Elvir’s Online Journal

More than half a million people attended food banks between April and September 2016. A couple of days ago, I went to the local food bank, where I met Steve. Currently living on top of a bed shop in a 1 bedroom apartment, Steve has fallen back on last month’s rent and is being threatened with eviction if he is unable to come up with a payment. “If I am unable to provide for my family, I will be separated from my kids forcefully.”  The question now is what has made us believe poverty is not a problem in Great Britain? When people who live in poverty struggle to afford food, it shows us how big of a problem poverty is in the U.K. and we have people like Steve one step closer from severe depression.

“Some days we had nothing to eat” , These were the words that my good friend once said to me. When we were young he experienced severe poverty. He told me how some days they only had one slice of bread to share between a family of four. There was one time he explained to me how his parents would not eat for two days straight to be able to feed him and his sister. He was unable to go out with us on the weekends. Over 1/4 of children are living in poverty and 65% of these children have a parent who works. This has become a major problem in our society which needs to be resolved. My friend was one of them.

My friend isn’t the only one. Many others have suffered. Poverty has increased by 30%. It is estimated that over 170,000 Londoners are homeless, 30,512 of these are children. Many people ignore the fact that, homeless people exist. But they are all humans; they just need a little help from us who are already stable. Now how is it possible we believe the U.K is so perfect with these outrageous statistics.

Another reason poverty is a problem in the UK is about how benefits are being handled. Recently a mother of four had her benefits cut simply because she was 1 minute late to her appointment due to a car crash. She had to attend a foodbank to get food to feed her children. It is estimated 27.45% of people go to food banks because of benefit delays.

Last week I interviewed a man who had been in this situation where he didn’t receive benefits. Neil, a man of many talents recently suffered a stroke. The former mechanics world came to a halt as he is unable to use his hands. This lead to him being deemed ‘not fit for work’ by his doctor. With no other choice Neil was forced to apply for benefits. A week later Neil was brought to a local examination center where he was put to various tests, to determine whether he was entitled to benefits. “I felt cruel seeing this man do these tests when he is clearly unable to hold a cup of coffee” This was the fine words of the doctor after she called off the test. Despite this happening Neil still hasn’t been granted with benefits.

These people I have mentioned are being neglected daily. They are on the verge of starvation. They are left with no option but to beg for our help . The politicians don’t mention them in the House of Commons. The media try their best to disclose the fact that people live in this state, and the government is not doing anything to help these people. There are no excuses. We are left to wonder what is so ‘great’ about Great Britain.

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Ron Suskind uses various language techniques to present difficulties in Cedric’s education in part one and part two of his articles. Cedric undergoes many obstacles and challenges when in Ballou high and MIT such as receiving abuse from other students, struggling with work at MIT and also violence in his area. Throughout the articles Suskind uses various language devices that suggest that it is difficult for Cedric to get an education.

One way in which he has done so is by using the metaphor, ‘The Arduous Odyssey of Cedric’. The word ‘arduous’ suggests Cedric’s journey throughout his school life will be tough and hard to get through. By Ron Suskind relating Cedric’s education to the odyssey he is referring to the Greek myth where a man goes on a long journey all alone. This compares to Cedric’s education and school life at Ballou as he stays in classrooms during break, lunch and also after school striving for all the best, so he can get into MIT. Therefore by Ron Suskind mentioning the ‘Odyssey’ it suggests how Cedric has a long and tough journey to face in order to get to MIT.

Similarly in Part 2 of the article Ron Suskind also uses another metaphor to suggest Cedric’s education is very difficult. We can see this when he says, “I tell him those on the sideline are already out of the race”. In relating Cedric’s education to a race, we are given the impression that in order to succeed you must be willing to give it your all and you must be aware of your surroundings as everyone is trying to be better than you. By comparing Cedric’s education to a race, we are also led to think about the physical aspect of the race. A lot of stamina is needed in order to win; this tells us that Cedric’s education will take a long period of time and he must be patient and cope with it. In part one of the articles Suskind talks about Cedric on an individual level. He relates Cedric’s journey to the Odyssey which is a story about an individual journey which is long and tiring. However, in part 2 of the article, Suskind shows how many people are competing with Cedric as they all have the same goal in life which is to succeed and get into MIT. We are able, therefore, to see that it is not only Cedric struggling on this journey and he is part of a larger community as it is a race and there are many people competing.

Another time where Cedric’s education is seen to be difficult is when his teacher says, ‘Failure here is persuasive, even seductive ‘. This quote uses personification as ‘failure’ is described here as seductive which implies that it acts as a human trying to bring everyone down. The word seductive means to have an attractive quality which tempts you to do something. This suggests that ‘failure’ is attracting pupils and bringing them down often since the school is in a bad area. Furthermore,  Ron Suskind uses the word ‘persuasive’. The word persuasive means that something is tempting to do due to something or someone making someone believe it is the right thing to do. This gives us the impression that in Ballou’s learning environment, failure is a natural thing and it is portrayed as the right thing to do. In doing so, Ron Suskind leads us to believe there are many reasons for Cedric’s education seeming difficult.

Another language technique Suskind uses to present Cedric’s education as difficult is the metaphor, ‘Being a minority and a high achiever means you have to carry extra baggage about who you are’. This quote tells us that because Cedric is a black pupil in a white school it means that it is like carrying extra baggage. The term ‘extra baggage’ suggests that him being black is like taking extra clothing on holiday and therefore weighing him down. The term ‘high achiever’ suggests that Cedric is one of the few black children who have potential and are capable to succeed. It also shows that Cedric will find it harder to do well compared to the white pupils as they were previously at high achieving high schools Whereas Cedric attended a school in a poor neighbourhood which is described as the ‘Centre of a crime infested ward’. This gives us the impression that the pupils are bound to have no hope in an area like this. The word ‘infested’ suggests that Cedric’s school has caught a contagious disease, and it is unable to get rid of it.

The final quote I will be explaining is the metaphor, ‘but where I started from is far behind were some other kids are, I have to run twice the distance to catch up’. This shows us how Cedric views his own education as well as us; and from this quote we are able to see that Cedric has high expectations for himself. Also it tells that the neighborhood of his previous school had an impact as even though he study every hour of everyday he is still some how behind the rest of the kids at MIT. Also by Cedric saying ‘i have to run twice the distance to catch up’ the thought of stamina comes to mind as you need a lot of cardiovascular endurance to catch up which suggests it will be a long way away. The quote in the previous paragraph is similar to this quote as they both represent how Cedric is doing on an individual level. Also we are told that many kids are ahead of him which gives us the impressing that him being black and from a poor neighborhood has a massive impact on his Education. This is the final way Ron suskind presents Cedric’s education as difficult.

In conclusion, Cedric has been through many ups and downs throughout his school life. In Ballou high he was seen to be there ‘Highest’ achiever, which was quite a miracle considering the rough neighbor hood the school was based in as it was described to be a ‘crime infested ward’. However during his time at MIT we saw that he wasn’t ‘the top dog’ anymore and he seemed to be behind on most subjects. In the end Cedric received criticism from a teacher in MIT which came to Cedric as a surprise as he had never experienced this before, this led onto him giving up. The quote that shows Cedric’s education to be difficult the most is ‘The Arduous Odyssey of Cedric’. This quote is very effective as Ron Suskind relates cedrics education to a greek myth, which in order to be understood you must research it. Therefore it gives that extra bit of spice when read again.

Introduction

Many of us perceive hip-hop as negative. However, the reason these rappers and emcees rap about all this violence, drug activity and other illegal things, is because of who buys the records being sold. Mk Asante created a concept of hyper violence and hyper masculine content and named it the ‘reel’. But for me to explain this concept i must go deeper into the history of hip-hop. in the beginning rappers rapped about social issues and police brutality which was happening towards young black people. Hip-hop began in 1970, the first song to be commercially successful was ‘rappers delight’ by the crew ‘the sugarhill gang’. But traditionally Hip-hop generated from black oral traditions such as blues, jazz and soul. Eventually Hip-hop became really popular and major hip-hop corporations such as Warner Bros and Universal which both took on a massive bet by investing into smaller companies, and i guess it was the right play. However down the line the lyrical content began to change and many rappers began to rap about things like drugs, having sex with girls and also killing people. The white suburbians were seen to be the largest consumers off this genre and when asked why they liked it, they quoted “we enjoy the hyper violent lyrics. which is why rappers now are restricted to what they rap about as if they rap about something different record companies will drop them as that is whats making the most money.

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One rapper that criticises the ‘reel’ is Kendrick Lamar in his song ‘the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice’.
Kendrick Lamar was born on June 17 1987 in Compton, California. He began his musical career as a teenager and went by the name of k-dot. Around this time there was a group called N.W.A which were aware of what was going on and i believe Kendrick Lamar took inspiration from them. Lamar then released a small mix-tape which gathered local attention which then led to him being signed by a record company called top dawg. In his song ‘the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice’ Kendrick criticises ‘the reel’ as he repeated “the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice” by him using repetition is shows that he is desperate to deliver a message to the public and people who listen to his songs. also this line tells us that he is saying people who are black should not change for what is going on but embrace it. This song shows us that Kendrick Lamar is socially conscious as he released it around the time two black teenagers were murdered by police officials.

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Another Emcee we have studied that criticise the ‘reel’ is Kingslee James Daley who goes by the name of Akala. Akala was born on the 1st December 1983 and was raised up in kentish town, London. He chose the name Akala because it was a Buddhist term for ‘immovable’. Akala began to release music in 2003 from his own independent music label ‘illa state records’. In Akalas SBTV freestyle he criticises the ‘reel’ by talking kicking of his freestyle by apologising to his audience for not rapping about the same things as everyone else. One line that stands out in his rap is ‘The ghettos in our heads, we are delirious.’ This line is very meaningful in my opinion by Akala saying ‘the ghettos in our heads’ he is telling us that all this ‘hip-hop’ music that we listen to has changed how we think of the world and it has got into our heads; all the things that the rappers lie to us about. Also many of the younger generations are taking inspiration of these rappers ‘trying to be like them’. The word ‘delirious’ makes an impression that everything we listen to is some sort of illusion, as if all these rappers lifestyles are perfect. which we know is not true.

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Yc the cynic is another emcee that criticises the ‘reel’. Yc the cynic other wise called Matthew Jefferson was born on the 21st November, 1990 and originates from Hents, point, Bronx, New York. Matthew released two mix-tapes ( you’re welcome in 2012 and fall fwd in 2011 ) both of these were highly regarded by critics. He was named one of the ” Top 5 underground hip-hop artists in New York” by deli magazine and was also ordained “dxnext” by the hip-hop website hiphopdx.com. Yc the cynic criticises the ‘Reel’ in his song ‘Negus’ , the part most meaningful is the hook ” I ride for my negus, i die for my negus” this is criticising as if you were to listen to the song without looking out the lyrics, we would think he is saying the word ‘Nigga’. This is because we have built up this picture in our mind of the ‘Reel’ world due to all of these other rappers who continuously rap about all of this nonsense. The word ‘Negus’ actually means emperor in the Ethiopian language. Personally i believe Yc the cynic is taking about how black people should embrace the fact they are who they are and take it upon themselves to become good things and there were many black people in ancient royalty who are not spoken about. Instead of being dragged into the rappers fantasy of being involved in gang activity and other illegal things which seems to be portrayed as good in social media.

Conclusion

It is obvious from what I have studied there is more to hip-hop than the ‘reel’ concept of selling drugs and killing people, And many artists apply much more depth and meaning into their songs. These rappers have chosen to build on the genre of hip-hop and try to create it into a positive thing, instead of being affiliated with major record companies, and delivering the wrong message to the public and in particular the younger society which has been influenced by this the most. So i hope my essay has helped you understand that there is more depth and meaning in hip-hop and those rappers talking about selling drugs, killing people and having sex with girls are characterising hip-hop and not showing the true meaning of hip-hop.

Social issues 

” aparently murdering man has become and aspiration ”

By Akala saying ” aparently murdering man has become and aspiration ” is deep in the sense that he puts a point across simply but very powerfully, rappers rap about killing others. By Akala using the word ‘aspiration’ he tells us that they kind of murder people with a passion / desire and make it out to be their goal as if they are heartless. They sort of put on an act to entertain people instead of talking the truth and being appretiated.

satire in hip-hop

Satire is using irony to make other think about what is going on and normally criticising people’s stupidity.

Mcs and rappers would use this sample in their songs to talk about how they are treated and what goes on really.

Mick Jenkins uses satire in his song by saying everyone wants to get all of the money get alot of girls but in the end their gonna get the race killed by doing so. He uses the hook which is a stereotype to deliver a much bigger image as in the video he shows himself hanging with a noose.

Hip-hop and sampling

Hip-hop using other music as a basis for its own – it started with Blues – then turned into Jazz – which then became soal – and finally lead to hip-hop.

There are two types of sampling:

1. A non musical intro
2. pieces being taken from another song

I think that they used this particular intro because it relates to the song as he talks about a girl in the song and in the beginning its two men having a conversation about girls

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Lastly we can see that Jews have been shown to be anti-semetic as in the final scene we can see that they all try and gang up on Shylock. In the end Shylock ends up have to do something which is probably the worst thing he could have ever done which is to convert into a Christian. This is presented to be anti-semetic as portia has manipulated Shylock into doing something he didn’t want to do and if it was Shylock in Antonio’s shoes the Christians wouldn’t have bothered to do anything and Shylock would have died. so there for we are presented with an anti-semetic image of the merchant of Venice.

Another way we are led to believe that The Merchant of Venice is anti-semetic is that in the court scene we see that the judge is also biased towards Shylock as he tells him that he has little sympathy for him and tells Antonio he feels sorry for Shylock and that he will be on his side. This tells us that the judge will try his hardest to try and throw off this case, also the judge quotes ” inhuman wretch incapable of pity ” this means that Antonio and the judge think of Shylock and the other Jews animals. This shows us that not only the public was anti-semetic but also the higher ranked people in Venice were also all corrupt so their for the Jews were basically all roundly targeted.

Furthermore in act 3 scene 3 Shylock has been shown to be harsh as he wants to stick to his bond as Antonio failed to pay shylocks 3000 ducats, however the judge has let Antonio out of prison to even discuss this matter and if shylock was to own Antonio this much money a pound of his flesh would have already been taken from him. This shows discrimination as hey are favoring Antonio by letting him out of jail to try and convince shylock to change his mind. We see this when shylock says  “ill have my bond; I will not hear thee speak:
I’ll have my bond; and therefore speak no more, I’ll not be made a soft and dull-eyed fool,To shake the head, relent, and sigh, and yield To Christian intercessors. Follow not;
‘ll have no speaking: I will have my bond.”