Craig Brewer

I am doing my hip-hop cultural paper on Hustle and Flow written by Craig Brewer. First and for most I had to look at the DVD cover to find the director’s name. The process in which I found information on Craig Brewer, basically I used Google. Yes I am addicted to Google and that is the only search engine I use, until I find a better one. I click on the first couple of links that shows up; they are usually the best ones to use.
The first website I went on is http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0108132/ (The Internet Movie Database). The Internet Movie Database is a website created just for movies and gives information on the cast, director, summery of the movie, and various movies that the director has produce, written, and directed. Plus the website includes photos of the movie, cast, director, and other celebrates.
The second website I went on is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Brewer. I must say wikipedia is my favorite website to go on in order to find information on just about anything. You can say I am a wikipedia addict, as well as Google addict. What I like about wikipedia is that the website cites all of the sources that the writer of the article uses and provides links to them.
The third website I went on is http://movies.aol.com/celebrity/craig-brewer/299159/biography, which gives a brief history of Brewer.
The advantage of looking at the sources that I did is that I know the information is valid because all three sources stated the same thing. The first two websites gives information on Brewer’s professional life, but the third websites gives a brief biography about his life as a whole. The first two sources cite their information and provide links to the actual articles or quotes made by the person the researcher is researching on.

Holler if You Hear Me: Searchin for Tupac Shakur by M. E. Dyson

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is an ordained Baptist minister. Dr. Dyson taught at numerous universities and is now currently teaching in Georgetown University. He teaches theology, English, and African-American studies. Dr. Dyson has written fourteen books and has been named by Ebony as one of the hundred most influential black Americans. “Dr. Dyson is a leading scholar on hip-hop music and the culture that surrounds it, as well as its roots in Africa and Africa-American cultures and influence on American popular culture” (wikipedia.com). Dr. Dyson wrote his book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur in 2001, on the fifth anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s death.

The first thing that pops up in my mind whenever I hear the name Tupac Shakur is that he was a rapper, he probably belong in a gang, and he was killed in the 1990s. What Dr. Dyson wrote in his book about Tupac Shakur is almost the complete opposite of my opinion. Dr. Dyson described Tupac as an intellectual person, who actually has something to say, with an “appetite” for reading; from Nietzsche to Homer. Dr. Dyson stated that Tupac, before becoming famous, shared arguments about the impact of race and class on all American people as well as his mother’s life, who is a former Black Panther.

The Streets

Many people associate rap or hip hop with African-Americans, but other parts of the world has its own version of hip hop. Hip hop is not limited to African-Americans. The Streets started out as a group, but soon fell apart into a one-man band. Mike Skinner, Caucasian, was born in Birmingham, England. His music is a combination of United Kingdom garage, electronica, and hip hop. Skinner music consists of vocals, keyboard, and guitar. Skinner recorded his first album, Original Pirate Material, in his bedroom at his mother’s house in Birmingham, England. Skinner’s album has been described as one of the most authentic voices of British youth in many years. Skinner has been compared to Eminem. The Streets released the Original Pirate Material in the United States in 2002, but did not catch the attention of the American public. The album became a favorite with Rollin Stone, Spin Magazine, The New York Times, Blender, USA Today, and LA Times. Unlike many American rappers, Skinner rap, on his first album, about the life of a “geezer,” of lager, fast food, and failure with women. Skinner described himself as "Barratt class: suburban estates, not poor but not much money about, really boring." Skinner wanted to portray the lifestyle of clubbers in Britain; his single “Let’s Push Things Forward” reflects the “philosophy” of the Original Pirate Material album.
The Streets released The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living on April 10, 2006. The lyrics of this album moved away from the stories about working class Britain and moved toward the ups and downs of fame. The first single released from this album was “When You Wasn’t Famous.” The song deals with Skinner dating a famous person, following his new found fame. The second single “Never Went to Church” is a tribute to Skinner’s late father.

Peer Review

The peer review went by somewhat smooth and it is informative. It is helpful to know that our essays actually make sense to other people. One thing I would like to change is that we, the students, did not have enough time to speck with one another about the essays. I think the best way to learn is to hear what other students have to say about the essay instead of answering questions about the essay, which some students might not look at. In a short amount of time students cannot complete reading two essays, answer questions, and have discussions about the two different essays; some longer than others.
Many college students learn through different methods, but one thing for sure we, the college students, sometimes do not read what others wrote about our essays. When someone is talking to us directly, we are more likely to listen to them. As we, the students, discuss about the certain topics, we will get more feedback on our essays and find more effective ways as to getting our point across. All-in-all my peer review went by somewhat smooth. We did read, answer questions, and have a discussion about our essays. I would have, personally, like for more time to talk about our essays.