All Falls Down Analysis

Kanye West was born June 8th, 1977 in Atlanta Georgia. His parents divorced when he was 3 and he lived with his mother in Chicago, Illinois. He dropped out of college due to poor grades and a desire to make it in the music industry. Kanye initially produced big hits for stars like jay-z, Talib Kweli, cam'ron, paul wall, Common and many others. He couldn't find a record deal because most labels saw him as a producer not a rapper. He eventually signed a deal and released his 1st cd entitled, The College Dropout. It contained hit songs like, All Falls Down, and Jesus Walks.
All Falls down in a very touching song about Kanye's view of life and how people are very self conscience. He uses some literary devices to make his point, in the first verse,"Couldn't afford a car so she named her daughter Alexus'" This a pun, he is saying that she can't afford a car so what she did was name her daughter a car. It is the closest thing she can get. In the second verse he says, "Prettiest people do the ugliest things." That is a overused saying, it is always said but it can also be considered a paradox because pretty and ugly are two opposite things. In the third and final verse West sums it all up and says that, "We all self conscious I'm just the first to admit it." This song is about the people in the world, everyone is self conscience but they act like everything is fine. The truth is everyone cares.

Dead Presidents II analysis

Dead Presidents II
Jay-Z


Shawn Corey Carter was born December 4th, 1969, he is best known for his stage name, Jay-Z. He is the former CEO of Def Jame records and currently partly owns the New Jersey Nets, and owns the 40/40 club. Jay-Z has a net worth of 587 million dollars, the most for any rapper. He married Beyonce Knowles April 4, 2008. He has produced 11 articles in his career and he is on the verge of a 150 million dollar partnership with LiveNation. His First Album entitled "Reasonable Doubt" contained many big hits but Dead Presidents II was one of the biggest.
The song is about the Drug Dealing Underworld Jay-Z uses some good literary terms in this song but a lot of the song is pretty straight-forward, the most common term he uses is similes. There are 4 similes in this song. In the first verse he says, "By the ounce dough accumulate like snow." He is comparing him money piling up like snow piles up in a storm. The only other literary term in a paradox. He says "I was crazy straight." This contradicts itself because crazy means nuts or not all there, but straight means good mind, and having a good head on your shoulders. This first verse is Jay-Z reliving his life in the slums of Brooklyn where he grew up. He talks about how he has made it to the big show, they, "Don't shine they illuminate."
In the second verse Jay really breaks out the literary tricks, he uses a lot of metaphors and allusions and similes. "Roll like Monopoly" this is an obvious simile referring to the game monopoly and how he rolls. He also talks about white crystals, which is an allusion to Meth or Cocaine. Right after that line he uses a simile to compare the crystals to copycats. He is talking about how when he was dealing drugs there were a lot of people who would copy him and take his sales ect. Later in the verse he uses a metaphor, "I got a good life man, pounds and pence Nuff dollars make sense, while you ride the bench." He is comparing himselg being a big player to the other guy riding the bench and not "playing." This is all an allusion to a sport, it could be basketball, baseball, or football, it isn't very specific. But then he clears it up in the next line where he says, "got me swinging for the fence." This allusion is about baseball. "Eleven sixty to show, my doe flip like Tae-Kwon." This simile refers to his doe flipping, tae-kwon. Tae-Kwon is a martial art that involves flipping an jumping. "Heavy spenders like hit records: Roc-A-Fella." This simile refers to heavy spenders and hit records.
This song is filled with lyrical content and Jay-Z has a very sophisticated rhyme scheme, on the song rate chart this single scored a 94, which is the highest rating i have ever given a song. The song name is a allusion but I honestly don't know what it alludes to. I really like this song and i think i made a good decision picking it.

No Matter What analysis

T.I is a southern rapper known for his swagger, cockiness and huge hits. The single No Matter What was a song that profiled T.I throughout his hard times. He accused of buying unliscensed weapons from an undercover officer. He is taking it all in stride and No Matter What is a song explaining how he does that. He uses a lot of slang, allusions and similes/metaphors to shown his point of view.
In the first verse he says, "believe me, pains a small thing to a giant." This is a metaphor comparing himself as a giant and pain unaffecting him. He is saying that he has so much stress but he, "smiles like it all fine." He is going through a lot and he asks how he does it. He makes a lot of allusions to God. He says God is the reason he is still here.
In the second verse he says that he "avoids insanity manage to conquer any obstacle making impossible possible." This is another reference to God. Another allusion he says that God allows him to avoid insanity whicle being locked up in "mi casa." And again when he says, "God'll take through hell just to get you to heaven." I don't agree with T.I here. I get the feeling that he is saying God is just taking me through Hell but I will get to heavin. T.I has been arrested multiple times and hasn't been the best person throughout the years. He is giving an excuse for his bad ways. The last poetic device he uses in the second verse is a simile,"But when life through punches counter and block it like a boxer do." He is comparing life throwing punches like a boxer. Which is a pretty good line.
In the last verse T.I is pretty straight forward, he uses a metaphor saying,"I will weather whatever stoem make it out without a bruise." He is comparing life to a storm and he will make it out just fine. This song is one of T.I softer songs and he really means what he is saying.

Keep Ya Head Up

Keep Ya Head Up by Tupac Shakur has often been referred to as one of the deepest rap songs ever written and it addresses issues concerning women, especially poor black women. The chorus is from the 5-stairsteps 1 hit wonder, Ooh0-child. It was first recorded in his 1993 album. It peaked at number 12 on the billboard Hot 100 chart. It is a motivational song that many people can relate to and it shows Tupac's softer side.

In the first line 2pac uses a metaphor to start the song off, "some say the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice." This relates his race and says that african americans are equal. This whole song is about how females are mistreated. He says, " i know they like to beat you down a lot." He is referring to us, males. We don't believe that women are equal to us men and it is wrong. Tupac states that he cares. He also says that women are the ones who have the kids. You cant tell them when or where to have a baby. He says that the worst thing is when," your son wonders why daddy dont love him no mo'." In my opinion it is the worst thing to leave a women on her own to raise and support a baby.

Tupac also talks about his mother. He is remorseful that he argues about curfew and tried drugs. His mom almost "lost her life" trying to raise him. " it is time to kill for our women" He suggests that instead of being rude and disrespectful, we give our lives to protect them. 

At the end of the song he uses a paradox saying that, "Dying inside but on the outside you look fearless."  He is commenting that women have the whole world on the shoulders. They always have to "keep ya head up." Times can be tough but we all came from women and got our name from our women. So let's not treat women with disrespect.

Sentence Forms in Jesus walks

Kanye West was born June 8th, 1977 in Atlanta Georgia. His parents divorced when he was 3 and he lived with his mother in Chicago, Illinois. He dropped out of college due to poor grades and a desire to make it in the music industry. Kanye initially produced big hits for stars like jay-z, Talib Kweli, cam'ron, paul wall, Common and many others. He couldn't find a record deal because most labels saw him as a producer not a rapper. He eventually signed a deal and released his 1st cd entitled, The College Dropout. It contained hit songs like, All Falls Down, and Jesus Walks.

The single, "Jesus Walks" by Kanye West is a very motivational song which Kanye West is talking to God. He uses varying sentence patterns. He uses gerund phrases, repetition of Key Phrases and Object and complement out of order. 

The first gerund phrase is. "Saying, we eat pieces of s*** like you for breakfast." It is a gerund phrase because the verb say is being used as a noun.

The second sentence form is repetition of keys terms. " Jesus walks, Jesus walks, Jesus walks with us." The main point is repeated because it is meant to get the point across. Like the old saying, repetition is the father of learning, the same is true for this song. He is repeating what is important to him.  

The last sentence form is Complement out of order. At the end of the first verse Kanye says, " But I"ll be gone 'til November I got packs to move I hope." You could put the I hope in the front of the sentence and it would say, " i hope i'll be gone 'til November, I got packs to move. The object is out of order.

As you can see, Kanye West uses a lot of different sentence types to convey his thought from his mind to the paper. His style has been very effective and is recognized as one of the greatest rappers of all time.

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Diction

The Artist Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, is notoriously known as a rapper whose lyrics are highly protested and analyzed. Eminem's smash hit album ,Encore, the F.B.I looked into a possibility that Eminem was threatening the President of the United States. Saying, " F**** money/ I dont rap for dead presidents/ i'd rather see the president dead/ it's never been said but i set precedents." So as you can see Eminem is a controversial, sometimes political rapper. But the diction, or choice of words, Eminem uses differ from song to song. For example in the smash hit, lose yourself, there is  very heavy lyrical content, but in the song, Mockingbird, there is a calm melody almost like a bedtime tune.  Like every artists eminem refuses to be recognized, he has his angry songs and fun goofy songs. 

In Lose Yourself, Eminem has a rough tone, you can really hear the venom in his voice. The songs starts kind of slow with a piano playing and it kind of takes you away. Then the electric guitar come in and it all starts. BOOM! the drum comes in. This song has 3 different points of view. In the chorus he says " YOU better lose yourself in the music the moments, you own it you better let it blow OOO." He is saying that you have to go for it. But in the 1st verse he begins talking about, He. " He's so mad, but he won't give up that easy, no He wont have it, he knows his whole back's to these ropes. He knows that, but he's broke. He's so stagnant that he knows when he goes back to his mobile home...." In this instance he is talking about his experience through someone else.  Finally in the last verse Eminem brings all together and reveals its about him. " I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed, I been chewed up and spit up and booed off stage. But I kept rhyming and kept writing the next cypher." In this song Eminem has 3 different point of view. He talks to us, he talked about someone else and he talks about himself. This is a rarity in song writing.  Eminem has mastered it through the years.

The song Mockingbird is a extremely touching song. Eminem is telling a beautiful story and talking to his daughter, Hailey, telling her everything was going to be ok, she has to, " stiffen up little soldier." This song is in one point of view. It is all through his eyes. This song should be heard by everyone, even of you don't like rap it really explains the struggle he went through and really tells me how much Eminem loves his daughter. "I can see it in your eyes, deep inside you want to cry. " In this 1st verse eminem is talking through himself. ' Cause all i ever wanted to do was make you proud." Eminem has completly forgot about the lifestyle and his money. He wants his daughter to be alright. There is a very soft tone and Shady has a soft voice. 

As you can see, Eminem has mastered point of view. He uses many different points in view in some songs and in others its just him. This style has made Eminem millions over the years. I am going to put both these songs on my playlist and i encourage everyone to listen to the songs. Especially Mockingbird. It is one of the most touching songs i have ever heard.