Firstly, I’ll discuss the various rhymes and figures of speech in (Nas’s: ‘Life’s a Bitch’). In lines 2-3, there are polysyllabic, end, and broken rhymes: ‘beginners’— ‘percenters’, ‘percenters’— ‘sinners’, ‘in us’ – ‘sinners’. Nas makes a connection with the “5 percenters”, which originated from the U.S. (Nation of Islam). Essentially, these rhymes convey the “black bodies” and how they endure significant hardship, while committing sins such as stealing, killing, or drug dealing. Line 4 contains a metonymy: ‘some are sitting in San Quentin’ stands for the friends he’s lost in prison, as ‘San Quentin’ is referred to as the state prison in California. Line 6 contains personification: ‘schweppervescent street ghetto essence inside us’ stands
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Moreover, they both bring up their struggles growing up in different cities, respectively. In terms of their circumstances, they grew up around the same influences and sold drugs as adolescents, but that didn’t stop them from garnering recognition. Additionally, they both entail how death is untimely and unwarranted. Whether it’s because of different gang colors or simply because of someone’s jealousy, which is why black on black crime is so common. Coates discusses how he’s afraid of Samori ending up like Trayvon Martin because he worries about his stance of society. Although he grew up around the time Obama was elected, Coates didn’t want him thinking that racism still didn’t exist. “Were our only heroes nonviolent? I speak not of the mortality of nonviolence, but of the sense that blacks are in especial need of this mortality” (23). In quintessence, this seems to be the case because most African American celebrities …show more content…
In retrospect, there has been protests from the NFL for police brutality. Although it’s disrespecting to the flag for some, it exemplifies how determined these folks are against prejudice acts. Like Coates says, “Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage” Throughout the book he addresses his son and how mind boggling it is for a “black body” to live in this nation. Furthermore, I will be discussing two artists who closely resemble Coates and his book, not because they are critically acclaimed artists, but they spiral along the same path as they discuss their encumbrances and how they’ve faced them. To be frank, one artist is contemporary, yet I feel the older artist is more susceptible to the book. I’ll be describing and interpreting Nas’s (Life’s a Bitch) and Kendrick Lamar’s (m.A.A.d city). More specifically, I’ll be using certain stanza’s and will label them accordingly based on the artist and particular
Moreover, they both bring up their struggles growing up in different cities, respectively. In terms of their circumstances, they grew up around the same influences and sold drugs as adolescents, but that didn’t stop them from garnering recognition. Additionally, they both entail how death is untimely and unwarranted. Whether it’s because of different gang colors or simply because of someone’s jealousy, which is why black on black crime is so common. Coates discusses how he’s afraid of Samori ending up like Trayvon Martin because he worries about his stance of society. Although he grew up around the time Obama was elected, Coates didn’t want him thinking that racism still didn’t exist. “Were our only heroes nonviolent? I speak not of the mortality of nonviolence, but of the sense that blacks are in especial need of this mortality” (23). In quintessence, this seems to be the case because most African American celebrities …show more content…
In retrospect, there has been protests from the NFL for police brutality. Although it’s disrespecting to the flag for some, it exemplifies how determined these folks are against prejudice acts. Like Coates says, “Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage” Throughout the book he addresses his son and how mind boggling it is for a “black body” to live in this nation. Furthermore, I will be discussing two artists who closely resemble Coates and his book, not because they are critically acclaimed artists, but they spiral along the same path as they discuss their encumbrances and how they’ve faced them. To be frank, one artist is contemporary, yet I feel the older artist is more susceptible to the book. I’ll be describing and interpreting Nas’s (Life’s a Bitch) and Kendrick Lamar’s (m.A.A.d city). More specifically, I’ll be using certain stanza’s and will label them accordingly based on the artist and particular