media analysis of old rap vs. new rap
Post on 16-Apr-2017
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Media Analysis Grandmaster Flash: "The Message" (1982) &Jay Z's & Kanye West: "Ni**as in Paris" (2012)
By: Raymond Duke + My Rhetorical Criticism Team @ CSULB
In the comparison of two top selling rap songs from the past ("The Message" - 1982) and present ("Niggas in Paris" - 2012) we found that in the present, rap contains context that has changed from rap in the past on a class and socio-economical level due to "Niggas in Paris" containing messages that promote materialistic values, are void of a sense of urgency, and redefine what the meaning of power is for a rapper.
Class/Socio-Economical issues:1) Reality vs. Materialism2) Urgent vs. Non-Urgent3) Reinforcement of Self Image (Masculinity)
Lyrics that describe the conditions: "...people pissing on the stairs, you know, they just don't care." “...got no money to move out...” “...rats in the front room, roaches in the back...”
Lyrics that describe the conditions (cont.): “...junkies [drug addicts] in the alley...” “...repossessed my car...” “...crazy lady livin’ in a bag, eating out of garbage pails...” “cause it’s all about money”
Lyrics that reinforce materialism: “I ball so hard” is heavily repeated “...what’s 50 grand to a "muhfucka" like me?” Mentions of expensive name brands and people
○ Gucci, Rolex, and Louie [Vuitton]○ Mary kate and Ashley Olsen
Lyrics that reinforce materialism:
“The stars is in the building [Jay Z & Kanye West], they [audience's] hands is to the ceiling."
"The Message" has a message. ● A perpetual inescapable lifestyle that
needs "fixing"● The environment is a "jungle"
○ Survival of the fittest○ “It's like a jungle sometimes it makes
me wonder how I keep from going under."
● It's more about the show● No "message"
○ a careless lifestyle about with no particular meaning other than ignore everything
A lavish life of partying ● Lyrics
○ "...Ball so hard, let’s get faded, Le Meurice for like 6 days..."
○ "...Gold bottles, scold models, spillin’ Ace on my sick J’s..."
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and Kanye West & Jay-Z both use music to make a name for themselves... Bigger Audience = More Power
Lyrics "Don't push me cuz I'm close to the edgeI'm trying not to lose my head."
- Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five"The Message"
"Psycho, I'm liable to go Michael, Take your pick, Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game 6"
- Jay-Z & Kanye West "N*ggas in Paris"
● Glorification of crime (1982) "You'll admire all the number-book takers,
thugs, pimps, pushers, and the big money-makers. Drivin' big cars, spendin' twenties, and tens, and you'll wanna grow up to be just like them, huh?"
● Glorification of crime (2012)
● "That shit (k)ray"○ reference to the schizophrenic Ronald and
Reginald Kray, who were crime lords in London UK during the 1950′s and 1960′s
○ These convicts were extremely difficult to find■ "...ball so hard muthafuckas wanna
find me, that shit kray, that shit kray, that shit kray..."
● Over time, rap and hip-hop music has changed from creating awareness about issues of poverty to a medium in which to generate money.
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