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For a long time, rap music has been critiqued in spreading messages of violence, drug usage, misogyny, objectification of women, homophobia, and nihilism, among others to young people (Kubrin, 2005). One such song whose lyrics not only contain some of these messages, but also misconceptions about criminal activity and gang lifestyles is “Love Sosa” (2012) by Chicago drill rapper Chief Keef. Throughout “Love Sosa”—and in many of Chief Keef’s other songs—Keef refers to himself as Sosa. This nickname is based off of Scarface character Alejandro Sosa who is an international drug lord in the film. Those who listen to rap would find that several rappers (i.e., Nas, Future, Rich Homie Quan) typically compare themselves to Scarface’s main character …show more content…
Also like Sosa, Keef has had experience in being a drug dealer. He admits this in the following lyrics: “b***h I done sell soda, and I done sell coca”, which refer to powder cocaine and crack cocaine, respectively (Cozart & Pittman, 2012, 45-46). Furthermore, Keef’s lyrics suggest that he is part of a gang. Keef starts off by saying where he is from when he raps, “O End or no end”, which is in reference to O-Block, a block in Chicago (Cozart & Pittman, 2012, 2; GMG, 2012). When he says “O End or no end,” Keef is essentially saying, either you are with him and his crew from O-Block or you are against them. If against, you risk getting “f***d over” …show more content…
He aligns himself with a crew called the O-Boys. He and his crew have also established turf via a block in Chicago. Furthermore, he admits to having been engaged in criminal activity by dealing powder and crack cocaine. Keef and his crew also seem to ascribe to the code of the street, believing that violence is necessary if they are disrespected. Just as referenced in the title, the message of the song is that people love Chief Keef aka Sosa. Keef makes it known that if you don't love him, you should at least fear and respect him otherwise you risk getting hurt or worse. In this sense, Keef almost likens himself to a "god", one who should be feared and respected, but never challenged. Lastly, it seems that Keef has the desire to build up his reputation on the street by projecting a tough and violent image, while asserting his
Every hip-hop/rap generation a lot new fresh upcoming aspiring rappers who wishes to go down in hip-hop culture as one of the greatest. Some of them are merely one hit wonders; others go on to silicify their mark in the Hip-Hop culture becoming great artists. In the year 2006 the hip-hop world was introduced to a future superstar by the named of Lupe Fiasco. Lupe Fiasco has become one of hip-hop fastest rising superstar ever since releasing his first album. Although many listeners find some of his music very controversial, yet Fiasco is one of the few artists whose music teaches people about current events that the world has turned the blind eye to, and Lupe lyrical trickster, story teller.
In the article written by Shamontiel Vaughan entitled "Why J. Cole's '2014 Forest Hills Drive' is best rap album of the year,” the author makes a great point about artist having meaning to their music. The meaning behind J. Cole’s music consist of how the lyrics are based on his past in the state of North Carolina. Shamontiel talked about how rhyme patterns are nothing without a meaning. She explains how artist are comfortable with meaningless flows with words that shows expression that match the rhythm, but their content has basically no meaning. Most Artists rap about a bunch of nothing with a passionate flow, that at some point rappers need to tap into the true meaning of Hip-Hop, which is having flow and a message. The only true reason why I fell in love with J. Cole as an artist, is because of the fact of where he was born and raised with the support of his community. Lastly his platinum albums were so great, and he is different from any other artist.
Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential music artist of the 20th Century. “Murda, Murda, Murda, and Kill, Kill, Kill…” these are they lyrics to one of the songs written by Tupac Shakur. Amidst all the controversy surrounding his personal life, this artist has managed to overcome all obstacles and spread his hope/hate message to a surprisingly receptive audience. Tupac’s music is borrowed from the styles of early rap and hip-hop yet its appeal rested in Tupac himself. His persona of “Thug Poet” opened up a portal into the new genre of “Gangsta Rap.” This new style of music revolutionized the music industry and allowed several new artists to break through in Tupac’s creation, Gangsta Rap, such as; G-unit, Eminem, and many others.
In a reputable rap album, an artist must tell a real-life story. The following three artists come from different but similar backgrounds. One artist from Detroit, one from Compton, another from Brooklyn. Sada Baby, along with other Detroit rappers, share their experiences living in different parts of the city. Throughout D.O.N. & D.O.N. by Sada Baby, he references a lot of weapon use, gang activity, and drug use in his neighborhood.
The song is set around Chief keef being on the phone and talking to a woman, he refers to the woman on the song as a bitch, hoe, and thottie. The word thottie is derived from the word thot, which is an acronym for “that hoe over there”. The song states “You wanna Glo up, baby, Keef got you/You's a gold bottle, these hoes pink Moscato/Baby I'm the owner, you can be my castle”. This line right here compares the woman to other women by saying she is a better bottle of liquor than other women and calls her his property when he says you can be my castle. Then he goes on to say in the song “ Baby cause I like you/Only reason I text you and why I Skype you/I just wanna fuck on you, I don't wanna wife you/But you gotta brush your teeth and do what I say though/(Hello?)/Bitch can you hear me?/Keep your pussy in park, no 360... I don't wanna smell you/Cause I'ma cut/you off, quicker than I met you/I'ma swipe your name up off my schedule/And if smoke this blunt, girl, I'm gon' forget you”. The lyrics basically says the women is just there for his sexual pressure and he does not plan on making her more than that; he also tells the women that he has to be the one in control if she wants to continue this relationship; then he tells her, he will completely stop communicating/seeing her, if she does not do what he wants her to do and she can be
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
There is a misconception regarding rap music content about how it predominantly focuses on the topics of drugs, sex and money. Various people do not understand that rap music is a valuable method of expressing one’s emotions and thoughts. The lyrics in rap music are able to strongly represent a broader story of someone’s story. Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise is a story of what it was like as an African-American male to grow up in the ghettos. Through his lyrics, Coolio explains the real-life problems of living in Compton, his hometown. His music describes how immense the amount violence inner city violence that occurred and what he had to become in order to fit into that society. The point of this song was to show those who had not experienced what he had gone through some insight. Coolio mentions how his deviant actions have affected his relationship with his mother. He attempts to justify that murder and violence were the only way to survive on the streets he lived in. The song devises numerous associations to the situation of class, socialization and the conflict subculture. In his
Since hip-hop has expanded from the undergrounds in Bronx in the 70’s it has grew into a popular accepted music genre. Consequently, as it progressed from the golden age it gradually grew away from its original roots. If one were to evaluate the change of lyrics in hip-hop, they would see a difference between early hip-hop and today’s hip-hop. The current state of hip-hop is in a stage where things like hey young world are outdated. Instead of broadcasting out a positive message, hip-hop sends out a message of sex, drug, and violence. The early musicians who helped solidify hip-hop, by producing music that told stories on subjects of race, respect, or even music that had a positive message.
I was twelve when I first heard the name “Kanye West”. He was featured in a song I rather liked at the time called “Forever” and whilst discussing the song with my friend one afternoon I remarked: “I like Kayne (pronounced like citizen Kane) West’s verse as well” “It’s pronounced ‘Kan-Ye’’ he corrected me with a chuckle. A year later, West popped into my life again.
“She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Smackin’ on your lips, put your hands on your hips…She ain’t nuttin but a hoochie mama…Oh I love those big brown eyes and the way you shake your thighs, acting like you’re so damn cute...” Rap music with lyrics like this play on the radio and in home stereos every day. Rap music pounds messages of sex and violence into the minds of young adults leaving behind their sexist and repetitive influential messages. Music has a very powerful influence on our emotions, moods, and behavior. Rap music influences teenagers negatively by increasing violent attitudes and promoting sexual aggression against women.
Rap has been around since 1973, when Kool DJ Herc introduced this new mash of jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae. This culture has been focused around African Americans, and since has served as a voice for the underrepresented, that is spreading violence, alcohol, and drugs. In this genre the most popular and successful boast about who has murdered more foes as breezily as other artists sing about love. Rap music tells stories of drugs, violence, and alcohol. The youth of America is constantly exposed to this kind of music, and our teenagers are being desensitized to the effects of these stories.
The systematic oppression of the underprivileged is an unescapable loop that keeps people chained. J Cole’s album, 4 Your Eyez Only, shows the difficulties of escaping a difficult lifestyle. J Cole, a young North Carolina based rapper, focuses on the consequences that come with choosing to live a life of crime. Although living this lifestyle is wrong, many are forced into this life and tend to glorify it because it is all they know. J. Cole challenges this notion while also realizing the oppression he is facing while trying to escape the life. He chooses to tell the album from the perspective of his dead friend, who chose this lifestyle. Although this album is dark, it has an underlying tone of hope.
Even though the legitimacy of the story comes into question, the conditions of the hood produce adverse effects on the youth growing up there. Specifically, when he says, “ [a] Nigga never had a father and his mom was a fiend… [But,] she put the pipe down.” For many African American families, children grow up without fathers due to their high incarceration rate, with mother’s being drug addicts. For some, they are able to get off drugs, and are then forced to raise a family alone. As he raps, Immortal Technique describes the various influences that exist in the hood. He says, “[Billy’s] primary concern was making a million…being the illest hustler that the world ever seen…[Billy] used to fuck movie stars and sniff coke in his dreams,” as a result of the illusion that the big hustlers of success around him gave off, all by the age of thirteen. Kids in the hood grow up wanting to make millions, just like anyone else, but the influences that surround them and the immense poverty often convince them that crime is the only way to achieve their dreams. On this path, many youths are locked up and sent to juvenile detention centers, ruining their dreams, and perpetuating a continuous cycle of crime. But, Immortal Technique gives a warning when he says, “Ask a nigga doing life if he had another chance…But then
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .