Creation #4 Rap "Me Myself and I"

It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
Me myself and I
Me myself and I

It's just me myself and I. Opened up the blinds wondering why?
I strive to reach my dreams that are up so high
But it feels like a game everyday the same
Climbing up ladders falling down chutes
My mind computes, car commutes
thoughts are dilute they're in dispute
business suit? Combat boots?
Trying figure out what I want to do
How about you?
When life comes knocking at your door
will you be ready for what in store?
Fame galore, or if you're weak and poor?
Either way I'm here to stay, won't go away
As Pete's father would say
Dreams make life tolerableI'm trying to find my way
and lately it's been feeling like
just me myself and I

It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
Me myself and I


I'm standing at the crossroads do I switch across roads
Pave a new way or do I stay in my lane
I could move far away but
My thoughts are in disarray
Will I be happy with the path I choose
I've been walking in these same sad shoes
I'll hang my head and pay my dues
time will tell
but for now I'll just go sit in some solid church pews
we all have different outlooks and views
man I'm just consciously confused
looking for guidance, patient in this silence
Constant bombardment of these thoughts
sort them out, gotta sort them out
I hoping I'll figure it all out
Man I got some doubts
but then I hear the shouts
and I remember what my dad had said
Just take one thing at a time
and that's what I'll do
I'm Just trying to figure out this life
my life


It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
It's just me myself and I, just me myself and I
Me myself and I
Me myself and I

Creation # 3 Rap

With great Struggle comes great pain
and with this pain comes change.
And it hurts it comes with growth spurts
we all get old and our once warm hearts turn cold
shift shape and mold
but its the story we're told
you better think about the story
since birth the first day on this big earth
you have to work hard and know your own self worth
Don't sell yourself short, re-work and contort
build this life on your dreams don't fall for the schemes
forget about the money Bernie Made off you
spill your life out in between your notebook seams
Thats what I do when it seems
when it seems as though I have lost
lost my dreams

Don't lose sight, don't lose sight, no matter your plight, no matter you plight
Don't lose sight, don't lose sight, no matter you plight, no matter you plight
Fight for your dreams, Keep fighting for your dreams, for your dreams

Hip Hop Wars Chapter 10 "Nobody Talks About the Positive in Hip Hop"

Rose states that many people believe that a lot of attention paid to rap artists in on the negatives; and there is a lack of acknowledgement of the good things they do. She also states that the negative images that are associated are largely self-made. Many defenders of hip hop are angered that less attention is paid to progressive rappers like Common and Lupe Fiasco. These artist are overlooked because they are often lumped into the overall genre that is hip hop; which is widely negatively viewed by society. Many teachers and activists try to use hip hop as a tool to teach youth about expressing themselves and teaching them literature. These efforts are largely unrecognized and poorly funded. Rose states that the good done by hip hop artists is rarely reported on; instead negative actions and news is what gets reported because it's what is more popular. She says especially for black people this is true; "...the shortage of affirmative coverage for already wildly popular black celebrities contributes to an overemphasis on negative black actions, conflicts, and misdeeds". Rose also states that some of these good deeds and actions might just be a public relations or marketing effort for some high profile rappers. They may just want to generate sales and promote themselves and philanthropy is a good way to do this. Philanthropy is a powerful public relations tool, however it is hard to believe that this is the only reason someone would perform these actions. Giving back is not a new idea; it has been a long standing tradition in African-American communities. She gives many examples of rappers, especially high profile rappers like Jay-Z, 50 Cent and Jermaine Dupri, who have made great efforts to give back to communities. Rose posses many questions, about how the rappers rap about demeaning women and glorify their bodies. The money they get from these songs, is donated to charities and they give back to the community. Isn't there a problem with that? They make money by promoting bad images then use this money to help the same people their songs are hurting. Rose states "The monies 'given back' cannot begin to compensate for the damage to spirit, social relations, and self-image that most of commercial hip hop has wrought". Rose also states that charity wedded with justice is what is needed, it demands accountability and has the potential to create social change.

Hip Hop Wars Chapter 4 "Hip Hop is Destroying America's Value"

Hip Hop is said to be accused of destroying American values, especially decency and morality.  It is also accused of causing a decline in Western civilization, and said to fuel anti-Americanism. These threats to American values are made through the expression of violence, lawlessness and sex outside of heterosexual marriage, Rose says. She states that it is hard to believe that this youth music could cause a decline of Western civilization, when it is promoted by corporate America. There has been an increased belief that rap, especially, is a "killer culture". There are five main  reasons why popular culture thinks this. One, the long association of black people with violence; Two, youth cultural challenges empowered by the development of modern society; Three, fears associated with the vast economic, political, and social movements of the 1960s and 1970s; and Five the profound shift from an industrial to a postindustrial service-and cultural-products-driven economy, as said by Rose. The association of black people with violence, lawlessness and deviant sexuality is long entrenched in society. Rose states it is embedding in our collective unconscious. Another point that is made by Rose is that since the availability of mass entertainment and access to it, youth began to spend more time watching and listening to this than socializing with families, which is important in youth development of values and morals. Many conservative people in America believed that society would be degraded if black music was allowed to "spread". They feared that decency and sexual morals would be destroyed by blues and jazz music. The change from an agrarian society to industrial and then to a service economy has caused major social and economical change. In the post-industrial economy which focuses on high-tech information and service sectors has caused major unemployment. These economic changes have brought fear, and this fear, as said by Rose, has been channeled away from structural conditions and toward a corruption of morals.The social movements to get equal rights for blacks and women, were interpreted as negative forces as opposed to actions that would advance democracy. The gap in wealth in America is a imbalanced system, says Rose. The wealthy people who avoid paying taxes and use loopholes, take money away from the less wealthy and less fortunate. Rose states that by blaming rappers for the demise of values in America rather than the reflection of the unfulfilled promise of America, temporarily relieves anxiety felt by the more fortunate people in society. The switch to a cultural based economy, made cultural products key to Americas economy. This gave cultural expressions greater visibility; black music and style has seen disproportional audience expansion as a result. In the 1990s black culture became the center of the cultural market.  Larger social conditions, economic forces and entrenched racial stereotypes helped grow hip hop but also helped in the decline in the depth and range of its expression. There is much debate between liberals and conservatives about morals. They both have a different ideas about morals, it was hard for the liberals to back up hip hop and their morals, so the conservative lens was easier to follow and critique hip hop with. Even though there is a difference in the thoughts on hip hop between these groups , hip hop seems to reflect and reject both. Rap is aggressive and has a strong masculine presence and also boasts about individual and personal success, which are conservative ideas. Liberal ideas such as community building and opposition of racial oppression are also prevalent in hip hop. Hip hop artists could progressively respond by emphasizing American values for which hip hop is known, such as justice, and redefine what people consider immoral, says Rose.

Creation #2 Poem "A Toast To Where I'm From"

A small town, which town?
Is it this one or that one
My address says one, I played Little League in another
I'm pretty sure I went to school in a totally different place

But none of that matters

we all talked and laughed in and out of class

and when I came home I was bathed

in love

like a dove everything was clean and pure.

As I got older some things became obscure,

but that didn't matter back then.

When my father came home from work

we'd play until the dusk rolled in

and even after, constant laughter, with my brother,

Oh to go back there!

Baseball games in the backyard

no time limit it didn't matter when we'd start.

My dad was tired from working all day
he gets up at six and didn’t come home til six

but he still fired

them in.

I just use to try and win.

Then we'd come in and eat,

I came in victorious.

Sitting around the table with my family it was glorious.

Right then and there, each night, I knew I was a winner.

Thanks you, Mom

for dinner.

Hip Hop Wars Chapter 3 Hip Hop Hurts Black People

In this chapter Tricia Rose discusses how hip hop hurts black people, and if it is the main component that hurts them. She states black people face lower levels of academic and economic achievement. Rose provides three explanations for these two problems, self-destructive anti-education attitudes, she says hip hop is fueling this attitude or at least instigating it. The second one is the emphasis on violence, which, in hip hop, is said to promote violence in its songs. The third problem is misogyny, and how most rap songs degrade women. There is some truth to the notions that hip hop has taken a turn, and doing so has hurt black people, especially young males. There are however, some problems that come with the argument that hip hop is responsible for these issues among the black community. They are unfair generalizations, made through sweeping claims. There is a thought that all hip hop even "underground" hip hop harms black kids. The producers and major corporations of the music promote the bulk of the rap songs that show the worst of the worst. The destroying behaviors that are prevalent in rap are the norm rather than the exception. There is a "cool pose" that is associated with hip hop this attitude is said to hurt young black people. Rose states there are two key facts that this notion denies, one, this type of self-protective, male response preceded hip hop. Two, the "cool pose" is used as a sort of survival strategy in the face of violence. The second problem Rose talks about is the tone of disdain and disregard that is smuggled under "outrage" and is seen as tough love. Critics find a group of black belligerent youths and they use these kids as a picture to frame all black youths in. This is just simply unfair and untrue. It's not about what criticisms should be made but about how they are made. The third problem is, what is left out, in terms of the silence of many critics about structural racism. The notions that rap are made for and produced by black people is simply untrue. The images in the songs are said to represent black youth. These images are the ones that are promoted and produced by corporations. The primary audience for these real life black youth experiences, which are sold in rap songs, is white youth. The corporations promote what sells, and what the audience wants. However they say this as an answer to why they are promoting these violent songs. The rappers when questioned about their songs answer that they are "trapped" by contracts with these corporations. T These songs desired primarily by white youth, led to the success of these black artists. Black youth see the success of these rappers and try to emulate them. There is limited access to youth in general of alternate images in hip hop music. There is an overall embrace of profit over people, not only in the hip hop industry but also in many industries around the world.  These songs on the surface are meant to help protect and support black youth however it unfortunately harms them. 

Imitation #7 2010/11 Rap Lupe Fiasco "Till I Get There"

"Be a jerk to these jerks, yeah that'll make em hurt
Huh? said the young boy in the mirror
A young version of me, so I started to tear up
He said "you need to cheer up, your mind need to clear up
You're already here, just be yourself from here up"
Then he disappeared and I felt something familiar
Something I was taught, something I had lost
If you are afraid, or fear that you gon' change some
All you gotta do is just remember where you came from"

For a rap song to imitate from the years of 2010/11 I chose Lupe Fiasco's "Till I Get There". In this song he talks about becoming a famous rap artist. He talks about the troubles and struggles that happen when becoming famous and specifically being a famous rap artist. The song is a confession, of how Lupe himself even faced these problems"I felt something familiar...something I had lost". In the bars that I chose to write about, Lupe Fiasco is talking about, how he became a person he is not and how when he looked in the mirror he saw someone he was not. The boy, Lupe talks about, is his younger self. He gives himself advice and remembers himself as a younger less stressed self, this is an example of apostrophe. This issue of staying true to yourself and not letting "the industry" change you is a big issue, in music, and especially in Hip Hop/Rap. In the Tricia Rose book, we are reading, we talked about keeping it real, this is a song about how Lupe is trying to stay true to the person he once was and is. This song has nothing to do with violence but he talks about "keeping it real" in a different context. About not letting the fame get to your head and changing you. Lupe wants to stay true to what he is about and not let outside influences change him for the worse. A lot of artists, lose their identity and become someone they are not and rap about things they never believed in and are just doing for selfish reasons. Lupe states all you have to do is remember where you came from and who you are and you will not lose sight of yourself. Lupe uses the word "up" a lot in these bars, it gives his lines a certain flow. The repetition of the word also by nature gives it some rhythm and rhyme. The last two lines of the verse rhyme, he utilized end rhyme, these last lines summarize the message Lupe is trying to send.