David Hill
“Hip-Hop Related”
Do you know that many people consider rap and hip-hop the same thing? This is very untrue in fact, “A Brief History of Rap and Hip-Hop” says rap is a form of music that stemmed from hip-hop culture. Hip-hop is a lifestyle with its own lingo, dress code, etc. In the words of KRS-One, a pioneer in the culture of hip-hop(Wikipedia), "hip-hop is something you live, rap is something you do." I chose “Help is coming” because I thought it had a deeper meaning or at least more meaning than the surface lyrics. I really like this song, it’s been a favorite of mine since it came out in 2007 on T.I.’s album T.I. vs T.I.P. This album is one of the greatest stories ever told. This song is one of the best songs on the album. “Help is coming” reinforces how hip-hop is doing great and going strong. Because people out there are in a sense, trying to force hip-hop to die but they will not succeed. To focus on the theme, the following interpretation is divided into three separate parts in sequence with the three verses.
Analysis of each verse reveals a point or moral that T.I. is trying to convey to his listeners. The first verse is about how the hip-hop scene is bad, really bad. No one is selling records due to illegal downloading. Everything seems so hectic and crazy with no end in sight, there’s no telling when it will get better. However, T.I. promises that he will save the game and bring hip-hop back to life. T.I.’s sights are set on fixing this situation, and he will get it done at whatever cost. In verse two, T.I. breaks down that his name is everywhere, and a lot of people know it. There are many rappers who try to start rapping and get their name in the game[1], but they fail. All the while T.I. is at the top of his game1[i], where he remains. He tries to stay the guy he was in the beginning, same person, same clothing style. He was original in the beginning, and everybody bit[ii] his style because they caught on to his success. He’s told everyone that it won’t stop, only a few people these days can be original and if it doesn’t stop, then the hip-hop scene is going to crash and burn. He says that most of the rappers in the game are fake, they rap about selling drugs when they really haven’t etc. Their style might be a little original but it’s not that great. T.I. has the game under his thumb, his name is so hot[iii] that he outsells all the other rappers when his album releases. The Final verse is the climax of his song where he absolutely KILLS[iv] the song! He addresses everybody and says “YOU ARE WRONG! Here’s why:” and then he goes on to explain it in detail why he is the epitome of hip-hop and it’s where his heart and soul is at.
I feel that a translation of the song into the writer’s own personal words can help detail a song and help the reader understand it and get a new perspective and interpretation.
“Chorus: Help is on the way, don’t worry. Help is coming. Don’t believe the rumors, hang in there help is coming. Everyone is talking about the death of hip-hop, but help is coming. I’ve got the problem in my sight and I’m coming to fix it.
Verse 1: Let me explain what’s going on: There are rumors out there that the hip-hop scene is greatly messed up, which is almost true and it will be if no one does anything. Bootlegging and downloading illegally is messing up all the record sales. It was really bad in 2006, now it’s getting much worse in 2007. Market sales are down, and nobody knows when it will get better. Call everyone up, my producer, my lawyer, my investors. Let them all know I got this. I’m not going to be affected by this slump. We’ll sell 5 million and no less than four if the sales day is slow. You can bet on that. If you know what’s good for you, stay on my team. But if you don’t and try to go against me, then I’ll make you respect us. “But, the market share is down!!” So what? I’m unaffected…
Chorus.
Verse 2: It’s o.k. because you know that everyone knows my name. This problem is at the top of my agenda. Sure, other people may try to take control and fix it, but they don’t have what I got. They failed, and they will keep failing. I’m still the same person I was since I grew up in the ghetto. I may have all the fame now but that has not changed me. That’s why I will fix this problem. I keep the same style I had, and now everyone just bitesii it. If they don’t stop posing[v] and using other people’s ideas, styles, and lyrics for their own benefit then of course they are going to kill the hip-hop scene due to lack of originality. Stop rapping about stuff you haven’t done, like selling drugs. You might be told that you have some flow or style or that you’re raps are good, but all you do is follow the crowd, it really isn’t that great. Do me a favor and leave this up to the professionals who know what they are doing.
Verse 3: To my fans and critics:
Since you think hip-hop is missing that “it” factor, I disagree. Here’s some proof for you. If you listen, you can hear a hip-hop song making the top spot on the charts. If you look closely, you can see hip-hop is getting fans all over. In Atlanta, hip-hop is thriving and it’s making people multi-millionaires with big houses and nice cars. Just to let you know, I’m everything that hip-hop was missing. You are everything against hip-hop. I have my heart and soul in hip-hop. So, to everyone who thinks that this hip-hop thing is dead, it obviously can’t be if I’m STILL HERE!”
For any song, it’s important to be able to visualize what’s going on to help add to the understanding the listeners encounter. For me, this song reminds me of an action flick:
As our scene opens, It’s early afternoon with the sun still high in the sky and A lone black man, about the size of Vin Diesel, walks slowly down a ghetto boulevard filled with destruction and dead bodies scattered about. He’s holding a shotgun at his side, in his right hand and an AK strapped on his back. The Camera is slowly, yet constantly switching to different angles to show him walking from different points of view and to detail the background and the chaos that has taken place in the city. His cell phone rings and the camera zooms in for a close up, his head unmoving from the focus he has set dead-ahead. You can hear an inaudible voice on the line followed by our main characters response, “This shit ain’t over, but don’t worry I got it, I know what to do. Just relax.” Then, the camera zooms way out, further down the road showing all kinds of destruction and rubble, which represents the amount of work he has, and the long arduous road ahead of him.
As our plot heats up and our hero is out investigating, he runs into some hooligans. It’s obvious battle is about to commence. Our hero is being stared down by five to six of these goons[vi], our hero’s eyes slowly shifting from left to right over each of his adversaries as the camera moving right to left building the suspense. As the camera slowly zooms out we see our heroes arm slowly reaching for his holstered pistol with the goons a split-second behind his movement. Suddenly, the scene is set back to real-time and shots are fired. Everyone scrambles for cover except the thug in the middle, he falls to the ground clutching his chest. Now the scene turns into one of those kick-ass shooter scenes where our hero is capping people left and right and doing crazy wall-runs, jumps and dives. He’s greatly outnumbered, but the numbers slowly dwindle on the opposition. As the battle heats up, we get a “Y” scene, where our hero suddenly comes face to face with two of his opponents, and all at once they simultaneously fire to find out that their clips are empty. So now, it is up to our hero’s superior skills in hand-to-hand combat to take down the remaining two thugs.
This is it, the climax, this is where it all raps up. Our hero has finished investigating the fraudulent crime-bosses and finished off rest of the remaining goons. It turns out that they had been making horrible recordings of rap and trying to pass them off as hip-hop. After he successfully burned all of these albums, he remains on the grind[vii], making life better for him and his family and friends. However, he still has to take down a fake poser goon every once in a while… He is the King and the King he shall remain.
In “Help Is Coming” the lyrical choices are good, and it’s very obvious that T.I. thinks he can save hip-hop from “Dying[viii].” “Help on the way” is a line that gives constant reassurance to the listener that there is still hope. In his verses, he explains how he will save it, then how he’s already saved it, and that these rumors have been going on for years but they are pointless. T.I. implies that all the fake rappers and artists who rhyme with no heart and soul are the folks who cause the rumors to surface and cause it to need help in the first place. The beat is really fast paced, with a hint of royalty. The fastness can represent something, like the fact of hope of the imminence of him saving the scene. It can’t be dead if he’s still in it, he lives hip-hop and it’s making him as well as other people who put their all into it.
In every song, it’s important to have an engaging beat coupled with meaningful lyrics. “Help is Coming”, delivers. “Help is Coming” starts of fairly slow but well paced. Then, the beat starts building momentum while T.I. and crew are talking in the background. Loops are added on to the beat in the beginning adding to the momentum it has already built and giving an underlying sense of hope. Finally, the beat explodes with power and regality. The feel of royalty is added by the long and drawn out organ tones which cuts out and chimes in again every chorus/refrain. At the verse, the beat changes to a faster paced organ coupled with a more traditional/original hip-hop style beat. At each chorus interval, there is something else being said in the background adding to the storyline behind the song.
In every piece of writing, unless the author is skilled and experienced, it may sometimes be hard to understand what is going on as he writes. The following paragraphs are writing on writing. Basically, a process writing where I have written on what I wrote about my Movie (in sections) and my song analysis (in sections.)
The first verse just put this image in my head of a muscular black actor who was like a renegade or the hero role who was sent to save the day. The song analysis is just about how he thinks the record industry is on a slippery slope and needs to have a rope thrown to it, to save it. Pirating music and movies is big, and it is affecting a lot of artist in the industry, but T.I. is making it clear that he will overcome this challenge.
The second verse of the song is about how the hip-hop scene became bad. As I was writing it, I was thinking about how there are so many “rappersv” out who think they are good, but they are only a trend. The music industry will get more of an “actor” and write their lyrics. There is hardly any heart left in hip-hop. After some creative ideas flowing and watching some action flicks, I was able to better write the action portion of my movie.
All I think of every time I read this verse is how in the song, T.I. Killsiv it! How he makes it sound so uplifting, promising and fast-paced. This section of the song proves to everyone that hip-hop is not dead.
[i] Game: a) A reference to an illegal business, usually the drug game. Can also mean the entire thug lifestyle.
“I’m making my way up in the game, son”
b) life, i.e. the game of life. “keep your head up son, and make sure you're ahead of the game”
c) The hip-hop/rap way of describing what they do.
iiBite: To rip off another person's style, especially with respect to music or fashion. From early hip-hop culture.
“Why don't you come up with your own sound instead of biting every track that hits it big in the clubs?”
[iii] Hot: A slang term with many different meanings, but in the form of hip-hop it takes the form of something of great interest; Intriguing; popular.
“Dang, I didn’t think that His name would get so hot one day! I remember him from way back when.”
[iv] Kills: A slang term used in hip-hop to describe something done extremely well. If someone kills a verse or rhyme, it means they absolutely put something else to shame.
[v] Posing: The act of not following your own ideas, or being something you aren’t.
[vi] Goon: Slang word used in hip-hop for “Tool” except more hip hop related.
[vii] Grind: The act of working hard to gain fame, money, or rewards.
“ I spent all night last night grinding on Fable II trying to level up my character.”
[vii] Dying: The act of a form of music becoming unpopular, like disco.
Works Cited:
“KRS-One.” Wikipedia.
20 November 2008. 20 November 2008
“A Brief History of Hip-Hop and Rap.” About.com
20 November 2008.
<http://rap.about.com/od/rootsofraphiphop/p/RootsOfRap.htm>
No comments:
Post a Comment