When compared to today’s rap/hip hop music, the topic of the music sung in the 1800’s by the black people was generally about the same topics of what rappers sing about today; money, women, love, hate, and death. But there is one thing that differentiates the lyrics from songs from these two time periods. The difference is the content of the song. Even though the songs in the 1800’s and in the present sing about the same thing, the content/theme/message of the song is different from each other.
I compared two songs (from the two different time periods) dealing with the topic of money. The song was about money, but the content/theme/message of the song was different from each other. The song from the 1800’s is called “Money” by Walter Stephens and the song from the present is called “Power of the Dollar by 50 Cent.
They do sing about the same topic, money, but what the song is about is opposite from each other.
Below are the lyrics from a song written in the 1800’s. This song is about a man wanting/hoping for money, but not having received it yet.
“Money” Words by Walter Stephens; Music by Wm. F. Braun
Tell me what it is that makes the world go round mo-ney mo-ney
Once a cash-ier of a bank thought he would like mon-ey mon-ey
Just a-bout a month a-go I thought I’d get mon-ey mon-ey
What is it that talks but does-n’t make a sound Mon-ey Mon-ey
With a sack-ful of Green backs he took a hike Rum-mey Dum-mey
Hard luck hangs a-round I have-n’t got it yet Mon-ey Mon-ey
Lyrics above obtained from: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/rpbhtml/aasmhome.html
Below are the lyrics from a song written in the present. This song is about a man that already has a lot of money, and is telling other people not to be jealous because of it.
“Power of the Dollar” by 50 Cent
You don't have to respect a nigga, but respect
his cash
Cause for the money, niggas will murder that ass
I came up fast, I watched a lot of gats blast
The power of the dollar (the cash, the cash)
Lyrics above obtained from: http://www.eminem-planet.com/50cent/lyrics/powerofthedollar/15.html
From reading the two lyrics from different time periods, it is simple to see that the songs written in the 1800’s had a different theme to it. The content of what the song was about was different. The song called “Money,” is about a man wanting to get money, but not getting it. The song called “Power of the Dollar” is about a man that already has money and showing how powerful money is. One is about not having money, while the other is about having money.
These are the differences that separate the songs from the past and present. The
content is what differentiates the lyrics from the two time periods.
Also, notice the difference in the following two pictures:
The first one is a picture from the song “Money.” This shows a man with no money.
Picture above obtained from: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/rpbhtml/aasmhome.html
Below is the picture of the CD the song “Power of the Dollar” came from. Notice the silver coin. The engraving is a picture of the rapper (50 Cent) himself on the coin.
Picture above obtained from: http://www.lyrics.com/0-9/50.cent/
These two pictures visually represent the fact that the content/theme/message of money in the two songs are different. The first picture shows a black man with pockets empty and no money. The second picture is of the rapper himself on the coin. Here he is trying to represent his wealth and power by putting his own image on a coin.