#owningmymasters

[makingmediameta]

AG: Second Amendment  

What Messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In Second Amendment, Carson introduces the controversy surrounding the Second Amendment. One of the major messages is that guns aren't the problem in society today, it's the people in society that are the problem. He references the many victims of police shootings that have occurred within the past couple years and how people – specifically black people – now walk around in fear of being shot.  

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

Carson makes rap meta because he talk about the importance of rap and then proceeds to tackle important issues by rapping about them.  

JT: Grading on a Curve

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In the song “Grading on a Curve” AD Carson focuses heavily on the tendency of the U.S. and its residents to ignore the existence of racial issues. For one thing, he states that the country’s reaction to racial issues is “different when punctuated with bullets,” clearly nodding to the manifestation of these tensions in the form of violence. Furthermore, the country’s responses to these problems are inadequate, as attempts to address them are met with resistance, which is evinced by lines such as “say it to they face, they say you grating on they nerves” and “so the conversation is over.” Overall, Carson’s work speaks to the problematic nature of the nation’s passivity in dealing with issues stemming from racial tensions.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

In this specific song, Carson says that he has been thinking that his “voice can be more resounding” if he uses the different parts of speech correctly and says it “how [he] heard it when [he] heard it,” and on account of this fact, this rap is “deliberately worded how it’s worded.” In other words, this is just one of the many examples Carson uses to demonstrate how rap music, which is generally known for not adhering strictly to established and accepted grammatical rules, can be manipulated in order to highlight this very fact. Furthermore, pointing out that he is well aware of how rap music’s structure differs from other linguistic forms (particularly those present in institutions) enables him to perpetuate his message about issues of systemic racism being swept under the rug.  

CR: 80's [Produced by Truth]

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In this song, Carson discusses the War on Drugs in the 80s, particularly cocaine and the effect the Reagan Administration had on black Americans. Carson, by comparing the strict drug laws and drug use in the eighties to slavery, vividly demonstrates how detrimental drug laws and the crack-down on crack was for black communities.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

This song does not have any explicit mention of rap or music, so it is not as "meta" as some of the other tracks on this dissertation. However, it is meta that Carson is using rap to discuss the political and cultural role that rap plays. "80's" provides some historical context for his discussion of rap. 

KK: Willie Revisited

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In “Willie Revisited,” AD Carson writes about Willie Lynch and slavery. He discusses how much hatred there is and how one desires control. He talks about how Willie claimed to have the idea that to control black slaves was to set them against each other.  

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

I think that AD Carson makes rap music meta by incorporating real life issues and rap. He talks about how important rap is to him, and then he discusses the aspect of slavery by putting it into a modern perspective.  

JH: Talking to Ghosts feat. Bad Dreams [Prod. by Preme]

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In "Talking to Ghosts," AD Carson is addressing the idea that Hip Hop is dead. He essentially says a timeless form of media that addresses issues in society is lifeless. He extends this hypothetical though in his title and in his rap by "talking to ghosts" (rap if it is dead) and (I believe) audio files from 12 years a slave to have a quasi-dialogue with the past.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

By returning to the roots of rap. Incorporating and discussing political issues in rap, especially when the song is filled with emotion, is one of the trademarks of rap. He also makes it meta by turning his rap into a dissertation.  

RE: Dissertation (Part 1: The Introduction) Prod by Truth

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In Part 1, Carson introduces his dissertation and his motivation for creating it. One of the major messages is that no matter how educated black people are, they are still oppressed and stigmatized. He plans to use his dissertation to create what "his people have envisioned," to legitimize hip hop as an art form and a medium worthy of academic inquiry.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

Carson discusses the history and purpose of rap by rapping. He also talks about the medium's future. 

RC: Find the Ledge (produced by Preme)

What Messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In Find the Ledge, AD Carson puts emphasis on the notion that nothing is ever handed to you, especially when you come from an underprivileged situation. AD Carson is trying to say that you'll have to work to get to where you want, and it most likely won't be publicized either. You'll just have to grind on your own to get to where you want to be.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

AD Carson talks about real, important issues in his rapping. He uses metaphors and phrases that hit close to home and can be applied by his listeners. He wants to do something more than just rap, he wants to convey his message via his unique platform.

JM: Impeach the President

What messages do you hear? What did you learn?

Carson addresses some of the dark sides to our democracy- our financially driven campaigns, the cultural expectations placed on voters, and our elected officials' power to exclude. He juxtaposes the idea of a DJ in a club with that of the American political machine. Throughout his narrative he constantly draws upon this metaphor to really drive home the point: we oftentimes treat our voting system, filled with political parties, as if it were a club party. We are apathetic at best, and at worst, we gobble up every line the government tells us as gospel; we are entranced by their authority and power over us. Carson seems to be telling us to come to our senses and realize that our politicians are normal people like us and as such, can be held accountable and responsible for their actions as we often are.

How does AD Carson make "rap" meta?

Particularly in other songs, Carson uses rap music as an extension of Black Culture to address the way that the rest of America both views and portrays Black Culture. However, and in his song Impeach the President, Carson uses rap to subvert an aspect of mainstream culture. It is important that Carson uses rap which, by definition, is a subversion of what we Americans consider "pop music" to further subvert other aspects of culture and address these topics from previously unheard perspectives. 

BS: Good Mourning America

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

In Owning My Masters, I hear messages of the need for overdue justice for underrepresented people. AD Carson details the unjust treatment of black people as well as other people of color and of the poor. He discusses the shortcomings of the American democracy and legal system. All of these concepts run throughout his album and are present in the song "Good Mourning America". From his music, I learned that these problems are still present and that by creating art and making progress in academia, more awareness about these problems can be brought to people's attention.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

AD Carson makes rap music meta by discussing, through a medium that he directly references with heavy ties to black culture, the problems faced by black people in America.  

DF-Ferguson  

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

The song that I listened to on the album was Ferguson. As the title suggests, this song criticized and brought attention to police brutality against minorities in protesting situations in residential areas. This was mainly done through immersing the listener into an experience, with the narration being done by a reporting witnessing police brutality. This song calls for people to become more aware of this dynamic unfolding and I learned to sympathize with experiences I am very separated from.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?  

Carson doesn't specifically mention the medium of rap so this song isn't meta in that sense. But this isn't a "normal" rap song, its all talking from a narrator's perspective. In this fashion the song pushes the limits of the form. 

JK: “Willie Revisited”

What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music?

The central message of Carson’s album, Owning My Masters, is one of struggle, or the emotions associated with struggle. In “Willie Revisited,” the message isn’t heard, it is felt – through the beat, through the tone. Carson translates emotions into sound which the listener then decodes within themselves. The lesson, then, is one of real empathy.

How does AD Carson make rap music meta?

A central ideology Carson’s dissertation is built around is that rap music is largely either undervalued or stigmatized in academic research. Carson then goes on to demonstrate that rap music is a valuable area of study by creating a mixtape dissertation – an exploration of black culture and history as related through lyric verse. Carson makes rap meta by arguing that rap is worth studying and then creating academically centered rap music to be studied.  

JC: Truth on the beat

What message do you hear? What do you learn from his music?

At the beginning of the song, Carson is speaking about his drive to be a rapper and how he wishes to use the platform to spread his teachings. He explains his qualifications to speak wisdom to people, saying that he has lived through the experiences he talks about. In the second verse, Carson speaks about human kinds common ambition to make money, even at the expense of other people. He points to Columbus and conquistadors as examples. Additionally, he claims that the insanely rich people are gaming the world, people with wealth beyond that of Jay Z or Lebron James.

How does Carson make Rap music meta?

The first verse of truth on the beat is meta because he is speaking about his qualifications to be a rapper. Thus, he is referring to the fact that he is rapping within the lyrics itself. Additionally, the hook to the song is meta. He claims that his words are the truth on the beat, and that he is spitting on the street. Both these lines refer to the act of rapping.

A.D. Carson’s Rap Album Dissertation

The artist poses the following questions in his artist’s statement: 1.    What are the roles of Hip-Hop performance in knowledge production and what types of ideological work is being done by scholarly engagements with Hip-Hop Performance? Hip-hop performance can help facilitate a non-traditional, innovative, and engaging way for an audience to observe the artform and analyze the content in retrospect to the medium it is being presented in. A.D. Carsen is one example of how a Hip-Hop artist can perform and participate in scholarly engagements as he is a Professor of hip-hop at the University of Virginia who had actually rapped his dissertation. 2.    How can Hip-Hop performance resist [push beyond] the limits set upon it by academic convention? Judging by the work of A.D. Carsen, Hip-Hop has the power to surpass its stigma in society as a mere genre of music and assumed preference of a younger, more juvenile demographic. Instead he utilizes Hip-Hop music as a platform of academic convention and conversation. He brings the issues racial discrimination, hardships, and experiences to the table all while proving to the audience that rap and Hip-Hop are not limited to it’s usual conventions and connotations. 3.    How does one more effectively approach Hip-Hop academically in a manner that speaks through [one of] its form[s] and doesn’t reinscribe the “oppression” the form seeks to subvert? As mentioned before, a way to do this is to shed light on relevant issues of groups and individuals in the African-American community so that the audience can become more aware of the struggles that African-Americans go through, be more conscious of the ways that they might be contributing to said “oppression” through their privilege and be more active in helping to fight against oppressive institutions. 4.    How can we responsibly deal with the issue[s] of access for producers of cultural products like Rap music/lyrics? Judging from what is often considered popular rap and played on the radio which for a long time usually spoke on money, sex, and drugs, producers of cultural products like Rap music and lyrics are likely not African American and will only contribute to producing content that will become mainstream and be guaranteed to be financially successful. Ultimately it is up to the audience and consumers to actively boycott or protest rap or hip-hop that may reinscribe oppression and build negative stigma around the industry and culture, and instead demand for more meaningful production of rap music and lyrics. 5.    How should [or How/Should] our considerations of responsibility regarding access change if the aforementioned cultural products are created by people who have not achieved the notoriety of Nas and Jay-Z—artists whose works are studied in academic institutions but would likely not qualify to study or teach at those institutions [both men dropped out of high school before their rap careers began]? Allowing these artists whose works are studied academic institutions, to come and give first-hand interpretations and context of their work would serve for greater change through better access. It only right to give artists the credibility they deserve, even if they didn’t pursue a higher education since their art is meaningful and speaks of their experiences relevant to politics and society. What messages do you hear in Owning My Masters? What do you learn from his music? I hear the message of man who is taking ownership of his education, identity, culture, and history. I learned that A.D Carson knew living in his hometown that if he stayed, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to pursue a higher education and credibility would be limited. How does AD Carson make rap music meta?AD Carson subverts the art form of rap music which originated in African oral tradition and is often thought as far from academic or informative, into his dissertation where he himself raps about his experiences as an African American man pursuing a PhD and the oppression, biases, and mistreatment that his fellow African-Americans might have also experienced due to their race.-AL