In the Music Industry Introduction: -Ice Breaker: Name and what Is your favorite music artist? (preferably hip hop artist) – When you hear the term hip hop, what comes to mind? What Is hip-hop? A culture and form of ground breaking music and self expression with elements that consisted of the elements of graffiti art, Digging, Mincing, and breaking. It began In the asses as an underground movement in the South Bronx area of New York City. Hip hop is used as an outlet for the youth to express their beliefs and ideas.
There are many different sub-genres of hip hop that are often formed as a response to efferent perceived political and/or social injustices. Many rappers focus on topics such as drugs, sex, alcohol, and objectifying women. While the lyrics in these songs may be fun to sing along with, they do not always provide positive messages for the audience. Some artists have taken a stand against this and have decided to rap about Important and relevant Issues such as racism, homophobia, consumerism,etc… Nas, Moms Deaf. And Mackerel are three examples of this. 1) Moms Deaf Moms Deaf. Hose real name Is Dante There’ll Smith, has been ranked as one of the top 50 Masc. of our time. He has spent a lot of his time being active in different social and political causes. One of his main causes is speaking out against racism. His years also place emphasis on how every human being is capable and valuable, and how it is so important for everyone to be able to realize that. In his song Fear Not of Man, he expresses this: “If hip hop Is about the people, and the hip hop wont get better until the people get better, than how do the people get better?
Well, from my understanding, people get better when they start to understand they are valuable. And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money or cause somebody, think they sexy. But they valuable because they been created by God, and God makes you valuable. ” a) What is Moms Deaf trying to teach us in this verse? B) Do you agree with Moms Deaf? C) What do you think makes one valuable? Nas is a well known artist who is recognized as one of the top hip hop artists. Nas educated himself on African culture through other hip hop artists and used their wisdom as inspiration and motivation for his work.
He is a spokesperson and mentor for Pitons Records, which is an after school program that helps create constructive opportunities in the urban youth through no-cost music programs. He really wants his audience to understand his music so he was the first artist to create his own rap genius account to explain his music. He tries to take a stand against racial issues and emphasizes the fact that sitting around will get one nowhere; people must be proactive in order to create change. Walking talking dead though we think we’re living, we Just copycat following the system. We trapped in our own brain, stuck behind bars. We’ve already gone insane. We’ve already gave up, cut our own heads off. “Why listen to somebody else tell you how to do it When you can do it yourself; it’s all in you, do it, do it” Song: Black Zombie a) Why is it important to follow the message of Nas in this song? B) Has there ever been a time where you have felt like you should be changing something, but instead you Just sit around instead? ) Mackerel While Mackerel is a new addition to the music scene, the depth and meaning behind the lyrics to his new songs are undeniable. He is a huge social Justice advocate, and openly speaks about his battles with drugs and alcohol. Two of his main focuses are on homophobia in mainstream hip hop, society, and mass media and the consumerism mentality of America. He also wants listeners to learn the lesson that it takes hard work and patience to achieve goals and not to give up.
Homophobia: “A word rooted in hate, yet our genre still ignores it / Gay is synonymous with the lesser / It’s the same hate that’s caused wars from religion / Gender to skin color, complexion of your pigment / The same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins / Human rights for everybody, there is no difference” Song: Same love Consumerism: We want what we can’t have, commodity makes us want it / So expensive, I Just got to flaunt it / A hundred dollars for a pair of shoes I would never hoop in” Song: Wings Motivation: “The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint, the greats were great because they paint a lot” Song: Ten Thousand Hours a) What message is Mackerel trying to get across through these different lyrics? B) Do you think that all of these lessons that he is trying to teach us are real issues in the American society? C) How can we take Mackerel’s lessons and try to apply them to our own lives?