my favorie song

my favorite song is "life goes on" by tupac. it was on his double cd album all eyes on me. i love Pac music. he wrote this song for people like me. i really felt this song. i have lost alot of friends and family to death or jail. i really love the second verse, he spoke from the heart on this one. i love the part when he say "eyes blurry saying goodbye at the cemetary". i think he used blurry because he know we are so used to loosing a love one that our eyes dont cry any more. they only get blurry. R.I.P. to all we lost and keep your head up for all who are behind bars. no video for this song but here is the post.

role models

Role Models

"I think I'm a natural-born leader. I know how to bow down to authority if it's authority that I respect."
~Tupac Shakur






"The beautiful thing about hip-hop is it's like an audio collage. You can take any form of music and do it in a hip-hop way and it'll be a hip-hop song. That's the only music you can do that with."
~Talib Kweli




"A certain administration which I won't call by name took the arts out of the schools, and that left the brothers out on the street with nothing, so they went to the turntables and started rhyming. Then they had a way to express themselves, and that's the birth of hip-hop."
~Isaac Hayes





"Don't you want to know what's real and what's not? I remember when I was a kid, you know, this whole Cold War thing. They had us scared of the Russians. So, it's almost like, what's real and what's not?"
~Queen Latifah



"We used to talk about wanting to get some money, but that's when hip-hop was based on your dreams and your fantasy. The whole thing now is the dreams and fantasies were achieved, and you don't want to make it the focal point. You can't keep beating that dead horse."
~Puff Daddy




"I'm forever learning and that's why I'm always able to create new styles and new dimensions of hip-hop."
~Doug E. Fresh









"Hip-Hop isn't just music, it is also a spiritual movement of the blacks! You can't just call Hip-Hop a trend!
"~Lauryn Hill

People Who Keep it Real

"Throughout American history many of our social gains and much of our progress toward democracy were made possible by the active intervention of the federal government."
~Harold Washington




"I really think that's the key, part of the spiritual renewal that America needs to have, the notion that we really can have confidence in a better tomorrow."
~Carol Moseley Braun





"Racism is still with us. But it is up to us to prepare our children for what they have to meet, and, hopefully, we shall overcome."
~Rosa Parks





"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.




"And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us - no matter what our age or background or walk of life - each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation."
~Michelle Obama





"After a century of striving, after a year of debate, after a historic vote, health care reform is no longer an unmet promise. It is the law of the land."
~Barack Obama





"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage." ~Maya Angelou

OLIVE HARVEY 2010 "BET AWARDS"

The date Nov. 21st at Olive Harvey College,

To Prof. Younge and classmates of Humanities pop culture class just wanted to say job well done!!!

Over hyped rappers

 MALE OVER HYPED RAPPERS

1)Lil Wayne: Regardless of what you may think, Lil Wayne is all hype. People are now speaking of Lil Wayne as a “great” rapper, but the truth is, great rappers have a catalog with classic material and Lil Wayne has yet to produce a classic album. I will give Lil Wayne his props for being the hardest working man in all of Hip-Hop, you can’t turn on the radio without hearing one of his records, but the hype around his music is simply not justifiable. Making dope mixtapes does not mean as much as composing a great album, and before we can call him great he has to be able to construct an album that we can talk about in the same breath as “Illmatic”, “Ready to Die”, “Reasonable Doubt” and “The Low End Theory” . I pose the question, what makes this man so great beside punch-lines? Lil Wayne has not earned his stripes to be considered great, and although fans anticipate his releases, many of them are often disappointed in the final output. Lil Wayne is overrated!

2)Memphis Bleek: Jay-Z told everyone on “Hard Knock Life” that Bleek was going to be a good rapper, a new and improved Jay-Z….weren’t we all fooled. For the average fan every time Memphis Bleek released an album we all hoped it was going to be decent because you clearly wanted to root for him, but Bleek could just never stand on the pedestal that Jay-Z put him on. His one hit record (Is That Your Chick) was overshadow by the appearance of Jay-Z, and there just isn’t much growth since his debut album. Four albums in and nothing to show for it. We can always look on the bright side, he’s still just one hit away.

FEMALE OVER HYPED RAPPERS.

 Nicki Minaj &/Vs Lil'Kim: The mainstream debut of Lil Wayne's protegee Nicki Minaj brings the perennial question to the forefront of hip-hop consciousness once again: what is the role of women in the rap game? While Minaj is tearing up the airwaves, appearing on everything from Mariah Carey's Up Out My Face to Ludacris's My Chick Bad, the self-described "Harajuku Barbie" has captured the imagination of a generation that hasn't seen a dominant, prolific female rapper since the heyday of Lil Kim and Foxy Brown.
Minaj may be hyped as the latest leading lady of rap but, as hip hop has become more mainstream, the shift in expectations of women has led to a new reality: a successful female artist must not only be talented, but also able to titillate the gaze of an assumed male viewer. Earlier MCs such as MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Queen Pen, Da Brat, and Roxane Shante had far more options for onscreen representation, often appearing in the types of clothes their male contemporaries were wearing.

I've been a fan of rap since I was young, and throughout the years I've noticed that female rappers are very hard to come by. The ones that are popular/famous are talentless. Examples are Lil Kim, Nicki Minaj, Trina, Foxy Brown, and lets not forget Jackie O. I will admit at one point I was a fan of FOxy Brown, but the other girls are just over hyped their success is based more on whose ass is fatter. Where did the real female mc's go? I can only name a few that I thought were really talented and deserved their success. Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Missy (earlier years), and Left Eye.

OVER HYPED RAPPERS!!!

My seceond choice for an over hyped rapper is Lil wayne. In his song "got Money"
the words he uses in his music to describe African American women are slowly becoming more and more unacceptable. His behavior has also got him into trouble so he will soon become a hip-hop rapper from the past.

Bitch aint shit but a hoe and a trick
But you no one aint trickin' if you got it
You know we ain't f**king if you not thick
And i cool your ass dow if you think you're hot shit

So Rolex watch this I do it 4 5 6 my click
clack goes the black hoe pimp
and just like it blow that shit
Caase bitchI'm the bomb like tick tick

OVER HYPED RAPPERS!!!

T. I. is one of the over-hyped rappers who's fame will not be relivant to the hip-hop era because of his own self destructive behavior. He indeed has had his spotlight time but its coming to an end.

What is Culture?

Since the beginning of time, culture has been apart of everything we do. It's all about how we live, learn, and grow, and what we can provide. Many different ethnic backgrounds celebrate life threw music, art, and religion in order to keep the ethnic tradition alive. Because culture is so in depth it relates to everyday life, it's what do with our time, and how well we survive. Learning, living and customs is why we have culture.

Spud: Keep Ya Head Up ft Hassahn Phenomenon

people who keeps it real

2pac- keep ya head up/ Changes
wale- pretty girls
michael jackson- man in the mirror
common- The Corner
lupe- Real
talib kweli- get by
mos def

people who i feel keeps it real

Jesse jackson - “If you run, you might lose. If you don't run, you're guaranteed to lose.”


Dr.King- Everybody can be great... because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."


Denzel- Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn't matter how good you are.


Oprah- As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.


Meeks-the tax plan would funnel more money into education and higher education, something Meeks wanted for years to address funding disparities between school districts throughout the state."

Obama- And I will do everything that I can as long as I am President of the United States to remind the American people that we are one nation under God, and we may call that God different names but we remain one nation.


Giovanni- “I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.”

Common feat. Lauryn Hill - Retrospect for Life

Nas - I know i can

KURTIS BLOW ,THE BREAKS

Hip Hop, The Golden Years (Part 1)

Queen Latifah performs "I Know Where I've Been" at Mandela Day 2009 from...

Posted by Ms. Ruth

Arrested Development -Everyday People

Posted by Ms. Ruth

Heavy D & The Boyz - we got our own thang (12'' Mix) (1989)

Post by Ms. Ruth

Kepping it Real and Role Models

I believe that I have included in my blog past and present people who "Keep It Real".

Ms. Ruth




"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than you fear of failure." Bill Cosby

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time, we are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." President Barack Obama.

"One of the lessons that grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks, I really don't invest my energy in them, because I know who I am." Michelle Obama

"There was so much meanness in the atmosphere, but marvelous things pierce through the darkness of poverty and racism. You meet all kinds of people that help put life into perspective and turn the horror into some kind of lesson or venue of awakening that lives with you all your days." Ruby Dee

"Luck is where preparation meets opportunity." Denzel Washington

"Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment Own It." Oprah Winfrey

"I'm not alone, I'm free. I no longer have to be a credit, I don't have to be a symbol to anybody; I don't have to be first to anybody." Lena Horne

KEEPIN IT REAL!!!!

I really don't like talking about money. All I can say is that the Good Lord must have wanted me to have it.

A man must be willing to die for justice. Death is an inescapable reality and men die daily, but good deeds live forever.

Above anything else, I hate to lose.

I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening.

All kids need is a little help, a little hope and somebody who believes in them.

I made decisions that I regret, and I took them as learning experiences... I'm human, not perfect, like anybody else.

Each person must live their life as a model for others.

Everybody's just been spilling their guts all over records and talking about how hard it is to be an entertainer and how much we get hated on and what we have to go through. But I ain't really got it that bad. I'm just happy to be here.
And I learned a lot from working with this kid, and I think he's gonna be a big star. Remember the name, Tim Dark, because he has something about his voice that's different from all the other rappers, even though his style is similar.



I think it's a lame excuse for a lot of these rappers to say they only call girls bitches or hos because they act like that. It doesn't make them right.

I would suggest that teachers show their students concrete examples of the negative effects of the actions that gangsta rappers glorify.

Everything negative - pressure, challenges - is all an opportunity for me to rise.

we can change the world unless we change our selves.

You set yo-self on fire... you're still not as hot as me


Every man regards his own life as the New Year's Eve of time.