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Quiet vs. quite

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By Kasey Brown/LifeatStart.com reporter

Often people misuse and misspell the words quiet and quite. This is because they are words that are spelled similarly. If you have trouble using or spelling these words, here’s a guide to using them.

Quiet is an adjective that means to make very little noise.
Ex. Please be quiet they are taking a test.

Quite is an adverb that means a little or a lot but not completely.
Ex. I’ve been quite busy this week.

If you have any questions contact me at [email protected]

 

To Pimp a Butterfly: part 3

By Joseph Rowan/LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Continuing with my three part series on Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly here is an analysis of the remaining songs.
Complexion (A Zulu Love)- This song is about how someone’s skin shouldn’t define a person, whether they are black or white. The song has Kendrick imagine himself as a “field slave” in the 1800’s talking to a “house slave.” He references the Nazi theories and how they wanted to create a perfect Aryan race. Kendrick expresses how all races should be united rather than divided and how light skin people and dark skin people have always been divided and reiterating “complexion don’t mean a thing.” The song means that history shouldn’t dictate the future of America, that we may be racially divided now but we don’t have to be in the future. The final verse of the song Kendrick says “Barefoot babies with no cares. Teenage gun toters that don’t play fair, should I get out the car? I don’t see Compton, I see something much worse. The land of the landmines, the hell that’s on Earth,” meaning Compton is an embodiment of the evils that plague the world.
The Blacker the Berry- The name of the song itself is a reference to Wallace Thurman’s novel The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life. This is Kendrick’s most aggressive song on the whole album. The intro to the song describes the daily struggles of African-Americans. The song tackles the issues of black on black crime, and crime in general. Kendrick says “So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street, when gang-banging made me kill a brother blacker than me.” The song talks about how African-Americans went from being whipped to owning whips (expensive cars). The song is a direct message to racists and how they will try to put him down, but they can’t. The lyric “That’s what you’re telling me penitentiary would only hire me” which is in reference to a New York Times study where they said it’s more likely for a young African-American to go to jail than get hired someplace. Kendrick claims racism is based off someone’s own personal insecurities, that he is the master of his own fate, and that people are racist because they envy what he has. He references Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers, who were advocates in the Civil Rights movement. The song uses stereotypes of African-Americans to enforce Kendrick’s ideas of racism and that the people who are racist are insecure and envious, he says “I know you hate me just as much as you hate yourself. Jealous of my wisdom and cards I dealt.”

You Ain’t Gotta Lie (Momma said)- This song mostly talks about one’s insecurities and that people will lie to impress another person. Kendrick says “I could see your insecurities written all over your face.” He also tries to move himself away from the stereotypical mainstream image of rappers and hip hop artists, i.e., talking about smoking weed, drinking, and shooting people just to appeal to their listeners, which, in turn, leads into a story where he goes back to Compton and tells his friends they don’t have to lie to impress him.

i- The song i is the complete opposite of the song u. While u is about depression, i is about self-worth and self-discovery. He talks about growing up in Compton and his “Trials and tribulations” how the Devil wanted to take him, but he escaped. While the other songs are depressing and tackle a lot of social issues, i is upbeat and happy. The song still talks about issues in Compton like gang violence, police malevolence, and the use of drugs like cocaine and lean.

Mortal Man- Kendrick Lamar’s longest song on the album, with a runtime of 12 minutes, features a fictional interview with Tupac Shakur. The interview is long as it uses old interview clips from when Tupac was alive. He recites a whole poem about pimping a butterfly at the end, and the whole album closes with Kendrick asking Tupac for his thoughts on the poem, however there is no reply from Tupac, showing that he is only talking to himself through his music.

I hope you enjoyed my deconstruction of Kendrick Lamar’s album To Pimp a Butterfly, I hope it helped you to understand his music and see it in a different light.

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To Pimp a Butterfly: part 2

 By Joseph Rowan/LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Continuing the analysis of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, here is part 2.

Wesley’s Theory- The first song on the album is about pimping artists in the industry, as Kendrick explains it “First off, the lyrics is me going back to the feeling of what I wanted to do when I got signed. These are actually real thoughts…”.

For Free- For free is basically a spoken word poem that’s turned into a rap, Kendrick talks about sticking up to the man and how you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a girl to like you, and that living in poverty made him want to spend more money than he had. Now that he has money he doesn’t have that desire. He says “ I need 40 acres and a mule, not a forty ounce and a pitbull.” This is the second time he references 40 acres and a mule, which after a little research I found he was referencing the proposed reparations to former slaves after the Civil War.

King Kunta- Named after the the main character Kunta Kinte in the novel Roots. First off, the name of the song is an oxymoron, because Kendrick is oppressed like a slave and dominant like a king. He references the novel Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison with the line “The yam is the power that be, You can smell it when I’m walking down the street.” In the novel the main character smells yams in the streets of New York and it reminds him of his childhood in the South. He raps about being on top of the game and how he was going to kill the careers of some rappers, but instead their poor record sales did that to them.

Institutionalized- This song is about wealth’s corruptive powers and how people are basically brainwashed by the idea of becoming wealthy. The song is really a coming of age story about a kid who has found his talents, aka becoming a butterfly, and how he has left Compton. He explains the kid as being “dazed and confused, talented but still under the neighborhood ruse”. He also enforces the idea that nothing will change unless you make the change.

These Walls- Kendrick says “If these walls could talk,” which means no one knows what happens behind closed doors, however if the walls could talk, they would tell you what the person said. The song is mostly about Kendrick Lamar’s girlfriend who killed his friend. He also uses references to the female anatomy, sex in general, and how sexual intercourse is a huge topic in rap.

u- This is the opposite of his upbeat song I, while that song talks about self worth, u, talks about Kendrick Lamar’s depression and how he was trying to find himself. In this song, Kendrick’s confidence is at an all time low and he is feeling very fragile. Kendrick says “But you ain’t sh*t, I’m convinced your tolerance nothin’ special,” which is a reference to his self depreciation. He also talks about his sister who became pregnant as a teen and how he started off making music for other people. The song also talks about how he blames himself for his family leaving and escaping the dangers of Compton.

Alright- This song addresses religion, and how we use the idea of God in different ways and in various situations. He talks about the music industry only wanting him for economic reasons and not for his music or influence. Kendrick says he loves his Mom but he doesn’t know if she forgives him for giving into his vices. Drugs, alcohol, and women are his vices and he says they only give him a temporary bliss. Kendrick addresses the police brutality happening in America, saying “ We hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho.” He also uses the phrase “40 acres and a mule” once again.

For Sale? (interlude)- In this song, Kendrick talks about being tempted by the Devil. He uses the word ‘Lucy’ as an analogy for the Devil, and this song is about escaping the temptations of Lucy. Lucy also embodies the negatives of hip hop and the material possessions rappers want to have. Lucy wants Kendrick’s soul in exchange to put money in his pocket (aka selling his soul to the Devil, for fame and fortune). At the end of the song, Lucy’s voice goes from being a sweet voice, to a gritty devilish voice as Kendrick avoids the temptations.

Momma- In the beginning of the song, Kendrick mentions self discovery and euphoria with the lyrics “This feelin’ is unmatched, this feeling is brought to you by adrenaline and good rap.” Kendrick also raps about being on the top, because he is at a high point in his life and how being a rapper has brought him closer to his roots.

Hood Politics- The song starts of with a voicemail from one of Kendrick’s friends from Compton. In this voicemail, the caller fears that Kendrick has changed now that he is a successful rapper. Kendrick raps about being better than all the others, and how he doesn’t care about useless fights between rappers. He talks about staying true to his ways and how he doesn’t want to change because of his success. The song also talks about when he was a child and how he didn’t have the same knowledge that he has now.

How Much Does a Dollar Cost- The premise of this song is Kendrick Lamar is pumping gas, seeing a homeless man, and realizing this homeless man is God. The homeless man asks Kendrick for some money and Kendrick denies believing the man is a crack addict. The song is heavily focused on religion, he even references Exodus 14 and how the only thing Kendrick would consider “priceless” is a spot in Heaven.

Look for part three, which is coming soon.

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Am I bad luck?

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By Christopher Cook/ LifeAtStart.com reporter

In a previous article I explained how my luck is good, but lately I feel like I’m bad luck. I honestly don’t understand why, but I feel I bring bad things wherever I go. I don’t go to sports games often, but when I do the teams always seem to lose, and I don’t say always lightly.

On the second of April I attended a Walleye game. They seemed to be having a good season so I figured I would go and check it out. After the game tied during the first period the other team scored a second point.Though the teams had a strong hatred for each other, shown by the fighting, they both played well. Throughout periods two and three they struggled and failed to make another goal to tie up the game.

This is only one example out of many but all similar situations. The team I go to see always ends up losing at all sporting events. This confuses me considering I think I’m lucky.  Hopefully I will understand this more some day but until then I can only guess. Any questions please contact me: [email protected]