Ice Cube and Coors Light

This video is one of a series of Ice Cube vs. Coors Light (Cold Challenge) commercials. The premise of these commercials are to figure out who is colder Ice Cube or Coors Light. This commercial is very interesting to me because a person without knowledgeable of Ice Cube's body of work would have assumed that he was in this commercial because of his name. But I think that he got this part, not just because it fit Coors Light's theme but because Ice Cube's music could be labeled as figuratively cold. Cold as in unfriendly or the way I learned its other meaning, listening to rap music and cringing when I heard a deftly rhymed but dirty line. If you have ever heard Ice Cube's notorious NWA diss "No Vaseline", you would know what I mean. Now back to the topic. The most memorable part of these commercials is when Ice Cube says "you think you're colder than me?" right before the Coors Light bottle magically freezes Ice Cube or his acquaintance. This scene and the commercial as a whole tries to sell people on the idea that Coors Light's new and improved bottle tells the drinker when the beer is at its optimum level of cold. I'm a bit dubious but because I have no interest in the product, it doesn't really matter. But even without interest in the product, a person would still ponder at why Ice Cube thinks he was so "cold" when literally it doesn't make any sense but when it relates to hip-hop, Ice Cube was and still is the coldest.

Taco Bell Rap

This is a very old Taco Bell commercial using rap as a medium for ordering tacos. There is definitely a jingle to this song, and with most hip-hop advertisements, it tends to involve a short and catchy beat with lyrics that are easily remembered. For this commercial specifically, the two kids who are rapping and beat-boxing seem to only be doing it to be cool or funny, since they purposely mess up on the end to prove they don't really have any idea what they're doing.

The commercial definitely goes out to make the product look new, hip, cool, and most certainly improved. There has never been a Taco Bell commercial that has used this strange style of marketing, but surprisingly it works since everyone seems to remember the commercial. The reasons are simple: Anyone who has ever  been at a drive-thru can relate to this commercial and put themselves in the same position as the character, and it is absurdly funny and catchy that he would spontaneously rap his order rather than saying it normally as do sane people. There doesn't seem to be any good versus evil or naughty versus nice elements to it; only two kids pretending to be rappers to be funny while ordering at a drive-thru window. It doesn't bring any other companies down or try to prove itself to be better than others.

If I had to pick a premise for this commercial, it would be to show a younger audience that Taco Bell is still relevant and the food is amazing once you try it for yourself.

Ice Cube - Hood Mentality

After reading Denrick's essay this week, I was inspired to write about Hood Mentality by Ice Cube. This song goes way back but is still considered one of Ice Cube's best work.

In the song, Ice Cube analyzes the so-called "hood mentality" that most people go through when living in the lower income neighborhoods that he was familiar with growing up. He talks about how people in the hood are throwing their lives away going after cheap goals that would ultimately lead to jail or failure.

Since the song doesn't have a music video, I focused on the connection that the sound has to the overall message. It opens up with a very dark and grimacing tone of an old man saying "The hood is where I am from, but it is not who I am". The song then progresses into the actual beat, which is slow and upbeat and carries Ice Cube's dynamic flow perfectly. He sarcastically mocks the "hood" throughout the entire song, hoping to make the intended audience realize how foolish they really sound. The very first lyrics are "Fuck school, Imma' be a dope dealer", which powerfully introduces how Ice Cube would handle the topic through his song. The chorus of the sound really sends the message though as Ice Cube repeats, "If you don't wanna shake that hood mentality, how are we supposed to change our reality?" By the end of the video, Ice Cube obliterates the "hood mentality" through his style, and hopefully inspired many people to not make the same mistakes he is talking about in the song.

Stan

“Stan” is a story of an obsessive fan that is constantly writing letters to Eminem and with each passing scene Stan gets more deranged. The video conveys this message from the beginning, the first scene shows a hallowed window with the sounds of rain and thunder in the background. This shows how dark the message of the song is. The video has many scenes in Stan's basement with walls covered up with pictures of Eminem's picture and this shows Stan's deep obsession for Eminem's attention. During the last scenes of the video Stan is in his car driving furiously on a rain-riddled road. The pouring rain shows a sense of tension in the scene. Stan is driving his car not being able to see anything because of the rain and this gives the watcher a sense of not knowing what will happen next. The video as a whole gives of fa sense of sadness and anger with its darkness and its multiple flashbacks that also consist of a sort of darkness gives them deep importance to the song. When attention is drawn to Stan, his actions and facial expressions gives off an obsessive feel that is essentially the whole thesis of the song.

Comments

http://influenceinhiphop.blogspot.com/2012/10/i-used-to-love-her.html

I decided to comment on Denrick’s post on his song that we listened to last class. This is the type of hip-hop that needs to be emphasized if we are ever going to have a chance at getting the genre back to where it needs to be. Our blog largely deals with comparing all the different genres of hip-hop to mainstream, and seeing how the influence and development changed overtime and whether or not it is for the better or worse. Songs like this just prove why we have absolutely no idea what we’re doing anymore, and we seemed to have confused catchy dance music with hip-hop in our mainstream.

http://rapdungeon.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-ra-tracks.html

I visited this blog a month back when we were doing our research and it had a lot to do with what I was going to talk about in my essay. I compare underground music to mainstream and argue how underground music, despite generating substantially less profit, is ultimately more influential and meaningful if people would simply listen to it rather than mainstream rap. The author includes a list to several tracks of the artist “RA the Rugged Man” which are incredible songs, but most people can’t seem to find anymore. 

Comment

http://influenceinhiphop.blogspot.com/2012/11/1990s-and-now.html
I chose to comment on this blog post by Daniel because of how true it is. Hip-hop has turned into a place where people who want to be rappers that would not have made it in the 1990's goes to and makes millions of dollars rapping about drugs, money and woman on every record they make. A person with no knowledge of the genre would could listen to a Tupac record and right after listen to any mainstream rapper in this current generation and would probably think that the songs were from two totally different genres. Daniel neatly packaged an argument that hip-hop has turned into an uncreative genre getting worse with every record released.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Cv0NCaKB7A
This is Hannity of Fox News interviewing hip hop legend KRS-ONE. Since this was broadcasted on Fox News and a rapper was being interviewed, the interviewer was probably going to go into delusional lengths at trying to make his or her guest look bad. Hannity made sure he distorted every KRS-ONE quote given to him just to make KRS look like a person who hates cops and America. But, KRS-ONE, being from the very intelligable glory days of rap music, made sure he countered every word Hannity said with what was really going on.

Free Post (underground)

Here we have another form of hip-hop music known as underground. Underground music is the stuff that is usually not played on the radio and has less media hype. Most underground rappers have their own style and they tend to rap about things that have meaning. This is where hip-hop becomes masked and unnoticed as the main stream projects a bad name and image while underground is the true roots of hip-hop for example Atmospheres- "Sunshine". The artist does not tell about drugs and gangs, but instead he takes a moment to praise life. Through the lyrics he uses a catchy rhythm and smooth transitions to express the idea that we should all cherish life and that it is a beautiful thing. This is quite the opposite of what rap now a days usually consists of. Although this is not considered "classic hip-hop" or "old school hip-hop" it shows ideas and influences from those early styles. Atmosphere does this by expressing topics such as the sunshine and an old bike he hasn't ridden in a while. He notices that the smaller things in life are what are important after a hard night of drinking. "Front of the toilet hands and knees trying to breath in between the dry heaves". He's trying to say that drinking and partying aren't the more important things in life and that those things cause us harm.

React

This is a song off of Upcoming hip-hop legend Kendrick Lamars album "Good Kidd M.a.a.d City", which tells a story about how he grew up in a city around gang violence and drugs and how it changed the way he is as a person. Many times drugs and violence are rapped about and promoted in todays hip-hop music, but Kendrick explains why he doesn't smoke because of what happened to him while living in Compton. He says "Imagine your first blunt had you foaming at the mouth"so he's asking his listeners if they would continue to smoke and do drugs if the first time they tried it, it was laced with another drug that gave him a seizure. Also Kendrick is portraying that the city where he comes from "Compton, Usa" Is a mad city where one must get away from all of the craziness to survive.The chorus of the song is makes the listener understand where this artist is coming from and what he encounters daily. The words "Where you from, nigga" dont mean what city, but what gang instead and then he says "This m.A.A.d city like run, my nigga" which is telling you that to survive you gotta run for your life in his "Maad City"

1990s and now

As a disclaimer, I do not offer any private art lessons despite my phenomenal skills being made apparent by this picture. Now when I was given the opportunity to parody an element of hip-hop, a flurry of ideas came into my mind. There were a number of different routes I could have taken here, but I feel this is the most appropriate one given the theme of the blog. On the left you will notice that we have an unaltered Tupac album taken straight from when it debuted in the 1990's. As you will notice, I have taken the liberty and added a few items on the right to make this album more relevant and distinguishable for kids today. After all, we don't seem to hear about anything else other than the standard influx of incoherent ramblings about women, drugs, money, swagger, more drugs, sex, violence, partying, more money, more women, and finally a monologue on how successful the artist is.

My point here is very simple: The mainstream rap of the 1990's isn't even close to identifiable with the mainstream rap of today. Please not that I am in no way saying that this is how Tupac would look if he were still alive today; what I am merely pointing out is that you will be more familiar and likely to hear something from the album on the right, than something as original and innovative as the album on the left. I could have easily linked an album that looks shockingly similar to the one I created, but for the sake of recreation I made my own that basically comes out and says, "This is exactly what you will be listening to today, sir".

Really the problem I have is with the lack of creativity with the songs I hear on the radio. You can argue all you want with me that if the songs were truly as bad as I make them out to be, then the artists wouldn't be making any money. Sadly, commercial music has taken its toll on the masses and sooner or later people will find themselves listening to artists reading Dr. Seuss behind enhanced elevator music and eat the newly released song up like the drone they are.

A talented producer is all that is needed to be famous today, and in a sense anyone can do what these new-age mainstream artists are doing; all you need to be able to do is establish a "cool" image, keep up with the beat that your producer has laid out for you, and make sure you sound as intolerable as possible to any person who cares about meaning behind their music.

Free Choice - Ill Bill Analysis

Ill Bill is considered a lyrical mastermind in the underground world of hip-hop. With songs such as “My Uncle” that tell a beautiful story while remaining lyrically stunning, he will always be remembered as one of the true legends of hip-hop.

This song specifically was dedicated to Ill Bill’s uncle, as is made apparent by the title, but he wrote it so that his uncle would realize that his heroin addiction is something that couldn’t continue. Unfortunately, the message didn’t get through to him, but stuck in the heads of thousands of dedicated fans who share similar struggles with family, friends, or even themselves.  His uncle died a few years ago but was an icon to all Ill Bill fans alike. 

The music video is visually stunning as the animation matches the lyrics perfectly. The song remains intelligent while exploring the life and struggles of Ill Bill’s drug circle. The tone can be best described as grimy but at the same time elegant. His voice is so rough, but behind such an elegant beat it creates a perfect synergy for the listener.  

Hip-hop tracks like this will always trump mainstream radio-friendly artists simply because they impact the listener far greater and influence them in a more positive way. Entire songs about guns, women, and partying are virtually extinct in the underground realm and should remain that way for the future of hip-hop. Ill Bill is one of the few artists left who can consistently mesmerize the listener with his raw talent, and luckily for us he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

Tupac Shakur

http://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/14/arts/tupac-shakur-25-rap-performer-who-personified-violence-dies.html

This is an article written by Jon Pareles of The New York Times the day after Tupac Shakur's death. Pareles believed Tupac personified violence until his death on September 13, 1996. He claims that Tupac was a “contradictory figure, with a career featuring million-selling albums, gunshot wounds, and run-ins with the police”. Pareles uses Tupac's lyrics, quotes and history to build on an argument that he was a man that tried to exemplify both the positives and negatives of his “gangster” life.

Jon Pareles is totally unbiased as he makes his point that Tupac “glamorized the life of a 'player'” and how he “portrayed portrayed the gangster life as a desperate, self-destructuve existence of fear and sudden death”. I totally agree with these stements because when listening to his music you don't just get the feel that Tupac is only embracing the life that he lives but also trying to get away from the life in other songs.

I think the most important part of this article is when he quoted Tupac saying “children should be told that 'because I'm talking about it doesn't mean it's O.K.'”. I think that this is a strong message from Tupac and by the author for mentioning it. Tupac have been the personification of violence but the children or anyone listening to his music do not have to act on his music. But the worse part of this is that some people do act on his music that he might not have wanted to be known for. Some people forget that he was “this wonderful, charming, bright, talented, funny person that no one is going to get to know; they are just going to know this side”.

A Hip-hop Mashup

Comparing Hip-hop Genres -- CLICK FOR VIDEO

This is a mash-up I made featuring a few of the different styles of hip-hop. I cover underground, old school, and modern rap to show the wide spectrum of styles available to us today, and I’ll leave it to the viewer to decide which sounds the best with my own opinions inserted for criticism.

I am a very strong critique of Lil’ Wayne, mainly because he is undoubtedly the most popular rapper today, but more interestingly because he reached such a status without having any recognizable talent that sets himself apart from the rest of his competition. He doesn't write his own music, he can’t keep up with the flow of most of his songs, and the rhymes and punch-lines in most of his music are mediocre at best when compared to other artists who really care passionately about the music, and not only the fame and recognition it brings; proof lies in the video.

I’ll leave the criticism of modern rap there for now, and I wanted to also comment on the actual progression and change that hip-hop has exhibited. We still have amazing talent to listen to in the industry, and this is made evident with the insane lyrical power of artists such as Blackalicious and Celph Titled. While these are only two artists who challenge mainstream rap and continue to focus heavily on the writing and lyrics that go behind a song, underground rap in my experience has a better reception in regards to producing a higher quality of rhetoric by the artists. No one can tell me that the artists who are pouring their souls into creating their music can be matched by someone who does it strictly for money.

Undoubtedly, artists such as Tupac who started the hip-hop trend, as well as dedicated underground hip-hop artists, leave more of an impact on the listener because they are on a completely different level of production than what we hear today in the radio.

Reaction to Nas - I can

Nas nearly always captures so many people in awe with his insightful music, but when "I can" came out, it was revolutionary in terms of positive influence for youth. The song focuses on the idea that anyone can achieve what they want as long as they work hard for it. He delves into the negative influences on children today, and makes it the entire goal of the song to urge kids to not fall for the lies and manipulations of reality. The chorus can best summarize the song: "I know I can... be what I wanna be... if I work hard at it... I'll be where I wanna be". Kids who strictly listen to hip-hop need this message more than anything because of the many negative, and somewhat cheap, concepts that songs usually convey.

This song makes me feel extremely proud of Nas, that he can make songs like this and still have such a powerful standing in hip-hop today. If we're being honest, positive messages are not exactly what hip-hop has been built on, which is a bit sad. The direction Nas takes in this song should be one that every artist needs to consider, for the future of the youth who absolutely need positive role models in their lives. The idea of success by working hard and never giving up that Nas is communicating is certainly respectable to say the least. In the music video, he is surrounded by many young kids who symbolize the future. Looking at the kids surrounding Nas in the video elicits so many emotions because while they are so young, it makes the viewer wonder where they will be when they are adults. 

Especially at such a young age, kids need to feel that they have the ability to do whatever they want when they truly apply themselves. With this generation becoming evermore clung on partying, drugs, being lazy, and using "you only live once" as the scapegoat for their detour on the path to reach success, it is reassuring to know that there are kids who listen to Nas and really do hope for a more positive future that involves determination and hard work to secure a fantastic future. 

I Used To Love H.E.R.

“I met this girl when I was ten years old, and what I loved most, she had so much soul”. In “I Used To Love H.E.R.”, Common describes a girl he met as a kid in Chicago. He describes how over time, she and her beliefs changed. In the first verse he describes how she and Common got to know each other. He would imagine being with her and he would listen to her whenever she was around him. In the second verse he describes how she became Afrocentric and began to praise non-violence. “Out goes the weave, in goes the braids, beads, medallions. She was on that tip about, stoppin' the violence.” Her personality changed, her appearance changed, and her home changed. She moved to the “West Coast”. She dumped Afrocentricity and non-violence and began to just have fun, and that was one thing Common still liked about her. In the third verse he describes how she changes for the worst. “Talking about poppin' glocks, servin' rocks and hittin' switches, now she's a gangsta rollin' with gangsta bitches.” She turned into a “gangsta”. Whenever she visited Chicago, she would only talk and about guns, drugs and drinking. He begins to reminisce about how he knew her before she changed. How she was the realest person to him and how he wants her to become what she once was.

By the end of the song, we know that he was not talking about a woman. She was a metaphor for Hip-Hop. How Hip-Hop changed over time. How it went from being soulful and Afrocentric to gangster. This song criticizes Hip-Hop in the “West Coast” by implicitly claiming that they ruined it with their creation of “Gangster Rap” and its rapid change to commercialization. H.E.R. is an acronym for Hearing Every Rhyme. Common believes that Hip-Hop had changed so drastically during the 80s and 90s that the conscious Hip-Hop of his youth was gone. Even though I believe this song was made to criticize the reason for the downward spiral of Hip-Hop, it is still a small history lesson in one of the best songs of the genre.

Research

http://officialperiodic.blogspot.com/2012/07/old-school-hip-hop-mixtape-anti-drug.html

This blog explains how early hip hop was more sanitary and was against drug use. The focus of hip hop and rap in the 1970's was all about innocence and having fun. This shows how the hip hip culture has changed over time. This helps my blog because it gives me something to compare my topic too. 

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/07/did-hip-hop-fail/

"Did hip-hop fail?" is another view on the hip-hop culture. It compares old and new hip-hop exploiting that race is the reason why it changed. The blog states that caucasians were the reason why hip-hop artists started influencing drugs and violence in their music. I can use this in my blog as an argument that race did not influence the use of drugs in rap music.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/162618436.html?refer=y

The startribune states that hip-hop was born in an unfortunate time. A rapid growing hip-hop community forming in a drug era was why these negative influences go hand in hand with hip-hop music. This blog is another view on my topic. It gives a little more on the history and factual side of this dilemma. Knowing this is a great way to expand my knowledge on my topic.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/researcher-cites-negative-influences-of-hip-hop-398214/

An educational site provides more of the truth than a blog does.

This article by Kathy SaeNgian shows how hip-hop promotes unhealthy lifestyles. The things i can acquire from this article are facts that I can use to support my claims on my topic.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/03/08/17634/

This article from the Daily Princeton is a complete different look on the subject. The author is explaining his view of hip-hop even tho he does not listen to the music. With strong points he argues how hip-hop is a negative influence. Getting information from different views can help understand the bigger picture.

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/55516

The University of BYU argues if hip-hop is actually a good or bad influence. This is important because it shows both sides of the argument. Knowing that hip-hop can have positive influences can help make a better argument that it causes more harm to society than well being. 

Research

Academic Sources

http://jbs.sagepub.com/content/28/1/3.abstract
“The Chain Remain the Same” Communicative Practices in the Hip Hop Nation
This source provides some of the many different ways hip hop communicates to its listeners. Mainly this article is warning the reader of the disruptions hip hop creates in a seemingly safe world. This article has been cited by many other articles, some that were written about what hip hop teaches its listeners and the misogyny in hip hop.

http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:nDl3r99RfHcJ:scholar.google.com/+hip+hop+violence&hl=en&as_sdt=0,44
How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back
This article conveys how hip hip has influenced a man's neighborhood and the black people that live in it. It shows how the party style hip hop of the 70s and the seemingly dark age of hip hop in the 80s molded his neighborhood when the 70s and 80s came along. He goes on to show with statistics and with his observation, how popular hip hop was but how it did nothing to better black culture.

http://uex.sagepub.com/content/41/6/585.short
We Can Relate

This article display how hip hop has helped in education with the use of lyrics to convey “humanities and social sciences”. This article is based only on the one aspect of hip hop but it wants to show the readers that the lyrics can be used as a learning tool. This article has been cited by many other articles that want to show how the hip hop culture to help the youth.

 

 

Blogs

 

http://www.hiphoplinguistics.com/articles/

This is an open blog where anybody can make articles about their view on hip hop. This blog talks about every aspect of hip hop including the urban hip hop to the teaching of hip hop. The whole basis of this article is to try conclude what “Hip-Hop” really is.

 

http://www.mysteryofhiphop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=4&Itemid=9

This blog is trying to show a man's view on hip-hop culture. This blog emphasizes how lyrics and the words of the artists show hip hop's true meanings. He, in one article, explains how people react trying to get into the hip hop business.

 

http://www.mysteryofhiphop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=10

This blog is another man's view of the culture of hip hop. He explains how people who are in the hip hop business go there because that is how they want people to see them as. This blog more explains the pride people have when in the hip hop industry.

 

Research

Here is my research from other blogs and scholarly articles related to our blog. 

Blogs

http://underworld-rap.blogspot.com/ -- Underworld Rap

Underworld-Rap is the most unique blog I have seen on Blogspot thus far. It focuses strictly on sharing underground and horror-core rap with its readers, which I personally have never seen in a blog. It argues that underground rap is supreme to mainstream, and that talented artists should be heard even when very few people know about them. This is significant to our blog because we can learn what it takes to be unique and different in such a common field of discussion.

http://rapdungeon.blogspot.com/ - -Rap Dungeon

This is another blog that focuses more on underground hip-hop and does so in the standard blogging style similar to our blog. Just like Underworld-Rap’s blog, the author focuses on spreading underground music that he feels should be heard. If I had to pick something that I would take from this blog and add into ours, it would be the author’s dedication to posting so frequently, and his overall knowledge on underground hip-hop.  

http://str8mfhustla.blogspot.com/ -- Str8mfhustla

I chose this blog as an example of what not to do with our blog. Hip-hop already has such a negative connotation to it that it doesn’t need more of this cheap, dirty, “gangster” mentality that people are so quick to push. Just looking at the top of the blog makes me laugh because it honestly looks like one big joke. It focuses on promoting “gangsta rap” as the author calls it, and has been running since 2007 sharing music and ideas with its audience.

Academic Sources from Google Scholar

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/821822?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101254429377 – Promoting academic literacy with urban youth through engaging hip-hop culture

As we can tell by the title, the author tries to persuade the audience that hip-hip and its culture provides a positive result in promoting the literacy of the youth who listen. We constantly hear in mainstream media that hip-hop is a negative influence and they always berate the genre by saying only uneducated lower-income people listen to it, but this article twists that concept around and actually argues that it educates young people in their literacy. I like the change of pace because I am very tired of hearing how bad hip-hop is for young people, so this author did a great job in shedding some light on an unseen area.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/3587669/abstract - Becoming Black: Rap and Hip-hop, Race, Gender, and Identity

In this article, the author talks about the impact that hip-hop has in establishing identity in the black culture. He emphasizes the new style of writing that hip-hop created early in its time, and the many linguistic styles that rappers use to get their points across. The main thing I like about this article is that it completely strays away from the actual music, and focuses more on what hip-hop means to culture, and how people find their identities with their own music.  

http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/21/1/77.short - The Localization of rap music and hip hop culture

This article analyzes rap music and its culture reworked by young Turkish and Moroccan communities. It talks about the social aspect of hip-hop and how significant the area is where artists compose their songs. I personally have never heard of Turkish or Moroccan communities composing rap music, so it was interesting to see what goes on with hip-hop in other distant parts of the world. The main thing I took away from this is that even though hip-hop originated in America, it has spread so far and has become localized by so many cultures that it sounds different in each and every place of the world.  

Cudderisback

Here is a music Video from rapper and hip-hop artist Kid Cudi. He is said to be one of the greatest of this new age of music. In this video from one of his older songs known as "Cudder is back" We can see   how it takes place in his comfortable home. Cudi is just relaxing at home with some friends enjoying the night. The director made this video very easy to follow and there's not much that is complicated about it. The video is so laid back and has humor to it which makes it enjoyable. Its probably night time since the blinds are closed and the lights are all on and we can see the influence of drugs and alcohol in the first 10 seconds of the film.

As soon as the scene starts we can see a bottle of alcohol and a bunch of energy drinks. This can infer that they are going to drink that since it's what the camera focuses on first. Then there's a scene with Cudi hugging another man while holding a bag of weed. From this I can say that it was his drug dealer bringing him some marijuana. As we can see this video is has 2 million views, which means he has a strong fan base.

The influence of drugs and alcohol is easily seen in this video and it's all revolved around his music. With millions of fans its not hard to get at least one or two people to follow in your footsteps. Putting music videos on youtube is a great way to catch someones attention, but it's also a great way to propose bad habits to someone. I'm not degrading hip-hop artist because they smoke or drink and nothing near that, all i'm saying is that with the technology we have today it is easy to persuade people of bad habits.

Frontlines

Last week I talked about a platinum selling artist who makes his money by telling his audience how much he struggled to reach fame, and how sweet that fame was when he finally reached it. This week, I am focusing on two artists on the complete polar opposite side of the hip-hop spectrum. For those who are unfamiliar, Diabolic and Immortal Technique are two underground rappers who are entirely underrated and shunned due to mainstream radio rap and better marketing by other undeserving artists. Unlike mainstream rappers, they could only rely on their fans to spread their work in hopes that many of them will see their talent and boost their fame. Sure enough today, this video is sitting at over five million views, and continues to attract more people interested in the underground scene of hip-hop.

The video opens with the two artists walking into a dark tunnel with bright light shining behind them. As soon as they enter the tunnel, the lyrical madness begins and they enter a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Diabolic opens up the song and the two are now seen sitting around a table packing bullets into their shotguns. The video itself carries on simply by the two artists rapping directly to the camera with different scenery of urban city buildings in the background. Diabolic and Immortal Technique make one thing very clear by this video: If you have a great song, you don't need to have a mass budget music video to make you famous; you will get there if you deserve it.

The way the two artists speak to the camera makes it feel as though they are speaking directly to me, and the power they emphasize in each of their verses almost gives is devastatingly chilling. They succeed in this music video on the sheer fact that they have undeniable talent that shouldn't be covered up by a "mainstream" rap theme.

While this video was made in 2010, it reaches back all the way to the late nineties where music videos for hip-hop consisted of just the artist speaking to the camera with none of the women, drugs, alcohol, fancy cars, and expensive jewelry. Underground rap differs from all the other sub-genres in the sense that they still keep true to what really made hip-hop notorious in the first place. The lyrics and beat should be the only things that matter when it comes to hip-hop, and while music videos certainly try to portray the lyrics in a visual form, it is still important to use our own interpretation and imagination of what the artist is trying to portray.

One Love

“One Love” is a lyrical masterpiece by Nas. The song is a chain of letters Nas has written to imprisoned friends explaining what has happened in their neighborhood while they've been incarcerated. He brings his lyrical vision to life when he released the “One Love” music video, illustrating the slang riddled song in his eyes.

The music video uses color to separate the outside world and prison using all types of color in the outside scenes and black and white in prison scenes. The music goes on to the events that have happened including a cheating girlfriend, a traitorous friend, and a nefarious kid. The video alternates showing these events and how his friends in prison reacted after reading each occurrence showing a kind of regret for not being there. The kid, Rob, is the main character in this story. He is seen pointing his gun at a woman. The video then cuts to the ambulance giving the viewer an inkling that the woman was either injured or killed but this inkling turns into assurance when the next scene shows the kid thrown in the back of a policeman's car in handcuffs.

Many music videos and songs show a rapper's intention of embracing the gang and drug culture but in this music video it makes the viewer not want to be in these types of situations. This video was a way to show how bad reality sinks in when your in these situations or emotionally in them and in one scene it shows Nas's futile attempts at getting away from it. The videos end illustrates how bad behavior or even the surroundings a person is native to can ruin maybe even end their or another person's life.

ASAP MOB

Hip-Hop has come along way from where it started and heres a photo of some newer hip-hop artist. There a group of rappers from the streets of Harlem and along with there music they represent a clique or gang known as A.S.A.P. As you can see the picture there are drug, violence, and gang refrences.

This picture looks like a photo shoot for a magazine or blog and all the members of A.S.A.P are wearing white shirts that represent there "music group". What makes this picture cynical is that none of them are looking directly at the camera which makes them seem mysterious. Also the man to the left (ASAP Rocky) is wearing a ski mask to cover his face which can be him portraying that burglar up to no good type of look. The man all the way to the right is holding a bat and the man in the middle is drinking alcohol and smoking a blunt. All of these things contribute to the "thug" or "gangster" image.

The lighting is artificial which means they're out on the streets at night somewhere hidden. The man in the back is wearing black so he won't be noticed while the white shirts are the most eye catching piece in this photo. The image wants you to see "A.S.A.P. MOB" so that way you recognize what this picture is all about. The perspective of this photo is coming from the photographer, it makes you feel like your taking the picture. So as we can see the drugs, alcohol, and weapon in this picture portray that along with making music these hip-hop artist are surrounded by negative influences.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

It isn't uncommon to hear about money in hip-hop, but most artists don't go to such great lengths to show their struggle to the top. Curtis Jackson, more commonly known as "50 Cent", released a ground-breaking album entitled "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" that redefined the concept of becoming successful by any means necessary. The album went sextuple platinum and made 50 Cent into one of the best selling artists of hip-hop history.

Before I dive into an analysis, I will say that this post focuses more on the imagery and meaning of the album cover itself, not the message behind any songs or albums. Rest assured, I will have plenty to say in later blog posts.


Let's dive in. Here we have the notorious album cover that millions of people around the world have seen. The very first thing my eyes draw to is the bullet hole through a visible layer of glass which 50 Cent is standing behind. The cross necklace he is wearing is immediately emphasized, and we as the audience now see behind a tough exterior, a man of God trying to make his own success in the life he was given. It isn't a secret that 50 Cent has been shot nine times, and it is admirable that he found fame through his passion and still kept his faith through it all. The red background definitely wasn't chosen randomly, but moreover to allude to the blood, sweat, and tears 50 Cent poured into his work.

He wants to be clear that he isn't another "wanna-be gangster" trying to make a quick buck. He is an artist that wants to be on the very top, and sure enough he was placed there through his dedication. The album title can be seen as written in cursive, trying to add to a more classy atmosphere, while 50 Cent's name is in a completely different font style on his left. He is seen as shirtless, but is still wearing a type of fabric with a "50" pattern embedded on it. This is possibly to show that while he still considers himself a tough, rugged "gangster" at heart, he knows that he has hit the jackpot in his attempt to be successful.

Death Certificate by Ice Cube

As a member of NWA and as a solo artist, Ice Cube has a tendency to write music that conveyed some sort of message, something he wanted people to react to, controversial or not. Death Certificate, Ice Cube's second solo album, has a cover that gives the listener an inkling of what they were going to hear inside.

The album cover has mostly darker shades of color which, at first glance, make the eyes become drawn to the bright colors of the American flag covering the portrayed dead body of Uncle Sam. The feet of Uncle Sam are the largest figures in the photo, making their importance much greater. Ice Cube is standing behind the body seemingly leering at the viewer, making the onlooker believe he or she is being forced into looking at the body.

“A personification of the federal government or citizens of the US” is the first part of the dictionary.com definition of Uncle Sam. This makes me assume that people see Uncle Sam as the epitome of everything the United States stands for including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as the Declaration of Independence tells us. His dead body in the photo conveys a message that Ice Cube believes that what the United States stands for has died off in his time. Uncle Sam is also not covered in a bag but by the American flag showing America's still belief in its constituted ideas.

Samantha's Introduction

Hello and welcome to our hip hop blog! My name is Samantha Hernandez and a lot like my partners on this blog, I can honestly say I have had a deep love for hip hop since I first heard it.

I can not pin point an exact date or even a year when I first started listening to hip hop, it has been a part of my life for a long as I can remember, and maybe even before. I would walk around my house as a child constantly doing what I saw in music videos and reciting raps. My favorite thing to do however was walk around free styling, yes, my secret passion is rapping. I would walk around asking for people to give me a topic and 3 minutes to have a quick verse ready. To this day I still do this constantly. But, to say that the music is the only factor of hip hop would not do it justice. I remember the first time I saw someone break dance, it was in the movie You Got Served. I was memorized and amazed that such beauty could come
from moving your body. From that day on I decided to devote my time to learning how to move like them, and I did. See, Hip Hop is a whole culture which is at least 30 years old now, a whole community of people who share a common interest. This can be true in any of the four elements of hip hop;
 Master of ceremonies or Mic controller (MC), Break Dancers (B-boy/B-girl) Graffiti Artist, or Disc Jockey (DJ).

But those were the good ol' days, the days when Hip Hop was about unity going into a warehouse and just making the crowd jump and feel inspired like they were a part of something beautiful. People often today say that ""Hip hop" "hip hop" "is dead"" -Nas. This may or may not be true, but our blogs sole purpose is to find out why? Why is it that so many young males and females are turning to negative influences that today's
hip hop makes seem desirable? Our main goal is to critically analyze the influence Hip Hop has on its listeners.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Denrick Bautista. I attend California State University, Northridge. I grew up in North Hills just a few miles from campus. I have been listening to hip hop music for as long as I can remember.

When listening to hip-hop music I cared for only one thing, lyrics. If a song had great lyrics I would keep the song playing but if the lyrics were a bunch of nonsense I moved on to the next one. Hip-hop music from the 80s and 90s is what I usually listen to because of its emphasis on lyricism. Because of my fascination with lyrics, my favorite album became Illmatic by Nas because it had both meaning and amazing lyrics in each and every song.

If hip-hop does have a contribution to the increase in bad behavior of its listeners I believe that only two things could have caused this, the lyrics in its music or the actions of its artists. In this blog I will be analyzing how hip-hop might have become a haven for bad behavior and how listeners have reacted to it.

 

Introduction

Hello my name is Agustin Cena I'm 18 years old and I attend Cal State University Northridge. I grew up in the suburbs of Palmdale, California where hip-hop has been one of the main influences of music in my life. I grew up listening to different styles of hip-hop with my neighbors, family, and friends. 

My perspective on hip-hop has changed over the years, where different sub-genres have branched off from the ideal 'Hip-Hop' persona. I currently like to listen to a little less main stream and see my self listening to a little bit more underground music on the daily. I feel that Hip-Hop consists of an entire culture and not just one genre of music.

I will try to make my post as least bias as I can regarding the topic of our project by uploading videos, pictures, and sound clips from reliable sources. I will also try to include some of my own experiences around hip hop festivals and concerts.

A Formal Hello!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome any new readers to the blog! My name is Daniel Rojas and  I am currently a freshman student at California State University at Northridge. I have had a personal passion for hip-hop music for as long as I can remember.

One of the most memorable, yet embarrassing, moments of my childhood was dancing to the "The Real Slim Shady" music video when it appeared nearly every single day after school on VH1. I was completely mesmerized by the song for the longest time, and the dynamic sound that it produced was like nothing I had ever heard before. The music video inspired me to find other sources of music that reached the same caliber of quality.

As I got older, my music interests expanded and I took a deeper look behind the mask of hip-hop. After all, the music itself was only a small fraction of what the entire genre truly represented. There is an entire community behind the genre and it is accompanied by a certain atmosphere that is unmatched by other music styles. To say that hip-hop is made up only of the music doesn't do the genre justice whatsoever. I plan to further discuss the deeper meaning and philosophy behind hip-hop later in this blog.

I will do my best to address the topic at hand honestly and critically. I have listened to the entire spectrum of hip-hop music from the early nineties to the current music playing in our radios this day. The development of the music style has interested me for a long time, and I am grateful that I finally have this opportunity to elaborate on the subject.

-Daniel Rojas