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Blog Post 5

This semester I enjoyed the blogging assignments that we had to do. They all made us really think outside the box and expand our minds to think deeper into specific topics. They also made us be very specific in our detail and have a good understanding of the material. The blog that I enjoyed the most was the last one that I did which was about Hip Hop and sports. I elaborated upon how hip hop and sports correlate and how many celebrities and pro athletes cross paths because of this. I was mainly very interested in this because I am an athlete who listens to hip hop music. My least favorite assignment had to be the shot list blog only because it had to be extremely detailed and there were a lot of different components to it. Although this wasn’t my favorite assignment I learned through blogging what Mise en scene was. This is the visual theme of a production and how the lighting and transition from a shot has a major role to play in films. All in all, blogging was helpful to me because it challenged me to think deeper and longer.

Annotated Bibliography

Bukowski, Peter. Hip Hop Culture in Sports. Aug 2008. In the article, Bukowski talks about how hip hop and athletes have a special bond and how every rapper wanted to be athlete at one time in time. Then he goes into talking about how people think that most sports that are predominantly black are the only ones that have a connection to hip hop. Well he then talks about how the Wall Street Journal in 2005 found anywhere from 60-80% of the rap industry was consumed by white males ages 13-34.

Fruedenheim, Ellen. Facts & Treiva About Brooklyn’s Barclays Center: Jay-A & A Russian Tycoon. Discusses how hip hop artist Jay-Z has a lot to do with the NBA Franchise Brooklyn Nets and their new basketball arena. Not only did Jay-Z help design the logo for the franchise, but he also the aesthetic force that helped define suite seating areas.

Shaq Diesel. September 2014. In this piece they discuss Shaquille O’Neal’s debut album Shaq Diesel released on October 26, 1993. This album went platinum hitting twenty fifth on the Billboard 200. It also had two singles do well, "(I Know I Got) Skillz", which made it to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also shipped 500,000 copies along with his other single "I'm Outstanding" made it to #47 on the Hot 100.

Chisholm, Kenneth. The Blind Side Plot Summary. In the summary he discusses how Michael Oher was homeless child that came from a poor background and how he had little education. It states how the Tuohy family took him in, cared for him and gave him everything he needed to be successful. Oher eventually earned an athletic scholarship to their alma mater (Ole Miss) and did great things on the field to eventually be first round draft pick the NFL draft.

Ham, Joe. Personal Interview. 16 October 2014. In this interview I decided to ask Joe Hamilton some questions. Joe was one of the greats to come through Georgia Tech to play football. Through his years at Tech his was runner up for the Heisman trophy which is one of the most prestige’s awards a college football player can receive and he is now a member of the college football Hall of Fame. When I spoke to Hamilton he discussed about how hip hop music got him in his zone and he felt like it was something he needed. He also talked about how it brought the team together to a sense and how it got them all focused for the task ahead.

Williams, Hype, dir. Forever. More Than a Game. 2009, Music video. In this music video it shows various clips of Lebron James playing basketball from his recreational game from his early childhood to high school. The clips are from his documentary “More Than a Game” where he talks about his life and basketball and how he got to where he is today from the game of basketball.

Hip Hop & Sports... Blog post 4

Hip Hop And Sports

Looking at it from a huge fan of both the cultures of sports and hip hop, artist and athletes go hand and hand. Whether it is a rapper talking about a top athlete in one of their hit songs, or whether it is the athlete doing the most hip dance craves from a popular rap song when they are performing on the field. For example just the other week rookie receiver Odell Beckham hit the new dance crave the “whip” after he scored his first touchdown last Sunday. On the flip side, many hip hop songs feature professional athletes, referenced in lyrics or even having a role in the artist’s music video. Hip hop culture and sports closely intertwine. Drake, a well-known hip-hop artist, has become extremely popular around the world. In his success, one of his signature songs is entitled Draft day where he talks about former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel who ultimately drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft. He also has produced another hit song with his main focus on NBA superstar Lebron James, which includes video of his life story documentary in the music video. Similar to Drake, iconic rapper Jay-Z has taken a profound interest in sports as well. Not only does he intertwine sports in his lyrics, but has recently become a partial owner of the NBA franchise Brooklyn Nets. Jay-Z has also helped design the logo for the Brooklyn Nets and helped fund the half-million dollar Vault suite seating areas. But it is not always the hip hop artists that are keen on sports. NBA hall of famer Shaquille O’Neal had a short rapping career with his debut album “Shaq Diesel” which went platinum and even hit 25 on billboard 200 according to Wikipedia.

The main similarity that hip hop artists and athletes have in common is not only being successful and having a lot of money, but also coming from poor backgrounds and being fortunate enough to make it out. Drake, Manziel, Shaq and Jay-Z all came from either broken homes or a poverty stricken environment. Drake’s hit song “Started from the Bottom” says “started from the bottom now we’re here”, implying that he started with nothing, but now is at the top of his respective profession. The hip hop culture and sports just has that something about it that just make them connect like it was always the artist dream to live the life of that athlete or vice versa. Where you find most athletes and sports I can almost guarantee that hip hop is not too far behind it.

Lance Austin - Blog 3

In Dr. Sexton’s quote about Nicki Minaj’s video “Anaconda”, she expresses how women cannot show their own bodies without being told they aren’t talented, or fail to be good role models for others. She also explains how women aren’t seen as independent and must coexist with their dominant male counterparts. In the Anaconda video, Nicki Minaj’s actions clearly state that she does whatever she wants without any regard to others opinions or feelings about it.

Although extremely provocative and frowned upon by many, her actions are very strategic and smart. Not only does Minaj know that the video will appeal mainly from the male perspective, but it makes them want to watch the video over and over again. Also, because Nicki Minaj is popular and many girls know her music, their minds will inquire what’s new that she has come out with. Especially since all the males around them are watching and talking about the video.

There is no doubt that the popularity of this video would have been much less if she had been more covered up and just singing into a microphone. With all of the sexual content she puts into the video she has not only gained her fans’ views, but the media has hopped on and it has blown up. On the contrary, with Minaj in most of her previous videos, she has been covered up and not exploiting as much skin and sexual content as in Anaconda. This new approach clearly gained the curiosity of many which in result builds her popularity and puts more money in her pocket.

In conclusion, I agree with Dr. Sexton and her views on the video “Anaconda”. This video was negatively video because of such provocative actions, but had this been a male’s video it would have been accepted. The video was good to look at, but made me view Nicki Minaj in a different light. Although she is attempting to gain viewers and popularity from this video, she has to understand that many young girls are watching and could influence their actions moving forward. I can’t help but think about my little sister watching this video and giving her the interpretation that it is acceptable to imitate this kind of behavior.

Response to Hobson’s piece & “Picasso Baby

Throughout the video Jay performs to a selected crowd. At first glance of the video it just look as if it is just people a private concert he was having but at the end of the video we find out that they were important figures in the media world. Also when people sit in front of him and he performs you get more involved and feel the energy that he is giving off. When he does this the audience can probably relate more to what he is saying just because it feel as if he is (which he is to some) talking directly to them. Throughout the article Hobson discusses his desire to subvert white aesthetics when he raps, “Sleeping every night next to Mona Lisa/ The modern day version with better features, signifying his wife Beyonce.

Thesis

Overall Beyoncé talks about how she is one of the best girls out there and how her man will regret not living her but what we don't know is what makes him question her love in the first place. As she tells it in the shots he is the bad guy and acts like she has done nothing wrong.

Michael Jackson Bad 9:11

In this part of the scene this is where the movie feel of the video transitions into the song so I feel this is an important part of the video. This is also where the video goes from black and white to color. The setting that this scene takes place is in a subway station at night. When I imagine this I think of a dark place where thugs and bad guys hang out. I also get the feel from this scene as if they are facing off because the camera is facing Michael and his new click against his old click. Michael stands in the front of the click as they just enter into the camera radius from each side. As they enter I get the feel that even though they are kind of scattered they have certain formation. This look to me makes me feel as if they are more dominant because they all have firm postures and more people whereas Wesley Snipes and the two other guys look confused and timid. Which throughout the video Michael and his click try to establish that Wesley Snipes and his click are not bad. Another dominance feel I since in this scene is that on Michael’s side they have more colorful clothing and it makes them pop out in some way whereas the other side is just kind of dull. Throughout the video I feel the viewer takes Michael side because he stands and does the right thing.

In the music video Thriller Michael wears bright clothing to make him stand out in the dark spooky background.

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