into a box as you can see from this
photo I kind of like loss and is a
little confused
I had a diverse array of interests and
was somewhat of an anomaly within my own
family in my community around the age of
12 I would develop a strong passion for
music and pick up the violin as a result
I’ll be introduced to classical music
which seemed to be like a foreign jamun
to me at the time because I grew up
listening to artists such as common
jay-z and Tupac we’re seem to be a sharp
contrast with classical music or at
least so I thought so I would quickly
find myself nudge between these two
musical soundscapes
that seem to be polar opposites from
each other furthermore hip-hop and
classical music are often accompanied by
a heavy load of stereotypes people make
the misguided assumption that hip-hop is
all about violence materialism sex and
drugs on the other side people will
assume that classical music is all
elitist
elegant or serious when in fact Mozart
wrote a piece in title like Mishima arsh
which translates to kiss my ass
nurseries can that be now on top of all
that there’s undoubtedly strong racial
and socio-economic associations between
these two genres so I was a listener of
both hip-hop and classical music I felt
as if I had to sacrifice my identity to
fit in both of these realms this
double-consciousness was especially
prevalent in certain situations such as
being the only black kid in my youth
orchestra and it wasn’t till I got to
college that I realized I could
simultaneously inhabit both of these
realms
I will also discover that there are
quite a few parallels and connections
that could be made between these two
genres allow me so elaborate
I believe that hip-hop and classical
music have these hidden layers of
complexity that require effort to
decipher one does not simply listen to a
Beethoven symphony or a Kendrick Lamar
album for the first time knowing exactly
they’re trying to musically or lyrically
convey the music by each artists can be
interpreted in a plethora of ways and
they are often regarded as geniuses in
the communities additionally they are
often highly honored and respective in
within their own wider contemporaries I
also believe that hip-hop and classical
music I’ll often be very introspective
and highly socially conscious for
instance and his song changes by Tupac
he raps about being a product of a
rigged system he discusses the harsh
realities of living in a war zone
struggling to survive while under
constant surveillance by authorities
just because of the color of his skin
the famous Russian composer Dmitri
Shostakovich composed his fifth symphony
during the height of Stalin’s repressive
regime from the apathetic mournful
violin melody in the first movement
today ironically patriotic boisterous
nature of the last movement it can
really get a sense of the anxiety and
pressure that the composer must have
felt not knowing if he’s gonna survive
another day but perhaps the most
interesting parallel that was able to
find between the two it’s a practice of
recycling pre-existing musical material
and hip hop’s known as sampling of
classical music this is known as a
musical quotation and this can be
somewhat of a controversial practice but
here’s which term insky has to say about
it
lesser artists borrow great artists
steal
now I don’t believe Sowinski is
endorsing plagiarism saying she just
outright steal but I do believe he is
saying that is okay to use was already
out there as a tool to create something
new in this case new music so I’ve
compiled a few samples for you guys that
like you ought to hear on the first one
is Hawk Tikvah and it’s the Israeli
national anthem as you listen try to hum
[Music]
now keeping that melding your head
listen to this song by the hip-hop
[Music]
none of this gonna be huh did you hear
it gone sweet huh now I’m sure you’re
all familiar with this French children’s
song
[Music]
now listen to what Gustav möller does
so kind of a morbid version of fares
rocker right so they’re ours out there
who have actually bridge the gap between
these two genres re such as Dana
Bernardo May and black violin have been
pioneers in conducting this practice do
you focus on that direct urban strains
Columbus pictured above actually had the
privilege of planning with black violin
and it was a truly inspiring experience
for them and myself now I don’t want to
conclude his talk by saying that oh we
actually all desire the same things that
we should just get in a circle hold
hands and sing Kumbaya because that just
wouldn’t be reality I do believe that we
can find common ground musically and
other facets of life but I also believe
that we should be able to respect and
embrace our own differences we didn’t
all grow up in the same community we
don’t all eat the same food and we know
all this list of the same music and we
shouldn’t have to sacrifice our identity
to meet some type of false standard but
I believe that we can reconcile our
differences and just open up our ears a
little bit more than we could truly live
in greater harmony and now to show you
how these two worlds can collide I will
be with my string quintet performing a piece that I wrote entitled triumph