While it is easy to find drug slanging anthems, songs about banging, or ballads about keeping ladies of the night in line, it may take a little bit of digging to find songs that everyone can relate to. The ballad of the vending machine malfunction, if you will. Here are some that immediately come to mind:

DMX – Slippin’ from Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood (1998)

Slippin’ is a rare song in the fact that it sounds better when it is censored. DMX laments about his broken childhood, the struggles that he had to go through in the street, and recalls his recovery from his dark place. Broken into general terms, the lyrics of Slippin’ speak volumes to those who are forced to be independent a bit too early, and to witness the realities of life a bit too much.

See to live is to suffer but to survive
Well, that's to find meaning in the suffering.

2Pac - Keep Ya Head Up from Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993)

Before 2Pac became a T.H.U.G life puppet of Suge Knight’s now defunct Death Row record label, he was a socially and politically conscious rapper with raw emotion in each and every verse. He is mentioned among the greatest rappers of all time not because of his incredible mastery of the mic, but for this ability to reach everyone with his music. Keep Ya Head Up is an ode to the broken woman, a common tragedy in African-American culture. His lyrics serve not only to highlight this tragedy, but to uplift any shattered spirits.

Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sure
 And if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more

Atmosphere - Dreamer from When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (2008)

Atmosphere has been traditionally known for fiercely introspective and dark lyrics, but took a radical departure in their latest album with symbolic stories about a variety of other people, including the daughter of a drug dealer, an alcoholic, and a homeless man who sees his daughter at a diner. Dreamer contains the classic American theme of “pull yourself up from your bootstrap” and visits the life of a gutsy young woman as she navigates through countless obstacles, bad male influences, and raising two children while succeeding. When you listen to this song, you think to yourself “if she can succeed, so can I. And my shit isn’t half as bad.”

Those are just three examples – do any of you have any songs that hit the spot during a bad time?

Uplifting and Inspirational Rap Songs is a post from: Hip Hop Blog by the Hip Hop Octopus

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2Pac, the oldest of souls. Photo by Art-KO of Flickr fame.

As high school approached, I fully threw myself into hip hop with 2Pac as my guide. The more I found out about him, the more I thought he could do no wrong as I navigated the urban waters. Everything about him was magnetic – his life story, his dedication to the arts and to telling the story of the weak and ignored, and his lifelong dream to spark a revolution in the streets. Surprisingly, even his poetry turned out to be remarkably well polished. 2Pac was an easy to digest gateway to the rap world.

Rap music turned out to be an acquired taste, much like wine, coffee, or beer – at first listen, it seemed shallow, overly focused on “gangsterisms,” and full of bad messages and language. Only after repeated listens, often late at night and while looking up the written lyrics, can one start to see the poetry, strong positive messages, and emotional attachment the artist had to their songs (and that is just scratching the surface). 2Pac remains one of the best examples of someone whom you can feel emotion in every bar. Relating my very ordinary and mundane life to these strong, powerful lyrics became surprisingly easy.

College, like it is supposed to, opened my eyes even further. To be continued in a future post.

To my dear readers: does anybody else out there have an artist that they felt introduced them (or catapulted, violently)  to a new genre of music?

Introducing the Octopus Continued is a post from: Hip Hop Blog by the Hip Hop Octopus

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2. More Inspiration
3. Hip Hop Album Art as an Artform

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