Popular Music in Expressing the Views of Contemporary Society - Coursework Example

? How popular music is used to express the artists’ views of contemporary society in "Black Eyed Peas- Where is the love" music text. Institution Course Date 1. Source “Where is the love” text is a song by an American Hip-Hop crew constituting of four performers (Miller, 2004, p. 9). The quartet entails Will.i.am, Apl.de.ap, Fergie besides Taboo, who teamed together since 1992 to date. From then to the present, they have composed various and varied songs that have dominated assorted charts. Besides the team mutually producing songs together, they do possess individual singles like “shut up” that also bear the brand of the group despite being an individual song. The quartet’s first unveiling song was “Where is the love”,  which become a lead song globally and gave its audience the necessary confidence that is evident to date (Miller, 2004, p. 9). Since then, they continued to dominate world rankings with their diverse compositions besides selling millions internationally due to their preference from their fans. Will.i.am and Apl.de.ap were the first and used to perform in Los Angeles. In 1992, while presenting won the admiration of Eazy-E where Dante joined them to form Atban Klann. This was the initial title, which meant that the trio was an association past a nation they inhabited; hence, it was ready to accept other artists. Conversely, in 1995 the trio failed to release their album due to the demise of Eazy-E. However, the trio continued to evolve where its title became Black Eyed pods and finally instead of “pods” turned to be “Peas” (Miller, 2004, p. 9). In 2002, Fergie joined the trio, where her presence and expertise yielded to immense admiration of the group by a large audience. Fergie yielded to be an essential asset in the group since then to the present, where they have continued to release many songs that have won the global audience. 2. Audience and purpose The music text’s audience addresses the global humanity. This entails that it lacks any specific social group, which it targets since its message of love is for the entire humanity. This is evident via the repetitive utilization of the word “y'all” (“you” and “all”) which characterizes diverse verses almost in all the stanzas (Miller, 2004, p. 9). The music highlights the dire confusion that characterizes the global community to date, where instead of living by what it professes it is doing the contrary. This is via killing and encouraging evils that tend to fuel disunity like discrimination emanating from the love of one’s race, hence offering it adequate space to block other people from mingling freely. Conversely, some verses in the song address some selected people especially the leaders who have incalculably yielded to the eruption of global wars. The wars like WWII that have erupted due to the motivation from own gains where the leaders assume they are right. Additionally, the song’s composer in a way encompasses even the audience as having contributed to the same scenario globally. This is because the text addresses the humanity (world) and uses pronoun “we” to imply the entire people. The song’s intention is to inform global inhabitants who have high intellectual competence than other creatures. The message is in the form of a query regarding the utter dehumanization that is evident worldwide and persists to the present. Music text gives an illustration of terrorism, which the global securities are tying to curb it, especially the America via utilizing its sophisticated CIA organ, but all in vain (Miller, 2004, p. 9). The vice is still evident in the world, and its impacts nobody can refute since it terminates guiltless people primarily the children and youths. Its core question is the where has love vanished and the world’s sympathy besides respect for people. Since all the ills that characterize the world presently emanate from the nonexistence of love that should unite and bring harmony. Contrary, disunity, animosities have taken the lead where they characterize humanity’s actions besides resulting to deaths and crying of guiltless children, leaving them as orphans. The text is calling upon the world to live according to what it preaches (love) instead of the contrary, hence the song’s title “Where Is The Love?” The composer unveils brewing of wrangles amid states that yield to grievous wars (Miller, 2004, p. 9). This comprise of obnoxious gasses and dropping of bombs that terminate numerous people especially the youths. The text also highlights the concern of leaders’ greed goaded by money besides own motives based on material affluence. This has yielded to the spreading of hostility among the people where in some states leaders due to greed and hatred normally have resulted to planning wars backed by undisclosed reasons. 3. Message and values The overriding information or subject is the theme of love for another which the world since immemorial to the present still preaches. This is via its numerous leaders and diverse influential people trying to lure global inhabitants to embrace love and respect for humanity. Contrary, this is not harkened and what characterizes global scenes are acts that are far from love or respect, which encompass death resulting from war. The text questions the current humanity in its midst where is the “golden virtue”, which should be guiding us while residing in this world. The text also unveils the issue of materialism, which has intoxicated global leaders to the extent of making wrong decisions that have led to the demise of numerous people besides youths and children. Besides the text expounding various issues that inflict severely on “mama”, some remained hidden or lightly addressed in the song (Miller, 2004, p. 9). For illustration, terrorism that America and other concurring global states are trying to abolish, but presently this seems unstoppable and untamable. This is because of “under covered” reasons maintained by some states who normally claim their conviction is clear and are right about what they are doing. This is evident with some pious extremists who assume that, due to fellow humanity’s resistance to their creed they can wage holy wars. This results to the demise of humanity besides innocent children, which according to the music text their cries are evident everywhere due to bombings and obnoxious gases blocking their lungs. Moreover, the evident subtext entails the impact of media images on young minds, whose effects are “negative”. The media’s impacts encompass distorting the children’s mind and implying that the violence is normal in this world (Miller, 2004, p. 9). This is through violence games, daily images and news that comprise of violence against humanity. Therefore, making the youngsters view death emanating from violence as normal and eroding the necessary empathy they ought to have. Empathy normally prohibits an individual from inflicting pain or other sufferings on fellow humanity, which due to exposure to numerous occasions of violence fades with time. The text contends how the value of love and respect has deteriorated globally due to power and materialistic greediness that characterizes humanity presently and its leaders. The leaders hold varied capacities and have power that permits them to make even unselfish decisions. For illustration, the onset of WWII emanated from Hitler’s greed objective. His core target was to surmount the world and bring it under Germany’s dominion where he would be able to manipulate its resources. This move constituted an example of “reasons under covered” fueled by greed and desire to manipulate humanity to revere evil power (Miller, 2004, p. 9). Hence, it led to the annihilation of numerous Jews via chemical gases and starvation confinements. Additionally, other “under covered” intentions entailed to augment power via outdoing the already then states, which persists to date. Other evils, for illustration, include terrorism, which has back up from some regional associates like Middle East where justifications regarding their actions bases their argument on religion and resistance opposing the west dominating them. 4. Persuasion The composer utilizes repetition coupled with rhetorical statements to provoke the sensations of the audience. These encompasses “where is the love”, which appear frequent times in the text and forms the chorus of the music (Miller, 2004, p. 9). Additionally, the composer offers various examples about how the world through diverse ways lacks the indispensable values that constitute humanity. References Miller, J 2004, 'N.E.R.D.; Black Eyed Peas', Daily Variety, 282, 67, p. 9, viewed 28 April 2012. Read More