The Place of (Popular) Culture: Music and The City - Essay Example

The Place of (Popular) Culture: Music and The In the study of human geography, Cultural Geography comesas a sub-field. Cultural Geography seeks to explain and identify different human cultural patterns. It also places its concern on how these patterns have diverged across the landscape of the world (Knox and Marston 145). In this field, analyzing and describing the ways language, religion, economy government and various cultural phenomena diverge or remain constant, from one place to another in trying to explain how humans function spatially. The belief that people and societies get their control from the environment in which they develop provides a link on how culture connects to places. In a natural setting, cultures and societies develop out of their landscape but again they shape them too. Therefore, the connection between the natural landscape and humans result in the cultural landscape, thus one is able to relate a certain sect of society to a certain culture (Johnson 76). That is just like the case a certain place can known by the culture of the music in it. The question as to why and how music has a strong place in our society remains a blank page. Some cultural factors like art, music, religion, and language largely fuelled the explanation as to how and why people function as they actually do in the respective areas of their lives (Johnson 112). This explains the reason as to why globalization is becoming overwhelmingly important in explaining the reason as to why music has acquired such a strong geographic orientation. The desire of the world to like a village allows music, as an aspect of culture, through the unprecedented technology to travel from one side of the globe to the other. This explains as to why a song released by a popular musician like Eminem would ring in every city within twenty-four hours time. In addition, the philosophy of Man-Land Tradition can explain the rationale why music has a strong place (Knox and Marston 146). For example, whenever quality reggae music plays, everybody would associate the artist and the genre as sprouting from Jamaica. This is because the people living in the southern American state have been culturally tied to the aspects of reggae even the world cannot help but attach every reggae song as coming from there. It is the people’s perception of their environment that has re-ignited the spread of music into places and why some places purely live to subscribe to only one particular music genre (Shurmer 101). The place of music can well be analyzed using Tupac Shakur’s Song Ghetto Gospel. His Hip Hop genre is the typical culture of music that whenever it plays on air, its roots flash back to African American Black rappers (NIGGA). This genre, as espoused in this song, relates to the Black American struggle for recognition and place in the white race society (Longhurst 84). The itinerary of the genre, Hip Hop, thus came to birth through the many oppressive construction of the American culture. Those who sing it only express the struggle and the street violence they have to combat. In the Song, Ghetto Gospel by Tupac explains the tale of premature death of two teens, Emmett Till (14) and Trayvon Martin (17). Tupac’s song is a reflection of the challenges that faced the young struggling black men in America. The song relates the cultural context of the American society during the Black revolt times. It goes further than just explaining social justice to include the aspect of the Bible, Gospel, and Religion in that geographical context (Connell and Gibson 80). At his lyric genius, Tupac was extending the gospel truth that in was a futility for the larger American society to agitate for world peace yet its own people were dying due to hatred emanating from racism. In thus days, the culture of Brooklyn, Detroit city and New York was choking with drug addicts and hungry black American, who got little attention from the government as it was busy saving the world from AIDS, and dismantling nukes (Longhurst 64). That explains the reason why Tupac exclaims that his lifestyle has denied him to be holy but his Lord is not finished with him yet. He was expounding the people should stop labeling because the fact is that one cannot become perfect overnight and so is being a good Christian. He also calls for attention in addressing the messed up society of African- American before things could flare up. The song Ghetto Gospel describes the tussles of racism and the struggle for recognition of the Blacks in the cities of New York, Harlem, and South Bronx during the 1970s (Longhurst 94). Tupac highlights the life of black American youth, as being ballers, young ones who would engage in street level activities of the cities and the neighborhoods of West Oakland. These streets have a history of being the worst hit by high rates of crime. The geographical landscape of these streets and cities helped Tupac to discuss in his song the brokenness and the pain of the world the Black Americans were living. He speaks of the children being born in unsafe environments with their mother going crazy for her addiction to crack, as this was the life in the ghettos. For example, in the opening statement, Tupac tries to show that his life serves as a role model for the inner city children. He foretells that the children born within the city and the streets are no more descent children since they have to be warriors and soldiers to survive the everyday warfare surrounding them due to the sin of humankind (Longhurst 108). This is why the geographical contexts mandated Tupac to compose a gospel truth song about real change. He exposes that there ought to be another way of surviving the in the streets of American Cities and neighborhoods apart from violence, being rapped by gangs, and drugs of the ghetto life. As a result, he refers to God as the only higher power that can set the world free. The city and its inhabitants come as a place of anger and sadness. For example, he is overtly calling attention to the continual oppression of those living in environs, where future young children see nothing good at the end of the tunnel rather than a life of crime as the only means to survive. It is a sad world where those who come into it have to handle aggressively the unmoral situations and outright violence making a way out of their situations. That is why the last two lines sing of Tupac’s dream, for a better world in taming the war on the streets. This can only come if the world learns to listen to everyone with an open heart and mind, be concerned with less stereotyping and condemning one, and involve much into building bridges. In conclusion, popular culture, such as music like the black American rap genre Hip Hop relates a lot to the cultural situation and the geographical make up of the society (Johnson 46). With human lifestyle largely influential in diffusing the culture in that particular society, music gets the same leverage as any other aspect of cultural geography (Knox and Marston 149). Tupac music serves as an example as to how music remains as a strong cultural medium that makes reference to the geographic nature of the contexts in it (Longhurst 76). The city thus becomes a very important aspect of human life and culture as its images in music permeate the daily life in such an insightful manner. The following is the copy of Tupac’s Song Ghetto Gospel: Ghetto Gospel 2Pac, Intro: Uh.. Hit ‘em with a little ghetto gospel Chorus: Elton John: Those who wish to follow me 2Pac: My ghetto gospel Elton John: I welcome with my hands And the red sun sinks at last into the hills of gold And peace to this young warrior without the sound of guns 2Pac: If I could recollect before my hood dayz I’d sit and reminisce, nigga and bliss on the good dayz. I stop and stare at the younger, my heart goes to'em They tested, it was stress that they under. And nowadays, things changed Everyone’s ashamed of the youth cuz the truth looks strange And for me it’s reversed, we left em a world thats cursed, and it hurts Cuz any day they’ll push the button. And yall condemned like malcom x and uncle bob They died for nuthin. Dont let them get me teary, the world looks dreary But when you wipe your eyes you see it clearly. Theres no need for you to fear me. If you take the time to hear me, maybe you can learn to cheer me. It aint about black or white, cuz we’re human I hope you see the light before its ruined My ghetto gospel [Chorus x3 ( 2Pac Ghetto Gospel Lyrics )] 2Pac: Tell me do you see that old lady, aint it sad Livin out a bag, plus she’s glad for the little things she has And over there there’s a lady, crack got her crazy. Guess who’s givin birth to a baby I don’t trip and let it fade me, from out of the fryin pan We jump into another form of slavery. Even now i get discouraged. Wonder if they take it all back will i still keep the courage I refuse to be a role model. I take hoes, keep control, drink out my old bottle. I make mistakes, but learn from everyone. And when its said and done, Ill bet this brother be a better one. If I’m upset, you don’t stress. Never forget, god hasn’t finished with me yet. I feel his hands on my brain. When i write ryhmes, i go blind, and let the lord do his thang. But am i less holy, Cuz I choose to puff a blunt and drink a beer with my homies Before we find world peace We gotta find peace in that war on the streets My ghetto gospel. [Chorus x3 ( 2Pac Ghetto Gospel Lyrics )] Work cited Johnson, Nuala C. The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Cultural Geography. , 2013. Internet resource. Knox and Marston. Cultural Geographies. London: Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. Print. Longhurst, Brian. Popular Music and Society. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2007. Internet resource. Shurmer-Smith, Pamela. Doing Cultural Geography. London: Sage, 2003. Print. Read More