Ill Mind of Hopsin
Brandon Williams Ms. Hildebrandt English 1100-0022 October 8, 2012 Ill Mind of Hopsin 5 “Ill Mind of Hopsin,” is a song that a lot of people will probably never hear in their lifetime, kind of like some classical music. For the most part, classical music is all instrumental, but it can still tell a story or have an idea behind it. In the “I’ll Mind of Hopsin,” Hopsin is trying to convey that the younger population of today’s society is pretty much the most messed up and corrupt group of people ever with very complicated lyrics and a repetitive beat. His lyrics might sound like they’re just words, but in fact they actually have a meaning.
Even though it is a rap song it actually is very complex, not just some idiot talking about nothing important over a crappy beat. First off, the beat of the song is very important to the way Hopsin expresses his ideas. For a rap song, it is pretty fast paced. He needs to be able to fit a lot of words into a 5 minute song. The beat is very repetitive to allow for the same pace. Most raps nowadays have a chorus while Hopsin’s songs do not. Actually nothing in the song is ever repeated. To me, that is a way of showing intelligence. Most modern rap artists include a chorus because they can’t think of anything else to say in their song.
Sometimes, just by hearing the beat of a song you can determine what the outcome will be. When I hear the beginning of “Ill Mind of Hopsin 5,” I think, “Wow, this is going to be serious and a very meaningful song. ” Also, when I hear a fast beat song, I know that it is going to have more to say as a song than the slower, less intelligent sounding songs. Hopsin expresses in the first few lines of the song that he can’t believe and is embarrassed that he played a part in this game, the ‘game’ being society and all of its ideas about how life is and should be.
Hopsin felt like he had no common sense. It was taken away from him by all of his surroundings such as friends, media, and school. He wants to let people know, that is not the way that life is supposed to be lived. People just don’t care about what they do anymore. If it is fun to do at the moment, people automatically do it without thinking ahead about what the consequences could be. For example, Hopsin tells a girl in his song, “One of these niggas got you pregnant and you can’t raise it, but you caused it, your actions made a fat statement. His telling her that she royally messed up and that she has to deal with a problem she could have avoided. He also says, “Do you even have any goals? ” He is talking about the lazy kids and young adults that just don’t care what they do for the rest of their life. Hopsin wants to know what the point of living is, if someone doesn’t have a plan in life. This seems to be a problem that is very prevalent in today’s society and Hopsin is calling everyone out on this issue. He is not just rapping about some pointless argument. There are a lot a lot of people that could care less about rap.
Most rap songs these days are meaningless, but Hopsin proves otherwise. It takes care of a lot of stereotypes and points them out clearly. Any artist that makes a song as clear as this one has to be a genius. It is hard to make a complex song like this with so many different stereotypes that is easy to understand and without confusing the audience. Hopsin is African American but that doesn’t stop him from calling out his own race. He states, “Cause you in the streets actin like a Neanderthal. ” Hopsin doesn’t even want to be associated with his own race because of the stereotype they have put on themselves.
He is trying to say that there is more to life than fighting, basketball, and rapping. He can’t believe that there are people out there that are prideful that they have been shot and stabbed, like that is something to be proud of. If that is what it takes to become famous than is someone really a musical artist. Hopsin wants people to know that these new age rappers are full of themselves and nothing else. They don’t care about their listeners. Hopsin is angry at the music industry too. Obviously, it is hard to be a fake classical artist, but it is easy to be a fake rapper or singer these days.
He is mad at the industry for putting this idea that all you need to be successful in life is money, girls, and a large persona. He states songs whose sole purpose is to fulfill these ideas are a disgrace to the Hip Hop community and to all of the people who are trying to make rap a more complex genre of music. Most rappers are in the “game” for all the money instead of the satisfaction of making good music whether the public thinks it is good or not. It is all about making yourself feel like you have accomplished what you wanted to accomplish. It was the same case with classical writers like Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart.
They made their music because they were interested in the art of making music. These artists stayed fairly humble during their careers. Hopsin also shows these qualities. He is successful enough to be making a lot of money, but he isn’t treating it like the majority of rappers are today. He doesn’t flaunt his cash around in his music videos or at his concerts. This is why I respect him as an artist and not a fake person whose job in life is to be a puppet for the music industry. Hopsin’s song is the perfect example of how someone can express their feelings toward society and its problems.
He makes it pretty easy for the listener to understand what he, the artist, is saying. The words are very clear as well as the ideas in the song. He wants people to see the messed up society that everybody lives in today. The whole entire song is one huge call out towards the world. Hopsin took it into his own hands to admit the obvious problems that people see every day. Hopsin isn’t afraid to let people know that they are stuck in this never ending loop of insanity that is the media and what it does to corrupt people’s minds.
