#but they made us put a parental advisory warning on the ENTIRE ALBUM just because of the name of that one song

[that-marie]

it's okay. you can goop me up. i like jello. [Lie]

Thanks Anon. Also, please never say that again.

[badpanda143]

Track 1

Hip Hop Element: Graffiti

A classmate and I artistically collaborated in achieving this Graffiti piece. The layout of this piece is set as Salt’N Pepa’s album cover labeled “Hot, Cool, Vicious” (1986) (on the next page for reference) This album is influential as it was one of the first albums to be released by an all-female MC group and the first album by an all-female group that to become platinum. Because of this album, Salt’N Pepa became cultural legacies and provided a loud and influential voice for Black women in a largely male-dominated space, with multifaceted lyrical content and themes throughout their music. I pay homage to these icons by using the album that gave them a voice, following the visual look, and apply their style and words (cool, hot, vicious) to the other women on this poster, using graffiti techniques. No doubt, Salt’N Pepa was an influence on Missy Elliot, but likely on Lauryn Hill and Lil Kim as well. Each of these Black women made room for themselves in a country that systematically pushes Black women to the side. Using the elements of graffiti, this piece connects to the readings and pays homage to the influence these Black women have had on Hip Hop and society as a whole. 

The Parental Advisory Feminine content was placed on the left of the art piece. This content warning sign is placed to symbolize how just by being Black women in the spotlight, they are a threat to white supremacy and patriarchal order- and therefore is often perceived as foul and inappropriate. However, when men in Hip-Hop create outrageous rhymes about exploiting women it oftentimes society doesn't consider them as explicit or shocking because unfortunately, in violent patriarchy, we are desensitized to hearing violent language towards women. The title ”Rap Females” was written with “Rap” first and “females” second, which is typically opposite to how women are seen in this career path. More than likely we hear the term “female rappers”, signifying that she’s a female first, and a rapper second. Which can be interpreted as needing to prove herself as a “respectable woman”,  before she can be taken seriously as an MC. I decided to switch the words around, to question why we feel the need to explicitly state the gender of MCs only when they are women. Although each of these icons that we sprayed on  (Missy, Lauryn, and Lil’Kim)  can simultaneously switch between being positioned in the sections of hot, cool, or vicious. I placed these women in particular spots based on the reading and influence on society. Each of these MCs navigated their way through a male-dominated space using different paths. Within the transcript, I will further explain the chosen colors, symbols, and themes, as they correspond directly to the reading.

Transcript

Missy Elliot is painted in blue, with the word “cool” written on her section of the piece. The blue signifies the word cool and cool and fly are synonyms. In Chapter 21 of That’s the Joint, Missy Elliot is put into the category of “Fly Girl”. “Fly describes someone in chic clothing and fashionable hairstyles, jewelry, and cosmetics, a style that grew out of the blaxploitation films of the late 1960s through the mid-1970s. The fly persona in these films influenced a wave of Black contemporary youth who, in turn, resurrected flyness and its continuum in hip-hop culture.” (286) Missy Elliot is unique in this role because as a full-figured fly woman, she breaks new ground by being in a space that typically favors slender women. Missy Elliot had a style that consisted of baggy and vibrant Adidas tracksuits. Although at times she was categorized as being “desexualized” using a patriarchal white supremacist framework of thinking-to me and many women who look up to Missy, she actually actively reclaims her sexuality, fights misogyny, and makes us want to dance- simultaneously. “With her single “She’s a Bitch” from her sophomore LP Da Real World (1999), Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott appends another image to her fly girl posture. Her usage of bitch makes a self-statement about being a mover and shaker, on- and offstage, in rap’s male-dominated arena.” (Keyes, 287) In the Hip Hop industry, women tend to have to prove themselves not only with their MCing skills but also with their “look”. Missy Elliot was able to navigate this system by staying true to her lyrics while executing a fly girl demeanor. 

Lauryn Hill is spray painted in purple and is wearing a crown to signify her royal status in Hip-Hop Industry. It’s impossible to fit Lauryn Hill into a single category. She is such an inspiring artist, songwriter, and human. In her music, she steals the show with her deep, lyrical content. Her lyrics and songs are diverse, but I placed her in the category of vicious for her unwavering voice and dedication in her music about Black liberation, critiquing the system of white supremacy on which America was built on. She has an “attitude” because demands respect for her own autonomy. The readings categorized her as “Sista with Attitude” but I also believe she has elements as “Queen Mother”, hence the crown. “In general, “Sista with Attitude” comprises female MCs who value attitude as a means of empowerment and present themselves accordingly. Many of these “sistas” (sisters) have reclaimed the word bitch, viewing it as positive rather than negative and using the term to entertain or provide cathartic release. Other sistas in the interpretive community are troubled by that view. These women, such as Lauryn Hill, have “refused to be labeled a ‘bitch’ because such appellations merely mar the images of young African American females” (Keyes, 289). Lauryn Hill is vicious in her inability to accept the standards that have been inflicted on Black Women in America. She is a true political leader, feminist, and one-of-a-kind MC. 

Lil Kim is painted in silver and red. The red color and the 3 X’s signify Lil Kim’s mindset regarding her freedom of sexuality, which can be exhibited through her style, lyrical content, and overall demeanor. She brought to the Hip Hop industry another element different from the other MCs in this painting. In the Book, she’s categorized as a “Mack Diva”.“By the mid- to late 1990s, the “Sista with Attitude” category was augmented with rappers Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown, who conflate fly and hardcore attitudes in erotic lyrics and video performances, bordering both “Fly Girl” and “Sista with Attitude” categories. In doing so, they are designated by some as the “mack divas, or “bad girls of hip-hop” The bad girl image also parallels the “badman” character to the African American oral narrative. The feminist rendering of “the badman” includes those sistas who brag about partying and smoking “blunts” with their men; seducing, repressing, and sexually emasculating male characters;10 or “dissin’ ” (verbally downplaying) their would-be female or male competitors—all through figurative speech.” (Keyes, 289). Because Lil Kim falls into this role, she is not highly respected for her creative skills, but rather vilified, dehumanized, and viewed as misusing sex. I argue that Lil Kim was defining her own sexuality, and in doing so- has helped many women find the value in their “erotic power”. Lil’ Kim still is under-credited for her influence on sex-positive feminism and making space for other Mack Divas who followed in her footsteps. 

In conclusion, the final sentences of this reading sum up this piece entirely “Female rappers have attained a sense of distinction through revising and reclaiming Black women’s history and perceived destiny.  They use their performances as platforms to refute, deconstruct, and reconstruct alternative visions of their identity. With this platform, rap music becomes a vehicle by which Black female rappers seek empowerment, make choices, and create spaces for themselves and other sistas” (Keyes, 290). These women had to navigate through dominant notions of femininity, black female sexuality, and misogynoir. Each of these variables creates different pathways and themes to navigate the system. With the help of Salt’N Pepa, Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill, and Lil’ Kim, Black women are continuing to make strides in the Hip Hop industry.

[eddsmediamashup-blog]

This was my original scrip for “Metal then and now”

Metal then and now

<Old School News Footage>

Old School Metal

Heavy metal is a genre that can be easily judged, I mean how hard can it be grab a few scruffy men together and completely mutilate guitars with inaudible vocals over the top? Well here is a little story on how a couple of men from Birmingham managed to create the most dark, beautiful and complex music and a genre of music which I consider home. Black Sabbath were the first band that were considered to be heavy metal with their creepy tones and sound of lyrical content about the devil, wizardry, war and conspiracies. In the late 60’s and early 70’s many holy families considered Ozzy, the leader of Black Sabbath and the rest of the band to be of the devils origin. Black Sabbath started out as a blues rock band but managed to adapt their sound over time to eventually lay down the fundamentals for the future of metal. It wasn't only the music that inspired the next generation of hard rockers which were soon to be metalheads, but the art of the album as well; with its dark colour pallet and creepy undertones it was like nothing that was previously seen in the 60’s and it especially wasn't a cute pop or beach boy album.

Fast forward 8 years from the release of the original Black Sabbath album and you had new faces on the scene, that were growing from the sounds that bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin had already laid down. Those band were still going and they were nowhere near the end of their careers, the only thing that had changed now is that they had competition. The metal market had only just started and it was faster, heavier and more raw than ever before.  

In the mid 70’s to early 80’s, a movement was taking place in Britain under the name of Nwobhm, this made the metal genre get put into a spotlight, with names such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motorhead, although it would take a little more time for some of these name to grow. This genre grew alongside punk bringing with it a faster sound than your typical hard rock and metal bands of late 60’s and early 70’s. Punk was dying and most fans had decided to jump from their sinking ship and set up home in a scene that was only starting to bloom, many people jumped to Motorhead during this time and would consider Motorhead to be the face of old school metal as there's nothing quite like their sound.

As if it was captured as soon as pen was put to paper, Motorhead’s songs were raw with an unpolished sound but it fit the theme so well; with lyrical content about gambling, drinking, sex and life on the road nothing could stop this genius group from writing songs about life of the fast lane for years to come. It was around this time that metalheads started to find their fashion, with denim and leather jackets covered in patches from the bands that they liked, the scruffy look was a straight up fuck you to pop culture and to the mainstream, alongside that the clothes matched the dirty and raw sounds that Motorhead had set out to create. My essential Nwobhm albums: Ace of Spades by Motorhead, Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden and Wild Cat by Tygers Of Pan Tang.

Thrash Metal

The 80’s were a time of struggle, with the cold war still in full force, the political system was failing to represent the people and the media was telling people what to think, feel and say. There was an outcry for a way for people to vent their true anger and one day a genre came that reflected the brutality of the 80’s. Inspired by hardcore punk, nwobhm and the early years of metal, thrash was the combination of everything that metal stood for, and with it thrash brought new complexity, new speeds and a new attitude to the genre. With a hate towards the political system, thrash was music by the people for the people. And now the music wasn't only limited to one country or continent, a vast amount of Europe and America was affected by this new sound. In Europe bands like Venom started to popularise thrash metal whilst also experimenting to find new genres like black metal but you'll hear more about that later. In the USA a group of young guys were looking to form a new group and a man named Lars Ulrich helped popularise an entire genre with his collection of European metal records, he drew inspiration from bands like Motorhead, Iron Maiden and The Sex Pistols to form Metallica. This is where metal really started to take off and hit the mainstream, over the course of 5 albums Metallica started to mold itself into the thing they didn't want to be, a radio friendly rock band with ballads becoming more common on their albums and their songs getting slower and less complicated, it wasn't too long until this watered down “metal” style started to influence teens and this later gave birth to genres like nu metal and alt metal. My essential Thrash albums: Reign In Blood by Slayer, Master Of Puppets by Metallica and Rust In Peace by Megadeth.

RANT ABOUT SKREEEEE(aming) A common misconception with metal is that the vocals consist entirely of inaudible screaming and nothing else, which is not the case, as metal has grown through the years it’s not only the instruments that have changed sound, but the vocal instrumentals have changed sound as well. Like any genre of music, not every band is the same and some wish to follow more clean cut singing or loud powerful screaming and growling.

The screams were typically thrown in to express the more extreme messages in bands lyrics, to a first time listener it’s understandable that they could struggle making out what bands were saying during these screams, however, over time metalheads have adapted to this style of vocals and can make out what the singers are saying.

For many bands, this is used for stylistics.

Black Metal

Black metal a controversial topic for some, but personally, for me no genre in metal intrigues me more. Black Metal was formed in the mid 80’s, it started out as a protogenre for thrash but you may recognize the genre because it was well known for murders, church burnings and crimes that took place in the early 90’s. Venom was one of the first bands to experiment with its sound, starting out as a thrash band and slowly beginning to bring in new elements to their music focusing on more melodies and adding in blast beats. 80’s bands like Mayhem, Burzum, and Emperor took inspiration from Venom and made their own new sounds with the distant and melodic guitars from bands like Emperor making this some truly frightening work.

At this time in metal the sound was getting heavier, the lyrical content was getting darker and the songs were getting more complex. Not only were the instruments sounding dark but the singers in bands started to use the screams I previously mentioned, this is because in the early 90’s this style of singing was getting more popular and personally, I could not think of anything more fitting to go with the music.

My essential black metal albums: Nemesis Divina by Satyricon, Hvis Lyset Tar Oss by Burzum and In The Nightside Eclipse by Emperor.

Death Metal

Meanwhile whilst black metal was taking over Norway and the rest of Europe, overseas death metal was growing in the USA with bands like Cannibal Corpse and Death, this genre popularised the death screams and growls with lyrical content ranging from serial killers, torture and gratuitous sex, most of which was inspired from movies, old horror books and comics, because of this it was only an amount of time before word got out this beautifully sickening genre.

During the mid 80’s and early 90’s the music industry was under attack by suburban mums and dads who were worried about what music industry was doing to their children, as you could've guessed metal came under fire by this group of people but it wasn't the only genre under fire, hip-hop was too. With parents worried their children would become gang members and satanists this movement affected the music industry in a big way bringing in the Filthy Fifteen and the Parental Advisory Sticker that was soon put onto every obscene album. The Filthy Fifteen was a list that was composed by the group members to warn other parents of the most disgusting music out at the time but many bands made it a target of theirs to make it onto the list. Many teens of the 80’s and 90’s went out of their way to listen and support the bands on the list and for many it was their gateway into metal and hip-hop and the new generation of satanic gang members were born.

Nu metal filth

>limp bizkit< Nu metal was a genre that skyrocketed towards pop culture in the mid to late 90’s, the genre was metal with all the soul sucked out of it and garnished off with a bit of rap. The genre traded off its guitar solos, blast beats, guttural singing, etc for more generic and sometimes repetitive riffs and rapping. Nu metal was popularised by bands such as Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park and Korn and the genre was seen as one of the popular fads of the 90’s as well as pogs, boy bands, iced tips and sitcoms. It’s fair to say that Nu metal hasn't exactly aged, with songs such as Evanescence's Bring Me to Life which is now seen as a joke with its cringe-worthy and simplistic lyrics. Albums worth your time instead: Bloodlust by Bodycount (Rap thrash/metal album)

Sludge and Progressive

As the 90’s was coming to a close and the survivors of Y2K mentally scarred forever. Towards the end of the 90’s and the beginning of the 2000’s metal was more diverse than ever, it had even more genres than before, including but not limited to power metal, folk metal, doom and melodeath but more people were wondering how the genre would grow and it didn't stop growing there.

Although sludge metal was already on the scene with tons of fans, Mastodon was the one to break the iceberg with sludge metal, with their doom metal and hardcore punk influences, the music was hard, heavy and slow which is best described by the genre's name: sludge. Despite the slower time signatures it didn't stop bands like Mastodon from kicking ass. Over time Mastodon started to adjust their sound to be more progressive, taking influence from early heavy metal and prog rock bands of the 70’s like Rush.

Progressive metal at the time was led by Opeth and Dream Theater, both bands took influence from the prog rock of the 70’s along with death metal and black metal from the 80’s and 90’s, this led to a very technical sound that would boggle and intrigue the minds of musicians for decades to come, it also produced some of the best drummers of this generation.   My essential sludge metal albums: Leviathan by Mastodon, Red Album by Baroness, Dopethrone by Electric Wizard.

And my essential prog metal albums: Blackwater Park by Opeth, Crack The Skye by Mastodon and Scenes From A Memory by Dream Theater.

Metal now.

It’s been about 40 years since metal graced our ears and we’ve barely touched the surface, the genre hasn't stopped growing since it was first formed.

As of 2017 thrash metal has made a large comeback with bands like Havok, Warbringer and Municipal Waste. Along with that, more bands are fusing sounds together like Zeal and Ardor with their blend of black metal and 1920 blues, talking about America's history of slavery and the discrimination of the black community. Some symphonic bands are now also fusing genres to create mindblowing classical music with death metal influences, it makes for one impressive show.   There are many genres that I haven't even covered but as we move more into the future I can't wait to see where this extreme genre will take us and if it can be outdone by something more extreme. Thank you for watching.