The poverty is portrayed in one of scenes where we can see blue collar workers in their hoodies and steel-toe boots next to the polished-dress people reading The Wall Street Journal. The second scenes of poverty we can see how the residents dressed in Manhattan and Harlem. The opening credit is the panning across the…
In today’s world, conscious hip-hop has become the new blues. Although there are many musical alterations, conscious hip-hop currently serves the purpose that the blues once served for the African American community. This style of music speaks about the new hardships experienced by the community, and portrays it in a way that can be felt by anybody who has had the same, or similar, experiences.…
Poverty is something that will bring you down a dark path if you let it. It’s needs and problems will only pile if you don’t take action. In poverty there will be people holding you up and providing you a platform to grow, but it is up to you if you want to step off of their help and into the life of uncertainty that comes with it. But in poverty the most important thing you can have, is people who will provide you with a good platform and lead you to stay with it, and not people who will stand there and simply not care…
Tupac starts the song with a very clear statement “I’m tired of bein’ poor and, even worse, I’m black” that announces what the song’s is going to talk about. In a decade where police brutality in Afro-American neighbourhood was a real debate, Tupac claims “Cops give a damn about a negro, Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he’s a hero”. Problems are never far from you in these communities even for the younger “Give the crack to the kids, who the hell care? One less hungry mouth on the welfare!”. In this song, Tupac seems to put the fault on the system that doesn’t help them in any way. These inequalities are necessary to keep the American system on track. As an example, the singer says “First ship’em dope and let’em deal to brothers. Give ‘em guns, take a step back, watch them kill each other”. In the second verse, Tupac puts more accent on racism “I see no changes, all I see is racist faces. Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races”. Overall, lyrics undoubtedly shows the presence of an ethical issue and the author protest by saying that things need to change all along the song “We gotta start makin’ changes, learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers”.…
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.…
Now in days, television shows and movies depict the poor as people with no ambition, no dignity, people who cannot be happy with themselves while living in poverty. These negative stereotypes often fill people with a stigma of being or becoming poor. Many of us in this generation, who grew up in poverty or with blue-collar workers as parents, have dealt…
“Ready Or Not”, by the Fugees, is another example of a hip hop song that exposes the harsh realities of the ghettos, as it paints a vivid picture of the struggles they face. The song can get very dark and depressing, but sadly this is as a result of the fact that it is describing the life of impoverished, racialized minorities, attempting to survive in such an unfair and unjust world. The lyrics enlighten the listener and teach society that life is not always as easy and simple as it may seem. Things can get very complicated for particular individuals, especially those living in the ghettos. This song brings awareness concerning people living within such environments, in hopes that there will be further support towards social change.…
Lauryn Hill depicts the aspects of the black community that indisputably attribute to an inferior lifestyle in comparison to the rest of society in her song entitled “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. The aspects that Hill so skillfully portrays include: promiscuity, superficiality, materialism, and poor morality. Possessing any of these characteristics is detrimental to one’s existence; let alone a combination of any of them. What Lauryn Hill is able to do is pin-point the general downfalls of young African Americans, while simultaneously enlightening them. By speaking to her audience through hip-hop, she achieves this.…
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.…
I love the meaning behind this song, it completely describes the two members and what they stand for. Kev Marcus and Will B are trying to change the stereotypes of black men and the stereotype of classical music and the people that play it. The typical stereotype of a black man is that they are an uneducated, athletic, blue collar person. There also is an stereotype on the genre of classical music. When you think of classical music your mind runs straight to white, upper class, wealthy, white collar adults. Black Violin is an exact mix of these two stereotypes having two older black men that play the violin with such class yet such unique style by adding hip hop to the mix, they continue the message throughout the song when the children and adults from different cultures come on in the back ground describing and talking about the meaning of stereotypes. The song, Stereotype, does a better than perfect job of representing the Black Violin and their special music by shifting from classical to gip hop within the…
Jamal believed, as a young boy, in the thug life philosophy, “ ...thug life was a celebration of young brothers who hustled, gangbanged, and lived outside the law to survive” (272). Jamal matured to realize that thug life was a result of systemic racism due to a lack of expectations of non-white teens. After seeing the senseless deaths of young people, he realized that he would have to something to help kids get out of “thug life” to help them succeed. “If Andre, or perhaps even the boy who shot him, were in a creative arts workshop instead of out partying or doing drugs on the street, then maybe Andre would be alive”(277). Jamal is saying that if non-white teens had more opportunities, they would be able to succeed and not fall into drugs and violence on the streets. This realization helped Jamal be a successful adult and youth advocate for creating programs like IMAPACT that led to a culture of art and creativity among the non-white…
> Initially intended for the lower class Black communities, his songs were appreciated by members of all races and classes. In the essay I will try to explain the concepts of authority, sub-culture, roles, social-class and class-consciousness; I will then apply these concepts to the lyrics of My Block.…
Poverty can be defined by the necessities and amenities that one does not have in their life. Due to the expectations created by our society, we have a tendency to judge others based on the clothes they wear or the cars they drive, and we automatically assume that those who cannot afford these luxuries are either uneducated, unskilled or a combination of both. We completely disregard the fact that not all people have control of their financial stability and that anything can damage their current state of wealth. Even the wealthiest of families can find themselves making their way to the bottom due to an unfortunate tragedy such as a death in the family or being laid off from a job, both of which are aspects that cannot be predicted or prevented, and the only thing families can do is accept it. The American Myth claims that someone from the humblest of beginnings can achieve success, but this statement could not be more false. Although a major cause of poverty is financial trouble, a key component that factors in is how the past affects the future. Those who come from troubled beginnings often lead a life of poor behavior and bad decision making skills. Some even work their lives away and still continue to struggle financially, mainly because they had no foundation to build upon due to the fact that they had to start from the absolute bottom.…
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…
Poverty is a big problem in the Americas. In 2010, 15.1% of all citizens were below the poverty line- and people aren’t magically getting wealthier. A question has been rising: Are people able to change their social and financial status? Is it fixed, or changeable, or somewhere in between? It all depends on how willing a person is to try to get out of poverty. If one sits around and does nothing but cry about how poor they are, they will not be as successful as someone who keeps their head up looking for opportunities. In conclusion, some people can move up in status, while some can’t.…