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The undeniable influence of Kanye West
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“I 'm living in that 21st Century doin ' something mean to it, do it better then anybody you ever seen do it, screams from the haters got a nice ring to it, I guess every superhero need his theme music.” Many people believe modern day Hip-Hop contains nothing but blasphemy, profanity and references to narcotics, despite these contrary beliefs Hip-Hop is still an outlet for rappers/artists to express their thoughts and opinion through lyrical composition. Artist work night and day to compose what they see as a masterpiece, they always wish to create new and better works from their pervious album. Many factors come into play when determining whether an album lives up to it’s pre-release hype and being classified as one of the best works of the …show more content…
“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” by Kanye West is truly remarkable and a work of art for that decade and possibly for the century as well. If you’ve yet to figure out, the starting lyrics were extracted from this album. For Kanye West, releasing new and creative styles of works is crucial, each album of his utilizes a new element, all of his albums from “College Dropout” to “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” reflect and support this statement, his listeners can concur as …show more content…
Every single musical element is close to perfection, ranging from the piano to the violin being played in the background, along with the vocalist in the background, and the lyrical aspect makes this a phenomenal track. With the start of the piano to the four-minute piano single at the end, Kanye West and Pusha T took their lyrics to a new platform to this beat. Many call this the Greek tragedy rap since the theme behind this track is power, sex and money. This track has also received countless awards, even in the race for the best song of 2010 in my opinion and
I was twelve when I first heard the name “Kanye West”. He was featured in a song I rather liked at the time called “Forever” and whilst discussing the song with my friend one afternoon I remarked:
Kanye Omari West, rapper, producer, professional celebrity, and with an ego to match, has forced himself into the limelight of the music industry. Kanye West has made a lasting impression on all of those around him, whether it be a good one or bad. With seven full length albums, a multimillion record label company, and a successful fashion business all under his belt, it’s fair to say that Kanye has done his fair share of creating. Over the last twelve years Kanye went from a young Chicago kid just trying to get his flows off, to one of the most decorated musicians of all time. With over 20 Grammy’s and 3 of his albums ending up on the Rolling stones “500 greatest albums of all time”. He has continuously created, entertained, and spoken his mind for years. Whether it be “George Bush does not care about black people” or “Taylor imma let you finish, but Beyoncé had
The album was created in less than a year. They gained inspiration from the music of many rock bands, such as Kerry King from Slayer. While listening to the album, the lyrics are mostly about women, drugs, rebelling against parents and partying. The sound of the album from song to song is very different, yet each song has a similar base cord. Each song in the album has a consistent beat while they rap, with small bursts of sound that transitions the lyrics to a faster or slower pace.... ...
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
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
He may just seem like another rapper to you but if you actually listen to his lyrics you can see he’s not like any rapper out there. His name is Kanye West and he was born in Chicago Illinois. He grew up in the “ghetto” and learned to appreciate life. He didn’t learn to really, truly appreciate life until October of 2002. Driving back to his hotel late one night after a recording session, the new-coming rap/hip-hop artist was involved in a devastating, near fatal car accident. The crash left him with a broken jaw in three places and an appreciation for life. Just weeks after being released from the hospital he recorded his first major hit, “Through the Wire,” with his mouth still wired shut. He records every song like its going to be his last song and that makes every song better than the last. He’s not only a rap artist but also a producer. He has been responsible for being behind songs like Jay-Z’s Izzo, Girls, Girls, Girls, The Takeover, and 03 Bonnie and Clyde.
Throughout Black M’s song, there are three distinctive sounds being produced by instruments, repetitive clapping, and by up-tempo hip-hop beat. The instruments
“The Hip Hop Wars What We Talk About - And Why It Matters” by Tricia Rose explores what hip hop has done to society in recent years and what people think it has caused. Though it has become one of the most commercially successful genres in mainstream music Tricia Rose explains that the topics in hip hop music have narrowed. Commercial hip hop mainly consist of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and hoes. In the book she looks into the different points of views of people who think whether hip hop invokes violence or if it reflects life in a black ghetto and if it slows down advancement for African Americans in US. The author goes back and forth with the opinion of the mass on hip hop, she says people view hip hop as a music like heavy metal which people associate with violence but she refutes most of these points by showing the positives of hip hop.
From its conception in the 1970's and throughout the 1980's, hip hop was a self-contained entity within the community that created it. This means that all the parameters set for the expression came from within the community and that it was meant for consumption by the community. Today, the audience is from outside of the community and doesn’t share the same experiences that drive the music. An artists’ success hinges on pleasing consumers, not the community. In today's world, it isn’t about music that rings true for those who share the artists' experiences, but instead, music that provides a dramatic illusion for those who will never share the experiences conveyed. This has radically changed the creative process of artists and the diversity of available music. Most notably, it has called in to question the future of hip hop.
The group I would like to be apart of is G.O.O.D Music. G.O.O.D is an acronym for “Getting out our dreams.” This group is a recording label founded by Kanye West, who is also a music artists signed under G.O.O.D Music. They do have other music artists in the group such as, John Legend, Big Sean and Pusha T. Kanye west is actually the main reason why I would like to join the label. Throughout this paper I 'm going to address who Kanye West is, what I can learn from being in the group, and why I think I fit well with G.O.O.D Music.
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.
Rap is becoming more popular than ever, soon most of the world will have some type of knowledge of rap music. Rachel Sullivan from the University of Connecticut stated “White respondents in this survey had difficulty naming three rap artists, which indicated that they did not have a high level of commitment to the music.” This statement was produced in 2003, also seemed to be very one dimensional. Recently, rap music has been surging through the masses no matter the race. Furthermore, rap is becoming very prevalent especially in the youth of this era. Many trends, commercials, social media, etc. are revolving around rap music.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
Using the sample by Nina Simone on his track took it to another place, and put listeners into a different mindset with it. He could have referenced the poem in the song or titled it Strange Fruit, but having the opening of the song be the first lines of the poem takes it into a different space. Any song that has a sample of strange fruit or references it is normally a song discussing some form of racial injustice. West took this song and discussed New Age racial injustice and told a story from his own perspective. He uses Nina Simone’s cover of the song instead of Billie Holidays version of it as Nina Simone was more well known for her civil rights anthems. “Anthems as "Mississippi Goddam," "Old Jim Crow" and "I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free" (Kaufman). Everything that West says in this song draws some parallels to “Strange Fruit”. Blood on The Leaves is talking about a past relationship, but some of the lyrics can be related to feeling like a slave in the eyes of the media and New Age Lynch Mobs. Kanye says in the beginning “And all I want is what I can’t buy now”. As someone who is as wealthy as he is, the thought that he cannot purchase something shows that it isn’t something you can purchase with money, but that it is something that he wants, but will never be able to have because of the situation he is in now. He has become a
The most attractive attribute of this song is the background music, which somewhat resembles bells or chimes. When this is combined with Drake’s versatile voice, the result is truly uplifting. When listening to this song, I am often in a very joyful and happy mood. Just the sound of it is able to bring joy to an otherwise gloomy day, and this is what I love about it.