Analysis Of The Song Expression By Salt N Pepa - 862 Words

Many black musicians used their music as a platform to express the struggles that their community experienced daily during the 1980’s and 90’s. It allowed them to represent their anger or sorrow without acting out violently while also spreading awareness to the listeners about their stories, ideas, struggles, deep emotions, and the messages behind their songs. Lyrics to songs can bring a lot of meaning to a person or society. Music is an art and showcases an individual’s spirit. Hip hop music has brought many messages forward, for example the song Expression by Salt n Pepa had lyrics that showed the public how to be yourself and how to let lose. On page 7 of â€Å"Understanding Black American Aspects in Hip Hop Cinema† it talks about how during slavery the slaves would make up songs that would lift the spirits of the people working. Some of these songs had messages about freedom and dreams that the slaves had. Considering most songs have an impact on peopl e, the slaves would create a culture of music that was brought forward. Craig Werner talks about genres and their impacts on the black culture. â€Å"Expressions† has a voice to all people. The lyrics go a little like this Express yourself, you ve got to be you, babe, Express yourself, don’t tell me what to do, babe, Express yourself, come on and work that body.† To me these lyrics came across as just letting go and being yourself. Lyrics like this give value to life and reassure people that everything is going to be okay. Music