“Everybody has goals, aspirations or whatever, and everybody has been at a point in their life where nobody believed in them.” Unfortunately, such claims are blatantly present in the private lives of common people. These claims are often construed through modes of expression other than words. More specifically, the lyrics of music in songs gravely depict these frequent conceptions in life. A famous rapper, Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers, launched his music career in 1996 with his debut album “Infinity”. However, he was not renowned until Dr. Dre a ‘rap game changer’ teamed up with him in 1999. One of Eminem’s most well known albums “Recovery”, includes the song “Not Afraid”. Much like Eminem’s other songs, “Not Afraid” implements parallelism, …show more content…
Most of the time the lyrics in Eminem’s songs contain a rhyme in either the front, middle, or end of the lines. In “Not Afraid”, after the chorus, the lyrics, “You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay ‘em, But you won’t take the sting out these words before I say ‘em, Cause ain’t no way I’ma let you stop me from causing mayhem,” present the parallelism Eminem utilizes at the end of the lines in his music. Each line ends with “‘em”, beginning the rhythmic effect that lingers through the rest his song. After this first instance of parallelism and rhyme it is easier to catch onto the other rhymes in the rest of the song. Hence it is obvious there are also lyrics in “Not Afraid” that depict Eminem’s application of parallelism through sentence structure. The two consecutive sentences, “I’m standing up,” and “I’m manning up,” are a prime example of this device. Each form of parallelism, whether it be with rhythm or without rhythm, adds to the greater purpose of “Not Afraid”. It is no coincidence that parallelism is found in parts of the song where Eminem is trying to convey that in order to be strong and overcome any personal crises, one must be resilient towards those who try to take the ‘sting out [your] words’, and stand up and face …show more content…
After Eminem makes the listeners aware of his struggles previous to the publication of his song, he tells the listener what he “swears” to do with his second chance at a clean life. He “solemnly swear[s] to always treat this roof, like my daughters and raise it, you couldn’t lift a single shingle on it,” to stress that he wants to continue his new road of soberness, with his daughters as motivation. The pun effortlessly conveys two meanings through one word, allowing the audience to completely understand the meaning to the lyrics in which the pun was utilized in. Another pun is present immediately after the previously mentioned pun. The word ‘bar’ is used to represent the same as the roof did: “...and lift the whole liquor counter up, cause I’m raising the bar.” “Raising the bar” is the same as “treat this roof, like my daughters and raise it” with the same message attempting to be conveyed. Eminem wants the listeners to know through each pun that he is not only going to attempt to be better but he is going to be better than anyone ever thought he could be and therefore be the example for those in the same
I was twelve when I first heard the name “Kanye West”. He was featured in a song I rather liked at the time called “Forever” and whilst discussing the song with my friend one afternoon I remarked:
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
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
It begins with anaphora by repeating the phrase “I aint”. By doing this, he emphasizing all the ideas associated with him that he never did and directly points out the stigmatism he had to overcome, while also bragging about who he became. It is important for him to emphasize these points because these are activities that he could have easily gotten into and people would expect him to do. But yet he made it out of the struggle without stooping down to that level which is a major accomplishment. He then goes on to name some of the greats he grew up on and some of the greats of today. His audience will automatically know who these people are and they will know the level of respect they have as rappers. But, the last few lines of the song end with “but check your birth date nigga, you aint the God/ …nigga Cole the God” (lns. 64, 66). This epigram makes this line the pentacle of the song. Even after naming all these important people, he’s saying that they might be great but they’re not him. He has something that sets him apart from anyone before or after
Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential music artist of the 20th Century. “Murda, Murda, Murda, and Kill, Kill, Kill…” these are they lyrics to one of the songs written by Tupac Shakur. Amidst all the controversy surrounding his personal life, this artist has managed to overcome all obstacles and spread his hope/hate message to a surprisingly receptive audience. Tupac’s music is borrowed from the styles of early rap and hip-hop yet its appeal rested in Tupac himself. His persona of “Thug Poet” opened up a portal into the new genre of “Gangsta Rap.” This new style of music revolutionized the music industry and allowed several new artists to break through in Tupac’s creation, Gangsta Rap, such as; G-unit, Eminem, and many others.
“While the rich kids is drivin ' Benz ,I 'm still tryin ' to hold on to my survivin ' friends.” In this quote Tupac had his audience take a second to image a rick kid driving in the hood with a Benz while a poor African Amirian boy is struggling to keep his friends. Tupac uses his lyrics to help paint a picture though his lyrics of the life of a black person which brings us to Imagery. The use of imagery in this song is amazing. Without even watching the music video and just listening to the song I could easily image everything that Tupac was trying to explain. This is what makes Tupac the best rapper still till this day! Another use of imagery is when he said “Dying inside, but outside you 're looking fearless, While tears, is rollin ' down your cheeks”. By this quote we as the audience should realize that there is more to this song that Tupac is trying to explain. In this quote I feel as though he was explaining that as African Americans more so black women tend to always wear this smile on our face no matter the situation when we know something in us is dying or is just not right. For some reason us black women have a habit of hiding our true feeling and situations. Last was the use of symbols which ties in with imagery. “They got money for wars, but can 't feed the poor”. What was Tupac really trying to say? This quote symbolize so much about America as a whole, and how as a nation we spend so much of our money on weapons for warfare but yet there are little kids who go days and weeks without no food. Is that fair? This quote symbolized pain and loss of hope because they (poor people) will never see a happy day. As they say we have to have the poor to have the
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
In the poem, “And 2Morrow” Tupac is discussing the topic of the life of gang members and how there is always another path out out of that one. Tupac is saying how the world is fueled by hatred when he then states “...afraid of common fate” (And 2Morrow 4). The “common fate” is said by Shakur in order to symbolize it to be the path of the gang member. Shakur was afraid that he was going to be like everyone else who had no opportunities to succeed in life and chose the wrong path, a lowly gang member. Tupac then speaks about how all people think about is violence sometimes when he then transmits “...children bred with ruthlessness/ because no one at home cares” (And 2Morrow 11-12). Tupac is alluding to the fact that the actions of a gang member are rooted back to problems one has at home, whether it be lack of love or one traumatic experience, there is always a root to issues like these. The unification of all persons would hopefully lessen the chance of this occurring. Tupac is then talking about how much pressure he feels on himself, even when resting, when he states “Tonight I lay my head down/ but the pressure never stops/ knawing at my sanity” (And 2Morrow 13-15). Tupac uses imagery in this stanza to show that his sanity is getting eaten away, like a rat with cheese. Shakur’s sanity is being tested by the world at it’s many harsh realities. Tupac is stating how tomorrow is a day for change when he states “...and tomorrow I wake with second wind” (And 2Morrow 22). The “second wind” is a metaphor for Tupac’s life saying how instead of choosing the route of the gangbanger, he instead chose a different, positive route of doing things. Shakur wants to get as many people out of poverty and the gang life, and into doing something they love to do. In a way, this would unify all people because individuals would have the
This paper analyzes Eminem’s, “When I’m Gone”, a song whose central theme is premised on the love for family and is evident on his conversation with his daughter, Hailie. I chose this song because of the interesting conversation that brings to the fore the deep emotional ties between the Eminem and Haile. Eminem’s passion for music seems to have taken precedence over the love for his family. Hailie endures so much heartache and misses her father every time he leaves home for a global fame and success through music. Eminem loves the daughter who he says he can give an arm for but can’t stop his music career because it is his passion and
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
The group I would like to be apart of is G.O.O.D Music. G.O.O.D is an acronym for “Getting out our dreams.” This group is a recording label founded by Kanye West, who is also a music artists signed under G.O.O.D Music. They do have other music artists in the group such as, John Legend, Big Sean and Pusha T. Kanye west is actually the main reason why I would like to join the label. Throughout this paper I 'm going to address who Kanye West is, what I can learn from being in the group, and why I think I fit well with G.O.O.D Music.
Throughout American history there has always been some form of verbal acrobatics or jousting involving rhymes within the Afro-American community. Signifying, testifying, shining of the Titanic, the Dozens, school yard rhymes, prison ?jail house? rhymes and double Dutch jump rope rhymes, are some of the names and ways that various forms of raps have manifested. Modern day rap music finds its immediate roots in the toasting and dub talk over elements of reggae music (George, 1998)....
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...
Eminem had a miserable childhood which he learned to thrive in and succeed to what he has become now. Marshall was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 17, 1972. He was the child of Bruce Mathers, Jr. and Deborah Nelson. Soon after Marshall’s birth his father left to California. His mother struggled to maintain a household, for which the result was frequent movement from Michigan and Missouri. The family then settled in Warren, Michigan in an African American middle-class neighborhood. The family was the only Caucasian tenants through the region. Marshall was a tall, scrawny, and white male that stood out amongst his peers, of African Americans, and was constantly bullied for his color. In addition his mother was an abusive drug addict who took prescription pills. Eminem then inclined to the interest of hip-hop listening to his first rap song at nine—"Reckless" featuring Ice-T. Later in his life he suffered family loss, like his Uncle Ronnie who committed suicide. Mathers became mute and antisocial for weeks. In high school he dropped out for repeating ninth-grade for his third time, for poor grades, and pursued lyrical writing. Marshall then joined rap groups and freestyles gaining success in the predominantly black industry. He then adapted to the name “M&M” as his rapper name, which later evolved to “Eminem”. Eminem’s adversities affected many of his works throughout his life and career. After his album Infiniti, Eminem was signed into Aftermath Records by Dr. Dre and started to produce albums of masterpiece.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .