The Impact of Lyrical Messages on the Well-Being of African Americans - Case Study Example

MODERN MUSIC The paper takes a look at the song “I got hoes” by Ludacris. It reflects on the lyrics, video and the language used in the song. It tries to bring to light the effects of the song as a whole to the society today. It explains how the song has contributed to demeaning of women as men today view them as sexual objects. Women on the other hand see men as material and financial supporters if they want a woman in their lives. At the end of the paper, the responsibility that artists owe the society is discussed as we bring out how the moral aspect of the society is affected by the song. Introduction Music is everywhere and everybody listens to music at one time during the day. There are various genres of music that have evolved over the years; gospel, hip hop, reggae, rhythm and blues, rap and disco. Modern music has great influence on how a person conducts themselves, their thoughts as well as actions. An individual also speaks in the language that is used in the music they listen to. The most influential yet unrealized influence of music is the psychological effects that it brings to an individual and the society at large. The society today unconsciously operates on morals that are depicted in music; whether good or bad. The rationale of the study below is to determine how and the extent to which music has impacted our society today. We shall take a look at the impacts on people and the culture as it plays a vital role in defining our societies. The song to be analyzed The song to be analyzed is “I got hoes” by Ludacris. The song is in the genre of rap; one where an artist tries to bring out rhythm in his music. The society has highly criticized rap music for the language used in it yet there is part of the society that highly glorifies rap music. Ludacris happens to be a highly renowned rap musician in the music industry today. Many claim that he has a talent that lacks in other rappers and that is why he has made it to the top of the charts so easily. To deeply understand the song “I got hoes” one has to analyze not only the lyrics in the song but also the video and the type of language used. This will call for viewing of the video and obtaining the lyrical aspect of the song. Method The one possible way of analyzing this song is by mere observation of the video and listening to the lyrics. This method also calls for critical thinking on the part of the researcher. In addition to critical thinking, one must have good understanding of music so that they can give a good out musical analysis. One will also need to carry interviews with the relevant parties such as the producers and the artist himself. Lyrics The song can simply be described as one that demeans women and subjects them as sex objects for the pleasure of men. The word ‘hoe’ itself is an insult to women as it means that they are readily available for sex whenever a man wants to have sex. Ludacris proudly proclaims “I’ve got hoes, in different area codes.” This clearly indicates that whenever he goes he has girls waiting for him to do with them what he wants to. As the song comes to an end, it is very clear that the ladies do not mind been at the beck and call of men; “Whenever I call, come running.” In a way, Ludacris tries to indicate that he has total control of the ladies and they do not deny him what he asks of them. They love his life; gangsta walk, talk, face and ways (Keyes, 2004; 124). Video The video to the song “I got hoes” has been largely criticized especially by the religious, education and family sectors of the society. Most of the scenes in the video are wanting and as some would deem it, the video needs to be censored for the sanity of the society. In almost the entire video, all ladies are half naked while the men are much better dressed. The ladies have been made to appear in wanting actions as they try to bring out the ‘hoe’ in them as required by Ludacris and his producers. Ladies are exposed as pleasure and sex objects who are readily available for men. The video degrades the moral standing and value of women. It gives men the notion that at any one time, they can get the lady they want. In the long term, this song has given women less respect in the society while men claim to be in charge of the society. On the other hand, Ludacris exposes his rich, gangsta and lady loved side. He appears to be loved by women in all places he visits since they are at his beck and call at all times. The video at large misrepresents the importance of material thing when it comes to getting love and to some extent sex. It indicates that ladies will only go after a man who is able to fed for them and protect them financially. Language The language that Ludacris has used in this song and many others for that matter is vulgar and completely immoral. To begin with, the word hoe which is in the song title is discriminatory and insulting to the women. Other words like ‘bitch and dick’ appear so often in the song yet the society sees them as dissipated and should not be publicized for the safety of the young children. The song also utilizes the use of codes to indicate areas where Ludacris claims to have hoes. Some of the mentioned areas are the Midway and Wake Islands. The Midways Island is solely occupied by scientists while the Wake Islands are inhabited by military persons. This stands to bring out the question of morality among the top officers in our country. Responsibility of artists to the society Music is like a drug to many. Not a day goes by without one listening to his favorite music for entertainment, relaxation, or just to pass away time. For this reason, all artists owe the society some sense of responsibility in ensuring that the music listened to makes some sort of sense to the listeners. In this case, Ludacris owes the society some morality in the song. The words that he uses in his song are not at all appealing and they are bound to have negative impacts especially to the young children. The whole song in general is demeaning to women. It gives them less value in the society and in away promotes sexuality at large. To the young ladies, the song teaches them that there is nothing more to life other than indecency, men and money. The song brings out how a lady can use her beauty to have her way through life. The artist is responsible for all these lessons that are drawn from his song (Rose, 1994; 56). To begin with, the song should not have been produced in the first place. Since the damage has already been done, Ludacris should take care when producing other songs. He should pay attention to the lyrics, language and video content. It should be made a point that half naked ladies should not appear in any public video. The artists should take care that the images they produce to the public should be positive and portray a sense of morality even on their side. Care should also be taken so that the language used in songs is censored if it is not appealing to the moral ladder of the society. Most importantly, artists should be reminded at all times that their families are also listening and watching their songs. They will wish to protect their families and by so doing protect the society as well. The entire video depicts of immorality, sexuality and material things of the world. Most of the images as well as the words of the song are bound to be glued to a person’s mind after viewing the video or listening to the song. In the long run, this has huge psychological effects on an individual. Some people tend to practice what they see and as they have a standing image in their minds, it becomes easier for one to engage in any activity that is directed by their brains. The song has also played a huge role in influencing the language that is used by young people today. The word “bitch” today has become a common reference for girls. Men no longer respect women as it was in the traditional days. To them, women have set the bar of disrespect themselves and men are merely following what they are directed to do (Rose, 1994; 176). Results and Discussion The methods used for this study proved to be quite effective as they were chosen in accordance to the study needs. This resulted in getting first-hand information about the song, the artist and the video itself. The interviews held with the identified parties proved to extremely helpful in getting the required information about the song. We were able to learn the meaning of the codes used in the song and identify the areas that they represent. The information given also provided us with a better position to understand the lyrics of the song and most importantly to assess their relevance and meaning to the modern society. Works cited Top of Form Bottom of Form Keyes, C. L. (2004). Rap music and street consciousness. Urbana, IL [u.a.: Univ. of Illinois Press. Top of Form Rose, T. (1994). Black noise: Rap music and black culture in contemporary America. Hanover [u.a.: Wesleyan Univ. Press. Bottom of Form Read More