Mr Rase Essay In 2009, when I was in 4th grade, my bus driver would always play the radio station 95.5, which played strictly commercial hip hop. Back then, some of the classic radio hits were “Not Afraid” by Eminem, “Bedrock’ by Young Money, and “Run This Town” by Jay Z and Rihanna. When these songs would come on everybody would go nuts and sing along. The infectious beats, catchy hooks, mixed with the diverse vocal deliveries grabbed me by the ear and pulled me in. There’s something about rap music that keeps the listener intrigued. The unbelievable amount of artists, all with different personalities, styles, and influences will keep you interested from the first time you listened to rap, to the last song you ever hear. There are so many …show more content…
Lil Wayne, one of the most culturally influential rappers, released his first project in 1999, and has consistently been releasing project after project of catchy hooks, crazy flows, and corny punchlines. Wayne has released 13 albums and 24 mixtapes, which gives him not only one of the best, but one of the largest discographies ever. His discography makes him one of the best rappers because he has been dropping great projects for so long, and he can always be counted on to release something new and hot. One of the oldest rappers still in the game, Jay Z, has been making groundbreaking, cohesive albums since his debut in 1996. Jay has three albums considered classics, while most artists don’t even have one. He makes all of his projects so realistic, it’s easy listen to any Jay Z album from front to back and feel like you are closer to Jay and know more about him, which not many artists can do. Kanye West, who first debuted in 2004, may not be as old, or have as large a discography as Lil Wayne or Jay Z, still has one of the most flawless discographies of all time. Kanye does something no one else does; He reinvents himself with every project he releases. If that does not makes West’s discography stand out enough, he has won the grammy for the best rap album 4 times, which is the second most ever, and that proves that Kanye West’s discography makes him one of the best rappers of all time. Discography can prove an artist's legitimacy and separate him or her as one of the
Reality melted around me as I poured through album reviews and rankings, seeing the amount of praise and reverence his work holds, I was blown away. I watched interviews from artists I’d been a fan of for years, claiming that Kanye was their inspiration. I read analysis pinpointing how each of his albums opened up new sub genres in hip hop, how he completely changed the stigmatism of the art, allowing for new creative freedom, opening the doors for artists like Drake, Tyler the Creator and Chance the Rapper just to name a few. He had been right under the surface all along. He paved the way for my generation of artists to walk on, and I had been blissfully ignorant, skipping along his path.
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
Recently, rap has surpassed many genres of music. In the year 2017, eight of the 10 most listened to artists were rap artists. Artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Future, and Cardi B have many songs listed as the top 10 best selling tracks. What do all these rap artists have in common? They have the the three keys that make up the structure of a great rap album.
Kanye west didn't start rapping at first he was a music producer for awhile. Kanye produced for many artist 90’s and in 2001 he got his big break he started to produced for a different studio that’s when he started to produce my album “the blueprint” for other hip hop artist as well too.
His upbringing is one of an average american citizen. Being raised by his mother Donda West was a English professor lead to him living an average life. His parents divorced when he was very young. Showing interests in the ars at a very young age is something that kept promise. He took under the wing of DJ No I,D at the young age of 15, here is where he learned how to sample and mix beats.Kanye Graduated High School with decent grades and was off to Chicago State University.. He began dropped out of College at the age of 20 to focus on his music as opposed to what he was majoring which was English. He made it big by producing a majority of the songs on rapper Jay Z’s “The Blueprint”. He was still looked down upon as only a producer and not a artist. This was because he came from an a middle class upbringing. The Industry did not see him to fit in with Gangster Rap during that time period. While making his first debut album he Kanye West fell asleep behind the wheel and got into a serious car crash on which he almost died.Kanye West still worked on the album in the hospital, requesting a drum machine to be brought to the hospital. Here he recorded his his single on his First album “Through the Wire” rapping with his mouth wired shut from surgery, From his Debut album “The College Dropout” Kanye West changed the innovated the style of Hip-Hop. As stated before Gangster rap wasn't the only thing
Music can rock your world, enlighten your mind and change your perspective. When you think of rap music who comes first to mind? Without hesitation, it must be the self acclaimed best rapper alive, Lil Wayne. He alone can make such statements as “My picture should be in the dictionary next to the definition of definition” (Wayne, “Shoot Me Down”). Lil Wayne is a prominent force in the rap world. His debut Album in 1999, Tha Block is Hot went double platinum upon its release and even his lowest selling album is still certified as gold according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Rollingstone Magazine declares “Lil Wayne is one of the most popular — and prolific — recording artists in the world” (Kreps). Top this with eight Grammy nominations and four Grammy wins and it is definitely hard to argue with the rap star’s claims. Lil Wayne, with his simple beginnings, soon found his way to the top of the charts with his outstanding lyrics, unique vocals, and quick wit by shutting down all critics with his many gold and platinum albums and thus truly establishing himself as the best rapper alive.
He received a boom box for his birthday one year and from there, the rest is history. Jay-Z is one of the most talented rapper alive. Many rappers including J. Cole and Kanye West idolize him. His songs paint pictures and tell stories. He uses his past experiences as the base of many of his rhymes. Every line of every verse has a detailed meaning. Jay-Z used his musical gift to create initial success and wealth for himself. However the one part that is often overlooked is the countless hours he spends working and perfecting his craft. Jay-Z’s process for recording is unlike most. Ever since then Jay-Z decided not to write down any of his lyrics; he has memorized every line of every song he has recorded, making his style even more unique. He has released 12 studio albums and every single one has sold over a million copies, making them certified platinum albums. As a result, Jay-Z has been nominated for several Grammy Awards, while winning 21 of them. Jay-Z has performed at many major events including President Obama’s rally in 2012, as well as his popular music festival entitled “Made in America” just this year. Jay-Z has sold out shows all over the world, including New Yorks very own Madison Square Garden and Barclays Arena. There have been many great musical talents to emerge from Brooklyn, however none of them have been as skilled and crafty as Jay-Z. Jay-Z’s music success as a rapper alone arguably deems him the King of New
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. His birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971. Both of his parents were members of the Black Panther Party. Tupac Shakur was a vocal participant during the East Coast and West Coast hip hop rivalry. He went to high schools in California and Maryland.
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.
Kanye West has been an icon in American hip-hop culture for over a decade. His music, fashion line, producing skills, and flamboyant personality has influenced many people for generations to come. Coming out of Chicago, many people in the music industry didn't even think Kanye had a chance to become a figure in hip-hop, but his hard work and persistence paid off. Kanye started off his music career as a producer. He produced music for the likes of major artists such as Common and Jay-Z. His first major breakthrough came from producing Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint”— which is certified 2x platinum. Kanye believed he could be a successful rapper as well, but music executives didn't believe he had it in him. That all changed when Roc-A-Fella records signed Kanye to their label, and gave him a chance to shine as a rapper. Kanye’s background, critical analysis, and importance all shows that he has become one of the most important characters in American hip-hop culture to this day.
Hip-Hop/Rap is one of the biggest growing genres of today. From its early stages in the 1970’s to today’s pop culture, it has grown quite a lot. Unfortunately, it has developed a terrible reputation of drugs, violence, abuse, and gangs. When people associate Hip-Hop with things it is usually a negative image that comes to the person’s mind. Which is sad, Hip-Hop/Rap has a great artistic quality to them that gets so easily overlooked. There is true poetry and emotion behind these lyrics and beats, but not everyone is willing to sit down and listen to it. They quickly judge this music genre and the immediately dislike it without giving it a second thought. Rappers pour their emotions and their souls into their songs and it really speaks to people who would stop and listen to them. Hip-Hop/Rap has evolved over time. From the early stages of Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, and others to today’s rap stars like Eminem and Kendrick Lamar. Each decades style is different but each style is still good. What really made Rap huge was the Sugarhill Gang’s own song called “Rapper’s Delight” the entire song is around 15 minutes long with just three emcee’s rapping, Wonder Mike, Big Bank Hank, and Master G. An emcee is another word for a rapper. Most emcees are the head of whatever event is being taken place, kind of like people that do skits in a talent show to introduce the next act. Hip-Hop/Rap today is filled with emcees and rappers. Today we find a more complex and more diverse style than what we would find back in the 70’s. There are different styles to different rappers. Each one unique in its own way and it makes that rapper stand out compared to everybody else. Also, another thing today that is different from the past is the flow of a rapp...
He then went on and tweeted even more artists and ended off by saying, "Salute to anybody who made a song to feed their family or just vent. " Now when it comes to rap, Jay-Z is not only one of the most respected rappers of all time, he's arguably the greatest of all time, so when he speaks, everybody in the culture listens. At 47, its remarkable how that's still the case considering rap is a young man's game.
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.
The Wrap on Rap “Mo money, mo problems.” This phrase, coined by Notorious B.I.G. on his posthumous album Life After Death, not only represents this influential rapper’s personal finances, but it also epitomizes the outcome of the New School rap industry. Like most other subcultures tend to originate, this genre emerged by giving a voice to the voiceless—in this case many of the black citizens of America struggling to make a living on the streets. However, as the many music and fashion trends associated with subcultures, New School included, become increasingly popular on a nationwide scale, so does the desire to be widely attractive to consumers.
Today 's rap music reflects its origin in the hip-hop culture of young, urban, working-class African-Americans, its roots in the African oral tradition, its function as the voice of an otherwise underrepresented group, and, as its popularity has grown,