Random Chit Chat

[Trotter]

AAVE is a distinct dialect with its own grammatical structure. Kanye is very much literate.

Besides, the usage in that verse is intended to highlight the disparity between the type of formalistic language use taught in school and how the average person on the street speaks. "Some people graduate, but be still stupid" is a particularly obvious example of this.

... I have spent a significant amount of time psychoanalysing Kanye's music. He's basically challenging the listener to do this on later albums, particularly Yeezus and My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy.


Something is very wrong with the italic function on this forum.

Methinks ye are missing the point. Maybe you are thinking in lines that are too straight (my terminology).

I wouldn't know his music from any others of the genre(s) as it ain't my thang. The closest thing to rap I can stand is the Addams Family Rap from back in the day. There is just no appeal to me at all within that style. But words have meaning.

My take on what you posted was Kanye dissing on education, making those who have been educated lose their "streetness" to use his terminology. Which is very sad to me. I have met many people who are actually very smart and quick witted but who are ignorant and illiterate, and yet they think they are "all that" because they be from the hood, yada yada yada. What they don't realize is that they sound stupid when they talk, look thuggish in how they dress, and cause concern in others with how they act. Most are just working on being walking targets for the urban shooting range.

 

[foothead]

My take on what you posted was Kanye dissing on education, making those who have been educated lose their "streetness" to use his terminology. Which is very sad to me. I have met many people who are actually very smart and quick witted but who are ignorant and illiterate, and yet they think they are "all that" because they be from the hood, yada yada yada. What they don't realize is that they sound stupid when they talk, look thuggish in how they dress, and cause concern in others with how they act. Most are just working on being walking targets for the urban shooting range.

It would seem that you are interpreting it differently than I am due to the difference in our contextual knowledge. Kanye's music is anything but the stereotypical "gangsta" posturing that is visible in most mainstream rap. In this case, what he is referring to is the education system's tendency to influence people toward conformity, thus stripping them of much of their individuality. It can also be interpreted as the school system's tendency to favour rote memorization and other relatively-useless knowledge over practical life skills.

The ability to get by in less-than-favourable situations, such as would be encountered on "the streets," is how I personally interpret the word choice in that line. This is undoubtedly an important life skill, particularly for people in less-than-safe areas, yet schools completely ignore it in favour of teaching "proper" behaviour (which, if anything, makes one more of a target in such areas.)

P.S. If you're willing to try rap music, I can give some suggestions. The best way to ease yourself into it is by starting with artists whose music is closer to spoken word poetry. My suggestion would be to begin with Noname, J. Ivy, Chance the Rapper, then J. Cole. Here is a particularly good example of this style (featuring three of the artists I named:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xk4Em5S0BJE

 

[Dngrsone]

This is the thing: I do not understand how an illiterate student can make it through standardized testing. Granted, they are extremely easy, but the ability to read is still required in order to take them.

I have seen instances of Standardized tests being administered where there is a teacher or proctor reading each test question out loud. This happened even back in my day, now that I think about it...

My favorite rapper is "Weird Al" Yankovic.

 

[iPwn]

Add too that your test scores really don't amount to much of anything. In SoCal where I grew up, we took "STAR" testing. Same run of the mill garbage where you tested for a week straight and got a little printout of all your percentiles.

A friend of mine, somewhat of a simpleton, was more concerned with his skateboard and hash pipe than schooling. So, on the answer bubble sheet he spelled out "F*ck Frias" (Frias was our principal). They tried to force him to take the tests and wouldn't accept an answer sheet until it was properly filled out. So he just filled in all the C's. Not sure how his scores came out, but as long as the school turned it in, they did not care.

He cheated through just about every class and graduated with a GPA higher than mine! (To be fair, I purposefully squeezed through with a 59.5% Avg, which rounds to a 60%, so I still graduated....D = Diploma ... and ditching class to lounge on Malibu beach was a way better use of my time.... and I had the attendance system password ).

Again, the goal of schooling isn't education. If that were true, The United States wouldn't be in the mess it's in now. Hell, if you think about it, the education system is training Fox news viewers. Listen, Obey, Repeat.

 

[Celery]

In other words, the education system are turning out sheeples so the government can own them.

 

[iPwn]

In other words, the education system are turning out sheeples so the government can own them.

Lol, they already do! Your birth certificate is traded on the stock market.






Murica!

 

[Smart_Guy]

Don't feel bad guys. You have no clue how screwed our education system is in comparison. Just because someone like me knows English, doesn't mean it's a good education system.

 

[Celery]

Well, you could've fooled me SG. Your English is second to none.

 

[Smart_Guy]

Actually, it is second to my first language

 

[foothead]

Lol, they already do! Your birth certificate is traded on the stock market.






Murica!

It goes even deeper: "You're thinking about killing yourself? Have fun being arrested, imprisoned, and completely traumatized. By the way, that'll cost you $15,000."

"Destruction of government property" is one of my favourite euphemistic terms for suicide. Our very lives are owned by the government.