N.W.A

Rap As “Real” As It Gets Chances are, if you ask any person if they’ve heard rap, or have ever had fun trying to write their own raps they’ll say yes. “The most interesting finding however is that hip-hop is the world's top genre, showing up on playlists more than all others, regardless of geography or language.” (Independent.com). Rap/Hip-Hop has become the fastest moving musical phenomenon in recent years, maybe even bigger than the Rock-n-Roll explosion of the 1950’s. But what makes…

Have you ever felt isolated before? Have you been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS? This terrible syndrome can make you feel so isolated that even your own parents shun you. Mainly passed around by doing drugs or through sex. Many famous people have been diagnosed with this disease and have died because there is no cure. HIV/AIDS is known for making people feel isolated in American society. AIDS stands for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. AIDS is a…

1. Introduction Kanye Omari West. Who is he? His first name answers this question by itself. As his mother, Donda West mentioned in her book she wanted her child to have a name that represented his culture and stood for something. Kanye is an Ethiopian name that means “Only One” and I think it totally describes what Kanye West represents (West, 2007, p.46). Six out of seven solo albums debuting at No.1 and total of 34 million albums sold. Winner of 21 Grammy Awards and other 68 nominations as a…

all of his childhood in public housing, “I would change schools two, three times a year”. He grew up in places consisting of predominantly black families and also found comfort in imitating the rebellious attitudes of the rep groups around such as N.W.A and Public Enemy. Huxley (2000, page 7) quotes Eminem describing his upbringing as “stereotypical, trailer park, white trash upbringing”. His race is a defining factor in his case because he broke the mould by emerging as a white rapper. Eminem…

Cultural Hijacking: The Commercialization of the Hip Hop Genre Ever since the formative years of the recorded music industry, Africana artists have played a major role in shaping some of the most influential music genres of the 20th century. Jazz, blues, and hip hop, to name a few, would not exist in the current state that they do today had it not been for all of the great artists who overcame racial intolerance and segregation through their art. Unfortunately, the period of social…

A deadly virus that was originated in the early 80’s of the twentieth century has become a crisis for the whole world today. For a period of time it was known as a death sentence virus. There is a stage before AIDs which is known as HIV. HIV was first discovered in 1981. One in every six people are infected with HIV. The acronym HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. Unlike most viruses, HIV is one that your body can never nor will ever get rid of. So, once you have HIV you will have it…

Homicide Since the beginning of human kind, humans have been immoral. Messing up is part of our DNA as the human race. One of the most horrid acts that civilized humans have outlawed is the act of homicide. Homicide is the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another. Homicide, or murder, has been around as long as the story of Cain the farmer and his brother Abel the shepherd, the first and second sons of Adam and Eve. A lesson of history is that wrongfully killing thousands to…

Is Hip-Hop terrible nowadays or am I getting old? Time makes fools of all of us. I’m not the same stallion that I used to be. The days of me drinking until four in the morning are far behind me. I mean I can still do it but instead of a cheeseburger to recover, I need three days of rest and IV bag. Just like my drinking tolerance my music tolerance has changed. This is something that will happen to all of us. We get older and our bodies change and our music palate also changes. This leads to…

In “Decoded”, Jay-Z discusses his life in hip-hop. He connects his career to past artists and events in history. Jay-Z has become one of the most influential people in hip-hop. He has been a prominent figure for decades in music. Jay-Z’s influence on other artists has changed hip-hop’s history itself. The stories of his past, which he shares in “Decoded”, are a part of history because they all shaped his career and made hip-hop what it is today. In “Decoded”, Jay-Z shares a few moments…

Go up further on Normandie Ave until Florence and you’ll cross the epicenter of the LA riots. Just a couple blocks down is the home of N.W.A, the iconic group that raised awareness of the injustice in South Los Angeles with their music. It’s hard not to think about home without the violence. They are synonymous but living in south central gives people pride -- I saw it whenever someone…