Select a hip-hop artist (e.g. If you do not listen to hip-hop, any other music genre will do) to investigate. How does h/she establish ethos with his/her audience?
As I sit here listening to TuPac’s album, All Eyes on Me, I’m focusing on the words, rather than the beat. Even though he was a genius when it came to mixing goods beats. Right off the bat, in the first song of the album, he talks about being a straight rider and that no one wants to mess with him. Then he goes on to talk about having battle field scars while driving in plush cars, indicating these are requirements or rites of passage to being a gangster / hustler. The entire length of the song or rap he is referring to himself in first person, as if he was telling a story about the events of his life. The audience he is trying to reach or relate to consider the activities mentioned in the song; about getting battle field scars, driving plush cars and smoking dope as daily activities and seen in high regards to the gangster lifestyle. If Tupac would have talked about any other activities, besides gangster / hustler activities, he wouldn’t have been able to reach his audience or been as famous as he was. Being a part of the Tupac generation and knowing his background from interviews and documentaries, he spoke about his true life activities. He was a gangster and hustler. At one point in time, he was regarded as one of the toughest musicians in the industry. He was known for starting shit with the east coast rappers, like Notorious BIG and Jay-Z. In one of his songs, Tupac refers to having relations with Notorious BIG’s girlfriend at the time, Faith Evans. By doing this, he once again increased his credibility with the gangsters / hustlers on the west coast. Some would say that those verbal assaults on other artists eventually caused his demise. Even the manner in which Tupac was killed increased is credibility. At the end of day, Tupac stayed true to his upbringing and environment never letting go of the gangster mentality; which to this day keeps him in the forefront of the gangster rap and the hip-hop industries.
Hi Junior,
ReplyDeleteI like that you have chosen to examine Tupac. He certainly is a fascinating artist. Like many gangsta rappers, he had his fair share of criticism. While he did talk about hustlin' and women, he also talked about important issues that affected his community and there is something to be said about that. Because his mother was a Black Panther, he was raised with many of the party's ideals, which we see developed in his music.
I find it interesting that you bring up the East Coast rappers and BIG in terms of his ethos. Rap is interesting. For some, this increases their ethos. Tupac once said that there is nothing to gain by going to prison; although he was incarcerated for a short time. Why do you think he was murdered for his credibility? What connections can you make with MLK and Malcolm X?
Ms. C