Critique #1: Just Keeping It Real

Hip hop artists are heavily criticized on the realism used to produce their work. Hip hop was first used to expose the tough times and struggles blacks went through, starting around the 1970's. This genre of music continued to develop and hip hop became more and more affiliated with the negative connotations with blacks, poverty and violence. The author recognizes that not all artists are writing about their personal experiences, but some write about experiences and events they have witnessed. Many hip hop artists do exaggerate and write about these issues just for the popularity, which contradicts the artist idea of "keeping is real." This chapter outlines the problems of artists claiming that hip hop is keeping it real. It challenges commercial hip hop and its constant support and exaggeration of the black street life. This is an important factor because commercial hip hop and underground hip hop have different value, goals, and techniques. These artists are viewed as "pimps," "thugs," and "gangbangers," but in reality, they haven't seen nearly as much action as they claim and are living a life contradictory to their music. The success of commercial hip hop influences other artists to exaggerate and create dishonest lyrics just for the success. The messages told through the music are altered to what they believe the audience wants to hear. But mainstream is not the problem; it is the quality of work mainstream produces. References to Danny Hoch's "Towards A Hip Hop Aesthetic: A Manifesto For The Hip-Hop Arts Movement," poor, low-key hip hop artists fought their way to the top. It isn't "selling out" because many want hip hop to take over and hold power. "Good hip hop is highly articulate, coded, transcendent, revolutionary, communicative, empowering," (Hoch) and with these characteristics, the hip hop artist is keeping it real.

Imitation #2 (1960's) The Four Tops, I Can't Help Myself

This song is a confessional about love. It uses lyrical poetry to explain his feeling for a women. He is telling this her he loves her and as he sings, puts stress on the words "I love you." The last two lines of each of the stanzas contain an end rhyme while the first two lines do not rhyme. Hyperbole is also used when referring to her picture and saying "and I kissed it a thousand times." It is stated for effect about how he feels for the picture. His love for her photograph is a symbol for his love for her. The picture is all he has of her when she is not around. After a few lines that are sung, they are repeated in the background or the other singers add "ooo"to continue the rhythm of the song and fill the spaces in between the lines.

Critique Langston Hughes, The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain

In this work, Langston Hughes expresses the way he perceives the connection between white men, upper class blacks, black artists, and traditional blacks. He claims that Black artists shouldn’t have any desire to live a white lifestyle or have any white influence at all. Blacks who live a more reserved life and choose white influenced entertainment and religion are losing their roots, and therefore cannot articulate a true African American background through art expression. Hughes believes that all upper or middle class Blacks lose the ability to be a true artist and isn’t proud of their ethnicity. He also believes that those who do stay true to their roots are the only ones that can be true black artists, but other Negros and Whites will not appreciate their works. Langston expresses this idea by using a high mountain as a metaphor. He compares the mountain to the life of Negro who chooses to have a White American lifestyle, which poses an obstacle for Black artists.Before the Harlem Renaissance, social status was still based on ethnicity and Blacks weren’t looked up to. Hughes speaks as if Blacks should remain poor and not change their character whatsoever. In modern day, no matter what ethnicity a person is, they can worship in different ways, express art in different ways, and live in different conditions. If a person is living the way they want to and isn’t influenced by fear, he is being true to himself. During Langston Hughes time, a Black person acting out of the ordinary and more in a “White man’s way”was being untrue to himself and afraid to be honest. It didn’t make sense to choose a white way of living when either way, the Black man would not be appreciated.

Imitation #1 Arna Bontempts, God Give To Men

In this poem, Arna Bontemps talks about the differences men of different ethnicities experience, comparing Asian, white, and black men and his wishes for each of them. The context behind this poem is the different privileges men have depending on their ethnicity – great harvest season for the Asians; jobs, authority, and objects of value to the White; and to allow Blacks to show emotion. Blacks are seen to have the least but be the least greedy. This is a confessional, sharing his wishes for others and himself.  This poem does not have a rhyme scheme. Arna Bontemps uses a metaphor when mentioning the “blue-eyed men.” A man of any ethnicity can have blue eyes but this clearly means white men because of the stereotype of blonde hair and blue eyes and the perfect man is Aryan. Bontempt used lyrical poetry to compose this piece, sharing his emotion and thoughts on how each race is perceived and his wishes for all men. He also uses figurative meaning to express his belief that blacks are humble and doesn’t ask for much. He mentions this through his list of wishes to God, also ending the poem with a wish that all ethnicities receive what they want.