GWSS 241 Blog Post #3

Arjun Sen

GWSS 241
5/20/20

Blog Post 3

Kevin Young's "Final Chorus" is an expansive history of hip-hop, black culture, and the societal impacts of both on mainstream consciousness. What I found the most compelling from this was an excerpt from Jay-Z's book Decoded, where the persona created by any rapper, at the core, is representative of who they are. But the core is developed, expanded, and compounded on by the rapper through their art and creativity. Jay-Z compares this persona to a mask, where the artist can be anyone they want, but must try not to succumb to temptation to become something you aren't. I found this to be highly insightful into people's day-to-day lives, both on social media and in real-life interactions, where people expand on their core beliefs and ideas by who they represent themselves to be. In their interactions with others, and through social media, people can create their own persona, limited only by their imagination and ability to communicate. I realized that Jay-Z's insights were just as relevant to the real world as they are in hip-hop

Daphne Brooks' article, “How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution”, follows a similar vein of exploring hip-hop's history through activism in the 21st century. Brooks cites the Black Lives Matter movement as deeply influential to modern black artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce, who were able to craft acclaimed conceptual albums such as Lemonade and To Pimp A Butterfly that told compelling narratives of violence, racism, and other issues affecting members of the black community throughout the world.

DJ Selections:

Kendrick Lamar: The Blacker The Berry- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdPtVZDspIY

Kanye West: Black Skinhead- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhvMrRgemN8

The Black The Berry is a deeply touching song representing the struggles and hatred faced by African Americans on a daily basis, and explores how people are jealous of successful black artists and hate them for being able to achieve fame

Black Skinhead, from Kanye West's Yeezus, is a perfect example of how a persona can be created based on core beliefs. West, a deeply controversial artist, brings an entirely new, manic energy to this song, using his imagination and vision to craft an entirely new persona for this album. However, he is still the same at his core, and does not stray from his core beliefs.