Critique 4: Chapter 4

                This chapter of The Hip-hop Wars was another I enjoyed because of how it linked social issues to other larger causes. This is similar to what chapter 3 did however chapter 4 speaks much more broadly about American culture as opposed to just black culture, so I am able to understand and relate to it more. While I found most Tricia Rose’s points thought provoking the one I had an issue with was her first which was that black people have a long standing association with violence and sexual deviancy. While this may be true in some circles at this point in time it is only extremist that still link rap and black people as one cause of corruption of youth and this is because rap does not equate to being the same as black people as a whole. I don’t think her point is completely invalid I just think she makes it sound more important a factor than her other mentioned issues. I found her discussion on the emergence of youth culture and its marketability to be far more convincing. How emerging youth culture also related to the change in family values and how the same changes in values were related to the distribution of wealth were also interesting points. It helps that Rose can tie all these points together so well and really helps her prove her point that hip-hop must be a progressive movement that draws on true American values such as equality and justice.

Critique 3: Chapter 3

                Chapter 3 was possibly the most interesting chapter of The Hip-hop Wars I’ve read. Two particular topics that interested me were the sentiments surrounding the no snitching attitude and the anti-educational attitude. Both issues I believe I was partially aware of before reading the chapter however Rose goes into their origins and reasons and by doing so she forces you to realize that rap is not hurting black culture so much as the people themselves are. Rap merely reflects an attitude of, as Geoffery Canada put it, “Just have our community. Do anything you want, and we will either deal with it ourselves or we will simply ignore it.” This attitude towards crime perpetuates the attitude that crime is ok. You can say it is up to the parents and leaders of the community to prevent the music from doing this however the issue lies in the anti educational attitude. Anything about mainstream culture is enemy to many children who also embrace the anti snitching ideals. Because of this any guidance from school or parents is found to not be helpful to these kids but rather makes them feel even more attacked. This is important as combined with the no snitching attitude these two common youth ideals create a recipe for neighborhoods full of drop outs and eventually as a result of lack of education and employment you get gangs. I found it interesting that Rose was able to root all these societal woes that are blamed on rap music to a larger cultural view that is flawed. It is a view that must be changed if improvement is ever to be an option.  

Critique 2: Chapter 7

                I enjoyed reading chapter 7 of Tricia Rose’s The Hip-hop Wars as it swayed my opinion slightly on Rap’s relationship with sexism and women. I was very much in favor of freedom of expression (one of the issues tackled in the chapter) but reading the chapter has made me realize while rappers should be allowed to demean women, if this is how they wish to express themselves, it doesn’t mean they should or that it is ok. The chapter also made me realize that censoring indecent words doesn’t change the overall message that it sends youth; youth that admire rappers above all else. I disagreed slightly however, that rap can’t contain sexist lyrics as a way to show a true issue of sexism in our culture. While the chapter argues sexism should be tackled at the root by rap I believe this in part has happened through rap displaying how sexist our culture is. The problem really arises in that not enough rappers are socially conscious enough to make it clear to their fans that they can rap these lyrics and still have a great deal of respect for women.  This issue goes back to the disconnect between how rappers act in their personas and in reality. Tricia Rose has made me think a lot of social issues related to rap are cause by this difference in personalities.

Imitation 6 Home

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Home" ft. Phil Collins is rap from the 2002 and was written by the group after a long period of struggle following the deaths of Easy-E (the groups greatest supporter and backer) and member Wish Bone's uncle Charlie (who they all say acted as the best father figure they had). The song expresses feelings of sorrow for their loss but also appreciation how they have helper them all through hard times. The song is a confession of what the Bone Thugs have gone through. The song often speaks generally but going through troubles we all have and is easy to relate to because of this. The rhyme scheme is interesting as it is aa b c dd e fffff all at the end. I like this rhyme scheme as Layzie Bone is able to make it flow really well even though most of the words do not technically rhyme. He also uses repetition of the phrase "out here" emphasizing how he views his old neighborhood. This repetition also helps contribute to how smooth everything flows. Layzie also uses a lot of poetic language straying from the literal meaning of his sentences at times. The line, "But see brain so cloudy" is  an example as it refers to drug use and how it prevents many people from being functioning members of society; this isn't mentioned in the line explicitly however.
They say everything happin' for a reason
Can you tell me why these niggas bleedin'
Needin' general assistance?
Out here needin' public housing
Out here tryna make ends meet
Tryna get on their feet
But see brain so cloudy
And I know what you don't know
You better get on your mission and get down for your dough
See the real niggas ready out here taken control
See I'm screamin' out Mo'
With my pockets on swoll

Imitation 4: Express Yourself

N.W.A.'s Express Yourself is a rap about  freedom of expression and censorship. While the song more widely criticizes not speaking out and not expressing yourself it was specifically targeting an issue at the time. N.W.A. were upset that radio stations censored the music they worked hard to create or would outright refuse to play their songs because of what they sometimes rapped about. In protest they wrote the song encouraging other artists to rap and sing their true feelings. The rhyme scheme is not consistent and they often rhyme words that don't truly rhyme making it questionable. Despite this the scheme is often aa bb. Occasionally Dre makes use of in line rhyming, especially in the final verse. Aside from rhyming he uses other techniques to make the song poetic. Dre uses a lot of similes to describe both himself (such as comparing himself to a meditating Buddhist) and to describe rappers he's not a fan of (describing them as a "tortoise, full of rigor mortise"). The song is low on other poetic terms and as thus is quite straight forward having a very literal meaning that one should be honest in their creative works. The one criticism I have of this is how Dre sings out against recreational marijuana use. He said this about a year before creating The Chronic, an album almost exclusively about using marijuana for recreation and income. This makes Dre guilty of what he complains about in this song. I feel this is an important criticism but despite it I think the message N.W.A. wanted to send is still a good one. This is what makes me sad as I want to agree with Dre but it seems he may not agree with himself.   

Imitation 3: The Bottle

Gil Scott-Heron’s The Bottle is a powerful piece of spoken word that addresses the issue of alcohol abuse. Scott-Heron wrote this in a time when black ghettos (which had previously had a great deal of community) were slowly being destroyed without being replaced. As a result many African Americans found themselves facing even more trouble with finances and with just trying to find a place to live as their opportunities were limited. This sparked a rise in drug abuse as an escape from a system that didn’t want them. Scott-Heron addresses the issue of one of the oldest forms of drug abuse by telling stories of alcoholics he had known ranging from his father, to a girl he knew and eventually to him. There is an emphasis on “the bottle” which refers to a bottle of alcohol. He creates this emphasis using repetition at the end of many of his lines as opposed to rhymes. Despite this there is a good deal of both in line rhyming and end line rhyming. Still Scott-Heron relies heavily on the repetition however; he emphasizes how when you are “…livin in the bottle” all one care cares about is getting drunk. That’s why the poem has this feel that it’s all about the bottle. The poem is very narrative containing three different stories that help stress how many people with alcohol abuse issues Scott-Heron knew (even touching on his own abuse with it). He also makes use of metaphor such as referring to the US government as the “dollar eagle”. It is this sort of language that makes his poetry more dramatic and impactful. When his wording is so poetic it makes you take what he has to say more seriously even when he’s claiming to be an alcoholic in the poem.

Critique 1: Chapter 1 of The Hip Hop Wars

In chapter 1 of Tricia Rose's The Hip Hop Wars she discusses hip hop's relation to violence and how it stereotypes African Americans. Rose notes a fact in this chapter that is important since it is a fact I feel many critics and listeners of rap (those who did not grow up in a ghetto) fail to realize; rappers are frequently telling exaggerated tales in order to get a point across about social problems. It's a fact I myself was not aware of before reading and after also reading about how middle class white people (my demographic) where the primary consumers of rap I realized how important this point was. It shows how many people, critics who blame rap and consumers who enjoy, don't understand the point many gangsta rappers are trying to make and also explains why many of them stereotype black people they way they do. At times I found her views somewhat alarmist and she was often quick to pour all the blame on a broken system (and Ronald Reagan) , which can not be the only accountable factor for social problems. The community is partially to blame. Newer mainstream rappers who capitalize on violence instead of trying to send a message represent this. This chapter has caused me to gain concern over the direction rap has gone in and is going, now for a new reason. It has caused me to gain a higher awareness of the message certain rappers are trying to send about social problems and more awareness for how some rappers capitalize on it in a negative way. The chapter was insightful as it made me realize how better education about rap would mean better understanding of social problems in the black ghettos most gangsta rappers come from.