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

Daniel Barrs

Dr. Aron Pease

English 1101

11 September 2020          

              Gansta's Paradise

                      In the movie, Dangerous Minds, the hip-hop song, “Gangsta's Paradise”, is portrayed throughout the movie. The music video is about a teacher that goes to a gangster for help for one of her students that is in the “Gangsta’s Paradise.” The music video cuts between two scenes; one the gangster, Coolio, explaining the life of a gangster, and the other scene shows the story between the teacher and one of her students fighting the “Gangsta’s Paradise.”. This storying telling is portrayed in the article, Rap Music, by stating, “The power of rappers’ voices and their role as storytellers ensured that rapping would become the central expression in hip hop culture” (20). The music video and the song, “Gangsta’s Paradise” expresses a variety of elements that express why Coolio wrote one of the best hip-hop songs in history.

               The picture above shows how dark and serious the tone is in the video. The point of view that is portrayed by Coolio is showing that once a person goes into the world of a “Gantsa’ Paradise”, that person cannot get out.  This setting goes throughout the music video showing one that the female and the Coolio are very serious about getting information on how to get out of the life of a gangsta paradise. In this shot, the audience does not know who else could be in the room. The room is very gloomy and has graffiti on the walls. This theme is similar to the song Hotel California by the Eagles where they portray that once a person does drugs, that person cannot be clean. Also in this picture, the video shows a slow pace motion of the camera that represents the point of view of the music video. When the camera zooms out of both the characters in the song and when the camera zooms out it goes left to right very slowly. Coolio wants to put these two shots as his frame of the song. The position of Coolio in the music video is a mentor. The teacher is seeking the help of how to get her students out of trouble.

                The shot above, even though is a shot from the movie, is also a shot from the movie. This expresses the brilliancy of storytelling in hip-hop culture.  The shot above shows the teacher trying to help a student not to get in trouble, but she is too late. In this shot, the audience can see two cops in the shot. The funniest thing in this shot is the facial expression with the cop to the left. Is expression shows, “look lady, this happens every day, let us do his job?” But the strange thing is that you do not get to see the face or facial expression of the cop to the right, all the audience sees is them too talking. Throughout the video goes back and forth with these two scenes. Coolio wants the audience to see the true meaning with the bold background in the first scene and then tells a story of when the cut shows anything other between the two in the darkroom. That difference between slow pace songs is different today where it is fast pace beats and very quick shots.

The two scenes above perfectly show storytelling. The two scenes show the sequence in the music video. The first show Coolio breath as the frame shows how serious this talk between him and the teacher. The smoke from is breath is like an exclamation point to his experiences of being a gangster. Then shows that when her kids(students) enter the Gansta’s Paradise, those kids cannot leave. The result of that is negative consequences in life. As said throughout this essay that Hip-hop is all about storytelling. That is what separates the two genres of rap and hip-hop. Rap is more of a message and hip-hop is a message plus story selling.

Rose points out that, “Rap is heavily on oral performance, but is equally dependent on technology and its effects on the sound and quality of vocal reproduction” (21). Coolie does this buy saying his words clear as clear can be. Also, the beat of the song is catchy, both make a combination of greatness. In the music video, the words of the song are advice, and the video itself is a story. Together makes a powerful story as stated" that hip-hop's anger is produced by contemporary racism, gender, and class oppression" (27). This statement is the soul message of this song by with the point of view, style, and the sequence of the song.  

Daniel Barrs

Dr. Pease

English 1101

10 October 2020

Gansta's  Paradise

The artist Coolio made his mark on the hip-hop world with one of the best hits of all time, Gansta’s Paradise. Coolio expresses his true meaning through his words in the music through a paradise that no one should be in, like the bible says we are all sinners and there is no way out of being truly innocent. This song is a warning to people that are in this paradise. This song provides heavy figurative language throughout the song. The significance of the song’s figurative language makes the song a deeper meaning than just he did this, and a person should not do this. The type of language that is used provides examples of life experiences and puts a universal statement that everyone in the world can understand.

In verse one starts with “As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death/ I take a look at my life and realize there’s nothin’ left.” This is an allusion to the bible verse Psalms: 23:1-6, stating that nothing is going to stop him that he is just riding along to his death. Coolio has realized that he has dug into deep with his life problems. For example, Coolio says,” … homies might be lined in chalk. This is referring to when in homicide crimes that when a person dies, to keep where the body was found the homicide detectives draw a checking line around the body. Coolio is warning people not to cross him. These two examples can be implying to the “paradise” allusion in the song but when people think about a paradise most people would think of being on a beach. However the Coolio portrays a more dark view of a paradise, this is a paradise (reality of inner city problems) that people do not want to be in but are stuck because that person is stuck in a “paradise” they believe is good because they indulge themselves in the illegal activity of the sex, drugs, money laundering, and fighting. Then, that person is “so blind” to see the true reality that they are about to end their life or future because that person enjoys the short-term things in life than seeing the long-term. This is what Coolio wants to warn people today is that most people are in a certain state of a “paradise” (good or bad), he is just trying to warn them of what is to come.

In the chorus, “Been spendin’ most their lives living in the gangsta paradise” is a metaphor comparing the verse behind the chorus to the idea of the song. Whenever Coolio speaks he is talking about his problems then it goes to the chorus. This metaphor is to explain that when a person doing drugs, violence, sex that he or she can be consumed by the gangsta paradise. And has that person realize that what he or she is doing wrong they are already in the gangsta paradise and that their lives will end quickly.  The song ends, “Tell me why are we so blind to see/ That the ones we hurt are you and me/ Tell me why are we so blind to see/That the ones we hurt are you and me.” The two lines repeat emphasizing why when people get into the life they wasted, why do they help themselves and others. Coolio wants people to know that they can be a way out of this life if you just get the help they need but he also puts a warning that if not get out of this life then you will hurt yourself and your loved ones. Another example of the allusion of a good and bad paradise would be when Coolie says "Power and the money, money and the power/Minute after minute, hour after hour/ Everybody runnin', but half of them ain't lookin'. We as humans are blind to see the ugliness in the goodness of pleasurable events that it could destroy our lives, for example, money. Money can be a dangerous tool in life, that keeps people caught up with the greediness they are blind to see the people they left behind.

Coolio song Gangsta Paradise provides figurative language like allusions, metaphors, and repetitions to provide his experience in life and to warn people not to go that way because all it would do is destroy their life. It may be fun in the short run but ugly in long run. Coolio makes his message very that this paradise he or she is at is not at all a good place to be. Coolio states that his life could end before he gets to 25 years old because of the paradise he lives in. Coolio wants people to find a different paradise where life and families are not destroyed but without light there is darkness in the world.

Daniel Barrs

12/3/2020

The battle between NF and Eminem

Most rappers today look at the problems in the world than in the inner self. Rappers or any artist in any genre today looks at social injustice, objectifying women, property, gender issues. The reality is that the genre of “rap” has run away from the genre of hip-hop that when most people think of hip-hop they think of rap. Most of the rap today is mumble rap about sex, drugs, and doing other illegal activities. There are no true rappers today that speak about the true issue but, NF and Eminem are two hip-hop artists that do portray a message in their songs. NF and Eminem are compared to each other a lot because they share a bond in their taste where each rapper talks about their problems. These two rappers, Eminem and NF, are about boasting and emo rapping to the world. Eminem focuses on boasting rap where he just attacks his other rappers where it is the person in the world and he is on top like a “god”. Though NF is big on emo-rap, the emo style, that is why he so popular because just like Billie Eilish they talk about inner problems like family issues, depression, guilt, pride (Eminem is big on this).

The way the two rappers talk about their issues is quite different. The article Toasts, Boasts, and Coasts: Hip-Hop On The Frontline by Ian McCann state, “The concept of proving yourself and taking on all comers became part of hip-hop’s DNA, surfacing regularly: Run-DMC’s ‘Sucker MCs’, LL Cool J’s ‘Mama Said Knock You Out’, EPMD’s ‘Strictly Business’, Ice-T’s ‘Rhyme Pays’… you couldn’t be an MC without promising to crush your rivals regularly.” This what the main part of Eminem style is based on is dishing people out because he believes that he is the only good rapper out there because the rest of the rappers focuses on “mumble rap”. Eminem shows this in his music videos move at a faster pace than the NF videos but there are a lot more figured langued in his songs. For example, the song Rap God states” Rappers are havin' a rough time period, here's a maxi pad/It's actually disastrously bad for the wack/While I'm master construction this master peace." Eminem is alluding to how all these new rappers today are rapping nonsense with their beats and lyrics that Eminem could make a peace that could destroy them. He is calling the rappers how they are not sticking with the script of rapping original. All of this is Eminem showing self-confidence, boasting characteristics, that he wants to be number one, that he wants to be the “God of rap” because he in his lyrics only knows how to rap about the rapping. Another example would be the intro to the song,” Look, I was gonna go easy on you not to hurt your feelings,” These two quotes show that Eminem is prepared to do everything in his talent to roast his opponents and express that he is just as a greater rapper than his opponents that has been rapping for ages. The website tvtropes.org has a section on boasting rap stating,” Boastful, self-aggrandizing songs occur in all genres, but it’s particularly common for Rappers to about they’re badass/what they can do.” Eminem shows all the characteristics of being a boasting rapper because all he wants to do is to rewrite the script and to set the record straight. This shows how fast the Eminem popularity level increased extremely fast. The song Rap God has over a billion views on YouTube.

 On the other hand, NF shows a lot slower rhythm of taste, but the song let you down also shows inner-conflict except this song deals with the negative side. The article, The death of Lil Peep: how the US prescription drug epidemic is changing hip-hop by Ben Beaumont-Thomas states the characteristics of emo rapping as the “ This style is also called “emo”, but where that word has previously been used to describe punks who analyzed their own emotions with a forensic level of detail, here the emotion is underanalysed: these rappers feel bad, but they’re not sure why.” NF songs are just a big figured language with the inner conflict of what the artist is dealing with. NF does this by providing a bigger picture in his songs instead of a fast-past song. NF uses the persuasive method of ethos to get to his viewers, and it has been successful. The song let you down start with the chorus stating, “Feels like we’re on the edge right/I wish that I could say I’m proud/ I’m sorry that I let you down.”These chorus lyrics repeat every time a verse happens to show that NF is dealing with this pain that he has failed the person he wants. The figured langued is that the hold song is that NF is alluding to a time in his past where he made a wrong mistake in life that ruined a friendship or a relationship in his life. NF wants to remind us as humans that we all have these inner issues that deal with a broken heart that can’t be fixed no matter what the person does and all he or she does, all that person can do is say sorry, “I let you down”. The website recordingarts.com has a piece about the evolution of emo-rap stating, “Emo rap lyrics also tend to reflect levels of emotion that simply weren’t acceptable part of hip hop in prior decades.” The reason why NF is so popular is that he applies to the emotions of a teenager, and rappers like Xxxtentacion are so popular because they do the same. The comparison between these two songs, Rap God and let you down, shows that NF wants to appeal to the emotion with depression and guilt which would be the emo rapping side and Eminem wants to appeal with hype and a little bit of hostility towards his songs and this would be on the boasting side of hip hop.

To not to say that the sub-genre of boasting and emo rapping cannot share characteristics of both inside the songs. Eminem shows characteristics of emo rapping in his boasting songs and as does NF shows boasting in his songs. The song Eight Mile by Eminem starts with,” Sometimes I just feel like/Quitting I still might/Why do I put up this fight?/Why do I write?/Sometimes it’s hard enough just dealing with life.” This shows that Eminem is struggling with life explaining he should just quit in life and not even try to give his opinion in life because he felt that no one will listen. He is dealing with depression in the opening of this song. It clearly shows emo characteristics but the song quickly goes back to the boasting rap with the lyrics stating,” I’m a man/I’m a make a new plan…Sorry momma, I’m grown/I must travel alone.” Eminem goes back to his regular self by claiming he is the best out there and needs to do it alone. At the same time, NF shows qualities of boasting in his song, Leave me alone. The first verse states, “My description, highly gifted, take some notes, yeah/Lack of interest, why'd you visit? Hit the road, yeah/I'm kinda twisted, so keep your distance, be a ghost” NF wants to reclaim his dominance in this song saying that he is number one nut them he goes again back to the emo-rap style by stating in the third verse” Hold up my balloons and cover up my face…But I’m scared if I do, then I’ll be more afraid. NF goes back to showing his inner problems by saying that he is too scared to go in public and he wants everyone to leave him alone. Because the emo style can be in a boasting song and same with boasting song with the emo-rap, a new sub-genre has combined the emo style with the boasting style of rap to make an emo-boasting song.

The significance of the emo style of rap and the boasting rap style is important because it makes it possible to combine the two sub-genre into one sub-genre where you see rappers like Kanye West that can combine the to styles of hip-hop. Also, the rapper Tom Macdonald is becoming extremely popular because he does the same as combining the two sub-genres into one The point being is that this affected our society has how you see more and more artists doing boasting about their emotions. This type of new hip-hop is driving out the mumble rap style because people want to relate to themselves in society but be proud of it. The article, The Rise and Importance of Emo Rap, by Michael Beausoleil states,” The emo-rap movement differs from most other rap songs in its introspective approach. Drug use isn’t about getting high, it’s about masking the pain. One night stands aren’t for fun, they’re about a need to avoid the loneliness of heartbreak.”  This can prove that boasting the rapper emo can bring awareness in the world to like drugs and depression. Anyway, the point is that when these artists boast about their emotions makes people question themselves, the government, the world, everything. The power of emo rap and boasting rap is so much more than back in the day where a few people would listen; now with the power of one song, with the two styles, can change the world in a heartbeat. Combining the two styles can be done for the greater good.

 

Work Cited Page:

                                                                                                           

1)“Boastful Rap.” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BoastfulRap. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

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2)McCann, Ian. “Toasts, Boasts And Coasts: Hip-Hop On The Frontline | UDiscoverMusic.” UDiscover Music, 4 Feb. 2016, www.udiscovermusic.com/in-depth-features/toasts-boasts-and-coasts-hip-hop-on-the-frontline/.

3) “Evolution of Emo Rap.” Recordingarts.com, 2010, recordingarts.com/record/evolution-of-hip-hop/emo-rap. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

4)Fetty, Harlem. “The Death of Lil Peep: How the US Prescription Drug Epidemic Is Changing Hip-Hop.” The Guardian, 16 Nov. 2017, www.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/16/death-lil-peep-us-prescription-drugs-epidemic-hip-hop-rapper. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

5)Beausoleil, Michael. “The Rise and Importance of Emo Rap.” Medium, 22 Feb. 2018, beausoleil.medium.com/the-rise-and-importance-of-emo-rap-d9b3d8ae004f. Accessed 3 Dec. 2020.

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