“Darkness” has two major narrative themes with musical histories going back into the mid-20th century. It’s one of a long line of songs to address the causes of murder and mass shootings, entering the mind of the shooter to showcase… Continue Reading →
In “Darkness,” Eminem criticizes both America’s lax gun laws and other surrounding circumstances that make gun violence commonplace. He references three main issues: mental health, media exposure, and gun laws. The first spoken lines of the song are: “Here I… Continue Reading →
“Darkness” represents a rich tradition of lyrical rap, from a man widely considered one of its greatest living representatives. Rap music is one of the core variations of hip-hop, which has direct roots in black American musical traditions like disco,… Continue Reading →
“Darkness” was released as a response to the recent epidemic of gun deaths in the United States. As of 2016 statistics, the U.S. was in the top 20 countries for death rate by firearms, with over 37,000 deaths. The ending… Continue Reading →
I chose “Darkness” as a subject not only because it’s a new song, but particularly because it’s a new song by Eminem. Eminem has attracted a fair share of criticism over the years for his subject matter and production decisions,… Continue Reading →
On thinking about this project, my mind went instantly to hip-hop for my search for a song. My first and second choice for a track to examine are each from brilliant rappers and singers, and fittingly, the first is a… Continue Reading →
Self Destruction, The Stop the Violence Movement (1991) → Changes, 2Pac (1998) → Mama Knows, The Game (2011) → Paranoia, Chance the Rapper (2013) Looking at this lineage of songs, they each exhibit a narrative style that reflects on the… Continue Reading →
“The Story of O.J.” has clear indications of representing multiple genres, regardless of Jay-Z being characterized as a rapper. Rap is a genre that started as a “slang” and was intertwined with Hip-Hop, because of its roots and meaning. Rap… Continue Reading →
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, rap is a “musical style in which rhythmic and/or rhyming speech is chanted (“rapped”) to musical accompaniment. This backing music, which can include digital sampling (music and sounds extracted from other recordings), is also called… Continue Reading →
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