...Lane Hossum Mr. Latham MUS 005 12 November 2013 Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter, born December 4, 1969, started his life off as a regular kid, just like every other kid. He was born and raised in a part of New York City known as Marcy, also known as the projects. Shawn was one of four children belonging to Gloria Carter and Adnis Reeves. Early on, his friends game him the nickname of Jay-Z or Jay for short. Who knew he was going to become the man he is today? Jay-Z was a former drug dealer, but is now known for being one of the most successful rappers and entrepreneur alive. According to Saddleback Educational PublishingJay-Z’s net worth is over $450 Million, he has over fourteen Grammy Awards, owns two 40/40 clubs, created his own clothing line [Rocawear], owns Def Jam Recordings, Roc-A Fella Records, and owns a minority share of the Brooklyn Nets. His rap career started early on when he came upon a group circled up, clapping their hands to make a beat, with a kid named slate in the middle of the circle spitting out rhymes. Jay-Z was very intrigued, he had never seen anything like it. Jay remembered, “It was like watching some kind of combat, but he was alone in the center. All he had were his eyes, taking in everything, and the words inside him. I was dazzled.” (Saddleback) Jay-Z started writing down his own rhymes, he wrote at every opportunity, and stated by Saddleback, when he ran out of paper, he would go down to the store and buy a soda just to use the paper bag to write...
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...and is said to have been shot three times. Shawn would rap under the name Jay-Z and sell CDs out of his car after shows. Jay Z says his early musical influences were soulful artist like Marvin Gaye, and Donny Hathaway. With no record label to give him a deal, Jay Z started his own independent record label with Daman Dash and Kareem Biggs, called Roc-A-Fella Records. After getting a distribution deal with Priority Records, Jay Z released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, which received critical...
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...Mrs. Matson Imaginative Literature October 11, 2013 Letters to the Government The song “Open Letter” by Jay-Z is a response to the criticism he has been faced with on his recent trip to Cuba. He released this song within 24 hours after the uproar of government officials. Jay-Z talks about political issues that are occurring today and tries turn the criticism on them by pointing out economic flaws. He also mocks the government by saying that he is above them because of the amount of money that he generates. The overwhelming theme in this song is his message of being untouchable to government and how he is above the law. Jay-Z talks about his invincibility because of his ties with the President Obama. Jay-Z starts his first verse with “I done turned Havana to Atlanta.” This is referencing his recent trip to Havana the capital of Cuba. He is implying that he walks the streets of Cuba the same way he does in Atlanta with confidence and a sense of control. Jay-Z does this calmly even though it is illegal for Americans to visit Cuba. He totally disregards government laws and visits anyway because he knows the consequences won’t be too harsh. This is because he has such a close connection with President Obama and thinks he will not be incarcerated for his crime. Jay-Z is also trying to make a statement that he can do whatever he wants no matter what the law says. Jay-Z is a multimillion dollar man and can afford to go anywhere in the world no matter the cost and there is one place...
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...As the sun goes down the starts come out, lights flickering, people chattering as I walk down the strip with the wolf pack with laughter, suited up looking dapper, we come across this giant poster with a bold writing, well lit up reading “Jay Z performing tonight at 11 in the Revolution Bar featuring Kanye West”. With excitement we all huddle down to the Revolution Bar like a pack of lions hunting for its prey, hungry, waiting in this long queue that never seemed to move. As the tall hunky bouncers perform their routine checks on us, the bass vibrates through the floor into our hearts making our heart beat sync with the rhythm of the music blasting inside the bar like it was welcoming us to join the party. The colourful lights flashing through the gaps as the door opens, constantly making eye contact with everyone as they walk past me, leaving a trail behind of their fragrance filling my nostrils with flavour. Waiting to get served by the bartender that seemed to be moving faster than the light eagerly working her way down to me, standing, filled with people around me, pushing and rubbing their body against mine, sweating to slide their way to the front of the bar like which felt like touching a fish, wet and slippery. As I stand there in slow motion with my mouth slightly open the bartender pours the poison elegantly into the glass making my tasted buds tingle with excitement, like it was having its own party inside my mouth. I felt like a winner as I lifted up my glass with...
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...In 2004, one of the most notorious albums was made, The Grey Album. It consisted of Jay-Z’s Black Album and The Beatle’s White Album. DJ Danger Mouse created this mash-up album without the permission of Jay-Z or The Beatles. The album included acapellas and instrumentals from both of the albums. As of result of this, recording company EMI filed a cease-and-desist letter to Danger Mouse as he started to distribute and sell the album. A fellow music group by the name of Negativland released a song with the name U2 on the front cover. Negativland sampled the song “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking for” and outtakes from the host of American Top 40, Casey Kasem. Negativland never received permission to use any of U2’s work. As soon as Negativland released the album for retail, recording company Island Records and Warner-Chappell Music filed a lawsuit against Negativland and their record company. The lawsuit ended with Negativland recalling all the copies of the single and having to pay over $70,000 in damages and legal costs. Artists should not be allowed to use each other’s work. According to the case study, Negativland claims “Our work is an authentic and original whole, being much more than the sum of its samples”. In other words, Negativland does acknowledge that they in fact did use U2’s work but it should be looked at as more than that. Negativland’s work is not original and is just refurbished pieces of some other artist’s work. It’s been said that true creativity is...
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...Sultan Kamara Dr. Derrais Carter Hip Hop & Racial Idealogy BST 511 October 5, 2014 “Put Some Bass In Your Walk.” 3 Quotes from Article 1. “I shouldn’t think about or openly write about black male bodies in hip hop because the black male body had been historically under siege in American culture, a site of violence and trauma and demasculization.” 2. “So what was one to make of this new sound, this rap music, straight from the streets of New York and New Jersey, in which “masculine” bodies and voices spit boasts and stories over disco music? It certainly wasn’t coded as “gay,” even though the music behind the voices was a snippet of the musical soundtrack that had been relegated across the sexual line to the “gay crowd.” 3. “Disco, too, was aspirational music: it trafficked in glamour; it sold a vision of access, of high living, of escape from the mundane. It was, in many ways regardless of its European club linage a singular soundtrack of American dreaming. And who dreamed harder made their dreams (and nightmares) the stuff of publicly rendered fantasy better than rappers? 3 non-evaluative 1. This article is basically about sampling and how stereotypes view what’s masculine and feminist. Majority of hip hop songs in the 80s and 90s and early 2000s are sampled from R&B music. Even though stereotypes view R&B as feminine, rappers today have hits that will make them so much money and also they are viewed as thugs/gangsters that is a masculine...
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...COMS 354: The Visual Culture of Crime Kristina Ezhova 260454703 April 9, 2015 “Monster”: Misogyny, Racism, and Popular Culture Kanye West is a prominent figure in popular culture nowadays and his reputation is quite complicated and conflicting. West is acclaimed as one of the best rappers of this era, and is celebrated as a successful entrepreneur and fashion designer. However, he is also frequently condemned for his outspoken personality and offensive attitude. From numerous acceptance speech interruptions to questionable interviews and statements, Kanye West has created a contradictory image for himself in the media and is often characterized as a misogynist. The music video for his single “Monster,” in which he collaborated with Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, and Nicki Minaj, was released in 2011 and almost immediately became known as deeply controversial: the six-minute clip, which depicts dead women hanging from ceilings and scantily clad in lingerie, was banned by MTV for its violence and explicit content toward women (Vassar). Undeniably, the misogynistic theme runs throughout the video, however, West has defended himself by stating that “the concept of models hanging or people being eaten alive or [other] type of visuals for a horrific video was purely artistic” and addressed the ignorance of misogynistic accusations by claiming that “they [women’s rights activists] couldn’t understand how a rapper can have a taste high enough to do something like that without being...
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...anJason Palmer 12/1/2011 How Jay-Z in AN EDUCATED PERSON What does it take to be a liberally educated person? Is it the amount of intelligence that one has? Is it solely individualism? Normally the stereotype of what an educated person is who has undergone an obligated set of learning experiences through education. So if we were looking at the person that hasn’t traveled a traditional path through education what qualities or what examples are we looking for to be defining this educated person? In “Only Connect” The Goals of Liberal Education are basically broken down into qualities of learning that empowers individuals and the preparedness that deals with complexity, diversity, and change. In this special case we are trying to define a rapper, but not just any rapper we are talking about Jay-Z, a Hip Hop mogul, one of the East Coast raps top acts of the 21st century. So why would we think that a rapper is capable of being an educated person? One of the qualities of what an educated person is in “Only Connect” which states “They can write clearly and persuasively and movingly”. When it comes to being a rapper part of the job is how they write their lyrics and the messages they send or the sound that people are listening to. With Jay-Z’s style in particular you can tell that there is some education in the way he is able to make the music he writes. Having an interest in music from a very young age, Shawn Carter was known by the nickname “Jazzy” in his neighborhood and later...
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...December 4, 1969),[2] known by his stage name Jay Z (formerly Jay-Z),[3][4][5] is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. In 2014, Forbes estimated Jay Z's net worth at nearly $520 million.[6][7] He is one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21 Grammy Awards for his musical work, and numerous additional nominations.[8][9][10] Consistently ranked as one of the greatest rappers ever, he was ranked number one by MTV in their list of The Greatest MCs of All-Time in 2006.[11] Three of his albums, Reasonable Doubt (1996), The Blueprint (2001), and The Black Album (2003), are considered landmarks in the genre with all of them featured in Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[12][13][14] As an entrepreneur and investor, Jay Z co-owns the 40/40 Club, and is the co-creator of the clothing line Rocawear.[15] He is the former president of Def Jam Recordings, co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records, and the founder of Roc Nation. He also founded the sports agency Roc Nation Sports and is a certified NBAand MLB sports agent.[16] As an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard 200 with 13.[17][18] Jay Z also has had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100, one as lead artist. On December 11, 2009, Jay Z was ranked as the tenth-most successful artist...
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...Robyn Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988), known by her stage name Rihanna is a Barbadian recording artist, actress and fashion designer. She lived the life of a normal island girl going to Combermere, a top sixth form school. Rihanna won numerous beauty pageants and performed Mariah Carey "Hero" in a school talent show. Her life changed forever when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, a producer from New York who was in Barbados for a vacation with his wife, who is a native. Rodgers arranged for her to go to New York to meet Jay-Z, CEO of Def Jam Records. He heard her sing and knew she was going to be incredibly successful. She was 16 when she was signed to Def Jam. Since then, she's amassed phenomenal success. After watching Rihanna’s 2013 Grammy performance of her hit song ‘Stay’ it led me to conclude that Rihanna has a Strong personality, an assumption which is based off the application of Evolutionary psychology and Existential psychology concepts. As she sang, the audience could feel her raw emotion, it didn’t feel rehearsed it felt real, which was only suitable since the song can be seen as a representation of the current dilemma she currently faces in her love life with ex lover Chris Brown. Existential Psychology is the study of human existence, however Rollo May focuses on concepts like freedom, responsibility, Authenticity, Death, courage, anxiety, destiny, dasein , daimonic , etc. All of which can be found in the traces of rihanna’s personality that...
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...different publish dates. They are targeting the exact same youth but in very different ways. My goal is to break the their interpretations and show what the ads are trying to represent in the companies eye. Reaching the target audience is the key for sales and with marketing departments being the the crucial part of business you know they are always coming up with ways to find them. My first Reebok article is cut in half. On one side of the photograph is superstar rap artists Jay-Z. The other side of the photograph is a picture of the projects he grew up in. You are able to catch a glimpse of a drug dealer's arm which has abut six rubber bands around it. In Jay-Z's part of the photograph he's in the penthouse suite overlooking downtown New York City. He's in a professional suit and is sitting in an expensive brown lunge chair. The other side of the photograph is black and white unlike Jay-Z's portion. Your able to really see the details of the photograph of an image portraying a younger Shawn Carter “aka” Jay-Z. This little article has an amazing amount of subtle messages. At first glance it's hard to figure out what exactly is the advertisement trying to sell. You see a strategically place Reebok symbol place in the lower right hand corner of the photo. It makes the reader have to search and by doing that that get what the article is trying to accomplish. There is a quote located on the top right corner of the page. It says,”I got my MBA from Marcy Projects”. Marcy Projects...
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...the lyrics of OTIS by Kanye West and Jay Z and Be Free by Jay Cole, three juggernauts of the industry today, the lyrics of OTIS glorify wealth and glamourise items of desire such as watches, cars, planes etc. while the performance by J Cole was inspired by black oppression and events following the Ferguson march. The song OTIS itself peaked at #2 on Billboards Hot Rap tracks in 2011, achieving double platinum status in America. Be Free however was an exclusive live performance by J Cole on the Late night show. Both songs utilises a vast amount of verbal techniques. Otis an opening verse by Jay-Z I invented swag Poppin bottles, putting supermodels in the cab Proof I guess I got my swagger back, truth New watch alert: Hublots Or the big face Rollie, I got two of those Arm out the window through the city, I manoeuvre slow Cock back, snap back, see my cut through the holes The verse utilises the verbal technique of assonance and repetition, as the second line utilised the consistent sound of the P being both a rhyming point and repetitive technique. Jay Z continues the use of assonance throughout the rest of the verse repetitively using the ‘O’ sound as a rhyming point, when listening to the song the extra enthuses can be heard on the ‘O’. The verse also contains vast amounts of references towards materialistic items with references to champagne, Hublot watches which are well known for their high price tags and also two Rolex’s which Jay Z has famously covered in diamonds. ...
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...Shawn Carter, better known as Jay Z, tells Vanity Fair contributing editor Lisa Robinson in the November issue that although his wife, Beyoncé, says that their 18-month-old daughter, Blue Ivy, prefers Jay’s music to hers, he’s not so sure. “That’s not true. She does like her mother’s music—she watches [Beyoncé’s concerts] on the computer every night. But my album came out and I don’t know if Blue ever heard any of my music prior to this album—she’s only 18 months old and I don’t play my music around the house. But this album was new, so we played it. And she loves all the songs. She plays a song and she goes, ‘More, Daddy, more . . . Daddy song.’ She’s my biggest fan. If no one bought the Magna Carta [album], the fact that she loves it so much, it gives me the greatest joy. And that’s not like a cliché. I’m really serious. Just to see her—‘Daddy song, more, Daddy.’ She’s genuine, she’s honest, because she doesn’t know it makes me happy. She just wants to hear it.” Jay tells Robinson that Barack Obama’s 2008 election “actually renewed my spirit for America. It was like, Oh, wow, man, this whole thing about land of the free, home of the . . . it’s, like, real—it’s going to happen, everyone’s getting to participate in it. But growing up, if you had ever told a black person from the hood you can be president, they’d be like, I could never . . . If you had told me that as a kid, I’d be like, Are you out of your mind? How?” Jay tells Robinson that his mother knew he was dealing drugs...
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...Lil Wayne felt as if that was a direct insult to the music that they were making. But what many failed to realize was that Nas has achieved a great deal in his career, which made others artists work harder to compete. When you think of Hip Hop a few artists probably come to mind – Wale, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Drake, etc. When you hear them rap it is as if the beat was made to fit their flow instead of the other way around. Jay-Z once said that “once you hear a beat you must find your place in that beat”. In my opinion certain artists have perfected the pocket presence inside of a beat such as Kanye West, B.o.B. to name a few. Many of them hold the “southern ring tone music movement” which is said to be responsible for the Death of Hip hop. This movement was led by artist such as Soulja Boy, D4L, and New boys because their nursery rhymes lyrics have no meaning and its only purpose is to get the youth to the dance floor. Auto-Tune also threw the rap world into frenzy while artist like T-Pain mastered the craft others have totally massacred it. Once again Jay-Z came to the rescue with his single Death of Auto-tune and ended this well over-due phase in Hip Hop. As far as the current state of Hip Hop, it is on the rise again with the release of The Carter IV, G.o.o.d Kid M.a.a.d City and 2.0. Conscious rappers are taking the art back. I believe that Hip Hop needs to return to the art of storytelling where a kid from the streets of Brooklyn can tell his tale of hustling to pay bills...
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