Shakespeare is one of the most taught writers in English class. Many of his works have been used as the baseline for other works. Despite being regarded as one of the greatest writers, one aspect of Shakespeare that is widely debated is how he shows women and minorities, for example, Ophelia in Hamlet and Shylock in the Merchant of Venice. This is also one of the big criticisms of rap, besides the often abrasive language, and the reason many parents do not like their children listening to it. Although many parents and scholars have argued about the negative connotations of rap and its portrayal of of street culture, a careful examination suggests rap is more closely related to Shakespeare than they’d like to admit. The meanings behind the lyrics in rap are similar to the meanings hidden in Shakespeare’s plays. Rap also follows the pattern and flow made famous by Shakespeare called Iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a line of verse …show more content…
Another rapper who uses Iambic pentameter is Mobb Deep in his song Shook ones part II “I'm only nineteen but my mind is old” Both rappers use Iambic pentameter in order to keep the flow of their song going. Iambic pentameter is best used for this because even though the tempo changes between the songs it is able to still work. This makes it a easy pattern to write in no matter the tempo.
Using the same rhyming scheme is not the only similarity however. Shakespeare loved to have deeper meaning behind what he was saying, giving his writing more meaning than meets the eye. Rappers do the same with their songs. Each time you relisten to a rap song there is another piece of the story that you missed the first time through. A good example of this is the song Dreams by the Game. It was written after he came out a three year coma due to being shot five times in his home.
“It was all a dream like B.I.G. said it’d
Many believe that the words of a song are what makes the largest impact on viewers, but on the contrary in an article posted by hiphopdx it states that “Like any form of art, there are those that are a cut above the rest. Telling a story is an art form in itself, whether you’re recalling a story to your boys at the bar, writing songs or making movies. A true storyteller can make an average story great, and a great story unforgettable.” (J-23) As many of these songs illustrate, it isn’t just the story, it is how you tell it. putting in those small, seemingly insignificant details, which make the listener feel like they are there. It is using a metaphor that captures a situation in a way that a description could never do. The songs that are so deep you could picture it like a movie in your mind are more powerful than any words of a rap song just sung to be sung. These are the songs that are almost cinematic to listen too. These are the types of rap artists that are down to earth, true to themselves as well as their audience, and also the artists that sing for the pure enjoyment to tell stories, not to be plastered on social media or to worry about how many instagram, twitter, facebook followers they have, or how many people bought or listened to their songs
People from many generations may think that today’s music shows virtually nothing. This generations rap music mainly circles around how much money you receive from rapping, how much women you receive from rapping, and how much drugs you receive from rapping. There is rare few times where rap artist come out of this circle, to talk about real life experiences, issues within the world, and how this affects certain diversities. Baruti N. Kopano, an assistant professor of Mass Communications at Delaware State University, does a study on the rhetorical legacy of rap music. He starts off in this article how rap music to him is a legacy with rich history, “For rappers, ‘keepin it real’ means being
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
Popular in the united states, the rhythmic music known as rap can be traced back generations to it’s ethnic origins. Centuries before hip hop music existed, the Tribes of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Connections between tribal story telling virtuals and rap music have been acknowledged by many modern day "tribes", spoken word artists, mainstream news sources, and academics. In the 21st century, rappers rap about their lives and how the place they grew up in was very hard and that is why many people think like rap music so much, because there are many connections rapper can relate to.
People think rap music is not good for children to listen to. At a certain age I guess that can be true, but once you are old enough to understand the meanings behind some rap songs it can actually change you perspective for the better. All of these songs also have a theme that I was putting together as I wrote. The first three songs, “You & the Six”, “Lights Please” and “No Role Modelz” depict the stories of how two different rappers became famous. They also talk about the struggles they faced when they became famous. Even when their music was being played on multiple radio stations people found something to criticize them for, or people just started to pretend they have alway had that rappers best interest in
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
With poetry coming in many different styles today, writing comes easy for some. One way that poetry is written today is in the form of rap. The artist known as "J Cole" is one of the best rappers of the 21st century. J Cole went double platinum with top hits such as "Wet Dreamz" and "Love Yourz". In both of these songs Cole connects the listener's with relatable stories and scenarios. Both of these songs are forms of poetry somehow.
Throughout American history there has always been some form of verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes within the Afro-American community. Signifying, testifying, shining of the Titanic, the Dozens, school yard rhymes, prison ?jail house? rhymes and double Dutch jump rope rhymes, are some of the names and ways that various forms of raps have manifested. Modern day rap music finds its immediate roots in the toasting and dub talk over elements of reggae music (George, 1998)....
middle of paper ... ... adulterated voice on the soundtrack. Texts and their appropriations reflect the context and values of their times. Within Shakespeare’s Othello and Geoffrey Sax’s appropriation of Othello, the evolution of the attitudes held by Elizabethan audiences and those held by contemporary audiences has been shown through the context of the female coupled with the context of racism.
Rap’s Controversy The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teenagers. It became very popular with the urban public and soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy.
Imagine our youth all over the country being exposed to this explicit kind of language. There is no need to imagine, because it is already happening. Ever since the rise of Rap and Hip Hop music, teens have been turning to them to help solve their problems. However these kinds of music can be very destructive to teens. It is not the youth’s fault; it is the content that the music contains. Although Rap and Hip Hop music can be a force for good, they can also have an extremely negative impact on the attitudes and behaviors of our youth.
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
Arguably the greatest playwright of his time, perhaps in all of history, William Shakespeare's literary works have had a tremendous impact (see Appendix 2). Reaching into the pop culture of the modern world through movies and quotes used in everyday conversation, Shakespeare's influence is astounding (see Appendix 1). One rarely stops to think, however, about events that had an impact on Shakespeare's life, particularly his writing. The outbreak of the plague, social disparity, political unrest, just a few of the historical happenings that impacted Shakespeare's plays, including Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Henry IV