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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. I was talking with my aunt about current events, to the extent a thirteen year old can discuss such a thing, and she asked me with a slightly disarming fervor if I was a Kanye West fan.
“No” I remarked innocently.
“I mean I liked that one song he was on but I would hardly call myself a fan” I thought. “He’s prejudiced ya know” warned my aunt
I found out later that week that the man had apparently made a fool out of himself publicly, jumping on stage and drunkenly trying to disarm Taylor Swift of her newly received VMA Award, declaring “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!” At this point the only information I had
I was so interested in the truth that I suspended my assumptions about West as I pursued more information through research, giving me an objective lens. It truly rattled me to have been so wrong in my assumptions, it felt weird to know that because of something I didn’t know, I had believed something. It genuinely shook my self-confidence. I really prided myself on my knowledge of Hip-Hop, I thought I knew all the classic albums, how could I have overlooked this one for so long? So, jolted by this sting of self embarrassment, I searched further, I wanted to know what else I had been oblivious to. It became increasingly clearer to me that there were two completely opposite views about Kanye, the more popular view: he’s a worthless egotistical pop star, who’s created nothing of value, and, as I was shocked to learn over time, the informed view, and the truth, that he was and is one the most influential artists of the 21’st
Kanye Omari West, rapper, producer, professional celebrity, and with an ego to match, has forced himself into the limelight of the music industry. Kanye West has made a lasting impression on all of those around him, whether it be a good one or bad. With seven full length albums, a multimillion record label company, and a successful fashion business all under his belt, it’s fair to say that Kanye has done his fair share of creating. Over the last twelve years Kanye went from a young Chicago kid just trying to get his flows off, to one of the most decorated musicians of all time. With over 20 Grammy’s and 3 of his albums ending up on the Rolling stones “500 greatest albums of all time”. He has continuously created, entertained, and spoken his mind for years. Whether it be “George Bush does not care about black people” or “Taylor imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had
He describes the sensation of “measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (2). West tackles double- consciousness in a lot of his songs, but more so I “Gorgeous” and “Power”. He does have slight elements in “Monster”, however. In “Gorgeous”, West is straight-forward in his approach, voicing his frustrations about appearing to fit in with the majority of popular artists (namely the white ones), yet when he does something stereotypically black he gets massive media attention and is berated for his actions. It is even in his clothes: if he is wearing the right clothing he is accepted, but is automatically perceived as ghetto when he is wearing sneakers and a white t-shirt. “As long as I’m in Polo’s smiling they think they got me/But they would try to crack me if they ever see a black me” (Lyrics On Demand). In “Power”, he discusses issues with fame and general concept of power, as well as being a minority with limited options. He talks about how education is limited and that minority children are eventually doomed to prison. “The system broken, the schools closed, the prison’s open” (Lyrics On Demand). His lyrics speak of how the world around him in controlled by the majority, and how minorities are forced to conform to the standards of the rest of the world. In “Monster”, the biggest hint at double- consciousness is the inclusion of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, a white indie folk musician. Vernon’s appearance on such a quintessential rap track is impressive and jaw-dropping considering these types of songs (posse cuts”) are notorious for featuring all- black artists. His presence plays to the double-consciousness West expresses, by mixing black and white artists together for
“Kanye Ran onto the stage saying, ‘I'm sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!’” (Top 10 Outrageous Kanye West Moments), says Kanye West at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards after Taylor Swift had just won “Best Female Video.” People that are like this have typically not always been this way. They were probably raised as a polite and respectful person before they were exposed to fame and fortune, and other “celebrities,” making them feel like they are the only people on the planet. Causing them to do things like that. Although, Kanye West is an amazing musician based on his 14 Grammy Awards and multiple albums going “Double-Platinum” (Manheim, James M., and Carol Brennan). He fell victim to fame and fortune, and turned into an arrogant and overconfident person making him more popular and praised among media. But looked down upon by everyday people. Kanye Omari West, born on June 8th, 1977, is a world famous rapper who, like all other celebrities, started out like a nice person who made nice music for nice families to listen to. West was a confident and competitive person even as a child, “He was determined even then to get out of his crib and be free, even if he split his head in the process—and he did. He has fought ever since to do exactly what he wanted to do—no matter what,” says Donda West, his mother in her book, Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar. By the time West was ten, he was already creating his own raps, and according to the people around him, he was pretty good at it even at that young of an age. (Manheim, James M., and Carol Brennan) West was not too interested in school as he grew up, but he was able to get by because of his talent. If he dropped out of one ...
This song won a Grammy for the Record of the Year. At this time Bruno was thrilled to find out that he would be performing at the half time entertainment at the next Super Bowl .he was super energetic as he performed with his astounding voice. Bruno is a big star now and says he gets inspired from his favourite singers Prince, The Police, and Elvis Presley, which he loved seeing girls go crazy for him,. This man from Honolulu will continue to break the music
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.
Previously I hinted above about his sexism and misogynistic ways, but now I will go in depth. Hip hop misogyny has been reignited since the history of Dr. Dre’s abuse appeared again with the debut album Straight Outta Compton. The history behind misogyny has dated back decades and has gained even more pushback due to artist like Rick Ross, Drake and Kanye West. These rappers have created songs that dehumanized women from them stripping, making money, and slapping them while having intercourse. However, Kanye West gained a great amount of pushback due to his Yeezus album that greatly dehumanized, influenced sexisim and exhibited a great amount of anger towards women. The release of Straight outta Compton created a huge controversy behind sexism and abuse as it should. Dr. Dre’s beating of Dee Barnes then created a dialogue within the media due to the huge success of the movie. The creator of Straight Outta compton then made a statement after her bragging on how successful the movie was. Ava DuVernay states “I saw the cavalier way that women were treated in hip hop spaces early on. To be a woman who loves hip hop at times is to be in love with your abuser. Because the music was and is that. And yet the culture is ours. From depictions of the origins of ‘Bye Felicia’ to watching Cube bring his wife Kim to business meetings. That’s hip hop. A curious thing”. The statement was a post made on Twitter and The Daily Beast brought it to our attention. Dr. Dre contribution to this movie shows how misogyny within hip hop has become a thing even greater than NWA. The movies and his contribution fits perfectly within hip hop because it created dialogue. Not only dialogue but as I previously stated recent artist who has come in contact with West Coast members, Dr. Dre and got their flow from NWA all have misogynist characteristics in their music. Kendrick has created music on his recent album
Songs are one way of expressing feelings and emotion, many artist do this constantly in their music. To some it is why they make music. There are endless signs and verses that hint at many things such as problems, politics, living in racist era’s also places. I chose to focus on one main rapper and his music only. I chose to examine, review, and study a few of his songs. Kid cudi grew up in cleveland, Ohio. His father passed away when he was a young age which affected the kid ever since. He writes about living his life and having to go through many obstacles
Trickey, Erick. "Kanye West." Newsmakers. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Student Resources in Context. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. He is currently 40 years old. West started out producing for local artists. He developed “chipmunk soul” which included sped up soul samples. He got his big break producing “This Can’t Be Life” for Jay Z. The name Kanye means “the one and only” in Swahili.
Some weaknesses of James McBride’s “Hip Hop Planet” include its cynical tone and his attitude towards the musical side of Hip Hop. McBride opens the essay with a reflection on what his ultimate nightmare is. He showcases the Hip Hop community in a negative light with phrases like, “music that doesn’t seem to be music—rules the world” (McBride, pg. 1). This starts the essay off negatively because it misleads the reader by letting them think he is not a supporter of the Hip Hop movement. As you read the entire essay you realize this is not the case. The article itself isn’t very inviting because tone of the entire essay is very cold and cynical. He also doesn’t agree with the typical Hip Hop sound saying things like, “It sounded like a broken record” (McBride, pg. 1). The sound of Hip Hop music is what helps define it and is a crucial aspect of
Kanye Omari West, an icon of hip-hop, pop culture, fashion and music in general. Kanye Omari West, a person belittled against and a person subjected to a life of racism and hate. Born on June 8th, 1977, Donda West, West’s mother, always knew he was destined for greatness, but did she know her son would turn out to be the Kanye West, a man lacking the respect he deserves for transforming a big part of the music we listen to on this very day? West came onto the scene in the late nineties but didn’t release The College Dropout until 2004, an album that took everybody by surprise. Kanye West changed the gangster filled rap genre by releasing his positive, soulful debut album, changing the way rappers dress, and paving the way for a whole new style of introspective lyrics and soul-inspired rap production in the mainstream.
Raised as an only child, Dwayne Micheal Carter Jr or more commonly referred to as Lil Wayne, was born September 27th, 1982, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter’s mother was only 19 years old when he was first born. He was being raised by both his mother and father until his father abandoned them while Dwayne Jr. was only two years old. After being abandoned by his biological father, his mother was forced to take care of him on her own and survive in the crime infested community of Holly grove, New Orleans. Even though he divorced his mother and remarried, his father forced the two live with his own mother and came by to abuse Lil Wayne’s mother on a consistent basis.This situation went on for three years until Lil Wayne’s mother eventually remarried and relocated to a different part of town. Growing up he did very well in school. He was actually enrolled in his school’s gifted program at a point and received top grades. He got into music at a very young age and wrote his first rap song at the age of eight. Lil Wayne had the drive to be the best and successful at his craft since he first began. At the age of nine he was challenging others twice his age and older at rapping. He would consistently go to neighborhood parties or events to rap and most of the time he was better then whatever adult he was going against. As a testament to this, at the age of nine he start receiving attention from one of the two co-founders of his future label, Slim Williams. From Slim, he then received other co-founder, Bryan Williams, phone number and what he did with it after that was truly caught the Bryan’s attention. He continuously called the number over and over leaving rap songs on the voicemail of Williams until he agreed to meet him in person...
People are surrounded by music every day of their lives. They hear it in their homes, on the radio on their way to work; some people have even caught themselves humming the tune of their favorite song to themselves. But how many people actually listen and not just hear the music they are listening to? Teens in particular don’t realize the message behind the music they are quoting the lyrics to, or the effect it has on them. In today’s culture where rap music has become increasingly popular, many teens aren’t realizing what they are listening to. A lot of teens would argue that the music they listen to has no effect on them, but they are wrong. Rap music, especially, has had a major impact on teenagers in today’s society.
Kanye West is the GOAT, the greatest of all time.Music has always been a huge factor in my enjoyment of life. This doesn’t surprise me because my parents are the same way, my dad used to be a breakdancer and the other day, my mom asked me if I would ever be up to go to a Young Thug concert with her.
When researching the first step is to do thorough literary research. When looking for research sources the inquiry to think about is, what is the question, hypothesis, or topic are you’re searching? Are you researching a scholarly source which will be founded in experimentation and testing or a subjective source based on less controllable observation; such as human behavior or emotion? To give you a better idea, I will be using an idea I have for a research topic as an example. I will be researching the personal life of Kanye West.