Macklemore begins with “When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay, / 'Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight. / I told my mom, tears rushing down my face.” In just these first couple of lines, the listener is easily able to understand what the song is about, and also comprehend the stereotype that is associated with gays and lesbians. The listener is given the equation that Macklemore made up when he was younger; he added the stereotypes that were given to gays: being artistic, having a gay relative, and being tidy. By following these fashions, he assumed that he was gay as well. When Macklemore states that tears were rushing down his face, it gives even more awareness to the negative connotation that gays …show more content…
“If I was gay / I would think hip-hop hates me / Have you read the YouTube comments lately? / ‘Man that's gay’ / Gets dropped on the daily / We've become so numb to what we're sayin.'” In these few lines, Macklemore brings up the fact that the genre of hip-hop has become one that is “anti-gay.” Hip-hop is a very common genre of music and it reaches a large population of people, mostly young people who will have an effect in the future of America. This is Macklemore’s target audience: the general public who can make a difference. Macklemore has surprised many by coming out with this popular, pro-gay, hip-hop song. It is rational to see that he took a stand against the issue as well as a risk in his career by supporting this idea. The listeners understand that those lines are very truthful; the hip-hop genre and most of society has become anti-gay. Almost all of his audience is familiar with YouTube and can understand where Macklemore is coming from in these lines. Most of his audience has seen comments on YouTube similar to “Man that’s gay.” Macklemore is bringing attention to the fact that his audience has become numb to harsh words like so and the general public has lost a sentimental feeling. Macklemore goes on to give an example of the desensitizing of society by giving the reference to “faggots”, “a word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores
Florida Georgia Line consists of two country singers, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard. Ever since the two met at college, their careers have taken off. Florida Georgia Line is well known for its hit, “Cruise” which has had over one million downloads sold and topped both country radio charts. Due to this success, a remix was created with Nelly. This original song was released in 2012, and is part of the album, “Here’s to the Good Times,” whereas the remix was released in 2013.
In his most recent album, Kanye West raps, “Now if I fuck this model/ And she just bleached her asshole/ And I get bleach on my T-shirt/ I 'mma feel like an asshole.” He suggests that it is the girl’s fault for getting bleach on his tee shirt, which she only did to make herself more sexually appealing. This misogyny in hip-hop culture is recognized to bring about problems. For instance, the women around these rappers believe they can only do well in life if they submit themselves to the men and allow themselves to be cared for in exchange for physical pleasure. In her essay, “From Fly-Girls to Bitches and Hoes”, Joan Morgan argues that the same rap music that dehumanizes women can be a powerful platform for gender equality if implemented correctly.
I say this because it better informed me on issues that I have known were present in the hip hop/rap culture. One of the main points in the film was the manhood in hip-hop culture. Before I dig into this topic one thing to understand is that hip-hop was created in the slums of New York. People grew up in very tough times; poverty was the norm, violence was high, and drugs influenced people’s lives. As you watch the film you can clearly see that all of the artists portray a tough “don’t mess with me” image. When asked why Hip-Hop promotes these images artists responded almost unanimously. They said that when you grow up in tough conditions you can’t be a punk. People see anything that’s not toughness weak. Anybody who isn’t perceived as tough is looked at like a bitch. Another big topic in the film was the way hip-hop victimizes women, and African American women in particular. The culture of Hip-Hop reduces women to sex objects. They’re half naked or more in the music videos and dancing explicitly. An issue in the film was when popular rapper Nelly swiped his credit card down a woman’s butt cheeks in a music video. This lead Nelly to cancel a bone marrow donation event at Spellman College after students said they were going to protest. Another issue in the film was homophobia. When a rapper named of Busta Rhymes was asked about homophobia he didn’t even respond to the question he completely walked off set. That
Sean “Jay Z” Carter is considered among many in the world of Hip Hop as one of the most influential lyricist in the history of the rap music genre. He is known for his elaborate use of references to history’s most prominent figures, his rags to riches legacy and his life of wealth and fame. Despite Sean Carter’s success, he constantly pays homage to the journey that has brought him to where he stands today. In 2013, he released his twelfth studio album, “Magna Carta Holy Grail”, which contained the song “Oceans” featuring singer/songwriter and grammy award winner Frank Ocean. The song takes on a recollective scene of Jay Z and Frank Ocean sailing on a yacht across the Atlantic, celebrating their accomplishments, while retrospectively looking
On May 5, 2018, Atlanta rapper Childish Gambino released a video for his new song titled “This is America.” The video featured not-so-subtle commentary on the current gun debate in the United States and began trending quickly. Many began to wonder if a song with this much political weight could make it past the viral stage and hold its own on the music charts. One of those inquiring was Chris Molanphy, a journalist for Slate.com who often writes about popular music. He makes the claim that this song is “one of the most lyrically daring [Billboard] Hot 100 No. 1 in history.” In his article, “‘This is America,’ the Video, Is a Smash. Will the Song Have Legs?,” Molanphy uses diction, ethos, and analogy to argue that Gambino’s “This is America”
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
Hip-Hop’s criticism of George W. Bush is a good example of hip-hop’s reflection of Black public opinion. The Republican candidate who already had a low approval rating of 57% amongst African-Americans received an even lower approval rating after his lackluster efforts to support Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Jones, 2003; Cillizza & Sullivan 2013).
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...
Yet, as a general rule, all they were were just another pair of shoes that he would, in the long run, simply discard for the following extraordinary thing available. Individuals turn out to be so caught up in the moment that they neglect to perceive what they are following. Individuals make foolish buys to fit in for the time being; however, when they ponder a portion of the decisions they have made, they wind up feeling absurd for their futile buys. In general, the song “Wings” is about society attempting to persuade individuals what they are supposed to be and the amount they should pay to be viewed as cool or famous by all accounts and how as a child, Macklemore was eager to spend fundamentally any measure of cash on shoes that would make him cool. When he grew up, he understood that with a specific end goal to be a leader, one can't simply join a development and fit in with what every other person is
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
“My love, she keeps me warm.” Without context, these song lyrics have no impact or power behind them. However, if told that these words were sung by a female vocalist, and preceded by the lyrics “I can’t change, even if it tried, even if I wanted to,” suddenly the words have meaning as a woman sings of her love for another woman (Haggerty, Lewis, Lambert, 2102). These lyrics come from the 2012 song “Same Love” by Macklemore with Ryan Lewis and featuring Mary Lambert. In the song “Same Love,” Macklemore raises his voice against the issues of discrimination, gay rights, and marriage equality that we see in today's era. He uses two fallacies in the song, but Macklemore’s use of the three rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos in his song “Same Love,” have a great level of success in proving the importance of gay rights and marriage equality.
In those lyrics J.Cole is trying to awaken black rappers to realize that they are the foundation of Hip Hop and Rap and their thrown is being over taken by white people. He also calls out to those black rapper who fight with each other to see who 's the best rapper because they look childish and aren 't what happening with their genre which are being gentrified. Later on, Macklemore, one of the white names said in the song, agreed with the J.Cole 's statement of hip hop being gentrified and releases White Privilege II where he raps "My success is the product of the same system that let off Darren Wilson guilty, We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we 2just stand by, We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives? We want to dress like, walk like, talk like, dance like, yet we just stand by, We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?"(). J.Cole song help motivate other rapper speak out against the injustice with in our community. When Macklemore uses the phrase "We take all we want from black culture, but will we show up for black lives?", he acknowledges the effort of not only him
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.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
He felt personally attacked by these assumptions as a young child and speaks about it in his song: “When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay/‘cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight” (Macklemore Ln 1-2). There are a couple of prejudices in these lyrics. He is giving you the idea that men who like art are thought of as gay and that men who do things that are associated with women tendencies, such as keeping their room straight, are also gay. These are a few examples of how people typically try to identify a gay man. He continued these lyrics with “…bunch of stereotypes all in my head/a preconceived idea of what it all meant/for those that liked the same sex/had the characteristics” (Macklemore Ln 6,8-10). He is explaining here that society believes that gay people have certain characteristics that make them who they are. It is this kind of judgment that makes people not want to be linked to these stereotypes. With imagery, he shows a father and son playing football happily in their front yard. This is the normal idea of what a boy should grow up doing. He also shows two young girls playing with dolls which is another idea of gender roles. If someone sees a boy playing with a doll, they are likely to think it is wrong because society thinks that that would make them gay and that that is not right. In “Same Love” Macklemore