Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Blog Entry 4

Earl Simmons also know as DMX, was born in Baltimore on December 18, 1970 and raised in Yonkers, NY as a child. Due to a troubled and abusive childhood, Simmons became very violent. He spent most of his childhood in a group home and survived off of the streets, which led him in and out of Juvenile Detention. He found his passion in Hip Hop starting out as a DJ and moved his way up into rapping. After Tupac and Biggie Smalls, DMX was the next hardcore rapper. Everything about DMX was hard, from his muscular appearance, to his mean face and to his barking, made him who he was. He had an obsession with dogs, which is why he was always barking in his songs. What made him so unique was that he could go from rapping about the streets, to rapping spiritually and asking God to keep him out of the streets. "Lord Give me a Sign" was released in 2006 and I chose to write about this song because I know a lot of us can relate to it. There are situations mentioned in this song that we deal with daily and the way he asked God for help was very well put together ( Bullamore, Derek. (2012). “DMX (Rapper).” Wikipedia. Retrieved March 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMX_(rapper).

"Lord Give me a Sign" is basically DMX's desire to walk down the right path in life. I believe guidance is the theme of the song because throughout the entire lyric of this song, DMX is asking God for help. In the first verse, he's asking God to give him a sign as to what to do because the walk has been hard and he doesn't know what to do. As he's talking to God he's also letting him know that he feels alone and he's hurting. DMX also mentioned that’s he is soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt and when he said that, it made me think about his childhood and how he was always getting in trouble. Maybe DMX is begging God for guidance because he doesn't want to go back to how he was in his childhood years; he wants to be a changed man. Aside from guidance I think trust was also big in this song. He kept saying that he won't let the Devil take him back to the things that he used to do and as long as the Lord is in his life, then he won't have any fear. In verse two he talks about how through the trials and tribulations, Jesus is still here with him. This song is mainly about asking for guidance and trusting that the Lord will guide you.

"Lord Give me a Sign" is about DMX's desire to change. He asks God for guidance because its been quite a struggle for him and he doesn't know which way to go. "Lord give me a sign! I really need to talk to you Lord, since the last time we talked, the walk has been hard"(Verse 1, lines 1-3). He's also letting God know that he has been hurting inside and doesn't want to go back the what he use to do as a child. "And I'm still going through it, pain and the hurt, soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt"(Verse 1, lines 7-9). His disparaging childhood caused him to become very violent and hateful. Being passed on from home to home built up a lot of anger and caused him to conduct in violent activities, later on he was sent to juvenile prison. DMX isn't trying to go back to his child hood days, he wants to change and somehow the Devil is trying to tempt him, but he trying hard to not let that happen. "Devil I rebuke you for what I go through and trying to make me do what I used to"(Verse 1, lines 14-15). DMX is informing God that he want's to build a closer relationship with him, because it's obvious that he believes the Lord would protect him. "Show me what I got to do to bring me closer to you"(Hook, lines 7-8). DMX is expressing to God that he really needs him in his life. "Let me take your hand, guide me. I'll walk slow but stay right beside me"(Verse 2, lines 17-18).

Earl Simmons, "Lord Give me a Sign" is a spiritual Hip Hop song expressing his feelings to God. He's talking about his desire to change, he's acknowledging the fact that he did mess up when he was younger, but he wants to walk down the right path this time. DMX is also trusting that the Lord will stay by his side and that "No weapon formed against him shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against him in judgement thou shalt condemn. For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their righteousness is of him, saith the Lord" (Intro, lines 2-5).

Monday, March 19, 2012

Poetry Symbolism

Earl Simmons was born in Baltimore on December 18, 1970 and raised in Yonkers, NY as a child. His troubled and abusive childhood made him become very violent. He spent most of his childhood in group home and survived off of the streets, which led him in and out of Juvenile Detention. He found his passion in hip hop starting out as a DJ and moved his way up into rapping. After Tupac and Biggie Smalls, DMX was the next hardcore rapper. Everything about DMX was hard, from his muscular appearance, to his mean face and to his barking, made him who he was. He had an obsession with dogs, which is why he was always barking in his songs. What made him so unique was that he could go from rapping about the streets, to rapping spiritually and asking God to keep him out of the streets. "Lord Give me a Sign" was released in 2006 and I chose to write about this song because I know a lot of us can relate to it. There are situations mentioned in this song that we deal with daily and the way he asked God for help was very well put together.

Throughout this song, there are a lot of symbols and symbolic actions. Right in the introduction of the song on the third line he quotes a line from the Bible saying that, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment, thou shalt condemn." The entire introduction is actually a scripture in the Bible, Isaiah 54:17. In verse one DMX uses walk as a symbol to represent his attempt to do better. Later on in verse one on line nine, he says thats he's "soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt." In lines fourteen and fifteen DMX says "Devil I rebuke for what I go though and trying to make me do what I used to" as a symbolic action. In verse two, line eight he says that "the spoken word his stronger than the strongest man," referring to Jesus's word. There are a lot of symbols and symbolic actions throughout this song lyrics and I just named a few.

When DMX says "No weapon formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against me in judgement thou shalt condemn," he uses weapon to represent any and everything that is negative towards him. The denotation of weapon is any instrument or deice for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting or war as a sword, rifle or canon. He also uses tongue as a symbol to represent the speech that comes from human mouths. The denotation of tongue is the faculty or power of speech. As DMX talks to the Lord in verse one, he tells him that "Since the last time we talked the walk has been hard." He uses walk to represent his attempt to do better and be a better person. The denotation of walk is to advance or travel on foot at a moderate speed or pace. One of the symbols DMX used was really interesting to me. In verse two, line seven and eight he says "or hunting with the word that cuts like a sword, the spoken word is stinger than the strongest man. Word is a symbol he uses to represent the Bible or Jesus's words. He's saying that nothing can beat or go against the word of God because it is that strong.  He said that the word of God is so strong that it carries the world. You wouldn't need to need to use weapons because the Bible cuts like a sword. The denotation os word is a unit of language, consisting of one or more spoken sounds or their written representation that functions as a principle carrier of meaning.

"Lord Give me a Sign" is basically DMX's desire to walk down the right path in life. I believe guidance is the theme of the song because throughout the entire lyric of this song, DMX is asking God for help. In the first verse, he's asking God to give him a sign as to what to do because the walk has been hard and he doesn't know what to do. As he's talking to God he's also letting him know that he feels alone and he's hurting. DMX also mentioned thats he is soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt and when he said that, it made me think about his childhood and how he was always getting in trouble. Maybe DMX is begging God for guidance because he doesn't want to go back to how he was in his childhood years, he wants to be a changed man. Aside from guidance I think trust was also big in this song. He kept saying that he won't let the Devil take him back to the things that he used to do and as long as the Lord is in his life, then he won't have any fear. In verse two he talks about how through the trials and tribulations, Jesus is still here with him. This song is mainly about asking for guidance and trusting that the Lord will guide you.

Biography information: Wikipedia.com
Definitions: Dictionary.com

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Earl Simmons also known as DMX is a hardcore rapper who started around 1998. His name was an acronym of the "Divine Master of the Unknown"(wikipedia.com). "Lord Give me a Sign" was one of my favorite songs, he wrote becasuse it can relate to all of us. So I plan on writing more about this song.



Lord Give Me A Sign lyricsSongwriters: Simmons, Earl; Storch, Scott Spencer

 Yeah, in the name of Jesus, spread the word
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
And every turn that rise against my judgment
Thou shall condemn, Lord, give me a sign

For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
"And their righteousness is of me," said the Lord
Amen, Lord, give me a sign

I really need talk to You, Lord
Since the last time we talked, the walk has been hard
Now I know You haven't left me but I feel like I'm alone
I'ma big boy now but I'm still not grown

And I'm still goin' through it, pain and the hurt
Soakin' up trouble like rain in the dirt
And I know, only I can stop the rain
With just the mention of my Savior's name
In the name of Jesus

Devil, I rebuke you for what I go through
You been tryna make me do what I used to
But all that stops right here
As long as the Lord's in my life, I will have no fear

I will know no pain, from the light to the dark
I will no show no shame, spit it right from the heart
'Cause it's right from the start, you held me down
And ain't nothin' they can tell me now

Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on Your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time, show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind

Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gotsta do to bring me closer to You
As I'ma go through whatever You want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign

Please, show me some'n
I'm tired talkin' to him, knowin' he frontin'
Cryin' 'bout, "Life ain't nothin'"
But you either be the one mad
'Cause you trapped or the one huntin'

Trapped in yo' own mind, waitin' on the Lord
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/dMX-lyrics/lord-give-me-a-sign-lyrics.html ]
Or huntin' with the word that cuts like a sword
The spoken word is stronger than the strongest man
Carries the whole world like the strongest hand

Through the trials and tribulations, You never let us down
Jesus, I know You're here with us now
Jesus, I know You're still with us now
Keep it real with us now, I wanna feel, show me how

Please, let me take Your hand, guide me
I'll walk slow but stay right beside me
Devil's tryna find me
Hide me, hold up, I take that back
Protect me and give me the strength to fight back

Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on Your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time, show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind

Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gotsta do to bring me closer to You
As I'ma go through whatever You want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign

Life or death, live or die
I will never live a lie
I'm gon' get because I try
I won't quit until I die

I'm gon' make it, wrong or right
And make it through the darkest time
And when the morning comes, you'll see
That all I have is God in me
Lord, give me a sign

No weapon formed against me shall prosper
Lord, give me a sign
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
In the name of Jesus

Lord, give me a sign
Let me know what's on Your mind
Let me know what I'm gon' find
It's all in time, show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind

Lord, give me a sign
Show me what I gotsta do to bring me closer to You
As I'ma go through whatever You want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord, give me a sign
Song lyrics from:e-lyrics.com
Picture from: streetpop.com

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Supernatural Beings






True Blood is one of my favorite southern vampire series. It is based on the novels by Charlaine Harris, which stars Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse, a "telepathic" waitress who lives in a small town in Louisiana which happens to be shared by both humans and vampires (starpulse.com). Sookie is openminded when it comes to vampires, particularly Bill Compton who she later on falls in love with and discovers her magical powers.

Sookie Stackhouse has the gift of hearing people's thoughts, which i find very interesting because she can tell who's true to her and who's not. Hearing voices is very beneficial and also can be a bit scary. Voices are present all day, which can interfere with the hearer's normal routines. In True Blood, her gift helped her out a lot with solving problems. She recognizes towards the end of the series that she is a fairy.

According to dictionary.reference.com a fairy is one class of supernatural beings, generally conceived as having a diminutive human form and possessing magical powers with which they intervene in human affairs.

Fairies are very broad, there is a whole background about them. When I think of fairies, I think of peace and happiness, but there are some things that I don't know.There are a lot of good things about them and then there are some bad things about them and that's what I find so interesting about fairies. You just never know.



Picture credit from: .fanpop.com