Discrimination

Rich Miceli 6/05/0 6

Mr. Kingsley pd. 5 Song Lyrics Essay

Many people, even in today’s world, feel as if they are discriminated against. In both songs, “Riddin” by Chamillionare and “99 Problems” by Jay-Z, the artists express their feelings towards the situation.

“Riddin” by Chamillionare allows the listener to really get an understanding of how Chamillionare feels about the situation. The first few lines of his song are “They see me rollin’, they hatin’, patrolling they tryin’ to catch my riddin’ dirty.” This example illustrates the thesis because he said very openly that when the cops see him they try to get him in trouble because they don’t like him. The listener can really understand how Chamillionare feels about discrimination. His use of repetition in the chorus of his song proves the thesis true. Chamillionare repeats “tryin’ to catch me riddin’ dirty” several times in the chorus; which really gets the point through clearly. When the listener hears the same thing over and over, it makes them think more and more about the meanings and feelings put into the lyrics. Another quote from his song is “laws of patrolling, you know they hate me.” This also proves the thesis true because he said that when the cops are on duty, they single him out and actually hate him. In the first verse of Chamillionare’s song explains what he has and why he discriminated against. He mentions that he has expensive cars, with tinted windows and television screens with his music turned up to the maximum. He says that the cops try to arrest and harass him because of his color. Jay-Z also explains his thoughts and feelings on the topic of discrimination in his song “99 Problems.”

Jay-Z is a very talented, well known, famous rapper. In his song “99 Problems”, the listener can totally understand his feelings on the issue of discrimination. In verse 2, he says that a cop pulled him over and asked him “Son do you know why I’m stopping you for?” and he replies, “Cause I’m young and I’m black and my hats real low.” He is clearly stating that the cop was pulling him over for no other reasons