Analyzing What We Say

          Hip hop music was born in an era of racial tension, and political uncertainty, nurtured with the intentions of being the voice of people once unheard. The lyrical aspect of hip hop music was once regarded as the aspect that separated it from other genres. MCs took the time to mold the lyrics in a track, infusing them with various elements of figurative language, aligning the words to tell an untold story, and presenting it to the world with innovative instrumentals that relayed an intended message. Nowadays, if the beat isn't banging, no one is listening to it. Nine times out of ten, we find ourselves listening to music that we only know the hook to. Or the song is so pathetic that we just make loud obscene noises while doing the Beef It Up and violently shaking our heads in awkward directions.     

          I personally feel like I can't talk lyrical contributions in hip hop today without talking about controversially the best lyrical artist out right now. Kendrick Lamar. Out of all his songs, I have to discuss "Poetic Justice." He took a sensual Janet Jackson sample and turned it into a tale of the dangerous side of love. I find this song to be such a great representation of Kendrick's musical genius because many samples have been done using this particular Janet Jackson song, most notably Twista's "Wetter". Now, I have nothing bad to say about Twista's use of the instrumentals, but when Kendrick picked it up and used Janet's vocals to compliment his rapping, I felt like I was having a turnaround moment with hip hop music.

           Above I have provided the video to Kendrick Lamar’s “Poetic justice.” The video really helps make sense of the actual song and better explains Kendrick’s writing style.

           When you look up the term Poetic Justice, you find that it is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own conduct. The lyrics below show the pure genius in Kendrick’s use of extensive figurative language in his music. I will add my two cents in parenthesis.

If I told you that a flower bloomed in a dark room, would you trust it?

(I believe the dark room is his past and where he comes from while he is the flower. )
I mean you need to hear this
Love is not just a verb, it's you looking in the mirror
Love is not just a verb, it's you looking for it, maybe

(He is telling us that love is more complicated than being as simple as a verb. It’s like he is saying that although love is a four-letter word, it embodies many meanings as well as many aspects.)
Call me crazy, We can both be insane
A fatal attraction is common
And what we have common is pain

(These lines suggest that it is easy to fall in love with someone that seems like they get it, but is it really that good of a relationship?)
I mean you need to hear this
Love is not just a verb and I can see power steering
Sex drive when you swerve, I want that interference
It's coherent, I can hear it, mmhmm
That's your heartbeat
It either caught me or it called me, mmhmm

(These lines suggest the attraction of two people be it predestined or coincidental.)
Read slow and you'll find gold mines in these lines
Sincerely, yours truly
And right before you go blind
(A lot of time people like to say that “love is blind.” This last line mimics that old saying by bringing the entire meaning of the song together. It’s saying that you have to listen and pay attention to the relationships that seem to be engulfed in love, because sometimes love has nothing to do with it, and it just becomes a fatal attraction. )

Lyrics taken from rapgenius.com

Video courtesy of youtube.com

Analyzing What We Say

Analyzing What We Say: Kendrick Lamar Edition

In today's world of hip-hop, lyrics are often overlooked due to hard hitting beats and catchy hooks. Most people do not sit down and listen to what the artist is REALLY saying. The truth behind the matter is that every rapper places his words specifically, whether it is to finish a rhyme or to convey a serious point. As fans, we have to view hip-hop as an art, because that is what it really is. Hip-hop is a vocal expression of how one is feeling, what they are doing, what they want to accomplish, and so on. 

(Kendrick Lamar, hiphollywood.com)

One artist that is very talented at expressing himself through music is Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick seems to have the perfect balance of storytelling, consciousness, and vocally appealing music. My favorite aspect of Kendrick is his ability to explain his true message through simple lyrics. 

I am going to analyze the hook and first verse of the song, "HiiiPower," like one would analyze any other piece of literature. 

Kendrick begins the song by stating "Put three fingers in the air." Some might think it represents the West side, because Kendrick is from Compton. The three fingers actually represent HiiiPower, which is a revolutionary idea by Kendrick. HiiiPower is a movement that is trying to allow people to think openly and freely. The three fingers and three 'I's' represent honor, heart, and respect. Kendrick continues on saying "Stand for something or die in the morning." This is the message of HiiiPower is a nutshell.

(Kendrick in NYC with fans throwing up the HiiiPower sign. str8NYC.com)

After a short instrumental break, Kendrick begins by alluding to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, two very influential characters in African American history. Kendrick continues on by saying "grown men should never bite their tongue." That single bar is the epitome of HiiiPower. In layman's terms, Kendrick is saying speak your mind, don't hold back.

Hip-hop is often judged for it's outrageous violence, absurd language, misogynistic lyrics, and homophobia. Well, this next line does not do hip-hop much justice, but it does prove that artists use these ideals to create true messages in their lyrics. 

Kendrick states "I got my finger on the mothafuckin' pistol, aiming at a pig, Charlotte's Web is gonna miss you." Obviously, a pig is refering to a police officer. The allusion to 'Charlotte's Web' is a clever way of relating to the listeners. Also, this line shows the harsh relationship between African Americans and police officers. 

Kendrick follows up by thrashing the government. "And everything on TV is just a figment of imagination, I don't want a plastic nation." Kendrick believes that the government is feeding us bullshit and that everything on TV is made up, or fake. Kendrick created HiiiPower to stop this "plastic nation" through self-enlightenment. 

Kendrick ends his verse by saying "While you mothafuckas waiting, I be off the slave ship. Building pyramids  writing my own hieroglyphs." In my opinion, this is the most powerful line in the song. It shows that Kendrick's skin color cannot hold him back to do great and historical things. The slave ship alludes to his skin tone, while writing hieroglyphs and building pyramids refers to revolutionary times in our history. 

Kendrick begins the hook with "just call this shit HiiiPower, n*gga nothin' less than HiiiPower." This line alludes to the movement and how there is nothing like it. The next line, "Five-star dishes, food for thought bitches," is a metaphor that compares classy, five-star dishes to the ideas and thoughts that Kendrick are 'feeding' his listeners. Next, Kendrick also alludes to the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, Huey Newton. The reference to Huey Newton shows Kendrick's support of the ideas of the Black Panther Party: against racism and for cultural expansion. Kendrick ends the hook with "throw your hands up for HiiiPower," again referring to the HiiiPower hand sign. 

Analyzing a rapper's lyrics allows the listener to get a personal feel with the artist. When the listener digs deep into lyrics, they find the true meaning within. Analyzing lyrics allows critics to look past all the "problems" with hip-hop and realize the influential power that music holds. 

(All lyrics taken from rapgenius.com)

Backpack Rap: Writing for the Subculture

         According to the Urban Dictionary,"backpack rapper" is a phrase usually given to a young aspiring musician who's lyrics are deep and dictate life experiences, often his own, or those of a social group to which he feels a strong association."

Backpack rap is usually associated with individuals that do not want to be mainstream but instead voice their social and political ideas. The most popular backpack rappers who have converted to mainstream culture are Wale, Wiz Khalifa, and Kanye West. These rappers were once struggling artists that made songs that were truly about the art form instead of making a profit. Now, don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of all of them and they still make great songs, but you can definitely hear the difference in their songs once the checks and major record deals started coming in. 

In the backpack rap subculture, the base audience usually relates to the theories or ideologies these rappers illustrate. These backpack rappers are usually underground rappers that never really gain commercial success. As previously mentioned Wale,Wiz, Kanye and Drake are great examples of the exemptions to this conception. In the backpack world, staying true to your beliefs is vital to your fan base and because of that many artists who have become mainstream have suffered a lot of back lash. 

In this song, Drake points out how people criticized him for attaining success
                   " people really hate when a backpack rapper get rich
                            and start livin’ that life dawg
                 feels like when you gettin’ to that paper hip hop hates ya
                    they would do it just like I do if they could
                                 its in our nature"

Others like Childish Gambino took another approach to the criticism by basically saying FUCK YOU!

Childish Gambino really portrayed what the backpackers thought of him in this straightforward song that really captures what many rappers feel about the subculture of backpack rap.

Also as rappers are enjoying the commercial rapper lifestyle, they are willing to ignore what others think and the sacrifices they've made. As Biggie said,"Mo money mo problems"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7plhrsQSEEhttp://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/drake/showmeagoodtime.html
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Backpack%20Rapper

What's Diss Got To Do With It?

    The hip-hop as we know today would not exist if it weren't for diss songs. From Jay-Z and Nas to 50 Cent and Ja-Rule, rappers feuding with other rappers creates interesting songs as well as increase the publicity for the rapper themselves. But how does dissing other rappers play an important part in the hip-hop industry? When rappers go head to head with one another it creates media attention for both rappers which therefore draws fans to the unfolding drama. Its basically the same reason why people watch WWE, people are drawn to drama like a moth to light. Also, the main similarities between all diss songs are the rappers diminishing each others credibility as you will see with all these songs.

 One of the most famous feuds were between 2Pac and Biggie. When 2Pac released the song "Hit Em' Up" that was the climax of west coast vs. east coast battles. It is one of the greatest diss songs ever made. Too bad neither 2Pac nor Biggie got out alive.
 

Of course if we are talking about diss songs then "Ether" by Nas is one of the most famous. Because we are covering "Ether" in class, I'm going to talk about NWA's diss songs on each other. When Ice Cube split up from NWA because of Jerry Heller (their manager) not giving equal cuts of the earnings, it caused Ice Cube to disband from the group. Ice Cube in return created "No Vaseline" to show the symbolism of the group is being fucked by Jerry Heller. From then, the group disbanded and another diss song was created; this time by Eazy E. "Real Motherfucking G's" attacked Dr. Dre for selling out and becoming soft. Both songs became big hits and put rumors that NWA could regroup to rest.

Today's rappers use dissing as a way to throw themselves into the spotlight. For example, Hopsin got to where he is today by dissing nearly every famous rapper just so he can get people to glace in his direction. (I actually like "The Ill Mind of Hopsin Part 5.") He uses dissing as his only tool to get media to follow him and rappers to react to him. Hopsin attacked many rappers including, Lil' Wayne, Drake, Eminem, Tyler the Creator, just to name a few. In "The I'll Mind of Hopsin Part 4," Hopsin specifically attacked MTV Music Award winner Tyler the Creator.  

Tyler the Creator, just ignored him as well as all the other rappers Hopsin tried to diss in all of the "Ill Mind of Hopsin" trilogy. But when rappers do respond to diss songs it, can be some of the best music of their career.  When Meek Mill came out with the song "Repo," it was aimed at Cassidy. I personally do like Meek Mill and consider him decent trap rapper. The repercussion came when Cassidy released over ten inutes, seventeen verses, of pure hatred toward Meek Mill. I was never really into Cassidy's music but he just completely killed "Raid."

Welcome to the Hood: The Importance of Location, Culture, and Totems

 Is location crucial to success in Hip Hop?

  Towards the beginning of Hip Hop the answer was a resounding yes. If you were an upcoming rapper from anywhere but the main cultural hubs for Hip Hop you had a slim to zero percent chance of becoming successful.

 That isn't to say there were no talented rappers in the midwest regions or even other countries, but there  was no way for them to get their talents noticed if no one will listen to their music. We see Hip Hop evolve in particular areas like the East coast, West Coast, Dirty South, and the Great Lakes area could even be included.

 A rapper trying to become successful in the West Coast is going to adopt a west coast style because that is what people in that area like. The only way to become successful in Hip Hop is if people like your music, and no one wants that "Dirty South" trash in the West Coast!

 I'm not saying Dirty South music is trash but you get the point, to make it in a certain area you need that style. Or that was the case until the internet changed the game.

 With the wide availability of the internet you could be any Joe Shmoe from anywhere and create a persona on the internet and post your music. If people like it you become successful. Now location is not as much of an issue, to prove my point I'm going to let Rick Ross take it from here.

http://www.mtvhive.com/artist/ross__rick__rap_/videos/374555/rick_ross_on_how_the_internet_has_affected_hip_hop

(the embedded link did not work, so this is just a direct link to MTV where the interview is)

With the internet someone like ASAP Rocky, who is born in New York, can have a "Dirty South" style and be heard by audiences all over the country. This shows that location is not as important as it used to be.

 The internet has also helped Hip Hop spread to other countries like France for instance. Have you ever heard French rap? No you say, well let me help you out.

Yes, even the French can do it. So is location crucial to success in Hip Hop? No, not anymore.

Picture taken from: "http://www.southernspaces.org/2008/dirty-decade-rap-music-and-us-south-1997-2007"

Welcome to the Hood: The Importance of Location, Culture, and Totems.

“Keep in mind when brothas start flexing the verbal skills, it always reflects what’s going on politically, socially, and economically” -Musician Davey D

                Ever since Hip Hop became popular, rivalries have existed. There has never been a bigger rivalry in the music industry than the east coast – west coast rivalry between 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. After a huge surge in popularity during the 90’s, these rappers were at each other’s throats. Although not all rappers on the east coast could form an alliance, they all had one thing in common: mutual hatred of Los Angeles and the west coast.

                In 1994 Tupac Shakur was robbed and shot 5 times on his way to his hotel room in LA. Shortly afterword’s, Biggy released his song “Who shot ya?” which was no doubt intended to insult 2Pac and featured some lines like


                "Open your fucking mouth...didn't I tell you not to fuck with me?...Can't talk with a gun in your mouth huh?...Bitch-ass nigga, what?

              Tupac came right back in his song “Hit ‘Em Up” with

              "Who shot me? But ya punks didn't finish now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace nigga, I hit 'em up!"

Things further escalated and location became a huge part of the rap game. Where you were from affected what music you listened to more than anything else. East coast and west coast culture were completely different.

On the east coast in an area like New York City, the Mercedes Benz was the car to drive and jumpsuits were the clothes to wear. Beat boxing was very trendy along with boom boxes. Sampling was very heavy in almost all of the work that came from the east coast during the 90’s. The east coast soon had its own dialect thanks to artists like Big Daddy Kane, Special Ed, and Public Enemy. These artists were also very active in the political rap movement. East coast rap was also heavily surrounded on lyricism.

Out west in LA things were very different. Many argue that the founding of Ruthless Records by Easy-E was when west coast culture really started to stand out. Lowriders were everywhere and were unique to the west coast. Street talk, gang violence, anti-police sentiments, and hustling was the topic of most rap. Most people on the west coast dressed the same: Converse, Dickies clothing, Raider’s caps, jerseys, braided hair, tall tees, and even beepers.

Not only did artists look, speak, and act different, they went about making their music completely different as well. One good example would be Michael Moore and Tony Joseph who were independent dj’s that brought their sound to LA and completely changed the game in the early 80’s. They helped set the scene for big name producers such as Dr. Dre.

Graffiti started to gain traction in the rap game in the mid 70’s. “Tagging” your territory was something that started in New York and Spread out west. Soon it was very easy to distinguish where someone was from simply by how their tag looked.

Location, culture, and totems greatly influence how you grow up and what life is like in the hood. The easiest contrast I could find was between the east and west coast, but Hip Hop culture is different literally everywhere. Next time you listen to a song or see some graffiti, make sure you think about all the factors that influenced it. 

Race & Identity

Hip Hop’s Idenity Crisis

“Hip Hop culture is a global phenomenon, yet Black American youth remain its most visible ambassadors” – Patricia Hill Collins, From Black Power to Hip Hop

Race, in the hip-hop perspective, is something that is held dearly in the hearts of the black community, as they believed hip-hop was something that was specifically theirs. In the 70s and 80s, the line between “black music” and “white music” was clear; hip-hop was “black music” while rock and country were considered “white music.” As time progressed, and hip hop snowballed into the mainstream music sphere, the lines between what was considered “black” or “white” music blurred significantly. Hip hop is currently at a crossroads where its popularity has caused many white kids to become passionate about the genre and even begin to identify themselves with the culture. As rappers like Vanilla Ice and Eminem began to enter the “rap game,” it left many questioning whether these “white kids” were posers, or if they genuinely identified with the hip-hop culture as a whole. Race is essential to the hip-hop identity, which has led to confusion on what the hip-hop identity even is anymore. Honestly, “it ain’t that black and white, it has an area the shade of grey” (T.I. “Live Your Life).

This “grey” is where hip-hop is now. Some people say hip-hop is just a multiracial genre, some say hip-hop is going through a crisis… but it’s actually both. As a result of the influx of new races to the hip-hip field, new ideas are presented and since there are so many different tastes present, ideas begin to clash. Here’s where the “crisis” begins. The “old-school” hip-hop from the 80s and 90s discussed the struggles associated with the black community and provided awareness of cultural and societal issues. Today, a majority of the mainstream rap songs are concerned with how much money you have, how many girls you’ve slept with, where you’re from… and other things of the sort. Some songs don’t even have any meaning at all, except the fact that they really love strippers.

2 Chainz’s “I Luv Dem Strippers” has around 26 million views on YouTube over the span of 6 months. On the other hand, T.I.’s “Live your Life” has 36 million views over 4 years. The substance difference in these songs is significant, in addition to the content presented in the videos, and the popularity difference between the two songs displays where the tastes of today’s hip-hop listeners lie. The commercial corruption of hip-hop stereotypes worships the sexuality and profanity-laced lyrics that make up the hip-hop songs that control the music world today, and T.I. criticizes this in “Live Your Life:”

“I got love for the game

But hey, I'm not in love with all of it

Could do without the fame

And rappers nowadays are comedy

The hootin' and the hollerin'

Back and forth with the arguin'

Where you from? Who you know?

What you make? And what kind of car you in?”

2 Chainz’s song is heavy on vulgarity, and the video is purely sexual. T.I.’s song has a positive message, and the video is a compelling story of his journey to where he is now in the rap game. Both songs are considered “hip-hop” but they’re definitely very different in identity and composition. Hip Hop isn’t “dead,” but its definitely immersed in a pop-culture-controlled identity crisis.