The Escapist - The Streets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2c6g6eG1mQ

It's time for a jump across the pond, over to England- Birmingham to be specific. We're going to take a bit of a vacation here for the next few posts, because i really need to profile some of the amazing rap coming out of the UK right now. I really can't say enough about The Streets. The Streets is actually just the stage name of Mike Skinner. Its important to give this song some context though. Unlike my other posts, this song needs context inside of Mike's career. This was the final track to what his last album. But, the album before that was dark and dingy; it highlighted the seedier side of celebrity life. What Mike found was that success wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and that it came with a few catches- in his case it was a cocaine and pill addiction. So, the follow-up album to that was much lighter, much more hopeful and not nearly as well as received. I guess we as consumers don't like to rejoice in someones success, but we will join someone in their sadness...

But, i've digressed from my main point. The song. This signaled a very important turn in his career; this is a turn towards the abstract. Now, my interpretation of the song isn't necessarily correct, but that doesn't mean im wrong...consequently that doesn't mean yours is either. Keep that in mind.

I'd like to look at the chorus/refrain mostly:

All these walls were never really there,
Nor the ceiling or the chair.
i'm eking weeks of peace at the beach
I see the breezes weave the trees,
These walls, you'll find, are yours and mine
Defined not by them, I
i'm in times that lie behind my eyelids,
The sunset still the rising silence,

Mike loves Metaphor. So here we go. "These walls", are the things that hold him back, so are "the ceiling" and "the chair". They are, literally, the box. The box that he has creativly put himself in, doesn't actually exist. I think this is what he's talking about because he is much more abstract with this song, relative to hie earlier work. We have some assonance with the words "eking, weeks, peace, breeze, weave, trees", and it leaves a thin, and light feeling. The 'e' vowel isn't a heavy vowel. If you sound it with your mouth, it's very airy. He uses some very complex syntax, but he talks about how, in my opinion, nature is what brings out creativity. Is he echoing Wordsworth and Coleridge? i think so. This is supported by the music video, which i've linked you to at the top. Its a process of escaping the city, and our urban environment, and entering nature. There are countless images of nature throughout the song, and that really leads to the idea that nature is central to Mike. If you juxtapose that with walls, ceilings, and chairs, you have the image of man-made objects in direct conflict with nature. I could go into a Marxist theory here, or even draw parallels with Northrope Frye's thoughts on Man vs Nature, but i won't. I'll just mention that they are there. In my opinion the most beautiful image in this poem is "the sunset still the rising silence". You don't usually think of silence as rising. There is this idea of Buddhism that runs throughout, and not only is it supported by the images of nature, but the line: Be fiend, or friend, cause no harm but charm - the peaceful end.

I really think this song is about Skinner's coming of age. It shows maturity in it. He's growing up, and he's had to grow up- his drug addiction really hurt a lot of his life, and i think it left him feeling empty (i.e: Prangin' Out, a song i might do in the future). So here we have a man, at his most humble, and at peace with the world, celebrating this, and inviting the listener to join him.

Wordsmith - Chino XL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olVPXpGohII

Today's lesson is brought to you by the letter P. P for paranormasia, polyptiton, and ploce. And i can't think of a better song to talk about these poetic devices than with Chino XL's song Wordsmith. So far i've covered some rappers from Chicago, and one from Detroit, so now we go to SoCal, for a Latino Rapper that goes by the name Chino XL. I really wish this guy used a better name, because, honestly, its pretty lame. For someone that is so lyrically great, his stage name sucks.

So let me explain those terms: Paranormasia, Polyptiton, and Ploce. I promise that everyone knows what these are already, but they just don't know the proper, academic, terms for them. Paranormasia is essentially a pun. Quick question: How do you sound smart when you want to say 'Man, that was a great pun'? Answer: "Man, you're quite skilled at using paranormasia." In poetry, a good example of this is in Shakespeare's Sonnet 55, when he talks about the 'ever-fixed mark' of the church altar; alter vs altar. Chino XL uses this device all the time in this song. This device usually goes hand-in-hand with metaphor (saying something is something else). For example: You cut school because you didn't feel too good/ I cut school 'cus my cuts ain't healed too good'.

Now another device used in this song is Polyptiton. You have to love how those greek words just won't go away... Polyptiton is a little bit more complex that paranormasia. This is the repetition of a words base, but with a different suffix on the end. So, for example, if i use Shakespeare's Sonnet 55 again, when he says the "removers removed". Now, this is used a lot in rap, because it lends well to rhyme, because you can rhyme the inner vowels (what eminem does quite a bit), and not have closure to the line. It means you don't have to have the guttural stop at the end of a line, so for example, if i just make up a line: I used to sell rock on the block. There is a very abrupt end and closure to that thought. When you use polyptition there isn't necessarily that end to the line , so for example: raised with guns in the infantry/ In diapers and in infancy. You can see how there isn't that stop in the throat when you say that phrase, and its very leading; it makes you want to continue the line.

Now, ploce (pronounced ploes), is an interesting device. It seems that everything in poetry needs to be a device. Ploce, another word you can drop in conversation to confuse people, is almost like a common theme that is used. So for example, if i was to say: The day was long, the day was hard. It's very similar to parallelism, but a little bit more specific to one word, or sound. As juvenile as it is, Chino XL uses male anatomy in this one.

I’ll knock you to the asphalt
It’s your own ass fault
Your last thought
I’ll never sell my self short to be famous
And taking it up the anus just ain’t us
The world could get the penis
Of this classically trained pianist

My P.O. was p.o.'d

Handed me a cup, said 'pee in this'

Now, it can be argued that "asphalt" and "ass fault" is more paramormasia than it is ploce, but i think because of its juxtaposition (or how its placed, in relation to other words) it works well because of the next following images: "famous", "anus", "penis", "pianist", "p.o", "pee in this". Immature? Maybe. Funny? Kinda. Does it work? Yes.

This guy is seriously one of the best lyricists out there, and he really does show it in here.

Again, if anyone has suggestions, let me know.

Eminem - Yellow Brick Road.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btbOw953Nls

After reading my first two posts you'd be forgiven for thinking that i only listened, or liked, Muslim rappers from the south side of Chicago. So, here is easily one of the most talented rappers of all time. While i do disagree with a lot of what he has to say, sometimes his verses are just so incredibly written that you can't ignore them. Case-in-point: Yellow Brick Road, verse two. Eminem shows that he is the master of assonance, alliteration, and enjambment. Some background on the song, because i only really want to showcase verse two, is that this song is not just a autobiography of his early career and life, but a response to a tape he recorded when he was angry one day, in which he said some pretty racist things (in Eminem's mind anyway).

So i did a little bit of a break down of the one verse. I seperated out the lines, and isolated the syllabics. So the " | " is breaking up the lines, and then the lines are separated into groups.

I roam | the streets | so much (6)

they call | me a | drifter (6)

Sometimes | I stick up (5)

a thumb | just to | hitch hike (6)

Just to | get picked up (5)

to get | me a | lift to (6)

8 mile | and Van Dyke (5)

And steal | a god | damn bike (6)

from some | body's | back yard (6)

And drop | it off | at the park (7)

that was | the half| way mark (6)

To meet | Kim had | to walk (6)

back to | her ma ma's (5)

on Chal | mers af | ter dark (6)

To sneak | me in | the house (6)

when I'm | kicked out | my mom's (6)

Thats a | bout the time (5)

I first | met Proof | with --> (5)

Goofy | Gary | on the (6)

steps At | Osbourne | handing out (6)

some flyers, | he was doing (5)

some tal | ent shows |At Cen (6)

terline | High,I had | told him | to stop by (7)

and check | this out | sometime (6)

He look'd | at me (4)

like I'm | out my mind (5)

shook his | head like | white boys (6)

don't know | how to rhyme (5)

I spit | out a line (4)

and rhymed | birthday | with first place (7)

And we | both had | the same (6)

rhymes that | sound alike (5)

We was | on the | same shit (6)

that Big | Daddy | Kane shit (6)

when com | pound syl | lables | sound combined (8)

From that | day we | was down | to ride (8)

somehow | we knew | we'd meet | again (8)

somewhere | down the line (5)

So there is a lot to look at here. Fortunately there isn't a lot of 'depth' to this song, so there isn't any metaphor, although it does start off with a sort of simile. I would challenge any of my readers to think of a way to say something is like something else, without using the words 'like' or 'as'. Its one of those hallmarks of the English language that we need to use those two to make a simile. So now i'd like to point out the pattern in the syllabils. Starting at the second line, it alternates from 6/line to 5/line, and for the next few lines it holds true to that pattern, all the while holding to ABAABBA rhyme scheme. The trick to this is that he is rhyming the vowels. And he isn't rhyming the ends of the words, but rather, the middles. He mentions this technique at the end, about compound syllables . But the really talented part of this verse is the enjambment- that is, when the line does not end at the end of the line. So for example: to get me a lift to/ 8 mile and Van Dyke/ to steal a god damn bike. The thought doesn't end with the words "lift to", but that is where the natural line ends, that is where the closure is, because of the rhyme on the words 'stick up' in the previous lines. But the sentence and the thought continues into the next line. Eminem does this constantly through this song. Take a read through it, and see what i mean. Another good example of this technique is: That's about the time/ I first met Proof with/Goofy Gary". See how the thought contiunes over multiple lines? Now there is more i could do with this, by really going in depth and looking at the Iambs or looking at the closure achieved by the Ternary groupings, but that is a lot of work that i don't want to do. So, take a look at this song, a sort of autobiography of Eminem's youth. One final comment on the song as a whole; it was designed to show his progress and change as a rapper over the years, which is why the flow, or style, changes so much throughout the song.

Never Let Me Down - Kanye West, Jay-Z and J. Ivy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgtZHXEmvFQ&feature=related

Okay, i was waffling over posting a blog over this song. To be honest, i think Jay-Z's lyrics are garbage- he has a good flow, and he got lucky by working with good artists (not to mention the Grey Album and Jaydiohead), but he just doesn't do it for me. And in the same vein Kanye West isn't trying to have much depth, but he is better, in my opinion, than Jay-Z; im sure i'll catch some flack for that comment. But the real reason im posting on this song is because of J.Ivy. His one verse is easily one of the best ever recorded. Is his 'flow' as good as Jay-Z's? No, but is Jay-Z using multi-syllabic words? No. So, im just going to post the lyrics of J. Ivy's verse, because it's short enough.

----------

We are all here for a reason on a particular path
You don't need a curriculum to know that you are part of the math
Cats think I'm delirious, but I'm so damn serious
That's why I expose my soul to the globe, the world
I'm trying to make it better for these little boys and girls 5
I'm not just another individual, my spirit is a part of this
That's why I get spiritual, but I get my hymns from Him
So it's not me, it's He that's lyrical
I'm not a miracle, I'm a heaven-sent instrument
My rhythmatic regimen navigates melodic notes for your soul and your mental 10
That's why I'm instrumental
Vibrations is what I'm into
Yeah, I need my loot by rent day
But that is not what gives me the heart of Kunte Kinte
I'm tryina give us "us free" like Cinque 15
I can't stop, that's why I'm hot
Determination, dedication, motivation
I'm talking to you, my many inspirations
When I say I can't, let you or self down
If I were of the highest cliff, on the highest riff 20
And you slipped off the side and clinched on to your life in my grip
I would never, ever let you down
And when these words are found
Let it been known that God's penmanship has been signed with a language called love
That's why my breath is felt by the deaf 25
And why my words are heard and confined to the ears of the blind
I, too, dream in color and in rhyme
So I guess I'm one of a kind in a full house
Cuz whenever I open my heart, my soul, or my mouth
A touch of God reigns out 30

There isn't enough that i can say about this verse. I'm going to treat it like a poem, citing specific lines, instead of quoting, cus that takes up a lot of space. Ivy starts off by saying that his life is not for him to live (lines 1&2). He definitely believe in God, but he doesn't make religion known, which is a good choice i think. He doesn't stoop to the level of Jay-Z, who raps about "When you hot, I'm hot. When your feet is cold, mine is sizzlin'". Thanks for that contribution to my psyche Jay. Instead Ivy says that he is trying to make the world a better place (5). He exposes his soul to the world, because as Augustine said: The world is a book, and those that have not traveled, have read but a page. He gives credit to God for his gift (5-10). And although he needs money to live (13), money is not the point to his life (14). Then he mentions Kunta Kinte, who is the primary character in the book "Roots: the Saga of an American Family", by Alex Haley. This alludes to his religion, without stating it explicitly. Kunta refuses to accept his new name of Toby, and fights back. Line 15 is a quote from Joseph Cinque, memorable from the film Amistad, in which he chants 'Give us, us free'. So, while Ivy is referencing these historical tragedies, he is juxtaposing them with contemporary society, saying that we are in a slavery of our own. We are slaves to the world. The next couple lines explain that the people he sees around him are his inspiration- why he writes. He then uses a few metaphors to explain how his writing is almost a metaphysical experience. I think that line 27, based on earlier reasoning, is a reference to Martin Luther King. I say this because of Ivy preoccupation with Black History, and this line would follow the chronological progression of historical events (Kunta Kinte, Cinque, MLK). Thats all i really have to say about this verse. Its a shame that you don't hear too much about J.Ivy these days. He is a fantastic poet, and spends most of his time doing spoken word. Its a shame that we as an audience are subjected to Jay-Z's lines of "Every fourth quarter i like to Michael Jordan-em".

American Terrorist - Lupe Fiasco

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTULR-WS5Yw

For those of you unaware of Lupe Fiasco, here is the wake-up call. First, i'll give a little background on him, and then talk about the song. Lupe was born and raised in Chicago, and is from 1st and 15th (this is referenced many times in his songs when he says FnF). A subject that comes up quite often in his lyrics is Islam, or the Nation of Islam. Im not here to argue theology, but its important to recognize this, because it influences his life, and consequently, his lyrics rather substantially.

I don't want to spend too much time on background, so i'll just get into the song.

"American Terrorist" is off the album "Lupe Fiasco's Food and Liquor".

Now, the reason i brought up his religious background is because he starts the song with a well-known Hadith, attributed, to Muhammad (PBUH). "The ink of a scholar is worth a thousand times that the blood of a martyr". This Hadith is in direct response to the line before it, asking "how do you forgive the murderer of your father", this has to with the tradition of revenge within Islam, but i digress.

What follows is different examples of terrorism within the United States. For example the slave trade: we came through the storm, nooses on our neck", the spread of small-pox throughout the native population "with small-pox blankets to keep us warm", 9/11 "747 on the Whitehouse Lawn", the anthrax panic a few months after 9/11 "Anthrax Lab on a West Virginia farm", and the proliferation of arms within communities, and its effect on children "Shorty ain't learned to walk, already heavily armed".

He then comments that this has hurt even the least amongst us: children, and innocent civilians. He blames all of this on religious thought: Camouflaged Torah's, Bibles, and Glorious Qur'ans. Even though this literature is meant to help us lead a better life, it has become a scapegoat for terrorism. He attacks those that don't pay attention to what they read, and just swallow everything without thinking- this ties into the name of the album, "Food and Liquor". He says: "We read em with blind eyes, i guarantee you, there's more there". He then calls out the rich, for not helping the poor. This is because helping the poor is one of the five pillars of Islam, and if you're not a Muslim, but a Christian, look no further than the book of Luke. Now i could go deeper into this and talk about Marx, but im going to stay away from that for now. He then alludes to politicians, and how they 'need to open up a park, just close ten schools'. This idea contiunes when he, as i believe, alludes to the race riots of the 1960's: "get the fire department, they're down here marching for freedom". He finishes the verse with the governments response to all of this: Media. "Turn on the T.V. to teach em"

The chorus speaks to how money is the root of this all. "The more money that they make, the better and better they live". This greed perpetuates hate, and a lack of empathy for the poor. I've seen a couple interviews with Lupe in which he talks about equality, and that he just wants everyone to be on the same economic level . . . perhaps he's a bit idealistic here, and a bit Utopian, but its a nice thought.

This idea of money continues into the next verse when he uses a very odd reference, especially for a black rapper: "now the poor klu klux man see that we all brothers, not because things are the same, but because we lack the same colour, and that's green...". Obviously he's saying that Money (green) is what we all need, or don't need, to be equal. I think that he's saying money is the cause of racism. Again i could go into Marx, and his thoughts on private ownership, but Lupe is really echoing Marx with this idea. He then brings up more examples of terrorism, and his first example is the cliche image of a Muslim woman with a bomb strapped to her chest, but he also says that its not just Muslim's that create terror: "Just imagine a Christian-based American organization planning to poison water to bring the second-coming quicker".

The next few lines are the best in the song, in my opinion. He tackles corporate America for their terrorism of poor people, and people of other cultures. I'm not going to quote the whole section, but the examples are just haunting. He showcases the process involved in destroying a culture. Bring in democracy (because its obviously better), show them that your culture is better, buy their property (with Coca-Cola, or Gum, in this instance), then give them Guns, and do it when they're young, and teach them that guns are fun. Then sit back and watch the culture self-destruct.

Now the final verse/outro is simply rhyming genius. I just need to quote it directly because its so good:

It's like
don't give the black man food,

give red man liquor
red man fool,

black man nigga
give yellow man tool,

make him railroad builder
also give him pan, make him pull gold from river

give black man crack, glocks and things,

give red man craps, slot machines.

He follow the ABAB rhyme scheme throughout. rhyming food with fool, liquor (pronounced in the instance as liquah) with nigga, Fool with tool, builder with river, and so on. Really, he sums up the history of the United States suppression of other cultures, in one short, well rhymed, simple verse.

So, hopefully this wasn't too long for my first blog entry on this blog. Let me know what you guys think.