Musings of a Novice

So, as much I’d like a to break down a lyric, I thought I’d stir the pot a bit with some talk of discourse communities, and what I’ve gleaned about mine via the two assignments we’ve completed thus far.

            Our methods of analysis were thin-slicing and close reading, which, as we have discussed, are essentially polar opposites. One calls for conclusions to be made using a cursory glance at a wide data set, and the other calls for us to do the same by perusing a few sentences. One of my concerns, as I completed both assignments, was that my own preconceptions of the discourse in my field of study would inhibit me from looking at it from the outside in. Despite the different lenses through which I analyzed it, I have learned not only about my discourse community and its members, but also about my place in the community as someone who is engaged in the discourse.

            The thin-slicing assignment made very clear for me the complexity of the topics covered by erudite members of the finance/accounting discourse community, as well as the cyclical nature of the field. Many a time I would come across titles insinuating the application of an established topic to a modern reference, lending to the idea that the community was not one that experienced rapid turnover in its fundamentals. As one could imagine, after the realization of that over-arching trend, little else really surprised me. The titles I attempted to formulate into an argument offered me, what I thought, was so little to work with. Thus, I was left frustrated by the community at large for being so monotonous, and frustrated by the assignment, because there were so many assumptions to make.

            Then came the close reading assignment, which initially seemed like a bigger challenge, due to the level of focus it would take to extract a conclusion. I framed my argument around four (very dense) sentences, an abstract from an article about ‘standard costing’, whatever the hell that is. Though the content was equally dry and objective relative to the thin-slicing material, I began to think differently about what it said about the finance/accounting discourse community. It was at this point that I started to think about my role in the discussion of these elaborate theories and case studies, coming to the daunting realization that so much of it was well over my head. Though I am a member of said community, by pursuing a degree in the field and actively studying its principles, I am clearly a novice among experts with vast knowledge of multiple disciplines. I have yet to partake actively in the evolution of finance or accounting, much less fully grasp the magnitude of the system in place as it is. Spending some time with the language of the field and the ways in which its members communicate made me realize it is so much bigger than just the numbers on a P & L. And as my familiarity increases, so too will my ability to contribute my opinions, to understand the arguments of others, and to work towards being able to call myself an expert. 

Untouchable

My dad called sayin’, “Son are you okay?
I just listened to ‘The Last’ on your mixtape” 
Dad I’m fine, you just need to understand 
When I’m rappin on a track, that’s exactly who I am 
And all my smart friends sayin, “I really liked the album dude” 
“But you could be the next Mos Def if you wanted to” 
Dear friends, I respect your responses 
But my life is a dream, so I rap unconscious

The verse I chose to close read is off of Childish Gambino’s song “Untouchable” from his 4th studio album Camp. In order to preface the explanations I will be giving, I figure it would be a good idea to give you some background on CG and his rap career. Donald Glover, who raps under the name Childish Gambino, is also an actor and writer. He wrote for NBC’s 30 Rock, before joining the cast of the TV show Community, and also has experience as a stand up comedian. He began his music career with his first studio album that came out in 2008, and continued pursuing this, following up with an EP, 3 mixtapes, and 3 more studio albums (of which, I believe, Culdesac is arguably the best). In terms of character he is generally comedic, intellectual, and well liked; and as a rapper has been called “clever” and “honest”; this all plays into what these lines translate to if you are not fully aware of his persona. 

At the beginning of this verse, the first two lines, are fairly easy to understand to someone within the discourse community. The first is literally CG saying that his dad has called him asking if he’s okay after listening to “The Last” which was a song off of Culdesac. To understand why his father is concerned, you have to see the line in “The Last” which CG is referencing. He is specifically referencing “I wanna call my dad crying but I hang up”; so his father, after having heard this, is contacting his son to see what’s wrong. This would not be easily accessible to someone outside this community, as one would be very unsure of what these references were being made to. The next two lines are essentially what CG responded to his father after having been asked that question. By saying “that’s exactly who I am” he is trying to get the point across that what he is saying is how he feels, the message he would like to send, and that he’s being as honest as possible. This leads me to the assumption that CG uses his music to be more honest with himself and those around him, if it’s not easy to do it face to face. The next two lines are in reference to the responses that he gets from his friends about his music. By saying all his “smart friend...really liked the album” he basically insinuates that you would have to be dumb not to like what he was putting out. Something that shows confidence in his ability, though it might also be a bit of pride as well. Then the next line saying that he “could be the next Mos Def” is saying that the issues he raps about could become more involved on a bigger scale, as Mos Def has done. They believe he could become more well known, and more popular. Mos Def is someone who has become renowned for his social and political views, someone who is known as a “conscious rapper”. This is something else that someone outside this community would not be able to pick up on as easily. The last two lines are again his response to what his friends are telling him. He says that he “respect[s]” what they say but he thinks his “life is a dream”. He believes that his life is already something excellent, and he doesn’t really want/need to touch on those deeper/bigger issues because it does not seem to be something affecting his life. He also thinks that he is at a level that he is happy with, and does not need to strive to attain what someone else has. The last part where he says he raps “unconscious” is a wordplay on saying his life is a dream, as well as a reference to Mos Def being a conscious rapper, something that he is not. 

In all, Childish Gambino seems to use this verse to respond to the critics that are closest around him to explain that what he is doing is exactly what he would like to be doing, and that he is being honest, and won’t trying to be something that he is not. You can see this through his use of specific word choice and sentence structure that help explain his point of view. This is something that also circles back to the title of the song "Untouchable" that he believes he is already doing his best, and doesn't see the need to evolve into other ideas. Something interesting about the rap genre, to me, is that those outside of it will usually have preconceived notions of what the general ideals and messages of these rappers might be. While this may also hold true for any type of discourse community, specifically with rap, it pigeon-holes the categories and doesn’t allow a listener to open up and truly hear what the artist is trying to get across. While you must be fully involved, in my opinion, in this community, before you can understand everything thoroughly; once you are it becomes easy to see how rappers use word play and context to create interesting situations with just a few lines of text.

Into the Lyrics - Insight Exposed

Lyrics:

"You're now in a game where only time can tell/

Survive the droughts, I wish you well - hold up/
Survive the droughts? I wish you well?/
How sick am I? I wish you health"

- JAY Z

    

               

               Trying to respond to these lyrics right away is a bit difficult to do due to the vague nature of the rhyme. It's something you have to read twice to understand, at least in the simplest of ways. So excluding all aspects outside the lyrics, let's look at the first half of those four bars.

"You're now in a game where only time can tell/ Survive the droughts, I wish you well - hold up"

               By analyzing just that, we can see the words are simple despite sounding like a riddle. Nothing complex. Nothing that a normal person wouldn't understand. JAY Z is keeping his audience in mind. The tone of the full sentence however, is where it gets interesting. The sentence is eerie in nature; and "eerie" with regards to the diction of the words. It sounds like a warning. It sounds like JAY Z is telling you to be careful as if bad things could happen in which case you would need some luck. As we read even closer, we'll see how this meaning is true. For now, let's look at the second half of these lyrics.

"Survive the droughts? I wish you well?/ How sick am I? I wish you health"

               Going along with the analysis of the first half, JAY Z uses the next part to ask questions which the audience may have. He asks three questions, two which re-state the first part and one which asks a question the audience may have, "Is JAY Z crazy?" Unlike the previous interrogatory statements, the last sentence is declarative illustrating JAY Z's hopes for you to stay alive and well in this "game," whatever it may be.

               These lyrics, although part of a song, seem more like a riddle. This riddle is the genre in a specific rhetorical situation. The situation is unknown however if we read only the words and know absolutely nothing about the background. So let's get some details. This song is from an album based on a movie of called, American Gangster; a movie about Frank Lucas, a gangster who created quite the reputation as heroin smuggler. The situation for the stimulation of these words is now known.

               Now let's re-analyze JAY Z's lyrics. By looking at the first two lines, we see the word "game." In the movie's context, "game" refers to the drug smuggling business. He is basically stating the drug "game" is one where only time will tell how successful you are, mostly due to the dangers of it. Additionally, he mentions "survive the droughts" which means to get through the tough times; to do that, he says, "I wish you well."

               The next two lines, in the context of the movie's background are interesting too. He re-states the second line. However, not only is he asking it as a question this time in order to clarify his statements, the words are mentioned again as a play on the word "well." When you yell into a well, you hear an echo hence the reason why the same words are mentioned again in JAY Z's lyrics. The last part, once again in context of the movie, states, "How sick am I?/ I wish you health." This shows that JAY Z is "sick" in the sense that he has been negatively affected by the drug "game" and wishes that you not suffer the same fate as him.     

               From a music industry perspective, the lyrics hold significance as well as the audience changes from aspiring drug dealers to aspiring musicians. The music business is a "game" in which success is dependent only upon the music you put out over time and different circumstances. You have to "survive" those "droughts" where your music isn't successful in order to come out on top. Fortunately, JAY Z wishes you well in an effort to make sure this doesn't happen. In fact, the words, "wish" and "well" create another allusion, this time to a wishing well. The second line is extremely clever as you can see and is arguably, a triple entendre!

               He questions the second line however addressing the complexity of the situation and keeping it as an "echo" in your ears before you think about entering the music "game." And the last sentence serves a strictly arrogant purpose of illustrating how "sick" - meaning "good" - JAY Z is with his rapping by using lines like the second one to have multiple meanings. He wishes you "health" so you can recognize the skill he has and take the advice he gave in the previous lines.

               After thoroughly analyzing JAY Z's lyrics, it is clear to see how words can hold so many different meanings when mentioned in different contexts. I guess that's one of the main reasons why rap music is so intriguing and why JAY Z is a particularly amazing artist. It is purely music to someone new to the genre but poetry to someone completely involved. However, after more and more training, or contextual details, in the specific field, the listener can draw better conclusions, as shown by the analysis of the above lyrics.

One of a Kind

“I’m one of a kind

I’m a bear that can do a lot of tricks— no, more like a fox”

This is a song lyric from one of my most favorite rap songs. Right off the bat, you can detect a sense of arrogance – something that is very characteristic of the rap genre. He starts with a statement, a self-compliment that clearly separates him from “the rest.” He goes on to refer to himself as a bear. The initial connotations of the word ‘bear’ would be ‘big’, ‘intimidating’, ‘beastly’, ‘wild’, etc. I am sure this is a universal condition amongst humans – we wouldn’t immediately think ‘cute’ or ‘fuzzy wuzzy’ unless it specifically referenced teddy bears. The first thing that came to my mind was the movie Brave in which it was common to have bears do tricks for entertainment. The bears were often trapped in a cage or heavily chained and whipped while party guests would jeer and laugh in excitement. Let’s look at the word ‘bear’ itself. Other than the animalistic connotation, we can also see it as ‘bearing the weight of the world’, etc. Along with his job in the entertainment industry comes responsibility. It is a type of responsibility that needs to cater to his fans, his company, his friends, his family, and himself.

After calling himself a bear, he goes on to reject that idea and calls himself a fox instead. Foxes are completely different. I immediately think ‘cunning’ and ‘sly’. Again, this description is something that has become universal. Depending on culture and folklore the fox could symbolize many things, but it is not often described as stupid or slow – not like the bear that can be manipulated by humans. In Korean folklore the fox outwits the bear.

So now the rapper is saying that he is not some dumb person that merely conforms to rules and receives the short end of the stick. He is fully aware of the entertainment industry’s expectations. He mentions that he knows a lot of tricks, but his kind of tricks are not just singing, dancing, and rapping. He is letting his audience know that he cannot be easily taken advantage of like the rest of the ‘bears’ in the industry. He can work hard AND reap the benefits of having a celebrity status.

Therefore, the rapper is alluding to many things: 1) his personality is big, hard to miss, 2) he has been trained to entertain – it is his job, 3) his talent is incomparable and his style cannot be mimicked. He’s ‘one of a kind’.

There is a whole world of reasoning that I could back these lyrics from based on what I already know about the rapper and the entertainment industry. I specifically meant to keep his background story until the end of my post. He is actually a very, very prominent celebrity in the Kpop world – think Psy (You know, Gangnam Style) but better (in my opinion). What if I were to tell you that this guy is 5’8 and weighs 127 lbs? Nothing close to a bear. Cunning? Definitely. He pretty much rules the music charts with first place all-kills with every single song release. It’s called being a genius.

P.S. his name is G-Dragon and the song is called One of a Kind…if you are interested. You're welcome.

How to Love

When you is just a young’un your looks were so precious

But now you're grown up, so fly its like a blessing

But you can’t have a man look at you for five seconds

Without you being insecure

You never credit yourself so when you got older

It seems like you came back ten times over

Now you’re sitting here in this damn corner

Looking through all your thoughts and looking over your shoulder

Lil Wayne – How to Love

From Lil Wayne’s song “How to Love,” I have broken down the first verse into five different sections and close-read the meaning behind each group of lyrics. Even though Lil Wayne is directing this song to a specific lady, he is speaking to anybody who has felt insecure because of the weight and judgment the world puts on their shoulders. The first section sings, “When you is just a young’un your looks were so precious / But now you’re grown up, so fly it’s like a blessing.” He is saying that this lady has transformed from a cute, little girl to a beautiful, mature woman. There is a gentleness to his tone that resonates with the honesty of his word. He is very specific in his language and uses intimate words to portray the way he has and will continue to view her as the beautiful lady that she is.

            After encouraging her and expressing a portion of his emotions, his tone begins to change. “But you can’t have a man look at you for five seconds / Without you being insecure.” He points out that because of her insecurities, whenever a man looks at her for a period of time, her immediate thought would not be that he is interested in her but that he is looking at her flaws. Living in a generation that is frugal with its time, there is much value when a person sacrifices their time on something because it signifies its value and importance. In this portion of the verse, Lil Wayne acknowledges that this man is sacrificing his time to intently look at her because there is something beautifully intriguing about her. His tone has become heavy when explaining his sorrow because it saddens him that she does not value herself in the way that he does.

            He further expresses his sorrow by saying, “You never credit yourself so when you got older / It seems like you came back ten times over.” He points out that she has remained insecure and never acknowledged her looks, talents, and worth. She had developed a habit of devaluing herself because she never believed in herself, and constantly returned to familiar experiences and people because she knew that with them she would not get hurt. And because of this, she was did not go outside of her comfort zone and take hold of what she wanted in her life.

            Lil Wayne’s tone changes for the last time in this section as he transitions into the peak of the verse. We begin to hear a hint of anger as he finishes recollecting his past with her and expresses how he views and feels towards it. “Now you’re sitting here in this damn corner / Looking through all your thoughts and looking over your shoulder.” He is showing her that when she looks back at her past, she is going to realize and regret not taking chances. What saddens and frustrates Lil Wayne the most is that she was not able to change her state of mind due to her lack of confidence. “Looking over her shoulders,” implies that even though she regrets the way she viewed and lived her life, she still cannot trust anybody, and is always alert to ensure that nobody is out to harm her. 

Rap From An Outsider

So I am going to openly admit that I had no idea what that Lil Wayne quote on the board the other day meant and yes English is my first language. I mean obviously I assumed it had something to do with either guns, sex or drugs because its Lil Wayne and that’s what most of his songs are known for. Or maybe they’re not, I guess I’m not really sure because I don’t know his music very well, only what’s on the radio. No disrespect, but its hard not to be immediately judgmental when this guy’s name pops up based on the already known knowledge that he was in the hospital and almost died from having seizures because of all of the drugs he does. Obviously rap music is its own genre (which I know very little about so feel free to rip apart my blog post) but I was wondering if whether you can consider rap as its own discourse community, with the rappers being its members. I assume the main goal of rappers is to produce music right? But clearly, just by owning a radio, you can tell that rappers have their own agenda. Some rap for fame, some rap to send a message, some rap for many other reasons I’m sure. Just for example: Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Macklemore. As I stated before, Lil Wayne doesn’t have the best track record when considering morality. Now keep in mind, this is all coming from a complete outsider. Lil Wayne may actually be some life saving, charity helping angel that I have no idea about, so I apologize if I offend anyone. Anyways, Jay-Z, although he may rap about some inappropriate topics, now has a wife and a child and I think is a pretty respectable man. I don’t know a lot about his past, I’ve only been keeping up with him recently, well because I’m a 21 year old female and obviously love Beyonce, so he may have a racy past that I don’t know about. And lastly, Macklemore, who has only recently come into the mainstream music scene. I’m sure most of us have heard his song ‘Same Love’, which I find to be incredible. He is a perfect example of a rapper trying to send a message, a message of equality and fairness. I have read that he is said to be one of the most inspiration artists of our time. I guess my point is last blog entry I wrote about how a restaurant is a discourse community and now taking rap artists as a discourse community, is a completely different task. I’m sure if you broke it down, step by step, rap could be easily seen as a discourse community, I guess its just difficult for me to see how people, which the same title, but have such different backgrounds, agendas and are known for such different things, can be all members of the same discourse community. Again, I took some of the most mainstream rappers and analyzed based on only my previous knowledge, which again is very limited, so my blog entry may be completely biased. I think it just got me thinking about how the term discourse community can be used in so many instances, but can have so many diverse contents. 

Discourse Communities: Musicians

Musicians fit the six criteria that make up a discourse community as defined by Swales.  While all musicians have their own individual style and taste, they can be unified by their desire to study music, as well as produce distribute their own work. Communities of musicians can form within the schools that they study, the cities, they live in, or the genre that they prefer most. I find the effect of the internet on music very interesting. Many more communities of musicians and music lovers have flourished over the internet. Which ties into the second  and third defining characteristics of a discourse community – intercommunication among its members. Concerts, recording studios, jam sessions, etc. are all vectors for correspondence and providing information and feedback. The internet plays an interesting role in these characteristics as well, because it enables members of this discourse community from all over the world to hear music and communicate with other musicians that they would have never otherwise had access to. It facilitates a freer flow of  ideas and styles, which not only opens peoples’ eyes to new things, but makes the fourth characteristic – genres – more flexible and vast. As we spoke about in class, genres are not static, but are evolutionary ideas. Categories for types of music were once simple and straight forward – jazz, rock, classical, etc. – but now it is more common to see musicians experiment and borrow from other genres to form their own styles. Examples of new genres you can see emerging include post-punk progressive math rock with a jazz influence. Genres, I think, have become their own form of lexical items. Additionally, musicians not only have a lexis that includes the type of instruments and recording equipment they use, they have to know how to write music itself. This discourse community also most definitely contains members that have a diverse level of expertise. There are beginners, students, teachers and enthusiasts who continuously strive to improve their art.