An Analysis Of Cole's Song 'Intro' By Langston Hughes

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Hughes to Cole Does time change the message that can come from one’s words? Or does time just alter the message to make it relevant to the people of the time. Rapper J. Cole may have done that with a poem that was written by the famous poet Langston Hughes, but not intentionally. Although the same emotions could’ve been at work in the making of Cole’s song “Intro” that were present in Hughes when he wrote “Let America Be America Again”. Both works emphasizing people becoming free from something, by two educated black men from two different time periods, but what gives these two artists this mind set to gain such an oneness with the world around them? On February 1, 1902 Langston Hughes was born as James Mercer Langston Hughes in Joplin, Missouri. …show more content…

Hughes lived through a time where racism is still highly apparent in America, which is why his poem is more so about the relief of racial discrimination to achieve the dreams that America promised. Once a free land, it became tarnished by the greed of monopolies, hate between skin color, and greed of the wealthy over the hard work of the poor. As Cole's song is more so about how people can reach their full potential when they stop trying to be someone they’re not. Stop feeding into what others around you are doing and be yourself to become truly happy with life. In a way it seems as if Hughes is telling people how much opportunity is in the world, and Cole is telling them how to achieve those opportunities. Like is Hughes saying, “O, let my land be a land where Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.” All so Cole to follow up with “Free from pain, free from scars, Free to sing, free from bars, Free my dawgs, you're free to go, Block gets shot, the streets is cold, Free to love, to each his own, Free from bills, free from pills, You roll it loud, the speakers blow, Life get hard, you eat your soul, It clears your mind, learn to fly, Then reach the stars, you take your time, And look behind and said what I can, Look how far I done came, They say that dreams come true, And when they do that there's a beautiful thing”. Both have a set goal of telling people what it takes to fulfil your dream and be happy with it. The only difference is the way to achieve it due to the gap between their

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