Within most songs, the artist has a
goal of sending a message across to the audience. This gives a purpose to the
song. With a purpose behind a song, it creates more of an emotional bond
between the listener and the artist them self. This purpose mainly talks about
the politics, either of the streets or of the world. Such songs that describe
some political issues are “My President” by Young Jeezy and Nas[1], “White
America” by Eminem[2], and “From Yesterday” by 30 Seconds to Mars[3]. With
these songs either explaining how corrupt the government is or how we the
people have finally done right. Now some people say that music has no influence
on politics, but this is wrong. As you may of heard in the presidential speech,
Barack Obama addresses the United States of America and adds that “we all
cannot be like Lil Wayne”[4], meaning even the high class politicians recognize
the influence these artists have . Now with this influence these artists have,
they also how to beware of what language they are going to use for their song.
As language can make the difference between a funny/ comical song or a serious
and heartfelt song, it really does have a big impact on the way the song is interpreted.
Such songs that can be compared are “Rella”, by Hodgy, Domo Genesis, and Tyler
the Creator [5], to the song “Same Love” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis [6]. Such
key differences in these songs are the choice of words and the tone of the
song. As “Same Love” is has a slower pace, lyrics have more of a point behind
it, it creates a sense of knowledge and a need of change. As “Rella” is just a
past paced song that has no meaning from any of its lyrics.
For
many artists, the lyric side of the song gives a purpose, political agenda, and
a type of language is associated with it. One of the many songs that express
all three of these qualities is the song “Dancing with the Devil” by Immortal
Technique [7]. This song shows the less famous side of the streets and how it
can affect someone in a horrible way. As the main guy they rap about tells
about how he starts to use drugs, and how he gets into a gang. The purpose of
this song is to tell the listener that the street is not something that should
be looked up to, but yet it is a place where the devil will take a dance with
you. Through the use of very descriptive words, the artists create a picture of
the situation in the listeners mind, even though the picture they paint is very
gory. This helps them with the explanation of why the artist is wrong, and that
there doings will come at a price. With this price, they give off the political
agenda of saying that the streets need to be fixed, because if not, the story
being told through this song will repeat.
I liked how you said each song that an artist makes has a purpose and a message and that purpose can be a variety of different things. I also liked how you said that artists today have a huge impact on society, even on politics. The example of the song "Dancing with the Devil" was great as well.
ReplyDeleteI liked your examples and though they were very relative to the the topic. Also, I had no idea Barack Obama had said that about Lil Wayne, I thought that was a very good point as politics are usually pointed out in rap and hip hop, but it's not often that political figure talk about hip hop or it's artists.
ReplyDeleteI liked your examples of songs that had to do with politics. I also did not know that Barack Obama mentioned Lil Wayne in one of his speeches, and to me that really shows how much influence these people have with their music.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm not sure every song has a message, I do agree that there are many rap songs that attempt to get a point across. Of course, these messages vary, some being political, some being moral. I liked some of the examples you used, like "Dance With the Devil", and I also liked your comparison of "Same Love" and "Rella".
ReplyDeleteYour comparison between Rella and Same Love was interesting. Those songs could not be more different and analyzing both of them helped get your point across. Whether hip hop is being meaningful or just entertaining, it does still have one of the largest influences on youth in America.
ReplyDeleteI thought your analysis of "Dancing with the Devil" was very intelligent. You made some good points that I wouldn't have recognized. For good reasons or for bad
ReplyDelete(depending on how the individual looks at it), mainstream artists today certainly have an impact on society and politics. Your post does a good job of covering how purpose, political agenda, and language all directly and indirectly tie in to one another to create the message and perhaps more importantly, how the message is delivered.
I really liked the variety of examples that you used including an example that's very common nowadays (Same Love). I also really liked your example of Immortal Tech's Dance with the devil to show how sometimes the message is a personal story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that every song has a purpose, maybe not always a message but at least a purpose. The mixture of different genres and different types of songs for examples really helped clarify your point. All of the songs you used had different yet meaningful messages.
ReplyDeleteEvery song does have a person just not every person who listens to the song can connect with it. Music is a form of expression just as painting or getting a tattoo is. An artist's painting may seem meaningless to one person, but may touch another person deeply.
ReplyDeleteWow I did not know that barrack Obama mentioned lil Wayne in his speech! Also I like the songs that mentioned politics, that you chose. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThe example of "Dance with the devil" I would say proves your point perfectly. For anyone who has listened to the song you noticed yourself creating the scenes in your head. Exactly what happens when reading a good book and we certainly view books as a way of getting serious messages across, that then improve the publics knowledge.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article with a lot of good examples. 30 Seconds to Mars was good because it showed other music styles using the industry for the same political measures. It was important you highlighted the influence hip hop has on society and I think you showed how greatly it does with the Obama reference.
ReplyDeleteListened to Dancing With the Devil and couldn't agree more with your use for it as an example. I don't believe that every song has a message per say, I mean, yes they're rapping about different topics, but I don't think all of them are meant to be really analyzed.
ReplyDeleteYou gave some great examples of some powerful lyrical songs that have changed the way the hip hop music industry is seen by a political audience. You gave some great descriptions about the song "Dancing with the Devil" and flowed with it in your blog smoothly.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that all rappers have a message behind their songs. However, those messages can range from serious political topics such as "Same Love" to songs like "Candy Shop" be 50 Cent. loved that you used "Dancing With the Devil," it's always been a favorite of mine!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your opinion that when an artist conveys a message it makes the song more interesting, but not all great songs necessarily have to convey a message. Also I think that the lyrics are very important to hip hop music, but not the most important. I think a better beat can make a song, regardless of lyric, sound really good to me.
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