Origin of Rap Music and its Dependance on High Technology free essay sample

To link modern rap back to traditions such as jump- rope songs or the dozens is to take the art form out of its cultural context; her analysis cements rap music into its cultural milieu, excluding any exploration into historical, transactional connections between rap and past oral traditions. If we avoid looking at rap culture as a means to an end, or as an outgrowth of cultural and political circumstance, we can focus on the music itself, and aka such connective jumps more easily.Hip-hops link to technology is overly apparent, but its essentialness link to literate communication and thought may not be as significant as some would believe: Rap lyrics are oral performances that display written (literate) forms of thought and communication. (Rose 88) Roses assertion is true, for the most part; but to what extent rap music depends upon literacy for the creation of its sound and culture is debatable. We will write a custom essay sample on Origin of Rap Music and its Dependance on High Technology or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The fact that rap artists write lyrics and subsequently orally perform the texts is not sufficient grounds to sever the link between AP and non-textual royalty completely.Rose deems rap a far cry (Rose 88) from oral epic poetry; by breaking down dismissive assertions such as this one, we can expose an element of hip-hop culture that possibly transcends literate technology and the age of mechanical reproduction. In her book, Rose overlooks the cipher culture within the larger rap m USIA community. The term cipher essentially means a group of people freestyles rap lyrics one after another, in a kind of competitionfreestyles rap lyrics involves stringing verses together improvisational.The rappers try to maintain the lyrical flow by rhyming the consecutive verses as best they can, striving for the tightest off the top of the head rhyme. Freestyle sessions on urban street corners were essential to the beginnings of rap music, and the freestyle element plays a major role in todays hip-hop culture, as verified by Virginia rapper Mad Skills 1996 lyrics: Buck the bull*censored*in the cipher *censored* is true The rhymes get spit and the asss get tapped Some innings dont have jack?some innings Got contracts Representation keeping broths tighter Peace to Masc. who did time in the cipherRap music freestyle provides an interesting point of reference to royalty, in that its production involves techniqu es similar to those used by epic poets from pre-textual oral cultures. In Walter J. Ones book Royalty and Literacy, Eng details a study done by linguistic scholar Mailman Parry, and later extended by Lord, of the memorization and recitation of Homeric epics before the poems were committed to text. The question these studies attempted to answer was how could these long epics be memorized without a text? .Eng explains one of the answers found in the study: With [the epic totes] hexameters vocabulary, he could fabricate correct met racial lines without end, so long as he was dealing with traditional materials. (Eng 58) Epic oral poets had massive stores of ready-made, metered lines, and e equally massive banks of cliches and adjectives used to extol the virtues of the IR epic heroes. Since rap freestyles are improvisations, memorization and meter fitting have little or no impact on the composition of the lyrics. What concern ins freestyle artists most is rhyming the last syllables of the verses.To maintain lyrical I rhythm and rhymed verse, rap artists have an infinite store of urban slang and cliches that can be used to fit their rhyme schemes. Use of this array of vocal bulbar applies to freestyle and written verse. While try Eng not to break from their largely self-established rhythms Resembling the methods of oral p outs, rap music culture has established a vocabulary of slang and cultural refer once that is specific to the rap community, and is utilized freely by those with in it for artistic expression, as well as everyday communication.Rapper Punisher, in a freestyle done at a fast pace, exhibits the use of this type of extended communal language: Ill make it last with the cough got If not Ill blow your spot If notJoey Crack please load the clock Let these innings learn the hard way The word to God way The mother*censored*in murder mob way In addition to this extensive, community-specific vocabulary, rap acts such as Biz Marker and Dads VEX bend words and shatter established syllabic in order to f it their lyrical objectives.By using the extended language provided by rap culture, striving to fit lyrical or rhyming needs becomes a less formidable roadblock KC in the composition of written o r freestyle rap lyrics. Boasting or fluting by epic heroes is characteristic of oral epic poet rye from many oral cultures. This reciprocated verbal bragging is usually manifested in a competition between the hero and his adversary, battling to see who ca n boast the most effectively.These poetic exchanges serve the purpose of enforcer icing the heros Olympian stature, and of illustrating his skill in confrontation through the verbal battles. Walter Eng likens fluting to the Caribbean/African American verbal game called the dozensan exchange in which two men ping-upon g insults of each others mother back and forth. The thematic evolution of rap lyrics has led to rap artists often boasting of their own prowess in their rhymes.Cool G Rap paints a glamorous self-poor trait in his first solo album: And once again its big G Running the number rackets Wearing Apple jackets Fast loot tactics Im well up in the millionaire bracket Jacuzzi and saunas And eating steak at Banishes Bentleys limousine A front yard stream Thats full of piranhas Rappers extol their capabilities while laying their competitors to rest boasting about anything and everything, including lyrical skills, material lath, what weapons they claim to carry, their sexual activity, their ability to sell drugs or commit crime without going to prison, and the list goes on.With rap themes so often alluding to survival and individual prominence in urban life, rappers have, in a sense, become their own epic heroes. This theme applies so widely that the prolific rap artist often comes through as a prolific man in his lyrics. * P* In Black Noise, when Rose refers to specific rap lyrics, it is done most often to Stress the importance Of textually, authorship, and technology in the music. Rap lyrics are a critical part of a rappers identity, tryingly suggesting the importance of authorship and individuality in rap music. (Rose 95) Rose illustrates her point by using a dated L. L. Cool J song as her reference.In the lyrical excerpt the rappers identity is repeated several times, with boas ting strung throughout the rhyme. The lyrics complement what Rose has to say about authorship and individuality in rap songs; but in todays hip-hop world, such extreme egocentricity and identity propulsion in lyrics has become increasingly looked down upon and disregarded. Artists have a stronger sense of working WI thin a community today, I believe, than hey did three or four years ago. Indeed, rap artists often work to establish an identity through their lyrics, but tee actual authorship may not be as significant a motivation for this tendency as Ross e assumes.A characteristic of oral cultures and oral memory noted by Eng is the tee indecency of these cultures to slough off obsolete or dated components of tradition in order to make room for changing trends and information. As hip-hop cult re moved from the asss into the asss, certain elements of the culture were pushes d aside and forgotten, while others were remembered and maintained. In raps pa SST ten ears weve seen Performances come and go, gangster rap reach its apex, R UN D. M. C. s Aids make way for Simi n Weekends Timberlands, and KIRKS Ones 198 5 mm updated by the Beatings 1 993 Reign of the Etc. But little from the pa SST ever completely eludes the memory of rap culture. Rap has a strong sense of tradition for an art form created less than twenty years ago. Rose alludes to t he ability of sampling technology to assist in maintaining the past in rap music s present. Rap acts of today sample lyrics by Rake that were released ten yea RSI ago; although Rake hasnt made an album in four years, earning his sampled v choice today is not seen as a revival of a hip-hop image, but is taken for grant De as a continual interspersion of past and present.When rap artists perform for audiences, the link between the oral perform menace and a memorized text becomes blurred. The Dads will have the instrumental s from the mass-produced albums, but rappers rarely recite lyrics from the record deed songs verbatim. A rap artist might recite the hook, if the song has one, an d stick to a considerable portion of the original lyrics; but (like oral poets ) he will spontaneously toy with the lyricshow much and n what ways depends I argyle upon the performers mood and the audience on a given night.At a Tribe Called Quest show in 1994, rapper Fife was performing a popular track, but at a break in the track he substituted the album lyrics with something like Ill buy urn the house down like TTL. This lyrical alteration was a reference to a then- recent incident in which a member of female pop band TTL set fire to the mansion of her ex-romantic interest and N. F. L. Star Andre Orison. The reference was MIM dilate recognized, and the audience responded accordingly. However, with rap acts often falling into the web of chart-minded labels and management, rappers a re less able to Stray from their recorded product.When a rap act Sees one Of TTS records sky across the pop charts, their awareness of audience familiarity an d expectation reaches new heights as well. When the text of a song becomes IM printed on the minds of millions of people, rap acts become reluctant to break t hat chain of familiarity and identification. Mass- production technology often m taste raps oral expression into the readable, marketable form of a standardize d text. The notions of identity and tutorship in rap are largely attributable t o the wide-scale image marketing that characterizes the modern music industry.

Hispanics and Higher Education Essay Example

Hispanics and Higher Education Essay Example Hispanics and Higher Education Essay Hispanics and Higher Education Essay Introduction: Society keeps the hype that higher education is the key to success, so if one graduates one has take several steps forward to succeed in life (Sewell, Shah). Such success comes easy for white Americans since a study done by Newsweek (2011) an online news company demonstrated that 9 out of 10 white Americans graduate in four years meanwhile 5 out of 10 minorities graduate in 7 years. Why is this? B. Background: Some more background for you, did you know that in California less than 15 percent of Hispanics hold a bachelors degree, and near 10 percent of African Americans hold a bachelors compared to 34 percent of white Americans. If we take what Shah and Sewell comment about success, why isn’t minority success the same? C. Relevance: In order to have a bigger picture of the world, and be informed of social injustices D. Credibility: I am a Hispanic/Latino American who has taken two Latin American Studies courses, one focusing on higher education. Besides it wouldn’t be the same if an Anglo-American gave this speech E. Preview of Main Points: 1. Problem: Very few role models in Hispanic/Latino American lives with higher education degrees 2. Problem: Schools in low income communities do not have the same funding that schools in high income communities have 3. Solution: Higher funding for schools in low income communities Transition 1: William Sewell and Vimal Shah (1967), retired doctorate professors of sociology at the University of Wisconsin state that role models in society are used to set the bar of success by others. II. First Main Point: Hispanics/Latinos have very few role models in their lives A. Third Generation Hispanic/Latinos apply to college 1. Beginning with immigrant workers in the 1950s and 60s, due to the migratory status of first generation Hispanics/Latinos College was not an option since financial aid was not available to them nor was there many jobs available to them. Therefore they would end up with weak economic stability (Ovink, Veazey, 2011). 2. Following the line second generation Hispanics/Latinos did not apply to college but instead searched a job right after high school (if they graduated) to help their parents with their debt (2011). 3. It’s usually a third generation Hispanic American who applies to college since the parents might have more economic stability than the grandparents and since more financial aid makes college affordable (2011). B. Not many Hispanic Role Models 4. If it takes two to three generations for Hispanics/Latino Americans to attend college, there is a lack of role models for them to set the bar. a. Compared to white Americans who have had generations going to college, and who only need to turn on the television to see an individual with a degree (MacDonald, Botti, Hoffman, 2010). 5. White Americans have many more role models . Take for example an Ivy League school; a minority must apply with pure merit mean while a person with a certain last name or certain amount donated gets instant admission (2010). c. There are not many Hispanic/Latino American individuals who have a large sum or amount of money to donate to schools nor are there many renowned Latinos (2010). 6. The article by these three individuals (2010) continues to state that the only role models Latinos really have is movie actors and music artist who are usually not even American Transition Statement 2: Lets look at the second problem though. III. Second Main Point: Lack of economic aid to low income communities, A. Low funding for schools in low income schools 1. Due to recent budget cuts teachers are being laid off while the number of students continues to grow, creating bigger class sizes (Clemmitt, 2007) 2. Less individual attention to each student (2007) 3. Take Southern California for example, schools are highly underfunded since the drop out rate for Hispanics/Latinos is 32. 8% (2007) B. Show graph, Minority Funding Gaps By State (Funding Gaps 2006, The Education trust) 4. The average funding for a student should be $2,000 or more through out his/her school year. Indicated here, less than $500 (Clemmit, 2007) 5. A study conducted by UCLA showed that the school most funded by LAUSD was Beverly Hills High School with a 90. 8% graduation rate where minorities are less than 20% (Neil and Balfanz, 2007). C. Show next graph, Blacks, Hispanics Attend High Poverty Schools (â€Å"The Condition of Education 2004 in Brief† National Center for Education, 2004) 6. 75% percent of Hispanic/Latino Americans attend high-poverty schools, while less than 5% of white Americans do (Neild and Balfanz, 2007) D. Show last graph, Majority of Drop Outs Are Hispanic, Black (â€Å"The Cost and Benefits of an Excellent Education for All of America’s Children† Teachers College, Columbia University, 2007) 7. As one can notice not only are Hispanics in low income schools, but as a result they are the most that are high school drop outs. Transition Statement 3: As you have noticed there is a serious social problem, an injustice with not only Hispanics but minorities in general. To every problem there is a solution though. IV. Third Main Point: Higher Funding and Role Models A. According to Luis Ricardo Fraga, Kenneth J. Meier and Robert E. Englan in their article on the Journal of Politics (1986)) representation of minorities in higher education has stayed low and will stay low unless Hispanics create public figures with professional degrees (p. 856) 1. How can this be done? B. Higher Funding for low income schools 2. Low Income schools need more funding to redirect resources to creating a better educational curriculum so that programs and acts such as No Child Left Behind can reach their full potential (Kelly, Scheider, Carey 2010) C. Prompting Hispanic Americans to finish college 3. According to Kelly, Schneider and Carey (2010), its not so much learning about the problem in minority graduation rates but also about creating role models for Hispanic Americans even if they are not the same ethnicity. 4. The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research an organization funded by Bill Gates also states in the same article that even if one is not Hispanic one should take initiative in ones community and become a role model for minority students not just Hispanic students by volunteering at a high school or school (2010). . Doing this will help create a stronger and smarter society through education diminishing gender, and racial lines (2010) Transition Statement 4: As we can see, Education in Hispanic Americans is a serious problem and a social injustice for other minorities also. V. Conclusion A. Review of Main Points: 1. MP/Problem- Hispanic Americans do not have many role models in their lives due to how it takes two or three generations for a Hispanic American family to have a college graduate. The popular role models that Hispanics currently have are artist, or actors not college graduates 2. MP/Problem- Not enough money is being funded into low income schools causing less money or funding to create high school graduate individuals and college graduates 3. MP/Solution- By giving minorities not only Hispanics/Latinos help in graduating one would be helping society not only certain ethnicities reach success B. Restatement of Thesis: I have just informed you on the social injustice of education for Hispanic/Latino Americans C. Conclusion: Lets hope that in the next ten years, the statistics will read differently