Kendrick Lamar is an American rapper from Compton, California who released his debut major label album in 2012 titled good kid, m.A.A.d city. “good kid, m.A.A.d city topped both the Billboard Rap and R&B/Hip-Hop album charts and reached number two on the Billboard 200” (Hicks). One of his songs from the popular album is “The Art of Peer Pressure”. The song “The Art of Peer Pressure” by rapper Kendrick Lamar was about Kendrick as a teenager from Compton, California and being influenced by his peers and the people he hangs out with. Throughout the song he mentions things he would never think about doing until he with “the homies”. After smoking weed and drinking in the car, Kendrick then tells a narrative about a mission he and his friends pursued. …show more content…
The mission was to rob a house without getting caught by the police. Once they were ready they pulled up to the house and began burglarizing the house stealing anything from DVD players to TV’s to video games. After some time of robbing the home, they notice it was someone inside the home and they heard the police so they left. The police were in pursuit of them and they made a couple turns to avoid capture by the police. They escaped without being detected and Kendrick called it “one lucky night with the homies”. Within Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Art of Peer Pressure”, repetition, tone and rhythm/beat illustrate the power and impact of peer pressure on teenagers.. The power of peer pressure on teenagers is highlighted in Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Art of Peer Pressure” by his use of repetition.
Two line Kendrick that is significantly repeated through the course of the song is “Me and the homies” and “I’m with the homies”. The use of repetition with these specific line is in place to emphasize the changed character Kendrick displays when he around his friends. In repeating this line he shows that he is with his friends thus being the reason why he does some of the thin he is doing. This repetition is in effect for example, when Kendrick says “Rush a n**ga quick and then we laugh about it. That’s ironic ‘cause I’ve never been violent, until I’m with the homies”. The Compton rapper explains in that line that he and his friend just robbed another man and he isn’t normally violent or would do such a thing unless he is with his friends. “got the blunt in my mouth Usually I’m drug-free, but shit I’m with the homies” is another example of his character changing due to the pressures he receives from his friends. “The character's drug use is not so much a choice of pleasure as it is a puerile bid for attention” (Coates). Usually he is drug free, but when he is with his friends he smokes and does drugs. Another use of repetition includes the line “One day, it’s gon’ burn you out”. Kendrick’s mother repeats this phrase to him over and over, foreshadowing that if he continues being with his friend and being pressured to participate in the …show more content…
violent activities that it will lead to serious consequences maybe resulting to imprisonment or death. Once again, he probably would ignore his mother’s advice and continue to do the things he is doing just around his friend because it’s his friends and he has to fit in with them. Along with repetition, tone also helps illustrates the power and impact of peer pressure on teenagers in Kendrick Lamar’s song “The Art of Peer Pressure”. In the beginning of the song the tone was more cheerful and positive, showing that Kendrick Lamar is just having fun hanging with his friends and nothing bad is happening. When Kendrick is rapping, one can hear it in his voice that he is at peace and having fun. As the song continues, the tone changes significantly. Right before and through the first verse, the same upbeat tone beat heard in the beginning has seemed to disappear and now the tone in Kendrick’s voice seems more serious and concerned. The tone of his voice when he says “me and the homies” is the first verse leads on to believe the fun he was just having is all gone. During the second verse and particularly in this line ““I got the blunt in my mouth, usually I’m drug free, but sh*t I’m ‘with the homies’.” his tone was more nonchalant, not really caring about anything he doing because he is with his friends. The tone heard from Kendrick was more of a guilty tone one could tell because when he said this “Bragging ’bout the episode we just had, a shot of Hennessy didn’t make me feel that bad.”, he means he have to drink to make him not feel bad about the things that happen. The tone changed from his previous “I’m with the homies” tone to a more guilty “a shot of Hennessy didn’t make me feel that bad” tone. Last verse to notice is when Kendrick said “one lucky night with the homies” in relief when he and his friends escaped the police. The tone changes throughout this song refers to the pressure he received from his friends to do things that he wouldn’t normally do as well as how he was feeling in these situations. Not only did tone and repetition emphasize the power of peer pressure in Kendrick’s Lamar song “The Art of Peer Pressure”, but so did the song’s beat and use of instruments.
The beat and instrumentation of a song help make a song’s sound. Within “The Art of Peer Pressure” the beat and use of instruments of the song had one major change that stood throughout the whole song. This change gave the song a completely different sound/flow along with changing how a person would perceive what’s happening in the song with Kendrick Lamar. The more happy/neutral beat changed for a darker beat after his mother explained the repercussions of what will happen if he keeps falling under the peer pressure of his friends. The beat was noticeably darker/depressing and one who knows music would say that after the change, the usage of more instruments having a bass pitch because it is lower in pitch and has a deeper sound. Before the change in the first verse, however was more vibrant and the use of the treble keys on a piano and other treble instruments was being played, noticeable because of its high
pitch. All in all, in Kendrick Lamar’s song “the Art of Peer Pressure” we all notice this song and its message was shaped through the song’s repetition, tone and beat/instrumentation. These three components of the song “The Art of Peer Pressure” could all be considered significant in displaying how this song shows how peer pressure can affect teenagers. Many teenagers can relate to this because they would engage in activities and vices just because many of their friends are doing it as well. The songs show the power peer pressure can have on a teenager because it showed when Kendrick began doing things he wouldn’t normally do it impacted how he acted, how he felt and the way he thought about things. The beat took a change as well as his tone and different instruments was used when he was peer pressured to smoke, drink and even rob the house. The repetition emphasized that he only did these things because he was with his friends. At the end one could see how this song and all the elements to it was a great example on how peer pressure can impact a teenager today.
Conformity can be very crucial, infact a lot of people eventually start hurting themselves or doing drugs just because they don't feel themselves anymore.Why can't society change? why can't that one kid that always follows everyone in the back can turn into the kid that just hangs with the people they really wanna hang with?We need to embrace ourselves so we can stop all this conformity from consuming us.Tupac was a nonconformist, he always did what made him happy and always told the truth.
“You take a record and use it to empower yourself” having growing-up in the Westside of Chicago in a neighborhood fill with violence, Lupe make a lot of records that show listeners that even with the odds against him that he use his struggle to better himself.
Kendrick Lamar is known for his controversial lyrics discussing popular and historic political issues. Recently winning the Grammy for best music video of the year, he typically uses his music videos as a paratext to further elaborate on his thought provoking songs and to point out issues in society. His Grammy winning video, “Humble,” does an exceptional job of highlighting the increasing conformism in society and suggests nonconformity as a way in which an individual can rise above it. The increasing conformism that Kendrick Lamar is critical of is a type of ideology. An ideology is a system of values upheld by a group and the values effect the group’s actions and goals. A conformist ideology can be defined by one following the popular route
On a lighter note, he explains his inspirations for his dream of making music in the song ‘Juicy.’ Biggie’s writing went in depth to show his audience where he came from and to also inspire other artists working their way up in the music industry. Lastly, Kendrick Lamar’s piece Good Kid m.A.A.d City is a coming of age story from the perspective of teenage Kendrick living in Compton, California. This album shows the dark side of Kendrick’s life, as well as his lighter moments of aspiration. There are vivid depictions of violence that he endured as a teen, as well as the influence of money and power.
Lamar has been successfully achieving his dream by rapping about the stress and difficult situations he has encountered but strongly claims that we will all be alright in his song, “Alright.” He released a song called “i” that reflects how violence has increased in the cities and how he wishes everyone should love each other as humans. His last song on “To Pimp A Butterfly” called “Mortal Man” he states “only because you don’t wear the same color as mine, that doesn’t mean I can’t respect you as a human being.” He clearly states how he understands the reputations of other gang members may seem important but should all still respect others as people. Lamar has been a role model to several students from the city of Compton that was able to create a scholarship called “Be Alright” that is based off the same song called “Alright.” Kendrick Lamar has been respectively producing music for his fans without a doubt of impressive beats and
In Kendrick Lamar’s song PRIDE, Kendrick shows the listener that for him, pride is one of a number of sins he finds it difficult to avoid. He hopes that the lyrics in his songs will make amends from the mistakes he has made. To enhance his message, he uses the literary devices personification, rhyme and allusion. Personification is giving human traits to inanimate objects. For example, in the song, Kendrick says, “Love’s gonna get you killed.
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.
“I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself. Is life worth living should I blast myself?” (Tupac Shakur, “Changes”). The second and third line of one of Tupac’s most famous songs creates deep emotion-filled thoughts about the listener’s self in a presently oppressed society. Tupac Shakur is the most well-known rappers of all-time and has made a major impact on the rap industry because of his capability to be poetic while being a gangster rapper at the same ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬time. This marvelously superb song shows Tupac’s more proactive side by educating everyone about and tackling African American Social issues. When you are constantly being treated unfairly as an individual, simply because of your skin color, you are going to do everything in your power to end it, which is what Tupac Shakur was trying to accomplish by publishing this song. The song "Changes" is one of the best examples of this, founding his point and conveying trust within his music and connecting it
While on a recent carefree jaunt throughout Harlem, I was introduced to the lyrical genius of one “Big L.” As is common of all true artists, Mr. L passed before his time, but not without a legacy. You see, it is the will of the Almighty Himself that I elucidate the meaning of Mr. L’s first major work, “Put it On,” in order for it to be made accessible to the common man and the upper crust alike, so that this truly majestic piece may live for eternity in the bosom of humankind. To this end, I have composed a line-for-line translation of the complex, sophisticated diction, which, I expect, will henceforth serve as the standard through which all scholars will study this master of the English language.
When he is saying that he wasn’t born with a silver spoon, or had an easy growing up with the advantages of money; he suggest that he might “rob” a reverend for money. Even someone with as high of a social status as a revered, he believes that he will benefit more from this that it will cost him. This is so since his entire goal is to get money. To finish up with another example of Kendrick’s self-interest he says, “Dreams of livin’ life like rappers do” and a few lines later, “back to reality, we poor, ya bish”. It is clear here he has ambitions of making it out and becoming famous and rich, but then again is faced with reality. This could easily be related to elastic and inelastic sides of the
Accommodating for lost time can be a struggle, however education is the perfect key to allow a human a better diagram for survival in this world. Mortal Man is full of the reality that is blinded to society, because they have been confused by the experience of the struggle. Comparing two poems written within the song titled Mortal Man by the rap artist/ poet, Kendrick Lamar, provides an opportunity to engage in the Burkean Parlor; discussing the experience of the struggle and the proper way to survive through it. There is credibility of the struggle without mistakes of not knowing how to deal with the initial interaction; mistakes do not always lead to success; it is just an excuse to repeat history. Kendrick Lamar’s work provides evidence
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
People are surrounded by music every day of their lives. They hear it in their homes, on the radio on their way to work; some people have even caught themselves humming the tune of their favorite song to themselves. But how many people actually listen and not just hear the music they are listening to? Teens in particular don’t realize the message behind the music they are quoting the lyrics to, or the effect it has on them. In today’s culture where rap music has become increasingly popular, many teens aren’t realizing what they are listening to. A lot of teens would argue that the music they listen to has no effect on them, but they are wrong. Rap music, especially, has had a major impact on teenagers in today’s society.
The Effects of Hip-Hop Music on Today’s Youth Does hip-hop music effect today’s youth in a positive or negative way? The effects of hip-hop music have been disputable following the time when its rise into the social standard in the late twentieth century, but hip-hop music is not just one sided but can be both positive and negative in today’s youth. What is hip-hop about? Assuming that you address hip-hop fans, the term alludes to more than simply a musical type - it incorporates an entire society, including dance structures, graffiti symbolization, and fashion (Selke INT).
Peer pressure happens every day in practically every high school around the world. The intimidation of peer pressure can make teens forget morals and be able to discern right from wrong. Some forms of peer pressure have greater effects on teens than others. Peer pressure can affect teens lives forever because the decisions they make can alter their way of living or thinking.