Hip hop

Hip hop or hip-hop is a sub-cultural movement that formed during the early 1970s by African-American and Puerto Rican youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City. It became popular outside of the African-American community in the late 1980s and by the 2000s became the most listened-to musical genre in the world. It is characterized by four distinct elements, all of which represent the different manifestations of the culture: rap music (oral), turntablism or DJing (aural), b-boying (physical) and graffiti art (visual). Even while it continues to develop globally in myriad styles, these four foundational elements provide coherence to hip hop culture. The term is often used in a restrictive fashion as synonymous only with the oral practice of rap music.

The origin of the hip hop culture stems from the block parties of the Ghetto Brothers, when they plugged in the amplifiers for their instruments and speakers into the lampposts on 163rd Street and Prospect Avenue and used music to break down racial barriers, and from DJ Kool Herc at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, where Herc mixed samples of existing records with his own shouts to the crowd and dancers. Kool Herc is credited as the "father" of hip hop. DJ Afrika Bambaataa of the hip hop collective Zulu Nation outlined the pillars of hip hop culture, to which he coined the terms: MCing or "Emceein", DJing or "Deejayin", B-boying and graffiti writing or "Aerosol Writin".

'Till I Collapse

"Till I Collapse" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his fourth studio album The Eminem Show (2002). It is the 18th track on the album, and features American rapper Nate Dogg in the chorus.

Background

The song samples the "stomp-stomp-clap" beat made famous by the rock band Queen on their song "We Will Rock You" (1977).

Although it has never been released as a single, it has recharted on a few occasions when other Eminem albums have been released. In 2012 it was certified double-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for digital sales of 2,000,000 copies in the United States.

In the second verse, Eminem makes references to several rappers who he believes are the best in the industry. The list, in descending order, is Reggie (Redman), Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., André 3000, Jadakiss, Kurupt, Nas and then himself.

Critical reception

David Browne wrote that this song is about underrating Eminem himself: "In songs like the trudging 'Till I Collapse (...) he tells how persecuted he's been by the government, how his lyrics are constantly misinterpreted, and how I'll probably never get the props I deserve. DX Magazine called this song "massive hand-clap driven beat." Steve Juon wrote favourable review: "Wrapping up the album are "Till I Collapse," another surprisingly militaresque track." Kris Ex described "'Till I Collapse" as an "all paranoid horror-movie instrumentation bottomed with arena-rock grandeur." On October 9th, 2013, Watchmojo.com rated 'Till I Collapse number 7 on their Top 10 Eminem songs.

'Til I Die

"’Til I Die" is a song written by Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys, released on the band's 1971 album Surf's Up and subsequently chosen as the B-side of the "Long Promised Road" single. With autobiographical lyrics about death and hopelessness, it is one of the few songs in which both the words and music were written solely by Wilson.

Biographer Jon Stebbins wrote: "''Til I Die' proves that Brian could not only write beautiful music, but that he had the ability to communicate honestly and artfully with his lyrics as well. The track is decorated with a haunting vibraphone and organ bed, which frames the strong harmony vocal arrangement perfectly."

Composition

According to Brian in the press material for the Surf's Up album, the song was inspired after a late night trip to the beach:

The song was written over the course of several weeks as Wilson tried to express the feelings he had experienced on that night he had spent alone at the beach. As he explains, "I struggled at the piano, experimenting with rhythms and chord changes, trying to emulate in sound the ocean's shifting tides and moods as well as its sheer enormity. I wanted the music to reflect the loneliness of floating a raft in the middle of the Pacific. I wanted each note to sound as if it was disappearing into the hugeness of the universe.

Black panther

A black panther is the melanistic color variant of any Panthera species. Black panthers in Asia and Africa are leopards (Panthera pardus) and black panthers in the Americas are black jaguars (Panthera onca).

Melanism

Melanism in the jaguar (Panthera onca) is conferred by a dominant allele, and in the leopard (Panthera pardus) by a recessive allele. Close examination of the color of these black cats will show that the typical markings are still present, but are hidden by the excess black pigment melanin, giving an effect similar to that of printed silk. This is called "ghost striping". Melanistic and non-melanistic animals can be littermates. It is thought that melanism may confer a selective advantage under certain conditions since it is more common in regions of dense forest, where light levels are lower. Recently, preliminary studies also suggest that melanism might be linked to beneficial mutations in the immune system.

Leopard

The Javan leopard was initially described as being black with dark black spots and silver-grey eyes.

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.