RJ Mosqueda
Professor Brown
English 306
14 September 2016
Rhetorical Analysis Project - Rough Draft
“Fuck Tha Police” - N.W.A.
In the year of 1988, a song called “Fuck Tha Police” was published and publicly released to the world by the famous rap group N.W.A. on August 9th. The song is an ultimate form of protest. Not only did it reveal racism and police brutality towards African Americans, but it was a real eye opener for the whole world to see how Caucasian people treated people of color back then. The song transcended into a slogan and is now a movement in pop culture all over the world today, you see it on posters, billboards, and even t-shirts. The song hits all three categories of ethos, logos, and pathos. It demonstrates credibility/trust, logic/reason/proof, and emotions/values.
The song proves the rhetoric form of ethos through protest because of the credibility and trust that N.W.A. had gained all throughout Los Angeles, California. During the 70’s-90’s, racism was still at huge. Nobody knew what was going on behind closed doors because we did not have social media back then. High tech phones/cameras and technology that advanced were not accessible at the time to actually view the rawness of what was going on in the field. Ethos is demonstrated by N.W.A. by their status. By status I mean that N.W.A. was a famous and well known rap group which featured only African Americans (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, DJ Yella). The five were originally big known rappers/producers prior to them coming together to form the group. So people already knew about them from a musical/hip-hop perspective and throughout the Los Angeles community, which is where they all resided from. N.W.A. had already gained that trust/credibility (ethos) from the community because of how high their status was at the time (famous rappers/musicians). The “fans” were their credibility so people trusted them. They demonstrated this by the amount of album copies sold and by the rankings of their songs, “Their debut album Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre, while their second album Niggaz4Life would be the first hardcore rap album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 sales charts. Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A number 83 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2016, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following three nominations.” (Rolling Stone), (Billboard).
Logos (logic/reason/proof) is blatantly obvious and we can still see it today how police brutality and racism is still at large. In the music video of “Fuck Tha Police” which was created back in the 80’s and even in the “Straight Outta Compton” theatre video that came out in 2015, you can flat out see police brutality towards African Americans, especially in LA. The proof is us being able to actually see it live or see it from a video online of what is actually happening. The raw footage within the video is played and is even backed up with comments from the original gangster himself, Ice Cube (O’shea Jackson. “His take on the controversy over police treatment of minorities: "We got to hold these officials, authority figures and officers accountable when they break the law. No more trying to hide it, cover it up, or excuse it. The solution is, to put body cameras on all these police, and make it a federal offense to tamper, erase, or obstruct the camera and the footage. Then we'll see things start to slow down." Statements from Ice Cube, (People Magazine). The proof is in the putting, you see footage of it back then in their music videos, in the streets of LA, and even in the news. African Americans would not lash out for no reason, they are obviously being mistreated. You even see it going on today throughout social media but those are different stories to be told but still relate to N.W.A.’s “Fuck Tha Police”.
Pathos (emotions/values) are also displayed within the song of protest though the raw lyrics within the song itself. You do not have to read inbetween the lines of the lyrics to know what the song is about or to know what the group is talking/rapping about. The title is straightforward so you can grasp what the song is going to be about.
A young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown
And not the other color so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority.” -Ice Cube (Fuck Tha Police - N.W.A.).
The vivid language and stories tell it all of what is going on in the lyrics themselves. Going back to footage and news, those help reinforce what is actually going on with police/racism, that is why they created this song. That is why they rap about what they rap about. It is not made up stuff, it is what is actually going on in real life. The lyrics provide people with a sense of inspiration when it comes to “Fuck Tha Police” because people should have a right to be angry and stand up for themselves. N.W.A. serves as that “voice” for the people who are not famous or well know like them.
The song and even the group themselves serve as an identity to everybody from the past, the present, and even the future who is dealing with racism. Even caucasian people can identify because not all white people are racist and even certain white people themselves go through some type of racism throughout their lives. The group wrote this song to bring awareness to the world of what is really going on which is why people can relate and identify to it. They themselves have either witnessed it or gone through it themselves. The song also informs other whites and opens people's’ eyes. Racism, unfortunately is still at large today. It is sad to see how live it is in today’s society especially since we’ve come so far as people in this world. Does not matter what color skin you are, we are all human beings.
Works Cited
Kreps, Daniel. "Charts: 'Straight Outta Compton' Sends N.W.A Back to Top Five." Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 14 Sept. 2016.
@MichaelMiller@write_miller. "Ice Cube Speaks Out on Police Brutality: 'We Got to Hold These Officials Accountable When They Break the Law'"PEOPLE.com. People Magazine, 07 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Sept. 2016.
N.W.A. "N.W.A. "Fuck Tha Police" Music Video."Online Videoclip clip.YouTube.YouTube.April 19, 2012.Web. 2 Sept 2016.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the direct and clear flow that your analysis is based on. Each paragraph has been split up to comprehensively view the song from the lens of pathos, ethos and logos. Although it was not a technique that would have worked well for my analysis (or our other group members), it obviously worked well for you. I might consider giving a little more evidence that establishes your ethos argument, though. You include a quote later in the ethos paragraph from Rolling Stone that gives evidence to how NWA established credibility from their past success. I would consider how the success of the actual song (number of downloads or purchases) further established their credibility.
ReplyDeleteMultiple times, you make reference to scenes in the music video in order to make claims. Be sure to be clear in your thesis whether or not your analysis is on the song or the video. I know that we are also not supposed to comment much on this, but there are a few grammar issues that distracted me from your analysis (namely the excessive use of parentheses and “/” marks). One important thing that you left out that I think is essential to the logos argument is that the actual flow of the song is written in a manner that follows a case in court. The song is a prosecution against the police department and therefore goes through the logic of the Judge declaring order, hearing from witnesses and then making a verdict. A helpful site for this information was: http://genius.com/Nwa-fuck-tha-police-lyrics which includes explanations of the lyrics. Lastly, I think that your analysis of the identities portrayed in the song could be improved. For example, in addition to an African American audience, you may consider the audience that agrees with the idea of corrupt police and corrupt government. Furthermore in Ice Cube’s line, “A young nigga on the warpath, And when I’m finished, its gonna be a bloodbath, Of cops, dying in L.A.” he is appealing to an audience that is so fed up with the system that they will resort to violence to solve it. In a way, the previous quote is like a rallying call to incite a violent audience.
Hi RJ,
ReplyDeleteAlthough your elaboration is good, there are areas that seem vague or phrases that are a bit unfit and could use some extra detail. In the first paragraph, I’m not sure about the word “reveal” the 3rd sentence. The song most likely drew attention to, but the revelation of racism was long ago. Also in the first paragraph, when is “back then”? Back in the year 1988, 1980’s, 1900s? It may be assumed by the context, but a specific time period may help avoid audience confusion. I also think the last two sentences may be combined since they mention the same idea of ethos, logos, pathos.
In the second paragraph, you mention the fans of the group. I think this idea can be elaborated a bit of how the group acted as an authority and thus, this affected the overall effectiveness of the song’s protest message.
Paragraph 3 (logos) is a bit disorganized. You start with the point that we can still see police brutality today, but the explanation needs more evidence from the actual song/music video of how that specific piece of rhetoric used logos to get the message across. The paragraph skips over the point by transgressing into modern events of 2015. These ideas are great for the ending conclusion and explanation about the effectiveness of the protest. The explanation can use more concrete evidence of the groups song within the context of the time period.
Paragraph 4 (pathos) is more on topic, but could use a greater analysis of the lyrics. Describe the emotions in them, maybe include people’s reactions to the song, possible reviews or covers as evidence. What did people feel about the song during the time period. In the conclusion, you might mention how people still feel about it or how people’s feelings have possibly changed.
The conclusion sends a strong message, but I think you can open up the scope a bit. I don’t think the song just informs other whites. Racism can come from any group and this song’s message can apply to all.
Overall, some reorganization and elaboration is needed.
Hope this helps!
Overall I like this piece of protest rhetoric you chose to analyze because it is a clear definition of the term "protest". Also, you have variety of sources to support your paper. From the title to the introductory paragraph I can clearly understand the topic of your discussion however, I do feel this paper could use a little more information. In the second paragraph you jumped right into the analysis but I think the audience would benefit from a little background information of the song lyrics and the artist who wrote them. By summing those items up as your second paragraph, it would provide more clarity as to why you are analyzing this piece of protest. Another critique I wanted to make is that although it is good to define what exactly ethos, pathos, and logos are, I don't find it necessary to do so. Seeing "Pathos (emotions/values)" in the text disrupts the flow of reading for your audience and it may be helpful to integrate the meaning of these terms in your sentence rather than using parentheses. Lastly, this is a critique of which I am also guilty, the use of second person pronouns in your paper doesn't quite convey an analytical tone. In most publications and works of rhetoric, you usually see the author use third person pronouns or no pronouns at all. It seems to take out some personal bias and appears to be a more informative paper to the audience. If possible, find the areas where there are 2nd person pronouns and rewrite them into 3rd person or otherwise, it will help the ethos of your work. Let me know if you need help with anything and good luck!
ReplyDeleteRJ:
ReplyDelete-How effective the protest?
-Purpose of protest is?
-Tone: everything flows well but do not use phrases like --> (eye opener)
-Background information on the song/group itself in the beginning
-What was NWA trying to accomplish with this song?
-More explicit with the purpose
I just want to let you know that I just check out your site and I find it very interesting and informative.. Click Here
ReplyDelete