Week 4: I have yet to drink the Kool-Aid.

     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.