ipl-logo

Hip-Hop Music Analysis: To Pip A Butterfly

1553 Words7 Pages

The hip-hop music scene has been an ever changing force in the world of sound and culture. Once thought of as a lifestyle only enjoyed by minorities, mainly African Americans, is now a cultural phenomenon. Hip-hop and rap are digested by fans and critics alike of all backgrounds, with radio hits and Billboard toppers coming in new forms. Drake has dominated the game of popularity, with his number 1 song “One Dance” reaching over one billion streams on Spotify. However, there is a caveat; the rise of hip-hop has brought along a watered down version of itself in order to appeal to the masses. Much of the game of rap music has become a popularity contest, focusing on image and lifestyle rather than lyricism and technical ability. Despite its current state and massive value, the next step for hip-hop and rap music is to figure out how we can harness this cultural power and use it further for …show more content…

In a GQ interview with fellow hip-hop community member Rick Rubin, Lamar says this: “I’m in a space where … for me to feel an idea, the concept has to come from me.” To Pimp a Butterfly is a great insight into his creative process. The material he puts out shows his thoughts on how his personal experiences will relate to others, and how he can extrapolate these experiences intertwined with racial and political issues in order to begin a conversation, something that hip-hop has always thrived off of. As well, Lamar brings a musical style previously unseen in mainstream rap. He challenges the norm with a relentless flurry of jazz instrumentation, citing influences such as Herbie Hancock (Lamar). This is yet another example of Lamar’s own creativity putting together an inherently cultural album. Jazz began through black culture, with pioneers like Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong. Lamar uses these roots as another element to signify the culture of African Americans that To Pimp a Butterfly

Show More
Related

Hip Hop Planet James Mcbride Summary

160 Words | 1 Pages

The article “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride is about how hip hop is not his favorite type of music but, it needs to be heard. McBride shows us this by explaining that he avoided hip hop most of his life. In the article McBride says that he basically ignored “the most important cultural event in my lifetime.” James informs us that hip hop has influenced the world globally and that it has become a phenomenon. Furthermore, McBride made clear that he eventually realized that hip hop is much more than just music, it has a message.

Read More

Hip Hop Culture In Mcbride's Hip Hop Planet By James Mcbride

921 Words | 4 Pages

Hip Hop was the wildfire that started in the South Bronx and whose flames leapt up around the world crying out for change. James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet focuses on his personal interactions with the development of Hip Hop culture and his changing interpretations of the world wide movement. Many of his encounters and mentions in the text concern young black males and his writing follows an evolution in the representation of this specific social group. He initially portrays them as arrogant, poor, and uneducated but eventually develops their image to include the positive effects of their culture in an attempt to negate their historical misrepresentation.

Read More

To Pip A Butterfly Analysis

949 Words | 4 Pages

The harmony and tones compared to the lyrics and the style of the music clash against each other symbolizing the constant battle. It is stated that, "Music does what thinking cannot do; it emanates from the products, the accretions, of projective identification in reverse" (Blum 142). It shows another perspective and something you have never seen. The articles mention a lot of the rhythm of the songs and how it holds meaning to not only Lamar, but also to everyone else. Hip hop allows for an experience of rhythm, in an

Read More

Analysis Of Elizabeth Blair's Commercialization Of The Rap Music Subculture

323 Words | 2 Pages

To begin, in order to truly understand the commercialization of hip hop one has to understand what exactly it entails. For this, Elizabeth Blair’s “Commercialization of the Rap Music Subculture,” comes in handy. In her article, Blair states, “Rap music…has moved out of the inner cities and into the mainstream of popular culture” (Blair, 497). From this, one can gather that commercialization entails this moment when something goes from being unnoticed, to becoming something everyone is talking about or listening to (Blair, 497). Furthermore, Blair also shows how commercialization entails “promotion” (Blair, 497).

Read More

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly

1922 Words | 8 Pages

In the American music industry, record companies stuff the pockets of the lowest common denominator. Celebrity singers drop their integrity at the door as they enter the studio, recording tracks that discourage free, radical thought. In this empty-headed industry, few successful artists have a meaningful message to deliver unto their audience, with one exception—Kendrick Lamar, a young, conscious rapper from Compton, California. In his album, To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar poignantly delivers a controversial message that most African American hip-hop fans would initially reject. To do so, he deliberately frames all eighteen tracks of the album in such a way that builds his own credibility as a leader on top of a powerful emotional connection with his

Read More

Sugarhill Gangsta Rap History

254 Words | 2 Pages

“I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie.” In 1979, the “Sugarhill Gang” released the first rap hit “Rapper's Delight”. Almost ten years later “Yo! MTV raps” aired on television bringing the new style of music to more people making it blow up on the charts. Hip Hop is more relevant today than it has ever been, and there is a clear distinction on when and where it began.

Read More

How Can Soundcloud Rap Music Become Popular?

609 Words | 3 Pages

Rap music, or hip hop, has been trending since the 1980s due to groups and artists such as N.W.A., Wu-tang Clan, Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Jay-Z, and many others. However, in the last two years, a new type of rap music has emerged, and has become very popular in a short amount of time. This trend, known as SoundCloud Rap, has mainly become popular among teenagers and people in their twenties. Some themes present in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point correlate with themes of SoundCloud Rap, and could explain why it is trending.

Read More

Richard Kyle Hip Hop Summary

2420 Words | 10 Pages

Richard, Kyle. “Hip-hop” Teen solutions, 17 Sept. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Richard’s “Hip-hop” Article are known for informing people about the history of hip-hop, the background of the society of hip-hop and how far hip-hop has came from that day to present day. Toward the middle of his article he states “through lyrics they raised social consciousness by speaking out real issues affecting them, such as racism”(Kyle).

Read More

Hip Hop Planet Speech

1186 Words | 5 Pages

Hip Hop is seen as something inspiring, but most people see it as a way to speak out the truth about a problem. As in “Hip Hop planet” being able say the truth can sometimes worsen any situation because sometimes what we say can promote violence and whatever happens after is not in our control. The essay is about how hip hop has changed into speaking out the issues that need to be taken care of in order to maintain a proper society. McBride talked about how rappers use violent lyrics to degrade women and gays and because of this it shows how the music has evolved into something entirely different that no one would have ever expected to have changed. In James McBride's essay “Hip Hop Planet,” he argues that hip hop has a negative influence on American Culture despite people thinking of it as inspirational and how people live through different experiences in life despite of your race.

Read More

African American Sub-Culture: Hip-Pop Or Rap Music

745 Words | 3 Pages

Hip-pop or Rap music has emerged as one of the most distinctive and controversial music genres of the past few decades. In this cultural context, rap provides a voice to the voiceless, a form of protest to the oppressed, and a mode of alternative cultural style and identity to the marginalized. It is an informational medium to tune into, one that describes the rage of African-Americans facing growing oppression, declining opportunities for advancement, changing moods on the streets, and everyday life as a matter of sheer

Read More

To Pimp A Butterfly Analysis

781 Words | 4 Pages

In Kendrick Lamar's 2015 Third studio album To pimp a Butterfly, Lamar uses Imagery, Storytelling and symbolism in his music to speak on race relations, materialistic culture and what its like to be Black in America. He covers a broad range of topics in each of his songs that almost all share the same theme, like how blacks in America often have to adhere to white standards. Lamar takes a deep look into himself and systematic racism deep rooted in american culture. Kendricks Album takes you through his spiritual journey to free himself from mental slavery that was caused by persistent racism in his country.

Read More

Hip Hop Community Analysis Essay

476 Words | 2 Pages

As many genres of music are up for interpretation by the listener, hip-hop is no exception to the rule. At its root, hip-hop, or rap music, is the voice of the subaltern, a voice for people that were actively living in urban poverty and felt that their voices were not being heard by greater society. Today’s hip-hop goes beyond the voices of the subaltern and has expanded into the wide abyss of consumerism and mainstream media. Hip-hop is no longer just a subculture, it is a sensation. While the socially conscious origins of hip-hop are still in practice, the genre has expanded to meet capitalist-oriented

Read More

African American Music Thesis

1089 Words | 5 Pages

Impact of African American Music on Popular Genres A. Hip hop 1. Rhythms and beats 2. Lyrics and themes 3. Case study: Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" B. Rock 1.

Read More

Hip Hop Vs R & B Analysis

1243 Words | 5 Pages

Gregorio Salas Mrs. Gonzalez Eng.1301.sx5 Dec. 12-17 Music's Hip Hop and R&B kings of 2017 Music has been around for centuries and has gone through many different changes throughout its life-span. Certain groups of music can always be related to other ones in various amounts of ways such as punk rock and hard rock, but one pair has always stood out and has more similarities than the rest; hip hop and R&B. Some of the best music projects and albums, in my opinion, have been hip hop or R&B related such as Kendrick Lamar's DAMN. album and Khalid's American Teen album. In my opinion both of these albums dominated the hip hop and R&B community in 2017 by record sales and just the overall message of their albums with the way they portrayed it through

Read More

Emerging Artist Over The Last Decade Essay

1916 Words | 8 Pages

Recently, Lamar released two albums, To Pimp a Butterfly, which was nominated for eleven Grammy’s, and untitled unmastered, which ended up at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200. Lamar changed hip-hip by making it competitive again by challenging other rappers to improve themselves. Another way he changed hip-hop is by telling stories of cultural and thought-provoking ideas. Lamar wanted his music to deliver a message to his listeners, which made his hip-hop albums some of the greatest in not only 2016, but the last

Read More

More about Hip-Hop Music Analysis: To Pip A Butterfly

Related Topics

Open Document