Hey I'm Jon, a.k.a. Jonny Selz; my motivation to get out of bed everyday is for the love of music, the arts, and anything involving both together. My number one hobby is producing my own rap music, and I aspire to be someone when I grow older...
"...And amidst all this Crist' poppin and wristwatches,
I just sit back and just watch and just get nauseous
and walk around with an empty bottle of Remi Martin,
startin shit like some 26-year-old skinny Cartman,
I'm anti-Backstreet and Ricky Martin,
with instincts to kill N'Sync, don't get me started,
These fuckin brats can't sing and Britney's garbage,
What's this bitch retarded? Gimme back my sixteen dollars,
All I see is sissies in magazines smiling,
Whatever happened to wilin' out and being violent?,
Whatever happened to catching a good-ol' fashioned
passionate ass-whoopin' and getting your shoes, coat, and your hat tooken"
--Marshall Mathers; Eminem
www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Fyb-TjNMc
Eminem expresses his frustration with the imposters that are making progress in the music industry; 'Crist popping and wristwatches meaning artists being flashy with their money and fame. He also explains that he feels like people view his as a washed up artist who just complains and judges other artists, however he's implying that hes accurate; going on to say that Britney Spears, N'Sync, Backstreet Boys, and other 90's artists are all "sissies". He in nostalgic of his generation of kids who were wild and violent, getting involved with mugging and robbing people; he sees that life as the "real" life, not the "imposter" life. I believe that the overall message behind these bars is that Eminem wishes that people did not let fame take over their career and minds; instead, let the experiences that you've gone through shape who you are, and where your musical talent comes from. Eminem uses: End rhyme, Narrative poetry, rhythm, lyrical poetry, and even though it may be hard to tell, internal rhyme.
"With my heart on my sleeve I bleed pardon my greed
I plead insanity, with a side of vanity
How can it be
I blew up singlehandedly, nobody handed me shit
Granted though, I planned to be rich
Understandably, funny how I talk so candidly
On cameras but won’t holla at family only randomly
After a few drinks come our realest convos
My handle on my thoughts used to be as ill as Rondo’s"
"The Cure"- J. Cole. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jECQtfF0ej8
J. Cole expresses why he may seem crazy in the head, and adresses the stereotypes that may be associated with him. Insanity and greediness can be confused with his determination to make it somewhere all by himself, seeing as he "blew up" singlehandedly. J. Cole then goes on to say that he shows much sincerity on cameras and to the media, however he doesn't even want to keep in touch with his family. The insanity described in the beginning of the 8 bars justifies how his "handle on his thoughts used to be as ill as Rondo's" meaning his mind is all over the place.
J. Cole uses literary techniques such as 1) Figurative Meaning, 2) Internal Rhyme, 3) Line, 4) Literal Meaning, 5) Narrative Poetry, 6) Rhythm, 7) Metaphors, 8) Tone
"If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me?
If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me?
If I got locked up and sentenced to a quarter century,
Could I count on you to be there to support me mentally?
If I went back to a hoopty from a Benz,
would you poof and disappear like
Some of my friends?
If I was hit and I was hurt would you be by my side?
If it was time to put in work would you be down to ride?"
--50 Cent
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqNB_Cta5bw
Curtis Jackon, a.k.a. 50 Cent, expresses his desire for his significant other to be there for him even through the rough times in his life. He brings up everything from physical problems like injury, being in jail, and not smelling good to the activities he participates in such as violent activites; "If it was time to put in work, would you still ride?". Titled "21 Questions", it really shows how he is very sketched out by the claims his girl may have made, because he is regretfully involved in things and has certain traits about him that would push people away. In the sense of a critique, his lyrics are powerful, while having a consistent flow. If this song wasn't titled "21 Questions", I would interpret the lyrics as kind of too spread out across topics, however its in the form of all questions and its particularly creative. Curtis does not use internal rhyme, however he relies on narrative poetry and end rhyme to carry him through the verses. What I can take away from these 8 bars of a classic 50 Cent song, is that everyone is human and just because someone has a lot going on in their life (positive or negative), that same person can have a real heart and be willing to devote themselves to a loved one.
"Mommy I'm sorry if my first letter made you cry
To be honest with you I don't think that I wanna die
Sometimes I feel like that I'm cancerous in others lives
Thats probably why I drink at night and sleep till 4 or 5
It's kinda hard walking through life with my distorted eyes
When I was younger I was stupid and I thought I thrived
I thought alot about everything I said in the letter
And questioned whether or not if I was dead you'd be better..."
--Vinnie Paz, Jedi Mind Tricks
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0kds4gSSXM
Vinnie gets very close and personal with his emotions and demons within himself. He performs this lyrical piece for his mother, talking about how much he misses his grandmother and father. At the same time as he mourns, he expresses regrets about his past and the things he got himself involved with. Lyrically speaking, he relies mostly on end rhyme to carry him through the verse(s). Me being a music performance enthusiast, I definitely would have used at least some metaphorical punch lines, and internal rhyme to make it flow a bit better; then again, Paz speaks from the heart to get his point across with his typical "aggressive and raw" Underground Rap type voice. Critique wise, I would rhymed the "...when I was younger" line and would have said something having to do with: "... I was just dumber..." which would've given these bars internal rhyme where it was lacking.
"I've let this shit slide for too many years, too many times,
Now I'm strapped with a couple of Mac's, too many nines,
If you n-ggas really wit' me get busy, load up the semi's,
Do more than just hold and explode the clip until its empty,
There's nothin' in our way, they bust- we bust,
They rush- we rush, lead flying, feel it? I feel it in my gut,
That we take these b-tches to way, lie em' down,
Because we stronger now my n-gga the time is now."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQbCC8S-ErE
Nas expresses his impatience with the faults of the world. He emphasizes the concept of strength in numbers, and the accomplishments able to be made with determination and dedication. I personally take the statements made by Nas and apply them in more of a general "life" setting, as opposed to a violent one involving weapons, etc. Literally and figuratively, I take away from this, that if you want something or to accomplish something; do whatever you possibly can, and then some.
Lyrically speaking, Nas uses a few different literary techniques, some of which include: lyrical poetry, literal meaning, internal rhyme, end rhyme, rhythm, and certainly narrative poetry.
JonnySelz ∙ 23 weeks ago
Chapter 1 critique: Hip-Hop causes violence.
I think that Tricia Rose touches upon some very valid topics. Really stemming from the problems of childhood and the time period that Blacks grew up during, explains why the music coming out has a lot to do with these very same problems. Some of these problems include: lower IQ (based on tests), lower income, performance, criminality, sexual behavior. Tricia Rose directly states "...blacks are genetically disposed toward poverty, crime, and unwed motherhood." I think it is very inappropriate to put the weight of violence and such other issues on the shoulders of a race just because they are the ones that express their troubles as they occurred. To validate this idea, Jay-Z said "it's important for rappers to exaggerate 'life in the ghetto' because this is the only way the underclass can make it's voice heard." One may wonder what caused hip-hop to really gain such a derogatory reputation; the answer lies within the hardships that the hip-hop community faced decades ago. Chronic joblessness led to illegal activities to become widespread, as people looked for alternate ways of accumulating funds. Loss of affordable housing caused the drug epidemic and collapse of black families to escalate to a devastating degree. The drug trade really kicked the black community to the wrong side of society because it's a degrading thing for a large portion of people to become addicted to drugs such as angel dust or crack- also spreading HIV/AIDS, causing the breakdown of urban black communities. Weapons and drug-wars broke out because of how fast the drug trade progressed to become a million dollar industry. As automatic weapons were introduced on the black market, African Americans were labeled as a "violent" race, which is preposterous to say because violence existed far before it was ever in black communities. The police/government response did not help any of these situation neither, because the rehabilitation designed to help blacks really just sped up the drug epidemic, finding new ways to fall out of a sane reality. Overall, hip-hop was never meant to create controversy or bring on criticism; the artists that are expressing what they've gone through from the beginning of their life's journey to where they are now should not be seen as bad, violent, or sexual delinquents. Overall, I agree with Tricia Rose with the main point being that although black communities have displayed acts of violence, promoting the drug trade and having an increased sense of criminality; the forces working against them are tremendous. Not to mention it is not just black communities that display violence and have become prone to the drug epidemic; therefor the argument that it is a racial/ genre-of-music problem is irrelevant and invalid. Eminem gained fame by rapping and expressing the same views as the black community; yes he was criticized for it however that proves the point that it should not be a racial issue.