... the Democratic Party in the special election scheduled for September 13th. Weprin is a current New York Assemblyman who formerly served as a member of the New York City council. Last year, he was elected to the state Assembly but failed in his campaign for city comptroller in 2009 (Carnia). "It is expected that David Weprin will be unanimously supported by the Democratic ... and Queens," said Evan Stavisky (Koplowitz). Weprin will meet with Queens Democrats on July 7th to file paperwork announcing him as the Party's official pick. Weprin earned the candidacy because he was viewed as the...

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• Grade Level: High School

... and poor judgment in his reaction to the revelations," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, who encouraged Weiner to step down. "Today, he made the right judgment in resigning" (Bash). Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who was also Weiner's political mentor, said that Tuesday ... was a sad day and that Weiner "was an effective and passionate advocate for the people he represented in Brooklyn and Queens" who "served his community, city, and country well for over two decades" (Bash). Others still remained neutral but ... 's decision to resign "is right for him ...

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I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto The sound of a single gunshot echoes from a black BMW, followed by screams, skidding tires and sirens. Music is one thing, but this is business. Never has an industry been ... , which briefly touches on the subject of Black oppression. My forefathers hung in trees to be free (Rest in peace) // Got rid of slavery but kept the penitentiary // And now freedom got a shotgun and shells with your name // Releasing bullets and letting freedom ring // - Jurassic 5 (Freedom) This is the type of positive state that Hip Hop is in now. As I explained that as ... who could...

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... -ic garbage by declaring that's what kids want." Officials in San Diego and Florida police warn Elvis Presley that if he moves at all during his local performances, he will be arrested on obscenity charges 1957 Æ'x Congress considers that legislation requires song lyrics to be screened and altered by a review committee before being broadcast or offered for sale. 1962 Æ'x New York Bishop Burke ... Crew's album 2 Live Is What We Are to a fourteen year old boy. 1989 Æ'x The RIAA releases its black and white universal parental warning sticker in early March that reads, "Explicit Lyrics - ...

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... today's airwaves with no questions asked. Eminem, a top rapper today, sings about killing gays, his mom, and his wife. Jay-Z rants about how many girls he's "bagged" in his hit single "Girls, girls, girls". It seems as though that today, there is no line to be crossed and free speech has no ... rapped about things that actually matter, like the Roots. In this excerpt from their song "Clones", they talk about the subjectivity in modern rappers lyrics: "First of all let's talk about these ill capers And fly ass frontin bitches that now caught vapors Niggaz run up on you with guns ... becau...

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... ghettos, it too has played an extremely important role in the lives of American youth today. Large numbers of "parental-advisory" and "explicit lyrics" CD's releases from disco-graphic companies are causing tremendous parental concerns because of their violent ethics. Parents are very apprehensive about their children's ... available to any teenager in any of the CD shops around neighborhoods today: "I am a big man (yes I am) and I have a big gun; got me a --------- and I like to have fun; held against your forehead. I'll make ---------, just for the --------- I'm every inch a man, and I'...

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... (artandculture). One would think Billie's tragic childhood would leave her in poverty for the rest of her life, but luckily her amazing voice and intense lyrics would boost her to fame. When Billie was eighteen she moved to New York to live with her mother. . She admired musicians like Louis Armstrong ... leaves and blood at the root/ Black bodies swaying in the Southern breeze/ Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees (pbs.org)." At the time these lyrics were shocking to America and I"m sure made a lot of white southerners very angry. Billie Holiday is a true American hero for overc...

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... music takes the freedom of expression away form everyone, musicians and fans of every age. The increasing controversy surrounding rap music, with its rough-edged lyrics about sex and violence, has prompted two very different responses from black oriented radio stations in New York and Los Angeles. Two stations WBLS New York ... credibility with its audience if it banned music that reflects the language of urban life. "We've got to speak their language" if the message of the record is "Don't call me a bitch" we have got to allow the artist to get the message across. Sometimes it is necess...

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... , many may say that it was the industry that killed them. It all started when Tupac was shot and robbed in the lobby of a music studio in New York City. He was at the studio to meet with Biggie to work on a song together. After the robbery, Tupac blamed Biggie for conspiring to rob him. This brought on a heated dispute between ... in and out of the courtroom and in and out of jail. They basically did the same to Biggie. He was always referred to as a gangster rapper, which he was not, and they always seem to bring up his drug dealing days. The media never talked about the positive things...

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... door, search for a new guy/ cause I only got one night in town/ break out or be clowned, baby doll are you down?" In these lyrics, Tupac is trying to get a girl to stop wasting his time and have sex with him. He is straight forward in letting the female know that their ... sexual relations with one another will only be a one-night stand, and that if she doesn't have sex with him he will make a fool ... of her. "I Get Around" and "Back Door Man" are great examples of why rap and blues are both highly controversial. Some can relate to the songs, and appreciate the humorous and realistic ...

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... would start to search for knowledge together by reading many books on many different topics, ranging from Zen to Buddha, to astrology, medicines, and Cultural Literacy. He would attack the point of these books in his lyrics, questioning which perspective they were written in, from a white persons point of view, from a black persons point of view and so on. Tupac began performing ... it big from around there. After the single with Digital Underground he got individual recognition from his first album "2pacalypse Now." In that album he referred to police officers being killed and had many...

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... to do with society problems through the eyes of a teenager. At the show, the first song they played was one of my favorite's, "Teenage Politics". Some of the lyrics to this song are, "No I'm not mad but I think they forget what it's like and how hard it is to be a teenager. This is a new day ... about love. The fifth song they sang was "Do you feet hurt". This song is about love and reading poems to his girlfriend through her window. A few of the lyrics are, "Can I see you after you get out of school? I won't even mind it, if you treat me cruel. Take a ride on my Vespa, I'll ... you a ...

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... parents to buy records in sufficient quantities to influence the market. In my youth, if I asked my father for fourty-five cents to buy a record, he"d have me committed." Teens newfound control and influence on the music market in particular, reflected their new freedom, increased free time and luxuries such as allowance ... and much if not virtually all, the songs of many artists were political in nature and championed the cause of the left and labor, which got some folk singers blacklisted as communists. But their popularity pointed to that Americans were becoming more politically awar...

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... the reality of the black societies. Tupac said the album "was his practice to introduce a center character through whom he could develop a narrative". The album was bursting with militant lyrics, illustrating violence between the police and young black males. Most stories in which violence encounters, often leads to death ... city adolescents across the US was suffering. (Tupac Shakur 1971-1996, by the editors of VIBE) His next album was "Strictly 4 my Niggaz". Tupac got thrilled and added another tattoo on his stomach. The tattoo read "50 Niggaz" (symbolizing a black confederation among...

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... frequent victims(www.mediascope.org). The way that music videos affect a young person depends on the individual, however researchers argue that when the lyrics are illustrated in the videos the lyric's impact is magnified by the images that accompany it (www.mediascope.org). Watching violent music videos ... many of his rhymes. However his character appeals to today's youth. He captures the feeling of outrage and powerlessness that many teens can identify with. He is without a doubt looking for a reaction when he writes these lyrics. In his song "Criminal" he says "Half the shit I say I ...

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... originated? Salsa is believed to come from various different sources. It's been said that Salsa is the music of Puerto Rico. Others talk of its roots in African rhythms, Spanish lyrics, Cuban street bands, Caribbean song and dance styles and Latin American jazz. The roots of Salsa take us back to Cuba. Cuba was the home of diverse styles like son ... as Joe Cuba, Willie Colon, Rubén Blades, Ricardo Ray and Eddie Palmieri began to accept the commercial term Salsa to describe their musical concept. In the beginning years salsa lyrics mainly were about the problems that moved the people l...

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... myself why am I here? I want to be in a studio singing and doing my own thing." During her breaks at work she would sit down and write lyrics to her songs so it would help her get stuff off her mind and to keep on working no matter what kind of day she was having. (Croft) ... faith of ever getting noticed. Though in 1988, things began to pick up. Mariah's brother had worked as a doorman at a local hot spot. By there he was able to get connections by the club owner that would book Mariah to perform on slow nights. Mariah was scared and excited at the same time. Mariah ... night started to...

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... hired by Digital Underground, a west coast rap group to dance. Later they made him a guest rapper. He collaborated with the group on a few cd's until he made his own album in 1992 called "2Pacalypse Now." The album went gold with his first single called "Brenda's Got a Baby." The album was criticized by many people including Vice President Dan Quayle for having vulgar and ... explicit lyrics. Up until then, Tupac's criminal record was non existent until a string of culminating charges, would eventually ... of Atlanta police officers who were off duty. Again, the charges were dismissed....

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... music has had a bad reputation over the last decade from the gangsta era of N.W.A to a more present-tense 50 Cent. Some believe that thug rappers and their gangsta lyrics should be the gun-activists main focus. Jay Nordlinger states: "It must be, in part, a fear of uncoolness "of fogeydom "that keeps many people from ... ;s was really how they lived and behaved on a regular basis. Considering the fact that none of the main accusers were at the club that he and Jennifer Lopez were attending, people still believe he is guilty to this day. The reasons that people believe such things are all ...

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... not feel any type of guilt about this action. Another example that brings Rose Mary's selfishness to light would be the time when Jeanette find a ring outside of their home and offers to sell it in order to improve the families well-being but her mother refuses and keeps the ... ring for herself. "But mom that ring could get us a lot of food" (186). Her mother replies by saying "That's true but it could also improve my self-esteem, self- ... her being dismissed from that job. Rose Mary did things like pretending to be sick, not showing up to her assigned classroom, and just slacking off...

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... rainstorm. My sister, Jenni, and I were on a road trip. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing in New York, and I was going to be there. I loved their lyrics, their melody, and their soul. Flea slapped out a bass line like nobody else and I was going to finally see it live in person. So we took the long trip ... in her peripheral vision. I didn't think going in was a good idea. A large pack of scary men in doo-rags swarmed outside the door. My sister and I got out of the tiny Subaru and they eyed us like hyenas. We didn't take one step before my sister instructed me to get back in the ca...

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... major cause of racial stereotypes in the African-American community is rap music. Rap artists such as Snoop Dogg, Nas, DMX, and the late Christopher Wallace (Notorious B.I.G) & Tupac often use lyrics riddled with incidents such as the dealing and use of narcotics, promiscuity, robbery and homicide. The large exposure of rap music, currently one of the biggest selling music genre in ... people live that same exact dangerous lifestyle often glamorized by irresponsible rap artists. However, there are rap artists such as Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Outkast, and The Roots that write lyrics about t...

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... interpreted as a way of proving their existence, that by acknowledged for either good or bad, they get noticed and what they say gets heard".) (Hebdige,Hiding in the light). Rap lyrics in the hip hop sub culture are about the problems rappers have seen, such as poverty, crime, violence, racism, poor living conditions, drugs, alcoholism, corruption, and prostitution. These are serious ... 's famous swishing sound" (Small, 1992, 12). The beat can be traditional funk or heavy metal, anything goes. The most important part of rap is rapping, fans want to hear the lyrics. During every generati...

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... about protesting and religious themes. Bob Dylan is unquestiably one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. He is he writer of scores of classic songs and is generally regarded as the man who brought literacy to rock lyrics. Although the theme of Bob Dylan's work is depressing, it is necessary to consider how the events in his life ... in a poet called Dylan Thomas. After leaving college, Dylan broke up with longtime girlfriend Suze Rotolo , and got involved with the world famous folk singer-songwriter Joan Baez. Both fed off of each other with Baez using Dylan...

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... 't know it cost so much. Well, I guess it costs money to pierce your skin; and besides I really wanted it done. I waited patiently as the professional got his station together. While he was doing so, all I seen was a long, thick needle. Now, I was scared and I was ready to run out of the room. After coming all ... all I felt was a little pinch. That was the easy part; the hard part was keeping it clean for the required amount of time. I was happy because I got my first body piercing; but I still wanted to get my tongue pierced. And a year later I did. I was at school in New York City an...

• Word Count: 1783
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• Grade Level: High School