For my Passion Blog, I have decided to write about old school classic hip hop culture, scandals associated with them, and the influence it has had on the current generation.
For my Civic Issues Blog, I will be conducting research about climate change. I could look into what the government is doing for it and what they could be doing more of. Along with that, I could talk about the impacts being made on the daily that could be easily avoided.
URL: http://sites.psu.edu/joshmicivicissues/
On April 16th, 2019, Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor, John Fetterman visited Penn State University on his recently launched statewide listening tour on recreational marijuana legalization. He specified how he was only there to collect feedback and hear all sides of the story from residents across the state.
One of the first people to speak at the open mic event was a former policeman. Over the course of his career, he had arrested over 400 drunk drivers, but never once arrested an individual under the influence of marijuana. This seemed to be a popular argument on why marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana is not known to cause people to become aggressive or harmful.
When deadly opioids and addictive drugs are legal and even prescribed by pharmaceutical companies, it is hard to ignore how the drug industry is simply making a profit from those who fall prey to these substances. Another speaker who came up to the mic talked about how she had been struggling with such addictive drugs that were prescribed to her by her doctor. One she experimented with marijuana, she was able to sly away from those drugs while getting the pain relief that she needed in the first place.
As people discover the benefits of marijuana and the lack of serious side effects, they begin to use the substance. Unfortunately, this has led to an increased incrimination rate. There are countless people who have been arrested for such a victimless act. Once these people get released from jail, they are not able to get a job since it taints their record. A popular suggestion at this discussion was erase all marijuana related charges from those who have been accused. The aftermath of such an accusation caused way more harm than good.
Although the support for legalizing marijuana was high, many people came forward with the concern that, this will cause the price of it to rise. The audience encouraged Fetterman to fight the inflation that would be enforced on marijuana priced once it is legalized. Many came forward with how the recreational use of marijuana had helped them get their life on track. However, if it becomes in-affordable, they will have no choice but to return to where they started.
Opposition to the legalization of marijuana claimed how marijuana makes people “unproductive and lazy”. This person had a negative experience with marijuana because it made him lose the motivation he needed in life. To this, many replied that this depended on the person using it. The people should use it responsibly so that it gave them more benefits than harm.
Overall, Fetterman’s discussion showed how majority of the public favored the legalization of marijuana and how it had positively impacted all of their lives. Through this discussion, I was able to better understand the implications and benefits of legalizing marijuana. Fetterman explicitly said that he was in favor of legalizing the plant, however, he said that his policies are simply in the exploratory phase. So, he was not able to contribute much, except for listening to those who had opinions.
Marshall Bruce Mathers was born in 1972 in Missouri. He had a turbulent childhood as his father abandoned the family when he was an infant. As a single mother, Deborah Mathers struggled to hold down a job for too long. As a result, they moved between Missouri and Michigan frequently and resorted to public housing projects. Not only was his living situation difficult, but so was his social life. Every time he moved to a new school, he would get “beat up in bathrooms, beat up in hallways, and shoved into lockers.” His tumultuous childhood impacted his personality largely. A lot of his earlier project speak of the obstacles and struggles he had to endure.
Eminem has been very critical of the way his mother raised him. Through his song lyrics, he has publicly accused her of being addicted to prescription drugs as well as subjecting him to emotional and physical abuse.
Eminem attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, where he failed the ninth grade three times and eventually dropped out at the age of 17. You’ve probably heard of Eminem studying the dictionary to expand his vocabulary. Well, despite being a poor student, Eminem always had a deep affinity for language. He loved comic books and often studied the dictionary.
As a teenage dropout, Eminem found a way to express his passion for language, as well as to release his youthful anger, through the emerging genre of hip-hop. He identified with the rage of late-1980s and early-1990s rap music, and he was especially taken with NWA, a popular and highly controversial gangster rap crew from Los Angeles.
Although at the time rap music was almost exclusively produced by the African American community, Eminem entered into the Detroit rap scene anyway as a frequent competitor in rap battles. Eminem proved highly skilled at such verbal sparring and, despite his race, quickly became one of the most respected figures in Detroit’s underground rap scene.
Mathers took on the stage name M&M, for Marshall Mathers, which he later began writing phonetically as “Eminem.” This period in Eminem’s life where he was working odd jobs to make ends meet while participating in rap battles and desperately attempting to land a record contract, was later dramatized in Eminem’s semi-autobiographical film, 8 Mile. Definitely a must watch in my opinion. It was also during this period that Eminem began dating Kim Ann Scott, and in 1995 the couple had a daughter named Hailie Jade Scott.
A year later, however, Eminem released The Slim Shady EP, which was discovered by Dr. Dre, the legendary rapper and former producer of Eminem’s favorite rap group NWA. This heavily hyped record became an instant success and went on to sell over three million copies.
Although he has slowed down on his music output, Eminem continues to dabble in the music industry and is still mentioned as one of the greatest, self made, rappers of all time.
Designer Marc Jacobs dressed his models for his 2017 women’s fashion show in tracksuits with thick gold chains, retro style coats and eccentric headwear as an ode to hip-hop’s early days in the late 1970s and early 80’s. Jacobs stated that he was inspired by the 2016 Netflix documentary Hip-Hop Evolution. This documentary traces the hip-hop music genre from the 70’s through the 1990’s. This documentary goes hand in hand with some of the concepts that I have spoken about in my past blogs. It clearly draws out how impactful this culture has become to modern day youth, as evident in the inspirations drawn by renowned designers. Several hip-hop icons tell their stories and experiences in this Netflix documentary series. Shad Kabango hosts this Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series. He brings together and converses with some of the most well-known luminaries and legends of hip-hop throughout the series.
While watching this documentary, the segment on Grandmaster flash was especially interesting to me because I was able to see how he innovated such a complicated concept, that eventually became very popular. Kabango introduces Flash as “The real technical innovator, because what he did, was he made that whole looping thing with the break beats super smooth.”
In the early days of hip-hop, it was all about the DJ. The person with the microphone was just there to hype up the crowd. That soon evolved into couplets and short rhymes, expanding in to crews of multiple emcees with increasingly elaborate routines. But hip-hop was still considered spontaneous and something that was meant to be experienced in the moment. “Hip-hop at that time was a spontaneous thing,” Shad said. “A lot of the people at the forefront at that time in the Bronx and in Harlem; they didn’t really imagine this being something you could capture on record.”
That all changed in 1979 when producer Sylvia Robinson gathered three kids from New Jersey in a studio to rhyme over the groove from Chic’s “Good Times.” The result was “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang, and it exposed the world outside New York City to hip-hop, selling millions of copies.
An American hip-hop group from, yet again, … wait for it, wait for it…. Staten Island, New York City (NYC forever woo). East Coast rappers RZA, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God and Masta Killa make up the global rap phenomenon, the Wu-Tang Clan. The rise of the West Coast shifted the hip-hop spotlight from the East coast in the early 90’s for the first time since South Bronx’s Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube and 2 Pac in the 70’s. The East Coast responded with its own brand of hardcore rap. Wu-Tang started a new, unexpected movement out of Staten Island.
According to GZA, the first time he ever went into the studio was with Dirty Bastard in 1984, when they recorded True Fresh MC. Shortly after, their cousin Robert Diggs and many other aspiring rappers joins in. By 1992, RZA’s trademark was fully formed.
Protect Ya Neck was released in 1993 and this is what changed everything for this group.
This song made them the most talked about new group in New York City’s hardcore, underground rap scene. The success of “Protect Ya Neck” led to a signing with Loud Records, and the group set to work on their debut. Wu-Tang Clan would come to epitomize a rebirth of rap for New York City. Their rap reflected the Staten Island lifestyle: “Bring Da Ruckus” was recorded in an elevator shaft, Ghostface Killah stole canned goods to feed the group during marathon recording sessions etc. The lyrics embodied events that were raw.
Enter the Wu-Tang was a debut studio album released on November 9th, 1993. The distinctive sound from this album created a blueprint by which many artists would rise to fame. Wu-Tang was the poster boy for hardcore hip hop in the 1990’s, which brought New York City back hip hop back to the spotlight. The explicit, funny and carefree lyrics encouraged more rappers to step out of their comfort zones. Nas, B.I.G., Mobb Deep and Jay-Z undeniably sought influence from Wu-Tang.
There was word on June 25, 2018, that Wu-Tang may be working on a new album for their 25th anniversary. I’m excited to see what they have in store.
There’s no way you wouldn’t at least hum under your breath when “My baby don’t mess around. Cause she loves me so. This I know fo sho!” starts playing. Well, this extremely loved and popularized song is brought to you by non other than Outkast.
Outkast? huh? Who’s that?
This is a popular response I’ve gotten when people find out who exactly made this very popular song.
Outkast was an American hiphop duo formed in 1992 in East Point, Georgia. Andre Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton, were Atlanta-based rappers who rose to fame from the mid 90’s to the early 2000’s. Their seemingly lighthearted music popularized Southern hip hop while also dabbling in sounds of funk, psychedelia, jazz and techno.
I say “seemingly” because under every light hearted, poppy beat, the Outkast sang about daunting life events and struggles everyone could relate to.
“Ya’ll don’t wanna hear me, you just wanna dance.”
Andre, or Dre, and Big Boi formed this group as high school students. They released their debut album Southernplsyslisticadillacmuzik in 1994 which became popular because of the single Player Ball, which hit number one on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks.
One of my favorites of their 2000 release is definitely Ms. Jackson, which was one of the singles that contributed to their fame. In September 2003, the duo released the double album Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below, which is the album that featured Hey Ya and The Way You Move. This album eventually won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The soundtrack for the 2006 musical film Idlewild would be the last project Outkast would put out together before they ventured out chose to pursue their own solo careers. Although they held a reunion at the Coachella Festival in April 2014 for their anniversary, they never got back together as a duo. They would both continue to release solo projects and albums.
Nevertheless, Outkast is one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time. They received a total of six Grammy Awards, six studio albums, and a greatest hits release. They have also sold over 25 million records throughout their career. Additionally, they were featured on Rolling Stone and Pitchfork Media for a few of their albums. Rolling Stones described their music as “idiosyncratic” and “inspired by the Afrocentric psychedelics of George Clinton and Sly Stone.” They were praised for their unique sound.
What interests me about this duo is how, unlike other artists I’ve mentioned, they seem to have a “different story” that the others. And just a random fact, Big Boi graduated high school with a 3.68 GPA and planned on pursuing Child-Development Psychology, but chose to pursue rap instead.
Establishing the rules and expectations at a deliberation is one of the most crucial things to be done, since this factor could influence the discussion in a severe way. Gastil’s criteria for deliberative discussion highlights extremely important factors a successful deliberation should possess. These criteria were observable throughout the deliberation of my group, Plastic State University, and in the deliberation Pour Decisions, led by my classmates.
While deliberating, moderators are prompted to keep their opinions to themselves in order to promote a comforting environment for all opinions. Prioritizing key values at stake is a criteria that was crucial in creating this environment. By reflecting on our own values, as well as the values of others, we were able to accept any opinions that went against our personal values. Although most of Plastic State University participants leaned towards pro-sustainability, there were minor ideas that were presented during the discussion that I had to listen to patiently instead of turning them down right away. For instance, it was mentioned that it is acceptable for a student to disregard any attempt at being sustainable if it was not convenient to them. I believe that the student should at least consider trying it out first before they turn the idea down completely. Nevertheless, I attempted to understand their values and point of view in order to create a welcoming environment.
Compared to the Plastic State University deliberation, the “Pour” Decisions deliberation had a different dynamic regarding this criteria. As this topic directly related to the college lifestyle, many of the participants had different ideals compared to the deliberators. The group was quick to jump on the negative aspects of all the approaches that were suggested. This may have been because some students favored the presence of alcohol in their college lifestyle. In specific, a participant was a member of a sorority. According to her, alcohol is an undeniable staple at any event on the weekend. Her strong association with alcohol led her to not prioritize the values of those who did not consume alcohol as much.
Another criteria that I observed in Plastic State University, as well as Pour Decisions, was that they both identified a broad range of solutions. Both deliberations presented their audience with numerous approaches that could be taken to help progress their initiative. The Plastic State deliberation presented solutions that ranged from easy to implement, to initiative that would take a lot a more time and effort. For instance, both deliberations proposed the initiative to begin educating the community on their issue. This campaign is easy to implement and would not take much funding. In contrast, both deliberations proposed approaches that would be harder to implement. Imposing a plastic tax would be something that would require the abilities of people at a higher standing. For the Pour Decisions deliberation, a “truth-style” campaign would require a lot more time and energy.
As several approaches were introduced, both deliberations set aside time to discuss both the pros and cons for each. Both deliberations had at least two moderators for each approach so that they could alternate between discussing the pros and cons. For the tax approach, Plastic State University discussed how implementing a penalty would bring about immediate results, however, a con would be that if it was ever removed, people would return to their original behavior. The Pour Decisions deliberation also discussed the pros and cons of each approach. For example, they mentioned how a “truth-style” campaign would be attention-catching since it was a new idea. They continued to mention some drawbacks such as how the negative tone of the campaign may not be as effective as a positive tone. Weighing the pros and cons among solutions allowed for a non biased discussion that would determine if the approach was practical to implement.
Some other criteria the deliberation of Plastic State University utilized were adequately distributing speaking opportunities, ensuring mutual comprehension, and respecting other participants. Throughout our deliberation, we timed how much each moderator would speak so that one person did not over-power other participants or even their fellow moderators. Each introductory monologue was also limited to 15-20 minutes to allow enough time for participants to voice their opinions. Additionally, the team agreed on the topics that were going to be discussed prior to the deliberation. This ensured mutual comprehension amongst the group. Finally, it was made apparent that respect was to be an undeniable aspect of our deliberation. Our group consciously made sure that everyones opinions and valued were respected.
With a smile contagious enough to brighten the worst days, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, is hands down one of the most influential artists in hip hop. He combines a sort of neo-psychedelic and spacey sound with rap and creates some serious soul searching music. Honestly, Kid Cudi is the genre himself. Aside from this reason, I took an interest in his music because he spoke about things other than sex, money, and the works. He rapped about his life, his struggles, and the way the world works or seems to conspire against him. Cudi has a way of taking a deep thought that is hard to vocalize and forming it into words. I was not a hip-hop person at all, but after hearing Cudi you realize rap holds more meaning than some of the mainstream, seemingly vulgar songs.
Cudi was featured on a Ted Talk (which I highly recommend you watch at least once in your life), that truly highlights everything he stands for and everything that pushes him to become a better person.
This video is hands down a go to for anyone who needs a little pick me up. And that is exactly what Scott does through his music. He inspires and pushes his audience to try and be the best they can be because he struggled with doing that as well.
“At one point I didn’t feel like I was smart enough to pass that test, or I didn’t feel like I was smart enough to go to this college. With music it was like, nobody’s going to take that from me.”
When he was eleven years old, Cudi’s father died of cancer. This had a significant effect on Cudi’s personality and his expression of creativity through music. He had many falling outs during his life, like getting expelled from high school, dropping out of University of Toledo, and being at a loss of what he wanted to do with his life.
However, the music career he slowly ventured towards in the end of his high school career blossomed when he moved to New York. He kept consistent and created many tracks. Kanye West is one of Cudi’s most impactful mentors who he met as a BAPE employee in Clevelend, when he forgot to remove an anti-theft device from a jacket West had purchased. When Cudi began putting his music out, Kanye quickly took notice and took him under his wings. Day ‘n’ Night was one of the well known songs of his that impressed Kanye. He wrote the song after his uncle kicked him out of his house when he had no where to go.
The extremely relatable values and message Cudi sings about makes him one of the greatest artists of all time. He has a way of putting into words thoughts that are impossible to voice.
Song Recommendations:
Pursuit of Happiness
Soundtrack to my Life
Day ‘n’ Night
Frequency
Too Bad I Have To Destroy You Now
We’re ganna throw it back again to, yet another, old soul who influenced hip hop to become what it is today. Christopher George Latore Wallace. More commonly known as Biggie, Biggie smalls, or The Notorious B.I.G. If you’re wondering how he got his name, it’s really as simple as it sounds. His childhood friends nicknamed him “Big” for being, well..chunkier than the others. It was also the name of a gang leader character in Let’s Do It Again. Smalls was from New York and had almost single-handedly reinvented East Coast hip hop. His raps were mainly focused on the vulnerabilities and difficulties of the hustler lifestyle he was sort of born into.
He began getting involved in this lifestyle fairly early. He began selling drugs around the age of 12 near his mom’s apartment since she would be working most of the day. He would eventually quit school to pursue this lifestyle and make it permanent. However, it wouldn’t be long before he started getting in trouble with the law. He received various probationary sentences for drug dealing, weapons-possession charges and such things.
Biggie began rapping a little later, as a teenager, to entertain people in his neighborhood. Once he got out of jail for the various charges, he made his first demo tape under his new name, Biggie Smalls. Although he had no intentions of pursuing a career in music initially, once The Source magazine got a hold of his raps and was impressed by them, they profiled Biggie in the Unsigned Hype column in March 1992. From there Biggie quickly noticed the interest people took in his music and the potential a music career had. Biggie was invited to record with various other unsigned rappers. Eventually, he would join Bad Boy Records and shoot to fame. He styled himself as a gangster and rapped about that lifestyle. Although he was no angel, I think Biggie was a lot like Tupac, in that he had he was just trying to make the best out of the life he was given. He did not have much of a choice but to get involved in the dangerous lifestyle at the time in New York. Tupac and Biggie were actually good friends until they had a fall out which would turn them against each other.
Biggie was one of the OG’s that definitely lived a life way too short. He was merely 24 years old when he was gunned down in 1997 in Los Angeles. Just like the mysteries surrounding Tupacs death, the specifics of Biggie’s death are still murky.
Starting as the “easy Mac with the cheesy raps,” who was a frat boy go-to at day longs, to becoming an authentic voice that spoke of the rawness of life, Mac Miller was the epitome of a kid just trying to figure life out. He is one person I will always regret never getting to experience in real life.
I have to come clean and say that I was not always a fan. Mac’s initial persona of a peppy, frat boy from Pittsburgh, who sang about girls and parties, was just too mainstream to enjoy outside of parties. But, playing Senior Skip Day on a good sunny day makes me feel guilty that I ever criticized him for being.. well, carefree and happy.
He was just enjoying life, telling us to “ummmm… follow your dreams?.” This statement at the beginning of the track The Spins shows how he was really just a kid, unsure himself, trying to “enjoy the best things in life, cause [we] ain’t ganna get to live it twice.” He ecstatically sings about life as he graduates high school and finally gets to embark the vicarious life of college and rap. And his 2011 album Best Day Ever, highlights his rise to stardom as he has a sort of ‘rags to riches’ moment. Even if you’ve never voluntarily listened to a Mac Miller song before, you’ve definitely heard Donald Trump, a single off of Best Day Ever, that became extremely popular during Trump’s campaign five years later which was mocked by the current president himself. Just to clear things up, Mac was referring to the pre-presidential, business magnate Donald Trump in the money inspired song which highlighted Mac’s ambitions to become wealthy and successful like Trump. Despite some criticism, Mac sings “no matter where life takes me, find me with a smile. Pursuit to be happy, only laughing like a child…Life couldn’t get better. This gon’ be the best day ever.”
I wish I didn’t just brush him off during this part of his career because there was this innocence and carefree-ness that sort of just slipped away as “adulthood” settled in. Things definitely got knotty for him as he shot to fame. Criticism and confusion on where his career was going, along with his “frat-rap” association, probed him to turn to promethazine. Although he eventually kicks this habit, that will not be his last interaction with hard drugs. Either way, he ditches Pittsburgh for glamorous Los Angeles, where he begins to hang with a few of the “big dog” collectives, such as Odd Future and Kendrick Lamar. Mac’s sophomore album in 2013, Watching Movies With the Sound Off, begins to showcase the artist’s newly found musical maturity and even a sense of pain from the bad year that passed. The song REMember, was not only a dedication to Ruben Eli Mitrani, a friend of his who passed, but it was also when Mac vocalizes his realization that he isn’t a kid anymore. He could no longer do reckless things and turn out fine at the end of the day.
“I know I’ve been the shit. All this people full of me..It’s a dark science when your friends start dying. Like how could he go? He was part lion.” He comes to the realization that he is no longer invincible, which every teen comes to at some point.
Mac debuts his creaky, wailing singing voice in this album, which sits deep with me. His self-awareness and open honesty about his struggles began attracting a new fanbase. As a dark world of depression and addiction settled on Mac, he began producing smooth, intimate, jazzy sounds. A large part of his current fanbase, including me, really began appreciating him during The Third Act, with The Devine Feminine, and Swimming. These recent albums spoke about love (Devine Feminine) and self care (Swimming). The Third act really signified the growth of an angsty teen into a functional adult who is somewhat lost.
Listening to Come Back to Earth on Swimming is somber because it is one of the best examples of how lost he had become. He lays himself out by saying, “I just need a way out of my head,” Although the song features some aspects of the peppy Mac, he returns to “I was drowning, but now I’m swimming.” Even at some of his desperate times, he had hope. This showed in the jazzy, melodies of his somber songs. And that is what infatuated me. It was almost as if he entered the jazzy section of a record shop, collects chaotic samples out of the music, records bass, piano and drums, and in the end, pulls these disparate elements together to create a masterpiece of turmoil yet peace.
Unfortunately, these would be some of the final albums he’d release. Mac’s struggle with addiction and depression would take over his life. He passed away on September 7th, 2018, due to an accidental Fentanyl, Cocaine overdose.
There are many lessons, good and bad, that I take from the life Mac lived. It’s sad to see how as the innocence he was criticized for disappeared, he slipped into a somber and helpless world. He reminds me to never forget who I am at heart.
Keep smiling Mac, just as you continue to make us smile.