October 14, 08
Why is Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” considered by Vh1 as the top 100 greatest hip-hop song?
“Fight the Power,” by Public Enemy is considered by VH1 as one of the top 100 greatest hip-hop songs ever because of many elements. Unlike many other hip hop songs in the world today, “Fight the Power” is focused on something other than something shallow such as getting girls, getting action, making money etc. “Fight the Power” is about people of African American culture getting together, realizing who they are, where they originated from and together, create something wondrous and revolutionary through beats.
Public Enemy bought out what was true. Although they called Elvis racist, they also called John Wayne-someone that would be called as one of their own-racist. What they mean when they write that John Wayne is racist because he continues with the stereotypes that America portray African Americans. Through his music videos, instead of rapping and singing something useful, something educated, he raps about girls, where he wants them, and what he wants them to do.
“Elvis was a hero to most
But he was never meant --- to me you see
Straight up racist that sucker was
Simple and plain
Mother --- him and John Wayne
Cause I’m black and I’m proud” (37-42, Public Enemy)
“Fight the Power can be considered as such a great hip hop song because the reason for hip hop is to evolve stories, experiences and emotions into beats that can be shared with others. Hip hop music is supposed to be more than a shallow subject. It’s supposed to be something important to the artist, a belief, or a feeling. “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death; we got to fight the powers that be” (13-14, Public Enemy.) Public Enemy did just that by rapping what they want others to hear. They made a shout out to all of their people that they should unite, to “fight the power.”
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
assignments in class so far...
What is Hip Hop (aug 21, 08)
Group #2(?)
Name: (undecided)
Group members:
-Jennifer
-Gretel
-Eder
(i forgot to ask for last names, so sorry if it is inconvenient for anyone)
ENGLISH 1B
-meetings on Tuesday/Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00
-August 25, 2008
Considering that our group is pretty "raw" towards hip hop-Eder and I facing it with a literal sense which is staying above the surface with listening to the beats but not getting into the deeper contexts, and Gretel having little interest in the genre-not much could be contributed from the group. What was originally recorded on paper during the class session was:
Hip Hop Culture being about...
-the beat/soul
-lyrics containing "deep" subjects
-a method to portray a message out to the people
-another form of "poetry"
-a way of connecting certain words that create a stronger feeling...
In regards to what people has been saying about how "hip hop is dead," it is understandable on why there are different points of views to the subject. For most, Hip hop is supposed to be something deep, something strong and filled with thoughts and ideas. Hip Hop is a way for an artist to express him/her self; to bring out reality in which cases people are being ignorant to. That was the idealistic point of hip hop for most until the music industry evolved into something no longer about the music but how much money an album with certain songs and lyrics can make. Hip Hop songs are being filled with a basis of none other than sex, sweets, violence, money etc. This is why Hip Hop can be consider as "dead" for many. Hip Hop is no longer what it originated to be. It has become a tool for the music industry to use as a way to bring in the big bucks. However, there are still artists out there, that can be said to put bring some justice back to hip hop. (Although we don't have the knowledge yet of who these artists might be...we will soon tho!) Making hip hop into a controversial subject.
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Know what i mean: reflections on hip hop, track 1: "how real is this?" (aug 21)
Dyson takes the debate of "authenticity" and describes it with full details between what people think is authentic or fake. For most, hip hop is only real when the artist has experienced it before, and was writing something from his past. However, from what Dyson say, an artist, is an artist because they have the ability to make you believe they had gone through these experiences before. Life in jail was bought up in the conversation. How, while people go through school and education to learn their experiences, for an African American, his/her life is bought out to them with part of their life spent in jail. Jail might be considered as hell on earth for many people in this world. However, African Americans see it as almost a necessity in their life. No matter where they go, they will end up or past a part of their life in jail. The genre of hip hop can be differentiate in three ways. From the young, to the old, from the real, from the fake, and from the rich, and from the poor. People think you can't be a real hip hop artist unless you're poor. But Dyson proves that there are many artists out there that are rich but sing out reality. He brings out how hip hop is being criticized by their elders and how most consider hip hop nowadays to be rude...etc. I can sort of in a way relate that one difference. Between the young and the old. In how my parents would criticize in the kind of music that I listen to.
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Intro/Prelude Cyber Post (aug 26)
Names:
-Ronnie T.
-Loren D.
-Jennifer N.
English 1B (Tu/Th)
Summary:
-Dyson grew up in Detroit. Even though his life growing up wasn't easy, instead of giving up on education and falling to stereotypes, Dyson showed people that they are the best out there. FOr not having anything yet making everything out of it. Dyson gives the reader an insight of his thoughts of what he think sof certain critics. For t he hiphop critics that mouth off and how hip hop is a disgrace to society with thier violence and ghetto lifestyle.
-Some critics like Kilson for example, judge writers like Dyson because they don't want their biases to be false; false accusations are made. Dyson is considered as the "Hip hop intellectual: because of what he contributes to the world about hip hop. He had shown to the world, to doubters, critics, how hip hop is an important arts movement from the younger color generation. Dyson explains that certain hip hop songs can be crude, however, everything in these songs are portrayed by experience. "Proper" people and schools worry about the explicit content too much to even bother listening to the lyrics that describe the many faces of the world.
-Dyson compares the difference between hip hop artists and rappers. Rappers may seem like hip hop artists, rapping about the difficulties of the world. However, the difference between the two is that rappers haven't experienced what they rapped. Hip hop is achieved through experience. Dyson had work on the world becoming one, so that there are no longer "them" but only "us." Dyson not only stand up for his culture, but stand up for "poor folks and for street culture" of which they are being treated how African American were treated by the caucasian society.
Quote:
-"Our lives are not rotten or worthless just because that's what people say about the real estate that we were raised on. In fact, our lives may be even more worthy of study because we succeeded despite the promises of failure seeping out from behind the peeling paint on the walls of every apartment in every project." (pg 6; xi; top paragraph)
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The Second Line (aug 28)
The film helps the viewer visualize two different lives in the same situation. While both the African American and the caucasian family went through Hurricane Katrina and had both lost a lot; the African American family was split with the boy desperately trying to find a job and the caucasian family had enough money to hire people to demolish a house but was stingy to pay fairly. What made the African American character so mad was because even though the caucasian man had money, he tried to rip off the workers because he was stingy. The main character had the decency to give back the $300 that was found in the can, and yet the owner would only pay the workers $45 each for demolishing a hazardous house. The African American didn't say anything about it at first but he noticed all the possible clues in the house that could show that the white family was well off. Enough to buy toys, go on trips and get souvenirs...etc. ht epoint of the film was possibly to show why people do some things for a rason. John Magary got to show this point by mixing two different lives together. With the results of the movie, it's basically saying how at a point of people's lives, during a harash period of time, people may tend to lose control and do things they may end up regretting later. What I think was really cool was when the cousin of the main character didn't know what what was happening yet he still helped out his cousin by not allowing the wife of the owner to get away and therefore, keeping his cousin from getting caught by his the cops...What impresses me is how valuable some considers their family, while others don't know how to appreciate what they have when it's right in front of them.
Know what i mean: this dark diction has become america's addiction
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Hip Hop archives (sept 11)
Jennifer Nguyen
-Eng 1B
I really liked the class today. It was a lot of fun watching everyone present their artifacts on what they thought represented hip hop. Watching and listening to all of the clips were really cool. Im starting to like this class more because of how open minded everyone is. Like how hw assignments can be extended or how the class can think of many things to fill up classtime. Spending time in the lab was fun too. It is different from the hectic and boring schedules of other classes. Today made me know a little bit more about my classmates, learning their talents and listening to the kind of music they tend to hear. It was fun as a class and i didnt look at the clock as much as I would've =P.
Imagine Peace (sept 11)
Imagine Peace
-jennifer nguyen
If I was to imagine peace I would picture is as...the world sitting on a rainbow next to a sun. (Creative, aren't I?) To me it would taste sweet like honey or ice cream, anything that could put a smile on a little child's face. It would feel like a day at the spa...mind put to rest and body completely relaxed. Or it could be the feeling of when a person does what they enjoy, even if it could be something simple as snuggling in a corner and reading their favorite book. It would sound like a day in nature, quiet...yet with the small noises of crickets chirping or the river drifting by. However, like learning to fly without a mechanical contraction, or growing 10 feet in one night, it's just impossible for the idea of of peace to become reality in this world. With humans being who they are, even the nicest person may have a small chance of greed and jealousy in them that could react to something else. The world is selfish and with that, peace will never become reality.
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Byron Hurt's Hip Hop beyond beyond beats and rhymes freewrite (sept 16)
I never realized how deep a person could get into the prospect of hiphop. I always just take hiphop on a literal face. The beats, the sound and how it makes me feel. But what I don't do is listen to the lyrics. I guess I've always ignored the reality of hiphop and how it devalues women, and promoting manhood, and violence. This movie(and class) opened up my eyes. I realize just how much women are really worth in these videos, close to nothing. People, artists think that just because they have so many women around them , that they're pimps, cool, hard (mentally and physicaly), and that people who cry, respect others etc etc are "sissies." Whatever happened to respecting women? Respecting your love ones? How did they feel when they were younger and seeing their mom get smacked around by their dad?
But I can also agree with another fact from the video. That women also plays a part in letting men treating them down. No, it isn't a crime to wear shorts and a skinny top when the weather is nice and hot. However, by showing off your body like that, it's like putting up a sign that says "grab me." To the boys, wearing clothes like that makes them think that you welcome them to grab you. Wearing clothes that says "hottie" on your ass or any provocative clothing, to me seems like their asking for it. With the women in the video...yes i agree that is putting down women from all over the world. These women in the music video agrees to shake their booty around half naked for money. However, do they even realize how they're making women look? Women gets mad when they see something like that, but it was also women that signed up for these things. It's probably just not fair that some women volunteer to become just another property owned by a man, yet that has to represent women from all around America.
Guys trying to be hard, guys treating women as another piece of property, guys trying to beat each other down...why does it have to be like that? Videos, music, rappers talk about their "boys", their "homies" but why are there so many shootings and deaths among their own race. Before the world was against them, but now when everyone is learning to accept everyone, everything, they start to turn on themselves? Why is that? I love listening to hiphop, it's something that can relax me, can make me feel like I want to dance. However, when we look at the subject more closely...It makes me feel like I shouldn't be supporting this...
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The message (sept 23)
American Culture Vs. Hip Hop Culture
Intro
Loren, Ronnie, Jennifer, and Robin
American Culture unconsciously affects so many aspects of our society, one being hip hop. Originally hip hop was not just about music; it was a movement in which youth expressed their ideas with the purpose of communicating to the public. In various perspectives though, hip hop has drifted aways from its original intent mostly due to the influence of American culture. Many hip hop scholars such as Micheal Eric Dyson, Byron Hurt and Felicia Pride argue that the music and life style have transformed into something negative. "The Message", by Felicia Pride, also supports the idea that the music has changed and that society has impacted the music more than the music impacting society. Felicia writes, "Hip hop issues don't play out in us, our issues play out in hip hop (26)."
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Interviews...cyber post (sept 23)
imagine:
A boy with jet black hair, gelled up in short, tight spikes. A brick red t-shirt with the character of muscle man and branded "powerlifting." His neck is matched up with a gold faced parrot necklace with a chain of yellow, green, black and red beads. This necklace has been with him since he came to the states for 4 years now.
His wrist is accompanied with a religious bracelet with many faces of the saints. He has worn this bracelet on and off for a total of 10 years and running. He sports a pair of faded out jeans with a black and white belt, along with a pair of brown nike shoes.
-Eder Aragon
Eder is a fan and also a participant of soccer. He's been playingn soccer since he was 10 years old and was involved in the sport throughout his 4 years at Fremont High School. Currently, Eder isi working as a bartender 5 days a week at a Korean restaurant in Jack London. He knows how to write in both English and Spanish and also knows how to speak in Portuguese. He learned Spanish being originated from Mexico and learned English when he moved to the United States. He learned how to speak Portuguese because that is the language from his father's side. This is Eder's second semester at Alameda and so English 1B is not his first college course. His intention for taking this class is so he can earn enough credits to transfer into a nursing school. His favorite season? Winter because that's the month he was born in. His favorite book is "Child called it" which is an emotional story on the life of a kid. So yep, there you have it; Eder Aragon.
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Hip Hop essay (sept 29)
Initial Planning Sheet
1. The subject of my paper is sexism in Hip Hop.
2. I want to write about this subject because as a girl, I ca relate to being a women and how my gender can cause others to treat me differently. Considering how, being born in an asian family, I know asians have a history of liking boys more.
3. The audience that I am specifically aiming for are women and girls of all ages.
4. In my research paper, some of the questions I want answered are:
-How does Hip Hop portray women?
-How does women react to this?
-Why did it take women so long to act against it?
5. I want to bring up the issue in full detail and talk about the different aspects that people might have on this issue.
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Outline
Thesis: Women are being treated as property, a plaything in the hip hop society; while some blames the music industry, others are saying that perhaps women had bought this upon themselves.
1. Women devalued and treated as property.
-Michael Eric Dyson
2. Women bringing it on themselves
-Byron Hurt's video
-Missy Elliot's song: "Shake your pom pom"
3. How women react to this humiliation
-Spellman college
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Sexism: a recurrent issue in Hip Hop today
Hip Hop was originally a form of self expression, a way for an individual to display their thoughts and beliefs through the assistance of beats and rhythms. But through the years of society influence, hip hop has evolved into something greater than its original purpose. So great, that many can say that it has strayed from its “path.” It’s no longer only about reality and life through the ghetto, it’s also about the money, women, and violence. Making money and having so much of it that you can just throw it aimlessly. Being surrounded by women that show off their bodies and will do as you please to show how “manly” you are. And showing how “hard” you can be by carrying around guns, and putting up a face. Byron Hurt, a current activist saw just how much the music that he had loved was now completely different. This causes him to create and direct a documentary “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” based on the issues in today’s hip hop culture. One of the subjects closely looked upon in the documentary was sexism, and the message and feeling it brings upon society.
Everywhere you go and everything you see, there will always be a case of a women being devalued when it comes to Hip Hop. Doesn’t matter if it’s in the music videos or in the lyrics themselves, men always have the advantage of being a pimp or a “playa” and “getting some action tonight.” In music videos, women are portrayed as an object, something that a man would have on both arms to show just how good he’s got it. Women in the music videos are dressed not to impress others with their sophisticated taste and knowledge, but to impress a man physically. With their bodies half covered, and their butts shaking in front of the camera, what sort of image would be given to the world about women in general? An issue bought up in the interview between Byron Hurt and Michael Eric Dyson was why women didn’t come out earlier. If some are so offended of what they see and disagrees completely with the moral, then why did it take women so long to come out and say something? To answer this question, Dyson brings up the situation with the women from Spellman College and Nelly; concerning his video: “Tip Drill,” which showed a young man swiping a credit card down a woman’s gluteus maximus. African American women are faced with many difficulties when the intention is to stand up against an issue with their same race. If African American women were to stand up against a young male from the same race, others would argue and call them traitors. Therefore the Spellman sisters were faced with a difficult question, if they were in fact female first, or black first. Dyson considers black women being both black and female. A woman is compiled of many confusing yet extraordinary traits. It takes women longer to respond to outrageous situations only due to different conflicting views. As Dyson stated, “Black men have often told black women that feminist concerns should only be addressed when the racial question is settled, but we all know that if black women wait that long, justice will never come” (104).
Another point of view for the topic of sexism can be at who to blame for the way hip hop has turned into. Some say it’s the music industry that is causing hip hop to be “fake;” how producers only want to produce a certain amount of things because they are sure this is what “the public wants.” However, an interesting point that Hurt had mentioned in his documentary is that it could also be seen as the women’s fault. For a section in the documentary, Hurt had joined all the kids for spring break. The film shows in details how forward the guys can get but also how the girls dress provocatively. With the word “sexy” labeled on your shirt or behind, it only makes it seem like it is ok for them to grab on. Even hip hop songs with female artists can be about showing off one’s body.
“There is no escape,
When I shake it in your face,
Now don't you wanna tape my booty shakin' on your tape,
So show it to yours boys,
See the look on all they face” (Missy Elliot)
In Hurt’s documentary, it showed scenes of girls being groped and whistled at; however, none of those girls responded positively. Yet when stated maybe the reason why those things happen were due to their clothing, the girls’ response was simply that it was spring break, and that they want to wear their short shorts on such a bright, hot day. Girls wear certain clothes for a reason, either they want to feel sexy or get attention. Every girl wants to wear something nice and go outside and be able to turn heads, therefore, when they wear this during spring break, the guys see it has a chance to be forward…since this is why the girls wear shorts that show half of their behind right? Hip Hop portraying girls half naked and dancing around with their booties shaking in the camera influences the younger generation, putting down little girls, and hyping up the younger boys.
It has been a circle of faults and blames. The music industry blames society, society blames the music industry, men blame the women, and the women blame the men. What we should all learn to accept is that hip hop evolved to what it is now with the involvement of everyone. If women didn’t like to wear provocative clothing then men wouldn’t be so intrigued. If the men weren’t so expressive with how much they like a women’s body, then society would not be affected. If society had not liked that type of things, then producers wouldn’t have to produce music focused on such crude topics. Sexism is an issue that was not originated from hip hop, however, with the topic of music these days, some can consider hip hop as a supporter of sexism. No matter who gets blamed for the subjects mentioned in hip hop, it shouldn’t count because it isn’t an entity that created this evolution by itself, it’s the world.
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Bibliography
1. Dyson, Michael Eric. "Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent." (underline) Know What I Mean? 24 Sept. 2008: 91-122.
2. Elliot, Missy. Lyrics. "Shake your pom pom." Timbaland. (underline) Block Party. CD. Atlantic. 2009. MISSY-ELLIOT.COM. 24 Sept. 2008. http://www.missy-elliott.com/index.php
3. (underline) Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes. Dir. Byron Hurt. Perf. Busta Rhymes, Clipse, Fat Joe, Jadakiss. 2006.
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Group #2(?)
Name: (undecided)
Group members:
-Jennifer
-Gretel
-Eder
(i forgot to ask for last names, so sorry if it is inconvenient for anyone)
ENGLISH 1B
-meetings on Tuesday/Thursday from 1:30 to 3:00
-August 25, 2008
Considering that our group is pretty "raw" towards hip hop-Eder and I facing it with a literal sense which is staying above the surface with listening to the beats but not getting into the deeper contexts, and Gretel having little interest in the genre-not much could be contributed from the group. What was originally recorded on paper during the class session was:
Hip Hop Culture being about...
-the beat/soul
-lyrics containing "deep" subjects
-a method to portray a message out to the people
-another form of "poetry"
-a way of connecting certain words that create a stronger feeling...
In regards to what people has been saying about how "hip hop is dead," it is understandable on why there are different points of views to the subject. For most, Hip hop is supposed to be something deep, something strong and filled with thoughts and ideas. Hip Hop is a way for an artist to express him/her self; to bring out reality in which cases people are being ignorant to. That was the idealistic point of hip hop for most until the music industry evolved into something no longer about the music but how much money an album with certain songs and lyrics can make. Hip Hop songs are being filled with a basis of none other than sex, sweets, violence, money etc. This is why Hip Hop can be consider as "dead" for many. Hip Hop is no longer what it originated to be. It has become a tool for the music industry to use as a way to bring in the big bucks. However, there are still artists out there, that can be said to put bring some justice back to hip hop. (Although we don't have the knowledge yet of who these artists might be...we will soon tho!) Making hip hop into a controversial subject.
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Know what i mean: reflections on hip hop, track 1: "how real is this?" (aug 21)
Dyson takes the debate of "authenticity" and describes it with full details between what people think is authentic or fake. For most, hip hop is only real when the artist has experienced it before, and was writing something from his past. However, from what Dyson say, an artist, is an artist because they have the ability to make you believe they had gone through these experiences before. Life in jail was bought up in the conversation. How, while people go through school and education to learn their experiences, for an African American, his/her life is bought out to them with part of their life spent in jail. Jail might be considered as hell on earth for many people in this world. However, African Americans see it as almost a necessity in their life. No matter where they go, they will end up or past a part of their life in jail. The genre of hip hop can be differentiate in three ways. From the young, to the old, from the real, from the fake, and from the rich, and from the poor. People think you can't be a real hip hop artist unless you're poor. But Dyson proves that there are many artists out there that are rich but sing out reality. He brings out how hip hop is being criticized by their elders and how most consider hip hop nowadays to be rude...etc. I can sort of in a way relate that one difference. Between the young and the old. In how my parents would criticize in the kind of music that I listen to.
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Intro/Prelude Cyber Post (aug 26)
Names:
-Ronnie T.
-Loren D.
-Jennifer N.
English 1B (Tu/Th)
Summary:
-Dyson grew up in Detroit. Even though his life growing up wasn't easy, instead of giving up on education and falling to stereotypes, Dyson showed people that they are the best out there. FOr not having anything yet making everything out of it. Dyson gives the reader an insight of his thoughts of what he think sof certain critics. For t he hiphop critics that mouth off and how hip hop is a disgrace to society with thier violence and ghetto lifestyle.
-Some critics like Kilson for example, judge writers like Dyson because they don't want their biases to be false; false accusations are made. Dyson is considered as the "Hip hop intellectual: because of what he contributes to the world about hip hop. He had shown to the world, to doubters, critics, how hip hop is an important arts movement from the younger color generation. Dyson explains that certain hip hop songs can be crude, however, everything in these songs are portrayed by experience. "Proper" people and schools worry about the explicit content too much to even bother listening to the lyrics that describe the many faces of the world.
-Dyson compares the difference between hip hop artists and rappers. Rappers may seem like hip hop artists, rapping about the difficulties of the world. However, the difference between the two is that rappers haven't experienced what they rapped. Hip hop is achieved through experience. Dyson had work on the world becoming one, so that there are no longer "them" but only "us." Dyson not only stand up for his culture, but stand up for "poor folks and for street culture" of which they are being treated how African American were treated by the caucasian society.
Quote:
-"Our lives are not rotten or worthless just because that's what people say about the real estate that we were raised on. In fact, our lives may be even more worthy of study because we succeeded despite the promises of failure seeping out from behind the peeling paint on the walls of every apartment in every project." (pg 6; xi; top paragraph)
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The Second Line (aug 28)
The film helps the viewer visualize two different lives in the same situation. While both the African American and the caucasian family went through Hurricane Katrina and had both lost a lot; the African American family was split with the boy desperately trying to find a job and the caucasian family had enough money to hire people to demolish a house but was stingy to pay fairly. What made the African American character so mad was because even though the caucasian man had money, he tried to rip off the workers because he was stingy. The main character had the decency to give back the $300 that was found in the can, and yet the owner would only pay the workers $45 each for demolishing a hazardous house. The African American didn't say anything about it at first but he noticed all the possible clues in the house that could show that the white family was well off. Enough to buy toys, go on trips and get souvenirs...etc. ht epoint of the film was possibly to show why people do some things for a rason. John Magary got to show this point by mixing two different lives together. With the results of the movie, it's basically saying how at a point of people's lives, during a harash period of time, people may tend to lose control and do things they may end up regretting later. What I think was really cool was when the cousin of the main character didn't know what what was happening yet he still helped out his cousin by not allowing the wife of the owner to get away and therefore, keeping his cousin from getting caught by his the cops...What impresses me is how valuable some considers their family, while others don't know how to appreciate what they have when it's right in front of them.
Know what i mean: this dark diction has become america's addiction
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Hip Hop archives (sept 11)
Jennifer Nguyen
-Eng 1B
I really liked the class today. It was a lot of fun watching everyone present their artifacts on what they thought represented hip hop. Watching and listening to all of the clips were really cool. Im starting to like this class more because of how open minded everyone is. Like how hw assignments can be extended or how the class can think of many things to fill up classtime. Spending time in the lab was fun too. It is different from the hectic and boring schedules of other classes. Today made me know a little bit more about my classmates, learning their talents and listening to the kind of music they tend to hear. It was fun as a class and i didnt look at the clock as much as I would've =P.
Imagine Peace (sept 11)
Imagine Peace
-jennifer nguyen
If I was to imagine peace I would picture is as...the world sitting on a rainbow next to a sun. (Creative, aren't I?) To me it would taste sweet like honey or ice cream, anything that could put a smile on a little child's face. It would feel like a day at the spa...mind put to rest and body completely relaxed. Or it could be the feeling of when a person does what they enjoy, even if it could be something simple as snuggling in a corner and reading their favorite book. It would sound like a day in nature, quiet...yet with the small noises of crickets chirping or the river drifting by. However, like learning to fly without a mechanical contraction, or growing 10 feet in one night, it's just impossible for the idea of of peace to become reality in this world. With humans being who they are, even the nicest person may have a small chance of greed and jealousy in them that could react to something else. The world is selfish and with that, peace will never become reality.
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Byron Hurt's Hip Hop beyond beyond beats and rhymes freewrite (sept 16)
I never realized how deep a person could get into the prospect of hiphop. I always just take hiphop on a literal face. The beats, the sound and how it makes me feel. But what I don't do is listen to the lyrics. I guess I've always ignored the reality of hiphop and how it devalues women, and promoting manhood, and violence. This movie(and class) opened up my eyes. I realize just how much women are really worth in these videos, close to nothing. People, artists think that just because they have so many women around them , that they're pimps, cool, hard (mentally and physicaly), and that people who cry, respect others etc etc are "sissies." Whatever happened to respecting women? Respecting your love ones? How did they feel when they were younger and seeing their mom get smacked around by their dad?
But I can also agree with another fact from the video. That women also plays a part in letting men treating them down. No, it isn't a crime to wear shorts and a skinny top when the weather is nice and hot. However, by showing off your body like that, it's like putting up a sign that says "grab me." To the boys, wearing clothes like that makes them think that you welcome them to grab you. Wearing clothes that says "hottie" on your ass or any provocative clothing, to me seems like their asking for it. With the women in the video...yes i agree that is putting down women from all over the world. These women in the music video agrees to shake their booty around half naked for money. However, do they even realize how they're making women look? Women gets mad when they see something like that, but it was also women that signed up for these things. It's probably just not fair that some women volunteer to become just another property owned by a man, yet that has to represent women from all around America.
Guys trying to be hard, guys treating women as another piece of property, guys trying to beat each other down...why does it have to be like that? Videos, music, rappers talk about their "boys", their "homies" but why are there so many shootings and deaths among their own race. Before the world was against them, but now when everyone is learning to accept everyone, everything, they start to turn on themselves? Why is that? I love listening to hiphop, it's something that can relax me, can make me feel like I want to dance. However, when we look at the subject more closely...It makes me feel like I shouldn't be supporting this...
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The message (sept 23)
American Culture Vs. Hip Hop Culture
Intro
Loren, Ronnie, Jennifer, and Robin
American Culture unconsciously affects so many aspects of our society, one being hip hop. Originally hip hop was not just about music; it was a movement in which youth expressed their ideas with the purpose of communicating to the public. In various perspectives though, hip hop has drifted aways from its original intent mostly due to the influence of American culture. Many hip hop scholars such as Micheal Eric Dyson, Byron Hurt and Felicia Pride argue that the music and life style have transformed into something negative. "The Message", by Felicia Pride, also supports the idea that the music has changed and that society has impacted the music more than the music impacting society. Felicia writes, "Hip hop issues don't play out in us, our issues play out in hip hop (26)."
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Interviews...cyber post (sept 23)
imagine:
A boy with jet black hair, gelled up in short, tight spikes. A brick red t-shirt with the character of muscle man and branded "powerlifting." His neck is matched up with a gold faced parrot necklace with a chain of yellow, green, black and red beads. This necklace has been with him since he came to the states for 4 years now.
His wrist is accompanied with a religious bracelet with many faces of the saints. He has worn this bracelet on and off for a total of 10 years and running. He sports a pair of faded out jeans with a black and white belt, along with a pair of brown nike shoes.
-Eder Aragon
Eder is a fan and also a participant of soccer. He's been playingn soccer since he was 10 years old and was involved in the sport throughout his 4 years at Fremont High School. Currently, Eder isi working as a bartender 5 days a week at a Korean restaurant in Jack London. He knows how to write in both English and Spanish and also knows how to speak in Portuguese. He learned Spanish being originated from Mexico and learned English when he moved to the United States. He learned how to speak Portuguese because that is the language from his father's side. This is Eder's second semester at Alameda and so English 1B is not his first college course. His intention for taking this class is so he can earn enough credits to transfer into a nursing school. His favorite season? Winter because that's the month he was born in. His favorite book is "Child called it" which is an emotional story on the life of a kid. So yep, there you have it; Eder Aragon.
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Hip Hop essay (sept 29)
Initial Planning Sheet
1. The subject of my paper is sexism in Hip Hop.
2. I want to write about this subject because as a girl, I ca relate to being a women and how my gender can cause others to treat me differently. Considering how, being born in an asian family, I know asians have a history of liking boys more.
3. The audience that I am specifically aiming for are women and girls of all ages.
4. In my research paper, some of the questions I want answered are:
-How does Hip Hop portray women?
-How does women react to this?
-Why did it take women so long to act against it?
5. I want to bring up the issue in full detail and talk about the different aspects that people might have on this issue.
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Outline
Thesis: Women are being treated as property, a plaything in the hip hop society; while some blames the music industry, others are saying that perhaps women had bought this upon themselves.
1. Women devalued and treated as property.
-Michael Eric Dyson
2. Women bringing it on themselves
-Byron Hurt's video
-Missy Elliot's song: "Shake your pom pom"
3. How women react to this humiliation
-Spellman college
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Sexism: a recurrent issue in Hip Hop today
Hip Hop was originally a form of self expression, a way for an individual to display their thoughts and beliefs through the assistance of beats and rhythms. But through the years of society influence, hip hop has evolved into something greater than its original purpose. So great, that many can say that it has strayed from its “path.” It’s no longer only about reality and life through the ghetto, it’s also about the money, women, and violence. Making money and having so much of it that you can just throw it aimlessly. Being surrounded by women that show off their bodies and will do as you please to show how “manly” you are. And showing how “hard” you can be by carrying around guns, and putting up a face. Byron Hurt, a current activist saw just how much the music that he had loved was now completely different. This causes him to create and direct a documentary “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes,” based on the issues in today’s hip hop culture. One of the subjects closely looked upon in the documentary was sexism, and the message and feeling it brings upon society.
Everywhere you go and everything you see, there will always be a case of a women being devalued when it comes to Hip Hop. Doesn’t matter if it’s in the music videos or in the lyrics themselves, men always have the advantage of being a pimp or a “playa” and “getting some action tonight.” In music videos, women are portrayed as an object, something that a man would have on both arms to show just how good he’s got it. Women in the music videos are dressed not to impress others with their sophisticated taste and knowledge, but to impress a man physically. With their bodies half covered, and their butts shaking in front of the camera, what sort of image would be given to the world about women in general? An issue bought up in the interview between Byron Hurt and Michael Eric Dyson was why women didn’t come out earlier. If some are so offended of what they see and disagrees completely with the moral, then why did it take women so long to come out and say something? To answer this question, Dyson brings up the situation with the women from Spellman College and Nelly; concerning his video: “Tip Drill,” which showed a young man swiping a credit card down a woman’s gluteus maximus. African American women are faced with many difficulties when the intention is to stand up against an issue with their same race. If African American women were to stand up against a young male from the same race, others would argue and call them traitors. Therefore the Spellman sisters were faced with a difficult question, if they were in fact female first, or black first. Dyson considers black women being both black and female. A woman is compiled of many confusing yet extraordinary traits. It takes women longer to respond to outrageous situations only due to different conflicting views. As Dyson stated, “Black men have often told black women that feminist concerns should only be addressed when the racial question is settled, but we all know that if black women wait that long, justice will never come” (104).
Another point of view for the topic of sexism can be at who to blame for the way hip hop has turned into. Some say it’s the music industry that is causing hip hop to be “fake;” how producers only want to produce a certain amount of things because they are sure this is what “the public wants.” However, an interesting point that Hurt had mentioned in his documentary is that it could also be seen as the women’s fault. For a section in the documentary, Hurt had joined all the kids for spring break. The film shows in details how forward the guys can get but also how the girls dress provocatively. With the word “sexy” labeled on your shirt or behind, it only makes it seem like it is ok for them to grab on. Even hip hop songs with female artists can be about showing off one’s body.
“There is no escape,
When I shake it in your face,
Now don't you wanna tape my booty shakin' on your tape,
So show it to yours boys,
See the look on all they face” (Missy Elliot)
In Hurt’s documentary, it showed scenes of girls being groped and whistled at; however, none of those girls responded positively. Yet when stated maybe the reason why those things happen were due to their clothing, the girls’ response was simply that it was spring break, and that they want to wear their short shorts on such a bright, hot day. Girls wear certain clothes for a reason, either they want to feel sexy or get attention. Every girl wants to wear something nice and go outside and be able to turn heads, therefore, when they wear this during spring break, the guys see it has a chance to be forward…since this is why the girls wear shorts that show half of their behind right? Hip Hop portraying girls half naked and dancing around with their booties shaking in the camera influences the younger generation, putting down little girls, and hyping up the younger boys.
It has been a circle of faults and blames. The music industry blames society, society blames the music industry, men blame the women, and the women blame the men. What we should all learn to accept is that hip hop evolved to what it is now with the involvement of everyone. If women didn’t like to wear provocative clothing then men wouldn’t be so intrigued. If the men weren’t so expressive with how much they like a women’s body, then society would not be affected. If society had not liked that type of things, then producers wouldn’t have to produce music focused on such crude topics. Sexism is an issue that was not originated from hip hop, however, with the topic of music these days, some can consider hip hop as a supporter of sexism. No matter who gets blamed for the subjects mentioned in hip hop, it shouldn’t count because it isn’t an entity that created this evolution by itself, it’s the world.
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Bibliography
1. Dyson, Michael Eric. "Cover your eyes as I describe a scene so violent." (underline) Know What I Mean? 24 Sept. 2008: 91-122.
2. Elliot, Missy. Lyrics. "Shake your pom pom." Timbaland. (underline) Block Party. CD. Atlantic. 2009. MISSY-ELLIOT.COM. 24 Sept. 2008. http://www.missy-elliott.com/index.php
3. (underline) Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes. Dir. Byron Hurt. Perf. Busta Rhymes, Clipse, Fat Joe, Jadakiss. 2006.
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