Comparison of Finally Moving by Chris Webby and Rock Bottom by Eminem

- Before you read this know I am very aware that Chris Webby is not a midwest rapper but I think these songs compliment eachother nicely and make a good comparison-

            Reoccurring themes link songs together that were made by two unique individuals. The sound of one’s struggles in music is universal. Rap music is filled to the brim with songs about difficulty in life. One such instance is Finally Moving by Chris Webby and Rock Bottom by Eminem. They share many similarities, but are kept separated by the artists’ distinct personalities.

            Eminem, or Slim Shady, lived a very isolated life from Webby, so naturally his song contains different content and difficulties. One is that he seems more taxed by the stress; “I’m poppin’ percocets, I’m a nervous wreck…” He also has a child that he works to take care of. Em gets worked up about not providing his daughter with the right kind of life; “And my daughter’s down to her last diaper: that’s got my ass hyper”. It is apparent that Eminem is more angry and violent. He says “Minimum wage got my adrenaline caged, full of venom and rage…” and “Holdin’ two glocks, I hope your doors got new locks on ‘em…”. In this track, Slim declares he is willing to commit violent acts and steal because he hit rock bottom.

            As Slim’s song branched out, Chris’s also covered different topics. Webby is not forced to work like Em for his daughter, but he states “I can’t live at my parents house forever, broke as f***, life could be so much better…”. This shows that he still has the desire to acquire currency, even if he is not forced to. Webby is more into rap for the experience than the benefits; “This is what I live, this is what I breathe. Without hip hop, there’d be no me…” He depends on rap as an outlet and career instead of only a source of profit. Another example of this is: “These other kids do it for the Itunes cash; I do it for free, it’s all love like that.” Chris has created many albums called mixtapes. They are one of the purest forms of hip hop and if released online, are given for free. If he only wanted to generate revenue, he would not have mad free music that took time and effort.

Some ideas are almost parallel in these tracks. Both artists speak of their struggle, even though they vary in degree. A problem for both emcee is a lack of money to spend, but their reasons for wanting it branch in opposite directions. The moods to the songs are almost identical, being depressing, except for Webby’s last verse which can only be described as inspirational. They are also not proud of their behavior in te past of possible future. Slim says “That’s rock bottom: when you want something bad enough to steal” and Chris raps “Everybody tells me that I’m talented and clever but I still have nothing to show for my endeavors.” The Detroit lyricist and suburban party rapper shared many qualities in these songs.

Diamonds from Sierra Leone by Kanye West Analysis

Shifting from speaking of the problems in Sierra Leone to joking around, in “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” Kanye West and Jay Z use thought-inducing irony, clever pun, and strong symbolism that can make the listener imagine all the diamonds they speak of.

Poetic devices can encourage thought in a listener or reader of a work. Irony can make an audience stop and contemplate the differences between the two situations compared. Kanye talks about Sierra Leon in Africa and how it is affected by the diamond mining that is all too common there. He says “Over here, theres the drug trade; we die from drugs. Over there they die from what we buy from drugs: the diamonds, the chains….” He is showing the irony that people in America die from selling narcotics, but also have people die in Africa from buying diamonds with their money earned.

A pun is another device that can make a listener think and maybe even laugh. Jay Z makes the analogy of himself to a business. He states “I’m not a business man, I’m a business man, let me handle my business, damn.” He is saying that he is a business instead of being a mere salesperson. The added emphasis on “man” the second time he said it is to show that it is local color. This gives the statement a whole new meaning.

Symbolism makes lyrics deeper than they would be if something was said straight out. Jay Z questions “How could you falter, when you the rock of Gibraltar?”, and the rock of Gibraltar is a symbol for him. It is a land mark that marks the entrance of the Mediteranean Sea which countries could control it to control the major sea. Jay is saying that he controls the rap industry like it controlled the mediteranean. He then says “People lined up to see the Titanic sinking, but instead we rose from the ashes like a phoenix.” His career is the Titanic and people expected a great disaster but the simile afterwards showed he pulled a miracle.

Jay Z and Kanye use devices throughout the song that cooperate to keep a listener entertained. Irony proves an interesting point that requires thought. Pun can also do the same, except it is also humorous. Symbolism stops the person in their tracks compared to these other thought creating devices. “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” is a well thought through track that brings up interesting ideas.

Analysis of Rap Game by D12

Switching from a serious political statement to angry sounding satire, in “Rap Game” the emcees of D12 utilize well placed internal rhyme, dark irony, and sweet alliteration to let the listener know that they need to sell their soul if they want to make it in the rap game.

Internal rhyme makes a line sound smoother and can make it roll from the tongue easier. In his verse, Proof says “The nastiest band with gats in each hand we never bow down to be a flash in a pan.” Band and hand rhyme, but hand is not the end of the bar. Pan is an imperfect rhyme to those words and completes the line. At the end of the verse he says “So we can battle with raps, we can battle with gats, matter of fact we can battle with plaques.” This has the same rhyme scheme as the last line.

Irony is used to produce dark humor in this song. Kuniva starts his piece off by saying “I’ll walk into a party and just start bustin’, right after I hear the last verse of Self Destruction.” Self Destruction is a song by KRS-One that is about how black people should not fight each other because it holds them back as an ethnicity. It is ironic that Kuniva fictionally listened to this song before starting such violence. Later in the track, Bizarre says “My little girl she shouldn’t listen to this lyric; that’s why I glued headphones to her ears and made sure she hears it.” He has the persona of being a horrible father and it’s ironic that he would make her listen to rap after saying she shouldn’t.

Alliteration is another device that composes a sweeter sounding line. It can make be a powerful tool in a song. Slim’s verse has the words “Switchblade with a little switch to switch blades, and switch from a six to a sixteen inch blade; s**t’s like a samurai sword, a sensei.” The alliteration makes this line much more entertaining to speak and better sounding.

The rappers of D12 use poetic devices such as internal rhyme, irony, and alliteration to perfect their flow and add shady humor to “Rap Game”. Internal rhyme and alliteration were what made the song sound better. This hooks the listener in so they pay attention to smaller details. Irony brought forth the comedy and gave the song more entertaining value. D12 combined these to form a complete and well thought out track.