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Relationship between parents and teens
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Self-Reflecting
J. Cole, “Apparently”, 2014
The music video produced for the track Apparently features Jermaine Cole, who uses the stage name J. Cole, expressing self-reflection on his life. Apparently is a lyrical story of J. Cole’s trials and errors he went through in his life that helped him reach his present day successes, which goes to show that although he has a rough history, anyone can overcome it with a little help. J. Cole expresses great gratitude for his faith for God and all the help and love from his mother, who he dedicates this song to.
J. Cole is a hip hop artist, record producer, and song writer. He was raised in a rough childhood. While growing up, he was well aware that his mother had a difficult time supporting the family. He recalls his mother refusing to eat at all one day, so that she had enough money to buy him food to eat (Music times, 2014). This is one of many ways J. Cole’s mother has expressed unconditional love for him. Although he was aware that his home he lived in was unstable, he appreciated the fact that he was granted with the privacy of his own room. Something as simple as having privacy from ownership of space encouraged J. Cole to further improve musically. “Having my own bedroom did a lot for me. I had privacy to listen to music, rap in front of the mirror, write, and
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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
Another case is that of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson whose death was initially ruled the result of accidental suffocation. A second autopsy produced a different conclusion, but when the second autopsy was performed, his body had been stuffed with newspaper, and his organs were missing ("Organ Trafficking, Melanin Theory & the Fountain of Youth -," n.d.). The brain, heart, lungs and liver were missing. He also discovered Johnson's death was due to blunt force trauma to the right side of his neck (Archer,
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
Clearly you saw the reason for Cole’s actions, being beat by his father and being ignored by both his parents. I still think Cole is responsible for his own actions because he could chose to be good and get attention, but he chose bad to get attention. But his parents definitely had at least a small part in the way Cole acts now, if they were more loving to him and actually knew how to discipline him the right way, like you're grounded for three weeks with no television or something instead of being him, maybe that would teach him a lesson. I mean I get that people are busy and they have work and everything, but you should always make time for your kids and your family. “‘Yes, Mr. Matthews, this is about responsibility. By the way, when is your son’s birthday?’ Cole’s father gulped a quick breath, and his face grew flushed. ‘Uh, well… birthdays have never been a very big thing around our house,’ he stammered. “I think it’s the beginning of July sometime.’” (pg. 52, Touching Spirit Bear) This just proves how badly Cole is treated at home. Obviously his dad drinks so much that he can’t remember the small, but important things. I’m pretty sure that every parent should at least know their kids birthday, even if they don’t love them 100%, which I find absolutely heart shattering. I also feel like destiny or fate had
The music video for J.Cole’s 2013 Crooked Smile is an expressive, and powerful production. It reveals itself as a short film commemorating seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley – Jones who was killed by an officer during a 2010 raid in Michigan. The video was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Best Video With a Social Message (Kaufman, 2014). It begins with an inconspicuous frame of J. Cole solemnly looking though a window appearing to have been arrested. The video then reverts backwards to show a comparison of two men leading similar lives earlier in the day. It is then revealed these men, although similar, are identified as binary opposites through ideological representation. Throughout the video a repertoire is built showing a white man, and a black man (J. Cole) living their natural lives. They then interact as the white DEA officer enters the home of the black drug dealer during a raid. With guns
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.
This part of the video persuades the audience to trust that the singer knows what it is like to be under stress from
J Cole’s fourth studio album tries to break away from the typical rap sounding album into something that transcends just a piece of artwork. Instead, it is a piece of artwork. At its core, the meaning challenges the idea of glorifying a life of crime. Using imagery and strong word play, J Cole reveals the consequences of living in this life. However, he empathizes
The genre of rap and hip-hop music has taken on a whole new persona in the generation of millennials. Fortunately, there are rappers such as Jermaine Cole, or “J Cole”, who work to hold on to a pure form of hip-hop and strive to portray a message in all of their songs. J Cole is a southern rapper with a northern style and flow. His main messages in all of his music is to speak the truth about his life and the world around him. You can listen to all his songs from the start of his career to now and you could understand who he is as and essentially listen to his growth as person. His song entitled “January 28th” is no exception to transparent style. The theme of the songs is to let his audience know that he extraordinary and he gives pieces
Raised as an only child, Dwayne Micheal Carter Jr or more commonly referred to as Lil Wayne, was born September 27th, 1982, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Carter’s mother was only 19 years old when he was first born. He was being raised by both his mother and father until his father abandoned them while Dwayne Jr. was only two years old. After being abandoned by his biological father, his mother was forced to take care of him on her own and survive in the crime infested community of Holly grove, New Orleans. Even though he divorced his mother and remarried, his father forced the two live with his own mother and came by to abuse Lil Wayne’s mother on a consistent basis.This situation went on for three years until Lil Wayne’s mother eventually remarried and relocated to a different part of town. Growing up he did very well in school. He was actually enrolled in his school’s gifted program at a point and received top grades. He got into music at a very young age and wrote his first rap song at the age of eight. Lil Wayne had the drive to be the best and successful at his craft since he first began. At the age of nine he was challenging others twice his age and older at rapping. He would consistently go to neighborhood parties or events to rap and most of the time he was better then whatever adult he was going against. As a testament to this, at the age of nine he start receiving attention from one of the two co-founders of his future label, Slim Williams. From Slim, he then received other co-founder, Bryan Williams, phone number and what he did with it after that was truly caught the Bryan’s attention. He continuously called the number over and over leaving rap songs on the voicemail of Williams until he agreed to meet him in person...
J. Cole talks about his insecurities such as his “crooked teeth” and expresses how nobody is perfect (22). Cole also says “I keep my twisted grill, just to show the kids it’s real” (9). Cole is now a famous artist who has the money to fix his crooked teeth but chooses to keep it the way it is to express that “We ain’t picture perfect but we worth the picture still” (10). Cole then transitions his lyrics that will target young women listeners. He expresses how some women are “Killing themselves to find a man that’ll kill for them” (17). Cole then encourages women to not “fix what God already put his paint brush on” (20). On the second verse of the song, Cole says “To all the women with the flaws, know it’s hard my darling” (28). This part of the song aims towards female listeners. Cole says “When I tell you that you’re beautiful you can’t be sure ‘cause he don’t seem to want you back and it’s got you asking” (30-31). This part of the lyrics explains how some women do not believe they are beautiful due to the fact that they cannot find a man. He later says “Take it from a man that loves what you got and baby girl you’re a star, don’t let ‘em tell you you’re not” (33-34). By saying this, he is promoting self-love and inner beauty amongst the generation. However, it did make me question why the lyrics and music video did not match. Although they do not technically match visually, the
I feel for Jaz and Lil’ buck they had similar beginnings, influenced and developed from different things, along with starting out being popular on the streets. There was nothing to really base them off of when they started so they had to learn as they went. There were things and people before them that helped such as blues and ragtime for jazz, and his sister and friends for Lil’ Buck. The origins of both are in the south. For jazz and Lil Buck imprecision seems to be a key things. Now jazz is much more structured. Lil Buck has developed his talent so to us it may seem everywhere and very fluid, but him it is structured but still improvised which makes it new and interesting for the viewers. Like jazz Lil Buck people enjoy the experience
J Cole released the song "Wet Dreamz" as a part of his album "2014 Forest Hills Drive". On this album J Cole connected his listeners with his life problems growing up at 2014 Forest Hills Drive. In the song "Wet Dreamz", J Cole raps about his affection and love for a girl. Cole starts his song by using repetition,
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.
“Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and above all, and don’t let anyone limit your dreams”, says Donovan Bailey, a Jamaican-born track star , as he expresses the strength and power of determination of never giving up and following one’s dreams. Passions drive individuals to accomplish great things, and they bring a sense of character and uniqueness to a person. From serving the community, exploring the wonders of history, and taking picture after picture, these passions have defined me for who I am.
Like Cole, I too have learned a few lessons in the short thirteen years I’ve lived on Earth. One of the most important things I have ever learned is one of the most important relationships to have is friendship. A lot of times I’ve thought I can do everything by myself and never let anyone else in, and often than not I’ve ended up hurting myself worse. I’ve learned being surrounded by people who care about you and believe in you is one of the most important assets to being a happy pe...