Lyrics

MANABATAR GAAN (The Songs of Humanity) : A Collection of Contemporary Bengali Songs and Bengali Mass Songs written by Rajesh Datta. First Published: January 2015, Publisher: Radical Impression, Arun Kumar Dey, 43, Beniatola Lane, Kolkata- 700009, Phone: 033-22416988 Mobile: 09432112933

This chapter arose from a research project (Cheung, 2010) reporting on a linguistic study of song lyrics by Hong Kong musicians who composed in English. The study aimed to reveal the use of metaphor, both as a rhetorical technique and a linguistic phenomenon, in a small lyric database I compiled. The motivation of the project was both a linguistic and an educational one, in that the awareness of metaphor may improve language learners' reading comprehension and capacity to produce creative writing (e.g. Cardoso, 2005 ; Hashemian & Nezhad, 2007). Th at said, the original study did not address the broader topic of how the musicians, many of whom have English as a second language (ESL), position themselves in what Benson and Chik (2012) refer to as the "language question" in the Hong Kong popular music scene. Specifically, the language question refers to how language choices-Cantonese, Mandarin, English or a blend of these-potentially influence production and consumption of Hong Kong popular music. While English is one of Hong Kong's official languages and the main medium of instruction in tertiary education, as well as in English-medium primary and secondary schools, Cantonese remains the de facto language among the locals across everyday and institutional contexts, including the entertainment and music industry. In view of this, it would be necessary to investigate the factors contributing to their choice to use English, perhaps as a strategic move away from the "mainstream" music scene. In the following, I first explain briefly how language choice might be influenced by the development of Hong Kong popular music. Th is is followed by an explanation of the concept of "metaphor" and its relevance to an understanding of the language question. I then report on the findings from a corpus study of metaphor in English lyrics in Hong Kong independent (or "indie") music and those of a recent qualitative study in which indie musicians were interviewed and their lyrics examined. To conclude the chapter, I discuss the significance of the two studies in understanding how Hong Kong ESL users shape their identities through language. I also point to three potential directions for future research on Hong Kong independent music.

The study is focused on the relationship of lyric and epic in Milan Kundera's work. Milan Kundera differs resolutely from lyric in the novel Life Is Elsewhere. Nevertheless, the lyric is present at his writing till his late work. In the novel Identity, Milan Kundera paraphrases two poems from his collection Monologues. We could point out how much the lyric in the late work is an integral part of the novelist's gesture.

This dissertation strives to explore the curation of stories and character in Taylor Swift’s 2020 albums folklore and evermore. Swift’s albums, created from “dreams” throughout the pandemic, explore individual characters and their stories in ways that previous albums released by Swift do not – through self-contained tracks, storylines running throughout an album that merge to create an overarching narrative, exploration of the negative aspect of celebrity and Swift’s own personal life.

I will seek to thoroughly examine the stories presented and how they serve to establish both isolated characters with their own stories and also characters shared throughout several tracks. This will begin with the examination of structure on the two albums, with Swift using both linear and non-linear structures to portray the stories of the characters. Following this, I will analyse the converging storylines that feature across both albums in songs such as betty, august, cardigan, gold rush, dorothea and ‘tis the damn season. I will then move to focus on the use of character in stories, both fictional and non-fictional. The fictional characters examined will be nameless and their stories are self-contained, excluding similar themes, with all stories involved with tales of heartbreak and lost love. Finally, I will draw upon the idea of Taylor Swift herself as a character in the albums. Although Swift has previously used her personal life within her discography, she claims that the two albums were all about approaching music and storytelling differently, thus the way Swift appears across the albums and presents her personal stories contrasts to her previous work.

Time-aligned lyrics can enrich the music listening experience by enabling karaoke, text-based song retrieval and intra-song navigation, and other applications. Compared to text-to-speech alignment, lyrics alignment remains highly challenging, despite many attempts to combine numerous sub-modules including vocal separation and detection in an effort to break down the problem. Furthermore, training required fine-grained annotations to be available in some form. Here, we present a novel system based on a modified Wave-U-Net architecture, which predicts character probabilities directly from raw audio using learnt multi-scale representations of the various signal components. There are no sub-modules whose interdependencies need to be optimized. Our training procedure is designed to work with weak, line-level annotations available in the real world. With a mean alignment error of 0.35s on a standard dataset our system outperforms the state-of-the-art by an order of magnitude.

This paper analyzes some peculiarities of song translation in contexts in which neither performers nor recipients are music professionals, and the aim of teaching music is paired by the aim of sharing the cultural aspects of the music and lyrics chosen. Focusing on the "grey zone" between translation and adaptation, the paper explores some technical and cultural challenges of such work, especially when the original languages (Nordic languages and German) have very different conventions from the target language (Italian).

Статья посвящена такому явлению, как ведение речи от лица мертвеца в лирическом тексте. Оно сопоставляется с повествованием мертвеца в эпике, высказывается гипотеза о генезисе этого явления и прослеживается его эволюция (в том числе в жанровом аспекте) в русской лирике.

Early academic article on McCartney's songs during/after the Beatles. This focuses on themes of time and nostalgia alongside musical innovation in a selection of McCartney songs, 1963-2001. Some of my later publications on McCartney (and Lennon) are also available on my academia.edu page.

Denn ‚Ich’ ist ein anderes. Wenn das Blech als Trompete aufwacht, dann ist nicht ihm das anzurechnen. Ich bin beim Aufblühen meines Denkens zugegen, ich schaue ihm zu, ich höre ihm zu. Ich mache einen Strich mit dem Bogen: schon regt sich die Symphonie in der Tiefe. Es ist falsch zu sagen: ich denke. Es müsste heißen: ich werde gedacht.
Der Dichter kommt an im Unbekannten, und selbst wenn er seine eigenen Visionen schließlich nicht mehr begreift, so hat er sie doch geschaut. Mag er zugrunde gehen an seinem riesigen Sprung durch die ungehörten und unnennbaren Dinge: andere fruchtbare Arbeiter werden kommen und an jenen Horizonten anfangen, wo er selbst zusammengebrochen ist.

Arthur Rimbaud
Lettres du voyant

Der Dichter hat nur dies zu tun, dass er geheimnisvoll arbeitet im Hinblick auf das Niemals.

Stéphane Mallarmé

Unter einer Epiphanie verstand er (Stephan) eine jähe geistige Manifestation, entweder in der Vulgarität von Rede oder Geste oder in einer denkwürdigen Phase des Geistes selbst. Er glaubte, dass es Aufgabe des Schriftstellers sei, diese Epiphanien mit äußerster Sorgfalt aufzuzeichnen, da sie selbst die zerbrechlichsten und flüchtigsten aller Momente seien.

James Joyce,
Stephen der Held

The musical theme of Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane”—delicate string harmonies woven together through modal sequences—can be easily recognized by most people today. Both connoisseurs of Classical music (and complete strangers to it) can recognize the allure of Fauré’s simple yet compelling orchestrations by ear alone. But its humble, hummable melody and its plucked, sparkling textures are more than merely “enjoyable to the ear.”
With this single piece, Fauré unites the European Classical tradition of Greek fables with the sonic texture of the 1887 Belle-Époque (trans. “Beautiful Era”). And in doing so, the composer Fauré and the poet Montesquieu weave together a cheeky French tone poem that criticizes the social vices of 1887 French excess and incontinence (through stories about Greek mythology).

Songs are popular among language learners and a text genre that is yet to be fully exploited in language teaching. Questions arise regarding their lexical demand and vocabulary-learning opportunities they afford. Two pop song corpora were analyzed to determine the vocabulary size necessary to comprehend 95% and 98% of words in pop songs. The first corpus comprised 408 songs listed in recent US billboard charts. The second corpus consisted of 635 songs selected by teachers for language-teaching purposes. Results of an analysis using RANGE and 20 BNC word-frequency lists showed that the lexical demand of charts songs is overall clearly lower compared to other written genres but similar to spoken genres, as the most frequent 3000 word families plus proper nouns provided 95.1% coverage of tokens, and knowledge of 6000 word families plus proper nouns was necessary to reach 98.2% coverage. Teacher-selected songs have a lower lexical demand: Knowledge of the most frequent 2000 word families plus proper nouns was necessary to reach 95.5% coverage, while a vocabulary size of 4000 word families plus proper nouns provided coverage of 98.2% of words in the pedagogical corpus. Implications for the use of songs in ESL and EFL classrooms are discussed.

It would be difficult and indeed absurd to approach Milton's poetry without an awareness of his revolutionary commitment. One of the foremost polemicists against the bishops, the monarchy, and the rest of the baggage of the old order, he became Latin secretary to the republican Council of State and official propagandist of the new regime with his great Defences of the English people. After the Restoration his life was in danger, he was imprisoned and some of the books that he wrote were burned. 1 Yet when we turn to his first book of Poems, the political, the revolutionary are not the immediate impression we receive. 2 Certainly the volume includes early work dating from before the revolutionary years. Yet the collection was published in 1645, after the conclusion of the first phase of the Civil War and at a point when Milton had already published polemical and increasingly radical prose tracts-Of Reformation in England (1641), Of

In Media Res post on the lyric video for Taylor Swift's 'exile'.
(http://128.122.109.51/imr/content/lyric-video-moving-concrete-poetry-or-pleasures-eye-tennis-tay-tay)

Part of the In Media Res theme week on 'Lyric Videos', with Laura McLaren, Virginia Kuhn, Elsie Walker, and Carol Vernallis.
(http://128.122.109.51/imr/content/lyric-videos)

Kulcsszavak: dalszöveg, irodalmi határterület, retorikai elemzés, reflektív tanítás, szociolingvisztika

1. Bevezetés A megelőző korokhoz képest napjainkra megváltozott az irodalom platformja-változásra késztetve a társadalmat olvasási, nyelvhasználati szokásait tekintve. Változik az anyanyelvi nevelés háttere, átértékelődnek a különböző réteg-és csoportnyelvek szerepei (Antalné 2003), és a vizsgálatuk során alkalmazandó szempontok is. A szociolingvisztikai szempont azért fontos, hogy a tanár "jobban megismerje tanítványait, s jobban tudjon a differenciálással bánni" (Adamikné 2001: 294). A kétszintű érettségi bevezetése, a tananyagok átalakítása megváltoztatta a hagyományos képzési formákat, de változtak a diákság elvárásai is. Ezeknek úgy lehet megfelelni, ha a tanár a tananyagot diákjai sajátosságainak és tudásának megfelelően alakítja. Írásom rámutat, hogyan emelhetők be a dalszövegek és-akár retorikai-elemzésük a középiskolai (irodalom)tanításba. Elméleti hátterében kitér a nyelvhasználatban és az irodalmi nyelvben beállt változásokra, az irodalom társadalmi szerepére. Elhelyezi a dalszöveget az irodalmi műfajok, a retorikai elemzést az ismert műelemzési módszerek között. Az elmélet gyakorlatban történő szemléltetésére ara vállalkozik, hogy vázolja a Most múlik pontosan c. dal szövegének komplex, retorikai elemzési lehetőségeit.

Rap artists are among the most recognizable celebrities in the US, serving as role models to an increasingly diverse audience of listeners. Through their lyrics, these artists have the potential to shape mental health discourse and reduce stigma. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and nature of mental health themes in popular rap music amid a period of documented increases in mental health distress and suicide risk among young people in the US and young Black/African American male individuals in particular. Lyric sheets from the 25 most popular rap songs in the US in 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018, totaling 125 songs, were analyzed by 2 trained coders from March 1 to April 15, 2019, for references to anxiety, depression, suicide, metaphors suggesting mental health struggles, and stressors associated with mental health risk. Mental health references were identified and categorized based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) and Mayo Clinic definitions. Stressors included issues with authorities, environmental conditions, work, and love life. Descriptive language and trend analyses were used to examine changes over time in the proportion of songs with mental health references. Stressors were analyzed for their co-occurrence with mental health references. Most of the 125 analyzed songs featured lead artists from North America (123 [98%]). Most lead artists were Black/African American male individuals (97 [78%]), and artists’ mean (SD) age was 28.2 (4.5) years. Across the sample, 35 songs (28%) referenced anxiety; 28 (22%) referenced depression; 8 (6%) referenced suicide; and 26 (21%) used a mental health metaphor. Significant increases were found from 1998 to 2018 in the proportion of songs referencing suicide (0% to 12%), depression (16%to 32%), and mental health metaphors (8%to 44%). Stressors related to environmental conditions (adjusted odds ratio, 8.1; 95%CI, 2.1-32.0) and love life (adjusted odds ratio, 4.8; 95%CI, 1.3-18.1) were most likely to co-occur with lyrics referencing mental health. Based on these findings, we conclude that references to mental health struggles have increased significantly in popular rap music from 1998 to 2018. Future research is needed to examine the potential positive and negative effects these increasingly prevalent messages may have in shaping mental health discourse and behavioral intentions for US youth. Citation: Kresovich, A., Reffner Collins, M. K., Riffe, D., & Dillman Carpentier, F. R. (2020 online). Mental health discourse in popular rap music: A longitudinal content analysis. JAMA Pediatrics.

The paper analyses Hindi film song lyrics written by Javed Akhtar in the 2000s. Through a linguistic and cultural survey of a number of love song lyrics, the paper seeks to establish a deeper understanding of this important segment of Indian popular culture and connect it to the larger framework of South Asian cultural heritage. The paper is divided into three parts, analyzing lyrics connected to Urdu, Hindi and English linguistic influence.

Intro : Em....... C D Em (2x)

Em
Bila tiada mendalam..
C
Cinta dan Kerinduan...
Em
tak kan terlalu dalam..
C
luka yang kurasakan..
Am
bila saja kutahu bahwa Kesetiaanmu ..
D                      C
begitu dalam padaku..
Am B                  C      B        Em
takkan aku mengingkari janjiku

Int : Em..C D Em

Em
Sesal kian mendera
C
akhir sudah cerita
Em
kini kau telah berdua
C
itu kenyataannya
Am
bila saja kutahu bahwa kesetiaanmu
D                    C
begitu dalam padaku
Am B        C        B            Em
takkan aku mengingkari janjiku
www.maingitardulu.com 

Int : Em Am D C
      D C...Am C Em
      Em C C#m C Em

Reff:

Em          D    A            Em
Sekian lama kucari dirimu kasih
C                                  Em
dari waktu ke waktu kucari
C                Em                          Em C C#m C Em
hingga putus asa diri ini.....
Em            D          A                  Em
Dan betapa kusesali yang telah terjadi
C                    Em              C              Em
kekasih yang paling kucintai.... kini terluka hati
Em
Bila tiada mendalam
C
Cinta dan kerinduan
Em
tak kan terlalu dalam
C          C  D              Em
luka yang kurasakan.....Ho..ho..

Int : Em Am D C
      D C...Am C Em
      Em C C#m C Em

Source: http://www.maingitardulu.com/2014/09/kandas-evie-tamala-imron-sadewo.html

Reading Song Lyrics offers the first systematic introduction to lyrics as a vibrant genre of (performed) literature. It takes lyrics seriously as a complex form of verbal art that has been unjustly neglected in literary, music, and, to a lesser degree, cultural studies, partly as it cuts squarely across institutional boundaries. The first part of this book accordingly introduces a thoroughly transdisciplinary interpretive framework. It outlines theoretical approaches to issues such as performance and performativity, generic convention and cultural capital, sound and songfulness, mediality and musical multimedia, and step by step applies them to the example of a single song. The second part then offers three extended case studies which showcase the larger cultural and historical viability of this model. Probing into the relationship between lyrics and the ambivalent performance of national culture in Britain, it offers exemplary readings of a highly subversive 1597 ayre by John Dowland, of an 1811 broadside ballad about Sara Baartman, ‘The Hottentot Venus’, and of a 2000 song by ‘jungle punk’ collective Asian Dub Foundation. Reading Song Lyrics demonstrates how and why song lyrics matter as a paradigmatic art form in the culture of modernity.
full text: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75704917/Eckstein-Reading-Song-Lyrics

A cura di Lorenzo Geri, Marco Grimaldi, Nicolò Maldina e Maria Rita Traina. 🔗 https://bit.ly/2YUiIgo. Premessa di L. Geri, M. Grimaldi, N. Maldina, M. R. Traina. GUITTONE MORALE. TRADIZIONE E INTERPRETAZIONE. L. Leonardi, Guittone morale, o la precaria egemonia di un intellettuale rivoluzionario. I. TESTI, TRADIZIONE. A. Beretta, I sonetti morali di Guittone d’Arezzo nella tradizione manoscritta: appunti per una nuova edizione (con un saggio in appendice) - V. Brancato, Per una nuova edizione delle canzoni morali - M. R. Traina, Appunti sulle «Lettere» guittoniane (con una nota su Finfo) - R. Mercuri, Dante storico e critico della letteratura: Guittone (s)canonizzato. II. POLITICA, RELIGIONE, MORALE. L. Geri, La poesia religiosa di Guittone - C. Menichetti, Guittone e la lirica moralistica dei trovatori - A. Montefusco, Politica, religione e società: Guittone e i frati gaudenti - E. Fenzi, Guittone d’Arezzo, ovvero l’etica del «ben fare» V. Torregiani, Guittone d’Arezzo: le parole della politica - F. Fusaroli, Per il lessico morale di Guittone d’Arezzo “Amico” e “Filosofo” III. GUITTONE NEL TRECENTO. S. Finazzi, Le canzoni morali di un guittoniano della metà del Trecento: Gregorio d’Arezzo - M. S. Lannutti, «Ama chi t’ama». Petrarca interprete di Guittone. - F. Zinelli, Guittone civile: le canzoni di Bindo Bonichi (e altri episodi di guittonismo trecentesco). Indici.

ABSTRACT

Rahadi, Akhmad Alfan. 2017. The Articulation of Post Hardcore Movement by Rites Of Spring band. Study Program of English, Department of Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Cultural Studies, Universitas Brawijaya. Supervisor: Henny Indarwaty, M.A.
Keywords: Post-hardcore, Subculture, Popular Culture, Articulation, Rites Of Spring


Post hardcore is different from hardcore punk in a way of artistic aspect and attitude aspect. Hardcore punk was celebrated in Washington DC from 1980 until its decline in 1984. In 1985, just when hardcore punk began to dim, Rites of Spring emerged with post-hardcore. Although both are deeply rooted in a punk subculture, and have similar way of fashion and D.I.Y ethic, Rites of Spring articulated post-hardcore’s songwriting, music arrangement, vocal grain, attitude and interaction with fans differently. This thesis proposes three problems to be analyzed, those are; how Rites Of Spring articulation was labeled Post Hardcore, why the differences happened between Rites Of Spring’s Post Hardcore and Hardcore punk bands and why Rites Of Spring articulated their music that way.
The method and theory applied in this thesis is Stuart Hall’s Articulation method and Articulation concept. This research use cultural studies approach and supported by Popular Music theories by Richard Middleton. Review of Hardcore Punk movement in Washington DC in the 1980s and the Post Hardcore movement in the mid 1980s also presented to gain better understanding of the background of each movement. The articulation concept treated cultural practices as signifying practices, in which the meaning of a practice or text not superficially apparent but drawn from the active product of the text’s social articulation, of the web of connotations and codes into which it is inserted. By using this approach, the researcher is able to focus the study to recognize the institutional meanings and contextual meanings, based on the time and space in which it occurs. Those meanings embedded in practices and text, the conventions that inform their production, and the role of situated human agents as audience and interpreters of the practice and text.
The result of this study is that before Rites of Spring’s articulation was labeled as post-hardcore, it was labeled Emo-core. Both labels were solely given by the media. However Rites of Spring caught in paradox by rejecting Emo-core term due to its feminine connotation against their existing patriarchy. Furthermore, the differences that happened between Post-hardcore and Hardcore punk was caused by the elimination attempt of the masculine attribute of aggression of the slam-dance culture. Post-hardcore countered the masculinity attributes of hardcore punk by countering the stoicism and aggression of the hardcore punk lyric and musical arrangement through the confessional lyric and the addition of soft-loud dynamic.
 

The paper is aimed at analyzing the performance of a contemporary German rock band, Rammstein. The article begins by discussing the role of rock music in contemporary culture and the manner in which it relates to theoretical aspects in art, such as catharsis and the Dionysian. The analysis of Rammstein’s live performance during the “Liebe ist für alle da” tour aims to identify the effects the theatrical performance on stage has on the public. Also, the study explains the manner in which the lyrics connect to the band’s acting. The lyrics are analyzed from a lyrical point of view, interpreting the inherent poetry and symbolism. Concluding, this study presents a rock band seen as a sum of artistic occurrences, which create a new form of catharsis.

ئه‌م توێژینه‌وه‌یه‌ هه‌وڵێکى شیکاریی-تیۆرى و پراکتیکییه بۆ خوێندنەوەی جۆره‌ ئه‌ده‌بییه‌کان، واتە ژانرەکان یان چەشنە ئەدەبییەکان له‌ ئه‌ده‌بى نووسراوى کوردیدا. تا ئه‌مڕۆ که‌مترین توێژینه‌وه‌ له‌م باره‌یه‌وه‌ ئەنجام‌دراوە، بەڵام له‌ ئه‌ده‌بى جیهانیدا بایه‌خى زۆر بەم بابەتە دراوه‌ و مێژوویەکی کۆنى هه‌یه‌. بە سەرهەڵدانی ڕێبازی مۆدێرنیزمی ئەدەبی، توێژینه‌وه‌ى ورد لەسەر ئەم مژارە پێشکه‌ش کراوه‌. له‌ به‌شى یه‌که‌می وتاری بەردەستدا له‌ ڕوانگه‌یه‌کى تیۆریکەوە باس له‌م مێژووه‌ ده‌که‌ین؛ له‌ ئه‌ریستۆوه‌ تا ده‌گاته‌ نوێترین ڕوانگە له‌م باره‌یه‌وه‌، وه‌ک ڕوانینه‌کانى ژێرار ژێنێت بە نموونە. به‌شى دووه‌م تایبه‌ته‌ به‌ کێشه‌ى جۆره‌ ئه‌ده‌بییه‌کان له‌ ئه‌ده‌بى کوردیدا. له‌ ڕوانگه‌یه‌کى تیۆریک و پراکتیکییەوە، باس له‌ ڕوانینى هه‌ندێ له‌ نووسه‌ران و ئه‌دیبانى کوردى سه‌رده‌مى نوێبوونه‌وه‌ دەکرێ و تیشک دەخرێتە سەر کێشه‌ى ڕوانینى ڕه‌خنه‌یى و زاراوه‌سازى بۆ جۆره‌کانى ئه‌ده‌ب. توێژه‌ر ته‌واوى سه‌رچاوه‌ کوردییه‌کان له‌ باره‌ى جۆرە ئەدەبییەکانەوە دەخاتە ژێر لێکۆڵینه‌وه. له‌ سه‌ره‌تادا له ‌لاى توێژه‌رانى کورد شیعرى لیریک و شیعرى ئێپیک هه‌بووه‌، پاشان شیعری دراماتیک وه‌ک تایبه‌تمه‌ندییه‌کى ئه‌ده‌بى ڕۆژئاوایى بۆ زیادکراوه، کە ئه‌مه‌یان به‌ لاوازی له‌ ئه‌ده‌بى کلاسیکی کوردیدا هه‌ستى پێ­کراوه و زیاتر لە ئەدەبی کوردیی سەدەی بیستەمدا دەر‌کەوتووە. پاشان ئه‌م دابه‌شکردنە لە ڕوانگەی توێژەرانی ئەمڕۆی ئەدەبی کوردییەوە گۆڕانى به‌سه‌ردا دێت، به‌هۆى ئه‌وه‌ى شیعر هه‌رده‌م ڕووبه‌رێکى بەربڵاوی داگیرکردووه. ته‌نیا دوو بن‌جۆر، یان ژێرچەشنی شیعر له‌ ئه‌ده‌بى کوردیدا زۆرتر لەوانی تر گەشەی سەندووە، ئه‌مانه‌ش شیعرى لیریک و شیعرى فێرکارین. چیرۆکەشیعرەکانی ئەدەبی کلاسیکی کوردیش خاوەنی مۆرکێکی گێڕانەوەیین و جێگای سەرنجن‌. هۆکارى سەرەکیی گەشەی هەندێ بن‌جۆر لە ئەدەبی کوردیدا بۆ تایبه‌تمه‌ندیى ئه‌ده‌بى کوردی کە لە وتارەکەدا شی‌کراونەتەوە، ده‌گه‌ڕێته‌وه.‌

Truth From Within revolves around the progressive metal band named Tool and how it contains so much more meaning than just ‘some cool music to listen to’. Music has the power to influence people through the overall sound, the lyrics, and even the videos made for the music. Tool should not be judged by a first glance at the song titles or images displayed, but should be analyzed and meditated upon to find its true meaning. Many of the songs have powerful initial feelings portrayed and use themes such as addiction, drugs, and abuse, which some may say is evil and should be kept from people. If you look deeper into these songs they are only using these themes to make a powerful and shocking message that goes so much deeper. This paper sought the song meanings through interviews, quotes during live concerts, the music and videos, as well as outside resources that supported these ideas through research. The songs bring about ideas of lack of empathy, addiction, choosing compassion over fear and being connected with one another, as well as finding truth in a world where everything revolves around listening to directions and following rules. Tool incorporates philosophy, spirituality, politics, truth, and psychology in their music as well as countless more themes, making them have a lot to say with a unique and shocking visual aid of these themes, making it a sort of brutal honesty.

First commenced a century ago, issues dominating the Harlem Renaissance were present in the Black Arts Movement and are still relevant in the 21st century, finding their ways into the popular culture of the contemporary time through hip-hop. The texts I will look into will show that a thorough analysis of black artistic expression and its reception within the bounds of the historical events or movements can help create a bigger picture of the evolution of many voices. A comparative analysis of the main movements: the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and the Black Lives Matter Movement, along with the literature produced in their timelines, show the differences and parallels in the ways of expression. In the Harlem Renaissance, African American art was striving for recognition, and in the Black Arts Movement, it was fighting for independence and proving its ability. When both independence and recognition have been achieved with the hip-hop of the 21st century, we see Kendrick Lamar, one of the most prominent voices of his generation. whose work creates a synthesis out of hip-hop’s subgenres, not limiting the genre in a box to give one message but implementing the legacy of these thinkers in its self-awareness.