Chiji Oji AFAS LAS RELI 335 Alejandro Nava 14 June 2024 Street Scriptures Summary This essay aims to highlight and summarize the key factors, ideas, and themes of the novel Street Scriptures by Alejandro Nava. It is a book that explores the interconnected nature between religious theology and the ethics, politics, and culture of hip-hop and its communities. The three chapters I plan to do a detailed summarization of are the opening introduction, chapter one, and chapter two because of the natural sequence of ideas within the book, and the overall striking important details each chapter contains. With the use of quotes, textual simplification, and detailed analysis, I hope to summarize the unique perspectives, topics, and contents this novel …show more content…
The professor states, “When dissecting rap lyrics it’s easy to forget that we are dealing with something sublime in music,” saying that the essence of music needs to be “felt and fingered, carefully touched, rubbed and weighed” (Nava 43). The writer also discusses Hip-Hop’s mystical and prophetic character, and it has the capability of triggering a listener’s awareness, emotions, and consciousness because of its perspectives and overall emotional power. Professor Nava explains that “hip-hop plays the role of the blind prophet in many instances, helping us to see and experience the world from a new perspective” (Nava 44). For example, the metaphors about braille that Chance the Rapper and Jay-Z wrote about the duality and diversity of Hip-Hop. He then describes the shift of the Hip-Hop narrative back to similar works like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” (1982). This piece of media is notable for its deep, bluesy atmosphere. This type of music helps shift the Hip-Hop tide from a dance-centric focus to a street-centric …show more content…
He expressed that Run-DMC’s success created the foundation for more ghetto-centric rappers, and their unique sound represented the heart of life in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Subsequently, the topic of Eric B. and Rakim’s first album Paid in Full (1987) is discussed because it has an advanced use of sampling combined with Rakim’s complex lyrical skills. Nava describes Rakim’s “deep and commanding voice” and his complicated rhyming styles because it takes inspiration from jazz legends and uses the Five Percenters’ ideas, that challenged the borders of what emcees could accomplish with Hip-Hop (Nava 47). The Five Percenters' attention on educating divine self-worth to disregarded adolescence influenced Rakim’s approach to music. The last large chapter takeaway is the discussion on Public Enemy, which is described as having a threatening and disobedient style of music, reflecting the socio-political issues of the 1980s. This period is labeled by Reagan’s strategies that negatively affected brown, black, and Native
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
Some weaknesses of James McBride’s “Hip Hop Planet” include its cynical tone and his attitude towards the musical side of Hip Hop. McBride opens the essay with a reflection on what his ultimate nightmare is. He showcases the Hip Hop community in a negative light with phrases like, “music that doesn’t seem to be music—rules the world” (McBride, pg. 1). This starts the essay off negatively because it misleads the reader by letting them think he is not a supporter of the Hip Hop movement. As you read the entire essay you realize this is not the case. The article itself isn’t very inviting because tone of the entire essay is very cold and cynical. He also doesn’t agree with the typical Hip Hop sound saying things like, “It sounded like a broken record” (McBride, pg. 1). The sound of Hip Hop music is what helps define it and is a crucial aspect of
Perry, Imani. 2004. Prophets of the hood: politics and poetics in hip hop. Durham: Duke University Press.
Prophets of the Hood is the most detailed and a brilliantly original study to date of hip hop as complicated and innovative literary story form. It is written with a refreshing harmonious combination savvy significance rigor as well as brave and creative narrative verve. Imani Perry’s research is an interesting analysis of late twentieth century in American great culture. Prophet of the hood is an excellent and unique book. It draws up a clear division between the negatives and positives involved in hip hop. She takes the discussions of rap to a deeper and greater levels with an insightful analysis of the poetic and political features of the art form. Being a fan and a scholar, Perry is aware the art, tradition of hip hop through an analysis of the song lyrics.
The documentary, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, was produced, written, and directed by Byron Hurt and was released in 2007 by PBS. Mr. Hurt is an American activist, lecturer, and a graduate of Northeastern University where he played American football as a quarterback. The documentary provides details about sexuality; violence, homophobia and hyper-masculinity in Hip Hop culture. Hurt, a long time hip-hop lover, the more he learned, the more the lyrics, violence and sexism became more unexpected to him, and this influenced him to make the documentary Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
In one of the chapters, ‘Where Did Our Love Go?’ the author reveals how blacks in America use the music to express their anger and commitment to emerge as great people in an unfair community. Most songs are written to educate the society on the negative effects of racism. They encourage the society to love one another and embrace unity. The human nature is founded through a social platform where philosophers claim that people were created to love one another and live with peace and unity. Through this book, it is clear that the blacks in the hip-hop generation are money minded. However, this is expected in a world where the economy is tough. The author claims that the youth are the people who are majorly affected by racism. Many of them have been arrested for pity mistakes which are magnified in the courts due to the impression that the society has on the black people. They engage in dirty activities like drug dealings that that put them on the wrong side of the
(Notorious B.I.G. 48-49). The song “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five also touches on the problems faced in Black ghettos and brings those problems to the forefront. Like in “Things Done Changed,” the issues of violence, drugs, and poverty are also discussed in this hip hop song. In addition to those problems, “The Message” specifically mentions the issue of the poor education people in Black communities receive, such as when the speaker states that he or she received “a bum education” (Grandmaster Flash
George covers much familiar ground: how B-beats became hip hop; how technology changed popular music, which helped to create new technologies; how professional basketball was influenced by hip hop styles; how gangsta rap emerged out of the crack epidemic of the 1980s; how many elements of hip hop culture managed to celebrate, and/or condemn black-on-black violence; how that black-on-black violence was somewhat encouraged by white people scheming on black males to show their foolishness, which often created a huge mess; and finally, how hip hop used and continues to use its art to express black frustration and ambition to blacks while, at the same time, refering that frustration and ambition to millions of whites.
“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.
In Total Chaos, Jeff Chang references Harry Allen, a hip hop critic and self-proclaimed hip hop activist. Harry Allen compares the hip hop movement to the Big Bang and poses this complex question: “whether hip-hop is, in fact a closed universe-bound to recollapse, ultimately, in a fireball akin to its birth-or an open one, destined to expand forever, until it is cold, dark, and dead” (9). An often heard phase, “hip hop is dead,” refers to the high occurrence of gangster rap in mainstream hip hop. Today’s hip hop regularly features black youths posturing as rich thugs and indulging in expensive merchandise. The “hip hop is dead” perspective is based on the belief that hip hop was destined to become the model of youth resistance and social change. However, its political ambitions have yet to emerge, thus giving rise to hip hops’ criticisms. This essay will examine the past and present of hip hop in o...
Swedenburg, Ted. "Homies in The ‘Hood: Rap’s Commodification of Insubordination." Rpt. in That’s the Joint!: The Hip-Hop Studies Reader. Ed. Murray Forman and Mark Anthony Neal. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. 579-591. Print.
Since hip-hop has expanded from the undergrounds in Bronx in the 70’s it has grew into a popular accepted music genre. Consequently, as it progressed from the golden age it gradually grew away from its original roots. If one were to evaluate the change of lyrics in hip-hop, they would see a difference between early hip-hop and today’s hip-hop. The current state of hip-hop is in a stage where things like hey young world are outdated. Instead of broadcasting out a positive message, hip-hop sends out a message of sex, drug, and violence. The early musicians who helped solidify hip-hop, by producing music that told stories on subjects of race, respect, or even music that had a positive message.
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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.
>. Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .