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Hip-Hop Culture and Contemporary Race Relations
Hip hop and race relations in America
Hip hop and race relations in America
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Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Ontario, Canada. He first became famous for playing a role in the teen TV series, Degrassi in 2001. This went on for 7 years and slowly transitioned into what he is most know for now, rapping. With almost 2 million albums sold, 14 BET awards, 2 Grammy’s and a recent contract with Nike’s Jordan Brand has Drizzy Drake on top of the Hip-Hop world. The song “Look What You’ve Done” from the album Take Care, released November of 2011, is more emotional and personal than most Hip-Hop track. Those vibes are given off from the soothing piano playing in the background and the way he raps about his past. Paul Lester, musical journalist, suggests Drake's style is labeled as soft in his article, "Why do you hate me so much?" Lester goes on to say, " Drake's sound is labeled as "soft" for his genuine, merciful lyrics and soulful melody to most hip hop listeners. Drake has even described himself as "the first person to successfully rap and sing." (The Guardian) In my eyes this is the thing that makes Drake different from others and what makes people drawn to his music “Look What You’ve Done” by Drake, there is an obvious explicit message that he has many different people to thank in his life. Yet most people who listen to the song will not immediately recognize the implicit message that Drake's parents divorced when he was five years old so his mom raised him and was there for him a lot more than his father was. They may also not realize how big of a role Drake's
Most listeners will probably find out that "Look What You've Done" is about different people in Drake's life. Throughout the song he talks about his ex girlfriends, mom, dad, and uncle. He mainly focuses on his mother and his uncle because they did t...
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...red about his uncle and how he appreciated him being his father figure as he grew up.
Despite what most people say about Drake and how he is too "soft" or how he is ruining rap music, I believe if they listened closer to what he is saying in his songs they would have more respect for him. He is a lyrical genius unlike most rappers today that just talk about disregarding females and acquiring currency. People should listen to music that has hidden messages throughout the song and think about what the artist was trying to say or what he was trying to make you think. Drake might not fit the stereo type of a rapper because he isn't from the hood and he sings parts of his songs but the time and effort he puts into his craft and how he can connect with his listeners at a deeper level than what appears on the outer surface, should make him a top artist on anyone's list.
In this dark, vengeful song, “Look What You Made Me Do,” shrewd lyricist Taylor Swift uses honest repetition, ominous imagery, and arresting figurative language to demonstrate an adolescent female’s change to a wrathful lady.
He may just seem like another rapper to you but if you actually listen to his lyrics you can see he’s not like any rapper out there. His name is Kanye West and he was born in Chicago Illinois. He grew up in the “ghetto” and learned to appreciate life. He didn’t learn to really, truly appreciate life until October of 2002. Driving back to his hotel late one night after a recording session, the new-coming rap/hip-hop artist was involved in a devastating, near fatal car accident. The crash left him with a broken jaw in three places and an appreciation for life. Just weeks after being released from the hospital he recorded his first major hit, “Through the Wire,” with his mouth still wired shut. He records every song like its going to be his last song and that makes every song better than the last. He’s not only a rap artist but also a producer. He has been responsible for being behind songs like Jay-Z’s Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls, The Takeover, and 03 Bonnie and Clyde.
Have you ever acted different or lied trying to impress other people? Drake writes about how to be yourself in “Know Yourself.” Drake’s music is a blend of hip-hop and R and . Be true to yourself , don’t change for other people. Drake often speaks about times like this in a lot of his music.
Although hip hop music normally consist of money, violence, drugs, degrading women, and life in the poor inner cities, Drake has still been able to become one of hip hop’s biggest icons even though his lyrical content does not fit the hip hop genre. Drake has stood his ground and has not conformed to the expectations that hip hop has. Even though he has been badly ridiculed Drake has still been able to prove that you do not always have to be a gangster in order to be a rapper. Drake has also proved that there is nothing wrong with being a hip hop rapper who is in touch with his emotions and who is willing to show his
When people hear the word rap, they think money and drugs. Unfortunately, every rapper falls in to that category however some rap can be more meaningful than any song could every be. Today, I’m going to show you one rapper who falls into this stereotype.
Although I choose, XXXTENTACION, there are many artists in the underground scene that are making waves with their new music. Many of these artists are just like XXX, a young boy, raised in a troubled neighborhood. It is so hard to choose who is the most underrated because every artist is so similar, yet, in a way, so very different. That’s the best part about underground hip-hop, there isn’t exactly a best or a most underground artist but there are so many amazing artists with such unique sound that plays to the youth. Each and every underground artist has gained my respect due to their resilience and willingness to stay true to themselves. Many of these artists have been offered deals by major record labels, yet turn them down due to their desire to bring themselves up on their own and stay true to themselves as well as not have a label standing over them making their career decisions for them. XXXTENTACION has created a career for himself and while he is an amazing artist, he has not received the credit he deserves and that is why he is the most underrated hip-hop
Vulgar, obscene, violent, honest, or genius, are only a few of the opposing terms associated with rap music in today’s American society. Whether it is the lyrics, the videos or the storytelling behind it, rap music seems to always have controversy surrounding it.
Rappers that have taken over today’s teens have begun to also venture out into the singing world. The artist that rose into the celebrity world like Iggy Azalea and Nicki Minaj made the billboards. Nicki Minaj started off in the music industry with hits like “Your Love” that hit number one back in 2010. However as she strived for fame, this once talented rapper got consumed by society. In the past five years since she started her career this once natural rapper has become a plastic auto-tuned rapper. With seven plastic surgeries and music that is manipulated by robots, Nicki no longer proves to be worth of her celebrity
"Elizabeth, this is the happiest day of my life. But I've got to tell you, I really wish mom and dad were here. I do love them you know. I wish they could accept that this...it's just...who I am." He began to cry, which seemed to be a recurring theme in these clips, but it was still just as powerful.
Drake and Migos awards, Drake brought $50,000 to their name interview. Migos and Drake all earned the first top 10 hit of their career in 2009 and 2013. Drake
Throughout Drake’s musical career, the theme he raps about the most is the male/female relationship. As I referenced it before the relationship between men and women is one of the pillars of rap. His most commercially successful and loved songs are about the relationships he’s had with a woman. Instead of talking about selling drugs or violent lyrics, Drake raps about his love of women and the relationships he has with him. He talks about the mistakes he’s made in the relationship one song in particular “Sooner than Later” he talks about how he has this girl he loves but let’s her get away from him and doesn’t realize it until she’s gone when he raps, “I forgot to call on your birthday/ You swear you’re the last thing on my mind, yeah/ There
“Lose Yourself” is an aggressive song and is about Eminem’s hard life story. It is about how he had to earn his respect, Eminem was treated like trash because he was white. The song really connects to you and makes you feel for Eminem and the tough times he went through. “Lose Yourself” starts out with a piano intro and once Eminem starts singing the tempo goes from slow to upbeat. The song is showing off his writing skills and his ability rap. However, “Rap God” is the song that really shows off his rapping ability, and how fast he can really
With this came a commercialization of his image as his ‘shmoney’ dance went viral on the internet. This trend of major labels cashing in on the innovation of a subculture “suggests that original musical ideas and styles, generated organically, are taken up by the record industry, which then popularizes them and adheres to them as a standard form” (Shuker, 2013, p.17). The concept of standardization is very apparent in terms of the kind of rap artists that are promoted and rap songs that reach the mainstream. After analyzing the content of lyrics of about 900 top charting rap songs from 1989 to 2003, Professor Todd Callais from the University of Cincinnati found that “rap lyric topics became less varied, concentrating on sex, partying, consumerism, violence, and self-promotion. Political advocacy ha[d] all but disappeared” (Blatt, 2013). With current rap artists promoting hyper masculine images along with the lavish lifestyle often including, sex, drugs, violence, and alcohol, the stark difference between the current state of rap compared to the beginning of hip-hop raises the question of authenticity. When it comes to celebrities’, authenticity is mainly associated with branding. Cultural branding theory “considers
Kendrick Lamar’s brilliance was noted from his sophomore album Good Kid, Maad City but the intent and creative vision of this man was seen on a masterful album and possibly the greatest hip hop albums of all time – To Pimp a Butterfly and DAMN. Kendrick Lamar is not only a brilliant lyricist and a rapper mastermind but is also a self-aware politician. His music always carries a deep message and often is a mirror of the modern society and the people who make it. The music takes different twists and turns based on his changing personalities in the records. Just as Drake is a pure entertainer when it comes to his music, Kendrick is a politician. He is doing more than producing radio friendly tracks but representing African-American culture for what it is capable of, he talks about the sufferings of his family and friends, his criminal encounters and his tough childhood growing up in the city of Compton. But, what makes him a whole self-actualized artist is his efforts to make his people reflect upon the cinematic picture that he captures through his eyes and spits in his raps. Kendrick’s entire discography is a documented project on the city that made him and is a commentary on life and culture. XXX featuring U2 on DAMN. Is a genius track in which Kung Fu Kenny realizes the state of the Trump
You learn so much about a rapper, and all the hardships they had to overcome in their lives to get to where they are now, through their music. Hearing their stories, really makes me wonder that, if they can get through so many hardships, why can’t I? I use rap as motivation to achieve my goals in life, and as a stepping stone, where one day I want to be driving a million-dollar car and living in a mansion with tons of money because of my hard work, dedication and persistence. I know that in today’s society, people look down on rap due to the things that are spoken of in it and it is affecting kids. However, that applies to almost everything; somehow, somewhere someone always finds a way to find a flaw and exploit it and make it a bigger issue than it should be. I understand why people think it is wrong when rappers tell their audiences to go out and do drugs and other wrong things, however, a lot of artists have given rap a bad name, when it had really started out as a form of expression and a way to convey messages about the hardships people went through. Rap has changed remarkably from when Tupac was alive and now. There have been a plethora of rappers that have come and gone but some stuck around and produce music until this day. Additionally, rap back in the day was better than it is now because back then every song had a deeper message within it, whereas artists are mass-producing just to make money and putting less and