In the article, “Tupac and My Non –Thug Life the author of this article Jenee Desmonc-Harris writes about how a young California girl was so affected by Tupac’s death. She remembers rushing home from school crying about Tupac’s death. She was so influence by him she really loved him and was a huge fan. She knew him on a personal level which may have been way she was influenced. Listening to Tupac made the girl so proud of African American culture. She and her friend were valued Tupac’s music so much, after his death they tattooed a song lyric of his. They mourned Tupac’s death. She felt strongly grateful about his music, as she even mentioned, “his music represents the years when I was both forced and privileged to confront what it meant to be black.”…
“Big Brother” is a song where West truly conveys the brother like relationship he has with Jay Z. The song gives allusion to how Jay Z’s knowledge from mentor Biggie Smalls lead to him becoming a stupendous mentor to West, both personally and professionally. West also makes a genuine statement in the 4th line, stating we should show respect towards our beloved ones while we can. Ultimately, this is a great song that shows the genuine relationship between two friends who have greatly affected each other’s…
The controlling message in Tupac’s rhymes was the strength of the black man and the inability of his will to be broken. Tupac having been involved in gangs and drug pedaling as a young man knew the temptations of such actions and hated that his race was subjected to…
He’s telling his brothers to stay true to their black selves and stay packed with a gun for protection. He wants the black youth to not conform to the white supremacy being taught in schools. Tupac refuses to turn the other cheek because of his thug like nature. He fights back. He begins to talk about drugs and the escape weed gives him. He’s seen his brothers smashed due to the crack epidemic started by Reagan and he’s trying to figure out when it will fade and give the poor more money. Until then he wants the youth to fight oppression and not give up while they’re still alive. Last line he basically is saying that he knows the odds are against him so he’ll either be there when his brothers get out or meet them there. Tupac Shakur was very enlightened for a man at his age. Unfortunately he lived by the gun and died by the gun. This one verse literally could have been in the intro for The New Jim Crow or played in class. Tupac was ready for war against cops if it came to…
According to Richard Wright, “All literature is protest. You cannot name a single literary work that is not protest.” This means that literature is usually based on a reflection on society which is protest. Literature exposes the dark side of society. I agree with this quote because literature is one of the protruding ways to understand how one thinks about an idea. The author’s opinion is a protest against what other may believe. Coherently, in the bildungsroman Black boy by Richard Wright portrays how literature is protest.…
2. The blacks did not like white people coming to Harlem to watch them in their clubs…
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.…
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…
When listening to Ko-Ko by Duke Ellington’s orchestra, you hear several soloists; such as these five, Jimmy Blanton on bass, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Cootie Williams on trumpet, Johnny Hodges on the alto sax, and Duke Ellington himself on the piano. In this song each soloist plays for entire chorus expect for Joe Nanton which plays for both the second and third chorus; for example in the fourth chorus Ellington plays his piano solo, and in sixth chorus Blanton plays his bass solo. All the choruses throughout the song is in twelve-bar blues form. Nanton has a very distinctive sound, one being the growling “ya-ya” sound, which happens to be his signature sound. During his solo, he uses a pixie mute, which is fixed inside the trombone to create…
Fleming, N. (2011). In VARK: A Guide to Learning Styles. Retrieved March 8, 2013, from…
When it came to social inequalities, the African American community relied on drugs and music to overlook their struggles. “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin was a short story about living in poverty in Harlem. In the beginning of the story, the narrator discovers that his brother Sonny was imprisoned for selling and possessing drugs and mentions the lack of communication between them. The narrator begins to have flashbacks of their childhood and his parents throughout the story. Before Sonny’s imprisonment, his brother feared Sonny’s desire of becoming a musician and tried to lead him to a better path. Overwhelmed, Sonny departed and began to use drugs to escape his reality of his suffering. After being released from prison, Sonny was picked…
"The right of people to live where they want to, without fear, is more important than my science." is a quote from African American chemist, inventor, and the greatest African American, Percy L. Julian. Percy's research and studying helped the creation of drugs to treat glaucoma and arthritis. A Percy lived during a time of racism and segregation, he never let racism and it's many challenges get in the way of his shaping of our world today. With his many achievements and awards, I personally believe Dr. Percy L. Julian is the Greatest African-American.…
“Sonny’s Blues” is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers. This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. The title is significant, and helped me to understand the underlining meaning of the story. The title can be divided into two main reasons, the first, “Sonny’s Blues, meaning the music he plays. Second is the reference to his life, his feelings, his style, and most importantly his way of life.…
> 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.…
The article “Hood Politics”: Racial Transformation in Hip-Hop by Richard Spradlin it argues that hip hop music is a vehicle for gaining an understanding black individuals identities. However, it also claims that rap can deconstruct and rebuild the black identity, in regards to one's self-perception or judgment of society “in a racialized way” (Spradlin 2016, 43). This author uses Lamar as an example of an artist that has inspired the reconstruction of “the narrative of self” of black identities. This study gives some evidence for the reasoning behind the double-consciousness of African American (Spradlin 2016, 41). One claim is the historical struggles of the black identity that was built from the act of slavery and the racialization of “political system of racial domination” (Spradlin 2016, 43). It's also believed that black identities are socially oppressed by “reinforced racial images” and the only way to address is by Lamar method of reconstructing, contradiction and self-reflection, such as, positivity, black empowerment and redemption, which is expressed in his song TBTB (Spradlin 2016,…