Black Music as a means of political action
Table of contents
Introduction . 3
What is “Black Music”? 3
Democrats and Republicans 4
The Democratic Party . 4
The Republican Party 4
Black Music and White Music 5
Black Music 5
White Music 5
Comparison of two lyrics 6
Ludacris - “Politics: Obama is Here” 6
T.I. - “Whatever You Like SPOOF! (OBAMA - Whatever I Like)” 7
The politics, the music and the media . 8
Conclusion . 9
List of references . 10
Schedule 11
Lyrics I:Ludacris - Obama's here 11
Lyrics II: T.I. - Whatever You Like SPOOF! (OBAMA - Whatever I Like) 11
Introduction
During Barack Obama's election campaign one could have seen, once again, many different ways of people supporting a politician and making public relations. The most common are political speeches held by the politician himself or the financial support by companies. But a means which became more and more popular during the last years is actors or musicians supporting their favorite candidate.
This paper will be a matter especially of musicians and even more concrete of musicians representing the “Black Music”.
What is “Black Music”?
“Black Music” can be seen from many points of view. One opportunity is to take a look at the singers voice or The singers color of the skin. But in this paper “Black Music” is a topic for many sub-genres, influenced by the spirit and culture of the African American people whose ancestors were originally brought to America as slaves.
The most important and most popular of these sub-genres today are Rap, Hip-Hop and R&B. This review will be reduced on these three sub-genres in appearing in the USA in English language.
This style of music how we know it today has a long history. Its origin is located in the South States of the United States where the slaves had to do hard field work for white farmers. The slaves sang songs about their homeland, Africa, or their wishes to rhythms of the traditional European music their masters were listening to.
The first impression of this music often arouses an association with the so called “Gangsta rap” or party music in general. For several cases that might be right even if some lyrics of “Black Music”-songs reach people in a similar way as political speeches. But is it possible to say that “Black Music” is a means of political action? That will be the central question in this term paper.
Democrats and Republicans
Parties are the foundation of every democracy. Usually there are many which form coalitions to accomplish their opinion. In the United States are only the both biggest and best known parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, able to govern. The other can only move something from the opposition.
The Democratic Party
The history of politics in the USA plays a very important role for the support of Obama’s election campaign by black musicians. Barack Obama is member of the Democratic Party which stands for the rights of the working class and oppressed and unprivileged minorities as the Blacks are.
But that had not ever been like that. Before the 1960's they fought against protectionism and in favor of slavery. After that time they became influenced more and more by the civil rights movement and with several political programs they reached that African-Americans so that they are today are the most stable group of voters of the party.
That is because they are not the field workers of the southern states anymore but low income earners in the heavy industry. Today the Democratic Party is in comparison to the Republican party more attuned to the political-left. The support among white workers, is despite the larger labor-union nearby, for cultural and social reasons, not very large.
That shows the liberal aspect of the Democrats which makes them so favorable for people who do not agree with the actual situation.
The Republican Party
The other, actually not governing party in the USA are the Republicans. Their policy is more conservative and more value orientated than the democratic. Today they are mainly supported by the higher middle-class, economists and the “Christian right” because the republican policy gives them financial and social advantages.
In the past the republicans got their vote from the inhabitants of the northern states because they had ,for example, the heavy industry which was supported by the party. They did not get votes from the southern states for a time of about 100 years after the abolitionism. The reason therefor was that the republicans were for freeing the slaves, what they finally reached, and inflicted an economic damage on the farmers with that action.
But today the south got more industrialized and slavery is no topic anymore so that the Republicans reach the same as they did in the northern states in the years before, they get their votes and financial support from armaments-, tobacco- and oil-companies.
Black Music and White Music
Both styles of making music are affected very much by the social situation of each group in the 1960's. That was when music changed from being just an expression of feelings for the closest acquaintances to a commercial mass product especially for the young generation.
Black Music
Already previously listed are some aspects concerning "Black Music", therefore the following focuses solely on the effect it has on the listener and society. History showed us that artists do not want to glorify the situation or confirm anybody that he does well but they want to criticize and show up things going wrong.
The other aspect is that the artists want to expose themselves at their tracks to get famous what makes their music better selling.
White Music
The usually best known genre is the “Country Music”. In which the artists broach the issue of, for example, how great their homeland is or how free they feel. Immigrants to the Maritime Provinces and Southern Appalachian Mountains of North America brought the music and instruments of the “Old World” with them. They brought some of their most important valuables with them, and to most of them this was their instrument: “Early Scottish settlers enjoyed the fiddle because it could be played to sound sad and mournful or bright and bouncy” The country musicians of the 1960's until today glamorize the settlers or rather peoples situation today who have alike doubtful situation and put it as the American way of life.
Johnny Cash became of the most influential musicians of the 1960s. His music showed great compassion for minorities and others who were shunned by society, including prison inmates. Two of Cash's most successful albums were recorded live in prison: At Folsom Prison and At San Quentin.
Comparison of two lyrics
Below you find analysis and comparison of 2 different lyrics of songs which seem to have a political content, to show up that a song which pretends to have got a political message might be just simple entertainment.
The first one will be “Politics: Obama is Here” by US-Rapper Ludacris in which he mainly denounces Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, John McCain and George W. Bush to support his favorite candidate Obama.
Then the a cover of T.I. success rap “Whatever You Like” called “Obama – Whatever I Like” by You Tube artist Iman Crosson will follow.
Ludacris - “Politics: Obama is Here”
(See attachment “Lyrics I”)
It is very usual in the rap business for artists exposing themselves on their track so also Ludacris begins in verse one with blowing his own horn among others; he said that parts of his music is on Obama's iPod.
In the third verse he begins with an attack on reverend Jackson who said the following sentence about Obama without knowing he has been recorded: "See, Barack's been talking down to black people [ .] I want to cut his nuts off.". Then he tries to awe Obama’s opponents with assuring him his full support.
Afterwards he advertises Black Power, strength and hope by being convinced that Obama will win the election, although there are many people threatening him, when the black people will elect him.
In the the verse next to last he becomes just as unfriendly to John McCain and George W. Bush as to Hillary Clinton.“McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed/Yeah I said it 'cause Bush is mentally handicapped”. The next three lines are dedicated to Bush, too and their main message is “[He is] the worst of all 43 presidents”.
In the last verse he requests everybody to vote for Obama and he uses a phrase Obama also used during his election campaign “The world is ready for a change”.
Finally one can say that rap is a special way to express a political opinion, especially for groups of lower social levels, because Ludacris is speaking a language that the political press does not speak.
T.I. - “Whatever You Like SPOOF! (OBAMA - Whatever I Like)”
(See attachment “Lyrics II”)
Except the chorus the song has three verses but none of them has a specific content nevertheless each will be commented a bit. The song tells the the bygone story of the hustings in the first-person perspective of Obama. It is all about a comedy way the song gets across its message like the lyrical-I soars above the listener and other politicians.
That is the case in verse one “McCain I thought that you knew/By debate number two/That I was gonna win and there was nothing/That you could do”. The listener finds that funny because he uses to know that Obama usually does not express himself in that way. Other points that attract the listeners attention are that the speaker says that Sarah Palin is hot or that he treats John McCain like a little child in verse two, further he always say “prez” instead of president in the chorus because it might sound better and it also reaches the young audience better because the younger audience rather listens to it.
The last verse does not contain anything that could have a special meaning what is also true for the chorus because he always counts on the same facts which were reasons for his election or what he just did and will do e.g.: “I picked Joe Biden [as vice president]”, “I won all three debates” or “[ .]I fix this financial crisis”.
The first difference you recognize after hearing both songs is that the second one sound much more familiar because T.I. used the same theme before;further more in “Politics: Obama is here” the chorus or even a hook-line is missing.
Although one might think that Ludacris' song should have much more influence because it is a good deal more target-oriented then the other song. But considering the views on YouTube it is fact that the song “Whatever I like” has more then a 100 times more clicks then “Politics: Obama is here”.
In the beginning it seemed that only an artist that is already famous, as Ludacris is, can call public's attention to a song so that it can affect something. But it turned out, that a song people recognize and which has a funny text you like to listen to can effect more then the serious and aggressive rap.
The politics, the music and the media
What is the best political song worth if nobody has the possibility to listen to it?
In the '60s, when the “Black Music” of today has its origin, nobody could have imagined which possibilities musicians will have today to present music to an audience as big as possible. When the music-poets of that time published their songs on radio and TV-Stations, today, the musicians have almost unlimited possibilities to spread their music.
But another important medium is the written word, for example newspapers or Magazines which publish critics or comments about artists and songs what also has an opinion forming effect. On the other hand media also reflects the opinion of the people as it was at the comparison of “the views” on YouTube as a means to check the publicity of songs on YouTube.
One more interesting point to show the impact of media is the film “Jackass”. A film which is completely senseless but millions of people watch it because the marketing and publishing is good. Usually nobody would watch it, but it was published in cinemas and people became interested because it was something new and different.
It is the same musicians have to take advantage of. Although people would not need to listen to their music they will be interested in it when it is promoted good enough.
Also in politics and in political support the success stands and falls with the media so that often enough it is not so important that the press refers good but that it refers at least. So that the key for being successful is the distribution of your name.
In the chapters above different aspects of the central question were analyzed and compared so it is possible to concentrate these aspects now to answer the question.
The last presidential election in the USA was a good example for the usage of means of political action. Like never before the political song appeared significant as a means of shaping an opinion. Platforms like YouTube, facebook, etc. took part in spreading a position. Another important aspect is that the "Black Music" musicians would have been more likely to support a presidential candidate with an African-American background and the fact that he is member of Democrats is also important because they feel more represented with him as president.
So one can conclude that the modern interaction of music, media and public circulation makes “Black Music” to an appropriate “means of political action”.
List of references
Somebody Scream!: Rap Music's Rise to Prominence in the Aftershock of Black Power by Marcus Reeves by Faber & Faber (Paperback - 17. March 2009)
Turn up the volume! A celebration of African music by Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje. - UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles 1999
The Music of Black Americans: A History'. Eileen Southern. W. W. Norton & Company; 3rd edition, (1997)
Levendusky, Matthew. The Partisan Sort: How Liberals Became Democrats and Conservatives Became Republicans (Chicago Studies in American Politics) (2009)
Crane, Michael. The Political Junkie Handbook: The Definitive Reference Books on Politics (2004)
Schedule
Lyrics I:Ludacris - Obama's here
I'm back on it like I just signed my record deal
Yeah the best is here, the Bentley Coup paint is dripping wet, it got sex appeal
Never should have hated
You never should've doubted him
With a slot in the president's iPod Obama shattered 'em
Said I handled his biz and I'm one of his favorite rappers
Well give Luda a special pardon if I'm ever in the slammer
Better yet put him in office, make me your vice president
Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant
Jesse talking slick and apologizing for what?
If you said it then you meant it how you want it have a gut!
And all you other politicians trying to hate on my man,
watch us win a majority vote in every state on my man
You can't stop what's bout to happen, we bout to make history
The first black president is destined and it's meant to be
The threats ain't fazing us, the nooses or the jokes
So get off your ass, black people, it's time to get out and vote!
Paint the White House black and I'm sure that's got 'em terrified
McCain don't belong in any chair unless he's paralyzed
Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped
Ball up all of his speeches and I throw 'em like candy wrap
'cause what you talking I hear nothing even relevant
and you the worst of all 43 presidents
Get out and vote or the end will be near
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
'cause Obama is here
The world is ready for change because Obama is here!
(Chorus)
I picked Joe Biden
Now this ones riding
Long as ya'll got me you wont need nobody
You want it I got it
Propose it, I'll sign it
Tell them republicans BE QUIET
First black prez
Ain't that nice,
I'm in the highest office that's right!
Now I can do whatever I like
So what I'm half black and half white
So what I fist bump with my wife
Man I can do whatever I like
Man I can do whatever I like
Palin was the hottest
MESS that ran for office
She spoke so odd
Could've swore it was a comic skit.
She got people excited
But still she couldn't stop this
I won all three debates
If you got it Then you got it!
Now I'm trying to put money back in your wallet
So as I fix this financial crisis
There's a long list
Of things I really gotta fix
Like no more shady healthcare
YOU can get what I get.
My country can have what it wants.
McCain can have a seat and think about what he did wrong
I know you ain't never have a prez like that
That gives amazing speeches then turns around and raps!
(Chorus)
I'm talking Black prez rides
And black prez ice
Fo at least the next fo years thats tight
Americas upset
And I'm just right
Time to put this black prez in yo life
THATS RIGHT
(Chorus)
Hiermit erkläre ich, dass ich die vorliegende Facharbeit selbstständig und ohne
fremde Hilfe angefertigt und keine anderen als die im Literaturverzeichnis
angegebenen Hilfsmittel verwendet habe.
Insbesondere versichere ich, dass ich alle wörtlichen und sinngemäßen
Übernahmen aus anderen Werken mit genauen Quellenangaben als solche
kenntlich gemacht habe.
______ _______
(Ort, Datum) (Unterschrift)
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