Article Reviews
Article Reviews
Article 1
As the author rightly claims that many literary scholars do not take hip-hop and his texts as an important chapter in modern poetry. However, rap lyrics, though being quite provocative, often represent significant social issues and problems, which in real life remain uncorrected and disturb many people.
Knowing this, there were many attempts to create a book about the features of the hip-hop language. One of the most revealing and successful one is Jay-Z`s "Decoded". He says that people need to understand that there are several layers of meaning in the rap texts. The first, of course, is the text itself. However, many other methods affect the feelings of the audience. For example, a particular phrasing and the use of stressed syllables. Thus, sometimes the words themselves have less emotional meaning than the sound of the rhyme does.
It is no secret that many hip-hop texts are filled with anger or hostility. Kelefa Sanneh says that many people mistakenly perceive it as an example to follow, or even as an attempt to threat the audience (Sanneh, 2010). However, Jay-Z in his story says that all texts should be perceived simply as a "really lively speech" because they describe real events and real experiences of people. This probably is the most important and true reason why hip-hop has so many supporters - this musical culture reflects the whole layer of life that can not be missed.
Article 2
The Miseducation of Hip-Hop
Hip-hop culture is obviously popular among young people, especially among African-American students. It would seem that hip-hop is just another genre of music, which combines poetry and melody with a clear rhythm. However, the author points out that those students who listen to rap tend to recite it instead of the getting ready for the test, they dress up distinctly from the main mass of students and their morale is changed. Therefore, hip-hop is not just a music style, but it is a way of living. The author tries to explain the reasons why some other authors think that rap as part of hip-hop culture can work as a counterproductive factor, making students perform worse at school than they initially used to do.
However, the author states that "Young people say they feel pigeonholed by an image many of them don`t support" (Evelyn, 2000). These young people would like to see the professors understood that in spite of the music they are listening to, they retain their ability to think critically and learn. Also, the young lovers of hip-hop culture rightly, I think, complain about the biased attitude of many employers to the employees. When such young people want to get a job, they tend to hide all the visible signs of hip-hop love in their image (wide pants, baggy clothes, gold medals etc.), not to be fired only because of their appearance. The official media often considers rap as a bad thing, and it should be changed because students with the strongest mind might have a completely different tastes in music, including rap or hip-hop, as it is repeatedly demonstrated by statistics.
This article is valuable because it offers a way out for the current situation of misunderstanding between people from different cultures and generations. This suggests that perhaps schools should create a different environment for those whose lifestyle and behavior are a little different due to the hip-hop and rap influence. It would help to be less prejudiced in relation to the many students who may be even more talented or capable than many professors suggest.
Article 3
Sex and Drugs and Rock `n` Roll: Urban Legends and Popular Music
Ian Unglis
Ian Unglis, who wrote this article, draws attention to a very interesting trend. It turns out that the songs are not only the music, the melody and the rhythm, but they are also great distributors of urban legends. Songwriters create a dramatic story, and then this information in music form is spread among a much larger number of people than news usual do. Thus popular music is a great resource of information.
Based on this article, popular music is an excellent source of urban legends. Lyrics are remembered, discussed, passed as rumors. Some songs are perceived as a fairy tale, the plot of which is based on the beliefs, myths, or the life of famous people. Artists such as The Beatles, learned this trick, and began to use it in their music that gave them unprecedented success.
Interestingly, this trend continues to this day, as humanity never gets rid of its legends, beliefs and idols - they are just changed from time to time. A particularly interesting thing is a tendency of the performers to lighten the social problems and discuss them in their songs. It often relates to the dangerous, unpleasant, or freedom-related themes. This makes songs popular and relevant. In fact, this trend appears to be quite clear, as since long time ago, music has always described the events that for some reason have been important for the local population. Now the situation with music, songs and texts remains the same, just the scale of the spread of this have become much wider.
References
Evelyn, J. (2000). The miseducation of hip-hop. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 17(21), 24.1-603.
Inglis, I. (2007). “Sex and Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll”: Urban Legends and Popular Music. Popular Music and Society, 30(5), 59
Sanneh, K. (2010). Word: Jay-Z’s “Decoded” and the language of hip-hop. New Yorker, 6.
