Mos Def's verse in "Thieves in the Night" by BlackStar

Mos Def's verse in Blackstar's song Thieves in the Night, in my opinion, is a perfect example of a contemporary idea of what abolitionists and writers such as Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and Stokely Carmichael exuded in their lifetime of action. In the verse, Mos Def describes how blacks are and can appear to be invisible to the American Society's eye, with no chance of being their own self or individual with an independent voice of opinion. Instead, America, and even blacks themselves, have managed to identify and label blacks as trifling, no-good peoples with the terms of n*ggas or b*tches. Mos def goes on to explain through metaphoric detail that the American Government brainwashes the public and constantly feeds us lies through the media, in an attempt to lock you down under their control to do, act, perform, or abide in the ways that they choose to. Below you can find the direct link to the song, photo of the album cover, and lyrics of Mos Def's verse.

BlackStar- Thieves in the Night

>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjxtRehIz2Y <<<

[Mos Def]
Yo, I'm sure that everbody out listenin agree
That everything you see ain't really how it be
A lot of jokers out runnin in place, chasin the style
Be a lot goin on beneath the empty smile
Most cats in my area be lovin the hysteria
Synthesized surface conceals the interior
America, land of opportunity, mirages and camoflauges
More than usually -- speakin loudly, sayin nothin
You confusin me, you losin me
Your game is twisted, want me enlisted -- in your usary
Foolishly, most men join the ranks cluelessly 
Buffoonishly accept the deception, believe the perception
Reflection rarely seen across the surface of the lookin glass
Walkin the street, wonderin who they be lookin past
Lookin gassed with them imported designer shades on
Stars shine bright, but the light -- rarely stays on
Same song, just remixed, different arrangement
Put you on a yacht but they won't call it a slaveship 
Strangeness, you don't control this, you barely hold this
Screamin brand new, when they just sanitized the old shit
Suppose it's, just another clever Jedi mind trick
That they been runnin across stars through all the time with
I find it's distressin, there's never no in-between
We either niggaz or Kings
We either bitches or Queens
The deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
Long barrel automatics released in short bursts
The length of black life is treated with short worth
Get yours first, them other niggaz secondary
That type of illin that be fillin up the cemetary
This life is temporary but the soul is eternal
Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you
Not strong, only aggressive, cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will of the oppressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not live, we just excitin
Cause the captors.. own the masters.. to what we writin
Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained
Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game
Not good, but well behaved cause the ca-me-ra survey
most of the things that we think, do, or say
We chasin after death just to call ourselves brave
But everyday, next man meet with the grave
I give a damn if any fan recall my legacy
I'm tryin to live life in the sight of God's memory
Like that y'all

Mister Louis Armstrong - Mari Evans

Louis Armstrong is a familiar character in American History. His humble beginnings, the dulcet tones of his well-known cornet, that gravelly voice that brought a unique, unequalled character to the lyrics of “What a Wonderful World” and explored the varied, unused potential of human verbal sound, the massive, jubilant persona he embodied both as a performer, and as a member of society, his big smiles - “Master of the Pearly Whites” - and bigger soul, are all part of his image. His name, in context, instantly brings up these characteristics - they are tied to his face. This is the Louis Armstrong people remember, the one they know, the one they love and cherish, and for good reason. No one would argue against this - Louis was all these things, and more.

Louis, like many characters in history, was not without incident in his life. Well, one would say incident, but in his case, one could argue that Louis had an underwhelming lack of incidents - and that in itself was the incident. Louis was a black man in the middle of a tense time in American History. His experience during this era was incredibly unique for his demographic, as his popularity and familiarity with the white populations allowed him privileges that were, at the time, specific to those very white populations. He was notoriously silent in public on the subject of race, and the Civil Rights Movement - he would play to segregated crowds, wave off commentary on the Movement. His perceived neutrality earned him, among certain, harsh groups, the slandered name Uncle Tom, the archetypical, subservient to white, black man. The few events where he spoke out against government policy were national occasions that had reverberations rumoured to have been felt as far as the White House. In truth, he was a staunch supporter of the Movement - but he was a private supporter.

The poem is a commentary on this public ambiguity of his. He is said to be wearing a Dunbar’s mask, named after Dunbar himself, harking back to his poem “We Wear The Mask”, where I would highlight the following words: “We wear the mask that grins and lies/It hides our cheeks and shade our eyes” and “We sing, but oh the clay is vile”. The comparison to Armstrong is far from implausible, with grins being a signature action of the man, and of course, his singing an eerie mirror of Dunbar’s poem. It interprets his life as a constant struggle - an internal, but subdued and invisible outrage at the atrocities. However, his personal approach to the issue of inequality has been successful. The refrain repeated throughout is “MAN the operative word”, accentuating how society has come to regard him as a man, as a person, instead of a member of his race. His race was not the main, or even the defining, facet of his personality. He had “The power to make the substantive, final decisions”, when not many of his race could. Masked with his congeniality, he had attained this power. But at what cost, if any?

Discussion Questions:
Which character of the ones we’ve read is most similar to Louis? Elucidate.
In your opinion, what is more moral of a person in a public standing identical to Louis’ - silence except on specific, radical affronts to your politics, or a clear, established politic upon which you would constantly take a stand? Explicate.
Do you think people were justified in calling him Uncle Tom? Expostulate.
Do you believe Louis had any lasting effects in our modern, civilised society? De-mystify.

How well did I do on this presentation? Break it down for me.
Did I trip on my way up here? Give it to me straight.
Do I need new shoes? Put it in plain English. Hint: Say No.

"Mister Louis Armstrong" by Mari Evans

Master of the pearly whites - teeth Offense against the enemy, Defense against The pain....... Irrepressible Louie-man MAN the operative word Wanted to be his real self Wanted us to know his real self His invincible, unconquerable real self His straight man self MAN the operative word Later be singing riffs and jive talking, gapp’n with his antonyms, ‘n synonyms in his ‘oth-er-man’ hand MAN the operative word Said he Could always fall in the righteous groove, or- Could beef on back with Duke - virtual dictionary in his eyes-on-the-prize hand, pullin his ownself up Irrepressible jazzman MAN the operative word Went through life a double-man Wearing a Dunbar mask and soaring a Dubois song strong in his head “Pops” the irrepressible music man MAN the operative word A getting along, hear my song Trying t’love the world man A language man, creative with words A two-fingered blip, he said Reachin for the music hidden in his typewriter Singing on the keys, this is Lou-is world A writer, ax in hand

This jazzman, the irrepressible Louis-man MAN the operative word To finally triumph over the inhuman ways we become human... this hu-ed manchild From a south Dixie orphanage Dented coronet in hand tutored before he could escape In southern survival styles The only weapon they can’t take from you is your smile, boy, smile boy... Become man the hard way, boy with MAN, the operative word The ultimate goal - y’prize: The ability to choose The power to make the final substantive decisions The accomplishment: Man... the operative word Mister LOU IS Armstrong! Sweet Papa Dip - perfect rhythm, perfect pitch America’s gift to the world  International Ambassador of Music Irrepressible jazz man MAN the operative word...

Margaret Walker For My People

             Margaret Walker was a poet born in Birmingham, Alabama. As a child of a Methodist minister, her father, and a music teacher, her mother, she was taught philosophy and poetry by both her parents. Walker received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Northwestern University in 1935 and began working with the Federal Writers’ Project the next year. She also received her master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1942. In 1998 while on her final public appearance at the Gwendolyn Brooks Writers' Conference at Chicago State University, Walker was inducted into the African American Literary Hall of Fame. She died later that year from breast cancer.  

            For My People was the title poem, which helped elevate Walker toward success, in her first volume of poems, which won the Yale University Younger Poets award in 1942.

            In the second piece of the poem Walker gives us a sense of the hard work of African Americans during the 1930s. She finishes by saying “never gaining never reaping never knowing and never understanding,” to me this is saying that they are doing all this hard work and not really gaining anything out of it. By saying “never understanding” she is kind of showing that some people are ignorant and do not realize that all the work they are doing is not really gaining much for them.

            In the third piece of the poem Walker makes a reference to children and lists different things that they might have been doing, essentially all playing. She says they play a variety of things including “Miss Choomby and company.” In an interview about her poems, Walker says that her father said Miss Choomby “is an African word.” She goes on to say, “Miss Ann is the white lady, but Miss Choomby is the black lady. My sister and I played Miss Choomby.” When I read this I was reminded of Native Son when Bigger and Gus “play white” except that Walker is not playing white she is playing black. It is not very odd because people learn who they are at a young age so any kid will pretend to be something that they can relate to a little bit.

            In the sixth piece of the poem Walker mentions “47^th Street in Chicago and Lenox Avenue in New York and Rampart Street in New Orleans,” these are all historically significant places for African American business and music.

Do you think the poem was over all empowering for African Americans?

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xLufZOeziw

"I Used To Love H.E.R"

Common Sense or currently known as Common was born Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr was on March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois.  He is an African-American hip-hop artist and actor and is widely and mostly known for his positive and clean hip-hop style. He has been in the industry for 18 years and has received many awards for his work. One of Common’s biggest hits is “I used to love H.E.R” from the cd Resurrection. This song not only became a hit single but also started a feud with West Coast Rapper Ice Cube because his words spoke so much truth.

“I used to love H.E.R” is basically a song that personifies hip-hop and compares the degradation of a woman with the deterioration of hip hop music after its commercial success forced it into the mainstream. The song criticizes the direction that hip hop music was taking during the mid-1990s. It specifically refers to the fall of Afrocentric rap and the rising popularity of West Coast hip hop. I researched the acronym for H.E.R and it can stand of either of the following:  "Hearing every rhyme", therefore stating "I Used to
Love Hearing Every Rhyme and also Hip Hop in its Essence is Real."

I want to first point out the part where he says,

“Talkin' about popping glocks serving rocks and hitting switches
Now she’s a gangsta rolling with gangsta bitches
Always smokin’ blunts and getting drunk
Telling me sad stories, now she only fucks with the funk
Stressing how hard core and real she is
She was really the realest before she got into show-biz..”

He is talking about how now artists feel the need to feel tough and they stress how "gangster" and "hood" they are in every track, yet hip-hop was at its realest before it became a major trend. This is part of the song is what the west coast rappers had a problem with. They felt Common was degrading their rap style. And this is exactly what he was doing. He felt the materialistic things the West Coast rappers rapped about wasn’t real like hip-hop.

“

I did her, not just to say that I did it

But I'm committed, but so many niggaz hit it

That she's just not the same lettin all these groupies do her

I see niggaz slammin her, and takin her to the sewer"..

This is Common’s way of saying he made a commitment to hip-hop, how he stuck with it, grew with it, but never forgot his roots while he was growing. He grew with hip hop while preserving the realness of hip hop, while the other rappers came and deteriorated hip-hop with commercialism.

This song is featured in the movie Brown Sugar. This movie also personifies hip-hop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C99iG4HoO1c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxbF7T9FzEU&feature=relmfu

Questions:
1. Has hip-hop been deteriorated?
2. Why is the "westernized" way of hip-hop more appealing to the 21th century?
3. Has everyone accepted the west coast style of hip-hop over the "real" hip-hop?

Suggestions:
1.Talib Kweli
2.Mos Def
3.The Roots

 

makeup presentation-Cho

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.

Both of his parents and several other family members were members of the Black Panthers, and Tupac made reference to the organization in the song "Changes". Shakur was involved in a West-coast East-coast rivalry after a major feud with East-coast rappers, producers and record-label members of staff.

On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWs5r_BcnLk

Panther Power

OED: Black Panther, n.

2. U.S. Freq. with capital initials. A member of any of several militant political organizations set up to fight for black rights; esp. a member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in Oakland, California, in 1966. Also attrib., designating the party. Now hist.

The Oakland group was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, who modelled the organization on the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, an activist group in Alabama that had adopted a black panther as their symbol.

Introduction:

A certain question is always pushed away when people talks about the American dream.

How can we define The American dream, is it racism or is it just the capitalistic way to handle things in the U.S.A.

In the lyric Panther Power by Tupac Shakur, tries Tupac to describe the American dream, what it means to him, what promises the government gave him and at the end, what he ended up with.

Analysis:

In the beginning of the lyric the atmosphere is very tense. In the first line Tupac starts saying “As real as it seems the American dream, ain´t nothing but another calculated scheme”.

He describes how the white people locked the black people up, how the white people stole their names, their future, their freedom, education, equality all that they were promised.

He tells that the white people made them very dangerous, the reason why, was obviously that they couldn’t get a job or an education.

He says that they really tried to be patient, but how can a man/woman be

Essay #2 Idea! :)

In this essay I would like to explore the invisibility of the black man in America. Using both Invisible Man and Native Son, I want to analyze how the black man in America is often seen more as an object rather a person. Both Invisible Man and Bigger Thomas were black men in America who were trying to either run away from being black or attempting to fit the stereotype of being black. I think it is important to analyze both I.M.'s and Bigger's decisions in order to understand their "invisibility" in America. I think it will be interesting to look at both men’s situation and pinpoint the reason the authors decided to take a certain path. For this essay I believe it is important to take a look at the authors simply because they are the keys to their characters decisions. Also for clarification, I do not just want to speak about the black man’s “invisibility,” I believe it is important to also discuss the “invisibility” of the black person in general. In my class presentation I mentioned the current Trayvon Martin case. This case is a great example of the visible racism and invisibility blacks still face.  I would like to use this source and another similar case to defend my conclusions on why I.M. and Bigger Thomas made the decisions they did. I decided to write about both Invisible Man and Native Son because I think they both parallel each other in a way. Bigger Thomas was kind of set up in a situation to fail, while I.M. was given all the tools he needed to succeed, but still managed to find a way to fail. After I get all the logistics worked out, I think this idea has the potential to be a very enlightening view of the state of “invisibility” in America past and present.

Essay 2 Idea

I want write about how power high African Americans get when they earn some sort of high position. I want to particularly focus on Invisible Man and how Dr. Bledsoe character is an example of how a black person uses their power in a negative aspect. I believe some African Americans are so caught up on the advancement of themselves that they forget to uplift their culture, race, and community with them. Some people in the black race would also run over, degrade, and cheat their own race for their own advancement. This selfish quality is what Dr.Bledsoe exudes. He basically tells Invisible Man that he’d rather watch black men be lynched in a country town before he gives up his power and authority. This characteristic is still in many African Americans still to the day. Because of this, the black race suffers and has trouble advancing in the community and in society.

Essay # 2 Ideas (Raw Ideas)

Idea# 1: 
I am interested in the idea that Bigger is used as a representation of the black community and black men, even though he is really just a 20 year old man with issues handling his own cowardice. In order to do that I would have to find sources that make that claim and then critique them. My fear is that the paper would end up becoming more about the critique rather than about Bigger's character and Wright's writing.


Idea# 2:
I am fascinated with poetry from the Harlem renaissance. I did my blog presentation on Langston Hughes but i never got to touch on any of the authors we read and I would like to write about the themes in those writings and the way poetic language was so closely related to music at the time. Each of the three authors (Hughes, Cullen, Hurston) had different themes in their writing with different messages, but they all seemed to share that connection with musical structure. I am interested particularly in the critiques and ideas of literary scholars of their writings and would include those in my essay.

Essay 2 idea

For my Essay 2, I am focusing on Alain Locke’s "New Negro". In the article, “Alain Locke and Community”, Leonard Harris argues that “ Locke’s ethical and conceptual paradox is resolved by considering the relationship between instincts and particular social groups as asymmetrical”(239). Conversely, in his article, “Alain Locke: Ambivalence and Hope”, Mark Helbling argues “Locke seeks to locate at the root of individual perception and evaluation elemental states of feelings common to mankind. Thus is the subjective universe of human meaning seen to have an underlying coherence and order”(295). Helbling and Harris have opposing views. According to the OED, the word asymmetrical means, “Not symmetrical, out of proportion, with the parts not arranged correspondingly.” He argues that social groups and their instincts don’t match, and therefore there cannot be a sense of “coherence and order” like Helbling argues. According to the OED, the word coherence means “The action or fact of cleaving or sticking together; cohesion.” He argues that Locke writes about a cohesive mankind, while Harris advocates for an unmatched society and instincts.