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

Tricia Rose, authored of the article "Rap Music" throws light on the origin and changes throughout hip-hop history. Rose shows street style hip-hop with the use of graffiti as a popular focal point for rappers and hip-hop artists throughout the decades. She shows the growth of hip-hop through many examples by using artists such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Melle Mel and what they have accomplished in the hip-hop genre. Rose writes to show how the genre has been embedded into a plethora of aspects of life including dancing, parties and clothing styles. 

In the video for the song "Downtown", Macklemore and Ryan Lewis articulate a competition in the streets, seemingly a rap battle.

By focusing on each group, the audience gets to see two sides of hip-hop culture. Each group being different races: the first one being graffiti drawing, breakdancing, gang-like members; and the other being a swarm of hippie and country motorcyclists. The use of deeper and more choppy voices used to rap half the song while showing the group of larger and stronger men ride through the downtown streets on mopeds shows the "authority, conviction, confidence, and power" that Rose mentioned(21). This perspective in the video shows the stereotypical and more rap-filled side to hip-hop music. Compared to the high-pitched, girly voice sung by Ryan Lewis, he portrays the more up-beat and danceable side to the genre of music. The camera shows Lewis as an individual walking down the streets more frolicky and dainty with less aggressive dance moves.

The two different groups meet in the middle to show the two sides of hip-hop colliding as the rest of the video portrays them all running through the downtown streets together with a large crowd. Rose mentions that "performance[s] attracted large excited crowds" there to cheer on the rappers and singers(20).

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In the video, graffiti is used as an activity to show power and control. Macklemore and his squad draw graffiti as they are running through alley ways looking for a good time. Rose states that, "graffiti and rap were especially aggressive public displays of [one's] voice... [and] identity on an environment that seemed... resistant"(25). The camera shows slow movements while the graffiti is being drawn compared to faster action shots for the rest of the video. This is to put more emphasis on the art as rebellious and important to the hip-hop street style. Graffiti is used to express one's feelings in many different ways. Whether it be anger towards a subject, or to impress one's friends, graffiti demonstrates passion from the artist. In the video, there is only around a 16 second montage of the people drawing graffiti and riding through alleyways. This was to bring attention to the action because of its significance throughout hip-hop history. 

Essentially, Rose delivers a narrative for the audience through the use of passion, history and well, hip-hop. Showing the growth of hip-hop throughout time, she proclaims the development of street style hip-hop and how it is shown throughout duels and rap battles. Rose also presents the changes in graffiti and how it is becoming more popular and acceptable among hip-hop culture. Overall, the presentation of "Rap Music" certainly makes an excellent point that hip-hop style is important to music culture and keeps influencing the population. 

Only emerging around 50 years ago, hip-hop has become one of the most popular and unique genres of music. Tricia Rose, author of the article "Rap Music" throws light on the origin and changes throughout hip-hop history. Rose shows street style hip-hop with the use of graffiti as a popular focal point for rappers and hip-hop artists throughout the decades. She shows the growth of hip-hop through many examples by using artists such as DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash, and Melle Mel and what they have accomplished in the hip-hop genre. Rose writes to show how the genre has been embedded into a plethora of aspects of life including dancing, parties and clothing styles. 

In the video for the song "Downtown", Macklemore and Ryan Lewis articulate a competition in the streets, seemingly a rap battle. The battle is used in the video to show two different tissue of hip-hop and how they can flow easily together. The two types embedded in the music video are rap and more of a hip-hop/pop break dance. 

By focusing on each group, the audience gets to see two sides of hip-hop culture. Each group being different races: the first one being graffiti drawing, breakdancing, gang-like members; and the other being a swarm of hippie and country motorcyclists. The use of deeper and more choppy voices used to rap half the song while showing the group of larger and stronger men ride through the downtown streets on mopeds shows the "authority, conviction, confidence, and power" that Rose mentioned(21). This perspective in the video shows the stereotypical and more rap-filled side to hip-hop music. Compared to the high-pitched, girly voice sung by Ryan Lewis, he portrays the more up-beat and danceable side to the genre of music. The camera shows Lewis as an individual walking down the streets more frolicky and dainty with less aggressive dance moves.

The two different groups meet in the middle to show the two sides of hip-hop colliding as the rest of the video portrays them all running through the downtown streets together with a large crowd. By using these methods in the video, the artist shows how each aspect of the genre can sound great on its own and even better mixed with other features. Rose mentions that "performance[s] attracted large excited crowds" there to cheer on the rappers and singers(20).

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In the video, graffiti is used as an activity to show power and control. Macklemore and his squad draw graffiti as they are running through alley ways looking for a good time. Rose states that, "graffiti and rap were especially aggressive public displays of [one's] voice... [and] identity on an environment that seemed... resistant"(25). The camera shows slow movements while the graffiti is being drawn compared to faster action shots for the rest of the video. By putting more emphasis on the graffiti, the audience gets to see a bigger part in hip-hop culture since the beginning when it was created. Graffiti has been placed on "trains... through the five boroughs; flyers posted in black and hispanic neighborhoods... clubs in the Bronx and eventually to... the metropolitan area"(26).  It is used to express one's feelings in many different ways. Whether it be anger towards a subject, or to impress one's friends. In the video, there is only around a 16 second montage of the people drawing graffiti and riding through alleyways. This was to bring attention to the action because of its significance throughout hip-hop history. 

Essentially, Rose delivers a narrative for the audience through the use of passion, history and well, hip-hop. Showing the growth of hip-hop throughout time, she proclaims the development of street style hip-hop and how it is shown throughout duels and rap battles, and how the collaboration of such different styles flow so freely. Rose also presents the changes in graffiti and how it is becoming more popular and acceptable among hip-hop culture. Overall, the presentation of "Rap Music" certainly makes an excellent point that hip-hop style is important to music culture and keeps influencing the population. 

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Post Malone made it through the hardships and rough childhood despite what the haters and non believers said. He accomplished his goals and dreams. Now everyone tells him congratulations, but he doesn't care. Malone shows this through the use of rhyming patterns, comparison patterns, and word choice patterns. 

In the chorus, Malone uses the words, “congratulations, vacation, dedication, and changing”. These words are an example of a consonance. By the rhyme of the ending of these words barely matching and the consonant sound being different, the audience gets to see repetition in the song. The chorus is basically a ‘nice try’ to the haters. Malone finally made it and everyone is trying to congratulate him on his success. No one ever believed he’d be able to make it. He mentioned in the chorus that he worked himself so hard to get here that he forgot how to vacation. This hyperbole is used to show how dedicated he was to his dream. Malone also repeats the statement “ya we made it” the most throughout the song. This is to show the significance behind the meaning of the song- a sarcastic thank you to the people trying to hold him back. Malone used slant rhyme very frequently throughout the lyrics of the song. It was basically the basis of the structure. He used rhymes such as, “friendly... Bentley, dramatic… have it, savage… addict, and bad bitch… last year”. Of course these don't sound like they rhyme at all. Because of the way he sings, his speech gives each end of the word a slur to make them rhyme. Each slant rhyme would occur every two lines, and repeat itself throughout the song creating a pattern. This pattern was effective by making the song more enticing to listen to. 

The use of his slang flowed immaculately with the meaning of the song. The metaphors used throughout the song include, “How could I make cents when I got millions on my mind.” This is a play on words as he uses the word ‘cents’ in the meaning of ‘sense’ but comparing it to the American currency system to show how much money he is making. By claiming that he has made millions of dollars off of his brand and music and has million dollar ideas, he can’t mentally make sense of the small money because it is distracting. Another metaphor Malone uses in his song is, “pot so big call it super bowl”. This one is quite humorous as he is using the word ‘pot’ in two forms. The form he is referring to in the song is a reference to marijuana, but the comparison to the ‘superbowl’ is the form of a container. By using two different meanings of the word ‘pot’ it shows the audience that he is versatile in the way he speaks and lives his life. Malone uses similes such as, “my life is like a ball game” and “itching like an addict”. The use of the similes is to compare his normal life to not-so-normal activities that he was granted because of his fame. “My life is like a ball game” refers to the fact that it is the opposite of ordinary. There is never a boring moment, and always something unexpected. Like in a real ball game, usually teams will switch up on who is winning and someone could get hurt. Malone is comparing his life to the game to convey that his fame has brought him unusual life experiences. The second simile, “I be itching like an addict” means that he just can’t sit still. When you’re itchy, you move around a lot and can’t get comfortable. Being an addict, you can’t focus on anything and are always looking for something to ease your pain. By combining these two concepts, Malone is saying that his life is always moving at a fast pace and he is always wanting something to ease the pain of his past. 

The main tone throughout the song is shown with a sarcastic attitude. He is showing the haters what he has accomplished. The tone itself is proud, and successful. He has the frame of mind thinking things such as, ‘look what I did, I told you so’. The diction in the song makes it more enjoyable to listen to because the audience gets to feel the wrath that he is letting go through his lyrics. We can feel the pain, the judgement, the happiness and more throughout the style of his words. Malone uses illustrations such as, “big rings, champagne, my life is like a ball game” to try and let people see the jollification side of his career. His life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine, but a good amount of it is, and when he finally made it to the big leagues, people noticed and wanted to congratulate him but at that point it was too late. He didn’t want or need the support of his fake friends any more. The imagery throughout the song has a happy vibe associated with it because that is presumably how he felt when he was writing and finishing the song. 

Post Malone made it through the hardships and his rough childhood despite what the haters and non believers said. He accomplished his goals and dreams. Now everyone tells him congratulations, but he doesn't care. In his song, “Congratulations”, Malone explains his progress through the use of comparison.  

Through the use of metaphors, Malone explains different parts of his life in the song. Malone says, “how could I make cents when I got millions on my mind?” This is a play on words as he uses the word ‘cents’ in the meaning of ‘sense’ but comparing it to the American currency system to show how much money he is making. Becoming such a big artist has turned around Malone’s life and he cannot fathom the amount of money he is producing because of his music. By claiming that he has made millions of dollars off of his brand and music and has million dollar ideas, he can’t mentally make sense of the small money because it is distracting. Another metaphor Malone uses in his song is, “pot so big call it super bowl”. This one is quite humorous as he is using the word ‘pot’ in two forms. The form he is referring to in the song is a reference to marijuana, but the comparison to the ‘superbowl’ is the form of a container. By using two different meanings of the word ‘pot’ it shows the audience that he is versatile in the way he speaks and lives his life. This is also a comparison to celebration in his life. The super bowl is the biggest football game of the year and it is a huge deal for spectators and players. Malone made a reference to finally making it to his dreams which would be worth celebrating. 

Post Malone uses figurative language such as similes in his song. He says, “my life is like a ball game.” The use of the simile is to compare his normal life to not-so-normal activities that he was granted because of his fame. For example, being nominated for six grammy’s and opening up for Justin Bieber. These are just a few events that lead to his major fame. “My life is like a ball game” refers to the fact that it is the opposite of ordinary. There is never a boring moment, and always something unexpected. Malone also says, “I be itching like an addict”. When you’re itchy, you move around a lot and cannot get comfortable. Being an addict, you can’t focus on anything and are always looking for something to ease your pain. By combining these two concepts, Malone is saying that his life is always moving at a fast pace and he is always wanting something to ease the pain of his past. 

The use of diction is shown greatly throughout the song. His use of slang flowed immaculately with the meaning behind the lyrics. By using words that have similar consonance sounds, it helps move the song in a rhythmic fashion. An example of some similar ending words would be, “friendly, Bentley… dramatic, have it”. Of course these don't sound like they rhyme at all. Because of the way he sings, his speech gives each end of the word a slur to make them rhyme. Each slant rhyme would occur every two lines, and repeat itself throughout the song creating a pattern. This pattern was effective by making the song more enticing to listen to. Malone also sings, “worked so hard, forgot how to vacation. They ain’t never had the dedication.” The diction in these lyrics highlight Malone overcoming his hardships. He proved the doubters wrong and rose to the top of the charts through dedication and hard work. 

Overall, Post Malone uses figurative language such as comparison and diction to show the array of emotions in his lyrics. The use of so many rhyming patterns in his song accentuates the theme behind the lyrics: being proud of his hard work and letting all the people who did not believe in him know that he made it. 

To some people, money can be seen as the root of all evil. For these two artists, money is seen as something that can be thrown around. Both being big creators, they make lots of money and have money that can be used freely. Frank Ocean and Rich The Kid both sing about money and how they can use its power to get what they want. In, “Not Just Money”, Ocean is talking about money as not being a big deal. Something that can be attained easily and used rapidly. Money is not a big deal, and just something that people romanticize. He says, “it’s just money, im’a make more” meaning that some people use money as an excuse to buy random and unimportant things with the idea in their brain that they’ll make more. This idea indicates that money isn’t a big deal and is used frivolously. When you have lots of one thing, usually most people wouldn’t value it as much. In this case, having so much money has made the value depreciate and more people want to use the artists for their riches. In “Money Talk”, the artist is telling about how he uses money as a way to get people to do things for him. Money can be used to manipulate people and that becomes obvious in the song. By saying, “I need a check, no, I ain’t talkin’ for free” the audience can clearly hear how the power of money can cloud people’s brains. 

Ashley Eller

Growing Up With Money

Money is such a prominent topic in the world today. Just about everyone has some, and just about everyone wants some. If you are a celebrity or famous person, you are more likely to have more than others. When someone gets famous, and rich, all of their money issues seem to go away. Especially for some artists, starting at the bottom in a broke or broken home can take a toll on the wealth you grew up with. Other artists didn’t have that issue and were able to grow up in a middle class home and still get famous. 

Artists starting at the bottom only had one focus or goal in life. And that was music. Growing up in broken homes or neighborhoods, their life started out a lot harder than the average person. Wanting to pursue a real and more enjoyable life, most of them got involved with music. They do not have big surrounding jobs to keep up with the money that rapping brings in. For example, Kendrick Lamar started out in Compton and is now a huge artist with over 1.7 million listeners. Lamar “grew up immersed in hip-hop culture and surrounded by gang activity”. He started rapping by being featured on bigger artists’ music trying to get his feet wet in the industry. In 2017, he had his own first hit and the rest was history. Another example of a huge artist starting at the bottom is Ice Cube. He also lived in Compton in a supportive household. Being surrounded by guns, drugs, and violence his whole life, he wanted to create a better and stronger life for himself, thus getting involved with music. He first started out in the group, N.W.A. After disputes and not a fair share of money, Ice Cube went solo in 1989 and grew even more famous than before. 
 

Starting off with money, can be the few extra steps prior to becoming a star that can really help in unexpected ways. For Kanye West, he is in the Kardashian family, is a devoted Christian, has a shoe line with Adidas called “Yeezy’s” and even ran for president in this past election. Now although he himself is a famous hip-hop artists, to some people that is not the first thing they think of when they think of West. The first thing I think of is his marriage to Kim kardashian and their very wealthy lifestyle. West started life in Atlanta GA, but then quickly moved to Chicago where he was in the middle class. Although he could have hardships throughout his life, money was not one of them, comparatively speaking. Starting off in the TV show, ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, Drake is now a very popular hip-hop artist. In his younger life, he grew up in a divorced home and went to a Jewish school. Drake becoming popular by being an actor was a different approach to fame then other famous artists. In between Degrassi and hip-hop, there was a short time where he looked for a day job to make ends meet. By 2011, his music had sky-rocketed and people loved him. 

Even though people come from very different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of living, there is one thing just about everyone has in common: music. Famous artists have proved themselves that how you grow up is not how you have to grow old. Money is a huge factor in everyone’s daily lives. It affects our moods, our diets, and our living status. But it should not affect our dreams. Whether they’re coming from the poorest city in California, or a middle class life in Illinois, your dreams are still succedable.

This shows that it doesn't matter where you start, anything is possible. 

Growing Up With Money

Money is such a prominent topic in the world today. Just about everyone has some, and just about everyone wants some. If you are a celebrity or a famous person, you are more likely to have more than others. When someone gets famous, and rich, all of their money issues seem to go away. Especially for some artists, starting at the bottom in a broke or broken home can take a toll on the wealth you grew up with. Other artists did not have that issue and were able to grow up in a middle class home and still get famous. At the end of the day, the way the artist rose to their fame is not as important as their status at the top. 

Artists starting at the bottom only had one focus or goal in life. And that was music. Growing up in broken homes or neighborhoods, their life started out a lot harder than the average person. Wanting to pursue a real and more enjoyable life, most of them got involved with music. They do not have big surrounding jobs to keep up with the money that rapping brings in. For example, Kendrick Lamar started out in Compton and is now a huge artist with over 1.7 million listeners. Although, in the beginning, life was not always easy for him. His family moved from Chicago to Comtpon hoping to get away from the violence. Back in Chicago, “Lamar's father had been associated with the notorious Gangster Disciples gang” but yet moving away did not stop the hardships. Compton, California is considered the “Most Dangerous City”. Having to deal with all of the drugs, family, and money issues, Lamar grew up absorbed in hip-hop culture and surrounded by gangs. He started rapping by being featured on bigger artists’ music trying to get his feet wet in the industry. In 2017, he had his own first hit and the rest was history. 

Another example of a huge artist starting at the bottom is Ice Cube. Ice Cube also lived in Compton in a supportive household. Being surrounded by guns, drugs, and violence his whole life, he wanted to create a better and stronger life for himself, thus getting involved with music. “Ice Cube first came to public notice as a rapper and songwriter with the controversial and influential West Coast gangsta rap group N.W.A”. This group worshipped just about every bad aspect of gang activity. This was a big deal in the rap community because talking and praising such negative ideals came as a shock to the popular crowd of music. After disputes and not a fair share of money, Ice Cube left the group at the peak of the fame. He then went solo in 1989 and grew even more famous than before. 

Starting off with money can be the few extra steps prior to becoming a star that can really help in unexpected ways. For Kanye West, he is in the Kardashian family, is a devoted Christian, has a shoe line with Adidas called “Yeezy’s”, and even ran for president in this past election. Now although he himself is a famous hip-hop artist, to some people that is not the first thing they think of when they think of West. When I think of Kanye West, the first thing that comes to mind is his marriage to Kim Kardashian and their very wealthy lifestyle. West started life in Atlanta, GA, but then quickly moved to Chicago where he was in the middle class with his mom. Becoming such a famous artist with so much other background activities in his life, helped his fame grow quicker and with more abundance. Having that stepping stool of his name did not mean that West did not go through hardships. He most likely did, but money was not one of them. 

Starting off in the TV show, ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, Drake is now a very popular hip-hop artist. In his younger life, he grew up in a divorced home and went to an all white school, where he was the only Jewish person. Him being so young, he was taught a different type of strength at such a young age. Drake became popular by being an actor. He was already winning awards before even getting into the music industry. This was a contrasting start to fame compared to other big artists. In between ‘Degrassi’ and hip-hop, there was a short time where he looked for a day job to make ends meet. Money was not always handed to Drake, as it is not handed out to a lot of people. He had to work hard for his money. By starting off living in a nicer neighborhood compared to others though, he had a head start in the game that is life. Once his music career took off in 2011, his struggle was coming to an end. 

Even though people come from largely different backgrounds, cultures, and ways of living, there is one thing that connects just about everyone in the world: music. And although money makes the world go round, music has an effect incomparable to money. CNN’s AJ Willingham said, “It [is] an outlet that [is] even more powerful when shared.” Music can provide an outlet for the issues of the world, one of these large issues being money. Money has affected the creators of music in a largely different way than the normal population. Famous artists have proved themselves that how you grow up is not how you have to grow old. Money is a huge factor in everyone’s daily lives. It affects our moods, our diets, and our living status. But it should not affect our dreams. Whether they’re coming from the poorest city in California, or a middle class in Illinois, your dreams are still attainable. 

The opposite and more negative side of money and fame is that money can take away happiness. Although some artists came from poor neighborhoods and did not start out with money, they can become overwhelmed by all the money being produced by their fame. This causes a dismissive outlook on life and their stardom. By artists starting with their foot in the door in the money sector of life, money can be seen as less of a big deal for them. They are used to having money in their pocket and when it flows because of their popularity, they can take the money for granted. Giving it less value. Overall, it does not matter how much wealth you start with, because it is all interpreted differently and can be taken away in an instant. 

To conclude, money is not the determining factor in future fame. Whether starting at the top, or at the bottom, artists have proved that money is only a speed bump in the road to happiness. For artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Ice Cube, they were able to prove thousands of people wrong and rise to their true potential in the music industry. On the opposite side, artists such as Kanye West and Drake used their surroundings to make a name for themselves before getting into music and really expanding their brand. This comes to show that it does not matter where you start, the top can be your destination. 

Works Cited

“Kendrick Lamar.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17 Dec. 2019, www.biography.com/musician/kendrick-lamar. 

“Compton CA Crime Rate 1999-2018.” MacroTrends, www.macrotrends.net/cities/us/ca/compton/crime-rate-statistics. 

“Ice Cube.” Hollywood Walk of Fame, 25 Oct. 2019, walkoffame.com/ice-cube/. 

“Kanye West.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Nov. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanye_West. 

“About Drake Aka Aubrey Drake Graham.” DrakeWire, 11 Feb. 2017, blogs.lt.vt.edu/morelus/drake/. 

Willingham, AJ. “Are Music and Happiness Linked?” CNN, Cable News Network, 31 Mar. 2017, www.cnn.com/2016/08/17/health/music-concerts-dancing-study-trnd/index.html.