When faced with the decision of which pop song really stood out to me during my youth and adolescent years, the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem immediately came across my mind. From listening to this song during soccer game warm ups, to quietly being indulged in my own headphones while studying for high school exams, this song was like no other in my ITunes library. On top of its amazing use of musical elements, I especially love this song because of its connection to certain socio historical factors and the pure raw meaning behind its lyrics. Although the reaction to this song was quite mixed, and stirred a lot controversy, it was the most defining rap song of the early 2000s. While sitting at my seat pondering about this piece, it brought …show more content…
The chorus is very forte and it has quick volume increases by a synthesizer sounding instrument that accents the downbeats in the chorus. The use of the softness of the piano harmony complements this hardness perfectly in his three verses as you can hear it lingering in the back. The use of his fading in and out with the symbolic piano sound uses dynamics very effectively – especially his opening, which starts by only a unique piano melody creating that feeling of mystery, nostalgia, and adrenaline. Timbre plays a vital role in the layering of this track. The three main instruments come in at different times and add its own unique place in the song contributing to the overall mood of the song. First, it’s the light high pitched piano, which is unusual in a rap song. Then the dark low pitched guitar comes in when he starts asking the question and it’s soon followed by the heavy sounding drums as he starts to rap. The interesting use of timbre gives an acoustic and classical feel versus the drums and synthesizer of hip hop giving the song its diversity and originality. The tempo of this song is not too fast and not too slow. The track runs around 88 beats per minute, close to a maestoso. It’s the perfect mix of deep thoughts and relentless energy. If this song was any faster, it may ruin the strong statement that it delivers, while if it’s too slow, it contradicts the fundamental beat and rhythm of hip hop. Although many
The beats are relaxing, which is contrary to what he is saying because the character of the song, the stoner is looking for peace and the life he wants. Although Kid Cudi again and again talks about the stoner the way he describes the details and how he speaks in first person tells us that he is actually talking about himself. The stoner feels alone and keeps searching for the life he once imagined.
According to Mary Eberstadt, "contemporary adolescent popular music, especially the subgenres of heavy metal and hip-hop/rap, is uniquely degraded – and degrading – by the standards of previous generations." When compering music in the past and today, it is important to compere musical lyric too. Modern music is more aggressive and coarser than old music. Contemporary lyrics describe misogyny, violence, suicide, sexual exploitation, children abuse and other bad things. Mary Eberstadt explains the changes in musical lyric as a result of changes in society. Nowadays, music is not censored. In her essay "Eminem is Right," Eberstadt wrote about how Eminem is right in his songs because he understands the current family crisis that millions children
He speaks with such emphasis when delivering these raps, leaving no doubt as to the purpose or meaning of his lyrics. Throughout both verses, Mos Def pulls no punches while speaking about pertinent issues in modern urban society. Things such as drug use, police behavior, and government spending are critiqued with an almost confrontational vocal tone, as if his experiences and opinions have formed and anger about the current direction our society is headed in. Mos Def’s rapping about socioeconomic problems are very controversial, because some people have not been exposed to the things that he raps about and thus may not understand (Perry). However, he raps them so confidently and with such stress that no one can deny how strongly he feels about the subject matter. Similar to the beat of “Mathematics”, Mos Def’s lyrics also bring about a sense of conflict. His flow is certainly not structured perfectly- as the pace speeds up and his words become more serious and pronounced as the song progresses. This was done intentionally to give the piece its harsh tone and send a clear challenge to its listeners- to stop sending society in the wrong
This combination of music types creates a different atmosphere within the music that your average hip-hop artists doesn’t. In there are a couple of songs that carry an emotional tone in both the lyrics and beats, this shows that Earl really knows how to add variety to his music, this shift the mood to keep the listener intrigued, because with enough repetitiveness anything can become bland and boring. In this album Earl also uses his ability as an excellent lyricist to get some of point across in a very discreet way for example in his song “Grief” he says “I don’t act hard, I’m a hard act to follow.” Here he his talking to all the people who said that in his last album he was trying to act
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
These subtle details in the scene turn what could’ve been a normal, bland, unimportant scene into a truly memorable moment. This is all throughout the film, with the writers subverting the ideas, the director creating a visual feel that contrasts with what is being seen, and the editor using “hip hop
The song's up tempo and it has a steady rhythm. The beat of the song has very little variation, At the most it changes dynamics during the hook and chorus to a higher key. During the hook and the chorus you can hear the harmony modulate as it switches to the next part to distinguish changes in the part of the song. It is also measured as a duple meter. The melody of the chorus is an easy one to remember. I would say that it is conjunct. The vocalist, Rich Homie Quan’s pitch is pretty high for a male rapper in this song, I didn't exactly have a least favorite song. Even If it was a song I didn't know it still wasn't bad. All of his songs were upbeat so it kept the night interesting. I even left discovering new songs that I liked. Rich Homie Quan isn't one of my favorite artist but he has some good hits. Rich Homie Quan isn’t the best live performer for the fact that he just sung over the track. Also he kept taking sips of water as if he did some serious singing when he didn’t, but besides that the overall experience was great. I am an concert addict and this concert marked my 11th concert. I thought I wouldn’t have the opportunity to go to concerts while I was attending school in Indiana but I was
The pitch includes a lot of rising and falling notes that you can hear once he starts to change emotionally. Because of these notes, it becomes more undulating and intriguing to the audience. Tonal change in his voice makes an effect on the notes and cause tension; these notes are called bent notes. The way to resolve a bent note is using a flat note. Flat notes are used to even out the plain field or resolve the tension of the piece. The repetitive waves of emotion cause these notes to become dissonant and off key which is a unique part of his piece.
The technique creates and adds tension to the music. The full fury of the guitar is only unleashed at the interlude and when the vocals come in. In the interlude, the guitar wails were played to sound like sirens. The guitar solo had a hypnotic, cyclic riff in the interlude. The improvisational style and sound of the guitar adds to the seemingly chaotic sound of the song. The drums more prominently produce this chaotic sound. Although the drums are in a simple yet assertive two-beat pattern throughout most of the song, it is interrupted sporadically by drum rolls, helping to produce a chaotic sound. The bass basically provides the rhythm and the framework of the song from which the drums and guitar can syncopate. The song is also somewhat muffled. The crude recording techniques was utilized to produce a more dense and harsher noise. The crudeness also adds a sense of amateurism to the song, one of the ideologies of punk.
and physically. This is depicted over a choir-esque sound which is layered in between few other sub basses and upright tones which evoke a cool, airy feel, somewhat adding to the sensuality of this song. The tones of a lush synthesizer and rattling high hats are compiled to produce this masterpiece of a both rhythmic and chill style. The harmonious tones in the background are formatted perfectly to comply with technical languid tones, to ensure his audience focuses on the lyrical message, by not unnecessarily amplifying it with the backbeats and support sounds itself. This technique of eschewing the idea of upfront rhythms and kick basses is applied to songs such as ‘Hello’, ‘Apparently’ and ‘St Tropez’, where the lyrics are the focal point of the
Close to the Edge: The Representational Tactics of Eminem a comprehensive essay written by Marcia Alesan Dawkins, provides a concrete, insightful examination of the strategy and tactics used by a Caucasian artist to integrate himself into the predominantly African-American and Latino dominated sub culture of hip-hop. The purpose of this document is to illuminate the methods utilized by what Dawkins calls the Other to seamlessly sneak into a racially charged social group and gain acceptance amongst its critics and audiences. This is someone who would otherwise be labelled as an outcast from the point of view of its patrons. Such methods draw from Michel de Certeau’s stages of cultural navigation, which Dawkins makes use of to support the
Whether it’s is fiercely ordering “damn croissants” in a French restaurant to satisfy his godly hunger or casually conversing with Jesus and responding with “Shit I’m chilling, trying to stack these millions,” Kanye West endeavors to challenge corrupt corporate power and openly address racism in his sixth solo album Yeezus. Similar to his five previous albums, Kanye’s production on Yeezus is nothing less than progressive and eclectic. The ideation of Yeezus is deeply introspective, unconventionally creative, and darkly filled with subversive messages. Regardless of people’s opinion about Yeezus, whether loving or hating it, every aspect from beat production to lyricism has a consequential purpose. With careful and impartial attention to detail
The psychological mindsets of both characters negatively change as the consequences of their actions and desires start to set in. Eminem starts to become consumed by his fame. The media steals his privacy from him like any other popular celebrity. “I wanted the fame, but not the cover of Newsweek” (“The Monster”). The constant praise he has received as a popular artist has changed his character into someone who amplifies their ego.
Soul has a very peculiar way of getting his ideas out to the public. The is a genius when it comes to being a lyricist. The man knows how to keep you listening and for each time you give one song a listen you uncover more and more hidden messages. He uses many different types of styles in rapping to fluctuate his listeners moods throughout the album. For instance, he uses “gangster rap” to give an older 90’s feel while using conscious rap to get his logical approach out in the open. Following his use of “trill rap” to get a live feel to pump up the audience while at the same time using a more relaxed “stoner rap” to slow down the mood. However, he maintains a central beat throughout the album, a space-age, slow beat. In doing this, Soul proves he is able to rap a wide set variety of thoughts under the same umbrella of central beats which tie the whole album together. The album is like a radioactive heartbeat, it fluctuates with each song some being more upbeat than
“Runaway Kanye West” A year before this song was released Kanye West had his famous moment when he interrupted Taylor Swifts VMA acceptance speech. After that moment he was tortured by the media and hated by many. The following year he performed this song “Runaway” at the next VMA’s. I believe it was an apology to women he had hurt and disrespected, Taylor being one of them, and showed how lonely and vulnerable Kanye is. I think it impacted the way people view Kanye, and affected a culture of men as he describes as “douchbags”, and “scum-bags” and how men in society need to change.