Protest Songs and Such

These protest songs follow a path of no one is going to hold us back and we are going to persevere and keep on fighting for what we want to do. This is present in "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round", because the singer keeps singing that nobody is going to "turn me 'round" (pg. 44). This means that no one is going to get in his way, and later on, he talks about marching up to the freedom land, so the song is essentially about how no one is going to stop him from trying to get to the freedom land. This ties in especially with the character "Stackolee", who doesn't let anything get in the way of what he wants, including the devil.
The song "We Shall Overcome" is also about no one holding you back from what you want, but it also sends the message that the singers (presumably black slaves) will eventually overcome these hard times. This loosely refers back to the folklore of Brier Rabbit who would always get into some sort of mischief, but in the end he would come out on top and outsmart the fox. The song also refers to the slave song, in which it would have a simple rhythm, a steady beat, and an uplifting message to help the slaves keep on going.
Most if not all of these songs and readings are about someone, something, or some group stuck in a bad situation and have to use their minds and their resources to get out of said situation. Whether it be to persevere until the very end or to use their wits to outsmart a fox, nearly each one of these readings represent the "underdog" figuring out a way to come out on top in the end.

Hip Hop and John Henry

The main message I get from "John Henry" is overcoming impossible odds. In the ballad, John Henry is a "steel-driver" and is known to be the best there ever was. He was challenged to a battle of steel-driving against a machine that the whites built, which would seem impossible by today's standards. In "The Message," the overcoming of impossible odds is present because the singer feels like he's at his breaking point and he doesn't know if he can continue to try and complete what seems like near impossible tasks that seem like everyday chores to us. The singer of "The Message" describes his enviornment to be incredibly hostile and hard to live in using such lyrics as, "Broken glass everywhere/People pissing on the stairs" (Pg. 82) and "Eating outta garbage pails." (Pg. 83) "N.Y. State of Mind," is similar to "The Message" because it deals with a young black man in a horrible environment, but he deals with his actions a little more violently and bluntly using weapons and such. Both utilize the theme of overcoming what seem like impossible odds, but in a different manner.
"John Henry" also in cooperates how even though you can be victorious and successful, the outcome might not be what you thought it would be. John Henry was able to beat the steel-driving machine, but doesn't live to tell the tale. In "N.Y. State of Mind," the singer talks about how even though he's able to survive and make money off of his rap, he still lives a very tough life and it wasn't really a very glamorous end. He talks about how he he's addicted to "sneakers, twenties of buddah (money) and bitches with beeps (women)," and how he's taking rapping to a new plateau, but he refers to earlier times when life wasn't so complicated living in New York.