College Essays
Two Days ago...this started out as the most absurd and frustrating college essay topic ever: What is your favorite type of music and why? , it was a short essay assignment and it had me sitting at the comp for hours wondering...what are they looking for? what's the right answer? Then it just flowed....I could have made it more personal but i decided that i wanted to write about something bigger than myself...something i believe in....
Conscious Hip Hop is a movement; it is the voice of the African-American community on social and political issues. This sub-genre’s poetic lines and soulful tracks inspire me to contribute to society in a powerful way. Conscious Hip Hop is an underground alternative to mainstream hip-hop that emphasizes the importance of brotherhood, education, and creativity. This style of music cannot be defined; it varies in beats and rhythms. It is an art form and its one rule is to speak the truth. I relate to this style of music in many ways.
My name is Alexandria Anderson and I am enrolled in the Global Ecology Magnet Program, up-county in Poolesville High School in Poolesville, Maryland. Statistically, I am 1 of 18 African American students in a school of 990 students. But, personally, I feel alone in my environment, as I see the world through a perspective different than those of my peers. Conscious hip-hop has assured me that I am not alone in my personal struggles and experiences. Rapper and activist, Talib Kweli is a frontrunner of this music style, a well known lyricist who often raises awareness about social issues within the black community through his music. Kweli addresses the issue of uneducated youth as he rhymes, “At exactly which point do you start to realize, that life without knowledge is death in disguise,” in his K.O.S Determination record. I relate to this line, as an individual who has sought out opportunities for a quality education and understands the importance of knowledge. Talib confronts the ongoing pattern of the mass imprisonment of black males as he inquires, “Or is it the mind state that’s ill, creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build”. And I relate to Talib’s opinion about the problem, as an African American female who is directly impacted by the absence of black males in the black household.
Conscious Hip Hop confronts the controversial problems and tribulations that I face, as an African American female despite my predominantly Caucasian environment. Listening to this music, triggers a warm sensation of togetherness and community, giving me the strength and desire to surpass the obstacles that surface throughout my life.
