>But the "finding beauty in
>the hood" song has been
>a staple in rap music
>for several years now

"finding beauty" in the hood is just the hook. listen to the verses. the verses and the hook are on two seperate topical paths. for a good chunk of the song, com is speaking to a woman about relationship advice, and he doesn't even say whether she's in the hood or the suburbs (such a woman could be anywhere).

in fact, my only beef with the song is the hook doesn't seem to match the topic matter of the verses. it's like the hook came from an entirely seperate song (i am assuming since it is "geto heaven pt 2" the hook is from an earlier song which I am unaware of).

>More specifically in Common's song, he
>has a verse about how
>life in the music game
>is hard,

which has nothing to do with the hood.

he has the
>"strong woman" verse,

which was not explicitly linked to the hood, nor was the hood mentioned in said verse, if memory serves.

he talks
>about "blunted eyes of
>youth search for a God"

said blunted eyes could just as well be in white teenage suburban faces as in black inner city or suburban faces.

>and how he wants folks
>to say "his life, it
>meant more".

which also is not explicitly connected to the hood.

no idea why you think this song is a remake of too short's "money in the ghetto" (or similar tunes). it is far from that simple.

He may twist
>it with better metaphors and
>make it sound better than
>most, but are you really
>going to tell me you've
>never heard anyone talk about
>similar things in their songs?

uh, that is the definition of songwriting. literature has been around thousands of years. usually the only originally in writing is in how you flip it...I mean, you could argue that "The Matrix" is like "Star Wars", based on the similar handling of mentor/mentee relationships and use of Zen philosophy, but those two movies are still markedly different.

Spread love,

Spirit

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Ogami Itto's Prescribed Methods for ending Racism in Law Enforcement

1. Assemble all officers in squad room, fully uniformed, weapons ready.

2. Instruct each officer to present arms.

3. Chamber one round.

4. Safety off.

5. Place barrel in mouth, aim for brain.

6. Fire