ENGL 1101 - Fall 2020 - Hip-Hop Reader - PEASE
| In the music video for the song “Thrift Shop”, Macklemore appears as a rich man, but then as the video progresses you find that this is not the case. The song is an allusion to the idea that being wealthy in today’s society makes him above the average person. He is depicting himself as rich throughout the video because if he acts like he is a part of the upper class, he will be seen as such to an outside eye. Cultural standards want him to look as though he has money, so he is more respected. In reality, Macklemore buys all of his items used at the thrift store, so he spends less money than is portrayed when you look at him and his belongings. Hip-hop singers are known for being “flashy” like showing off gold chains or in this case fur coats. To show off they use clips of several videos. |  |
| Break beats that are described in Rose’s “Rap Music” can be seen throughout the song. There is a prominent trumpet sample that repeats several times over the base sound that makes the listener think this is not the normal street hip-hop. The sample of trumpet music brings back the idea of trying to be classy. Hip-hop usually makes the listener think about streets and graffiti, but this music video shows people in a Goodwill shopping. The base sample is a maraca type sound that keeps the song going and makes the audience want to dance like most hip-hop songs do. “Beats selected by hip-hop producers and DJs have always come from and continue to come from an extraordinary range of musics” (18). Rose is explaining that the trumpet and maraca noises that are being heard are not that uncommon because many producers take samples from works that would not be expected, but sound different when added to different sounds and beats. |  |
| The use of repetition can be seen throughout the lyrics, and the song starts this way when they say “what, what, what, what”. Repetition makes the audience remember that part of the song, so the more important parts are repeated throughout the lyrics. “The power of a rappers’ voices and their roles as storytellers ensured that rapping would become the central expression in hip-hop culture” (20). Lyrics in songs are more prominent in today's hip-hop then they used to be, and are the main focus in this song. The lyrics in this song are the most important part because they allow the listener to learn about Macklemore’s life. He shares that he finds lots of deals at Goodwill and wears them to clubs to show them off. Showing off clothes and accessories is part of the hip-hop culture and is relatable to listeners. An example of repetition in “Thrift Shop” is “I, I, I’m hunting, looking for a come-up” is repeated several times throughout this song.This one of the most important lines because it is all about finding a good deal that will make Macklemore look like he is a rich man. |
| Ultimately, Macklemore uses this music video to depict the culture of hip-hop artists. He does this in several ways. One of which is visually through showing video clips of him in a Goodwill shopping for clothes and the clubs when he has all the attention. The idea of using sampling and beat breaks is common in hip-hop and shares the up-beat culture. In this song Macklemore uses his lyrics to tell about his life, and shares a lot about hip-hop culture. This music video is the perfect example of today's hip-hop culture. |  |
In the music video for the song “Thrift Shop”, Macklemore appears as a rich man, but then as the video progresses you find that this is not the case. The song is an allusion to the idea that being wealthy in today’s society makes him above the average person. He is depicting himself as rich throughout the video because if he acts like he is a part of the upper class, he will be seen as such to an outside eye. Cultural standards want him to look as though he has money, so he is more respected. In reality, Macklemore buys all of his items used at the thrift store, so he spends less money than is portrayed when you look at him and his belongings. Hip-hop singers are known for being “flashy” like showing off gold chains or in this case fur coats. To show off they use clips of several videos.
Throughout Macklemore’s music video there are clips of different videos constantly changing to show the writer's lifestyle. Like most hip-hop artists are seen to the public, this video portrays him as living a party lifestyle. The short clips of him go back and forth between the clubs and shopping at Goodwill show the audience that he likes to show off the deals that he finds. In Rose’s “Rap Music” she says, “The rappers who could fix a crowd’s attention had impressive verbal dexterity and performance skills”. This quote shows that Macklemore, a rapper, used his way of dressing to get the audience's attention because that is what an artist wants. When he goes into the clubs everyone looks at him because of his performance skills and ability to dress in a way to get the audience's attention that he so desires.
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Break beats that are described in Rose’s “Rap Music” can be seen throughout the song. There is a prominent trumpet sample that repeats several times over the base sound that makes the listener think this is not the normal street hip-hop. The sample of trumpet music brings back the idea of trying to be classy. Hip-hop usually makes the listener think about streets and graffiti, but this music video shows people in a Goodwill shopping. The base sample is a miraca type sound that keeps the song going and makes the audience want to dance like most hip-hop songs do. “Beats selected by hip-hop producers and DJs have always come from and continue to come from an extraordinary range of musics” (18). Rose is explaining that the trumpet and miraca noises that are being heard are not that uncommon because many producers take samples from works that would not be expected, but sound different when added to different sounds and beats.
To make this video aesthetically pleasing, the film maker has used the rule of thirds. This method of taking a video uses a grid to divide the image into three sections both vertical and horizontal, and aligns the image on those lines so it looks better to the audience. Another way that the producer makes the video better is by making the resolution high. Resolution makes your video look like it is nicer and better quality which is a selling point to a lot of people.
Ultimately, Macklemore uses his music video to depict the culture of hip-hop artists and to gain attention. The first way that he does this is by showing off the items that he has purchased like his fur coat. The second way that Macklemore gains attention is through the short clips in the music video that show his popularity. He also uses the music to make him sound more classy and rich. The last thing that he does is use the rule of thirds and high resolution.
Language Analysis Rough Draft
Post Malone's Take What You Want From Me
Cate Lamas
Take What You Want From Me isn’t just any old love song, it is the heart and soul of Post Malone. He reveals all about a girl that broke his heart, but this song has a deeper meaning than that. If we look at the figurative language throughout the song it can be seen that there is end rhyme, metaphors, and so much more.
Post Malone carries out a general theme of being heart broken and not cared for throughout the song, and really through all his albums. The use of metaphors throughout helps Post Malone tell the audience a story while still keeping them engaged. The metaphors start in the first line when he says, “I feel you crumble in my arms down to your heart of stone.” You can clearly feel his anger when he sings this line, especially when it says “heart of stone.” In this context heart of stone means that the person the song is about is dead inside, and does not have the feelings Post thought they did. This is a very meaningful line, and you can tell because it is repeated three times in the song.
What Post Malone is saying in his song is so important that he says it over and over again to make sure that the audience can feel the full effect of the lyrics. If people hear things multiple times the information goes from conscious to unconscious. In the sixth stanza everything is repeated like, “ shawty went bad (shawty went bad).” This is how every line is in the stanza so he can make sure that you hear what he is saying and you know that it is important.
Staying interested in a song and being able to relate to an artist are both very important so in Take What You Want From Me Post Malone uses similes to keep you interested and guessing how he feels. Everyone can take a comparison differently so if you use a simile it will relate to more people. He starts this out in the first stanza when he sings, “You bled me dry just like the tears you never, show.” To me this is saying that he worked so hard, put all of his time and effort into her and she never even cared about him like he cared about her. For someone else this might mean that he cried over her when they broke up, but she never did. This allows you as the audience to relate to him no matter what your thinking. Using this figurative language you can engage the audience.
As you can tell throughout the whole song Post Malone uses several different forms of figurative language to keep the audience engaged. In this song you can tell that he poured his heart and soul out to show everyone that all break up songs are not the same. This is not a slow, sad song where a boy is heartless and breaks up with the girl. It is exactly the opposite.
Language Analysis Final Draft
Post Malone carries out a general theme of being heart broken and not cared for throughout Take What You Want From Me, and really throughout all of his albums. The use of metaphors in his music helps Post Malone tell the audience a story while still keeping them engaged. The metaphors start in the first line when he says, “I feel you crumble in my arms down to your heart of stone.” You can clearly feel his anger when he sings this line, especially when it says “heart of stone.” In this context heart of stone means that the woman the song is about is dead inside, and does not have the feelings Post thought she did. This is a very meaningful line, and you can tell because it is repeated three times in the song. Another metaphor that is used to describe the women in the song is, “You showed your tongue and it was forked in two.” This to me means that every time she talked it was just a heartless lie.
Just like a metaphor allows the listener to relate, so does a simile. In Take What You Want From Me, Post Malone uses similes to keep you interested and guessing how he feels. He starts this out in the first stanza when he sings, “You bled me dry just like the tears you never, show.” To me this is saying that he worked so hard, put all of his time and effort into her and she never even cared about him like he cared about her. For someone else this might mean that he cried over her when they broke up, but she never did. This allows you, as the audience, to relate to him no matter what you're thinking. Using this figurative language you can engage the audience.
Post Malone shares his feelings with listeners so they can understand that this isn’t just any old breakup song. It can be seen that the girl didn’t care that they were breaking up which is much different from most breakup songs, and you can hear Post’s anger. Usually this type of song is slow and is a girl singing about how a boy broke her heart, but Post Malone says things that make you think this is different like, “you preyed on my every mistake.” This shows you that she did not care about him at all. She wanted him to mess up, and this makes me think that she wanted to look better than him. She was using Post Malone and his mistakes to make her look better. The song goes on to say, “Waited on me to break, held me under hopin' I would drown.” This shows you that she thought she was better, and he would just suffer so much that he would go away. Her “heart of stone” would last longer than what he could take because he actually cared about her. She has no emotions for him which is not in character for when someone thinks about a girl in a breakup song.
A “heart of stone” always takes, but never gives back. It can be seen that Post Malone learns this in this song because over and over again you hear the word “take.” Post is so over being used by this girl that he gives up and says, “take what you want and go.” She has no pity for him; she takes the life out of him leaving him angry and alone. Post feels hurt, but he learns his lesson because he says, “For Heaven sakes, my bones will break But you never own my soul, no.” She has clearly hurt him throughout the whole song and there is a prominent tone of anger, but when we get to this point of the song we learn that he has learned from his mistakes. I think that Post will never let an emotionless girl with a heart of stone ever hurt him again.
It is clear to see that a “heart of stone” can destroy someone's heart when feelings aren’t exchanged. Post Malone is full of anger towards this woman that took everything away from him and left him “dry just like the tears you never show.” He quickly learns that he was “wasting away”, and that girl did not want him for who he was. Post Malone used literary devices to keep us engaged, and to help us figure out his emotions in this song. Listeners can understand and relate to Take What You Want From Me because of the way that Post Malone shares his emotions.
compare and contrast rough draft
Cate Lamas
Compare and Contrast Essay
Women empowerment can be seen by different people in several different ways. Cardi B acts like she empowers women, but when you look at her past it makes you change the way that you look at her. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. Later in her life she decided to be a stripper which is the complete opposite of empowering women. Cardi B uses her body to gain popularity instead of her lyrical work. Unlike Cardi B, Billie Eilish is what most people would think of as the girl next door. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Billie's Childhood was not normal in the sense that she was born into a family full of musical artists and actresses. Billie was homeschooled and got her high school degree at the age of fifteen. Her family inspired her as a child to gain popularity off of her work and not what she looks like. Cardi B makes herself feel empowered by using her body whereas Billie Eilish uses her background musical knowledge to empower other women so they will be appreciated for knowledge and not her body.
When I think of women showing themselves in ways that they shouldn’t, my mind immediately goes to Cardi B. Cardi B is shown in media headlines for being self-assertive, bold, arrogant, rude, and obnoxious. Billie Eilish, on the other hand, is more modest in the way she acts and portrays herself. She is portrayed by the media as wearing baggy clothes and keeping a low profile. Most of Billie Eilish’s videos are just her or her and one other person whereas Cardi B dances, wears revealing clothing, and has lots of other people with her. While these artists have major differences in their style, appearance, and fanbase, it is ultimately their use of explicit material in their songs that is the greatest distinction between these two artists.
Cardi B is not an artist that you would want younger people to hear and learn from. Cardi B uses very provocative language and conosations in a lot of her music. One very popular example of this is her song “WAP” where she sings lyrics such as, “ Wet-ass pussy Make that pull out game weak” and “swipe your nose like a credit card”. Cardi B makes her fans think that actions like doing drugs and using men is okay, and actually cool. People adore her for all the wrong reasons, and she even has 78 million followers. People feel empowered by her because she does whatever she wants without anyone telling her what to do without any care. She is also very famous even though she is not your average person. She is funny and people like this about her.
Billie Eilish uses her lyrical work to show her emotions. Billie shows women empowerment by letting her listeners know that it is okay to be single. You can tell that she feels this way in several of her songs, but this line of hers from “Bad Guy” really stood out to me, “I guess I’m pretty glad that you’re alone”. This lyric stands out because unlike a lot of other women Billie is celebrating that she is alone and does not have a man ruling her. Another very prominent line is in her number one hit “Lovely” when she says “Isn’t it lovely all alone.” This shows that she has power over herself, but not only does she have power, she didn’t use her body to gain her power.
Cardi B and Billie Eilsh both are very powerful women. Cardi B uses her body and language to gain popularity whereas Billie Eilish is happily alone and uses her pure emotions to express her power. Both artist empower women, but in very different ways.
Compare + Contrast Final Essay
Cate Lamas
Empowering Women Artists
Women empowerment can be seen by many different people in many different ways. Empowerment to most women means having self-worth and self-determination. The determination that women have found has led them to being on the top charts of hip-hop music. Audiences usually label female artists as either empowering or degrading women. Two top chart artists that are seen as empowering women are Cardi B and Billie Eilish. While both artists are known for and represent different things, their similarities can be seen in their ability to influence, inspire, and empower all kinds of women all over the world. Cardi B is shown in media headlines for being self-assertive, bold, arrogant, rude, and obnoxious while Billie Eilish, on the other hand, is shown for being more modest in the way she acts and portrays herself. These types of things include wearing non-revealing clothing and keeping a low profile. It is important to consider other reasons why two artists that are celebrated the same way could come from completely different backgrounds and show two contrasting personalities. A person's upbringing determines their future actions and ways that society depicts them. This applies to women and the image of women in their own cultures.
Cardi B was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, but her family is originally Hispanic with her mom being Trinidadian and her dad being Dominican. This is important because in her career, she has been able to gain followers from many different races and ethnicities. Later in her teenage years, she joined the Bloods gang. After being impoverished and in an unhealthy relationship for a period of time, Cardi B decided to escape the lifestyle that almost altered her life for good. She herself has said that choosing to become an entertainer “saved her from a lot of things”(5). In hopes of earning money and climbing out of her situation, Cardi B decided to pursue being a stripper and going back to school. Being a stripper is something that Cardi B is proud of choosing to do and is something that empowered her as a female.
Unlike Cardi B, Billie Eilish is what most people would think of as the “girl next door”. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Billie's childhood was uncommon in the sense that she was born into a family full of musical artists and actresses. At the age of eight she was already singing in the Los Angeles Children's Choir. It shaped her into becoming the empowering voice that she would grow into exemplifying later in her career. The first song that Billie Eilish sang that helped her gain a solid amount of popularity was “Ocean Eyes”, which originally was written by her brother Finneas O’Connell. Finneas was her greatest supporter, and he is the reason that she has succeeded like she has. “He’s the only reason I’m anywhere in the whole world and he’s probably the only reason I’m alive”(9). Her family’s supportive background has helped shape her success and her handling of popularity.
Billie shows women empowerment by letting her listeners know that it is okay to be single. It is clear in her music that she feels this way in several of her songs, but this line from her top hit “Bad Guy” really stood out to me, “I guess I’m pretty glad that you’re alone”. This lyric stands out because unlike a lot of other women Billie is celebrating that she is alone and does not have a man telling her what to do. Another very prominent line is in her number one hit “Lovely” when she says “Isn’t it lovely all alone?” The ideals that she displays in both of these lines show her maturity and level of education. Billie Eilish uses her lyrical work to show her emotions not her body. This shows that she has power over herself, but not only does she have power, she didn’t use her body to gain her power. She chose to gain her power by using her knowledge of the social climate that exists in today’s society, and her in-depth comprehension of music has a lot to do with why her music reflects her understanding of the world around her.
Maturity is something that Billie has embraced in several aspects of her life. An aspect where this is obvious is the fact that she was homeschooled and got her high school degree at the age of fifteen. Since a young age, she has been confident in herself as a person as opposed to the way other people view her. Moreover, her appearance on-stage as well as her appearance at home has shown her being seen dressed modestly and in her own style. Billie shares her sense of fashion to the public which includes loose-fitted clothing, necklines that have full coverage, and modest lengths. Her sense of fashion proves her maturity level and allows her audience to know that it is just as cute to dress modestly as it is to not. Inner beauty and personality is more powerful to Billie then the way she is viewed by others.
Cardi B uses very provocative language and connotations in a lot of her music. One very popular example of this is her song “WAP” where she sings lyrics such as, “ Wet-ass pussy Make that pull out game weak” and “swipe your nose like a credit card”. Cardi B normalizes actions like doing drugs and using men. People feel empowered by her because she tends to do whatever she feels like doing without anyone having the nerve to correct her on what she is doing because she scares people with her loud, brash attitude. She also chooses to use her fame to influence a lot of women of all ages and backgrounds, sometimes for the better and other times for the worse. However, she tends to rarely even apologize for her actions though she is not your average person. She is funny and people like this about her. Another thing that people respect about Cardi B is her ability to find her confidence and empowerment in her sexuality. She is not afraid to own up to the fact that she wants her kids to see her as an example of a head-strong, hardworking woman making it in today’s day and age.
Cardi B is proud of her sexuality and is confident in her body. Men idolize Cardi B for her body which can be seen as degrading to some people, but empowering to others. When a man chases after a woman, it makes the woman feel like she is special and has power over the man. She is not only empowered by other men idolizing her body, but also other girls who are jealous. She feels powerful because everyone either chases after her or wants to be her. To some she can be found degrading in the way that she dresses. It is not unusual for Cardi B to be seen in clothing that is revealing, and in some people’s estimation, it is almost expected for her to be seen in this type of clothing because of how she has portrayed herself in the past.
Billie Eilish and Cardi B have clear differences, but if you look closely at each of them you can find there are areas where they are one and the same. It is clear that both of these women are confident in themselves. Although these women feel empowered, I believe they both require the presence of men in their music, and this is something that both of them struggle with. However, they also realize they are strong, independent women that feel empowered for being who they are and feeling as though the equality that they share with the men in their life is not always the reality they live in. It is possible to find Cardi B in Billie Eilish when Cardi B is with her children and referring to them in interviews. This is when she acts the most mature and talks the most candidly about her duties as a mother and her duties to be a good role model for her kids. It is this mature side of Cardi that mirrors Billie Eilish a lot. Billie Eilish is similar to Cardi B in the sense that Billie knows what she wants just like Cardi B does. Although both of these women have their own flaws, they both are very successful women which inspires other women to be successful. Being a recipient of the Grammy Award is something that is very special and admirable, and both of these women were able to achieve this award.
Empowerment is seen in different ways, but both Cardi B and Billie Eilish are empowered because they both have self-worth and self-determination. Cardi B feels empowered because of her external qualities, while Billie Eilish feels empowered because of her internal qualities. These aspects can be seen through the way that they dress and their lyrical work. These women are looked upon by lots of people and are truly successful, empowered women.
Works Cited
Editors, Biography.com. “Cardi B.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 15 Oct. 2020, www.biography.com/musician/cardi-b.
Matthias, Meg. “Grammy Award.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Nov. 2020, www.britannica.com/art/Grammy-Award.
Spence, Sade. “Billie & Finneas' Quotes About Each Other Will Make You Want To Be A Better Sibling.” Elite Daily, Elite Daily, 19 Mar. 2020, www.elitedaily.com/p/billie-eilish-finneas-quotes-about-each-other-will-make-you-want-to-be-a-better-sibling-22630133.