talking about how harsh urban life really…
African American hip hop culture gained popularity in the decades following the Civil Rights movement that ended in the 1960s. In today’s society, we refer to the music of the 1970s and 1980s as “old school” hip-hop. These songs are notable for the simple rapping techniques used as well as lyrics that primarily focus on party-related subjects. The song titled “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five is an example of an old school hip hop song that strayed away from the typical party-related lyrics and focused on telling a story about life in the ghetto. This song ultimately changed the content and tone of hip hop forever by accurately proving Ralph Ellison’s three-step process as part of the blues music, portraying the harsh life in the hood, and ultimately becoming one of the most successful rap songs of all time.…
When you show me your mind, it make me wanna show you mine” followed by “for me, boo, makin love is just as much mental/ I like to know what I’m getting into.” Although this song may seem disconnected from the no-holds-barred approach of previous songs, the argument presented here by dead prez demonstrates their commitment to the complete cultural liberation of the African American community. As bell hooks and others have keenly observed, sexism is often pushed under the rug when discussing racism and black empowerment. Dead prez, by expanding their call for liberation to include women, join the “small number of black males…
In the 1980s, we saw many different genres of music emerge, genres such as Pop, Rock, and R&B. But a new genre emerged that sparked a lot of controversy: “Gangsta Rap” otherwise known as Hip Hop. Rappers/Rap groups such as NWA, Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, and more changed the industry with catchy tunes and lyrics that talked about hard topics like slavery, violence, and police brutality. These lyrics sometimes caused major conflict, whether between races or with civilians and police. Hip Hop was very controversial in the 80s. “Gangsta rap” has caused a lot of controversy, many people protested this music in the late 80s and 90s due to the message within its lyrics and what those lyrics conveyed. Many accused “Gangsta Rap” for promoting things such as crime, killings, profanity, drugs, sex, racism, and more. But Gangsta rap doesn’t influence this type of lifestyle; it’s telling a story/conveying a message of the individuals who wrote the lyrics.…
Music Lyrics being NON-VIOLENT Rap music can be considered a style of art, and a way for the artists to express feelings through their words on paper. However, there are quite a few rap artists that get criticized for their lyrics. In my essay, I want to discuss why rappers use certain lyrics in their music and why people shouldn’t believe that it causes violence among the younger generations. People shouldn’t censor the music just because of violent, vulgar and abusive messages it promotes to the world. I believe in my own mind, that there is a reason for these types of lyrics that rap artists use and I will simply explain those reasons in this essay. Rap has been called one of the most important music forces to emerge in two decades. It’s pounding beats and staccato rhymes exploded on the streets of the urban America in the early 1980s and since have become the theme music and lyrical heart of the vibrant youth culture called hip-hop ( SIRS 1993). There are many different types of rap artist. There are some that talk about money, some talk about righteousness, and the list goes on and on. Every rap artist had their own way of expressing themselves. There are those that talk about sex, drugs, and violence who receive the negative attention( SIRS 1993). People, think this so- called gangster rap is a bad influence on children in the world and that it promotes violence and that it also is abusive to women. Delores Tucker, head of national congress of black women has been among those pressuring different record companies to stop distributing gangster rap music. There were other significant names that participated in this action. Names like Senate Majority leader Bob dole, and former education Secretary William J. Bennett(Surveys, pg. 1). There are some rap artists that have been openly criticized for their lyrics. Rappers like Lil Kim, Too Short, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and a member from “Too Live Crew,” named Luke Skywalker. These rap artists in the past have been…
In 1994, Hip Hop artist Notorious B.I.G released his debut album Ready to Die under the Bad Boy Records label. This was marked as the first release on their label. Ready to Die made the Notorious B.I.G. a star and vaulted Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy label into the spotlight as well. It’s recognized as one of the greatest hardcore rap albums ever recorded. The album reached quadruple platinum with infamous tracks Juicy, Big Poppa and One More Chance. In June of 1995, the single "One More Chance" debuted at number five in the pop singles chart, tying Michael Jackson's "Scream / Childhood" as the highest-debuting single of all time. Ready to Die continued to gain popularity throughout 1995, eventually selling two million copies. Producers who took part of the album were DJ Premier, Easy Mo Bee, Puffy etc. The album cover is an infant with similarities of the artist sporting an afro. B.I.G. had been influenced by everyone from Kool G Rap to NWA, Too Short to Slick Rick. The concept behind it is the artist's life from birth to death. This album cover is considered one of the best Hip Hop covers of all time. It’s always easy to see elements of Biggie in his narrators and of his own experience in the details; everything is firmly rooted in reality, but plays like scenes from a movie.…