Pop culture is defined as the modern culture that is transmitted through mass media, usually aimed at a younger audience. One of the most popular forms of cultural transmission is music. Feelings, ideas, movements, and trends can all be conveyed through a single song. Kanye West’s song, Blood on the Leaves, is a timeless piece that is meant to reach anyone who will listen, and tell a story of lost love and history. The quiet piano riff that introduces Nina Simone’s voice in the beginning. This signals the fragility of the song, but the high pitched drums and horns bring us back to West’s plot line. The integration of Nina Simone’s rendition of Strange Fruit throughout the song brings the reader back to the fragility and vulnerability of the track.
The first 47 seconds of the song is probably the most important part, as it is where we are introduced to Nina Simone singing Strange Fruit, a song that addressed lynching in the early 1940’s in America, and a soft piano riff. The selection of Strange Fruit is an important sign towards the goal of the song as a whole. The song references to “black bodies swinging in the summer breeze,” offering a chilling beginning to an emotionally packed song. West’s vocals layer over Simone’s with a slightly distressed tone that transitions the reader …show more content…
West integrated a song about a certain topic and somehow managed to relate it back to a love story. West tells us a story that many men, women, teenagers, and Americans can connect to. His use of music to convey two powerful stories simultaneously shows the power of production and lyrical integration. Perhaps a more cohesive story line would have been more effective but West achieved his expectations; which were to connect a listener to a story line through metaphor and music. Music is a growing force, and songs with story lines are especially growing forces with a new era of lyrical genius underway in the 21st
The first 47 seconds of the song is probably the most important part, as it is where we are introduced to Nina Simone singing Strange Fruit, a song that addressed lynching in the early 1940’s in America, and a soft piano riff. The selection of Strange Fruit is an important sign towards the goal of the song as a whole. The song references to “black bodies swinging in the summer breeze,” offering a chilling beginning to an emotionally packed song. West’s vocals layer over Simone’s with a slightly distressed tone that transitions the reader …show more content…
West integrated a song about a certain topic and somehow managed to relate it back to a love story. West tells us a story that many men, women, teenagers, and Americans can connect to. His use of music to convey two powerful stories simultaneously shows the power of production and lyrical integration. Perhaps a more cohesive story line would have been more effective but West achieved his expectations; which were to connect a listener to a story line through metaphor and music. Music is a growing force, and songs with story lines are especially growing forces with a new era of lyrical genius underway in the 21st