Hip Hop Poem Analysis

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An account of Jay-Z’s battle with his anger and abandonment would not make much sense, or be as powerful if it was not something he had personally experienced. In hip-hop, particularly rap, being a phony, or portraying yourself in a way that isn’t true, is scored. The artists cannot lay claim to experiences they have not lived. It goes against the very grain of what hip-hop stands for. It is a reflection of ones life. One component of hip-hop is that it is meant to be an outlet for the frustration and anger many black and brown youth have for their lot in life. Autobiographical and laden with metaphors, hip-hop allows people to comment on the issues surrounding their life, such as economic stagnation, the school to prison pipeline system, the …show more content…
This lyric offers up a sense of vulnerability; the artist is explaining they need to put on a front for safety reasons and to avoid being harmed by anyone. They spend time perfecting their fake persona in order to appear “hard” in front of other people so that they would have a sense of protection. It goes without saying that the people perceived as weak would be harassed. There is a tension offered up in these two lines that are screaming with a sincerity that would have otherwise rung false had it not been something the author had lived through.
Critics of hip-hop often try to malign it as being significantly homophobic and sexist. While it is true that hypermasculinity has permeated hip-hop and created a homophobic and sexist environment, it does not wholly capture the culture’s entire existence. Dr. Rose argues in the book “Hip-Hop Wars,” that
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The debate we watched for class, The Google Versus Debate: Hip Hop on Trial, looks at whether or not hip-hop can be classified as either ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ One of the debaters, Michael, states that, “[it] was not hip hop that lead Black and Latino youth to jails. Before hip hop was even invented there was an over incarceration of African American and Latino men; it has only been exacerbated by white supremacist practices both in Europe and America.” What rap music does is simply give a voice to this reality from the perspective of the people going through it or who have loved ones going through it. Hip-hop isn’t producing the socio-economic problems in inner city communities, it is simply allowing youth from those communities to reflect on it and express their concerns, and stories about

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