Rihanna

50 years from now if I could only use 5 songs during a 50 minute lecture to describe the 2010s, I would have to have Rihanna’s “We Found Love”, Beyonce’s “Formation”, Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off”, Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” and Lady GaGa’s “Edge of Glory.” These artists have contributed to society in enormous ways with their music and advocacy. Beyonce is widely referred to by her enormous fan base as Queen Bey, sometimes just Queen. Despite being very popular in the 2000s, her staying…

Ariana Grande is a twenty three year old television actress better known as a pop music singing sensation. Ms. Grande began singing and acting at a young age, which landed her a role in a Broadway play before she hit sixteen. In 2010, she landed her big break. Starring in the Nickelodeon series, Victorious, as Cat Valentine, she played as a “goofy aspiring singer.” (biography.com) Ariana Grande dropped her single “The Way” which went triple platinum in 2013. After her single, she went on to…

In the essay “Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power”, from the Sister Outsider (a book of essays and speeches), Audre Lorde (feminist writer) re-interprets the use of the word ‘erotic’ and highlights the importance that it has in empowering women; living within a male dominated world. By directing her analysis towards women, Lorde is able to build a commonality amongst herself and the audience. Furthermore, by stating including her personal identity and experience with eroticism, she can…

Drake, the world's sole African American Jewish-Canadian rap star, was named Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, in Toronto, Canada. Drake grew up with music in his veins. His dad, Dennis Graham, was a drummer for well-known rock star Jerry Lee Lewis, and Drake says that his mom, Sandi Graham, additionally hails from an "extremely musical" family. Drake comes from a mixed and one of a kind racial and religious foundation. His dad is an Black Catholic and his mom is a Caucasian Canadian Jew.…

What does it mean to be human? This question can be answered in million different ways. For myself, I had too many responses to choose from, either pressure, power, purpose, community, dreams, and so on. With a combination of all ideas, I ended up telling my story on how I have worked to create the best version of myself and continue to do so. From a different perspective, I wanted to trigger a larger crowd because Detroit is culture, traditions, and talents. I feel that everyone has small or…

In reality writing is probably one of the most difficult things to do, whether it’s an individual’s career or just free writing. It is very difficult for me to begin writing; I am a big procrastinator. I will avoid the assignment until the very day it is due and then rush to turn in what I can. When avoiding certain assignments, I’ll probably begin baking to take my mind off of the assignment and other work that is due. I’ll call my grandmother ask her how her day was, try to catch up with…

For the fall 2015 campaign, Calvin Klein Jeans stirs up some controversy yet again, this time with a series of advertisements focusing on “sexting”. Sexting has become the newest trend in the world of mobile devices and social media. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, sexting is defined as “the sending of sexually explicit messages or images by cell phone”. (1) By using this as the motif of their ads, it shows its viewers that this behavior along with rebellion and promiscuity is what…

In America there has always been a struggle for gender equality and what that truly means. In the nineteenth century American women could not vote, hold office, or sit on juries. Married women were subjected to the will of their husbands. They were not even entitled to control the money they earned; their assets belonged to their husbands. Women were generally barred from speaking in public, even when the audience was reform-oriented (Benson, Sonia, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine.…

Overall, the male songs sent vulgar messages about women. In the song "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J, the artist professes that prostitution, drugs and money define his daily life. As the name suggests, "The Thong Song" by Sisqo is about a man wanting a woman to show him her thong and gyrate her behind. "Mercy" by Kanye West" talks about adultery, drug use, and prostitution. The song that had the most exaggerated sexual theme was "Magic Stick" by 50 Cent and Lil' Kim. I can remember being…

Jaden Southworth 4 November 2016 We got the beat- Rock music through the ages The music industry is, and always has been, based purely off of supply, demand, and sales. It all began with the creation of sheet music; once music took a physical form, it was desired by rich aristocrats who paid for it in full. Then came the phonograph, a device invented by Thomas Edison that used phonographic disks to play recorded audio out loud. It was originally intended for the use of business documentation,…