ENGL 1101 - Fall 2020 - Hip-Hop Reader - PEASE

Phillip Covington

English 1101

Dr. Pease

September 11, 2020

     The video I have selected to visually analyze is "My Name Is" by Eminem. In relation to Tricia Rose's "Rap Music," the music video to Eminem's "My Name Is" portrays an image of urban experience from a different perspective, without gang related violence or an intimidating mindset. Instead, Eminem delivers a more humorous message about how he grew up in the outskirts of post-industrial Detroit. As Tricia Rose stated in her piece "Rap Music," many different cities proposed different perspectives of rap music in its entirety with several aspects such as clothing, dance steps, styles, and musical samples as well as many others.

     One of the most evident concepts found in Eminem’s music video are the unique focal points found throughout the entire video. One major focal point is the couple in the beginning of the video where we see their sloppy lifestyle in what seems like a low income area. Tricia Rose’s piece on the different aspects of rap music shares that many successful rappers came from several iconic cities across the nation. Some of these cities include, Compton, Oakland, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, and Philadelphia. This couple at the beginning could easily be from any of the cities, but knowing that Eminem is from Detroit, it is easy to infer that this couple represents most of the urban area of Detroit where low-income lifestyles are not rare. This couple at the beginning could also be a representation of any audience that listens to Eminem as we see multiple times of them laughing or even expressing that a particular scene was obscure or controversial. 

    In addition to the urban experience given in the video, we also see that Eminem matches Rose’s piece as shedescribed how many rappers share a unique and iconic attire that typically includes baggy clothes and perhaps indecently displayed in the public. When the video first shows Eminem, we see multiple outfits and personalities that are stretched far from the truth of how Eminem actually carries himself due to him growing up poor and working multiple part-time minimum wage jobs just to make ends meet. Later on in the video, we see Eminem dressed in the typical baggy clothes but we also see him dressed in a dark blue jumpsuit that likely represents the blue collared community that was left unemployed after the automotive industry left Detroit.

Another way Eminem differs from some of the rappers Tricia Rose mentions is his style and the way he carries himself. In comparison to "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A, Ice Cube and the other rappers attempt to show intimidation to anyone who may get in their way, and also shows a strong image of police violence with local gangs. They also walk around with confidence as their backs are straight and shoulders back like they are ready to fight at any moment. However, Eminem carries himself with a much more comical attitude in this video, rather than trying to strike fear into other people. When Eminem includes police in his video of "My Name Is," there is no sign of violence or abuse within the police encounter. Also, Eminem typically remains in one spot and somewhat dances and moves his arms in sync with his words instead of walking around.

Phillip Covington

ENGL 1101

Dr. Pease

October 22, 2020

As one of the most popular lyricists in the rap industry today, Eminem has proven himself over and over by allowing his words to rhythmically flow with a deeper meaning behind it. We see this very evidently in his song “Space Bound” where he uses imagery and comparisons to show how a relationship can be directly alluded to a surreal understanding of galactic references in opposition to the reality present on Earth. Eminem expresses that the woman in this song has done something nearly impossible which is gaining his trust, and he supports this by saying “Must be a sorceress.” In the chorus of the song, Eminem utilizes imagery to describe how his love for the woman is like a spaceship heading towards the moon, which can be an extremely difficult challenge with a plethora of hazards that could occur. Along with references to outer space, Eminem includes several examples of emotional complexity in addition to reaching a point in his life that was so difficult to achieve. These examples include similes such as “It's like an explosion everytime I hold ya” and a metaphor where Eminem illustrated how his heart is “an emotional roller coaster” that he himself would not go on. All of these elements demonstrate that, throughout the song, Eminem employed multiple astronomical and improbable examples to show that the love exhibited in the song is something Eminem has not truthfully dealt with. 

While portions of the song exhibited a dubious love Eminem lyrically explained through figurative language and examples of celestial bodies, the remainder of the song includes a drastic turn to reality as Eminem demonstrates the pain and fury that follows behind the end of the relationship. The dark turn in this song is illustrated through Eminem explaining how he would end his life in the woman’s lap just to keep her from leaving and walking out on him. At first it may seem far fetched, but this is most definitely a situation that has been seen countless times in the world today. Aside from a desperate consideration of suicide, Eminem presents another twisted concept as he absolutely refuses to allow the woman to leave. “I’m trying to stop you from breathing, I put both hands on your throat, I sit on top of you squeezing till I snap your neck like a popsicle stick” undeniably depicts the refusal like a movie scene. Eminem has truthfully reached the limits that were foreshadowed much earlier in the song where he stated, “Don’t play games it’ll be dangerous” and fully delivered through with this message. This realistic feature in the song is a far contrast from the dream-like love first presented and Eminem has strongly delineated both of those aspects through descriptive imagery and other examples of figurative language.

Phillip Covington

Engl 1101

Dr. Pease

November 1, 2020

Hick-Hop, a hybrid genre that takes the country twang to an entirely different level of rhythm and style, has quickly grown throughout the nation as a popular form of music. While many of today’s country artists all have a new generation hip hop style, Hick Hop has been based on the style of rapping with country lyrics and was founded as its own style of music apart from traditional country music. One of the most famous hick hop singers is the Georgia native Colt Ford, while others including Big Smo, The Lacs, and Jawga Boyz, have all closely followed this trend of lyrically flowing to the rhythm of up-beat music, with the southern styles and settings such as Georgia, Alabama, or Tennessee. 

Artists like Colt Ford have taken this concept of hick hop and completely amplified the outcome, meaning it may sound like an irrational idea but the results have been astonishing. Colt Ford alone has reached millions upon millions of album sales with over a billion streams on music outlets like Youtube and Spotify. As one of the “Founding Fathers” of Hick Hop, Colt Ford has set the ultimate standards that many others attempt to pursue. 

Phillip Covington

English 1101

Dr. Pease

November 8, 2020

Hick-Hop, a hybrid genre that takes the country twang to an entirely different level of rhythm and style, has quickly grown throughout the nation as a popular form of music. While many of today’s country artists all have a new generation hip hop style, Hick Hop has been based on the style of rapping with country lyrics and was founded as its own style of music apart from traditional country music. One of the most famous hick hop singers is a Georgia native named Colt Ford, who has truly shaped the mold of hick hop music as its own genre. While there are plenty of other artists in this fairly new world of entertainment, there are only a few that truly stand out in the industry and have become extremely popular. Aside from Colt Ford, Big Smo is another popular hick hop artist that has assisted in the foundation of hick hop music and the fanbase that follows with it. Big Smo and Colt Ford clearly have the same taste in music but there are several things that differentiate the two artists from each other. 

While country and hip hop music are far from related, artists like Colt Ford and Big Smo have a unique method of blending the two genres into the new generation of Hick-Hop music. Though they are both in the same type of music, there are several differences that separate the two artists into their own identities. One of the first differences is the lifestyle and background story of both artists. Colt Ford has experienced and fully indulged in the country lifestyle his entire life as he was born and raised in Athens, Georgia while Big Smo is a native of San Diego, California and later moved to the mountains of Tennessee where he adopted the hillbilly mindset and made it a part of his life. The difference between their backgrounds certainly play a role in their presentation and different styles in their music and videos.

Phillip Covington

English 1101

Dr. Pease

December 2, 2020

“Hick-Hop; Southern Twang and Gangsta Swag”

There is undoubtedly a wide variety of different music genres in the world today, but what happens when you mix two of them together? For example, Run DMC collided with Aerosmith for “Walk this Way” which blew the roof off of 1980’s rock and hip hop. We’ve seen other variations of a similar project when Kid Rock used Lynyrd Skynyrd's iconic style from “Sweet Home Alabama” to make his own country-rock anthem “All Summer Long.” Though these examples are slightly older, a new birth of hybrid music has emerged into the entertainment pool of music known as “hick-hop,” an upbeat rappish style of music with southern twang and content. 

In this new breed of music, we see several main artists such as Colt Ford and Big Smo, who use their location to influence their music videos and their content. We’ve seen other examples of an artist’s music being influenced by their locations in the rap industry. Trisha Rose stated in her book, “Black Noise” that rappers from West Coast cities like Compton, California would rap about the struggle of being “a poor young, black, male subject,” while rappers from other areas like Detroit, Michigan would rap about drugs or struggles with poverty. Colt Ford and Big Smo do the same thing as their difference in location provides a unique outcome in the same style of music.  

One of the biggest things Colt Ford and Big Smo share is their southern background. They are both from southern states, Colt Ford being from Georgia, and Big Smo being from Tennessee, both of which have helped lay the foundation for some of the best southern attributes like mountains, moonshine, and the hard working, middle class, blue collar folks that build the small town communities. Throughout their songs and videos, both artists pay homage to their people like a cheerful anthem going back to the roots of where they came from. In Colt Ford’s “Driving Around Song” video, he gathers around with a large group of people and encourages everyone to have a good time while simply just riding around town. Big Smo offers the same encouragement in his song “Kickin’ it in Tennessee” where his large party crowd enjoys each other’s company and have a good time. Both artists include the idea of working hard Monday through Friday, and party harder on the weekends, sharing the base of middle class workers. 

Both artists have a tendency to showcase their character in their music and videos with different styles and inclusions. Colt Ford and Big Smo often refer to the middle class working group when talking about “their people.” Big Smo is usually seen with a group of people that look similar to him with simple clothing, and carefree decision making. Colt Ford typically hangs around with people of the same class as him, middle class and blue collar workers with pickup trucks and cowboy hats. They also have a similar idea of having a good time, which includes alcohol and tailgates with all their friends or family and is included in each of their own musical careers. 

Aside from sharing the same types of party crowds, both Colt Ford and Big Smo have a unique way of including one particular item in most of their songs. For Big Smo, moonshine is seen everywhere; in the videos, in the lyrics, and as a person with songs like “My Life in a Jar” which exemplifies the importance of the symbolic glass jar that has always been a huge part of southern history and tradition. Likewise, Colt Ford keeps young attractive women in his songs that have served as a symbol of southern and sassy that have been seen throughout many movies and other music videos of similar style. The bikini tops and Daisy Duke cut of jeans have nearly become a standard for women to follow in the south, much in the same way as women in traditional hip hop music that Imani Perry explained in her book, “Prophets of the hood.”    

Colt Ford and Big Smo share their southern pride and similar tendencies, but there is one major difference that keeps them from being identical. Despite both having a background in the south, the content of their music is strikingly different. Even though Colt Ford was born in Georgia, it happened to be one of the most populated and most diverse areas, home to the largest college in the state, the University of Georgia, Colt Ford grew up in Athens Georgia. A large suburban city that includes many different cultures and backgrounds due to the university being so heavily populated. Some of Colt Ford’s songs allude to the city with song titles such as “Waffle House,” a particularly favorite restaurant for college students having a late night. Another allusion to the city would be the video for “Driving Around Song” that includes a scene where we see an area similar to that of Athens, Georgia. 

Big Smo is quite different from Colt Ford in this aspect because most of Big Smo’s song titles strictly relate to the redneck population he includes in his videos. Some of the titles like “Kickin’ it in Tennessee,” “Redneck Rich,” and “Honky Tonkin” are all examples of how Big Smo includes his Tennessee residence in his music. The music video for “Kickin’ it in Tennessee” shows a large group of people that appear to represent the lower to middle working class who live in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee. The video also shows some of the most common things found in the south like farm animals, tractors, barns, fishing holes, and moonshine; none of which were featured in Colt Ford’s video. 

Another difference in content includes what they are actually talking about behind their title. While Colt Ford’s “Waffle House” references to being in the city, the song truthfully talks about a struggle between a man and a woman. Interestingly enough, the song “Workin’ On” talks about things someone might be personally dealing with like talking to Jesus, being there for family, and staying true to who we are, while the video shares the story of a former soldier who suffers with PTSD. Another similar scenario is Colt Ford’s “Chicken and Biscuits,” that could lead the imagination in any direction before listening to it. The song itself talks about a woman and how the love between them is as good as chicken and biscuits, but the video plays as an interesting satire directed to the Twilight movies. 

Big Smo’s song titles all are directly related to the lyrics and content of the song itself, as we see in “Kickin’ it in Tennessee.” Big Smo’s song “Redneck Rich” is quite similar as he describes all the belongings that may come across as a necessity for anyone of his taste. Those necessities mentioned include a hard working job, a family, moonshine, and plenty of toys including tractors, ATV’s, and trucks. The best example of Big Smo delivering a song true to its title is “My Life in a Jar” as he literally describes his life from the time he was a child up to being a grown man and how a simple mason jar helped get him through life. The jar had a different purpose at those different stages in his life such as, when he was a child, the jar held the pennies he would save from finding them on the streets. Later on, Big Smo exposes his outlaw lifestyle as he ran from the cops to protect himself and the jar, which at this point was the epitome of his life and career since the jar was holding moonshine he delivered through different states. 

While Colt Ford and Big Smo share many similarities as well as differences, they have undoubtedly set the bar for hick-hop as its own genre music. It opened the door for many other upcoming artists to follow through in the many of the same patterns. More recently, other artists have already begun following the footsteps of these “founding fathers” for hick-hop. As its own genre as a cross breed between hip hop and country, generations of other hick-hop artists may follow the same trend of slinging mud, drinking moonshine, and girls in cut off jeans. On the other hand, hick-hop could take an unappreciated turn like the rap industry did where rappers simply mumble about some of the same unvalued items like money and fame, rather it may just be about lack of money and still being famous. 

Like every generation, things change and evolve into better, or sometimes worse, products for people to enjoy. Music is certainly no different as we see how hip hop and country have both evolved until we were able to create the new hybrid child of both genres to get hick-hop. While many people enjoy it, there is still a vast amount of people who do not like it or have not heard of it. Hick-hop is a great example of how many artists use their location to enhance their music and it is very likely we could see other hybrids of music take off in a much similar fashion that hick-hop did. Maybe some sort of genre mixed from rap and bluegrass, like gangstagrass. 

Works Cited 

Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Conn., 1994. 

Perry, Imani. Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. Duke University Press, 2006.