Imitation #2

Kelvin Then                                                                                                                9/11/12

                                             James Brown: I Feel Good (1965)

            In what may be known to many as his greatest hit ever, the late “Godfather of Soul” James Brown talks about feeling good when he is around his lover. He repeats the lines, “I feel nice, like sugar and spice,” to emphasize his emotion toward the girl he is with. This song was written in the midst of Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s and shows how even through all of the protesting that was going on, the “Godfather” found a way to remain both happy, and exciting to watch with his amazing funk music and soulfulness.

            The song is a confessional because he is depicting his feelings about that girl to the audience, something that most people tend to keep private. The song does not rhyme the whole way through but it does have some parts where it has end rhyme every other line. The song incorporates, arguably, one of the most well-known simile’s in music with “I feel nice, like sugar and spice.” The tone of this song is a very happy and cheerful one, it seems as though Brown is excited to share his feelings with his audience. It also has some repetition such as “I feel good” which portray his emotion even more. The upbeat tempo and jazz like influence of the instruments also give the song a great rhythm, which is fun to listen to. This song is an amazing song, maybe even the greatest funk song ever.

When I hold you in my arms
I know that I can't do no wrong
And when I hold you in my arms
My love can't do me no harm
And I feel nice, like sugar and spice
I feel nice, like sugar and spice
So nice, so nice, well I got you
Wo! I feel good, I knew that I wouldn't of

More lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/james_brown/#share

Imitation #1

                                                                                                                                                                                Kelvin Then

                                                                                                                                    9/1/12

                                    

            This poem is about a man’s love for a woman, this love he expresses through a memory of a night in June where they spent said night in each other’s company while watching the rain. This poem was a part of one the first collections of poetry published during the Harlem Renaissance and gave way to the beauty that would go on to be known as the Roaring 20’s. This  poem is a confessional as it gives insight to the narrators love life and provides us with some insight as to the kind of man that McKay may have been. The Rhyme scheme in this poem is bilinear end rhyme, or when words rhyme at the end of every other line.  

             

The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain Critique

                                                                                                                                    Kelvin Then   

9/1/12

                Langston Hughes, famous for his poetic masterpieces during the Harlem Renaissance, speaks on the topic of young black poets in his era and what he called the “Racial Mountain”. In his time, a time where African American people were finally starting to make a statement in an ever-changing world, Hughes found it somewhat worrisome that so much of the black youth wanted to be white. He believed that too many black families were attempting to erase their heritage by moving toward a “white” lifestyle. It saddens me to think that in such an amazing point in the history of our country, some of the people responsible for this amazingness did not want to take part in acknowledging the beautiful standards that their own people had set. It’s hard for me to fathom that had it not been for these people’s denial of their own culture, then maybe black poems, art, and music would have been so much better than it already is.

   Race plays a crucial role in the success and even creation of any given work of art. Poets, musicians, and artist tend to be extremely weary of who their audience is because certain works are meant for different people. For example, Hughes wrote poems for black people in the 1920’s, had his audience been white then his poetry may not have been as effective and we may not even know who he was.