Does Rap Have Meaning?

In the song, “One man can change the world” by Big Sean, he talks about how his grandma encouraged him that he, by himself, could change the world. Rap in our culture has become a very common form of music in America. But most of this music has little to no meaning. But Big Sean has somehow found a way to connect meaningful lyrics to the popular culture of rap. Big Sean’s song “One man can change the world” gives insight to low income communities, as well as how cities are in dire need of help, while at the same time that arguing that one man can indeed “change the world”.

Big Sean shows insight to low income communities in the first verse of the rap. In line three of verse one, Big Sean says “Back on the mattress, Starin' at the ceilin' tryna connect the dots…”. This line shows that life in low income communities is often confusing and disorienting, while at the same time referring to the physical features in the house he was in. Most houses in low income communities have what are called popcorn ceilings, ceilings that look like they have little spikes on them, which is what Big Sean is referring to in this line. He also says “My, my step brother used to flip them bags outside the crib like it was trash day”. This illustrates that most low income communities are dominated by drugs and violence.

Another fact that Big Sean illustrates in his rap is that major advancements need to be made in order to rebuild the community mentioned in the previous verse. In line 4-5 of verse two, Sean says, “Where I'm from I swear their broke, they need way more than the cast”. This line illustrates that people in his home town of Detroit are not just physically hurt, but mentally as well. Something as simple as a cast will not be enough to repair the damages made, but more will have to be done. In the next line, Sean again refers to Detroit, saying “We need more than what you (Jim Carrey) have and then we need more than that”. At this time, Jim Carrey’s net worth was some where near 150 million dollars, while the city of Detroit was in 18 billion dollars of debt. Sean is expressing his anger and discontent with people who know that places in America need help, but put on a blind eye to save costs.

Sean also argues that, contrary to popular belief, one man can change the world. In the opening hook of the song, Sean says “...Remember one thing. That one man can change the world…” In the world today, people usually can not do many things without the help of some one else. Sean is saying that he believes that people can do amazing things without the help of others. At the end of the first verse Sean says, “What you know bout' wakin' up everyday like you on a mission?” This shows that he believes many people have no clue what it means to wake up every day, and be determined to make a difference in the world. It also shows that he believes that he can make a difference in the world, which shows that he believes that he, by himself, can make a difference.

In Big Sean’s song “One man can change the world” gives insight to low income communities, as well as how cities are in dire need of help, while at the same time that arguing that one man can indeed “change the world”. This can be seen in the way that he spits lines about his house as a child, how his home town of detroit is in dire need of help, and how he believes the people need to step up and make a difference in the world. Our parents might not understand rap, and how deep it can be.