Backpack Rap: Writing for the Subculture

                  According to Urban Dictionary, a backpack rapper is, "a person who raps about real life shit that matters and has experienced, rarely about pimping hoes/having millions/selling immense amounts of drugs/murdering random people for no apparent reason or motive”. Many rappers like to rap a lot of talk. Always saying how they're selling so much drugs and murdering people when in reality they might have went to college and had straight A's all in school. Backpack rappers only talk about what's really going on and what's really happening in their life at that point in time.

            In this blog I’d like to focus primarily on one backpack rapper that went by the name Lil Snupe. He’s from Jonesboro, Louisiana which isn’t the safest place by far. He grew up in the struggle and you can hear that in his songs. Snupe was 16 when he dropped his first tape 16 and Runnin and immediately anyone that listened could hear Snupe’s talent flowing through the speakers.

            This is the first song on the mixtape and its apparent what kind of person he is with the first line in the song, “I grew up without a father, barely had a mother, no brothers it’s just me tryna make it out the struggle, my mind gone knowin my daddy live in a prison, but I gotta learn from his mistakes so I don’t end up in that position”. The song takes kids into the life of Snupe showing the distrust he has in the gang system and how a lot of his so called friends might actually be trying to end his life.

            He was able to get signed to Meek Mill’s label Dreamchasers by running down Meek’s tour bus. Once he had his attention, he grabbed his mixtape out of his backpack and gave it to him. After fifteen minutes of listening to it Meek called Snupe back and said to come to philly to record some songs. Just like that Snupe was on and signed with Meek Mill. When he finally arrived in Philly he blew Meek's mind by showing his true skill. Yeah, he was a backpack rapper and only rapped that real shit and all, but what truly made him a special rapper is that it was all freestyles. Just like Biggie, Snupe freestyles all of his songs. When Meek discovered his raw talent he put him on the spot and that night he was placed in a freestyle battle. Here's one of five rounds that Snupe had against another up and coming rapper. Before this clip Meek (Who is seen standing next to Snupe) told him "Rap about that real shit. You don't got no Bentleys. I'm the one with every car! You don't got no cars rap about what you got!" Snupe accepted the challenge and this is his response:

 

           Lil Snupe ended up winning the rap battle in the video above and won $10,000 which was the wager of the battle. He won all five rounds and instantly became viral. His Boosie sound and hard lyrics leaked through the streets and everyone was hearing about Lil Snupe. Under Meek's guidance and label, Snupe was able to release another mixtape, Real N*gga In Charge, which featured Meek Mill and was sponsored by Dj Khaled and Rick Ross. Unfortunately, unlike many rappers who falsely rapped about murder and violence, Snupe's lyrics were bone-chillingly true. He was always afraid of his surroundings. He felt like everyone he once knew was out to get him. On June 6, 2013 at only eighteen years old, his lyrics became a truly terrible reality and Lil Snupe was murdered in the early morning outside of his hometown Jonesboro. It's a shame for the rap community to have lost yet another great star so young.

#LONGLIVESNUPE #FREESTYLEKING

 

 

 

 

*I didn't want to post the full 30 minutes of the rap battle but I encourage everyone to go online and watch it because Lil Snupe actually destroys his opponent and a lot of famous people were in attendance to watch it including DeSean Jackson, Michael Vick, T.I. and Meek Mill.

Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oULZ6AEgFH4

What’s Diss got to do with it?

            Dissing in hip-hop has been around for as long as the genre has been alive. Many artists incorporate the dissing style in their works because of its strong messages that it conveys.  The constant competition to be the best out there results in artists infuriating other artists through their music. One of the first diss tracks was by Boogie Down Productions rapping about the original location of where hip-hop started. The release of their song “The Bridge is over” tried MC Shan and Marley Marl confirming them with lyrics “Manhattan keeps on making it, Brooklyn keeps on taking it, Bronx keeps creating it, and Queens keeps on faking it,” that Bronx was the birthplace and that Queens had no role in the creation of hip-hop.

            As hip-hop was evolving, the dissing style was progressing as well. The dissing that was integrated in the rap was becoming more personal and many artists were “calling out” other artists. “The Takeover” by Jay-Z was a powerful diss towards Nas that aggravated him to write a response that caused a lot of controversy about the hip-hop genre. Jay-Z called out Nas for not being able to stay consistent in the hip-hop world with lyrics “went from top 10 to barely mentioned at all.” With lyrics, “Were you abused as a child, scared to smile, they called you ugly?” Nas responded making fun of Jay-Z in regards to his appearance and early life as a young rapper. Even though dissing had already been introduced in hip-hop, the battle between these two hugely influential hip-hop artists aroused a lot of other artists to get their name out there by producing diss tracks.  

            Dissing in hip-hop can be portrayed in not only insults and foul language but can also be done in subtle ways. Kendrick Llamar showed us this in his feature in Big Sean’s song “Control.” Kendrick Llamar raps

“I'm usually homeboys with the same n*ggas I'm rhymin' with, But this is hip-hop and them n*ggas should know what time it is, And that goes for Jermaine Cole, Big KRIT, Wale, Pusha T, Meek Millz, A$AP Rocky, Drake, Big Sean, Jay Electron', Tyler, Mac Miller, I got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you n*ggas,”

talking about some of the biggest names in hip-hop today. He is giving them a warning that he is here to take over and reign but is also giving those artists more inspiration to try to better themselves and raise a higher bar for the genre.

            The art of dissing in hip-hop music is an aspect of the industry that will forever carry its mark. Dissing is the artists’ expression of power and as long as hip-hop is active, dissing will continue to be a key characteristic.


1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0Sy4twXSn0
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAnGnevKxJE
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ePQKD9iBfU
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkZZo0XSm5s

Welcome to the Hood: The Importance of Location, Culture, and Totems

Location, Culture and Totems have always been relevant in Hip Hop. Location is a huge aspect of Hip Hop because artists make it one. There are songs strictly about locations artists are from and pride is the first thing that comes to mind when listening to this music, as these artists wouldn’t be rapping about them if they weren’t proud. “Homecoming” by Kanye West is prime example of a rapper having pride for the location he’s from. Kanye West talks about “Chi- Town” (Chicago), which is where he moved when he was 3 years old. In the song “Homecoming” Kanye West personifies Chicago as a girl who introduces herself to Kanye when he moves there, “Excuse me lil homey, I know you don’t know me but, my name is Windy and I like to blow trees”. Other artists display love for the city they’re from through an entire song or sometimes just subtly, like Jay-Z in “Empire State of Mind” about the NYC and Eminem who mentions Detroit in many of his songs. 

Culture and totems go hand and hand with a different locations that emphasize hip hop. Hip Hop cultures vary from city to city but are commonly associated with rap, DJing, dance, and graffiti. The culture varies everywhere you go but was bigger historically than in the 21^st century we live in today. Today, there’s a more mutual and collaborative Hip Hop game, as artists don’t have as much beef or hatred for one another. Back in the 1980s and 90s, big time record labels acted as rivals, and artists that held a certain label let that define where they were from and what they were about. West Coast and East Coast rivalry was the most evident and even lead to the death of two of the most iconic rappers to date, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls (Christopher Wallace). Totems were a lot more evident in the 80’s and 90’s also. 

As you can see from the video, Biggie displays a real flashy and wealthy scene featuring money, women, and champagne all in a high class looking club. This East Coast scene is almost directly contradictory to the kinds of music videos displayed in the West Coast at the time, for example Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin but a G Thang”.

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s music video features themselves, in a low- class neighborhood attending a block party. It can be easily analyzed the totems or symbols in these videos differ greatly, as Biggie’s takes advantage of his money to use totems like champagne, a high-class night club, and money itself, while Snoop and Dr. Dre and in a low- class neighborhood at a barbecue, with people of all ages. It’s also worth noting that Biggie and the people around him are featuring clothing people would wear in a nice wealthy club like Biggie’s flashy hat, sweater, and jacket, while Snoop Dogg is wearing a plain hat with a Marijuana leaf, and a regular black sweatshirt.

1.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ488QrqGE4

2.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rnr2wuAhYc

3.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phaJXp_zMYM

4.       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7b2kaPVWEE

Welcome to the Hood: The Importance of Location, Culture, and Totems

Ever since the beginning of Hip Hop, artists have been rapping about where they are from and what they have been through in their lives. Artists use this almost as like a competition with each other to almost show off like, “Look at how much more I had to go through in my life than you and I still made it”. And this competitiveness, among other things, created a rivalry between the East Coast and West coast, and even the Dirty South. This rivalry and hatred among the two coasts grew so strong in the earlier stages of Hip Hop that it eventually led to the deaths of the two greatest rappers ever, the East Coast’s Biggie Smalls and the West Coast’s Tupac Shakur. Even today, artists still rap about where they are from, like Kendrick or Game saying that they’re from Compton or Big Sean always saying he’s from Detroit.

However in today’s Hip Hop, the rivalry between the East Coast and West Coast is almost non-existent, which is shown by artists from East Coast collaborating on a song with an artist from the West Coast and vice versa.

One example of this is the song, ”Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe Remix” by Kendrick Lamar featuring Jay Z

Differences between the East Coast and West Coast still exist today, especially in the style of rap and the lifestyle the artists live. For example, east coast rappers are more known for being more into fashion and the lavish partying lifestyle and using more up-tempo and simpler beats. While west coast rappers were usually more lyrical while being chill and laid back and using more complex beats with samples. These differences in rap style and lifestyle can be seen when comparing the most recent   works of West Coast Rapper Kendrick Lamar with the works of East Coast Rapper Meek Mill.

Kendrick Lamar’s latest album, good kid, m.A.A.d city  is considered by many to be the best album of this generation and many believe it should have won the Grammy this past year for Best Rap Album. During the entire album, Kendrick is telling a story about his life and all the different experiences he had to go through. In his songs he talks about topics from gangs, to drugs, to women, and all the effects they had on him growing up. Going back to the topic of location, Kendrick also has a song on this album called, “Compton”, where he raps about his love for his city. Kendrick is more focused on the lyrical and story telling aspect of rap, than the bragging and boasting aspect of it.

On the other hand, Meek Mill’s latest album, Dreams and Nightmares, is not as lyrical as good kid, m.A.A.d. city and is more known for being an album to party to. This album is more of a street rap album with loud, bass heavy beats. In this album , Meek focuses more on materialistic items like money and jewelry. This is especially shown in his single titled, “Young & Gettin’ It”. Even though this album did not have as great of am impact on society as good kid, m.A.A.d city, I believe it is still a great album and was slept on by many Hip Hop fans.

Location, culture, and totems play an essential role in Hip Hop. It affects everything the artist does, from the way he dresses, to the way he raps, to the way he lives.

1. http://blog.agoodsupply.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/biggie-and-tupac.jpg
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ5-Soe3NJ0
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WgoX7yySW8
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRMq3NpRxe8

Race and Identity

     Hip-Hop a genre that has been dominated by African Americans ever since its beginning. This long seeded relationship has provided for  race to play a detrimental role in artists and lyrics of many songs. The ability to create a song that could potentially be listened to by millions of people carries a very strong power. This enables artists like Ice Cube to voice his opinion on race in everyday life the way he see's it, how he feels about it and what he may feel needs to be done. An example of this is his song titled "Race Card". He voices how his black skin makes life noticeably different than if it were white and how stereotypes dominate our modern culture. Yet he provides points that he is just as wealthy as a white male with a college degree or what is viewed as a successful American. He drives his message home with the hook proclaiming

"Please don't believe the hype

Everything in the world aint black and white

Everybody aint the stereotype 

Just becasue I look wrong, i'mma bout to do right" 

               

      In a somewhat similar sense Eminem points out in his song "White America" how because he is white his attempt at breaking the caucasian mold makes for harsh criticism from the public. Not only was he frowned upon but becoming successful in Hip-Hop was that much tougher because he would get judged by the cover of his book. The identity of Eminem was what his fans stuck to and loved, the kid who didn't give a shit what people thought of him or what his music was trying to say. It was edgy and provided him with a great platform to teach and show that race wasn't an unbreakable barrier in Hip-Hop. 

      

      While Eminem was looking at the hypocrisies in white America, black rappers were also pointing out how they were scared that their race was becoming something pitiful and incapable of being proud of. Songs like "Black Zombie" by Nas seem as an attempt at some sort of wake up call, a reason to look in the mirror and change as a whole. A similar example of this fear of falling into the mainstream African American life style is depicted by Big K.R.I.T. Who like Ice cube uses the hook as the hammer to nail down his point. The hook goes 

I don't wanna be another nigga,

Tell the government,
I don't wanna be another nigga,
Tell them white folk,
I don't wanna be another nigga,
Tell them black folk,
I don't wanna be another nigga.
Tell the world
I don't wanna be another nigga,

       Lastly a song I find that wraps up Race and Identity in Hip-Hop perfectly is "Kramer"  by Wale. It goes over how the word nigga has been used to avoid the N word in music and modern day. The song was prompted and based off of a rant in which the Actor who plays Kramer in Seinfeld did while at a comedy show. The song actually uses the audio from it at the beginning to set up the rest of the lyrics and uses the public apology at the end. Describing how everyone's identity is different but no one is completely clean and un capable of seeing race. Virtually describing that we all have some racism in us it is just merely the amount of it which we think and or express that differs. Which is of course a very touchy subject and a very bold concept to run with and create a song about. 

Race and identity

Through hip/hop music there is a lot of stories being told. Some of the stories have to do with the races and/or identities of the artist. The stories that are told can be heartwarming, saddening, tragic, happy, or just emotionless. Many relate their stories to the struggles their own families have had and they make it their identities.

For example, the song "Ali Bomaye" by the Game is essentially about the life style of all the artists, yet it has some lines in it that touch on race and identity in today's world. Here are some of the lines:

'Get my people out them chains nigga

I mean handcuffs, time to man up

Put my hands up? Fuck you sayin' bruh

Cause I'm a black man, in a Phantom.'

By saying 'my people' he is talking about people of his race, so African Americans. He is suggesting that racism is still alive in our world. Game is suggesting that police would pull him over because he is a black man in a really nice fancy car. This is his way of showing how he sees his identity and race in our world. Many African American hip/hop artists see our world as being racist and they show how they identify with their opinion by telling their story about how they, usually, went from rags to riches. Mostly saying how they broke the mold in their families. 

Many artists in the rap world today are famous for speaking out about their stories and their identities. Speaking out on how they think racism is still present in our world today and they even make it a political issue because some artist use Obama as a bright outlook on the future and relate it to their races.

For example the song "My president is black" by young Jeezy and Nas talks about how before Obama no president did anything for him and all they did was put him in jail some could not vote. This may not be true, maybe he actually did commit a crime, but he sees it as a racial thing. He talks about how things are now looking up because of a new black president. This helps him feel better about his identity because I think he feels as if he has a upper hand now.