Toure's chapter on Tupac is the first account of Tupac's life I have ever read, despite living in the era where he lived and died. It makes a lot of sense why so much media was generated over him. I had always though much of it was simply because he was shot and killed. I never knew he was on trial for sexual assault until this class. See, you do learn something new everyday! I am also happy to see that female artists were finally being highlighted in the seemingly male dominated world of hip hop.
Lauryn Hill is classified as "one of the great female MC's, a quadruple threat: a rapper, as well as a world-class singer, songwriter, and producer" (160). She seemed to diappear off of the face of hip hop music simply because she tried to fight the "manufactured international-superstar cover girl" look produced by the industry (161). I respect that she would rather leave the commercialized industry for her art, so few artists do so. Lauryn Hill will always be herself, she would rather lose the possibility of making millions of dollars than sell herself out to the pressure of the music industry.
Another artist I found interesting, mostly due in part to her superstar status, is Beyonce. She seems to be a serious artist who controls the glamourous aspects of her profession. Although, if I may say, her present music has become much more mainstream than when she was a member of Destiny's Child (meaning it has become more pop rather than hip hop). Once again, we are shown that this industry is all about the spins even if the artists doesn't mean for it to be so.
As I continued reading, I wondered if Toure, as a writer, was afraid to criticize those he wrote about. I read a lot about how "great" the artists were and how many rose from the bottom to the top. America loves the rags to riches stories and I feel that Toure (is smart enough to) feeds into the wants and needs of the people. He even stated himself "if art doesn't cry it gets a bad review"but I felt that other authors we have covered this semester were more apt to constructively criticizing the artists and their mainstream/private lives (7). Other than that, this is my favorite book we have read in class and is definitely a "keep" on my bookshelf for many years to come. Nice work Toure.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week 3: Eminem, not just candy anymore.
I must say I kind of did an inward chuckle at Toure's "Methodology for Ranking MC's" but it does make me realize what an art form it is. I enjoy how Toure writes, he is seems to be a much more relaxed writer than Dyson and I think that the informality really helps me relate to Toure and his viewpoints on hip hop.
His interviews ranged from artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, DMX all the way to Al Sharpton. The interviews were interesting and gave me enough background information about the artists (from the artists) for me to draw a more educated idea of how they are in society as well as coming from a broad spectrum of sources. Specifically, the interview with Eminem in correlation to Carl Hancock Rux's article "Eminem: The White Negro." I feel like I grew up listening to Eminem, seeing his face on MTV, watching 8 Mile, and hearing all of the news about his family life via the media. He is a human being, this is something I feel may people forget when they hear Marshall Mathers name. He is a father, a entertainer, interested in politics, and the oxymoron to social norms.
In his article, Rux defines how Eminem has been "perceived by the masses" and questions our learned definition of what reality is. Perhaps our reality is wrong an Eminem's perception is right? He is the individual, the "white guy in a black world", accepted by whites and blacks, yet still viewed as an outcast. He is as much as a minstrel as Flava Flav is to Public Enemies, going beyond the norms defined to us by what is socially correct (what if everything we think is right is actually wrong and likewise?). Rux asks us if we are "oppressed because of what we have learned" (IE: do we identify Eminem as an oppressed individual because we identify his behavior as beyond the norm? A white man living in a black mans world is surely to spark controversy).
Eminem doesn't seem to care either way. Growing up in Detroit, he was socialized in black culture ('black' culture is not "black" it is just culture to him) (21). This raises Rux's question "whom does music or race belong to? (24). I think this question is best answered in class, I don't know if I can really define/answer this question. Brainstorming session anyone?
This is the song I think of when I think of Eminem, as I am sure many of you are familiar with.
His interviews ranged from artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, DMX all the way to Al Sharpton. The interviews were interesting and gave me enough background information about the artists (from the artists) for me to draw a more educated idea of how they are in society as well as coming from a broad spectrum of sources. Specifically, the interview with Eminem in correlation to Carl Hancock Rux's article "Eminem: The White Negro." I feel like I grew up listening to Eminem, seeing his face on MTV, watching 8 Mile, and hearing all of the news about his family life via the media. He is a human being, this is something I feel may people forget when they hear Marshall Mathers name. He is a father, a entertainer, interested in politics, and the oxymoron to social norms.
In his article, Rux defines how Eminem has been "perceived by the masses" and questions our learned definition of what reality is. Perhaps our reality is wrong an Eminem's perception is right? He is the individual, the "white guy in a black world", accepted by whites and blacks, yet still viewed as an outcast. He is as much as a minstrel as Flava Flav is to Public Enemies, going beyond the norms defined to us by what is socially correct (what if everything we think is right is actually wrong and likewise?). Rux asks us if we are "oppressed because of what we have learned" (IE: do we identify Eminem as an oppressed individual because we identify his behavior as beyond the norm? A white man living in a black mans world is surely to spark controversy).
Eminem doesn't seem to care either way. Growing up in Detroit, he was socialized in black culture ('black' culture is not "black" it is just culture to him) (21). This raises Rux's question "whom does music or race belong to? (24). I think this question is best answered in class, I don't know if I can really define/answer this question. Brainstorming session anyone?
This is the song I think of when I think of Eminem, as I am sure many of you are familiar with.
Lose Yourself
Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted-One moment
Would you capture it or just let it slip? (He relates well to people because at some point everyone has fantasized about success)
Yeah,
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready
To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting
What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud
He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out
He's choking how, everybody's joking now (We all have fears, and many of us have a similar response when we become nervous. Ever cautious of the approval of the masses).
The clock's run out, time's up over, bloah!
Snap back to reality, Oh there goes gravity
Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked
He's so mad, but he won't give up that
Easy, no
He won't have it , he knows his whole back's to these ropes
It don't matter, he's dope
He knows that, but he's broke
He's so stagnant that he knows
When he goes back to his mobile home, that's when it's
Back to the lab again yo (What do you do when you have nothing but yourself? Do you seize the first opportunity or do you wait for the right moment?)
This whole rhapsody
He better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him
x2
(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo) (I think this relates personally to Eminem seizing his opportunity to become the first widely accepted Caucasion hip hop artist)
This soul's escaping, through this hole that it's gaping
This world is mine for the taking
Make me king, as we move toward a, new world order
A normal life is boring, but superstardom's close to post mortem
It only grows harder, homey grows hotter (The pressures of the industry)
He blows us all over these hoes is all on him
Coast to coast shows, he's know as the globetrotter
Lonely roads, God only knows
He's grown farther from home, he's no father
He goes home and barely knows his own daughter
But hold your nose cause here goes the cold water
His hoes don't want him no mo, he's cold product
They moved on to the next schmoe who flows
He nose dove and sold nada
So the soap opera is told and unfolds
I suppose it's old partner', but the beat goes on
Da da dum da dum da da
x2
(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo)
No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherfucking roof off like two dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed
I been chewed up and spit out and booed off stage
But I kept rhyming and stepwritin the next cypher
Best believe somebody's paying the pied piper (Perseverence?)
All the pain inside amplified by the
Fact that I can't get by with my nine to
Five and I can't provide the right type of life for my family
Cause man, these goddam food stamps don't buy diapers
And it's no movie, there's no Mekhi Phifer, this is my life
And these times are so hard and it's getting even harder
Trying to feed and water my seed, plus
Teeter totter caught up between being a father and a prima donna
Baby mama drama's screaming on and
Too much for me to wanna
Stay in one spot, another day of monotony
Has gotten me to the point, I'm like a snail
I've got to formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot
Success is my only motherfucking option, failure's not
Mom, I love you, but this trailer's got to go (The Real Slim Shady rejects his own mother)
I cannot grow old in Salem's lot
So here I go is my shot.
Feet fail me not cause maybe the only opportunity that I got
x2
(You better lose yourself in the music, the moment
You own it, you better never let it go go
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo)
You can do anything you set your mind to, man
Week 8: Copyrighted.
This week's reading had me a bit lost I must admit. The complexity of the legal system and the intricate steps involved in deejaying really threw me on my own spin.
However, I did find the readings in That's the Joint! and the selection from Making Beats very interesting (from the sections I was able to understand).
I liked how Forman first disclaimed how he did not view technology as the "sole driving force for the development of hip hop music" (389). There as so many other elements to creating the music - oftentimes the aspects of music we cannot measure such as the soul and heart put into the songs that I find much more important than the actual technological process. Though I must give credit to those who deejay and understand how rap music is linked to the cultural history of the African culture. With the creation of the turntable, mixer, and vinyl record came the introduction of great deejays such as Afrika Bambaataa, Kool DJ Herc, and Grandmaster Flash. Deejaying, developed in the late 1970's, included "breaks" which is a digital excision of a brief rhythm (390). These breaks/sampling is what gave hip hop nation it's push towards the mass audience. However, with the sampling of hip hop music there arose the question of if hip hop music is or is not authentic.
I found a quote in chapter 30 of That's the Joint particularly interesting. This section focused on the art of digital sampling and how some experts viewed digital sampling as "holding music at gunpoint" (393). I can understand where they are coming from, music is art and as art should be creative and original. Subsequently, we must then ask ourselves what/who defines the originality of hip hop music. Also, as Schumacher put it, we must also look at the philosophical and common law viewpoints of hip hop music.
He states that "copyrighted law is property law" and as such, must define the complex aspects of what is creative and original (IE what is authentic) (443). I agree with Schumacher that different cultures have different definition of originality and creativity and that we must encompass all of those aspects when defining the legality of hip hop music. There are also many definitions of "copying" and who is to determine what the absolute definition of it is. Are they musical experts? The audience? The producers? Or the artists? I agree that "absolute meanings require absolute knowledge" but I am still somewhat confused on how originality is perceived by different groups in society, surely we do not all perceive all things equally (Ryan, 1982:3). I hope I am not rambling, I just think that music is music. It is a part of my life that I have found to be inexplicable, or rather that I chose not to look for a definition. Music is how I feel. It inspires me and aids me in my day to day explorations. I dislike how we have "evolved" to the point that we are going back to the roots of music and picking, picking, picking at it to the point that someday we will lose the essence of the music - that is the heart an soul of the music, if we have not lost it already to the Benjamin's. Rap music was created because people got tired of trying to please everyone and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, people became offended. When society becomes offended the legal structures of society must come in and define what is right and what is wrong.
I just don't feel like I fully get it just yet.
However, I did find the readings in That's the Joint! and the selection from Making Beats very interesting (from the sections I was able to understand).
I liked how Forman first disclaimed how he did not view technology as the "sole driving force for the development of hip hop music" (389). There as so many other elements to creating the music - oftentimes the aspects of music we cannot measure such as the soul and heart put into the songs that I find much more important than the actual technological process. Though I must give credit to those who deejay and understand how rap music is linked to the cultural history of the African culture. With the creation of the turntable, mixer, and vinyl record came the introduction of great deejays such as Afrika Bambaataa, Kool DJ Herc, and Grandmaster Flash. Deejaying, developed in the late 1970's, included "breaks" which is a digital excision of a brief rhythm (390). These breaks/sampling is what gave hip hop nation it's push towards the mass audience. However, with the sampling of hip hop music there arose the question of if hip hop music is or is not authentic.
I found a quote in chapter 30 of That's the Joint particularly interesting. This section focused on the art of digital sampling and how some experts viewed digital sampling as "holding music at gunpoint" (393). I can understand where they are coming from, music is art and as art should be creative and original. Subsequently, we must then ask ourselves what/who defines the originality of hip hop music. Also, as Schumacher put it, we must also look at the philosophical and common law viewpoints of hip hop music.
He states that "copyrighted law is property law" and as such, must define the complex aspects of what is creative and original (IE what is authentic) (443). I agree with Schumacher that different cultures have different definition of originality and creativity and that we must encompass all of those aspects when defining the legality of hip hop music. There are also many definitions of "copying" and who is to determine what the absolute definition of it is. Are they musical experts? The audience? The producers? Or the artists? I agree that "absolute meanings require absolute knowledge" but I am still somewhat confused on how originality is perceived by different groups in society, surely we do not all perceive all things equally (Ryan, 1982:3). I hope I am not rambling, I just think that music is music. It is a part of my life that I have found to be inexplicable, or rather that I chose not to look for a definition. Music is how I feel. It inspires me and aids me in my day to day explorations. I dislike how we have "evolved" to the point that we are going back to the roots of music and picking, picking, picking at it to the point that someday we will lose the essence of the music - that is the heart an soul of the music, if we have not lost it already to the Benjamin's. Rap music was created because people got tired of trying to please everyone and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, people became offended. When society becomes offended the legal structures of society must come in and define what is right and what is wrong.
I just don't feel like I fully get it just yet.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Week 7: Politics, The Media, and Money.
This week we read about three different works, but the one I want to focus on in particular is Imani Perry's Prophets of the Hood: Politics and Poetics in Hip Hop. Most prevalent to our current discussion in politics is in chapter one of Perry's book titled "Political Location." This is where Perry explains how rap and a politically charged social identity are perceived together and the effect that each have upon one another. The complex relationship between the two have been debated since the birth of rap culture. I agree with Perry when he states that rap music has been (associated as) "a scapegoat for social ills and reviled for it's negativity in many social structures" (Perry, 27). Politically, rap music, to me, is the focus of negative attention due to the ignorance (not stupidity) of those who fail to understand the importance of a globalized world and the U.S. melting pot. Perhaps we should not be focused so much on the music as the focus of negative attention but that color of the skin of those who perform it. Indeed as a society we seem to relate prison, drug trafficking, and symbols of sexual aggression to African Americans and other minorities over Caucasians.
Hopefully I am not diverging from the path of rap and politics too much, it is just that this chapter has spurred my curiosity on why African Americans seem to be criticized harsher than other races. How many of people ar emore familiar with investor Bernie Madoff, operator of what has been described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history or O.J Simpson for his sentence of "not guilty" that is still disputed to this day? Would be have believed it had O.J. been white or hispanic? Will we remember that Tiger cheated on his wife? Or the Brad Pitt did?
This brings me to my thought on the media and the importance it plays in creating an "image" for those in the music industry. Before the inventions of MTV and BET, hip hop seemed much more politically conscious than music now. Perhaps it is the point we stressed in class that the rap music of today lacks the importance social movements that were once popular among civil rights activists or during the era of Reagan. However, the media has and will always continue to choose sides of who is deemed 'good' and who is deemed 'bad' in conformity to social norms, so what happens to the message rappers? They chose the good, but not to the tastes of the music industry. It is sad to me that the inner culture of hip hop seems lost to us compared to what makes the most money.
Hopefully I am not diverging from the path of rap and politics too much, it is just that this chapter has spurred my curiosity on why African Americans seem to be criticized harsher than other races. How many of people ar emore familiar with investor Bernie Madoff, operator of what has been described as the largest Ponzi scheme in history or O.J Simpson for his sentence of "not guilty" that is still disputed to this day? Would be have believed it had O.J. been white or hispanic? Will we remember that Tiger cheated on his wife? Or the Brad Pitt did?
This brings me to my thought on the media and the importance it plays in creating an "image" for those in the music industry. Before the inventions of MTV and BET, hip hop seemed much more politically conscious than music now. Perhaps it is the point we stressed in class that the rap music of today lacks the importance social movements that were once popular among civil rights activists or during the era of Reagan. However, the media has and will always continue to choose sides of who is deemed 'good' and who is deemed 'bad' in conformity to social norms, so what happens to the message rappers? They chose the good, but not to the tastes of the music industry. It is sad to me that the inner culture of hip hop seems lost to us compared to what makes the most money.
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