Essay Sample on Muhammad Ali: From Boxing Icon to Music Inspiration

Muhammad Ali's music career began in 1970, where he used music as a tool for speaking up against racism and oppression of black people. Ali rejected the Vietnam War, and his actions led to his boxing titles stripped off, and he went to jail for five years. His influence on hip-hop still shows up in 2018 music. Muhammad Ali's work influenced Childish Gambino's song 'This is America' released in 2018. The piece shows how black people are always in the run from violence and trying to achieve freedom (Glover, 2108). This is America portrays that America's tradition comprises of violence against black communities. Just like Mohammad Ali, Childish Gambino uses music to speak up against violence and oppression of the black people.

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The Black Arts Movement is the second forerunner of hip-hop. It was a Black American movement active between the 1960s and 1970s. The primary purpose of the movement was to promote black pride. Black Arts Movement has influenced the creation of hip hop music in 2018. An example of music inspired by the movement is Kendrick Lamar's album, Black Panther. The artist produced this album in 2018 after he had gone to visit his homeland, South Africa. One song that stands out in his album it All the Stars, a collaboration he did with SZA (Lamar, 2018). He produced this song as a way of expressing his pride in having African roots and how he was proud to be a successful Black American. He declares that as much as he is successful, he will always honor his black roots.

The first song in focus is The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Brothers. Sugar Hill Records produced this song in 1982, and it was one of the greatest hits by Grandmaster Flash. The piece uses superpositions of sounds. The beats are made using two different sounds that combine to make a funky beat (Edwards, 2015). The style of the song is rap/hip hop. The second song in focus is Rapper's Delight by Sugar Hill Gang. Superpositions of sounds make the beats of the song. The style of the song is rap/hip hop and the beats create a dub and disco atmosphere. The pulsating beats take a backseat haunting the contents of lyrics. The song has put a lot emphasis on the beats as they make a larger component of the song, as compared to the artist singing. Edward's book on The Concise Guide to Hip-Hop music provides a great understanding of the creation of hip hop music. Paul considers rap/hip hop music as partly oral history and partly investigative nitty-gritty (Edwards, 2015). His idea helps in having an open mind when listening to the song.

References

Glover, D. (2018). Childish Gambino: This is America. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMYEdwards, P. (2015). The Concise Guide to Hip-Hop Music: A Fresh Look at the Art of Hip Hop, from Old-School Beats to Freestyle Rap. Macmillan.

Lamar, K. (2018). All the Stars. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQbjS0_ZfJ0