Music is what feelings sound like. Hip Hop is still a genre of music, yet people often forget that. I decided to analyze a Hip Hop song and the meaning of it. The song consists of the creation, (how things ought to be), hints of redemption (how things should be fixed), and the fall (something missing in the human life).
“Ms. Hill,” is by rapper and songwriter Talib Kweli and was released in 2005. It speaks about his admiration toward his iconic friend, Lauryn Hill, a rapper, singer, songwriter and poet. She’s also known from the 1992 comedy film, "Sister Act" which stars Whoopi Goldberg. This song expresses admiration to Hill’s way of not conforming to the ways of the music industry as well as creating her own style of music, that is both creative and truly inspirational.
The creation in this song exposes the fact that the music industry can be a dangerous place. Two lines stated, “the industry was beating her up, then those demons started eating her up.” Although, while it can be a dangerous place, artists need to stand their ground and continue sharing their music with the world. Hill is an inspiration to millions of people not only in America but in different countries. She speaks about helping others and being the light in the world. The ideal that Kweli was expressing here is that music is supposed to touch the depths of the human spirit; therefore it should be meaningful.
There is a fall in this song and that is when Ms. Hill stepped down from the music industry temporarily, because as mentioned even her own music label was trying to control her. During her time of absence, Kweli called her assistant and said he wanted to talk to Hill. He wanted to “walk through the storm” and be the “umbrella when the rain is pouring.”
Meaning, that despite all trials and tribulations she went through, he wanted to help her get back to making music and be her “umbrella”, her advocate about raising awareness society struggles with. He wanted to show he cares about the same issues she does.
Moreover, hints of redemption consist of a few different things. One was when the BET awards declined to let Hill read a poem she had written called Motive and Thoughts, because it wasn’t the usual entertainment they received, but because of fan demand, Hill got to read her poem. With all of her songs, she got to be an inspiration to many, especially the African American community. Despite, the fact that she stepped down from the spotlight, she made meaningful songs that continued to touch many.
The impact of this song upon culture, as not only been significant to many individuals, but especially those in the Hip Hop community. Fans and artists who know Hill still appreciate this song. It has served to remind us that music needs to be something that speaks to people.As late rapper Tupac Shakur said, “you can’t just nod your head to the beat and not listen to the lyrics.”
This song especially empowers African American and women everywhere. African American women need to stand their ground and not let society continue to discriminate toward them. Women should have enough self-respect for themselves toward men and continue to help others. We live in the devil’s land and with that we can’t give into the temptation of any sin. Artists who have a meaningful message need to hold strongly to that. If we can’t support meaningful messages, then we need to overall question our motives as a human race. As Christians, we live in the world, but we are not of the world. We can’t lose our faith. The world may change, but we can still “hatch ideas in our heads like birds in a nest." This means Ms. Hill already inspired us to already put new ideas and concepts into our minds, but it is up to us to use them for good or evil.
