“No role models and I 'm here right now No role models to speak of Searchin ' through my memory, my memory, I couldn 't find one.”(Cole) In these lyrics you can get a taste of how this is song to relate to some of the youth who had grew up with no role model and or father. In the song, No Role Modelz, the rapper J Cole speaks on the issues developing as a young adult without a role model, or growing up without a father to help shape him into a better man in this world and how without fame he would be treated differently, while being analyzed using a cultural criticism lens.
The primary issue with growing up without a dad and or role model in your life is that you are more susceptible to be a troublemaker in our society, and that the children
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For example you when you have fame people aren 't as honest with you compared to how you would be treated if you don 't have as much wealth. Growing up without a father and or mother can shaper you into something that could be terrible and or something great its all about who you let influence your self, J Cole clearly aspired to be great and succesful where he could have became a thug if he idealized someone like that. He was born in Germany and moved to the United States when he was a toddler and his father left him shortly into his house.(J) This may of been one of his aspirations in writing this song.
In the song, No Role Models, he addresses the issue of not having a role model and where he may have benefited from having none. For instance “No role models and I 'm here right now No role models to speak of Searchin ' through my memory, my memory I couldn 't find one.” (Cole)
. An instance where the song hinders my claim is, “First things first rest in peace Uncle Phil For real, you the only father that I ever knew I get my bitch pregnant I 'ma be a better you.” (Cole). This part of the song represents how he knew only one father figure and how he 's going to be a better father than
His path started like many others as Hip-Hop usually just talks about degrading of women, promiscuity, guns and drugs. When Cole finished high school he went off to college at St. Johns University. He had always helped young African Americans at some point in their lives that have had similar dreams of becoming something in life. Rap has always dominated most of the black community to assist in the expression of their feelings, emotions and situations. Single parent homes are very common in the African American Community, and J. Cole’s is also a product of this unfortunate circumstance as he writes about his life through his music. He has been fascinated by rap since he was fourteen and followed his dreams becoming Jay-Z’s
The second song, Change, also shows the problem with systematic oppression. J. Cole recounts the time that he saw his friend get shot. This is the main point of the whole album and the song revolves around the tale of this friend who is killed. The last song, 4 Your Eyez Only, brings everything back together and tells the full narrative of his friend’s unfortunate fate. While attacking the life that many people glorify and empathizing with those who are stuck in this life, J Cole closes out his fourth album on a hopeful note. Using the perspective of his deceased friend, he writes a song (the actual album), for his daughter, condemning all that is bad and hoping for her to grow into a somebody. In a heart touching verse the father states “Maybe you hate me, maybe you miss me, maybe you spite
J Cole begins to point out how hard he had to work to get where he is. For 11 winters straight he took on New York’s climate (lns. 51) and while climbing the ladder of success, he rose the standards “…so high that you gotta get Obama to fore the air force to find it” (lns. 53). This hyperbole is not only a form of bragging, but by including the metaphor of the ladder to success, he lets his audience know that he is not trying to be just another famous rapper. He is trying to be so good that he changes the standards of what people consider to be a successful
The song “Change” by J. Cole, is about his close friend, James McMillian’s who was murdered at 22 years old and learning about it when it was reported on the local news station. Throughout the song he raps about his emotional experience dealing with his friends death. In the beginning of the song he states “My intuition is telling me there’ll be better days” is him saying that he is hopeful that his grief subsides and it will eventually get easier as the days go on. Towards the end of the song he raps “I made it home, I woke up and turned on the morning news overcame with a feeling I can’t explain cause that was my brother James that was slain, he was 22.” This verse was him explaining how he heard the news that his friend was murdered.
Throughout both songs, the artists J. Cole and Kanye West describe shortcuts that the younger generation of people would take to try and obtain the illusion of success. “A Tale of 2 Cities” by J. Cole describes a scenario
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
Rap music has given me personally something to look up to. Not a role model but hope of continuing my dreams because rappers successfully made it. “For what’s money without happiness, or hard times without the people you love” is from a song called “Love Yourz” by J. Cole. He clearly understands how there is “beauty in the struggle and ugliness in the success” because he’s lived that life. Other songs such as “2Face” or “The Autograph” were instantly relatable to me because he has been through several struggles from the beginning of his childhood. Cole’s father left when he was six leaving his mother and younger brother alone. Cole became “the man of the house” but becoming a rapper is not as easy as it seems. Cole’s messages in these two songs are relative because I too, have had several issues with my mother and father creating a sense of lonesome. Hearing music like Coles helped me overcome my
Cole is a gifted and bright musician who does a great job of expressing emotions and rooting deep meaning within his lyrics. J. Cole’s song “Crooked Smile” represents the problems society faces with regards to women’s insecurities and the lack of self love in young women today. Society is trying to keep them down and make them feel lesser “You were the one that was tryna keep me way down, but like the sun, know you know I find my way back 'round” the hook explains how they still raise again like the sun does everyday. Cole uses “Crooked Smile” to address the problem and reassure women that they are beautiful and loved the way they are. Cole empowers women and confronts the issues within society that are still relevant
Cole’s musical idols, which greatly influenced his musical style. His style captures the attention from younger generations and the adolescent population, whom also came from an uneasy childhood and along the way lost motivation. “I 'm here to spread a message of hope. Follow your heart. Don 't follow what you 've been told you 're supposed to do.” (Music times, 2014) Through this message, J. Cole constantly portrays to be an ambition seeking activist. He hopes to project hope in those who are struggling by sharing his life challenges and voicing how he overcame
A great example would be 21-year-old E.J. Duncan. He and two friends were part of a hip-hop trio called Graveside. Their lyrics were composed of harsh language and gruesome violence that drew, like moths to flame, youths to their collective fanbase. The only problem that they had was their influence; Graveside comprehended that the only way to get anywhere in the hip-hop industry is to dish out the music they want to hear. And these young adults, being titular rather than a true example, threw away their lives for fame that never came. (Merino 83)
What most listeners do not understand is that a lot of hip-hop music is not understandable from the get-go. It takes intense analyzation of lyrics and an open mind to be able to understand what it is really about. Some people can’t understand what is being said just by listening with their ears, and they don’t bother to go study the lyrics. They then leave with the perception that hip-hop is chalk full of, well, nothing. One of the greatest rap lyricists of all time, Shawn Carter, also known as Jay-Z, says, “People don’t bother trying to get it. The problem is that so many people don’t even know how to listen to the music.” Mister Shawn Carter has also said that rap is poetry. He mentioned not to forget that the lyrics in the song were transmitted from feelings, thoughts and emotions to lyrics written on a piece of paper. He went on to say that if you hung that piece of paper up on a wall and someone went up and read it as it was, they’d say, “Wow, this is genius. This is poetry.” McHorter’s opinion on rap can and will be agreed upon by many, many people; however, this conclusion can only be reached without h...
Many white rappers have had a difficult time making it in the black industry of rap. Eminem, the most recent white rapper to hit the mainstream has had his own share of difficulties in this industry and in his life as well. The poem written my Marshall Mathers, now known as Eminem, entitled "Life," displays Eminem's views on his life, and just life in general. Eminem has continued on the legacy of the contact zone between the white men in the black man's industry, this being rap.
For example, Tupac commences his rap song by referring to poverty in the first few verses in his song as he states, “I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself/ Is life worth living should I blast myself? / I’m tired of being poor and even worse I’m black/ My stomach hurts so I’m looking for a purse to snatch,” (Shukar l. 2-4). In these verses Tupac indicates that many African Americans live in poverty and they are not given many opportunities to do well for themselves. Changes to better their situation seem unobtainable and he portrays the voice of impoverished groups as he questions his purpose in life. He contemplates whether or not he should continue living. This verse also indicates that people with very little opportunity must deviate from the norms which society has placed on them, meaning that because they have no opportunity they must resort to stealing in order to avoid
Nevertheless, most of what is usually discussed in popular hip hop songs is how harsh the “gangster” life is. Now most middle class youth has no sort of experience when it comes to living a harsh life. That is what makes it so much more intriguing to these teenagers. They now have some sort insight into what that “gangster” life really is. Each hip hop artist has a very different “come up” story. Some may have encountered more hardship than others. For example, a very famous Brooklyn rapper named “Jay-Z” can definitely give insight to what one can face. In a song titled “Drug Dealers Anonymous” made by another rapper named Pusha T, Jay-Z featured on the track. In the song he says “ ‘89 in London pull the Benz up / Type it in, Google’s your friend bruh / 14 year drug dealer and still counting.” Here he is not exactly saying that he still continues to sell drugs, but now he has a different “hustle” which is the rapping. Selling drugs were a bad reality for many of these rappers. Some turned to the urban poetry to express one’s feeling, and that is when rapping comes into the picture. Once these artists are very well known and famous, they have this huge platform set up to allow others to know what they have faced in their life. The audience (middle class youth), now have a huge respect towards that person. This gives the listener an emotional connection between them, and their favorite hip hop artist. In the head of the listener, people now think that the rapper opened up to them to let them know what trials one has faced. Making the interest even stronger than it was before. Listening to their favorite hip hop artist also allows them to really experience the “gangster” life without putting themselves in actual dangers. In many of today’s hip hop hit songs, certain topics are usually discussed throughout the song such as: selling drugs to make money, having
Eminem, as well as many other rappers, frequently incorporate poetry into their music in order to create a unique form of rap. Not only do Eminem and these other rappers aim to entertain their fans, but their unique style of blending rap music and poetry “provides a significant form of education for adolescents, one that extends beyond the classroom and into their peer group circles”(Powell 245). These artists combine these two styles in order to send a positive message to youth experiencing poverty-stricken lifestyle in certain areas in America. The “rap lyrics concentrate primarily on the contemporary African American experience” (Powell 245). In this particular song, Eminem aims to empower and encourage individuals to take a chance on their dreams and essentially “lose themselves” in the moment. The rapper aims to inspire his audience with lines “you only get one shot do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo…” (Eminem 27-28). He motivates his audience to take chances in life because they may never come again. If one does not take a cha...