Over the past few weeks, we have had rich dialogue about old and current topics in HH. We've discussed mental health issues such as: depression, suicide and paranoia. We began with TuPac and are now learning about Ruff Ryders, most notably DMX. Death or near-death experiences have dominated HH for years too. So, I ask you to share what real life sh*t from HH resonates with you the most and why? Be sure to include an image, audio, song lyrics or video (if applicable) to help emphasize your selection.
Due: Fri., 11/4/16 by the beginning of class.
While in this HH discourse class, I learned a lot about Hip Hop that I probably would have never thought about. I learned that its not just a " song", it's more to it. When we learned about tupac, I realized that rappers are real people to. When they make songs, its not only to entertain but to get out their true feelings. I feel like when we dug deeper into the meaning of the songs that we all love , it portrayed the mental health issues that we discussed such as depression, suicide and paranoia. I think what often happens is that we forget that rappers have a life "behind the scenes" and that they experience real life sh*t just like we do. A lot of these rappers were from the hood, and even when they started to get big they still represented their hood ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb1ZvUDvLDY). In the link I pasted was a song from
ReplyDeleteTupac. He was explaining how it was growing up with a single parent and how he appreciated his mama even though she wasn't perfect. I picked this song because it is very relatable and I feel that is his purpose for the song. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dmx/slippin.html
This is another link for the lyrics to the song slippin by DMX. I feel like he sounded very depressed in this song. To conclude, rappers have feelings and they go through real life sh*t just like us. The music is not just entertaining but it is relatable.
Artist hold a lot in that still bother them to this day. And sometimes I think it gets to them that they cannot be treated like a human being when they become famous. They have so many expectations to accomplish however people do not realize that sometimes celebrities have break downs and depression as well. They are humans and I believe Tupac definitely displayed that through his music.
DeleteSo many people are blind to that fact that artist do have feelings and they do go through real life shit just like the rest of us. If you really sit down and read the lyrics to your favorite song you will catch the artist dropping hints about their personal situations dealing with depression and survivors guilt. People act like artist arent supposed to feel like this because of what they have. Someone with all the money in the world isn't supposed to be sad all the time. Why be sad and depressed when you can buy happiness.
DeleteOne artist that resonates with me is 50 Cent. Before he became the music icon that he is today, 50 Cent was dealing with what the HH world call "real shit". 50 has been through near-death experience in his life and he has came back stronger, his stories live through his music. 50 has a song called "Many Men" where he says "Many man wish death upon me blood in my eye dawg i can't see i'm tryna be what i'm destined to be and niggas tryna take my life away""many men wish death on me dawg i don't cry no more". 50 is saying some real shit. After being shot multiple times and hospitalized 50 came back stronger than before the incident. This is why 50 cent resonates with me. People tried to knock him down and he came back even harder than before.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D3crqpClPY
This class has opened my eyes up so much towards the HH industry. Tupac being my favorite discussion because I never listened to tupac until this class, A song that caught my eye we did not talk about in class but its a song I can relate to called so many tears by Tupac. the song is so powerful being that I can connect to the lyrics such as the first line of the song stating "Back in elementary school, I thrived on misery Left me alone I grew up amongst a dying breed" this was so strong because Tupac is stating by saying elementary school giving off a impression that tupac has been stress and feeling lonesome since he was young. then he states "Inside my mind couldn't find a place to rest until I got that Thug life tatted on my chest" showing weakness of how he did not feel safe and was sleep deprived and his tattoo made him get comfort that he was living a (THUG LIFE). going farther in the song he states how he has " So many homies in the cemetery, and how he lost so many peers and shed so many tears". This made me relate because I lost three close friends while in school last year back home in charlotte. I remember breaking down and not knowing how to react that I couldn't change death or life. I relate this song because it showed so much pain and hurt and its ok to shed tears....switching gears to another one of his songs called "Life Goes On " showed be that no matter what the situation who is gone or still present keep yah head up and keep living. I really enjoy tupac music since taking this course and I will continue too listen and analyze and understand his stories.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you finally got a chance to listen to Tupac because he was definitely blunt and outspoken rather if he was on drugs or not. To be honest I think everyone can relate to something throughout his lyrics. I know everybody did not sell drugs, lived a thug life or lose love ones while they was little but it is other things like showing respect to the mothers or the women, he talked about how he don't see no changes, but we need to keep our head up so we can make some changes. These are things people believe now in our society so he his someone great to listen to.
DeleteAs a result of the material that we have covered over the past few classes, I have become more aware of the different messages that some artist send throughout their music. Real life sh*t from HH that resonates in me is the whole concept of some HH artist dealing with depression and thoughts of suicide. I never looked at HH artist as individuals with that went through real life problems. Due to these thoughts realizing that successful artist have their own issues pertaining to being in a dark place surprised me. For example in the song Slippin by DMX, he speaks on the various ways he went through depression and how he had to pick himself back up in hopes of being there for his kids(https://youtu.be/9Ww-TQUeA3E). When it comes to suicidal thoughts, artist like Biggie and Kendrick Lamar are guilty of expressing their thoughts about it in their music. Both of these artist let the world know yes I am successful, but no that is not always enough to motivate me to live. As a whole, I have learned that no one is exempt from dealing with real world problems. Being famous or being black for that matter doesn't qualify you as superior to those who go through real like sh*t on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteWhile in this HH class I have been introduced to new ways of thinking that I never would have thought of if I wasn't apart of this class. The way I would think about a song seems so simple compared to how I think now. I now know that a song just isn't its catchy beat but something deeper, I hadn't thought that a song could actually be about how an artist is feeling or about an experience the artist has gone through. I think that I didn't realize that because there isn't a lot of music today where artists sing or rap about real life experiences, but the artists that we have been talking about like Tupac, Biggie, and Scarface showed me that music can mean something deeper and it can be a way of talking about the things you may be feeling or going through. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqky4dSGJnE in this link Grandmaster flash in his song The Message is talking about how he feels living where he lives and how he is tired of the conditions of his living space. He talks about the struggles of living there and how he tried to leave but he can't, he also talks about others struggles and the chorus that repeats is don't push me cuzz i'm close to the edge i'm tryin not to lose my head. To me that is saying I really can't take too much more of what i'm going through, and I chose this song as an example because I can relate to being at my breaking point and being fed up with a situation I was in.http://www.bing.com/search?FORM=SK2JDF&PC=SK2J&q=kanye+west+power Kanye West's song Power at the end talks about just letting go and at the end there's a line saying you got the power to let power go. And I thought that was a very powerful statement because it's saying do you have the power to end it all for yourself? and I never really caught what that line could mean until I read the lyrics and listened to the song and it really made me realize we may think these artists have these perfect lives and they don't go through things like depression, and that they don't have suicidal thoughts at times but they do. They go through the same things as a normal person we just don't hear about it or think about it, but they speak through their music and now that I have taken part in this HH class it has made me think deeper when listening to music so that I am able to not only listen to music but analyze it as well.
ReplyDeleteThere were several things that stood out to me in the HH class. The first section that stood out was when we talked about the Byron Hurt video and how different scholars, professors, and different singers that explained what happened between the allegations from the Nelly controversy in his song called "Tip Drill." One of the statements that stood out to me was the fact that Sarah Jones, a performance artist, explains that women that are portrayed in music videos typically are insecure. Women that are featured in music videos believe that men are important and so powerful. Women are portrayed as eye candy. Another moment in the documentary is one of the guys who also was featured stated that African-American women who are portrayed in music videos is not so radically different from the perspective of the 19th century slave master. Another moment that stood out to me was when we talked about the mental health issues that rapppers face in the past and the present. For example, Notorious B.I.G. in his song called "Suicidal Thoughts" fast forward to Kendrick Lamar in his song called "I." Both talk about suicidal thought. Mental health is not something to play with. A rapper that personally stood out to me is "Jean Grae" and her powerful stance on female rappers and why female rappers should not be looked at differently just because she's a female.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/i.html
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/notoriousbig/suicidalthoughts.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/18/former-spelman-students-nelly-_n_4298264.html
I somewhat agree with Kassia. Woman basically are just props when it comes to males. They aren't looked at as anything more than props, eye candy and a piece of a** and boobs if we want to be real. This was another thing that stood out to me as well.
DeleteI feel like in the HH industry woman are only around to make men feel good about themselves. Like you said woman are just props and not really looked as real human beings. Men disrespect woman all the time in their lyrics and get praised for it by their listeners.
DeleteSome real life shit that stood out the most to me over the past couple of classes is hip hop artist suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts. An artist from our generation that came to mind that we really didn't talk about much in class is Lil Wayne. Lil Wayne has mentioned several times in his lyrics depressing things. One song that can to mind was "I Feel Like Dying". Where he says "Only once the drugs are done, that I feel like dying. ". Throughout the whole song he talks about how he is so dependant on drugs, that when he doesn't have them, he basically feels like he just want to die.
ReplyDeleteAnother moment that stood out to me in class was listening to Biggies "Suicidal Thoughts". I remember hearing this song once before we listenined to it in class and I remember thinking and wondering why did he feel like this and why would he say some of the things that he said. Some of the lyrics really just had me shocked. He definitely caught my attention right from the beginning when he said " when I die, fuck it I want to go to hell, cause I'm a piece of shit. It ain't hard to fucking tell. I remember thinking, who would say something like that? Only some one who has obviously been through a lot, or some real life shit. One thing that I failed to realize was that these rappers are real people and all though we may think that they have it all , like fame and money , they deal with real life situations just like us. They are no different. This class has opening my eyes to a lot of things , this being one of them.
When artist bring out songs like these, I believe that they are trying to open peoples eyes to show them what they really go through and that they are human beings. Because a lot of times people just want them to keep creating music and keep doing everything that they want but artist get tired too and I believe this is a moment where the artist says "If you want some music, I am going to give you some real life shit."
DeleteI agree, I think people do fail to realize that at the end of the day rappers are human beings just like everyone else and they do go through things. They could use their platform to help people 'everyday people' that are going through the same thing.
DeleteUpon discussing different Hip Hop artists', I've learned and recognized quite a bit about the artist and the affects the culture has on them. When we discussed certain characteristics of mental illnesses that these artists' portrayed, that really resonated with me. For example, when we listened to Kendrick Lamar being interviewed and discussing his depression. There are many artists who struggle with this issue and I've learned that the artists tells us in their music. Ex: Lil Wayne "I Feel Like Dying", Future "Permanent Scar", Biggie "Suicidal Thoughts". These Hip Hop artists are trying to tell us a story and we tend to ignore it because we are more interested in the beat of the music. Although they are rich and famous, they still deal with a lot of personal issues. I remember Kendrick talking about his friends back home dying and his sister getting pregnant at a young age and he feels like he can't help because he can't always be there to protect. It amazes me how these artists seem to have everything but we never notice everything that they may not have which affects them severely.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWe tend to look at it like all artists have great lives and they don't have any problems. At least that's how I looked at before. Until realizing that the problems like depression, suicide and etc are all in their music. In the song Mad by Solange ft Lil Wayne he says, "I got a lot to be mad about, got a lot to be a man about, got a lot to pop a xan about" then goes on to say, "or you mad because when I attempted suicide I didn't die, I remember how mad I was too". That is not the first time that Lil Wayne has talked about depression and suicide. Kendrick Lamar recently went to rehab for his depression. Charles Hamilton had a song called "Frustration and failed suicide attempts". You could only imagine all of the lyrics in that song but an example of one is when he says, " Maybe I could end it all tonight, one shot could end it all tonight". Kid Cudi recently checked himself into rehab for depression and suicidal issues. There are so many more artist that rap about this stuff and it is over looked. This to me is real life sh*t. Stuff that is happening in our normal lives that we wouldn't expect to be happening in famous people's lives, but it is! They aren't just rapping about bs but like I said before stuff we are all dealing with.
ReplyDeleteSome real life shit that resonates with me would be artists such as Kendrick Lamar. During this unit we discussed his depression and it opened my eyes to see how artist are destroyed among culture. An example would be Kendrick Lamar's song "alright". This song most resonates with me because the first line in the song would be "But if God got us then we gon' be alright". This relates to me and the black community because many African Americans are strong believers in faith. This is also a great song in HH because it explains how much trouble and devastation is happening in the world right now (particularly in the black community). It addresses police brutality, poverty, racism, unequal education and all other issues that people may think tears society apart, without having to say those exact words.This example is displayed in the lines that says "When you know, we been hurt, been down before, nigga
ReplyDeleteWhen our pride was low, lookin' at the world like, "where do we go, nigga?"
And we hate Popo, wanna kill us dead in the street for sure, nigga". It is this song that serves as the black lives matter movement anthem,because it not only states facts, it spit real life shit. we focus so much on the rapper being famous, that we forget that artist lives in the same world that we live in.
Taking this HH course has opened my eyes to many different views when it comes to hip hop. I now actually listen to the words of the song rather than just the beat. I also take into consideration that these artist are also people too, and they go through the same things that use regular person goes through but it may be worst. Since they actually have nobody on their side to fall back to. I also find it weird that we become surprise when the artist start to talk about death , mental illness and etc in interviews. If we were to actually take time to listen to the words , we would've notice how these rappers or artist are feeling before it is to late. For example the rapper Tupac talks about death in many different songs. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx_Sueq-A9c ) Sometimes we are so wrapped in the song and the beat that we do not take the time to pay attention to what the artist is saying. Rappers also talk about how they sometimes feel alone in the world , so this might contribute on some of them rapping about death. The also might feel like a disappointment to their family and friends. An example of this scenario is Tupac's song Dear Mama. Tupac was bascially talking about everything between him and his mothers childhood. He talks about how he would always love her but the way he treated him, made him disappointed in her. Maybe the absent of Tupac's mother in his life is why he was so sad and depressed. Taking this class made me realize that it is more to music than just the beat. We actually have to take time to listen and understand the words that these rappers are saying.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your response and to add on to what you was saying he really expressed the way he feel and his words was so strong in his songs and when they interviewed him. I think he tries to encourage our society and show how much he care. For example like you was saying The Dear Mama song and other songs from him, he is telling his life experiences and that is why he is one of my favorite rappers.
DeleteSomething that resonates with me is how the artist open and are comfortable sharing their real life shit. A lot of times people feel like celebrities have this life with no worries and they live free. However, they are human just like we are. Life hits them hard too. Having to deal with paparazzi and your name being slandered every day in a blog can really hit an artist hard. A lot of artist go through depression such as Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick has a song called "U" in this song Kendrick Lamar says "know your secrets... I know depression is restin' on your heart for two reasons... And if this bottle could talk I cry myself to sleep / Bitch everything is your fault... Shoulda killed yo ass a long time ago / You shoulda feeled that black revolver blast a long time ago / And if those mirrors could talk it would say 'you gotta go' / And if I told your secrets / The world'll know money can't stop a suicidal weakness." In this song Kendrick Lamar is pulling experiences from his entire life. He even said that this is coming from experiences of him growing up in Compton. This is the part that a lot of people forget about artist. That before they were popular they had to struggle to get where they are now. And they have a lot of memories and grudges that they may hold from the past. This is what resonates with me the most.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDiscussing some of the health issues hip-hop artists battle with on the daily has really opened my eyes and made me pay more attention to the message that the hip-hop artists are trying to express. A hip hop song that still resonates with me till this day is the song “Runaway Love” by Ludacris and Mary J. Blige. This song resonates with me because I can relate to the message behind the song. In the song they talk about the vulnerability of a little girl that has an unstable mom and she’s trying to figure out life on her own.
ReplyDeleteNow little Lisa is only nine years old
Shes tryin' to figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone, and they never met her family
Mama's always gone, and she never met her daddy
Part of her is missin' and nobody will listen.
Those lyrics symbolize the support and guidance the youth lacks growing up. As a little girl or boy you need that guidance and support and without you just feel lost. This song was powerful in many ways.
I have learned a lot of details about different artist and music in this class, that I would have never even thought to be true. I never knew that artists/rappers could go through so much problems, I always believed them to be living a "perfect" life that every other person would want to live. As we learned about the many different artist and rappers, Tupac really caught my attention. Real life sh*t from hip hop that resonates in me is the whole fact of suicide and depression. I feel that Tupac had a different outlook on life that detoured outsiders to think otherwise. Tupac was so educated, but he had knowledge and street smart, so he was informed and prepared for the life he was living. Whereas other artists such as Biggie, actually spoke about suicide in his music,( https://youtu.be/GygEAcFFMVs ). Throughout this song Biggie talks about when he dies, how he wants everything to be. He basically has no hope, with the lyrics that he was giving in the song. That is a sign of depression that Biggie was going through. These artist have made me realize that every person goes through things in their life, no matter what the circumstances may be. Artist back then rapped about real life things based on situations that may have been going in their life, compared to the rappers today, who rap about just anything.
ReplyDeleteI had to remind myself that even though a lot of these artists are rich and famous face every day struggles just like any other human being. Watching the interview on Kendrick Lamar and how he talked about committing suicide was surprising at first. I think because when we listen to music we’re just thinking of “okay this song sounds good” or the beat is dope. We’re most of the time not really even thinking of who the lyrics and connecting them with that artist. I know even for me as an artist, I am trying to tell a story and I feel that people don’t always listen to the message that is being said. Artists like Tupac, Scarface, Biggie, showed that music was more than just a beat, but that there was a story, a message behind the music. “Dear Mama” by Tupac talks a lot about Tupacs life and his up and down relationship with his mom, but in the end he talked about how much he loved and appreciated her.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/hARz7Ymilqo
I find that I have a deeper understanding and appreciation for music because it’s way more than just a good beat, but it’s a story.
“Bag lady, you gone hurt you back/ Draggin all dem bags like that/ I guess nobody ever told you/ all you must hold on to/ is you, is you, is you” Erykah Badu “Bag Lady”
ReplyDeleteShe was only 20 something. Life seemed to contest her every move. Wearing her depression like a hair-do, it was obvious to everyone around her she was “going through it.” Nonetheless, she did a hell of job hiding it. But the denial somehow only made shit worst. There was nobody to talk to so to avoid the isolation we’d load into the car take a ride to the east side, get a frosty on the way, and end up at the inner harbor. I’ll never forget those days, because SHE is my mama. Now ain’t that some real shit?
Unit lll hits close to home with me. As a child, I watched my mother suffer from clinical depression for years. I never quite understood it. Maybe it had something to do with my granny insisting her condition was just fatigue, “your mama’s tired” she’d say even after I’d watch her lay in bed all day sobbing. In time my mother’s mental health became stable with the help of praying hands and what we called “a vacation”. At a very young age I learned to value emotions and the effect they can have on people. If we’ve learned anything this unit it’s that, much like the lives of black people, the lives of hip hop entertainers isn’t all fun and games. Our lives are susceptible to paranoia, depression, and yes, even suicidal thoughts. We’ve learned through examples like DMX, Ghostface, and even rappers like Lil’ Wayne that mental illnesses are not exclusive to “emo” rappers. Mental illness affects all. I believe that the most resonating aspect of hiphop, for me, would have to be Jay Z “I Know”. The song profoundly speaks to me, or at least who I was at some point. “How could you leave me? I thought that you needed me? / When the world gave you too much and you pleaded with me? Who helped you immediately?/ How speedy of me?” As a middle school girl suffering from body image issues, I found myself sad and hurt. That song along with Erykah Badu’s “Bag Lady” helped me get through, to this day I still turn to them when I need a pick me up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG-SBFf6Sqw
An artist that resonates with me is J. Cole. In many of his songs he talks about what it was like growing up as a black male and some of the things that he went through. From when he talks about one of his friends getting locked up for murder to him losing his virginity J. Cole depicts “real shit” in hip hop. A song in particular that resonates with me is “Adolescence.” In this song he says “From trailer park to a front yard with trees in the sky. Thank you mama dry your eyes, there ain't no reason to cry. You made a genius and I, ain't gon' take it for granted I ain't gon' settle for lesser, I ain't gon' take what they handed.” These lyrics resonate with me because in this song he is talking about how he didn’t grow up with the best things but they came a long way, and his mom should be proud of the young man that she raised.
ReplyDeleteThere's one song that I have chosen that speaks of some real life sh*t that really resonates with me and that is DMX’s Ready to Meet Him. X states in the second verse of the song “Lord you left me stranded/ And I don't know why/ Now I'm ready to die” This really resonates with me because at a point in my young life I went through a period of thinking about how I'm supposed to maneuver my way around life and not necessarily feeling God’s presence when it came to his love but I've always felt the fear. I never felt like dying but I knew I was lost. Later in life I realized, felt, and understood the love of God but then I couldn't honestly say that I did. DMX also says “Ready to fly/ I cry but I shed no tears/ you told me you would dead those fears, it's been years / snakes still coming at me” Then and sometimes now I feel like some of my choices though they may seem minute to some but to me it seems like my past choices catch up to me in one way or another… though I've made some changes. With that being said DMX hits the nail on the head when he says “It’s easier to sin, but it hurts my heart/ I’m really trying to win, so where do we start?” Though myself and DMX are not speaking of the same “snakes”, demons, skeletons, or whatever the many terms are that describe the moral dilemmas we've faced it still feels like it applies to my life in some aspects but along with that, that part of the song puts into perspective how much easier it is to not think about the consequences to your actions or what you're doing in the moment
ReplyDeleteDMX LIVE PERFORMANCE OF READY TO MEET HIM
https://youtu.be/swZE4SBM8yI
Real life shit from Hip Hop that resonates with me the most is how some of these rappers really cared about our society on the inside more than what people thought, but because of the thuggish or gangsta songs they made, it gave people a different perception. Beats are important, but if you listen to the words of the rappers a lot of them are telling things that is dealing with their life. Sometimes it deals with hurt, depression, or some type of drama, it is still delivery. Tupac and Biggie are great examples of rappers who tells their life stories. A interesting thing about Tupac is that a lot of the things that is happening now he mentioning it before anything happened. Different people have what they think is real life shit, but their are some artists like Tupac and DMX that you know is not lying. Keep your head up is a song by Tupac Shakur that always been within me every since I was little. I really appreciate how much love he shows our women and show how important they are to the world. He mentioned in the song Keep Ya Head Up " say there aint no hope for the youth, and the truth is , it aint no hope for the future. We aint meant to survive coz its a setup. And even though you're fed up huh, ya gotta keep Ya head up."
ReplyDeleteI would say that the artist Tupac resonates with me because he always rap about some "real life shit". I feel like his music still reflects what is going on today in the world today through women rape/abuse, constantly getting locked up, learning lessons, speaking on other people's life story, racial problems etc. especially in the black culture. One of his songs that stuck out to me the most was "I ain't mad at cha" because it really demonstrates real life situations taken place in the hood. What pointed out to me the most was how he was talking about basically being young and dumb getting caught up in some trouble or bs all the time and then getting locked up for it. I saw towards the end he had learned his lesson at one point of time and moved up in life with his rapping career. Also, in the song when he says "I hope your wife know she got a player for life and that's no bullshitin", reminded me of what still goes on today especially with the young generation of unfaithfulness in relationships. Tupac really spoke a lot about "true life" situations and he rapped about real life shit in EVERY song, that's what I liked about him.
ReplyDeleteThis unit helped open my eyes to how much suicide and depression is talked about in songs. I guess as a listener I never think twice about "hey this person could actually be going through something" I just saw it as a song and nothing more. It's ironic that we're learning about this topic now because most recently Kid Cudi came out and said he had thoughts of suicide. I guess people just assume that because they're rappers and they're living life lavishly and have all this money that they don't go through things that 'real life people' go through. At the end of the day they're humans just as us and it could actually be all the money and fame that leads these people to thoughts of suicide and depression.
ReplyDeleteDepression in the black community is not really talked about enough. I feel like African American males suffer from it the most. Black men are taught to not deal with their feelings. I never realized how many artist go through this. This class helped me realize that HH artist are humans too and that everyone deals with the same battles whether its talked about or not. One HH artist that resonates with me on this subject would be Future. Future like a lot of artist openly talk about the day to day stuggles that they deal with in their songs but a lot of the times people don't sit down and read the lyrics they just enjoy the beat. The famous drug " codeine" is abused by a lot of HH artist and they don't care who knows. Artist like Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Father, Chief Keef, and ASAP Rocky just to name a few have openly stated that they were addicted to this liquid drug. In Future's song Codeine Crazy he states " I'm an addict and I cant even hide it" Future seemed depressed about something but he never stated exactly what was bothering him in any of his songs. A lot of people thinks that his split with his ex girlfriend Ciara had a lot to do with him abusing drugs but no one ever reached out and offered help from my knowledge. “Wake Up in the house I look up, I see bales everywhere I see girls everywhere, I see scales everywhere I see hell everywhere” You get a sense that future came from nothing like a lot of HH artist growing up Future didn't always have the fame and the fortune he has today. I think its obvious that he's suffering from survivors guilt.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this entire course I gained another outlook on music and the true colors of artists' lives. I really believed artist just said whatever came to their minds and did whatever they thought was going to keep listeners entertained. I have actually taken the time to actually dig deeper into the words and messages. Like most R&B artist, people tend to express real life situations in their music. That is very much still the case with Hip Hop artists. An artist that resonates with me would be definitely be Tupac. Most of his music dealt with loyalty, death, and harsh, everyday situations people face that some may not know how to cope with. One of my favorite songs that i used to listen to when i was younger was Keep Ya Head Up. I am older now and can actually focus on the actual situations he was speaking on. He talked about single parenting, drug addictions, death, people on welfare, and how society is making it hard for children to grow up in this world. Not too many rappers are sentimental or emotional to talk about these situations. He was a very supportive artist, simply because he was experienced everything he talks about. What really hits home in this song is when he says "I try to keep my head up, and still keep from getting wet up, You know it's funny when it rains it pours, They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is, It ain't no hope for the future and then they wonder why we crazy". You can definitely see that he actually cares about whats going on around the world because he expresses it throughout the rest of his songs.
ReplyDeleteOne of the songs that resonated with me was Lost Ones by J. Cole. The song speaks about the abortion of a child and J. Cole gives a two sided opinion on how the females doesn't support the abortion that the male supports. While trying to make the female have an abortion, the male in this song was totally against having a child. This song resonated with me so much because it amazed me how much J. Cole could speak my life in one song. At the time I was going through my own personal life situation where that song spoke values to my current situation. In the song, speaking from a female perspective he said, "you got some nerve to come to me talking bout abortion, this is my body so don't think you bout to force sh*t", and with that, that's when i knew that Hip hop was changing for the better as to relating to their target audience. That's definitely one of the best songs of all time as far as topics, so it resonated with me to the point when J. Cole became my favorite rapper without a doubt.
ReplyDeleteA lot of real life sh*t was discussed in Unit 3. We talked about Tupac the performer vs Tupac the artist. We talked about the birth of Luther Campbell and what he contributed to HH along with DMX. One thing that stuck out to me was how we determined what makes someone "crazy" whether it's confusion, recklessness or being misunderstood. One artist that fit the "crazy description" and resonates with me is J.Cole. I feel as though I can relate to him the most. He makes a lot of music that talks about escaping and or lowkey depression. One song that stuck out to me is "Love Yours". In today's society we're always trying to compare our lives to the next person. We talk about how they have it better than us and we feel like ours isn't good enough. "It's beauty in the struggle ugliness in the success." This song explains how we should love ones life no matter what... stop worrying about the struggle you're in now it's someone out here doing a lot worst.
ReplyDeletehttps://play.google.com/music/preview/Tzuahvmwyffkrqtmlmsqr7wzpvi?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-songlyrics
Diary of a Madman by Scarface is a Hip-Hop piece that resonates with me the most because Scarface has dealt with abandonment and anger issues as a kid. In the novel, he talks about not letting people talk or do him any kind of way. He stated that he would fight anyone that disrespected him. I can certainly identify with his anger because when I was a kid I had anger issues and I wanted to fight people that messed with me. I also felt abandoned by my family members and people that I thought was my friends. At times I would isolate myself and just do my own thing. Scarface had to do is own thing and many times he felt alone. However, he found the strength and determination to keep going when faced with struggles. I was totally surprised that Scarface was so real and open with his feelings. He appears to be so tuff and bold in his music lyrics.It's nice to know that there are some rappers out that people can relate to.
ReplyDelete"There's gon' be some stuff you gon' see
that's gon' make it hard to smile in the future.
But through whatever you see,
through all the rain and the pain,
you gotta keep your sense of humor.
You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit.
Remember that."
- Smile by Scarface
This entire unit really resonated with me because it made me see Hip Hop artists in a new light. Being able to creatively express yourself through music and have people around the world be able to relate to it is an amazing talent. However, we learned that choosing to enter into this industry has its risks. That is what truly stood out to me: the push/pull effect that these artists are constantly going through. Some examples that we discussed in class were "commercial vs. conscious", and "life vs. death". Out of all the examples we discussed, "life vs. death" seemed to be the most challenging to deal with. These artists have been through traumatic events in their lives that make hard situations seem like they will never end. Even when observing "commercial vs. conscious", the stakes can rise to a battle of life and death when one cannot be happy commercially. Artists like Frank Ocean and J Cole make it clear that once an artist crosses to the commercial side, his/her life will change.
ReplyDeleteMan, we were blessed
And life can't be no fairytale, no once upon a time
But I be God damned if a nigga don't be tryin'
So tell me mama please why you be drinking all the time?
Does all the pain he brought you still linger in your mind?
Cause pain still lingers on mine
On the road to riches listen this is what you'll find
The good news is nigga you came a long way
The bad news is nigga you went the wrong way
Think being broke was better
- J Cole
I'm not brave
I'd rather live outside
I'd rather live outside
I'd rather go to jail
I've tried hell
(It's a loop)
What would you recommend I do?
-Frank Ocean
Add a comment