Megan Thee Stallion has become one of the most famous female rappers in recent years. Her audience is drawn to her empowering lyricism and unapologetic persona. As a prominent component of her identity, she frequently refers to her hometown of Houston, Texas in her songs. She often refers to herself as the ‘H-Town Hottie’. The three-time Grammy winner references the culture of Houston in her songs, as well as establishing herself as a role model to the citizens of the city. The pride Megan Thee Stallion holds in her origins is clear throughout her discography because of the many references to Houston and Texas culture. Songs like “Southside Forever Freestyle” explicitly imply Megan’s ties to Houston in the title, and further exemplify the importance of the city to her artistry. Listening …show more content…
The behaviors and mannerisms that she learned throughout her childhood have stuck with her through her fame. This example is further exemplified by the lyric, “I be with the ghetto, it’s in me, I can’t seem to let it go”. Living in luxurious neighborhoods in California instead of underdeveloped communities in Houston cannot alter the way Megan presents herself in her songs, through the media, as well as her personal life. The lyric “I’m goin’ hard for my mama, she knew I could do it” is about her mother, who unfortunately passed away in 2019. Although her mother was unable to witness the peak of Megan’s career, this quote tells the listener that she always believed in her daughter's ability to become a successful and beloved rapper. This hints at the importance of family and supporting those close to you to the culture of Houston. Along with her mother, she also shouts out to her grandmother with the lyric “I’m goin’ hard for my granny, she wants it, she got it; The hood goin’ hard for Ms.
Walter Farley began writing his novel, The Black Stallion, when he was in high school. He finished it years later and then had it published while he was attending college. The novel was an instant hit and many adults have read this book as a child. However, I had never gotten a chance to read The Black Stallion so this book report finally provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so.
Have you heard the phrase “Momma said knock you out”? If so, you've probably heard your parent sing this song. Signing with Def Jams in the 1980’s, LL Cool J showed the world a unique style of Hip-hop and Rap. A kid just 18 years old when his first song came out, LL showed the world he would he would be different. LL Cool J created an influential long-term career with his starting a new hard-hitting romantic style of rapping, influences with popular clothing lines, and paved the way leading rappers to transform into actors and continue to have a successful career.
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.
Tupac Shakur is one of the most influential artists of all time, regardless of genre. Tupac only lived for 25 years, as he was killed in a drive-by shooting outside a Las Vegas casino, which was allegedly the result of a feud between two rap groups. Tupac’s music has always cast a long shadow across the hip hop music industry, because his lyrics discuss deep and meaningful issues that his community was dealing with during his lifetime. The songs that I have selected to break down, in the ways they relate to and portray women during this time, are “Brenda’s got a baby,” “Dear Mama,” and “keep ya head up.” The lyrics, and stories that are discussed in these songs are extremely relatable and are examples of why Tupac was able to rise to prominence, and why his music continues to still be marketable and popular today.
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
Songs are one way of expressing feelings and emotion, many artist do this constantly in their music. To some it is why they make music. There are endless signs and verses that hint at many things such as problems, politics, living in racist era’s also places. I chose to focus on one main rapper and his music only. I chose to examine, review, and study a few of his songs. Kid cudi grew up in cleveland, Ohio. His father passed away when he was a young age which affected the kid ever since. He writes about living his life and having to go through many obstacles
The American horse racing industry has been admired by generations upon generations. Although it is a very cherished sport, like any other sport, there are many issues involved. The major issue that I find is that many owners make the decision to breed when there are other solutions. The Jockey Club, also known as the head council for the American Horse Racing Industry, should be addressing the major issue of overbreeding in the American horse racing industry.
In this song, she sings about events that have oppressed the African American people and other ethnicities in the United States for many years. In the song she states (line 60) “Mafia with diplomas keeping us in a coma trying to own a piece, of the "American Corona”, The Revolving Door, Insanity every floor, Skyscraping, paper chasing, What are we working for? Empty traditions, Reaching social positions, Teaching ambition to support the family superstition?” In this part of the song she is saying that everyone today is trying to be successful and trying to accomplish the American dream. She says that trying too hard to be successful is toxic and it will mess with one’s traditions that he or she does. She also is saying that in some ways it will mess with one’s social abilities with one’s family and friends. Success is only good if one is doing good and feeling good in the end. It is not good when there is no good in involved. Therefore, that’s why she calls it
Houston kicked off the Southern hip-hop trends in the 1980's with pioneers such as the Geto Boys and UGK. Both groups we're overtly conscious discussing not only poverty, but also the implications of drug dealing and violence (Smith, 2004; Sanneh 2005). The early 1990's brought in Houston's signature chopped and screwed sound when DJ Screw made his name is a "psychedelic remixer" (Sanneh, 2005.) But the Houston sound took a while to expand to the rest of the US because like the other epicenters the sound of the artist on the independent labels stayed local (Speyer,
Hockey is more than just a simple sport for Saul Indian Horse, in fact hockey is not just about the brawls, glory or any of that for Saul. Hockey is almost magical in the role it plays for him in “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese. To start, Saul’s life before hockey was bleak and treacherous, Saul's introduction to hockey brightened his life and allowed him to take the weight of the world off his back. Next, hockey gave Saul an opportunity. Saul possesses an incredible work effort and natural talent for the sport that gave him opportunities not many indigenous people had back in the 70’s.
Within the booming business that has become the rap world, certain musical themes and issues are more prevalent than most. In addition to such topics as drugs, alcohol and police brutality, a dominant theme within rap music is the denigration and derision of women. Indeed, as the above lyrics to Akinyele's song “Put It in your Mouth” illustrate, many male rappers use violent and misogynistic lyrics to create an image of women that is both degrading and disgusting. The graphic and shocking nature of this particular type of rap causes it to be widely publicized, and thus it serves as a definition of rap for a majority of people today. However, there are a number of female artists within the rap music genre spreading messages of female empowerment and respect, not denigration. These female artists, often ignored due to the hype surrounding their male counterparts, use their lyrics to create raps which focus on life as women; dealing with issues of love, power, and discrimination. The face of women in rap culture is both multi-faceted and contradictory.
When the genre of hip hop music was starting to emerge to mainstream America it was not classified into distinctive groups based on the type of rapping. Instead, artists were labeled based on the geographic location they were hailing from. Until the mid-1980’s, the majority of the rappers were hailing from the Big Apple. However with the introduction of new artists such as Ice-T and N.W.A., California would offer competition for the East Coast dominated genre. In the coming years, talented artists would emerge from all corners of the country. As a result, four distinctive scenes can b...
Jeffries, M. P. (2011). Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-hop. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Literary techniques are constantly being used by authors without anybody noticing how crucial they are to the story. Julius Lester used quite an abundance of them while writing Day of Tears. In particular the character Sampson, who is a slave born on a cruel plantation, is mainly described through literary techniques. His life was so rough that he decided to run away, but later came back after realizing that he had nowhere to go, nothing to eat, and nothing to do. Sampson was later sold to Master and Mistress Henfield, who treat their slaves very kindly; this gave Sampson no reason to run away this time around and he has learned to accept slavery for what it is.
Similarly to other industries, females are unequally represented within Hip Hop culture across the board. From the start, emcees were traditionally males, proving the struggle for a woman to pursue a career in Hip Hop difficult. In modern society, it seems the culture is obsessed more with how a woman is portrayed rather than if she is a talented artist. For advertising and recognition, it is almost imperative that a female artist wears tight, skimpy clothes and “give the audience a show” with provocative dancing and lyrics. For women, beauty is basically expected by society. Keyes might refer to most of today’s female artists as “fly girls” (2016). Salt N Pepa and TLC are prime examples of prominent female figures within Hip Hop culture that dressed in a way to attract attention. For these women, the outfits merely grab the attention of the audience so they can then focus on the message behind their lyrics. While women are already underrepresented in the field, they also have to work harder for the same success that male counterparts