Hiphop/rock artists trying to send a message?, page 1

So the purpose of this thread is to give you songs and their music videos, and to examine their lyrics. Some of my referencing will come from RapGenius. But I will also give my own idea on how I feel about what is said.

I would really hope if you give me your own ideas, and even bring new songs to the table.

Well to start, the song "God Bless Amerika" by Lil Wayne.. I thought this would be an interesting start due to all of the controversy

God Bless Amerika

So there are some pretty decent references by Lil Wayne in this song actually.

"My country tis of thee,
Sweet land of kill em all and let em die"

Best line on the album, in my opinion. Sounds like the first national anthem when it quotes “My country tis of thee” and calls America a sweet land, then flipping the sentiment by exposing its astonishing death rates and the government’s reluctance to solve the problem.

So personally I agree with this, except for the "flipping the sentiment...government’s reluctance to solve the problem". Personally I believe the "Sweet land of kill em all and let em die" is a backlash of the word "Liberty". Reason being is due to the point of the definition and our context of the use of "Liberty". Meaning, the ability to do what we want (our leaders) (sweet land of kill em all and let em die)

"God bless Amerika
This ole' godless Amerika
I heard tomorrow ain’t promised today"

Most of this is self explanatory except for the last line "I heard tomorrow aint promised today".

In the past, Americans were promised a better tomorrow, not so anymore

"Damn, military minded, lost and can’t find it"

1) America is very military minded, and this song is in part about America. Americans are military minded, they are lost because of it.

2) A reference to P.T.S.D (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Lil Wayne is saying that he is stressed, and that he has lost his mind

I agree with these ideas.

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"The stars on the flag are never shining"

Personally I believe the meaning is quite simple. The country has an evil aurora about it.. So therefor the stars aren't shining.

Next I will look at Eminems song "Mosh"

"maybe this is God just
Saying we're responsible, for this monster
This coward that we have empowered"

We are the ones who elected Bush into office and allowed him to go to war.

There is a whole skew of things Eminem could be referencing with the term "coward" due to how many Bush made.. lol

"Strap him with an AK-47, let him go
Fight his own war, let him impress daddy that way"

Political commentary has said that Bush Jr. launched the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as a way to show his father that he is capable of doing something right. Bush Sr. led a successful campaign against Iraq in the Gulf war and was applauded for supplying temporary peace in the Middle east. Bush Jr., on the other hand, has just messed up the Middle East even more.

This has a lot of common sense in it when you think about their family ties with oil and so on, which is expressed a little more in the next lines

"No more blood for oil, we got our own battles
To fight on our own soil, no more psychological warfare
To trick us to thinking we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country we're patronizing a hero"

Stop sending in troops to oil-rich countries in an attempt to raise profits for his oil company cronies.

Well on the psychological warfare part downwards is pretty easy to remember. Everyone remembers people on the news saying things like "If you don't support this war on terror then how are you a US citizen?!"

"Look in his eyes it's all lies
The stars and stripes have been swiped, washed out and wiped
And replaced with his own face, mosh now or die"

Its no longer about supporting America, its about supporting Bush. Instead of pledging elegance to the flag, its to Bush. He has made himself the symbol for America when it should be the flag

Alright now to the next song..

Lupe Fiasco- "Words I never said"

Oh lord.. This song is TEEMING with references.. I'm just going to post the lyrics because it would take all day to dissect this song lol.

"I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bull#
Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets
How much money does it take to really make a full clip?
9/11, building 7, did they really pull it?
Uh, And a bunch of other coverups
Your child's future was the first to go with budget cuts
If you think that hurts, then wait, here comes the uppercut
The school was garbage in the first place, that's on the up and up
Keep you at the bottom but tease you with the upper crust
You get it, then they move it, so you never keeping up enough
If you turn on TV, all you see's a bunch of "what the #s"
Dude is dating so and so, blabbering 'bout such and such
And that ain't Jersey Shore, homey, that's the news
And these the same people supposedly telling us the truth
Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist
Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say #
That's why I ain't vote for him, next one either
I’m a part of the problem, my problem is I’m peaceful
And I believe in the people, yeah"

"Now we can say it ain't our fault if we never heard it
But if we know better, then we probably deserve it
Jihad is not a holy war, where's that in the worship?
Murdering is not Islam, and you are not observant
And you are not a Muslim
Israel don't take my side cause look how far you've pushed them
Walk with me into the ghetto, this where all the kush went
Complain about the liquor store, but what you drinking liquor for?
Complain about the gloom, but when'd you pick a broom up?
Just listening to Pac ain't gon' make it stop
A rebel in your thoughts ain't gon' make it halt
If you don't become an actor, you'll never be a factor
Pills with million side effects, take 'em when the pain's felt
Wash them down with diet soda, killing off your brain cells
Crooked banks around the world would gladly give a loan today
So if you ever miss a payment, they can take your home away"

"I think that all the silence is worse than all the violence
Fear is such a weak emotion, that's why I despise it
We scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth
So scared of what you think of me, I'm scared of even telling you
Sometimes I'm like the only person I feel safe to tell it to
I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that there's a jail in you
Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath, inhale a few
My screams is finally getting free, my thoughts is finally yelling through"

So I would post more.. but instead I'm just going to give you guys several more songs to ponder on.