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

Riley Sonderegger

Dr. Aaron Pease

English 1101

18 September 2020

Machine Gun Kelly "Home"

Like any form of art, hip hop is constantly changing and evolving in order to stick with the times and attract more listeners and fans. Many rappers use rap to express themselves and to talk about their struggles and the unfairness of the world. Due to the fact that world issues and morals are continuously changing, this means that rap is consequently changing as well. Artists are constantly attempting to gain followers and in order to do this they have to rap about relevant topics, and oftentimes rappers will utilize their platforms to spread information about world issues. Machine Gun Kelly is a great example of this phenomenon, because in his music video to his song “Home” he creates a storyline where it is the police vs the two outliers of the town. 

In the music video "Home" by MGK differentiating camera angles are utilized in order to show specific parts of people's lives within the video. The opening scene of the video starts by switching in and out of different areas within a suburban neighborhood, and as the camera pans between different groups of people in the neighborhood, it kinda paints the lifestyle of those in the video. As the camera man continues to showcase different scenes throughout the neighborhood, it becomes apparent that it is mostly likely a lower middle class area with a predominantly African American population. The neighborhood also seems to be closed off because most of the houses that the camera passes have fences in the front yard, while the area itself is surrounded by black metal fences. This sets an unfriendly setting and could be a representation of how many people who are struggling feel trapped, which is why there are so many fences around the neighborhood.

The following scenes of the video consist of the cameraman following MGK while he walks through the neighborhood hugging practically everyone that he passes. While the camera follows MGK while he completes his “rounds” of the neighborhood, there are flashes of red that enter the screen. Some of the people he hugs are wearing red, and also there are many red cars that drive past him. By seeing small snippets of the color red it leads me to believe the color red plays a significant role in the video, and while the color red can have many symbolic meanings, in this case I believe the red articles of clothing show the love that MGK has for every person that he embraces. This is important because it goes directly against the closed off, rough community that the beginning scenes portrayed. This could symbolize that MGK is spreading love and acceptance throughout the neighborhood.

As the video continues, it begins to show two opposing points of view by panning back and forth between two cops and the residents of the community. At one point the cops attempt to arrest two people sitting in their front yard who look significantly different from the rest of the residents, but everyone in the town joins forces and makes the cops leave them alone. This may have been MGK's way of bringing up and calling attention to police brutality and unfair treatment which is showcased by the two victims being covered in tattoos. This was also a very big moment in the music video, because the whole video was scenes of different people doing their own individual things, but when the two people who were going to be arrested needed help they all joined forces to protect them. 

In the final scene of the music video, the camera zooms out on a cop car that has "let us live" spray painted on the side of it. This continues the theme of unifying to protect one another by standing up against the cops. The people of the town are just trying to live their lives peacefully, yet the cops continue to show up for no reason and try to arrest them. I think that MGK was making a dig at the corruption in the police system by showing unfair treatment. This idea matches with Tricia Rose's "Rap Music" writing because she mentions that "hip hops anger is produced by contemporary racism, gender, and class oppression" (27). In her article Rose also mentions that many rappers write lyrics that tell a story, and it is seemingly obvious that MGK is telling a story of oppression and inequality. Something else to note is that the message is spray painted in red which correlates with the red articles of clothing, except this time around it symbolizes the power they created by uniting and standing up against a common foe. By using his platform to highlight the unfairness of the U.S. MGK is successfully building a follower base as well as educating his fans  about one of many issues that the U.S faces today with his music video for "Home". 

Riley Sonderegger

Riley Sonderegger

The Loneliest Mansion

It's raining cats and dogs!!!! When we hear this phrase we automatically know that it's raining hard outside, so why do we bring animals into it when we could simply just state the weather? Well, the answer to this is the wonder of figurative language, and we use these figures of speech in order to make what we say stick with our audience. When it comes to the rap world, metaphor is the single most important part of any song. Metaphors add deeper meaning to text and lyrics and often make it easier for us to have personal experiences similar to those that are being mentioned in the song which can make the songs more enjoyable and meaningful.

In the song Mansion by NF, the entirety of the song is a metaphor that compares his brain to a mansion with his memories being rooms within the mansion. When he remarks, “My mind is a home I'm trapped in And it's lonely inside this mansion” he is acknowledging that he feels stuck in his head, which is either him saying he feels like he is stuck in his past, or it could be a reference to a mental illness that makes him trapped inside his own head. As the song continues, it becomes more clear that his supposed mansion is actually just “rooms” of his past traumas or hardships when he confesses “I look around, one of the worst things I wrote on these walls Was the moment I realized that I was losing my mom and one of the first things I wrote is I wish I would’ve called”. In these 3 lines of his song, it becomes clear that NF’s mansion is full of past regrets, and that the lyrics he is writing on his mansion's walls are actually past events. 

Personification is the practice of giving human characteristics to inanimate objects, places or things, and it puts a greater emphasis on the NF uses personification to describe fear. He talks about fear as if it were a living person that came into his life when he spits, “fear came to my house years ago, I let him in, maybe that's the problem cuz I’ve been dealing with him ever since”. By acting as if fear is a person, it makes it seem like a much more powerful emotion then if it were not given humanoid features such as walking into his house. It makes it seem like he really can’t get rid of it instead of it just being within his mind because of course it's harder to get rid of a person if they don;t want to go, and of course it's hard to physically force someone to leave. 

In NF’s lyrics he also uses imagery a lot to paint a picture in his listeners' minds because he continuously is describing the mansion that represents his head. He describes a desolate and depressing mansion when he says, “my mind is a house with walls covered in lyrics, they’re all over the place, There’s songs in the mirrors written all over the floors, all over the chairs, And you get the uncut version of life when I go downstairs” This description of his mansion is super important to the interpretation of the song because when most people imagine a mansion, they imagine a super fancy, decorated millionaire mansion, but NF’s description makes it seem as if maybe his mind is more like an old abandoned mansion that is neglected. 

The power of metaphors and other figurative language should never be overlooked, because as proven by this song, they can add varying levels of depth to any type of text. In NF’s song his use of figurative language helped him describe his complicated thoughts to his readers, and many rappers use metaphors to discuss serious topics. 

Riley Sonderegger

A mansion Of Memories

In the song Mansion by NF, the entirety of the song is a metaphor that compares his brain to a mansion with his memories being rooms within the mansion. As the song continues, it becomes clear that his supposed mansion is actually filled with “rooms” of his past traumas or hardships Throughout the song NF talks about more details of his mansion by using figurative language that mentions why his mind is a mansion, and what it’s like on the inside. He uses these metaphors to describe the negative aspects of his life as he shares difficult experiences he had growing up. To him his music is an outlet, and that is ever prevalent in this song.  

NF begins the song by explaining that his mind is actually a mansion by stating, “My mind is a home I'm trapped in “. When he says this, he is admitting to the audience that he feels stuck in his head. This can be interpreted in two ways, the first of which is that he is saying he feels like he is stuck in his past, while the second version is that it could be a reference to a mental illness that makes him trapped inside his own head. In these 3 lines of his song, it becomes clear that NF’s mansion is full of past regrets, and that the lyrics he is writing on his mansion's walls are actually past events. NF also mentions that, “ it's lonely inside this mansion” and this lyric calls attention to the idea that even though he’s wealthy and a known rapper, he may not have friends. This idea is further added onto later in the song when NF uses an idiom and says, “And I regret watching these trust issues eat me alive” which lets the readers know that even though he hates being alone in the mansion, he doesn’t let anyone else inside because he's been hurt in the past. To him this song could be the method of letting people into his mind since he is acknowledging that he has trust issues and that he's tired of being alone. NF’s use of figurative language throughout his song paints his mind as a mansion that he is stuck inside which represents him being stuck in his own head.

Throughout the song NF mentions a series of rooms within the mansion that represent past traumatic events and memories in his life. One of the rooms that NF describes houses a figure who is brought to life through personification. This mysterious figure is none other than fear himself, and NF talks about fear as if it were a living person that he can’t get rid of. NF mentions the torture this visitor bring when he confesses, “fear came to my house years ago, I let him in, maybe that's the problem cuz I’ve been dealing with him ever since”. By acting as if fear is a person, it makes it seem like a much more powerful emotion then if it were not given humanoid features such as walking into his house.. NF even goes on to say, .”He must have picked the room and got comfortable and settled in”. By designating a specific room in his mansion, NF makes it clear to his listeners that fear plays a huge role in his life. To him, he can’t make fear leave because its choosing to stay, and it has made itself comfortable in his mind. Later in the song NF also mentions a room that references abuse that he dealt with as a child. NF expressed this trauma when he spits, “Physically abused, now that's the room that I don't wanna be in” . Obviously, the abuse that NF faced was in the past, but having a room in his mansion designated to house that fear, it makes it glaringly obvious that he never got over the trauma he experienced as a child. This means that just like fear being constant in his mind, he also has his past traumas living in his mansion. NF’s usage of creating rooms for events in his past lets the reader know why NF feels so trapped within his own head. 

In NF’s song he consistently uses imagery in order to paint a picture in his listeners' minds that accurately describes the mansion that represents his head. He describes a desolate and depressing mansion when he says, “my mind is a house with walls covered in lyrics, they’re all over the place, There’s songs in the mirrors written all over the floors, all over the chairs,” This description of his mansion is super important to the interpretation of the song because when most people imagine a mansion, they imagine a super fancy, decorated millionaire mansion, but NF’s description makes it seem as if maybe his mind is more like a chaotic abandoned mansion. The idea of an old, possibly deteriorating mansion is brought up in the second verse of the song when NF states, “Yo my mind is a house with walls covered in pain”. The walls themselves aren’t covered in pain, however, because his lyrics are on the walls, and they are about his regrets and past traumas, being in his own head reminds him of all the pain. Therefore, when he says the walls are covered in pain he is referencing the memories that he can’t let go of. By describing the specifics of his mansion to his audience, NF lets them know that the mansion he’s stuck in is a scary place, and therefore his mind traps him and tricks him into living in his past. 

The power of metaphors and other figurative language should never be overlooked in any kind of text, because as proven by this song, they can add varying levels of depth based on the reader's interpretation.. In NF’s song his use of figurative language helps him describe the complicated thoughts that he has in his head, and furthermore figurative language aids him in describing how he feels stuck in his head. Many rappers use their lyrics in order to talk about difficult topics, and most of the time this involves the use of figurative language.

Women in the rap and hip hop community are consistently objectified and displayed as objects whose sole purpose is to please men. However, many female rappers attempt to destroy and end this stereotype through the lyrics they put into their music. One famous female rapper Queen Latifa chooses to combat the objectification of women in hip hop in her song U.N.I.T.Y. that has lyrics specifically designed to put men in their place and empower women. One of these lyrics is in one of the verses of her song when she says, "Everytime I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a ho, tryna make a sister feel low, you know all of that gots to go". With this lyrics Queen Latifa is calling out all of the men that try to use women and only want them for their body. The other way that Queen Latifa takes a stand against the unfair presentation of women in rap is by dressing in baggy conservative clothing instead of the tight, form fitting outfits that usually show up in rap videos. By wearing clothing that could almost be described as mens clothing (baggy shorts and a t-shirt with a baseball cap) she is also showing that clothing doesn't have an assigned gender, and women can wear whatever they want. The last way that Queen Latifa shows the power she carries is in her music video she is going around the city seemingly rallying people and bringing them together. By showing that she has power, and bringing together all types of people including men, women, and children Queen Latifa exerts her power as a women and proves that women should not be used and should not be objectified. 

Another female rap artist who is using her platform to empower women is Cardi B, and this is very apparent in one of her most popular songs Wap. While both Queen Latifa and Cardi B rap to empower women, the resemblence ends there. Unlike the conservative style of clothing the Queen Latifa dons in her music video, Cardi B appears in the stereotypical skimpy outfits that normally appear in rap videos. She also has on dramatic makeup instead of the natural look that Queen Latifa chooses to wear in her music video. While Queen Latifa expresses her power by showing that men and women can do the same things, Cardi B chooses to show women power by showing off her wealth and good looks. Even the lyrics that Cardi B chooses to use are seemingly derogatory towards women especially in the chorus of the song when she repeatedly says "theres some whores in this house", as well as later in the song when she raps, "tie me up like I'm a surprise". From these lyrics it seems like Cardi B is embracing the sexualized picture of women that is usually depicted in rap music. On the other side of the spectrum, Queen Latifa empowers women by showing them that they don't need to look a certain way. 

Riley Sonderegger

11/9/2020

The battle against feminism. Now. And Then. 

Rap music has become increasingly popular since its creation in the 20th century, and today many rappers use their platforms to talk about world issues such as poverty, or personal struggles. However, rap music has also been a stage for sexism and the objectification of women from the very beginning. This is shown in many music videos where women appear in seductive attire while the male rappers tend to rock jeans and other “normal clothes”. The blatant disrespect for women in these videos has resulted in backlash from female rappers, especially in modern times where there are in fact many prominent female rappers. The reason why so many female rappers have responded to this discrepancy is because it's not only a problem in the music videos and media, its a societal issue. Women are constantly being encouraged to change their appearances to match unrealistic beauty standards; the most popular standards in music videos being small waists paired with big butts. These discouraging stereotypes are pushing female rappers to use their platforms to voice their opinions on unfair beauty standards and broadcast the idea that all women are beautiful and don't need men to be successful or happy. 

Rap music has become increasingly popular since its creation in the 20th century, and today many rappers use their platforms to talk about world issues such as poverty, or personal struggles. However, rap music has also doubled as a stage for sexism and the objectification of women since the beginning. This is exemplified in many music videos where women appear in skimpy, seductive attire while the male rappers tend to rock jeans and other “normal clothes”. The blatant disrespect for women in these videos has resulted in backlash from female rappers, especially in modern times where there are in fact many prominent female rappers.

Women in the rap and hip hop community are consistently objectified and displayed as objects whose sole purpose is to please men. However, many female rappers attempt to destroy and end this stereotype through the lyrics they put into their music. One famous female rapper Queen Latifa chooses to combat the objectification of women in hip hop in her song U.N.I.T.Y. that has lyrics specifically designed to put men in their place and empower women. One of these lyrics is in one of the verses of her song when she says, "Everytime I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a ho, tryna make a sister feel low, you know all of that gots to go". With this lyrics Queen Latifa is calling out all of the men that try to use women and only want them for their body. The other way that Queen Latifa takes a stand against the unfair presentation of women in rap is by dressing in baggy conservative clothing instead of the tight, form fitting outfits that usually show up in rap videos. By wearing clothing that could almost be described as mens clothing (baggy shorts and a t-shirt with a baseball cap) she is also showing that clothing doesn't have an assigned gender, and women can wear whatever they want. The last way that Queen Latifa shows the power she carries is in her music video she is going around the city seemingly rallying people and bringing them together. By showing that she has power, and bringing together all types of people including men, women, and children Queen Latifa exerts her power as a women and proves that women should not be used and should not be objectified. 

Another female rap artist who is using her platform to empower women is Cardi B, and this is very apparent in one of her most popular songs Wap. While both Queen Latifa and Cardi B rap to empower women, the resemblance ends there. Unlike the conservative style of clothing the Queen Latifa dons in her music video, Cardi B appears in the stereotypical skimpy outfits that normally appear in rap videos. She also has on dramatic makeup instead of the natural look that Queen Latifa chooses to wear in her music video. While Queen Latifa expresses her power by showing that men and women can do the same things, Cardi B chooses to show women power by showing off her wealth and good looks. Even the lyrics that Cardi B chooses to use are seemingly derogatory towards women especially in the chorus of the song when she repeatedly says "there's some whores in this house", as well as later in the song when she raps, "tie me up like I'm a surprise". From these lyrics it seems like Cardi B is embracing the sexualized picture of women that is usually depicted in rap music.

Cardi B and Queen Latifah have two very different methods of fighting the sexualized stereotypes of women in the rap community, however this is all dependent on the time periods that these two rappers write their music in. Queen latifah wears baggy pants paired with a baggy shirt while Cardi B sports a neon leotard type outfit. This can be explained through changes in fashion trends over the years, not an artists personal preference. According to Men Style Fashion, "Gone are the days when rappers were characterized by wearing loose attires." This supports Cardi B's choice of clothing because it shows that it's not her sexualizing herself, but instead it is her way of fitting in and following modern fashion trends. On the other hand Queen Latifahs choice of baggy clothing also fits in with the early 90's fashion trends of loose clothing instead of form fitting clothes. 

Although it may appear that Queen Latifah and Cardi B are in fact fighting two opposite battles in reality that are both fighting for an increase in equality in the rap community. The reasoning behind there different methods of "fighting" is due to the almost 30 year difference in between the years their songs were published. Fashion looked very different in both time periods which is why Queen Latifah sports a modest look compared to Cardi B's flashy outfits. This is proof that even though times and trends change, people will always fight for what they believe in even if it looks different from person to person. 

https://www.menstylefashion.com/the-rebirth-of-hip-hop-fashion-in-2020/

https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/fashion-history-eras/grunges-influence-fashion

The Battle For Equality Then And Now

Rap music has become increasingly popular since it emerged in the late 20th century, and today many rappers use their platforms to broadcast world issues such as poverty, or to let out their personal struggles. However, rap music has also doubled as a stage for sexism and the objectification of women since its very creation. This is exemplified in many music videos where women appear in skimpy, seductive attire while the male rappers tend to rock jeans and other “normal clothes”. These trends from music videos objectify women and ultimately make it seem like the only job of a woman is to look good and please men. The blatant disrespect for women throughout these videos has resulted in major backlash from female rappers, especially in modern times where there are many prominent female rappers.

Women in the rap and hip hop community are consistently objectified and displayed as objects whose sole purpose is to please men. However, many female rappers attempt to destroy this stereotype through the lyrics they put into their music, as well as the  way they portray themselves. One famous female rapper Queen Latifa chooses to combat the objectification of women in hip hop in her song U.N.I.T.Y. that has lyrics specifically designed to put men in their place and empower women. One of these lyrics is in one of the verses of her song when she says, "Everytime I hear a brother call a girl a bitch or a ho, tryna make a sister feel low, you know all of that gots to go". With this lyrics Queen Latifa is calling out all of the men that try to use women and only want them for their body. The other way that Queen Latifa takes a stand against the unfair presentation of women in rap is by dressing in baggy conservative clothing instead of the tight, form fitting outfits that usually show up in rap videos.

 By wearing clothing that could almost be described as mens clothing (baggy shorts and a t-shirt with a baseball cap) she is also showing that clothing doesn't have an assigned gender, and women can wear whatever they want. The last way that Queen Latifa shows the power she carries is in her music video she is going around the city seemingly rallying people and bringing them together. By showing that she has power, and bringing together all types of people including men, women, and children Queen Latifa exerts her power as a woman and proves that women should not be used and should not be objectified. 

Another female rap artist who is using her platform to empower women is Cardi B, and this is very apparent in one of her most popular songs Wap. While both Queen Latifa and Cardi B rap to empower women, the resemblance ends there. Unlike the conservative style of clothing the Queen Latifa dons in her music video, Cardi B appears in the stereotypical skimpy outfits that normally appear in rap videos.

 She also has on dramatic makeup instead of the natural look that Queen Latifa chooses to wear in her music video. While Queen Latifa expresses her power by showing that men and women can do the same things, Cardi B chooses to show women power by showing off her wealth and good looks. By exemplifying her power and wealth without a single male figure in the music video, she is proving that a woman can be successful and happy without a man. Even the lyrics that Cardi B chooses to use are seemingly derogatory towards women, especially in the chorus of the song when she repeatedly says "there's some whores in this house", as well as later in the song when she raps, "tie me up like I'm a surprise".  From these lyrics it seems like Cardi B is embracing the over sexualized picture of women that is usually depicted in rap music.  

Cardi B and Queen Latifah have two very different methods of fighting the sexualized stereotypes of women in the rap community, however this is all dependent on the time periods that these two rappers write their music in. Queen latifah wears baggy pants paired with a baggy shirt while Cardi B sports a neon bodysuit type outfit. This can be explained through changes in fashion trends over the years, not by each artist's personal preference. According to Men Style Fashion, "Gone are the days when rappers were characterized by wearing loose attires." This supports Cardi B's choice of clothing because it shows that it's not her sexualizing herself, but instead it is her way of fitting in and following modern fashion trends. On the other hand Queen Latifah's choice of baggy clothing also fits in with the early 90's fashion trends of loose clothing instead of form fitting clothes. When the same concept of time periods is used to explain the difference between Cardi B’s display of power vs Queen Latifah’s theme of depicting herself as normal, the same results appear. In the 90’s when rap was still fairly new, women were struggling to express themselves and fight the stereotypes of women in the rap world. However, in modern times, women have figured out how to fight back  by showing their wealth. This is explained in an article by Nataki Goodhall on the evolution of black rap when she says “(r)evolution in female rap, it serves as a powerful, liberating association of black women's economic, psychological, emotional, and sexual independence” (Goodhall). This explains why Cardi B is flaunting her wealth because it shows her independence from her male counterparts, and proves the fact that she can be successful on her own. 

 Although it may appear that Queen Latifah and Cardi B are in fact fighting two opposite battles in reality that are both fighting for an increase in equality in the rap community. The reasoning behind their different methods of "fighting" is due to the almost 30 year difference in between the years their songs were published. Fashion looked very different in both time periods which is why Queen Latifah sports a modest look compared to Cardi B's flashy outfits. This is proof that even though times and trends change, people will always fight for what they believe in even if it looks different from person to person. 

Works Cited

Fashion, Men Style. “The Rebirth of Hip-Hop Fashion in 2020.” Men Style Fashion, 27 Oct. 2020, www.menstylefashion.com/the-rebirth-of-hip-hop-fashion-in-2020/. 

Goodall, Nataki H., and Search for more articles by this author. “Depend on Myself: T. L. C. and the Evolution of Black Female Rap.” The Journal of Negro History, www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.2307/2717669.