Develop a thoughtful, cogent essay of 650-850 words that does the following:
1. You will then select one of the following critical essays from Modules II and III for analysis:
- Collins.Biggie Envy
- Hankins.So Contagious
- Williams.Jazz Rap as High Art
2. From this reading, create one critical question about the text and begin to develop an answer. A critical question is a question you might have for the author about their central idea. The answer to the critical question cannot be a “yes” or “no” answer: it must require you—and us—to think deeply about this issue the article addresses. This should be a real question — i.e., a question you don’t have answers to but believe is important to pursue. Explain why the question is worth asking and suggest possible ways to begin answering it.
This part of the assignment is asking you to do the following:
- Locate the author’s central argument (thesis).
- Interpret that central argument (tell me what the argument says, in your own word). Do not simply put the author’s thesis in quotation marks. You must be able to cogently explain the concept.
- Assess and analyze the author’s central argument and begin to develop your own argument about the author’s central claim (this is your critical question).
3. Then, you will do the following:
- Select one hip hop/rap song. This must be a hip hop/rap song. Do not select a song we have already covered in class—or about which you have already written.
- Take that question you have about the author’s central idea (from Part I).
- Provide an analysis of the song, using the selected reading.
Works Cited: An MLA-formatted list of sources is required—you must cite all your sources. You must use at least one of the provided essays. You may use any of the other six essays listed as well.
On Academic Integrity: Do not use sources such Wikipedia, individuals’ blogs, or sites that provide analysis for songs. This is the work of critical thinking that you must do. Do not use sources not listed above. Essays that do not observe the requirements will receive a zero. However, I will allow limited use of the following sites: Musiqology; Sounding Out!, Rolling Stone Magazine, Ambrosia for Heads.