5
OPINION
Thursday, August 3, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
even begin to bombard you with
an account. I mention these
legends to compare to all of the
artists they have inspired today,
not only in their music, but their
lyrics, persona and flow. But
also, to establish the fact that so
much, yet so little, has changed
in the rap game. Eminem’s The
Slim Shady LP, N.W.A.’s Straight
Outta Compton, The Notorious
B.I.G.’s
Ready
to
Die,
Jay-
Z’s Hard Knock Life and Nas’
Illmatic are titles of albums
recorded
by
several
of
the
legends I mentioned above, each
different, unique and iconic in
their own right, but yet, each
all the same as they are branded
with the large parental advisory
warning on their covers.
“One, two, three, four, five, I
am the greatest rapper alive. So
“damn” great, “motherfucker”
I’ve
died,
and
what
you’re
hearing now is a paranormal
vibe.” I left out some of the
words included in this quotation
because of their explicit nature,
but it is spoken by Kendrick
Lamar in his single “The Heart
Part IV,” which preceded the
release of his now certified
double platinum album, DAMN.
Let me tell you, when I heard
him spit those rhymes over
an incredible beat switch-up,
I almost died myself. DAMN
has indeed solidified Lamar’s
high ranking in the widely-
popular
debate
over
today’s
best MC, including artists like
Drake, J. Cole and Kanye West,
each of whom have also made
proclamations
that
they
are
the greatest, and additionally
express
themselves
through
explicit and vulgar lyricism.
This
past
week,
I
had
the pleasure of seeing both
Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole live
in concert and have previously
seen my other favorite artists
as well: Drake, Kanye and
Big Sean. Before each hip-
hop concert, besides feeling
the anticipation of a sold-
out crowd packed into the
arena, I usually feel nerves
deep in the pit of my stomach,
which
makes
me
cringe.
This is because of one single
question/realization: Are they
going to say it?
By they, I mean white people
and others. By it, I mean the
n-word when singing along. I
was recently playing the song
“The Story of O.J.” from Jay-Z’s
latest album 4:44 on my speaker
at home. If you aren’t familiar,
he says the n-word exactly 10
times consecutively throughout
the chorus. Uncomfortable and
disgruntled, both of my parents
asked that I turn “that crap”
off. A few weeks ago, Jay-Z
announced the tour dates for
the 4:44 album. Imagine the
crowd singing along to that.
Rap/hip-hop
now
finds
itself with a permanent stake
in
pop
culture,
specifically
with
today’s
generation
of
youth. It is no longer just
about the music; its influence
now finds itself in the realms
of fashion, sports and film.
However, along with it comes
the glamorization of violence,
drugs, alcohol and sex; the
sexualization and degradation
of women and perpetuation of
not just explicit “curse” words
but also derogatory language
regarding race, religion and
sexual orientation. Yes, parental
advisory labeling warns of the
explicit content within music;
however, it doesn’t prevent the
audience from using it. The lines
have become so blurred on what
is “acceptable” and what isn’t.
Use of the n-word will never
be okay. Referring to a woman
as a b***h will never be okay.
Homophobic and transphobic
slurs will never be okay. And
it
doesn’t
matter
if
Drake,
Kendrick, Kanye or Eminem
says it. It doesn’t matter if you
have Black or gay friends. It
doesn’t matter if you thought
it was okay…or if you didn’t
mean it that way. There is no
justification.
Due
to
its
worldwide
popularity,
in
addition
to
my own personal knowledge
regarding it, throughout this
piece I only reference rap/hip-
hop music and artists. However,
I do not want my decision to
do this to be misconstrued. I
am
not
identifying
rap/hip-
hop music as the only culprit
of explicit, violent and vulgar
messaging. Think back to indie-
pop band Foster the People’s
smash hit “Pumped Up Kicks.”
Insanely catchy, it blew up both
the alternative and pop charts.
But what many fail to realize
is its meaning, which tells the
story of a young boy who brings
a gun to school intending to kill
his classmates. Or what about
Justin
Bieber’s
proclamation
in the song “Cold Water,” that
“everybody gets high sometimes
you know? What else can we
do when we are feeling low?”
The Weeknd’s hit “Earned It”
was used as the theme song for
the “50 Shades of Grey” movie
— which I am certain needs
no
explanation.
How
about
Rihanna who, a woman herself,
perpetuates the notion that it
is okay to refer to females as a
b***h or h*e? I reference these
examples because I want to
make it perfectly clear that rap/
hip-hop is not the only genre of
music that needs some cleaning
up. These artists and songs
that I mentioned are played
on heavy rotation throughout
pop stations with audiences as
young as toddlers. I am all for
freedom of expression as an
artist. One could argue, what
would genres like rock or rap/
hip-hop be without its grit and
brutal honesty or pushing the
boundaries? But what becomes
too
much?
Too
provocative?
Where is the line drawn? And
when do we, as listeners, start
to question it?
I
absolutely
loved
going
to
concerts
with
headlining
rap/hip-hop artists, as some
of my favorite songs are by
musicians I mentioned in this
piece. However, while there,
even throughout the blast of
the music, dancing, roar and
excitement of the crowd and
thrum of the bass, I could
not shake the nervous feeling
that I mentioned earlier. My
anticipation of the discomfort
I would feel if the audience
decided
to
sing
along
with
the rapper and say the n-word
became too subtly distracting.
The entire time, a whisper in the
back of my mind kept repeating,
Are they going to say it?
…They did.
— Stephanie Mullings can be
reached at srmulli@umich.edu.
STEPHANIE
MULLINGS
Always low prices
“
Hi! My name is...What? My
name is… Who? My name
is…Slim
Shady.”
To
me, these are
some
of
the
most
iconic
lines to ever
grace a rap/hip-hop song. In
1999,
Eminem
released
The
Slim Shady LP, marked by the
widely popular song, “My Name
Is.” Eminem’s lewd, rude and
violent
lyricism
throughout
not only The Slim Shady LP,
but also each and every one
of his following albums have
identified him as one of the
greatest
yet
controversial
rappers
of
this
generation.
Eminem
sprouted
from
the
vision and mentorship of the
legend Dr. Dre, who also shares
a contentious history as member
of the hip-hop group N.W.A.
Either idolized or hated, N.W.A.
propelled themselves into the
spotlight following the release
of politically-charged hits like
“Straight Outta Compton” and
“F**k tha Police,” even finding
themselves under the watchful
eye of the FBI. Their raw and
provocative music paved the
way
for
the
emergence
of
fellow West Coast artists like
Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
Simultaneously, the public was
additionally awed by similar
voices and stories from across
the nation through the likeness
of The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z
and Nas.
The history of rap/hip-hop
music and culture is far too
rich, detailed and subjective to
MICHELLE SHENG| CARTOONIST
Rap/hip-hop now
finds itself with a
permanent stake
in pop culture