Decoded Vs. Cole's Song 99 Problems

As a freshman, I held a very negative opinion about rap music. It seemed to me as just a glorification of sex, drugs, and alcohol without deeper meaning. Essentially, rap seemed pointless to me, and it was not until my freshman year when my teacher told us we were reading Decoded by Jay Z that this perception changed. For an hour a day, we would break down the rap mogul’s lyrics and discover the double entendres hidden within. I began to appreciate rap when analyzing the song 99 Problems. At first glance, it seemed to be a song of misogyny where Jay Z belittles women. But when I analyzed his lyrics and looked at more than just the hook, it was apparent that the song is not about women. Instead, it is describing the police stopping him under no probable cause, threatening to send a detection dog. This revelation shattered my prior judgements of rap and pushed me to better explore the genre. …show more content…
We met each other in school while I was listening J Cole’s album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, and we spent all of lunch talking about the album’s beauty and overall message. From there, Rafa and I grew in friendship with each other due to our shared love in music which allowed us to also grow one another. Through Cole’s lyrics, Rafa was able to help me understand his situation as an immigrant from Mexico, along with the struggles he faces everyday. Through music, I able to understand how different our lives were. But through each other, we learned what J Cole meant by saying that there is “[n]o such thing as a life that's better than yours”. From rap, my perception on people, politics, and life changed for the better, along with bringing one of my best friends into my