Stuart McDonald - Journal 9

I will start by prefacing that I am not at all familiar with the hip-hop or rap genres, so my analysis may be a little loose when it comes to defining boundaries between the two.  I’ll just assume that rap is a progression from hip-hop for the purpose of this writing.  Having said that, I would say that this sounded a lot more like hip-hop music with rap lyrics than like what we heard last class, defined as ‘gangsta rap’.  At the very beginning, I heard some vinyl scratching, which was mentioned in the video we watched about hip-hop in class, so that’s a clue that it fits into the genre.  They included a bit of an anti-establishment sentiment as well, which if I remember correctly was mentioned in one of the readings about the history of ‘gangsta rap’.  They also make mention of drug use and violence, which are themes that I understand to be common in rap music.

I think it seems to go against the grain when they start singing about other people’s careers instead of just their own, such as the plot in “Children’s Story”.  I think they might do this because they have taken a step back and looked at the industry and other artists, placing themselves in an analytical position where they can spread their opinion of the genre in their own work.  One detail that they mention in that song is that the kid makes quick money off the music, which is another theme that the ‘gangsta rap’ paper describes in that artists started making tracks with the only intention of profit.  Another thing that I noticed that seems different is that their song “Brown Skin Lady” was quite respectful and complimentary towards the lady subject, as opposed to the standard misogynistic tone.