Radical revisions of songs

Jay Z does an amazing remix of the old song "Forever Young" in his album Blueprint 3. This completely changed the rap game because it changed the style of rap forever. Splicing together different songs makes for a unique sound that many people found interesting. It draws a different crowd together. People of old generation were wowed that there music was being modernized into something that the current generation was listened to. Other artists like Pit Bull also jumped on the bandwagon by doing songs like "Dont stop the  Party." This revolutionized everything.

People like Lil Wayne also used beats from DOA. This brought in beats from old songs that many people had no idea would mix with other songs. Mix tapes began to use other people beats to make songs sound radically different. Hoodie Allen used Words of Wisdom to splice oldies beats with his song to give it a distinctive sound. Lil Wayne uses this technique again when he changes Kanye's song "All of the Lights."
Some peopleuse other beats without even knowing it. Vanilla Ice was caught in a a controversy when he sampled the song "Under Pressure" for his huge it "Ice Ice Baby." Even though he completely denied the claims that he stole the song from others,  he was still heavily scrutinized. Sampling and reusing beats have become a huge part of Hip Hop this generation.

Sex and Gender

          Sex and gender are often socially constructed themes within the hip-hop world. This culture tends to be extremely male-dominated. Many hip hop artists rap derogatory lyrics toward women, belittling the gender, and talk about females as if they are objects instead of human beings. The terms sluts, hoes, and bitches, are thrown around loosely referring to women in so many different songs.  For example in the song “Bitches” by Hollywood Undead, women are referred to as bitches and hoes throughout the entire song and talked about in very vulgar terms. The lyrics include scenes of having sex and video taping it along with other descriptive sexual lyrics mainly directed toward women. 

 Hollywood Undead's "Bitches"

 

 

These lyrics clearly exemplify a derogatory song towards women, however it is not the only song within the hip hop world that does this. More or less the entire world of hip hop music greatly focus on a male-dominating force and puts females down. Not all, but included in almost every hip hop song there is some aspect negativity toward the female gender or some type of boastful and bragging lyrics about men. Frequently men like to brag about themselves in their songs such as Childish Gambino in his song “Bonfire”. He raps about wearing nice clothes, new cars, having money, and getting other guys girls. He also raps about how other rappers try too hard, but he is better than all of them. 

 Childish Gambino's "Bonfire"- Listen to the lyrics

Another theme with in hip hop that tends to dominate the culture is heterosexuality or homophobia. As previously stated, generally hip hop lyrics include male artists rapping about females. Although these lyrics often tend to be extremely vulgar towards women, these male artists are clearly straight. Some believe that without the term homophobia, homosexuality would never be included within the hip hop world. Included in the lyrics, the term “homo” is often loosely tossed around referring to gay people. “No homo” began as slang in the 90’s and brought its way into the mainstream hip hop life. Many rappers use this term after a statement to pull away from any homosexual connotation. This slang phrase reinforces the evident homophobia within rap music. Lil Wayne uses this phrase very often within his albums and mix tapes. “Faggot” is another term against homosexuals frequently used within rap music to put them down. 

 Lil Wayne's "Ambition"- Use of the phrase "no homo"

 

 

As our world is becoming more tolerant to those who like the same sex, some hip hop artists are beginning to speak out as well.  There is a lot of controversy within the topic of sexuality in hip hop music and many people disagree with any sort of homosexual behavior, but others stand up for the rights of homosexuals and see them just like normal people. Macklemore’s song “Same Love” represents a song, which assists in understanding of homosexuals and their way of life. Although this song created uproar for some other artists, many people highly respect Macklemore for supporting homosexuals, understanding their love, and putting himself out there.  

Macklemore's "Same Love"

Looking at an Album as a Whole: Nas' Illmatic

From its humble beginning in the 1970s all the way up to the present day, hip hop artists have released an incredible amount of albums. With all of the incredible talent behind the albums, it is no shocker that there are so many high quality songs and such a debate on what the greatest album of all time is. An album that comes up frequently in the debate and is arguably considered the greatest hip hop album ever would have to be Nas' debut album "Illmatic"

This historic album was released on April 19, 1994 by Columbia Records and quickly rose to number 12 on United States Billboard 200 chart. The album sold more than 59,0000 copies in its first week yet it still fell below the initial sales expectations. Even though initial sales were lower than expected, word got out from critics that this album was a masterpiece and this idea quickly spread throughout the nation.

One of the main reasons for its immense popularity would have to be Nas' ability to tell stories in song and how impressive his lyrical content was. Throughout most of the album the listener can pick up on the fact that he is using events from his own life and portraying these events to his listeners. Nas takes his listeners on a journey through his hard life living in New York City. He focuses on the tough aspects of his life such as the high rate of violence between gangs, the extreme poverty that he had to witness and cope with everyday, and the rampant drug use in his neighborhood. One of the songs that portrays the gory violence and rampant drug use is " N.Y. State of Mind."

Not only was Nas considered one of the best storytelling rappers of all time, but he was also considered a lyrical genius. This means that when looking at the words that he is saying, they actually make sense and have deep, underlying meaning. Unfortunately today with artists like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy etc. we see less and less meaningful lyrics and artists with the ability to create masterpieces. Brilliant lyrics like " I never sleep cause sleep is the cousin of death" from "N. Y. State of Mind" ,which means he would always have one eye open because in the hood you never knew when danger or even death was close. Overall the album "Illmatic" is filled with with extremely intelligent lyrics throughout, which makes it arguably one of the greatest hip hop albums ever created. The songs " The World is Yours", "One Love", and "Life's A Bitch" are all songs that truly show why Nas is so great.  

Beyond The Words: Production and Videos

Ever since the introduction of MTV, there has been a growing importance of music videos and production in music.  Nowadays, some artists rely heavily on music videos to boost their sales and their reputation.  In genres other than hip hop, artists such as Miley Cyrus and OK Go have mastered the techniques of using music videos to boost their popularity. Hip hop is no exception to the fact that its artists also rely on music videos.  Artists use their videos to relay the message and the lyrical content in their music visually to the consumer.  The videos often demonstrate the emotions and the feelings that are in the lyrics.  One example of an artist doing this is Macklemore with his song "Otherside".

The production values in hip hop artists music is also very important.  Things such as the speed of the song, the speed of the rapping, the beat behind the song, and even the clarity of the artist's rapping contribute to the production values of the song.  All of these factors contribute to the overall way that the song is delivered and accepted my the song's audience. One song that demonstrates this very well is the song "Water" by the Roots.

Selling Out in Hip Hop

            Selling out. What selling out means, can be interpreted in several different ways. In hip hop, selling out is basically giving up what you support in order to get more money or fame. The thing with selling out in hip hop is that most people talk about it saying that they would never do it. But at the same time, isn’t everybody trying to get really rich and famous and have tons of fans?

            Granted, there are a lot of rappers who have “sold out” and stopped rapping about what they grew up on. But at the same time, they do it to make the money that all rappers try to make. The only difference is that they came up talking usually about much more violent and harsh things such as drugs and alcohol, whereas later on they start talking about more mainstream things such as dancing and partying.

            One example that commonly gets brought up is Jay-Z. He came up hood just like most rappers do. But now that he is very famous he talks completely different and about different things. You can see this when listening and watching the videos from his songs “Dead Presidents” and “Empire State of Mind”. The old song is more gangster rap, and the new one is about being rich and famous like he is.

This is what Jay Z used to sound like, which was a much harder and "realer" sound. Now he has gotten to be rich and famous and his songs sound completely different, such as in "Empire State of Mind".

It is hard to get very big in hip hop without having people say that you sold out. Everyone is in the rap game for the same purpose, to get rich and famous, and some people change over time in order to accomplish this.

Analyzing What We Say and Why We Say It

When it comes to hip hop music, many people (mostly people from older generations) would agree that the genre is solely made up of idiotic, vapid, crude, violent, dehumanizing lyrics that do nothing more than cheapen and degrade the English language and the human experience. Many people also believe that the artists making hip hop music aren't artists at all, and have a below average intellect.

However, when more closely analyzing the lyrics of a large number of hip hop artists, this stereo type can be easily broken. Although intellect is somewhat subjective, it is easy to see that many hip hop artists are actually very smart people, with quick clever minds, and they use that to further highlight the meaning/message of their songs. Their lyrics make this obvious, but because people rarely take the time to analyze them, their intelligence often times goes unnoticed.

A great example is Nas himself. In his song “I can”…

In this inspirational song, Nas makes several historical references (especially in Verse 3) including the forced displacement of black Africans to the United States during the Atlantic Slave Trade, ancient kingdoms in Egypt, the Mandingo Empire of Africa, Alexander the Great, and the favoring of white people in America ALL to emphasize his main point that knowledge is power so if you work hard, stay a good person, and dream big, anything is possible. This history lesson that even myself wasn't fully aware of, is a great example of a rapper using their knowledge and intellect to highlight the overall meaning of their song. 

And there are plenty more songs out there that also break the stereotype linking hip hop music to stupidity and pointlessness. 

You can also click and check out this cool   article   that lists just some of the MANY songs that do just that. 

Analyzing What We Say & Why We Say It

Have a conversation, check their Twitter, or check their Facebook of almost any student at FSU and you're bound to hear or see some hip-hop slang terms used. Whether it be words like "dope" and "tight" as replacements for words like cool, hip-hop has had an undeniable influence on conversational English. These terms don't necessarily begin in rap songs but rather in the poorer neighborhoods and projects that many rappers come from. The terms gain widespread use and popularity from songs that make it to the mass of listeners. One great example of this is the song "Racks" by YC which led to Tyga's song "Rack City" and before you know it everyone is referring to stacks of money as racks.

 

Often the most common creation of slang terms is when artists refer to drugs. Marijuana is often referred to as "reefer" and "kush" along with a vast amount of others. Type either of those two or others into youtube and a music video titled the word is most likely going to pop up first then followed by all the videos actually talking about it. This can be seen for other drugs as well such as ecstasy being called "molly." Hip-hop influences have seamlessly integrated into how we talk today and whether or not you actually listen to hip-hop its most likely still made its way into your vocabulary.  

Backpack Rap: Writing for the Subculture

A backpack rapper is someone who raps about their real, somewhat average life. They aren't known as "mainstream" and don't talk about all their money/cars/women/success. According to a friend that I asked, "A more mainstream rapper may write an entire track bragging about how much bling or swagg they have and how no one could ever measure up to them. But a backpack rapper may choose to focus on the injustice that he experiences or how his undesirable financial position makes daily life challenging."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwnZI01YdXE

A great example is Chance The Rapper, who is self-produced and constantly refers to events in his life, primarily his ten-day suspension in high school. I chose this song because he's sending a message that love is better than anything else, even the drugs and fame that comes along with being a famous rapper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzWxf7tf3Qo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP5e8HqVN0o

Some of the more mainstream rappers have a problem with backpack rappers. David Banner spoke out against it, claiming that it's a problem because "everyone thinks they can be a rapper now." However, most of the people who listen to backpack rap today like it more because it's definitely more relatable to listen to a song about hanging out in a fast food restaurant than being VIP at a club and getting to do whatever you want all the time.

People are often shaped by the place in which they grow up in. That is why rappers have a different style according to where they came from. Most rappers grew up in poor neighborhoods in the rough parts of town. They’ve witnessed drug deals, gangs, innocent deaths, and the struggle to stay alive. These rappers often talk about these experiences in their songs and let people know how growing up in the hood has made them tough and gave them street smarts. Just about all rappers are proud of where they came from, no matter how bad the location was. To them it was home. A good example of this would be Lil Wayne. He came from New Orleans and he makes it clear that it’s a rough place and no one should visit his town if they’re not from there. Nonetheless, he is still proudly representing the area in his music and his interviews. Growing up in the hood he was involved with smoking and drinking and violence and sex at a very early age. He accidently shot himself when he was young because he was rapping with a gun in his hand, and he says that his friend did the same thing. When he talks about these events he laughs about it and acts as if it is no big deal, but to anyone who didn’t grow up with that situation it would seem terrible. This happens with other artists with similar stories. The customs and happenings of the hood often become a part of their culture. Even as they grow successful, and are able to move away they still take a huge piece of that with them. Lil Wayne is still all about drugs, money, sex, and violence, so the hood has shaped him and most other rappers into what they are and will always be.

 

 

RACE & IDENTITY in HIP HOP

When most people think of hip hop they tend to associate it with a certain race and then associate that race with a particular identity. Now race only has to do with the physical attributes that someone has like, their skin complexion and facial features. Where identity is based more on a person, or groups, conception and expression of their individuality; and when you think hip hop its easier to see the rappers, DJ's, and fans sharing the same identity than to say they all have the same race. The idea of hip hop being more cultural than racial wasn't really apparent in the beginning years, mostly because at that time all of the rappers and DJ's were African American and hip hop was only heard in neighborhoods that were predominantly black. It took rap groups like the Beastie Boys, 3rd Bass and Cyprus Hill to show mainstream America that Whites and Latino's were apart of hip hop too.

The identity of hip hop was basically the same for about the first decade of its existence. This was just DJ's and MC's making and performing music that people could dance to and have fun. It wasn't until Ice T dropped his song "Body Rock", in 1984 that someone actually talked about violent things, like gangs, in their songs. You can say that Ice T played a big part in pioneering the whole idea of gangster rap because a year later the first real gangster rap record was released in by Schoolly D. This led to a big change in hip hop and led to a growth in west coast rappers, who mostly were gangster rappers. Then in 1988 NWA released their debut album, Straight Outta Compton. NWA along with many more rappers like, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube (as a solo artist) showed that hip hop's identity had changed to gangster. They justified their violent songs by saying that they represented the lives they lived in the inner city.

This gangster rap continued throughout the 90's but along with it grew many different sub-genres of hip hop, such as dance music, the 2 Live Crew, or more lyrical and relaxed music, like a Tribe Called Quest. Another area of hip hop that was growing were live performances and big concerts that had multiple, big time, artist participating. Hip hop's identity hasn't really changed that much over the past 15 years because you still have gangster rappers, dance music and lyricist. You even have rap groups that resemble those of the 90's. Hip hop is still expanding and is breaking through different generes. One of the biggest is rappers partnering up with house music and dubstep DJ's to make music that is loved worldwide. The most important thing is that  you now have way more rappers and DJ's from multiple backgrounds, races, religions and countries who now come together as one to share their love for the culture of hip hop. Now here's some live performances so you can see how crazy they are:

Race and Identity By:Taylor Woods

Often times when one thinks of hip-hop, the people and culture that it rose from is more often than not thought of as well, the identity and the race of hip hop. Race is the physical characteristics of a human being, their skin color, hair texture, eye color, etc. Identity is the base of any meaningful idea, the core parts, for hip-hop this identity envelops music, struggle, rhythm, and joy.  Russell Simons, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings once said, "The thing about hip-hop is that it’s from the underground, ideas from the underbelly, from people who have mostly been locked out, who have not been recognized.” In one sentence he sums up the identity of hip-hop. 

Hip-hop has always been composed of an identity and a race; more and more now a days the difference becomes much more clear. In the early days of hip hop the race that consumed this art was that of African Americans and that race only, seldom seen were any people of other races in the light of hip hop. For this, as other races began to creep into the realm, some did not take to this lightly, being that hip-hop was for African Americans, or so they thought. In the video below Blacking Out, you see the conflicts that arose when Caucasians began to embrace the art of hip-hop. They were seen as traitors to their own race, or that they were mocking the genre. This would have not been a problem if those who were narrow minded would take into consideration the identity of hip-hop, they would see that with the identity all groups of people were part of hip-hop.

Hip-hop is for all people who have been “locked out” or “not recognized” those who want a voice to be heard through a lyrical melody. In Common’s song “I Used to Love H.E.R.”  he discusses the identity that hip-hop has in the form of an allegory in which he personifies hip-hop to show it in its truest form.

Eminem was amongst the first to prove to the world that hip hop was not just for one race but was about fitting an identity, being able to relate to the music you created and to be at home with the artist in your genre. In the cypher below you see Eminem among the one and only Mos Def, one who will forever be known in hip-hop.

storytelling

As my dad always loves to say, it's a shame our generation has been taken over by the idiotic and annoying rap songs we hear today. Of course, anyone under the age of 35 completely disagrees. Fine, once I showed him the song, "walk it out" by UNK, I can understand why he might think of rap as (in his own words with an imaginary beat), "And you pick your nose and you don't know why...".   Obviously it's debatable that certain songs can be seen as annoying, but that doesn't take away from the fact that mostly every song has a story behind it. Even a song as repetitive as "Walk it Out" has the story of these rappers coming from nothing and making it big. In his second verse of Walk it Out remix, UNK says, "I walked it out the bank, with a lot of zeros. That's what my teachers called me, predictions like they Cleo. So I do my dance for 'em, then make 'bout forty thousand. I do that in a month, I'm on resorts and islands.." He's saying it's ironic how his teachers use to call him a zero, yet zeros are the only thing he's counting on his paychecks. He's just shoving it into their face when he brings up a teacher's salary of forty thousand by making it clear he makes that in a month. In my opinion, that's probably the worst example of a story within a rap song. That just proves my point that almost any rap song can have a story behind it. One of my favorite songs that has an incredible story to compliment it would probably be, "Live your life," by T.I. and Rihanna. Even though half that song is about being famous and all the great things that come with it, the song also emphasizes the importance of "stop lookin as what you ain't got and start being thankful for what you do got." T.I. also highlights the significance of ignoring all the haters because in the end, when you come back at them, it only fuels them to keep coming back at you. Money also being an important value of his life, he expresses how the time you spend retaliating is money you could be getting.

Telling a Story Through a Song

Hip Hop is often viewed as a simple ghetto music with little to no meaning by those who do not fully understand it. However hip-hop can be so much more. Hip-hop can be the medium for expression for those who cannot express themselves or be heard any other way. This is often known as story telling. An artist or a Hip-hop group will often aim to tell a story through their songs to either promote a message or bring the worlds attention to a critical issue in their lives.

One of my personal favorite examples of this is the song “My life”  by The Game featuring Lil Wayne. The song’s intro begins with a very dramatic scene of a break-in gone wrong with the robber getting shot at the end. Someone who does not understand the background to the song or the background to the musical style might see this as a senseless addition to the song, however, it is much more. This part of the song demonstrates in full what the message of the song is. This scene displays the tough lifestyle that someone who lives in the “hood”, to quote The Game, might have happen on any normal night, along with the hardships of everyday life. The song goes on from there to describe the “grind” of everyday life just to make it through the day. This is mainly to show the audience the hardships of life in the ghetto and the struggle to stay alive. This struggle is also later expressed through the game mentioning he wants to leave the hood. “Take me away from the hood/ like a state penitentiary./ Take me away from the hood/ in a casket or a Bentley./ Take me away...”(The Game). This is the exact essence of what story telling through Hip-hop is. The game through verses like this is telling his story of struggle and hardships that people need to hear. This is my personal favorite Hip-hop song that tells a story because I heard this at a time where I knew very little of the hood. When I first heard this song it changed my viewpoint on the hood a lot. This shift in viewpoint was mainly because I was young and very uninformed about conditions outside of the neighborhood that I lived in. The song, written with a story behind it, allowed me to branch out and see a bigger issue in the community around me.

            Another song that tells a story beautifully most would not even understand or think about. The song has a deep hidden meaning behind it that most would not understand. When I first played the song in my car with my dad, he grabbed the CD and threw it out the window, simply because he did not understand the meaning and took it the wrong way. The song is “25 to life” by Eminem. This song is a very violent song that sounds as if Eminem is yelling at a girl and all that she has done to him. However, it is so much more. The “girl” he is speaking of through out the whole song, and album, is not actually a girl, but rather fame in general. Through this song Eminem tells his story about his battle with fame and all that came with it and how it was not good for him. However, those who do not know the story are often turned off by this song due to its vulgar language against what they think is an actually girlfriend. This is Eminem telling his personal story in a song that can be heard and played over modern Hip-hop stations.

The Hip Hop Matrix

      Houston A. Baker, an American scholar, ideologist, and author, defines a matrix as, "a womb, a network, a fossil- bearing rock, a rocky trace of a gemstone's removal, a principal metal in an alloy, a mat or a plate for reproducing print or phonograph records." His version of a matrix led him to create the idea of a "Blues Matrix" during the Blues Era (mainly post WWII- 1980s). This matrix was composed of the thoughts, ideas, lyrics, and beats to the songs written and sung. The Blues Matrix is how the elements of lifestyle, emotion, and reality come together and form blues songs. Blues is the name given to the musical genre that originated in African- American communities, primarily in the "Deep South." These songs included jazz and rock and roll, with lyrics similar to that of chants and work songs. Speficially, Baker studied and disected the Afro- American culture. He drew connections between their songs and their lifestyle, such as their history of slavery and suppression. Each of these elements thus led him to creating the idea of a, "Blues Matrix."
       Currently, the "Blues Matrix" has evolved and the music associated within it has done so too. By the late 1980s, the blues music had slowly transformed and incorporated more of an upbeat tempo and rock and roll to it. As it rapidly metamorphozed into a new style of music, hip hop was born. Hip hop originated in the 1970s by commonly being played at African- American neighborhood house parties in the Bronx. Likewise with blues music, hip hop songs were written about lifestyles and emotions, primarily African American, at the time. Contrastingly however, the blues era dealt more with working, drinking, hardships, and love. This newly invented "matrix," the hip hop matrix, included new social activities and emotions such as love, money, drugs, and materialistic items.
      Through a music revolution towards the 1980s' end, hop hop was created. The newly upbeat and lyrical music style was once again reinvented by the African American culture. Singer James Brown is widely considered as an influence and "godfather" to the creation of this new genre. Thus. yet another form of singing had emerged and became popular rapidly. Following the rapid popularity of hip hop was a new genre called rapping or emceeing. Emceeing included raps and lyrical rhymes that were sung by the rapper or emcee. These songs differed greatly from those of the blues era mainyly due to the fact that society had changed and African Americans were faced with new social issues. For instance, in the song, "The Bridge is Over," by the Boogie Down Productions, there is a clear battle that is expressed between the parts of New York. The Bronx think they are the founders of hip hop and the Queens think that they are. "Manhattan keeps on makin it, Brooklyn keeps on takin it, Bronx keep creatin it, the Queens keeps on fakin it," exemplifies that point to a tee. A "battle" between the groups develops and songs become insults to each group.
     Currently, the hip hop matrix still exists, and has transformed from the 1990s. If a music analyst were to compare the three generations of music to one another, they would almost seem unrelated. The blues' beat was much more upbeat than the singing itself, yet today it is completely opposite. The singing is more dominant than the beat iself. Although they have their differences, each generation of this music leads back to the African American culture in the "Deep South." The matrix that exists today includes songs that reflect upon the American dream, hardships of African- Americans, Americans, drugs, money, and females. The majority of the present day hip hop and rap songs include at least one of those elements listed above. "Started from the bottom now we're here," is probably the most used phrase now due to the song, "Started for the Bottom." It describes how the African- Americans have come from being at the bottom of the "foodchain," to reaching heights of becoming the United States President. Ace Hood's song, "Bugatti," puts an emphasis on one of the world's most materialistic desired items and how he "woke up" in one. These rap and hip hop videos include the finest of luxurious in their music videos. Almost none of the newer music videos show hardships faced by the culture. Most show the benefits and luxurious they have. This current hip hop matrix that surrounds us today is much larger than most of us realize. It dates back to the 1920s and has been revolutionized in infinite ways. By looking at each era one by one and diagnosing how music transformed, it becomes clear that there was a significant social change in the African American community from the Blues Era to present day music.

 

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