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

Visual Analysis

Catherine Sanders

ENGL-1101-HH

Run-DMC takes a different approach when it comes to hip hop by intertwining rock and rap. They manipulate the normal standards of hip hop and configure their own genre to captivate their audience. In the article “Rap Music” the author mentions Run-DMC and their song “Walk This Way” how it brought together the “intertextuality”. They had rock samples dispersed into the rap song and kicked off the rock edge of early hip hop songs. Their songs fall under the category of hip hop but have a pinch of rock thrown in which makes them stand out and other rappers look down on this because their style isn't exactly hip hop but isn't rock and roll. 

At the beginning of the song “King of Rock” two of the artists walk into a rock n roll museum, but are being told “You guys don't belong in here” while being laughed at. Especially since shortly after they say “other rappers can't stand us, but give us respect” they are saying how they are different and don’t fit into the norms for regular rappers. This is repeated to focus on what he said because this happens before the music starts.  The repetition and echo in the song use the same back spinning technique that Flash developed.(19) Back spinning was a technique used by DJs where they would take the record and spin it backward in order to repeat parts of the song. 

When the video first starts all you see are bland white walls and rarely any color, as you can see in the image below.. Since there is no vibrancy in the video when the two artists walk in wearing all black they instantly catch your eye. Throughout the whole song, they use very neutral colors so that when they wear bold all black clothes they are the focal point.

 

Throughout the song, there are a few breakbeats. During those instrumental breaks the artists pan to the museum they are in and most of them pan to the TV which portrays a band playing in black and white. When they have breakbeats during the instrumental breaks it always pans to their stone-cold stern facial expressions. These breakbeats were set in place as a time for the audience to really listen to the instrumental aspect and what the DJs are doing as said in Tricia Rose’s article.(17)

A lyric in the music video is “It's not Micheal Jackson and it's not a thriller” they mean they are superior to him and are nothing like him as they aggressively stomp on his flamboyantly iconic glove. They do this to playfully mock these rock and roll masters. The camera angle is slightly lower than them and up close only showing their faces when he says “You can't touch me with a ten-foot pole” shows how egoistic they are and the superiority they feel they have over everyone. They show this same presence when “the rhymes we say, shall set a trend” is said. They are trying to differentiate from everyone else by making it a point that they are separate and have a uniqueness compared to other rappers. 

In the image below you can see the confidence and intense dance moves which are prevalent throughout the whole video. Performing these moves they are expressing a higher power that they believe they have above every other rapper and are gloating about how exceptional they are.

The “King of Rock” music video altogether depicts what most rappers strive for, a distinctive unmatched song. This needs to encompass their unique style while also sticking close to the boundaries set for that genre of music. They intertwine the hip hop style in their music along with putting a personal touch in what they do. Run-DMC incorporates all these factors into their music and while keeping to the original early hip hop style they still push beyond to make sure they don't sound like a broken record player and have a recognizable sound.

Catherine Sanders

Language Analysis

Outlaws to Friends

 

Beastie boys song “Paul Revere” uses descriptive words and captivating phrases throughout the song. The artists put pictures in your head of what is taking place creatively demonstrating the different types of figurative language. They use different kinds of figurative language to the mix to catch listeners' attention and express themselves. “Paul Revere,” tells a story of how they all met by making everything into a metaphor. Three outlaws, the beastie boys meet up in a desert and rob a bar together. They end up becoming friends afterward. The language used in the song to tell their story allows listeners to use their imagination and put together a movie inside their heads. This is one of the things I like most about their music and why I love listening to them. They use some metaphors and language that makes the words jump off the page and come to life. When they say “his voice was hoarse his throat was dry he asked me for a sip” each word finishing the statement is bold and said with intensity emphasizing them to stand out. This is repeated throughout the song so his words are memorable. Each kind of figurative language used in “Paul Revere” strengthens the lyrics turning the song into a story being told making their work unique.

 

The beastie boys use similes to compare basic everyday actions and bring them to life. Shortly after Adrock and M.C.A. meet up Adrock explains why he is running from the law. Instead of straight-up stating what happened, he uses similes to express what went down and turned it into a whole story. He exclaims “The sheriff's after me for what I did to his daughter. I did it like this, I did it like that. I did it with a whiffle ball bat.” He is referring to sleeping with the sheriff’s daughter numerous times. “ I did it like this” “I did it like that” meaning the different times he was with his daughter. Later on, they also use specific words such as “jammy” “fly” instead of upright using guns and shooting. These similes are used to bring the story together and make it interesting and worth wanting to know not bland and straightforward. If they were to use the normal words instead then it wouldn't have the same effect on listeners and bring the song character. 

 

The imagery during the whole song is the most prevalent. At the beginning “Riding across the land kicking up sand” you can picture the horse running across the desert and sand flying up. He wants to start his story by painting a picture in our heads of what is happening so we can take his words and create a movie with them. He continues to use these vivid words to make the whole story come to life during the song. The best use of imagery was at the end of the song when they were robbing the bar, “Pulled out the jammy, aimed it at the sky. He yelled, (Stick 'em up!) and let two fly. Hands went up and people hit the floor. He wasted two kids that ran for the door.” Even though it is rapped fairly fast we turn it into a movie scene and picture Mike D. as he whips out his gun and everyone panics throwing up their hands. It makes the song become more than just a song and brings it to life creating a story. When they rap “The sun is beating down on my baseball hat.The air is gettin' hot the beer is getting flat” they use words that make you feel as though you are in the desert with them. Changing a few words and constructing them together to visualize the scene. Even though not explicitly said they want us to use our imagination so that we can take the song with the imagery given to form a vivid visual of the setting is described.

 

In conclusion, the beastie boys did a great job of telling their story in a creative unique way to captivate their audience. The figurative language they use helps bring the story to life and become more than just a song. The imagery gives you a visual representation so while listening you see what is happening and feel as though you are a part of the song. While the similes get the message across making the words more memorable and putting life into bland words. By the artists applying these types of language, it makes me enjoy the song more and their work because I love seeing visuals and by using imagery I personally enjoy listening to songs. Also since I don’t like everything to be so straightforward and blunt I enjoy the similes which keep you on your feet and encourage you to actively listen to the words. The language used throughout the entire song makes the beastie boys song tracks unique and striking, aiming their work towards the creative imaginative audience.

 

Catherine Sanders

Final Essay

 

De-meaning of Rap

 

In the hip hop community, women are often being used to promote the artists music, albeit in an objectifying way. It is predominantly in a sexual way focusing on a woman's body whether they do that through the images used in the videos or lyrically with the artists choice of words. Women rappers and men rappers both rap about similar things and each objectifies women in their videos. Even though each gender may sexualize women they do it in different ways and approach the subject from vastly different points of view. Men gravitate towards a dominant stance and seem to belittle women in their songs while women might use similar vocabulary with a much more empowering point of view. They speak proudly of their own bodies, celebrating and normalizing different body shapes. How can the same vocabulary have such different meanings?

 

Male hip hop artists disrespectfully oversexualize females through their music. They portray women as lesser and only exploit them for their bodies. This same issue occurs in social media and the male artists negatively comment about other female artists. Men rappers such as Dababy and Jack Harlow vulgarly talk about women. In each of their songs, they objectify women and talk about them as though they are not people and can be replaced. Throughout each of these songs and many other songs, the rappers materialize women through their words and say things about their bodies and what they can give to them in bed. whenever women are mentioned it is about their appearance. 

 

For example in the song Nasty by Dababy he says “I want head before we fuck and I want it nasty” which backs up how he sexualizes women and uses them for sex. Not only what he says he wants her to do he even uses degrading words, such as when he raps “it's driving his last hoe crazy” and “'Cause bitch can't leave”. Dababy does not refer to her as anything but a “hoe” or a “bitch” belittling women instead of treating them as an equal. Not even just what he calls her, but what he says he will do to her too. “Then I pick her up and slam her down on her head like I'm a wrestler” Dababy carelessly says how he is going to treat her and it shows how reckless he is when he raps about women. He raps things like “Yeah, I was that lil' nigga that could take a bitch from his big homie. Especially if she flexible, I flex her” treating her as though he can get anything like her as long they are flexible not caring about her as a person. He only raps about the sexual aspect of females in his songs.

 

Jack Harlow does the same thing in the song What's Poppin and says “I got options. I could pass that bitch like Stockton.” which proves that he doesn't care about women as people and can have others as though they all do the same thing. Similar to the artist Dababy Jack Harlow uses the same demeaning words when talking about women in his songs. “Dark haired bitch” is the same as Dababy devaluing females. Jack Harlow sings “She a lil’ freak on cam” continues to say things like this about what she can do for him rather than talking about what she can do without incorporating her body. He writes about what a woman can offer through her body treating her as an object.

 

Women rappers such as Cardi B and Nicki Manaj also can sexualize themselves but making themselves the focal point. They talk about their own bodies and give themselves to guys. Lyrically what they write is still sexualizing themselves, yet in a positive way to promote self-love. Unlike male rappers who make it all about what a woman can offer they make it more about loving their bodies and how they are more than objects. They redefine the way people rap about women in the rap industry. Female hip hop artists focus on spreading a message for women to help them gain confidence and learn their self-worth.

 

In the WAP by Cardi B, she says “Put this pussy right in your face” and is flaunting her body using it as though it is a bribe. She is displaying her body as something to show off for guys. She says “ don't cook, I don't clean. But let me tell you how I got this ring” talking about all the sexual things that got her the ring. She continues to rap expanding on the things she can do, but just how precious she is knowing her own value. Cardi B assertively talks about her body making it known she is proud unlike when men rap about women only talking about them as replaceable items.

 

In the song Bed by Nicki Manaj she makes it all about her body and the things she can do with it. She uses a similar tactic to Cardi B and uses her body by also hyping up women and their own bodies. In the song she raps “I’ma do everything I said I'm gon’ do” dominantly sexualizing herself. She takes these stereotypes and uses them to sexualize herself in an empowering way showing it's okay to show off and love yourself. She confirms this by saying “I'm be a half an hour but I told 'em gimme five” and expresses that she doesn’t revolve around men and she is worth more.

 

They talk about their bodies and what they can do with them in a more empowering way. Although in a way yes they are sexualizing themselves they are still showing off to spread body positivity. For example, Cardi B isn't afraid of any unflattering pictures of herself and not being ashamed or put down for wearing scandalous outfits. “If she likes a photo, she'll post it. No editing necessary.” as written in the article by Insider. She isn't afraid of posting real photos on social media that show under-eye circles, acne, and cellulite. She takes all of those and shows off instead of hiding them. She even goes against all the misconceptions of plastic surgery and says how your body is yours and if you want to change it then go for it, don't listen to society. Nicki Manaj also promotes body positivity too by being assertive and talks about the importance of having female friends. She also uses her outrageous colored wigs and crazy outfits to spread positivity. She even talks about how women can be sexual for themselves and not for men. She encourages females to do what they want with their bodies and show off for themselves. She has voiced her opinion on the difference between when men and women stick up for themselves by saying “When I am assertive, I’m a bitch. When a man is assertive, he’s a boss”. Nicki wants women to be heard and to stick up for themselves which she expresses through her music. Both of these artists and many more vocalize these issues and through their music and by advocating for women try to destroy these social standards.

 

Both female and male rappers objectify and sexualize women. The language and vocabulary, although similar, is anything but. The words chosen to describe a woman can be identical but the point of view in which those words are spoken are polar opposites. The meaning of the words used while the artist paints their lyrics is vastly different depending on the artist's gender. The meaning of these words can be demeaning. Who is using them? Where do they come from? This is not new, this is not unique. This is however a wonderful new day. Where the words used to demean a woman are now used to empower them. To take the degrading language and use its words seems fairly clear. The use of the words, the perspective of how the words are used show how they objectify women. They do this in two different ways: males talk more about women as being things while women talk about themselves as a prize and the sexualized parts of them as a privilege you get with them. While the female artists hype up their bodies and yet still sexualize themselves they make it empowering and a way to get their message across to encourage women to love themselves and their bodies not worried about social standards. Overall both men and women artists yes, rap about the same things lyrically, but they don’t have the same meaning. Men rap about women as though women are objects, while women know their worth and show it off to empower themselves. Male hip hop artists objectify and sexual women in their songs, while women do it to empower themselves and others to do the same. 

 

Citations

 

“Cardi B (Ft. Megan Thee Stallion) – WAP.” Genius, 7 Aug. 2020, genius.com/Cardi-b-wap-lyrics.

“DaBaby (Ft. Ashanti & Megan Thee Stallion) – NASTY.” Genius, 17 Apr. 2020, genius.com/Dababy-nasty-lyrics.

“Jack Harlow – WHATS POPPIN.” Genius, 21 Jan. 2020, genius.com/Jack-harlow-whats-poppin-lyrics.

“Nicki Minaj (Ft. Ariana Grande) – Bed.” Genius, 14 June 2018, genius.com/Nicki-minaj-bed-lyrics.

Revelist. “8 Times Cardi B Was a Champion for Body Positivity.” Insider, Insider, 8 Feb. 2018, www.insider.com/times-cardi-b-was-a-champion-for-body-positivity-2018-2.

Tonic, Gina. “5 Times Nicki Minaj Was A Body Positive Goddess - Despite That One Seemingly Skinny-Shaming Lyric.” Bustle, Bustle, 2 Apr. 2015, www.bustle.com/articles/73700-5-times-nicki-minaj-was-a-body-positive-goddess-despite-that-one-seemingly-skinny-shaming-lyric.