Final Essay Topic

The genre commonly referred to as conscious rap or political rap music holds a prominent role in Hip-Hop music. This sub genre has served over the years a a medium for critique on society. For the second essay that I will be writing, I have chosen to cover two musical artifacts from the genre of political rap. Lupe Fiasco's song "American Terrorist" and Nas's song "America" both lyrically commentate on modern American society, each artist offering their own takes on sociological issues plaguing this particular environment. Both songs seemingly focus on critiques in regards to inequality as related to minorities. I will be using the method of fantasy theme criticism to analyze the settings, characters, and actions as illustrated in the songs and compare and contrast the assumptions and opinions that each artist communicates in relation to these societal critiques.

Fantasy Theme Criticism - "One Mic" by NaS

One of the most legendary hip hop artists of all time, Nas, created one of the most famous, deeply emotional hip hop songs of all time with “One Mic”. “One Mic” covers ideas of the law, death, violence, struggle in impoverished areas and the power of spoken words. The speaker incites certain feelings in the audience through the implementation of images and symbols which can be explored rhetorically with the use of Fantasy-Theme Criticism. Through an analysis of the first verse, one can gain a better understand of the symbols used by the author which communicate the ideas and themes mentioned previously.

Fantasy Theme Criticism requires a look at the characters, setting, and actions taking place within the rhetoric that work together to create a sense of symbolic convergence among the audience so that they may all have a general shared experience of the situation being presented. In the case of the artifact, the first verse of “One Mic”, the setting is shifting, taking place in a non-specified, almost metaphysical location in some cases. The beginning setting is the stage that the speaker is performing on, communicating that he or she is in command with others who will listen. Some of the characters include a microphone, which allows the voice to be heard by many, and a beat, which brings about a sense of musicality to the character speaking in the song. Another character within the first few lines is the individual in front of the speaker. This creates the envisioned action by the listener of a performer on a stage executing a performance of some type for at least one individual. Simply the first two lines communicate a sense of power in the spoken word, immediately establishing the speaker’s views on performing and how the listener should view the potential of such spoken word.

Nas then shifts the focus as he begins to incorporate the violent theme that plays a significant role throughout the rest of the verse. The speaker (“I”) than states that if only he or she had “one gun”. The gun directly opposes the mic in its associated imagery, conjuring up thoughts of the mechanical instrument bringing death to individuals. The deadly character of the gun is then mixed in the same line with the characters of “one girl” and “one crib”. The girl and the crib directly contradict the gun in the homey, family atmosphere meeting the violence encompassed with the symbol of the gun.

The next character introduced, “One God” alludes to the religious tones. The action of the “One God” showing the performer how to do things his “son” did demonstrates the shared reality of the audience struggling to keep a consistently righteous path in a world twisted and plagued by violence. All of the major themes and symbols have at this point been established. More religious symbolism is created by mentioning of the “virgin blood”, having implied Christianity with the God, the son, and the virgin. The virgin’s blood is present hinting at the ever present violence and, as the virgin blood is mixed with 151 proof liquor, the issues of impoverished projects are brought into play. The shared reality of liquor is common among neighborhoods where poverty is prevalent because of the widespread stereotype that a liquor store being present on every corner. Once the individual takes the action and “sips” the religious symbol of virgin blood mixed with the liquor and “flips”, or psychologically changes, then the author progresses into an intensely violent rhetoric. Included in the following lines are references to bullets, the ideas of dead bodies being thrown in the garbage (the character of bodies developing a direct relationship with trash), and the police character as a law that harasses those already burdened by violence.

Immediately after the violent rant of the first verse which continually rises in emotion, the chorus of the song chimes in, as a significant drop in tone is noticed and the speaker reiterates tat among all the religious confusion, poverty, and violence, he or she still only needs one mic in this world. The various symbols utilized by the speaker to communicate violence and injustice are always counteracted with the symbol of the mic and the message that the spoken word of the voice may overcome all the other hardships that the darkest parts of reality in society have to offer.

One Mic lyrics -- Nas

Yo, all I need is one mic, one beat, one stage
One nigga front, my face on the front page
Only if I had one gun, one girl and one crib
One God to show me how to do things his son did
Pure, like a cup of virgin blood; mixed with
151, one sip'll make a nigga flip
Writin names on my hollow tips, plottin shit
Mad violence who I'm gon' body, this hood politics
Ackowledge it, leave bodies chopped in garbages
Seeds watch us, grow up and try to follow us
Police watch us {*siren*} roll up and try knockin us
One knee I ducked, could it be my time is up
But my luck, I got up, the cop shot again
Bus stop glass bursts, a fiend drops his Heineken
Richochetin between the spots that I'm hidin in
Blackin out as I shoot back, fuck gettin hit! {*sirens*}
This is my hood I'ma rep, to the death of it
'til everybody come home, little niggaz is grown
Hoodrats, don't abortion your womb, we need more warriors soon
Sip from the star, sun, and the moon
In this life of police chases street sweepers and coppers
Stick-up kids with no conscience, leavin victims with doctors
IF YOU REALLY THINK YOU READY TO DIE, WITH NINES OUT
THIS IS WHAT NAS IS BOUT, NIGGA THE TIME IS NOW!

Yo, all I need is one mic..
All I need is one mic.. that's all I need
All I need is one mic.. all I need niggaz
All I need is one mic.. yeah