Hip hop Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hip hop - Essay Example Some of its political elements include mockery of the worst aspect of slavery such as the dozens (slave auctions) and battling (putting someone else down through poetry). In hip hop, African Americans found a medium to express their message, similar to the jazz music of the earlier decades to vent their frustrations against widespread racial discrimination and their marginalization in American society which only lately has been rectified by laws. In a sense, hip hop music and its accompanying culture is closely related to another and unique newly-invented black American form of expression which is slam poetry. Many people are not familiar with this new art form of spoken poetry but blacks were the first to popularize a more vibrant form of poetry reading, where it assumes the form of a performance act done on the stage and in full view of the public. Poets not only read out aloud their compositions but also act out their poems messages in a convincing and entertaining manner. Both hip hop and def poetry (as slam poetry is oftentimes alternatively called) share a common characteristic of free verse. It had a similar provenance from another black American musical art form which is reggae. Both forms of artistic expressions employ a rhythmic cadence that is pleasing to the ear and the mind; these forms exhibit creativity, originality and imaginative composition. In a sense, both are also considered as performance arts (Aptowics, 2008, 213) in which the singer or poet, as the case may be, has to dress for the part and employ a variety of props such as an appropriate dress, composure, tone of voice, manner of delivery, posture and non-verbal body language such as hand gestures or facial expressions. What I like most about hip hop and its culture is an ability to compose lyrics not constrained by meter, indentation or format; this is

Compare and contrast the development of Ecuadors indigenous political Essay

Compare and contrast the development of Ecuadors indigenous political movement with the development of nationalism throughtout south america in the 20th century - Essay Example It was in the fag end of 19th century that South America went through a process of modernization and nationalism emerged as a new shade in its socio-political horizon1. This is what Snyder2 has called as the â€Å"transformation of nationalism from its oligarchic to a new populist form.† The Latin American countries rapidly modernized their infrastructure, transportation facilities grew, industries mushroomed, and there was a change over from â€Å"feudal agrarianism to urban industrialism.† 3 But this was not the case in Ecuador. A transformation similar to what happened in Chile, Argentina or Mexico came into Ecuador only in 1970s. Even when the change came, it was not based on bourgeois nationalism as it was the case in almost all other South American countries. Ecuador had largely remained a feudal agrarian nation until the third half of 20th century. King 4 has observed that the indigenous political movement in Ecuador has been a consequence of the revelation in 19 70s that that this land had rich petroleum resources. Once, the outside pressure mounted to exploit those resources, the economic and cultural well being of the native people came under threat 5 It was out of this struggle for survival that one of the world’s strongest political movements emerged. 6 The development of a politically active and aware middle class was another phenomenon that Latin American countries witnessed in 20th century.7 In the first half of the 20th century, the whole of Latin America had seen a fresh revival of active political movements. 8 But at that time, Ecuador was not moved by that social dynamics9. The movement that shook Latin America had roots in ethnicity and was called the indigenista movement 10. All the same it had derived its essence from the European enlightenment as well11 And this movement was anchored on nationalism and bourgeois