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

 In the music video for the song, “WAP”, by the chart-breaking female artists, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, they together convey a visual of sexual seduction. The video opens up with the cameras entering through the gates of a mansion, slowly zooming in on a fountain with a statue of nude females dispersing water as it enters the doors of the flooding house. The two then appear to be strutting the halls of a flooded mansion, wearing alluring outfits, surrounded by gold female body figurines on the walls. Inside of the mansion, the halls and rooms are brightly colored and disfigured, representing it as more of a fun-house that features exotic animals and women in every room. With that being said the camera goes door to door, displaying the different animals such as snakes and tigers, that deem a more intimate meaning with the song. They are both symbolic of the different body parts of a male and female.

 A main scene in the video captures the rappers dancing in a neon green and purple factory type room, with backup dancers wearing all neon green outfits and hair. This scene could remind a person of the infamous movie and book, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, that featured a varicolored factory with numerous different mystical creations inside. It can be presumed that the artist based their visual around that idea, due to the fact of the fun-house like mansion, with the involving of exotic animals and women, that represent them as a type of magical figures.

Moreover, although the lyrics of the song are explicit, the song and visual has a more symbolic meaning to it. The song radiates body positivity, it gives females around the world confidence to own their body, empowerment would be the ideal word to describe it. Soon after the song was released in August of 2020, the rappers gained hatred immediately following, by mainly male figures. Every time you listen to a new rap or hip-hop song, by any male artist, it never fails to hear vulgar lyrics that are degrading to a women’s body. However, the reigning controversial question is, how can men make sexist lyrics about women’s bodies, but when women rap about their bodies they receive hatred and disgust? 

Within the music industry, the female artist faces a continuous struggle of being judge by using their body to portray their image. Whereas, men in the industry, are praised for their misogynistic and sexist lyrics made about women in their popular rap and hip-hop songs. In the article titled “Rap Music, American Sociologist, Trica Rose, writes about how the dominance of men in the music industry would make women uncomfortable while they were present in the studios. Rose states, “for social, sexual, and cultural reasons young women would be much less likely to be permitted or feel comfortable spending such extended time in a male neighbors home” (Rose 23). With that being said, it can show how the indecent lyrics of a male artist can be offensive to most women around the world. In connection to the immense controversy over the internet-breaking song WAP, male figures can be viewed as hypocritical with their abundance amount of comments about it. 
 

In the final analysis, it can be seen that the music industry should start to normalize a woman incorporating body empowerment and confidence in their music. 

In the song, “A Milli”, by Dwayne Carter Jr, better known as Lil Wayne, the artist uses an array of figurative language and literary devices to portray the success of his rap career and sudden rise to fame. With lyrical phrases pouring throughout the entire song, you can see the visible use of metaphors, similes, personification, and many more. The rapper is much known for his lyrical wordplay, as he uses figurative language in most of his songs. Reasons rappers include figurative language in their songs is because rap is considered to be like poetry. 

Firstly, when the beat first drops, Wayne, jumps straight in and starts with, “I’m a young money millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair”. It is often said or thought that those who descend from a Nigerian or African root, have a tough hair texture. The rapper is implying that he’s tougher than it, however, so one can assume that he has gone through many trials before in order for him to label himself as “tough”. It is well known in the media that Lil Wayne didn’t have such an easy childhood. With his father leaving him at such a young age, he was raised in poverty with his mother. Which then led to him having his first child at the age of fifteen. Despite this, it ties into the overall theme of the song, which would be that his past trials did not holt him from his success. Instead, it molded and motivated him to go harder for himself, making him rise to his fame and success.

Secondly, not from far from his first verse, he comes again with another piece of lyrical wordplay. He compares himself to a women’s monthly cycle by saying, “I’m a venereal disease, like a menstrual bleed”. Carter makes this comparison to depict his music career and how he is always going to “come back”, elucidating a female’s monthly cycle. Wayne continues the verse and says, “through the pencil, and leak on the sheet of the tablet in my mind”. Meaning that like in comparison to a menstrual cycle, when the blood leaks, it is leaking through a pencil but not onto a sheet of paper, but onto the tablet of his mind. Thus, he is implying that he doesn’t write his lyrics down but it just comes to him and stays written down in his mind. Along with the menstrual reference, Lil Wayne could also be associating the “flow”, with the flow of his songs and music.

Wayne makes clever wordplay in the infamous line, “I’m ill, not sick. and I’m okay, but my watch sick”. This would be an example of irony because he is saying he’s “ill”, meaning cool but “sick” in an unwell feeling way. He goes on to say he’s not sick, meaning unwell, but his watch is, however in reference to his watch, he means sick in a ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ way. This use of irony is used to convey his success, showing that he wouldn’t have been able to have a cool watch or become cool himself if he had not become a millionaire; being a millionaire skyrockets his confidence and makes he feel ‘cool’.

All in all, all though there are numerous more examples of figurative language throughout the song. The final example would be the mood of the song. The obvious mood of the song is satisfaction. Wayne is happy that he has attained a status of wealth that he is comfortable with, bragging and flaunting the title of being a millionaire, This can be seen in the line “A million here, a million there. My criteria compared to your career just isn’t fair”.

In the song, “A Milli”, by Dwayne Carter Jr, better known as Lil Wayne, the artist uses an array of figurative language and literary devices to portray the success of his rap career and sudden rise to fame. With lyrical phrases pouring throughout the entire song, you can see the visible use of metaphors, similes, personification, and many more. The rapper is much known for his lyrical wordplay, as he uses figurative language in most of his songs. Reasons rappers include figurative language in their songs is because rap is considered to be like poetry. 

As soon as the beat first drops, Wayne begins with, “I’m a young money millionaire, tougher than Nigerian hair”. It is often said or thought that those who descend from a Nigerian or African root, have a tough hair texture. The rapper is implying that he’s tougher than it, however, so one can assume that he has gone through many trials before in order for him to label himself as “tough”. It is well known in the media that Lil Wayne didn’t have such an easy childhood. With his father leaving him at such a young age, he was raised in poverty with his mother. This affected his childhood and overall mindset, so without a father figure in his life, he was somewhat following the wrong path. This then led to him having his first child at the age of fifteen. Despite this, it ties into the overall theme of the song, which would be that his past trials did not hold him from his success. Instead, it molded and motivated him to go harder for himself, making him rise to his fame and success.

Secondly, following his initial verse, he comes again with another piece of lyrical wordplay. He compares himself to a women’s monthly cycle by saying, “I’m a venereal disease, like a menstrual bleed”. Carter makes this comparison to depict his music career and how he is always going to “come back”, elucidating a female’s monthly cycle. Wayne continues the verse and says, “through the pencil, and leak on the sheet of the tablet in my mind”. Meaning that like a menstrual cycle, when the blood leaks, it is leaking through a pencil; not onto a sheet of paper, but onto the tablet of his mind. Thus, he is implying that he doesn’t write his lyrics down, instead it just comes to him and stays written down in his mind. Along with the menstrual reference, Lil Wayne could also be associating the “flow”, with the flow of his songs and music.

Wayne then goes on to make clever wordplay in another verse which includes the infamous line, “I’m ill, not sick. and I’m okay, but my watch sick”. This would be an example of irony as he is saying he’s “ill”, meaning cool but “sick” in an unwell feeling way. He continues by saying he’s not sick (meaning unwell), but his watch is; in reference to his watch, he means sick in a ‘cool’ or ‘awesome’ way. This use of irony is used to convey his success, showing that he wouldn’t have been able to have a cool watch or become cool himself if he had not become a millionaire; being a millionaire skyrockets his confidence and makes he feel ‘cool’. The final example would be the mood of the song. The obvious mood of the song is satisfaction. Wayne is happy that he has attained a status of wealth that he is comfortable with, bragging and flaunting the title of being a millionaire, This can be seen in the line “A million here, a million there. My criteria compared to your career just isn’t fair”.

All in all, it is evident there are numerous more examples of figurative language throughout the song. Lil Wayne has shifted the rap game to the point where he is seen as a legend, and his flow, lyrics, and style are influential to many. Therefore, this song which contains various techniques is perfect to display his talent, which he proudly raps about in this track.

In music today, there is a countless number of new rappers make appearances in the music industry. However, most of these new rappers aren’t considered to be lyrical. After doing research, today’s generation considers the word lyrical to be, ‘a person on top of the rap game, that provides unmatched wordplay and ill skills’ or ‘a person who raps about different topics at a higher level than average rappers’. To compare, you can take a new rapper like Da Baby, a rapper that is good but not lyrical at all, to a superior rapper such as J Cole. Although both rappers have a successful rap career, it isn’t hard to notice a difference in their wordplay, messages, and experiences they rap about.

In music today, there is a countless number of new rappers make appearances in the music industry. However, there is a unique difference between each new generation and rapper. In today’s generation, we classify rappers as being a lyrical or non-lyrical artist. To be defined as a lyrical artist, people would say rappers who use clever wordplay to make the audience think deeper. Similarly, they could also be defined as an artist that uses their fame and music as meaningful content. The main comparison would be which is the most accurate definition of a lyrical artist. 

To start, two main artists that can help deter the definition of a lyrical artist would be Lil Wayne and J Cole. Both popular rappers are known for their clever wordplay and storytelling in their songs. In contrast, the two have key differences that make them the artist that they are. Lil Wayne is known for his unbeatable rhyme scheme and figurative language, which can be heard in his number one song “A Milli”, that was released in 2008. Compared to J Cole, who is an artist that raps about problems in the world as well as what he has been through in his past, that helps his audience understand and relate to him more.

Rap music, otherwise known as the ‘streets poetry’, is a broad topic with endless debates and possibilities. With new generations of artists and styles, rap has changed drastically over the years. To gain fame as a rapper in today’s generation you have to have a distinctive style to your music, being different gets you noticed. Comparing generations of rap is a topic that commonly comes up within conversations about rappers. In past generations, rappers would tell a story within their songs, whether they talked about their past or social problems that happen in the world. Compared to today’s generation of rap, where rappers just talk about their wealth and fame and use more vulgar language about sex and women. However, the most controversial question is, which type of rapper is best known for being lyrical? To be defined as a lyrical artist, sources would say that the rapper must use more clever wordplay to really make the audience think. Similarly, they could also be defined as an artist that uses their fame and platform to disperse meaningful messages that can deal with their past life stories or social problems. The focal comparison now would be which generational rapper, is known to be a more lyrical artist.

To start, rap music in the 90s to 00s built the blueprint for rappers of this current generation. For example, without legendary rappers like Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, Jay-Z, and countless more we wouldn’t have rappers like Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, and Mac Miller, who were influenced by the past rappers. To compare rappers of different times is a debate that some wouldn’t say was fair. Yet, the comparison of an iconic rapper such as Lil Wayne to a now influential rapper of his time, Kendrick Lamar, would be a more equitable debate as they are both considered a lyricist of their time. Both of these rappers are known for their clever wordplay throughout their tracks, along with their storytelling of problems within their music. In contrast, the two have key differences that make them the artist that they are today. Lil Wayne is known for his unbeatable rhyme scheme and figurative language, which can be heard in his number one song “A Milli”, that was released in 2008. Compared to Kendrick Lamar’s storytelling of world problems as well as the experiences he has faced in his past, which helps his audience understand and relate to him more, which can be heard in his song “Swimming Pools”, that was released in 2012.

In the final analysis, the debate of generational rappers is still ongoing to this day. As more newly uprising rappers appear in our generation, the more you will see a drastic change in rap music as time goes on. There is a thin line of comparison a person can do between legendary lyricists of past generations to now upcoming lyricists of today’s generation. Although Kendrick Lamar might have a more influential storytelling rap style, can he really be compared to Lil Wayne’s invincible wordplay that gave him his name of being ‘one of the best rappers of all time’? 

Brooklynn Stroud

Compare & Contrast Essay

3 December 2020

Composition I

Lyrical Vs Influential 

Rap music, otherwise known as the ‘streets' poetry’, is a broad topic with endless debates and possibilities. As rap music was influenced by other genres such as R&B, Soul, and Jazz, it started to become a way of expression and storytelling with music. Generations of rap used their platform to tell a story within their songs, whether they talked about their past or social problems that happen in the world. To start, rap music in the 90s built the blueprint for music today, such as legendary artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Jay-Z, and countless others. Each of these artists used their platform to talk about real-world issues and past experiences they went through which made them such a big influence on history.  However, the most controversial question is, throughout generations, can you compare a lyrical artist versus an influential artist? The answer would be yes, you can, and the greatest example would be Tupac Shakur versus Kendrick Lamar. 

Lamar is an American rapper, who started his career at the age of 16 in 2004. He has been named one of the most influential rappers of his generation and was influenced by rappers such as Biggie, Andre 3000, and even Tupac. He was born and raised in Compton, California as he came up in hardships of poverty, and grew up in a lower-class neighborhood. People describe Kendrick as being a lyricist to today’s generation. To be defined as a lyrical artist, sources would say that the rapper must use more clever wordplay to really make the audience think. Correspondingly, they could also be defined as an artist that uses their fame and platform to disperse meaningful messages that can deal with their past life stories or social problems. Although both of these artists rap about social problems and experiences, people would say Kendrick Lamar had more lyrical lyrics than Shakur based on his unique flow with the music. This idea can be clearly heard in his most popular song “Humble”, which was released in 2017, and held the billboard’s top 100 for five weeks. According to Genius, the song could be about a religious note “that could be a reference to the verse James 4:7, So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The upbeat song catches the perspective of Lamar wanting people to start being more humble with their fame, as he talks about his past experiences of being in poverty and lyrically states, “I remember syrup sandwiches and crime allowances, Finesse a n**** with some counterfeits, but now I’m countin' this”. Another example of his lyrical skill would be from his song “Ab-Soul’s Outro” written in 2011, where he states the verse “You’ve ever seen a newborn baby kill a grown man / That’s an analogy for the way the world make me react / My innocence been dead.” With this verse here, you can obviously see that he isn’t being literal, which will make the audience think on what is he really trying to say? When I first heard these lyrics, I started to think about the meaning, and in my opinion, I feel that he is talking about a common problem in today’s world, how some father figures are never there for their child, and how a baby can ruin some men’s world. Lamar’s lyrical ways are what makes him the artist he is for this generation, he isn’t rapping about wealth, fame, and money. Instead, he uses his platform to speak out about problems, and that makes his audience relate to him more.

Comparatively, Tupac Shakur is an American rapper, who grew up in New York, and gained his fame in the 90s. His music is legendary and is still kept alive today, mainly because he has influenced so many rappers now. He raps about the struggles he faced in his past, racism, imprisonment, and social issues in the world, however, he does so more in a poetic way, unlike Kendrick. Shakur’s music is known as being poetry, as almost each of his lines in a song has a rhyme scheme to it. For example, his hit song “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, tells a story about a young girl who is molested and impregnated but raps it in a poetic way. The lyrics read “So now what's next, there ain't nothing left to sell, So she sees sex as a way of leaving hell, It's paying the rent, so she really can't complain, Prostitute, found slain, and Brenda's her name, she's got a baby.” This track, along with many more of his hits, all have that end rhyme scheme very similar to poems you would read. With this, it made his music easy to understand and catch, although his lyrics weren’t put in a lyrical type of way like Lamar. However, you can see both of these rappers, rap about social and past problems in different yet similar ways.

With the numerous social issues we have going on in the world, more rappers are using their platform to speak out and share about it. Despite them not doing it in a more lyrical or poetic way such as Lamar and Shakur. For instance, Atlanta rapper, Lil Baby, used his fame to speak on the racial injustices that have sparked riots, in the song “A Bigger Picture”, which was released in 2020. In one of his verses he shares, “Every colored person ain’t dumb, and all whites not racist, I be judging by the mind and heart, I ain’t really into faces.” This portrays that he is rapping about the problems of the world, but he doesn’t do it in a way that will make the audience thoroughly think about what he is saying. In my opinion, you clearly know what he is talking about, which is to never judge a person by the color of their skin. People of the world would consider artists like Lil Baby, as a mumble rapper, that is a rapper who raps, yet their lyrics don’t really have a meaning to it that makes them different or unique. However, although Lil Baby lacks a unique style of rapping, he still uses his platform to speak out about social issues and real-world problems, like Kendrick and Tupac.

By using the examples of Kendrick Lamar, Tupac, and Lil Baby, it was to display the unique styles of rappers, and the influences they bring on the audiences. They each use their voice and fame to tell stories about their past and issues. In my opinion, the artist does this to show that it is more to the world than money, fame, and women. The most important thing is the influence it puts out on the audience. Each of these artists is such a big influence in their time because they rap about things like this. Whether they do it in a lyrical way or simply speak out about it, it is what draws such a strong audience to them. Unlike rappers who just mumble and use the vulgar language to flaunt their fame and the women they have. It is for the most part about the influence they have on their audience and the world around them

In the final analysis, you can see that whether the rapper has a lyrical skill like Lamar, a poetic flow like Tupac, or mumble raps like Lil Baby, what matters is the influence. Contrasting rappers of any time will always be a controversial argument because everybody gains their fame and legend differently. More artists are starting to use their platform to spread awareness of social issues either by storytelling or speaking on their past. Tupac Shakur has been such a significant influence on this because of his music, and it has impacted generations of rappers and forever will.  As Tupac stated in the 1994 MTV interview, “Every time I speak I want the truth to come out. Every time I speak I want a shiver.  I’m not saying I’m gonna rule the world or I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee you that I will spark the brain that will change the world", which is exactly what he accomplished.

 

Works Cited Page

• Armour, Warren. “Kendrick Lamar Fills a Void Left by Tupac.” Medium, Medium, 7 Apr. 2017, medium.com/@relativelywoke/kendrick-lamar-fills-a-void-left-by-tupac-dfdac7624553. 

• https://genius.com/Kendrick-lamar-humble-lyrics

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNSRx14s7B4 (Tupac MTV Interview)