Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj is a big female rapper who has been in the game for more than 10 years. She has inspired many girls around the world and other female rapper have before her have done the same. She is said to pave the way for other female rap artists like Cardi B that rap with a similar style. She has released many hit songs and has collaborated with many big artists to create more hits. She is a veteran in a sense and still to this day continues to make music not only for the enjoyment of others and for empowering other women.

https://youtu.be/M3RHScgJAsY

The song Anaconda was a huge hit for females everywhere, although the video is quite provocative the message had meaning…

I wanted to create a song that embraced curvy women. I wanted to be sexual but be playful with it. And I wanted it to be so melodic that even if you don’t understand English you could still go along with the melody and you would have no idea about all the raunchy shit I’m saying—I get a kick out of that. It was simple to write. I just created the melody and then I let the words happen. I started laughing when I said, “Boy toy named Troy.” [Laughs]
That whole song, I was just being dumb. It was a joke. My biggest thing was seeing how my girlfriends Sherika and Thembi were going to react. If they don’t like a song, they’ll be like, “No.” As soon as they walked in the studio, we were laughing and having fun. I thought, if we’re doing this, then everybody is going to have fun with it.
Nicki Minaj

she helped many people feel more comfortable with their curvy bodies not with just her songs but by how she was unafraid to show of her body and how she showed she loved it.

This song is again targeted towards females and is mostly a people favorite and a female rap classic. It is probably one of the most aggressive songs off of her third mixtape entitled Beam Me Up Scotty. In this song she in a sense unleashes her wrath on her haters without yield. and many times you can hear her do a cynical laugh. Genius said this”

Minaj on occasion will refer to come-up, hating females as “bum bitches” on their image, rapping and overall career status.
Though regarded as an animal on the mic, she’s “slaughtering” ugly, inexperienced females who have “beef” with her.
It’s so easy to the point where they are basically nursery rhymers, and she’d rather dismiss them as “pork” instead.
Hence, the last quatrain with the puns italicized:
And if you see a itty-bitty piggy in the marketGive that bitch a quarter and a car, tell her ‘Park it!’
I don’t fuck with pigs, like As-salamu alaykum
I put ‘em in a field, I let Oscar Mayer bake ’em “
Genius

Overall Nicki is a huge music icon who inspires many and continues to do what she always does ni matter the hater and she is clearly not afaraid to call out her haters,nor shut them down with a rap. To hear another song like this listen to her song Barbie Dreams where she raps about a whole lot of rappers.

Young M.A

Young M.A is a Brooklyn rapper who had been making music for many years doing freestyles and making actually songs before she blew up with her biggest hit “Ouuuuuuu”. For a while she actually was gonna stop making music because her brother who she cherished very much died. The funny thing is, she really plan on release the song she said-

When I recorded the track I wasn’t going to put it out just yet because I had just released Sleep Walkinand I had a lot of records on there I wanted to do videos for. But something one day just told me that I needed to put this out—nobody told me, just one day I thought this would take me to the next level.
I didn’t want some big push behind it, I was just like this is a record I just wanna put out. From there, I guess it was catchy and it was different from me.
Young M.A

https://youtu.be/QRZEVobGY9Q

https://youtu.be/Wrd0-541bfU

The song above is one of her many freestyles, here you can clearly see her cleaver word plays. one of her lyrics~”Silky on, fresh white tee with the Constructs on, thuggin’ it~
“Silky” is another name for durag & Timberland boots are also referred to as “constructs” because they were originally made to be worn on construction sites(Genius Lyrics) which is her type of style, which you can see by the way she acts, typically dresses and carries herself. She has made a long way from basically being a nobody to a someone, and the fact she is still know has made her quite proud of herself. She does deal with criticism because she is girl that raps AND sounds like a ‘guy’ and because she’s a dyke or lesbian but she keeps shaking the haters off and focuses on the people that actually support her and her music

The Notorious B.I.G.-A Dead King

Christopher George Latore Wallace aka Biggie smalls or Notorious B.I.G was a famous rapper that was another living Icon in the 90’s. He was one of the greatest rappers of the greatest rappers of his time. He was an amazing artist who spoke freely and thought outside the box, writing songs most rappers wouldn’t think of of back then and people do now. Biggie had many hit songs and many of his songs included his close friend Puff Daddy. Fun fact Tupac and Biggie smalls used to be friends, Tupac actually got Biggie’s rap career started, but they had a falling-out which caused them to turn into rivals.

Here’s an article about the Tupac and Biggie movie

this photo was captured before Biggie and Tupac stopped being friends

The song Big Poppa is directed towards girls because Tupac told him that his more aggressive songs won’t get much talk, but he should write songs towards girls first because guys want what girls want so if they listen and like Biggie the guys would listen to and they will love his music. The song is about him being a ladies man and how he loves the ladies and the ladies love him. The song has a really club like feel to it, it makes you wanna dance on a dance floor to this.

This song was Biggies number 1 hit. He was known mostly by this song cause its another song about him being a ladies man and it has the chorus of the song of a girls point of view singing-

 
Biggie, Biggie, Biggie, can't you see?
Sometimes your words just hypnotize me
And I just love your flashy ways
Guess that's why they broke, and you're so paid
Biggie, Biggie, Biggie, can't you see? (Uh-huh)
Sometimes your words just hypnotize me (Hypnotize)
And I just love your flashy ways (Uh-huh)
Guess that's why they broke, and you're so paid

this song is another song you sing to. I enjoy that it appeals to girls but its still hard, if that makes sense. Just because its towards girls he doesn’t hold back nor go soft on us keep going in mind that guys also listen to his music to.

The song juicy is actually a inside scoop of biggies life. In this song he talks about the struggles he had growing up which is ironic considering the title of the song but it also talks about his new life now without the struggles he had growing up This is probably 1 of my favorite song by him since its not often you hear people sing or rap about actual life struggles and how they are great full for how far they’ve come to surpass it.

this song is a song talking about where ever money goes problems seem to follow and money tends to cause a lot of problems around us. This song feat. Mase and of course Diddy.

Tupac Shakur; A lost Legend

Tupac Shakur should not need any introductions. He was a music icon who didn’t just rap, he spoke to the people with his words, he wrote poems called “The Rose That Grew From Concrete”. He was an important Figure for the Black communities to look up to for he always spoke his mind and spoke about for the people. Many people young and old recognize him for making it on his on and pushing himself to the limit to achieve his dream, Even New York Times said..,

[Tupac] fueled dozens of posthumous albums, books, documentaries, online conspiracy theories and even a short-lived Broadway musical. even now, he has popped up as a hologram in concert and as a guiding spirit on Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly”; in April, Shakur became the sixth rap act to be inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame. His relevance has rarely waned.
New york Times
The Tupac Biopic: What Took So Long?

Tupac, or his stage name 2PAC is one of my favorite artist so this blog will be a little different, instead i’m going to share four of my favorite songs by him so far. I haven’t listened to all his songs so its kinda biased but please bear with me.

So, the first song that ill talk about is Dear Mama which is a song that made it fine to admit: even if they were gangsters that killed people and sold drugs, deep down, thugs are all sensitive mama’s boys and loved their mama. the chorus of the song is what really draws you in and makes you think about your mother or mother figure in your life
The chorus below further expresses the indescribable love and admiration 2Pac has for his mama and what most people feel about their mama’s as well. He places nobody above her, because she’s irreplaceable.

 
Lady, don't you know we love ya? (Dear Mama)
Sweet lady, place no one above ya (You are appreciated)
Sweet lady, don't you know we love ya?

Ghetto Gospel is a song that kinda indescribable. The title is what the song is a ghetto gospel. But, what makes it better than what you’re probably thinking is that it has the perfect blend of vocals and rap that makes you just close your eyes and smile while you listen to the song. The song imitates the book Mark in the bible where Jesus was saying come follow me. The album cover Loyal To The Game has him looking down in all white presumably trying to resemble GOD.

This song is a song that is in appreciation of women around the world, Especially Black women. Keep your head up is a song that talks about the struggles that women go through like being abandon to raise a child on their own, and just to keep going and stay strong. It’s actually a sample, he took another song and made it the chorus. He wanted everyone to think you’re not alone with your problems, just know that 2Pac is aware of them too.

This song is a more serious song than you think. When I first heard it i was confused and sorta chuckled because why is there a song about a girl having a baby. But, when I saw when I went too Genius and read only the meaning of the first two lyrics I sobered up and started to just really listen to the message he was trying to get through and that’s when I came to truly respect Tupac

Brenda’s basically too stupid and irresponsible to raise a child. She’s twelve, so it should be explicit that she isn’t suitable to raise a child. How many 12 year olds are there that know how to earn money and raise a kid? The majority of 12 year olds are immature and childish, as they should be, because they are 12 years old. No child should have to face this type of responsibility, or manipulation, since the molester is her cousin, who’s “sexin’ her like crazy”.
The second line reflects the poor literacy rate in ghetto/urban areas, where the education system falters significantly, and the majority of children don’t receive the same type of education as kids living in the suburbs. How could a child that hasn’t even received a proper education possibly raise a baby?
genius

I hope you enjoyed this blog it was a little different than usual and the next one is gonna be similar as well but the one after that will go back to the usual.

-By Faith G

Read the articles from New York Times about Tupac

blogs to read next:
https://educatekathak.home.blog/

Kanye West-Lyrical Genius?

Kanye West is a very influential artist. Many of you know him for supporting Donald Trump or being married to Kim Kardashian-West, But some know him, like me, know him as a musical genius. He has been making music for a long time and he never disappoints his fans, at least my opinion. My favorite older songs by him are Jesus Walks and Gold Digger, and my favorite newer song by him are Lift Yourself and Violent Crimes

Kanye West is nit someone to sleep on, when he was younger he came out with the songs Jesus Walks and Gold Digger which were big hits. Jesus Walks is about, obviously as you can tell by the title, Jesus and how he walks. the video is honestly so great and your instantly captured by the vocals in the beginning with an ominous feel. He raps about Chicago being like the Valley of the Shadow of Death and how when he first was trying to start his career they said not to do a song about Jesus for it wont sell and to rap about Drugs, Sex, Guns etc. He also mentions biblical passages like how Jesus walks with the most ‘vile’ which refers to the bible and how he as always around the worst of the sinners, and when he says

"The only thing that I pray is that me feet don't fail me now"

which refers to how Peter walked on water with Jesus but questioned his Faith and fell. Another oldie is Gold Digger. This song is about again as you can tell by the title Gold Diggers, more towards women going for men with money rather than having a respectable man to love. He inputs twists like how she got the guy for 18 with a child which is what some Gold Diggers do to ensure they get money either through wedlock or child services. Another twist is he later adds on saying how once the child reached 18 he found out the child isn’t his, and then he switches it up in his last verse with how once you stick by his side he is gonna leave you for a white girl, which just means that just as the gold digger pursue rich men, rich men pursue a trophy wife.

https://youtu.be/drMpsDMs68E?list=RDdrMpsDMs68E

start at 1:22

Two of his new songs that I like are lift yourself and Violent crimes. Lift yourself is honestly proof of Kanye West’s musical abilities, this song is 2 minutes long and its chorus is short and quite repetitive. it repeats the lyrics

Poopy-di scoop
Scoop-diddy-whoop
Whoop-di-scoop-di-poop
Poop-di-scoopty
Scoopty-whoop
Whoopity-scoop, whoop-poop
Poop-diddy, whoop-scoop
Poop, poop
Scoop-diddy-whoop
Whoop-diddy-scoop
Whoop-diddy-scoop, poop

*Put photo of I Hate Being Bi-polar its Awesome*

In my opinion at the time of its release it was his best song, I mean this song went viral!! Who else can make a song with lyrics that really don’t have a singular meaning and make it a big hit and what many people were talking about?…….I’m waiting. The second song is from his most recent album I Hate Being Bi-polar it’s Awesome called Violent Crimes. This album alone captures your heart but Violent Crimes is a song that completely enthralls you in its warmth. The song is basically about “scummy” men are gonna continue to act gross until they have daughters. This is in his is something that reflects towards his life and how he used to treat women in his life terrible but now that hes had his daughter, North, he truly treasures women. -By Faith Govere

https://youtu.be/9-K8LUJfUaA

YNW MELLY

Thanks for joining me on this new journey, I really hope you enjoy my blog! I will be writing about current or past artist and my honest opinions on them and how I feel about their music.

To start this off, I’m going to talk about one of my favorite current artists, YMW Melly or his real name Jamell Maurice Demons. I will talk specifically about 2 of my favorite songs on his first album and 2 on his newest.

Melly' album I AM YOU is Melly sitting on a white chair with a girl also in white kneeling in front of him. they are splashed with paint

Melly is a young artist that is on the rise. His debut album was I AM YOU which was released on, August 3 2018, where he took the billboard by storm. Many of his songs where made it in the top 200 and the song he is most popular for, Murder on my Mind, made it to top 20. I believe this song deserved to reach up there because its truly a great song. But, my absolute favorite song form him is Mama Cry, because it kinda tells the story of how he want to jail and his mother was obviously upset. The chorus is

"Mama, please don't you cry, I'm sorry
I just caught some time, I'll be home soon
It won't be long, I promise
I will be okay, just wipe those
Tears off of your face, I'm sorry
I won't right my wrongs, I'm guilty
Lord, have mercy, please forgive me
Mama, please don't you cry, I'm sorry"

These lyrics really work well with the overall feel with the song and almost makes you feel like your apologizing to your mom about going to jail. the best part of this song is the music video, I generally try and avoid watching the music video and stick with the audio but the music video really sold the song.

Melly is facing with his back to us with a white shirt that says "U Shine, I Shine, We All Shine

Now i’ll talk about songs I like on his new album, We All Shine. I actually like a couple songs I didn’t expect myself to like, for example Butter Pecan. The song has a great beat and is a song just great for dancing to or getting yourself bopping, especially if you get the base boosted. I also like the song Mixed Personalities, the song is a fun song and is something to get you moving rather than something that made you pay attention to the lyrics. The music video for this song is honestly so weird but I enjoyed the vibe. Something that made me really happy is that Kanye West is feat. in this song and Kanye is a great influential musician although I cant say the same about his political view but I’ll save that for another time.

My favorite song from this album so far is No Heart, where hes rapping about the sorrows of being betrayed by his love interest at the time, and now hes not playing fair with his love. To be completely honest I love his first album more than this album but he still one of my favorite artist in this day and age. I rate Melly a 7/10 because he has a lot of potential and works hard to make his songs something he love but also his fans would. But, unfortunately Melly was convicted of the murder of his two friend so we cant hope that he will continue to release music anytime soon, so he actually did have “Murder on his Mind” .

If you guys enjoyed this blog be sure to go over to the link down below for other reasons to listen to Melly.

https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/ynw-melly-we-all-shine/

Suggested blogs to follow:https://monumentalmovies.home.blog/?wref=bif