Pop Culture

Music has a dynamic ability of influencing emotions, from mood regulation to rumination and self-expression. The presence of political and social messages in popular music is frequently seen across cultures, in particular focusing on social issues and racism (Back, 2000, 127). This paper attempted to explore the political and social messages in popular music, more specifically it investigated the relationship between Soul music and civil rights movements in the United States.

Music is a creative art form that allows the artist to construct something that expresses a purpose. It evolves over time and changes as the world changes, taking on many different motivations behind the melody and lyrics. In today’s society, anger, oppression, racism, and negative opinions rule the media and popular culture. I believe that African Americans need to show their self worth and not let white people hold them back. With the music in white culture often mocking African American culture and portraying negative stereotypes, African Americans have to find ways to gain respect. In acknowledgement of the negative portrayal of their culture, African Americans respond by creating songs and videos that express their pride in their culture and heritage, react to white oppression, and communicate their independence.

Millions of people in the world listen to music for all different reasons. Most people all over the world listen to different genres of music in order to relax, but not too many people pay attention to the actual lyrics of a song. If you listen to the lyrics of a song you will realize that many songs have important messages or themes to them. An example of this is the lyrics of the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. If you listen to this song, you will realize that Tupac raps about not only the problems that African Americans face from society, but also the struggles that poor people in society have to endure and overcome. Many

Unlike many other mainstream artists, Kendrick Lamar attaches great importance to the lyrics of his songs. Lamar’s song “DNA”, released last April, became a real breakthrough in the world of hip-hop music. In this song, Lamar reflects on various social issues faced by the modern African-American community of the USA. The song’s lyrics, as well as the music video, portrays the most common stereotypes and biases labeled to the African-American community. The central aim of the song is to sarcastically demonstrate the image of African-Americans as they are viewed by biased media. By the use of symbolical sarcasm and double meanings, Lamar underlines the acuteness of the race inequality that remains existing in the modern America.

Long before the 90s, race and ethnicity have been a controversial issue all over the world, particularly in the United States. In sociology, the concepts of race and ethnicity is connected to the concept of minority and majority groups, with the social structures of stratification, power, and of course inequality. Race is a term that describes the physical differences that are considered socially critical to cultures and groups, while ethnicity is a term that describes the shared culture, like beliefs, language, practices, and ancestry. Agitation for equality has been seen in the music world, particularly among the blacks in the United States, the majority of black musical artistes have written songs relating to how black lives matter. This paper will analyze an old rap lyrics of the 90s titled as “Erase Racism” in relation to race and ethnicity.

All, of the dancers in this music video are African-American, and it is very clear. None of their hair is straightened, they are all in Black Panther-esque outfits, and they are “unapologetically black.” The concept of this video is head-on addressing systemic racism. An obvious example is the dancers but there are also many more. For one, the opening scene, as referenced earlier, includes Beyoncé herself standing on a police car flooded in water while a clip saying “What happened in the New Orleans?” plays in the background. This artist is using her platform to bring attention to the hurricane in New Orleans and how there was little to nothing done by police there. She is calling out the system in this video.

Over the past few years tragic events seem to be surrounding our society. An array of killings, social protests, police brutality and racism have startled the nation. Lately celebrities have been addressing these issues more and more on TV, in interviews and in the public eye. One incredible artist just used her talent to address all of these issues and more in her new music video "Formation". Beyoncé is an iconic figure in our culture, spreading her talent, feminist views and activism worldwide. This video is one of a kind. It is not centered on her but on Black America. There have been many critics disagreeing with Beyoncé 's video. They felt that she spread negative messages of police throughout her video. Others, however, loved her video. They felt she used her platform to reach out and address issues. Supporters and critics of the video have expressed their opinions in many different ways. In this paper I will analyze this video that has been shared worldwide. The question I ask is: "How does Beyoncé depict the complexity of Black Americans?" In order to answer this question, I will apply Pentadic criticism to analyze this discourse.

Through songs many people express their feelings of the world threw the words they have wrote. Many songs talk about civil rights of the people and how change should be an option. In the world we live in today we have social issues that people have to face such as: police brutality, racial profiling, discrimination etc. Through Kendrick Lamar, Public Enemy, The Game, Bebe Winans, and N.W.A they will use their voice as a weapon for change among all people. Music with a message thrives in a live setting, for obvious reasons, and many politically conscious musicians aim to channel the heightened emotions

Within History, Rap has been considered the “CNN for black people”; what started as a way to express struggles in the ghettos of New York has transformed into one of the most popular genres of music in America. The popularity of rap has allowed many to have their voices heard, created new fashion trends, and even developed popular modern slang used by people throughout the world. The commercialization of rap has resulted in a significant following of the culture in America but also a large number of people who oppose the music. The culture of rap music has a substantial impact on popular culture in America, and by using an open mind and looking past the violence and language, people can better understand the meaning behind rap and the perception that follows it in America today.

Beyonce is an African American female artist making incorporating empowering messages for women around the world. She is creating work that speaks to an audience that might not receive authentic mainstream. Beyonce ultimate goal is to visually and sonically entice wisdom through her music. Recently in a shocking video release, Beyonce debuted a new song “Formation” as well as a politically charged music video. This song was an uproar in the music industry worldwide. Millions of people around the world negatively viewed this song as a controversy. The music video and song caused many people to debate and cause a worldwide conflict.

Do you ever wonder what is the meaning behind what you so proudly sing whenever you hear it? Music is an art form of culture which organizes sound with times It first came around in prehistoric times, however, as times passes, music is drastically changing. As a result, in the last decades music has experienced drastic changes in the themes they are talking about. These changes are due to the generations and what they are living, political and social actions of the time. For example, the decade of the 80s was the rise of hip-hop and rap music from a local phenomenon to a worldwide known genre of music. Previously, a crack cocaine epidemic had stroke major cities in the USA and it coincided with the rise of hip-hop in black communities as these

Growing up pop culture has truly saved my life, and now as a young adult, it is time for me to embrace pop culture and use it to help build my career. As a child, I would get bullied all the time in school because I’m gay. The only source of amusement and sense of excitement growing up came from the media, pop culture. For as long as I can remember, I was always fascinated with magazines and music videos. I always admired the way ads were presented in magazines, billboards, and music videos. The slogans presented, and the message trying to get across to the audience is always done in a spontaneous and creative way. I believe that advertisement is the heart of big businesses.

This part of the video is talking about the hands up don’t shoot movement which is part of black lives matter. As you move through the video and see different images you see that towards the end of the song the young boy stops dancing and throws his hands up as if he was showing a scare threat and after the boy does that the policemen throw their hands up as a sense of surrender.Throughout the video you see several images of men vogueing and dancing around that shows that she is talking about the racism against gay people, also when those images come to show the voice of New Orleans performer Big Freedia is speaking,this shows that she is standing up for gay people as well as for New Orleans.The lyrics when she says “she wants her babies with baby hair and afros” she is referring to the way that people talk about her daughter wearing her natural hair and that black people should stop using chemicals to change the texture of their own hair. Knowles lyric “I like my negro with jackson five nostrils’ is stating that she wants to see more black people with black noses and stop getting cosmetic surgeries to make them have white people’s

Throughout history, music has been used to express the feelings of people or groups whom may have no other outlet to express themselves. The best example of this occurrence would be the lower class of America’s use of rap music. Rap music started out as a fun variation of disco with the purpose to make people dance and enjoy themselves, but it later transformed into one of the best outlets to express the struggles of poverty in the United States. The genre gained popularity when the song “Rapper 's Delight” hit the charts in the early eighties; rap evolved into a plethora of different styles from there, Gangster Rap formed with NWA in the late eighties, and rap really hit it’s zenith in the mid nineties. Modern rap began in the early starts of the twentieth century. Because of the storytelling that rappers do in the music, it gained notice in the inner city where the demographic could relate. Many young teen in the inner city environment built dream to be famous rappers just like their own favorite artists . Rap connects to me by its style, its purpose, and its political incorrectness.

However, “political pop” is in the midst of a renaissance, with some of the most popular musicians being the most vocal about their political ideologies. Beyonce’s critically-acclaimed Lemonade was hailed as one of the most vulnerable and honest albums of the past decade, touching on topics like the treatment and fetishization of black women in America and police brutality. Most of all, Lemonade offered a glimpse into the lived oppression of one of the most famous, and most wealthy, pop stars in the world - hardly the first person one might think of when thinking of someone who is oppressed; but, Beyonce captured the essence of activism in her songs, speaking out from her place of privilege to make known the urgency of attacking oppressive forces - and showing how widespread they are. This made Lemonade relatable to many listeners’ own lived experiences, connecting with them in a way most albums could never dream of coming close. Beyonce’s vocal support for activist