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John Legend Impact On American Culture

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To what extent do the cultural references and diction within the lyrics of “Glory” by John Legend & Common impact the feelings of the listener? John Legend is an American singer/songwriter who is best known for his moving and heartfelt ballads. His rise to fame began around 2013 and he’s been getting more famous by the day. On his free time he advocates for children’s and teen’s educations and looks to change public school systems to make them better overall. Lonnie Lynn Jr. better known as “Common” is an American rapper, writer, and actor known for his sincere and straightforward lyricism that points to many problems in American society. Common is also the founder of the “Common Ground Foundation”, through the foundation he helps teens in Chicago in not only their educational lives, but also financially, and helps them develop into good human beings; he both mentors and encourages them to be who they want to be and inspires them to follow their dreams. In 2014 both John Legend and Common agreed to create a song that would eventually become the theme song of the major motion picture “Selma”. “Selma” is a …show more content…

The lyrics “One day when the glory comes. It will be ours, it will be ours. One day when the war is won. We will be sure, we will be sure” show hope that there will be a day where equality between all races exists and that day will be the day that “the war”, meaning the fight for equality, is over. It also shows the unity that will exist after it’s over by using the phrase “it will be ours”. The use of the word “war” emphasizes how real the fight for the equality is; by using the word “war” it makes the listeners realize how long it has gone on for and how hard it is to win; this not only makes them realize but also makes them want to be member of the

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722 Words | 3 Pages

This shows how war can be seen as a necessity in life and how it can be more as a vendetta to our human lives with no positive impact on

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1121 Words | 5 Pages

War, an act partaken by almost every major nation and civilization that has ever existed in the world. War has been the fall of many civilizations, been the cause of millions of deaths and brought the destruction of a nation’s history and culture. Of all the many wars that happened in the world, there has been one war of particular interest that has changed the face of a civilization permanently, and that was the Spanish war with the Aztecs, a war that shaped a culture of an entire race and helped create the current country of Mexico. This war was diversely influenced by many things such as race and gender and served as a reminder of political and social decisions that will serve as a reminder of the actions that should be taken and shows a

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1007 Words | 5 Pages

Diana Ross and the Supremes tackled the issue of single motherhood with “Love Child” and “I'm Livin' in Shame.” Smokey Robinson and the Miracles mourned the loss of America's most revered nonviolent leaders with “Abraham, Martin and John,” a song composed in honor of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy—men shot down because of their efforts for racial equality.” (Chapter 6: What's Going On." History Of Motown) It was what we would call pop culture, a certain event happened that caused a shift in music. Albums were being released from the Motown

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738 Words | 3 Pages

It shows the unfairness that even with a song, something peaceful, people who are corrupted will still try to keep others down to make themselves feel better, You know that the way that I bleed, you can bleed” Those people who push them down,

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663 Words | 3 Pages

In an odd way, these two actually relate to each other. The article described a firsthand experience of one person during the protests. The song relates to the article by how all protesters think, “Why are you we in this mess?” As bombs go off on schools and houses, student veterans spoke out. In the song, it repeats, “We

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957 Words | 4 Pages

The music video is based on the Nat Turner slave revolt in which took place in Southampton County, Virginia on August 21, 183. During the planning process of this rebellion, Nat went around town secretly in search for other people of color, free or enslaved, with the guts to participate in the rebellion. Eventhough 55 to 65 whites were killed in the rebellion it was unsuccessful and concluded with nat and all those affiliated with the revolt being hung for all of the town to see. It is believed that over 70 people of color participated in the rebellion in hopes of gaining freedom. This music video does an excellent job of educating this generation on what an actual slave revolts while at the same time connecting it to today 's society through its historical content, imagery and diction.

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238 Words | 1 Pages

The question of the immortality of the soul is debated by Socrates in Plato’s “Phaedo”. According to Plato soul is equal to life; without a soul one cannot be alive thus; if one is alive they must have a soul. To say another way, the soul is the element that when present in a body gives it life. Socrates presents three main arguments for the immortality of the soul in “Phaedo”. They include the cyclical argument, the argument from recollection, and the affinity argument.

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938 Words | 4 Pages

In this line, they are singing about how their love for one another guides them through tough times and struggles, referring to the racism they may face. They also sing that “Love like ours can never be ruled” (Sissle, Blake). They mean that no matter what anyone else may think, no matter if people think it’s wrong, they will not care. Their love is stronger than the opinions of anyone else. This was a powerful message that opposed the views of bigots and brought people together.

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Lupe Fiasco uses motivational and inspirational phrases throughout his song that motivate me to keep fighting through struggle and pain because in the end it’s worth it. In conclusion, as cliche as the message of this song may be, it’s a tremendously important message. The spread of peace and social equality are issues in today’s society that we see everyday. African-Americans are getting killed in the streets by police officers for misdemeanor crimes.

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The song “War” was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong in 1969 to protest against the Vietnam War. The song was later recorded by the singer Edwin Starr and it became the number one hit on the billboard hot 100 chart in 1970. The song was later sung by Bruce Springsteen and it gained popularity again in 1986 for being the most popular protest song ever recorded. In the song there were some controversial lyrics about their opinions of the Americans being part of the Vietnam War. The song was successful because it spreaded the anti-war messages across America and people agreed with them.

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524 Words | 3 Pages

Elvis Presley has had more impact on American society and culture than any other person in history for the three following reasons; his large contribution to the start of the generation gap in the 1950’s, his huge impact on rock ‘n’ roll music, and finally, his music opened a door for some integration between races. First of all, in the 1950’s Elvis Presley and his music started the era of the generation gap between teenagers and their parents, an era which is still going on today. With Elvis being very young, attractive and his new type of music and dancing, teenage girls fell head over heels for the young star. Most parents though, did not feel the same way about Presley. He was often described a vulgar and many accused him of corrupting the youth.

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1249 Words | 5 Pages

This song matters because Macklemore is established and this song will inform everyone around the country, even world what’s happening. This song message affects all of us as citizens of this country surrounded by racism and inequality. The action macklemore wants us to take is to stand up and end this war against racism. Macklemore understands artist have taken from black culture as he calls these artisted out in his second verse.

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529 Words | 3 Pages

Green Day is not the only artist with a protest song behind them; many other artists have some as well such as Neil young’s song called “Living With War.” These songs open the eyes of society and allow them to understand and discuss their points

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755 Words | 4 Pages

All music has multiple functions. While music can preserve artistic value, it can also simultaneously tell a story, bring people together, historicize, heal, and rejuvenate. Most importantly, however, it sends a strong message and stimulates strong emotions to the listener. The song, “Where is the Love” by The Black Eyed Peas, performs all of these functions. The song symbolizes the sociological conflict theory.

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702 Words | 3 Pages

In conclusion, not only does this song carry a heavy message, which everyone should educate themselves on, but is a track that everyone can vibe with. It’s beautiful that a song which speaks of the horrid problems of Somalia can be so relatable to everyone. We all go through personal problems, whether its poverty, abuse, heartbreak, or oppression. Regardless of the language you speak, your ethnicity, or how much suffering you’ve been through, we can all dance and rejoice to this song.

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