Kanye West: The Black Buck

2016 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: african american history essays

From being known to creating compose hip-hop music, a fashion icon and establishing a foundation with his mother to being seen as the most hated celebrity in the entertainment industry. Kanye West took it upon himself to defend his opinion when it came to the winner of the Best Female Video on the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. By taking the stage and grabbing the microphone from the country music star Taylor Swift and basically stating that she did not deserve the title. The event left the audience and TV land very stocked. What some may not realize is that Kanye West displayed multiple stereotypes that society may think African Americans possess. The stereotypes, which were displayed, were drunkenness, outspokenness and the fact that a black man was a victim towards a white person. By Kanye West displaying several black stereotypes on the television program, MTV 2009 Video Music Awards, he is considered to be the modern day “Black Buck”.
Kanye Omari West was born Atlanta, Georgia and raised in Chicago Illinois by two parents who both had Doctors of Philosophy degrees. At the age of three his parents then divorced which made him move with his mother to Chicago. His father was a former Black Panther who was one of the first black photojournalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and later a Christian counselor. And his mother was an English Professor at Clark Atlanta University and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as Kanye West’s manager. Being from a background of being raised by his mother and barely seeing his father, which is one stereotype that African Americans are unfortunately known for, made be one factor of why Kanye West is how he is today (West). Another factor...

... middle of paper ...

... were going around the Hurricane Katrina relief and the president feel as though he was not doing his job good enough.
Being the “Black Buck” today, most individuals would think that it would be a bad thing. We learned that being brutally honest, rebellious and against the white race are all traits of the term. After evaluation of the actions and words of hip-hop artist, Kanye West, is most definitely considered the modern day version of a “Black Buck”. Even though West had previous events that made him appear to be the term, MTV’s 2009 Video Music Awards truly showcased and certified the fact that he is the current day black rebel we see on television. From the consumption of alcohol leading to the loud and outspokenness to the victimizing of a young white girl, these black stereotypes displayed necessarily prove the fact of West being the modern day “Black Buck”.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Kanye Omari West

    2615 Words  | 6 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Tupac Shakur: The Life Of Supac's Life, And His Life

    1970 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tupac Shakur was an actor and a rapper. He was born in Harlem, New York on June 16, 1971, as Lesane Parish Crooks. Both his mother and father were members of the Black Panthers, which later in his career influenced his political views in his songs .At the age of 13, he  began his acting career in the production, “Raisin in the Sun” at the Apollo Theater. Tupac’s mother was single mother of two and struggled with money, forcing them to move around a lot and often stay in shelters.Tupac went to Baltimore School of Arts before dropping out and moving to Marin County in California at the age of 17.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Our Spiritual Strivings By W. E. B Dubois

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Racism In Kanye West's 'Monster'

    1601 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the video, the roles of society seem to be reversed as compared to what is traditionally viewed. West is referring to the early ages of our country in which the African American race were enslaved to the Caucasians. This is seen in completely opposite light in West’s video, as all of the Caucasians are in reversed roles with the African-Americans. As Kanye West being a popular icon in the music industry, both whites and blacks are a lump sum of his audience which creates for him to have a larger impact of the common thoughts on racism regarding both groups. Most individuals find themselves very moved by the video as it puts them into a slight state of shock seeing this prominence of reverse racism in our culture today. This goes along in turn with the title of the song being “Monster”, as West is depicting the whites as being monsters toward the black race, and him attempting to put a change on that. Through the use of the vivid and extremely graphic images, West’s music video, forces the viewer into thinking about society and the roles that racism has played both hundreds of years ago and today. West uses scenes in which white individuals are portrayed to be dead, or controlled by the African American race. “A white male is being dragged across the floor by an African American, showing the reverse dominancy regarding race, while in the very next scene the whites are

    Read More

  • Hurricane Katrina: America's Costliest Storm

    967 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely

    Read More

  • Similarities of hip-hop and the blues

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    To say it lightly, Stanley Crouch does not like the hip-hop genre of music. The dreadlocks, the clothing style, and the "vulgar": gold chains are just a few things he does not approve of at all. (Crouch, 1 ) It astounds him to see how far African-American music has fallen since the days of the Motown. Stanley was quoted as saying this about rap, "It is rudeness, vulgarity, and pornography disguised as ‘keeping it real.'" (Crouch, 1) He also went on to say the hip-hop music genre has the worst impact of all music genres on our culture today. (Crouch, 2) Crouch believes one does not need much talent to become a successful rapper unlike the jazz greats he listens to all the time.

    Read More

  • Kanye West

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hip Hop's Song Analysis

    2066 Words  | 5 Pages

    Hip-Hop’s criticism of George W. Bush is a good example of hip-hop’s reflection of Black public opinion. The Republican candidate who already had a low approval rating of 57% amongst African-Americans received an even lower approval rating after his lackluster efforts to support Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Jones, 2003; Cillizza & Sullivan 2013).

    Read More

  • Examples Of Racial Discrimination In Hip Hop

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    What media mostly highlights in hip hop today is the drugs,sex, and the "thug" appearance, usually that 's most music but hip hop is more blunt about it and is on the radio for people to hear. Others who don 't like hip hop have heard this type of music and found it disgusting so they go ahead and judge the artist which most artists are "black" so they just group it all together. Media is the blame for this because you only see the black males nowadays as "entertainers" like the sports players, the hip hop artist or actors.Most of these people are not near as role models as they should be but as you

    Read More

  • Tupac: The Best Rapper Ever

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tupac was born on June 16, 1971 to Afeni Shakur in New York City. His real name is Lesane Parish Crooks. Tupac was mainly raised by his mom, because his dad really didn’t have much to do with him when he was born. Tupac spent his earlier years in Harlem in 1984. His family soon moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he became good friends with Jada Pinkett Smith. ( Tupac’s brief Biography)

    Read More

  • Kanye West: Life of the Progressive Hip-Hop Star

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia on June, 8 1977. His mom and him soon relocated to Chicago, Illinois after his parents divorced. Kanye spent all of his youth life in Chicago. He spent his time during the school year with his mother, who was an English professor, and spent summers with his dad, who was an award-winning photographer then turned church counselor. “I was taught to think on my own growing up, that’s what a lot of black kids don’t get” (Newsmakers 2). During his time in high school he became friends with producer No I.D., who was working with the rapper Common prior to him becoming famous. This is where Kanye got his beginnings in the producing industry. Kanye wen...

    Read More

  • The Undeniable Influence of Kanye West

    1461 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Hip Hop Civil Rights Movement Analysis

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    Knowing the purpose of the Hip-Hop culture was to be the new improved of the civil rights movement is devastating. Jay Z and Kanye West are not looked at as being a Martin Luther King Jr. or a Malcolm X but they are still idealized as being the best. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X fought for our rights where Mr. Jay and Kanye only fighting for album sales. There is a difference between what Hip-Hop supposes to be and what Hip-Hop turned out to be. The black youth is seeing Hip-Hop as being a culture where nothing is important, but wealth and not realizing the crisis they are in. Taking a break and looking back in history, the youth will notice, “denial of education played an important part in the legalized status of Blacks as inferior and immoral” (Burris 2011, 4).

    Read More

  • Lil Wayne: Theories of Personality

    2833 Words  | 6 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Qualities Of Tupac Shakur

    1251 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout his career, Tupac Shakur was accused of being many things. He was called a gangster, a thug, a criminal. The list goes on and on. However, those are not the words which describe the real Tupac Shakur. Despite what may be assumed of him, the real Tupac Shakur could be described as a philanthropist. A civil rights leader. A dedicated citizen who cared for his community and future generations more than he cared for himself. Although many don’t believe these descriptions to be accurate, a deeper look into some of his more meaningful songs reveals he should be seen as less of a thug, and more of an activist. Whether it’s in songs like ““Brenda’s Got a Baby” in which Tupac’s raps about a struggling African American teenager who accidentally

    Read More

More about Kanye West: The Black Buck

Open Document