In the hip hop piece, “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy, alliteration and repetition of certain words together communicate the theme that honest hip hop music is not just entertainment, but also a powerful political force that can be used as the voice of people who need to be heard. The second half of the first stanza reads, “While the black bands sweatin’/and the rhythm rhymes rollin’/got to give us what we want/gotta give us what we need/” (Ridenhour et al 1). In this first part of the passage, heavy alliteration in “black bands” and “rhythm rhymes rollin’ ” helps readers first appreciate the passion and dedication put into making the hip hop music (Ridenhour et al 1). Next, repetition in “got to give us what we want/gotta give us what we
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The last two lines use repetition to drive the importance of hip hop home, saying, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death/we got to fight the powers that be/” (Ridenhour et al 1). Here, repetition of the word freedom shows the whole point of making the hip hop music: to gain freedom in a system of social control that values certain races or social statuses over others. In the college educational system, many schools do not necessarily consider hip hop music to be educational. However, as evidenced in “Fight the Power”, hip hop music is not just a form of entertainment for a selected group of …show more content…
In the second verse of the song, the lines read, “’Cause I’m Black and I’m proud/I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped/Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps/” (Ridenhour et al 2). In the first two lines, readers can tell the song writers had a strong, confident tone. The tone gradually increases in intensity, as the poem escalates from, “proud” to “ready…hyped…amped” (Ridenhour et al 2). This confidence contrasts sharply with the last line, which has a serious, honest tone as it communicates a societal problem of underrepresented minority role models and public figures. The contrast in tones shows that despite the problem the songwriters and many others have faced, they have still managed to remain proud and confident. In the last two lines, imperfect rhyming of “amped” and “stamps” serves to make this contrast even more distinct by closing each line’s thought with the most important words (Ridenhour et al 2). The main writer here is “amped”, even if his role models do not appear in the same way they do for other people, on “stamps” (Ridenhour et al 2). This message is inspiring and honorable, and holds important value for college students and adult members of society who want to change an unfairness they see around them.
The last two lines use repetition to drive the importance of hip hop home, saying, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death/we got to fight the powers that be/” (Ridenhour et al 1). Here, repetition of the word freedom shows the whole point of making the hip hop music: to gain freedom in a system of social control that values certain races or social statuses over others. In the college educational system, many schools do not necessarily consider hip hop music to be educational. However, as evidenced in “Fight the Power”, hip hop music is not just a form of entertainment for a selected group of …show more content…
In the second verse of the song, the lines read, “’Cause I’m Black and I’m proud/I’m ready and hyped plus I’m amped/Most of my heroes don’t appear on no stamps/” (Ridenhour et al 2). In the first two lines, readers can tell the song writers had a strong, confident tone. The tone gradually increases in intensity, as the poem escalates from, “proud” to “ready…hyped…amped” (Ridenhour et al 2). This confidence contrasts sharply with the last line, which has a serious, honest tone as it communicates a societal problem of underrepresented minority role models and public figures. The contrast in tones shows that despite the problem the songwriters and many others have faced, they have still managed to remain proud and confident. In the last two lines, imperfect rhyming of “amped” and “stamps” serves to make this contrast even more distinct by closing each line’s thought with the most important words (Ridenhour et al 2). The main writer here is “amped”, even if his role models do not appear in the same way they do for other people, on “stamps” (Ridenhour et al 2). This message is inspiring and honorable, and holds important value for college students and adult members of society who want to change an unfairness they see around them.