For example, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, and the Furious Five created a song named, “The Message” in 1982. “The Message” explains how the dislocation of black Americans force them to partake in criminal activity because of poverty and lack of resources. This particular song tells a story of the future. Throughout the hook Grandmaster Flash repeats, “It’s a jungle sometimes/ It makes me wonder how I keep from going under”(1).
The short poem “In the Event of my Demise” by Tupac Shakur is one of his most well known short form poems. There is good reason for this. Tupac shows three literary elements that ties this poem together. These are the mood, theme, and tone of the poem. Mood is a very strong element when it is executed well.
Kendrick uses rhyme and harmonizes throughout the whole song, an example is “Boys and Girls I think I’ve gone cray, Drown inside my vices all day, Won’t you please believe when I say” rhyming in a song is important and makes the song catchy, this part of the song is also important because Kendrick is acknowledging the things he has done. Metaphor is used in the lyrics “I’m a motherfucking gangster in silence for the record” He states he will not say anything when in court and will not snitch on his friends. The song's tone is not enthusiastic, but Kendrick raps the song to be reassuring during the chorus when he says “Do you hear me, do you feel me? We gon’ be alright” saying hey I am telling you we are going to be all right. The tone at the beginning of the song is defensive when Kendrick says all his life has been hard whereas at the end of the song, Kendrick is no longer rapping but talking to the listener.
The 1970s were a rough year for African-Americans, still fighting for social and political rights in the United States. Consequently, women still did not receive equal rights. However, in 1972, “Congress approved the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution, which reads: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex’ (History.com Staff).” Out of the thirty-eight necessary states only twenty-two ratified it right away, it was relieving for the moment because the feminist advocates had been trying to be ratified since 1923. The First African-American woman elected into Congress was Shirley Chisholm.
It starts with the track "NY State of Mind," which has intense piano music and powerful lyrics that grab your attention. The album has nine strong songs that fit well together, with no skits or extra tracks. The production heavily uses samples, with strong beats and melodies that match Nas's deep and thoughtful storytelling. Some notable songs are "The World Is Yours," a popular hit with a catchy sample and Nas's unreal lyrics, and "One Love," a heartfelt song where Nas tells a moving story. Illmatic made Nas a hip hop legend, and it's considered one of the best albums in the
To give some background, the Articles of Confederation was a document signed by the 13 original colonies that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. The Articles of Confederation created a nation that was “a league of friendship and perpetual union.” The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. The Articles of Confederation became effective on March 1, 1781, after all thirteen states had ratified them. It made the states and legislature supreme.
This anti-war anthem was released to make a statement and make the deaths of so many felt by his audience. “There 's far too many of you dying”, Marvin Gaye begs us to understand how lives were being taken for a something that nobody would believe. Gaye knew along as other people in the world taken seriously due to their life against the war. They were often dismissed “but who are they to judge us, simply because our hair is long”, Marvin Gaye. Gaye was known to be somewhat a “hippie” and was speaking for himself and his fans, also “hippies”.
Currently, it is hard to find music with a deeper, more sentimental substance to it. If you’re writing a paper in your English class on poetical analysis, and you may find that a lot of the music our generation currently frequents only scrapes the surface in terms of sentimentality. When Professor Snyder asked us to write on poetic analysis of song lyrics, so many songs came to mind that I almost drew a blank in response. I listen to a wide variety of music, with a combined three music libraries containing over 20,000 songs. The results could have been found anywhere between hip hop, EDM, punk rock, chillwave, or more.
Modern rappers have transcended from the idea of crafting meaningful lyrics to
The power of the human spirit drove Eminem to overcome obstacles, work hard, and help
Contemporary music contains several songs that numerous people consider poetry. The song “Happy” written and performed by Pharrell Williams in 2013 is an impressive example of poetry. The tone of the song is an upbeat tempo that has several poetic devices. Also, the theme of “Happy” is focusing on the positives of life, even in a negative situation. William’s practice of including personifications, metaphors, alliterations, and other poetic devices are more than just music and words.
Stanley Kunitz’s poem, “The Layers,” focuses on how life’s journey continuously molds a person through experiences of the past. Also showing how the layers created through time help one become confident and provide knowledge to guide one through unfortunate events. Kunitz utilizes many poetic devices to help make sense of his story. By doing this, the reader has to deeply consider the text and look through the many layers it withholds, just as they must use their past layers of knowledge to help them understand.
The song I chose to do for this essay was Finish Line / Drown by Chance the Rapper from his album, Coloring Book. The song is performed by Chance, Noname, Eryn Allen Kane, T-Pain, and Kirk Franklin. The first thing I heard Chance humming, then females joining him singing do-do-do-do-do-do-do. Chance keeps the same tempo as he is rapping his first verse. I noticed that the song has two parts to it.
In the song “Kevin”, Macklemore , provides a viewpoint on the drug issues prevalent in modern society. He uses a multitude of poetic rhythms to convey his passionate and sorrowful feelings about the subject matter. He uses a wide variety of melodramatic political rhetoric in his song “Kevin” describing the constant “war on prescription drugs”. He takes multiple jabs at the faulty government system and the major corruption taking place in big pharmaceutical establishments. In verse one he begins to explains the negative effects that drugs had on his life “ I seen pain,I felt the losses/Attended funerals and seen coffins ” (Macklemore) this narrates him falling witness to many deaths and funerals especially the funeral of his younger brother “kevin” thus the title of the song.
There have been many rap songs and albums that have been very meaningful, and have gained millions of fans that appreciate their music. For example, on Kendrick Lamar’s debut album Good Kid, m.A.A.d City, each song is a piece of his life story. He describes his struggles growing up in the ghettos of Compton, California. Kendrick addresses situations such as gang violence, peer pressure, and oppressed women. On the song “The Art of Peer Pressure”, Kendrick describes the inner conflict that he dealt with at a young age, trying to distinguish right from wrong in certain situations.
