One idea I was contemplating for my junior I.S. was the idea of applying a critical theory or discourse, to various rap songs. I figure since this genre of music has been absolutely defiled by ignorance and misunderstood by those who do not often listen to it, it would be fun to analyze real, poetic, and metaphorically rich rap pieces from differing times. The goal would be to compare and contrast, the differing styles of rap that exist, and focus in on the vernacular and how it progressed through the decades of its short existence. What I’m looking to do, is to show the genre a little bit of justice because the generic, talentless pieces often get thrown on the radio for all to hear. It is not doing the intelligence behind this musical poetry the honor it deserves. If you sit down to a quality rap album (Nas’s Illmatic, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Mauraders, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool, or Blu’s Below the Heavens) you enter a sophisticated world with layers of references, meanings and interpretations. It is a music that is far more intelligent than most realize. So I figure, why not right? Any thoughts or suggestions?
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