Sample Project Why Gucci Gang is a Musical Masterpiece PDF

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Critical analysis essay for English composition 2. Multimedia format....

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Why Gucci Gang is a Musical Masterpiece

Older folk may hear the repetitive, vulgar lyrics paired with hard hitting piano leads and electronic drum accompaniment as nothing but youthful ruckus. They may complain about shallowness and how music from their time had “soul” and “passion.” However, their musical vision is narrow and their interpretation of rap music is naive. “Gucci Gang” by Lil Pump is nothing short of a modern musical masterpiece with witty lyricism that rivals Shakespeare and rich musical complexity that competes with Bach. Gucci Gang is a single from young rapper Gazzy Garcia who goes by “Lil Pump.” The song quickly exploded the seventeen year old into fame when it peaked as number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. Although it received critical review from the mainstream media, the song is obviously well received amongst the public proven by its massive popularity. It can be noted that the mainstream reviews in the recent years have praised countless garbage, uninspired music. It seems that the famous music reviewers and to a further extend reviewers of any art have a vastly different opinion of the pieces that they critique from the general population. This

disconnect from the elites and average listener can be explained by the human soul. Beethoven believed that music spoke to us because it reflected the purity of the human soul, which Gucci Gang certainly does. The media judges music on marketability rather than quality. The media doesn’t care whether or not the song speaks to us with depth and meaning. Trivial details like length of song, identity of the artist, mindless catchiness, and ease of performance take a much higher priority. This is why the majority of Americans disagree with the negative reviews of the song. It connects with them on an emotional and a spiritual level that they themselves might not even comprehend. To understand the musical genius of Gucci Gang and how it connects with the human soul, the song must be dissected. The song is in the key of C which has the least amount of dissonance out of any key signature. That being said, the song starts out with a dissonant 6th Aminor which has a dark flavor in this otherwise light key. The pentatonic partials of the chord create a melody which dances up to a very dissonant 2nd D-minor which resolves back to the Aminor. The genius of the melody is that it creates the illusion of a passing chord Ddim7 in between the D and A. This makes the 2nd A-minor much more satisfying than the first. After this theme is established, a counterpointe answer to the subject is introduced as a sweeping melody in the upper register. This melody plays off of the first one adhering to the A-minor to D-minor structure. This melody also implies a Ddim7 transition with the note F on the downbeat of 3. The haunting low melody plays back and forth with the lively bright melody in a true battle of light and dark that connects with the deep internal battle between good and evil in the human soul.

The lyrical composition of the song uses repetition to emphasize a key point. Looking at the chorus or, as they call it in rap/hip-hop, the “hook,” we can observe this literary element. “Gucci Gang Gucci Gang Gucci Gang Gucci Gang (Gucci Gang).” The intent of this passage is clearly to emphasize “Gucci Gang,” which refers to Lil Pump’s rap group from Florida consisting of several local rappers. This song is an homage to the rapper’s musical roots which is why this unknown group that he grew up in is at the forefront of the lyrics. The following line, “Spend three racks on a new chain,” paradoxically counters the first. Three racks means three thousand dollars. These two lines together are a double entendre. On one hand Lil Pump is expressing how he came from a local rap group and made it big enough so that he can afford to spend three grand on a chain. On the other hand he is saying that despite his success, his heart still lies with his roots in the Gucci Gang. It is amazing that all of this meaning can be derived from simply the first two lines.

Another point to address is the vulgar nature of most of the lyrics. A common misconception about rap music is that the explicit lyrics are meant to be taken at face value. Well accomplished rappers use hyperbole and parody to communicate ideas. For example, the line “Your momma still live in a tent” isn’t literally implying that someone’s mother lives in a tent. Rather, it is a clever derogatory jab to say that someone's parents are still poor as Lil Pump’s once were. Let’s look at the whole phrase in context. “My lean cost more than your rent. Your momma still live in a tent. Still slangin’ dope in the jects?” This is the story of a poor rapper who, through his own hard work, talent, and dedication, escaped the poverty that he was born into. He was even successful enough to help not only himself, but his parents as well. “The jects” is referencing the projects, a government owned housing tenure that is home to a large array of the poor and which very few escape from. The person that Lil Pump is addressing remains anonymous which is a common trope in rap music. Insults hurled at an unnamed character has a long standing history with the culture of rap music and is found in many other forms of poetry such as Shakespeare's many notorious quips and put-downs. In summary, Lil Pump has managed to produce yet another great piece of work belonging to western civilization. Only the surface has been scratched of the depth and artistic intricacies found in “Gucci Gang.” Hopefully more people will challenge their biases and truly learn to appreciate the great art that comes from modern rap music. Next time someone says “music now a’days isn’t any good,” perhaps they should be challenged on their assumption.

Link to the song (clean version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7DPmYayxxE...