In his song, Kanye West discusses the theme of racism and an obsession over material goods. He gives names of designers, objects and jewelry that his audiences would be interested in having. His line about picking the cotton himself is extremely powerful, because he connects to the history of American slaves.
99 Problems - Jay z
This is an extremely powerful song. Jay Z also discusses racism. He uses a situation of being pulled over to illustrate the extremity of this theme. I particularly noticed the quote he includes of something a police officer would say, "are you carrying a weapon, I know a lot of you are" which is extremely powerful.
Black Rage - Lauryn Hill
This was an awesome choice for her to make. I appreciate her vocal control in this song and her own manipulation of the original Rogers and Hammerstein's lyrics. However, the tone of the chorus changes, specifically when she says "then I don't fear so bad," she pauses before the word bad which i think adds to her disagreement with the song and that her life is not as easy. The use of "fear" instead of "feel" which was the original lyrics is a strong statement. I think Black Rage as a title and the theme used again and again is an extremely powerful choice. She questions society's equality with her examples of black rage.
Hell- Talib Kweli
This spoken word piece questions society's view of faith. He explains "looking for absolution" in a society where you are told "hell is underground, heaven in the sky, thats where you go when you die, but how do they know?" I like that he included "heaven and hell are right here on earth" showing that society has created this confusion and the violence in the world. The most powerful lines in my opinion are "they got us thinking that muslims want to build bombs, but real muslims believe in paradise and resisting Shaitan," and "Reigion create division, make the Muslim hate the Christian make the Christian hate the Jew, make up the rules of faith."
True Blues- the Last Poets
The Last Poets created another social conscious rap on the topic of racism in history. It describes a group being harassed by missionaries, then being moved on slave ships to another country, being separated from one's family and watching his wife and child die, then being moved to a plantation and suffering. Throughout the piece, the idea of music is shown as important. It is seen through the first four words of each line "I sang the blues." I appreciated how near the end, they included multiple kinds of "blues" that they sang "backwater blues, rhythm and blues, gospeel blues, saint lousi blues, crosstown blues" It showed the power of music in life.
Mathematics- Mos Def
"Mathematics" discusses wealth and the theme of money, along with the wealth gaps between races. It highlights the different sizes of the unemployment rates for the groups and the ever constant idea of not having enough money. Mos Def speaks from the voice of an artist and trying to make money. He says "but only 15% of profits ever reach my pocket" to show the many people who are working on thing with him and going though the same troubles with fears of not having enough money.
I can - Nas
In this piece Nas speaks directly to a young audience about the importance of working hard in order to reach goals. I found it interesting that he chose to give a brief historical lesson of Africa and the creation of slave ships and slave purchases. I liked the quote "shot up the nose to impose" which he continues with "which still goes on today."This song has the ability to inspire young individuals, along with the rest of the world.
I didn't really pick up on the artist trying to make money theme in "Mathematics," so I'm glad you pointed that you. It is one of the few songs that we heard that really tackles the issue of economics and racism. It is clear that these areas described in the song are in poverty, but most of the others talk about injustice and violence. This could impact a community, because it lets other kids and people in the ghettos relate to Mos Def in an economic sense.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea about "Hell" how violence has caused that heaven and hell are both on earth because I think it's an interesting point of view especially with the poem being about religion and when we're now in a time with the Paris shootings centering around religion.
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