arihant magazine

arihant magazine 

arihant magazine Published this article page no  34  In “Damn It Feels Good to be a Gangster”, the Geto Boys fully redefine the negative characteristic of drug distribution by accusing the President of being a drug dealer, and therefore, a gangster: And now, a word from the President! Damn it feels good to be a gangsta Getting’ voted into the White House Everything lookin’ good to the people of the world But the Mafia family is my boss So every now and then I owe a favor gettin’ down Like lettin’ a big drug shipment through And send ‘em to the poor community So we can bust you know who These examples show how hip-hop artists redefine the image of being drug dealers and users by again pointing to the majority class as the creator of the drug problem in this country. Materialism Hip-hop music is also seen by the majority class as a genre dominated by materialism. Again, artists point back to the majority class in an attempt to redefine this negative characteristic. In “Respiration”, Black Star points to all the wealth surrounding urban areas, and how it absorbs the lower class in materialism, making them want parts of that wealth: Where mercenaries is paid to trade hot stock tips For profits, thirsty criminals take pockets Hard knuckles on the second hands of workin’ class watches Skyscrapers is colossus, the cost of living Is preposterous, stay alive, you play or die, no options Here, the poet talks about various materialistic aspects of the majority class, and how the lower class must “play or die” to “stay alive.” In “All Falls Down”, Kanye West actually blames this materialism on American society: It seems we living the American dream But the people highest up got the lowest self esteem The prettiest people do the ugliest things For the road to riches and diamond rings In this example, the poet blames the “American dream” for materialism, saying it causes people to “do the ugliest things” for “riches and diamond rings.” In “Los Angeles Times”, Xzibit also blames this materialism on the majority class, claiming that is what the youth are taught coming up in urban environments: Welcome to L.A. Where you can see the whole city burning Cause the cops got Uzis and the dealers keep serving And your kids ain’t learning it, except this Sex power and wealth, forget everything else Here, the poet expresses his belief that certain aspects of materialism, including “power and wealth” are taught to children through occurrences in society arihant gk buy.

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