Jay Z Story of O.J Professor Ramos Blog

Jay Z Story of O.J Hip hop has been known for decades to have hidden meaning in its song. Recently due to the rise of trap and mumble rap, the meanings have changed to Drugs, Money, and Degrading women. The rise of trap and mumble rap caused some older rapping to either adapt or fall off. A veteran rapper like Jay z, who always stay true to his own style would not succumb to this problem. In most peoples eyes, Jay Z is considered a rap legend, He is respected by his peers and either inspired or paved the way for others. From songs like 99 Problems to Empire state of mind, Jay Z has been nominated 77 times and has won 22 Grammy awards. Jay Z has many hidden messages in his songs, He can give a clear message and deliver sick flows to the listener understanding. In one of his more recent projects called 4:44 in which he won a grammy. On there he has a song called The Story of Oj. The song and its music video have deep cultural meanings with a tone of awareness. The story of Oj makes the black community as k what should our priorities really be and how we should approach them. The Story of O.J. shows the viewer the darker side of American history through images and wordplay. How the Dark past has affected their identity.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The starts off with the person singing skin black, my skin is black this chores was sampled from the late Nina Simone, an African American Singer and civil rights activist. The Song Jay Z sampled is Nina Simone Four Women the Song is about empowering black beauty.   The animation style is based on the old early 1900s of black facing and monkey-like imagery to depict black people, also known as minstrelsy. It was America number 1 form of entertainment around the 19th century white men would put pitch-black oil and white gloves to perform their acts. The acts would use black stereotypes like eating watermelon for the jokes and loudly exaggerate black voices; this was not only degrading but racist.   An early example of minstrelsy is with Warner Brothers Looney Toons and old Disney animations Disney. In looney tunes, characters would wear white gloves, fake black voices there was even an episode where Bugs Bunny uses oil to blend in with black people.   The chores Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga, Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga, Still nigga, still nigga I like that second one, Light nigga, dark nigga, faux nigga, real nigga, Rich nigga, poor nigga, house nigga, field nigga, Still nigga, still nigga (Jay Z). The chores came from the idea that since black people came from nothing which is understandable,   that when we get success and money, we forget about our culture and where we come from. Another idea came from a Malcolm X speech, X said back during slavery there were two kinds of Negroes. The house Negro who always looked out for his master because of the better treatment, and then you had the field Negroes they hated their master because of there treatment. These lyrics parallel to Kanye west lyrics in his hit song All Falls Down Even if you in a Benz, you still a nigga in a coupe, most interpret no matter how much money and success you accumulate youre still black in their eyes. In the music v ideo during the first chores, they show all the types of Black people Jay z was referring too and lastly showing O.J. who the song is named after. Oj Simpson was an American football player from San Francisco California. He went to college at USC, where he would win the Heisman trophy the most prestigious award in college football. He got drafted by the buffalo bills, there Oj rushed for over 2000 yards in a season. Since Oj was so successful and accomplished as a   football player, he thought he was above the racial conflict. In 1994, Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her boyfriend, Ron Goldman. He would be found not guilty of the crimes, during the trial he uttered the famous quote Im Not Black, Im O.J. this is where Jay Z gets his famous one-liner Im not Black, Im O.J., Okay in his song Story Of O.J.   His verse rap verse starts with House nigga, dont fuck with me, Im a field nigga, with shined cutlery, Gold-plated quarters, where the butlers be, I ma play the corners where the hustlers be (Jay Z) while during the scene it goes to Jay Z cartoon style picking up cotton this goes back to the Malcolm Xs reference to the African slaves who worked in the house. They often grew fond of their master since they were treated better than field slaves. This dynamic caused some house slaves to preserve and protect the slave institute. House slaves believed their lives were optimum, while field slaves hated their masters and wanted to escape. Then switches to Jay Z on the counter of a new york street which probably references his hard beginning where he had to sell drugs on the corner to get by, this contrast to him being a field negro when he was a drug dealer.     Still In verse one the line I told him, Please dont die over the neighborhood, That your mama rentin, Take your drug money and buy the neighborhood, Thats how you rinse it ( Jay Z). This refers to how violent gang neighborhoods are and how gang members die over a counter or block that the government owns. Mostly all drug dealers dont have happy endings staying in the game or profession, so instead Jay Z believes you would use your drug money and by the neighborhood rent it out and make it a better place. This goes into Jay Z talking about financial literacy. The Next verse and scene start off with jay talking to his psychiatrist about the better financial decision. The lyrics go I bought every V12 engine Wish I could take it back to the beginning I coulda bought a place in DUMBO before it was DUMBO. For like 2 million That same building today is worth 25 million. Guess how Im feelin? Dumbo (Jay Z). Hip hop has created a lot of harmful ideals. One of those ideals is about forging whips. Typically when black rapper or athlete get their first big payday, they spend it on an expensive car instead of buying a piece of property. Jay Z trying to teach the viewer that instead of using the money to buy an expensive that depreciate quickly, buy a piece of property that gains value over time. The music video then goes to a stripper dance with Jay tells us, you wanna know whats more important than throwing away money at a strip club? Credit. Jay giving us more financial advice this time about credit, which in fact it may be just as important or more valuable than money. If you have a bad credit score getting a loan from a bank, its almost impossible. Then he givens us a lesson on how Jewish people own all properties in America. The music video show how he bought artwork for 1 million and each year it when up in value. Jay Z, according to Forbes, is the first billion-dollar rapper most of his wealth was accumulated in artwork and rea l-estate. The last scene shows Jay Z coming out from below the deck of the slave ship with the white sailor saluting him. The scene represents that he made it out of the struggle and now own the boat. The song goes to its chorus and shows all the historical black figures rapping along, finally once again showing a dark past. Since early America, it took African American over one hundred years to find their self meaning and identity because of all the set back they have faced. Jay Z Story of O.J   masterfully shows this struggle.

The Reform Program of John Calvin in the City of Geneva Comparing it Research Paper

The Reform Program of John Calvin in the City of Geneva Comparing it with either the Enlish or the Catholic Reformation - Research Paper Example When the Religious tension raised up and took a dangerous course Calvin fled to Basel in Switzerland where he published his first book â€Å"The Institute of the Christian Religion† in 1936. In the following year, he was hired to help reform the Church in Geneva. He was expelled from his duty but he continued his efforts for reform and soon he was called to take over his duties back and lead the church. On his return to his duties, he made several prominent changes in church government and Liturgy regardless of some influential families who were against his policies. Calvin suffered harassment and criticism but remained focused on his mission of improving and bringing in new reforms. In his way, he was supported by the refugees during the election of city council. Calvin tried hard and did his best to promote new reforms both in Geneva and Europe. Calvin’s reforms and ideology is known as Calvinism. CALVINISM: Calvinism is all about doctrine of Predestination and absolu te sovereignty of God which is greatly influenced by Augustinian. (Thomas, 1963) The theology of Calvinism was infused in Europe in 16th century, which is based on five basic reforms, which is recalled by an acrostic TULIP: T: Total Depravity explains that mankind has no power to choose right or wrong paths as people are all helplessly sinners and only God can choose them for the right path. Catholics preaches that this mankind has free will and can choose between right and wrong path, God has given a liberty to people to choose the way they want and will be rewarded accordingly (Steele, 1963). U: Unconditional Election states that People who go to heaven is not because of their good deeds or faith but they were unconditionally chosen by God to be sent to heaven and the rest are lost forever. Catholics says that it is the faith that lived and exists and people will be rewarded in regard of their deeds. L: Limited Atonement says that Jesus gave his life for specific sins of selected people, who will ultimately go to heaven and the God has already chosen people for heaven. Catholicism teaches that Jesus sacrificed his life for all mankind regardless of any favor to specific people and people have to believe it without any doubt. I: Irresistible Grace explains that whoever is selected by God will get the virtue of knowledge of God and the elected person cannot resist the call. Catholicism says that Grace is a divine gift for all mankind but people can resist the call. P: Perseverance of the Saints states that the one who received the call of communion will remain in that state until reach heaven, it is impossible for any person to lose his Salvation. Catholicism says that as human we are all sinful and somehow make mistakes but God is there to forgive and deliver us in heaven. All these five points were strongly condemned by the Roman Catholic Church and they present different view or interpretation of the verses of Gospel from which Calvin supported and spread h is own perceptions. There are different theologies over same verses but the interpretation completely differs to what Calvin tried to prove. ARMINIANSM: (Stanglin, 2009) Armenian theology also has some conflicts with what Calvin’s reforms say. Armenians rejects the idea of predestination and it says that a person is not

Role of Agricultural extension in rural development strategies of Sub Research Proposal

Role of Agricultural extension in rural development strategies of Sub Saharan Africa - Research Proposal Example Tourism has been the major industry for more than two decades but the farmers of Zanzibar are not benefitting from the estimated 1.2 million tourists that visit the island annually. Once known for its spice plantations, large percent of Zanzibar’s land remain uncultivated and they import more than 70 % of vegetables and fruits (Nyang and Webo, 2012: 154). This paper proposes the use of farmer field schools in Zanzibar to help smallholder farmers make decisions, solve problems and obtain new techniques and skills. Farmers can reap a lot of benefits if they can apply what they will be taught in these schools. The farmers will also increase their productivity and profits through sharing knowledge with neighbors. There is a great need for field schools because: smallholder farmers in Zanzibar have very little knowledge on modern farming methods, many of them didn’t attend school and they only use conventional farming practices on their farm. Arable land in Zanzibar could be increased a great deal with introduction of these schools. Improving quality and productivity through group access to production, extension and training services and reduce cost of production through purchasing of farm inputs (including fertilizers, seeds and other equipment) in large volumes. The use of farmer field schools approach as an analytical framework began in South-East Asia in the 1980s and has played a big role in the farming sector. Farmer field schools approach has changed dramatically. The impact of rapid and sustained agricultural productivity in farming practices of Zanzibar is highlighted in literature. As put by Dixon et al, (2001: 108), factors that determine the growth potential of a farming system include: favorable access to services and infrastructure and appropriate resource endowments. This research is based on the assumptions that smallholder farmers of Zanzibar have little or no knowledge

Technological Advancements in Communication Essay Example for Free

Technological Advancements in Communication Essay Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following questions based on â€Å"Superhero in the Cubicle† in the Electronic Reserve Readings: Q: What technological advancements in communication were discussed in the article? The technological communication advancements discussed in the article, ‘Superhero in the Cubicle’, were IBM Lotus Connections by Big Blue, Smartsheet from Smartsheet.com, Web 2.0 Mashup Server software by Kapow Technology, and Near Time, and Confulence form Atlassian used by John Hopkins University students. Q: Choose two (2) communication types and compare and contrast them. How could these be used in your workplace? IBM Lotus Connections and Near-Time share similarities in enabling the users to blog, wiki, and mashup because these collaborative Web technology tools are equipped with the social computing abilities. Both of these advanced technological tools are both easy to install, without any IT’s assistance, and inexpensive (economical). Near-Time allows the users to sort out the information source and develop new informal channels; in contrast, IBM Lotus Connections does not allow users the same information sorting and creating functions. Making use of these advanced technological tools for wiki, store and retrieve data, and blogging seems practical and beneficial at my workplace; however, my job does not always need these highly developed technological devices to accomplish the work goals. Q: Do these technological advancements in communication follow what is traditionally considered business communication? Why? Although the present business environment adapts to itself to the highly and rapidly changing setting, I do not think these technological advancements in communication mentioned in the article follow the traditionally considered business communication yet. According to the article, it is evident that  these advanced communication tools are present in the current business environment; numerous businesses do not seem to accept and utilize all the tools included in the article to operate their everyday business activities. Perhaps, many businesses, small and big, still consider these advanced tools as the novel commodities. In addition, some companies may still consider these collaborative tools as high maintenance products because the employees may need to spend extra time to become proficient with the technology; thus, the companies may find these tools as a cause for extra expenses that cannot be included in their budget. Reference Axia College of University of Phoenix. (2010). Superhero in the cubicle. Retrieved April 19, 2010, from Axia College, Week Three reading, aXcess, XCOM285-Essentials of Managerial Communication Course Web site.

The Patriot Act Essay -- essays research papers

The Patriot Act The patriot act: â€Å"THE UNITING AND STRENGHENING OF AMERICA BY PROVIDING APPROPRIATE TOOLS REQUIRED TO INTERCEPT AND OBSTRCT TERRORISM.† What do you think of when you hear this phrase? This is the phrase used to introduce what we call the patriot act. Pretty much the patriot act allows government officials to search your house which is called a â€Å"sneak and peak† without you being aware of it, or even the tracking of your car, or maybe even listening to your phone calls.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Patriot Act was designed to protect the United States from further terrorist attacks by allowing more information to be recorded for investigation on people that could be possible terrorists. This is needed because in order to arrest someone, they need to commit a crime firs...

Langston Hughes: 3 Poems Essay

Expression of racial pride is a concept that has surfaced through history quite often. Due to the nature of colonialism, slavery and it effects, the idea of racial pride under pressure, with people creating their own racial identity within a different cultural setting, is often one of alienation and loneliness. During the critical eras such as the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights Movement, we find the work and effort of many of the great African-American writers like Langston Hughes, whose work often covered the topics of racial pride and the outcry against racism and injustice. We will look at three of his poems which reflect a different aspect of the historical African-American situation. ‘Theme for English B’ This is a poem that explores the time when Langston Hughes was in college, and had to write about anything that came from the heart. In true style, searching in his soul, the poet finds an expression that reflects circumstances and perceptions that focus on the self, and existence as an African-American. Hughes runs through such normal activities such as going home and listing what he likes and what he wants. He raises an interesting crux then: I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same thing other folks like who are other races. So will my page be colored that I write? Being me, it will not be white. But it will be a part of you, instructor. You are white – (25-31) This is an interesting statement in that it draws the distinction between being white and being colored, a persistent issue that crops up often in racially oriented writing. It reflects on the instructor of the class being white and ‘instructing’ a colored man. Although there is no real evidence to support a cause for resistance or defiance to this, the fact remains implied that Hughes makes this distinction, but without promoting resentment, states that he likes what â€Å"other folks like who are other races† (26). The lines that follow reserves the right to have pride in being colored, without submitting to wanting to be what like other races. Hughes cements this notion in lines 32-38, stating a communal, patriotic element of cooperation: yet a part of me, as I am a part of you. That’s American. Sometimes perhaps you don’t want to be part of me. Nor do I often want to be part of you. But we are, that’s true! As I learn from you, I guess you learn from me – ‘Afro-American Fragment’ This poem comes from a period of Hughes’ life that explored the idea of Africans displaced from the African continent. He effectively simulates a sense of longing by drawing from the idea of an unexplained feeling, of songs that come from far away. He advances the idea that Africa leaves its imprint even long after the people have been moved from there, cementing the echo thereof with three lines (1-3, 21-23): So long. So far away Is Africa. Another interesting thing that he recalls here is the last line, 24, that expresses his connection or kinship with Africa, even after all the time separated: â€Å"Dark face.† Hughes promotes the idea here that, although the African-Americans find themselves becoming culturally part of American society – in some form or another, the call of Africa had imprinted itself on all the African-Americans who could trace their history to the dark continent, leaving an permanent effect. â€Å"Democracy† With this poem we find Hughes focusing on the essence of democracy, of the system that is supposed to uphold the freedom and individual rights of every human being, irrespective of skin color. This poem draws strongly on the period of American history demarcated by the Civil Rights Movement, and Hughes is quite firm in his sympathetic beliefs here, stating rights equal to that of any other human being. This is expressed most clearly in lines 5-9: I have as much right As the other fellow has To stand On my two feet And own the land. The essence of land can be compared to the idea of African-Americans having been displaced, taken from their past and their homes. Equal rights would entail that African-Americans would also be able to own land in America and thus become part of American society – be part of the collective whole, just as every other American is, regardless of skin color or race. The urge to compel their rights, and the struggle that would invariably be necessary, is encapsulated in lines 15-18: Freedom Is a strong seed Planted In a great need. Hughes furthers and finalizes the argument of equality, the demand to be heard and accepted, as well as the need for individual freedom not based on race through lines 19-21: I live here, too I want freedom Just as you. In closing The contributions made by Langston Hughes, not only in poetry but also in other forms of writing, have become a written testament to the troubling times that African-Americans underwent before they finally secured the equal rights they sought so hard to achieve. Hughes reflects every facet of growing up and living as an African-American in a marginalized, mostly white environment. The poems discussed show Hughes’ pride in his race, and his refusal to submit and be subverted. Where there is a fairly everyday feel to ‘Theme for English B’, we find a core focus that explains unity, rather than forcing division by showing that white and black Americans are so very different. In ‘Afro-American Fragment,’ Hughes explored the unconscious aspects that shape the longing of African-Americans, the yearning back to Africa, and in ‘Democracy’ we return again, with a little more force and directness, to the issue of equality and integration. It should be argued though, as Hughes was wont to point out, that this integration would not be accomplished through subversion, but on terms that make space for the African-American, or any other race to thrive and flourish in a unified, collective whole, without prejudice or injustice.

The South Korean Chaebol System And Its Impact On Countrys Economy Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Emerged due to favorable import license concessions, access to scarce foreign exchange and governmental properties seized from the Japanese formed part of the Korean state policy. Samsung, Korea s oldest chaebol, and the four other biggest conglomerates were established during this period. It was in the 1960s when the chaebols forged its strong partnership with the government. The Korean government identified talented entrepreneurs and systematically sponsored them by credit, trading licenses, tax advantages, and other measures. 73) The nature of this alliance between the state and the chaebols is fundamental in the Korean impressive economic performance seen from thereon. The government support, encouragement, and intervention resulted to what was called as the guided economic development wherein the government involvement enabled chaebols to monopolize spheres of activity and accumulate capital in order to finance diversification of production. According to Kong, democratization a nd economic liberalization policies did not break the interdependence of state and chaebols and that it even had the effect of strengthening the chaebols and generating new forms of collusion. 19) By the 1980s the top ten chaebols alone held 25 percent of Korea s manufacturing industry and the country s economy became heavily dependent on these huge conglomerates as chaebols expand and developed sectors such as shipbuilding, heavy engineering, consumer electronics and, more recently, automobiles. We will write a custom essay sample on The South Korean Chaebol System And Its Impact On Country's Economy or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now 35) (See Appendix 2)An underlying issue in regard to the chaebol-government alliance is the fact that such relationship has been institutionalized, characterized by political and legal foundations. It underscores how the economic sector in Korea is integrated into the political sphere or vice versa. This is highlighted, for instance in the way chaebols gain the advantage, say, in the aspect of competition. Chaebol as a favored player by the government in important industries such as the heavy and chemical industries enjoyed oligopoly rents and received preferential policy loans at subsidized interest rates. Ideally, bigger chaebol, with good track records, was regarded as much more reliable than small/medium size enterprises, by bureaucrats who were afraid of risk and preferred visible quantitative growth. (Lee 1997, p. 38)