Bonus post: Nas & Damian Marley feat. Lil Wayne and Joss Stone - My Generation

My main focus for essay number 3 is a song called "My Generation" by Nas and Damian Marley featuring Lil Wayne and Joss Stone. This song is about our generation changing the world for the better.

"Improve your values
Education is real power"

Targeting kids from all around the world because of past inequality and the growth of the current youth, kids are mistakenly learning bad ways and unhealthy growth habits. This song typically means that our previous generation was filled with racism and harsh living while we currently live in a semi-better state, lets work to make the next generation even better.

"A generation led by a black president
Now hows that for change
Who knew that could change"
-Nas

I personally believe this song is so strong in it's own way. A catchy song yet very powerful in the spread for change.

Post 5 : Response to Gil Scott-Heron

Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Telelivised" is calling for a revolution within the black community. Heron feels that there is no time to waste in order for the black community to change for the better. He calls out the black community to revolt and get out until their rights are handed to them.

Scott-Heron speaks out to his audience as if he is speaking to them personally. He uses slang in the process of spreading is message, calling blacks his "brother". This method is commonly used though out media even till this day. Heron also uses somewhat vulgar speech by referring to cops as "pigs". He seems very serious and personally it felt very persuasive in accomplishing the message.

Post 3 : The Black Arts Movement- Larry Neal

Larry Neal wanted to improve black culture. "The Black Arts Movement" (1968) was influential in defining and describing the role of the arts in the Black Power era. Neal wanted blacks to draw away from conforming to the arts of the white man. He believed that instead of continuing to express black views through Western aesthetic that we should form a "black aesthetic".

Dr.Martin King Jr's assassination definitely played a role in forming some of Neal's views. He wanted blacks to form their own culture altogether as opposed to trying to spawn off the white culture. Neal wanted blacks to stand up for the black community and revolutionize.

Post 2 : Essay #1 Prewriting

The song i have chosen to write about is "Mississippi Goddam" by Nina Simone. This song is very comedic yet expresses a lot of thought of racism at the time. Nina was giving off a very strong message of equality and change in this song.

Nina addresses "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi goddamn" which, at the time had a lot of African American inequality. In specific, she was referring to a bombing of an Alabama church for "Alabama's got me so upset" and the murder of civil rights activist, Medgar Evers in Mississippi. ("everybody knows about Mississippi goddamn") I felt strongly about this song and I really understood the pain and message she was trying to give.

The secondary text that I felt corresponds to this song would be "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" by Langston Hughes. Langston addresses that everyone has flaws and too many blacks were scared of their flaws as opposed to a white man being superior at the time. I feel like this poem coincides with Nina's "Mississippi goddamn" because white people were superior at the time, but too many black people were letting it happen about. The black community didn't try hard enough to accomplish equality. The most outstanding lines to me from Langston Hughes' "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain" is

"The younger Negro artists who create now intend to express

our individual dark-skinned selves without fear or shame.

If white people are pleased we are glad. If they are not,

it doesn't matter. We know we are beautiful. And ugly, too.

The tom-tom cries, and the tom-tom laughs. If colored people

are pleased we are glad. If they are not, their displeasure

doesn't matter either. We build our temples for tomorrow,

strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain

free within ourselves."

-I believe that his poem and her song go hand in hand beautifully.

Post 1: My Political Expression

"Art, Politics and Protest" those words have so much meaning and are so rich in piecing together our world. Being that we live in a democracy, I feel that this should have a relevance to all of us. We all express ourselves in different ways, but most would agree that "Art, Politics and Protest" have a big intake and output on their lives.

I have often put in situations where I would lay back and just start to think about the world as a whole. I would listen to music and I start to drift away in thought. Music touches me very deeply, whether its rap, r&b, hip-hop, pop, Latin... etc. I listen to a wide range of genres because I feel that all music has its own way of expression similar to people. Music moves me both literally and figuratively. One of my favorites right now is "My Generation" by Nas, Damien Marley, and Lil Wayne. It speaks about our generation making a change in the world, making it a better place for our next generation.

Writing also plays a big role in my life because I would often pick up a pen and start writing raps. Although a lot of people don't know that about me, I have a passion for writing music. I have been a ghostwriter for a few upcoming artists in which I feel very happy doing. Although not well known for writing, I do hope to furthermore my rep and someday possibly work out something big.

I have never been a part of any protest, but I would gladly protest for a very good cause. Until I find a cause reasonable for me to protest, I don't plan on doing so anytime soon. Protest are very important in spreading one's opinions on a topic. They often catch the public eye and usually has a positive turn out with a compromise. I have nothing against protests nor do I see myself taking part in one very soon.

This class seems to have broaden my horizons and I see it doing so furthermore. I'd like to understand the struggles and hardships of the people of the world. So far I have enjoyed what has been taught, and i expect to learn much more throughout.