This is an essay that is based on the song "I get money" by 50 Cent. It looks into the general message of the song as depicted by the singer and then later on tries to divulge the underlying messages and the connotations of such messages. The essay also gives a brief history of the singer and how this history is reflected in the song and the theme of the song.
¶ … Music
Song Analysis
Generation Y is the echo boom, the children of baby boomers born between 1980 and 1995 to the baby-boomers. There is no clear cut boundary in terms of the year as it is argued that this generation could extent to 2000 and even begins as early as 1976. The Generation Y is also referred to as the Gen Y, millennial, Gen Yers or the internet generation (Wise Geek, 2012).
This is the generation that is generally viewed as being retributive, prone drug abuse and alcoholism, rude, prone to obesity and generally prone to several societal negativities that may befall the contemporary society. It is a generation that is full of self-centeredness, a generation that struggles constantly with the issue of self-esteem, they believe that they deserve what they want straight away even without striving very hard for it, they do not respond positively to criticism, they have impractical expectations coated as dreams. It is on this generation that there is pressure to get education for each person more than any other generation and a generation that does not want to take up responsibilities as indicated by Gary Schlee (2007).
The song "I Get Money"
This is a song done by 50 Cent and it largely covers the issue of wealth as exemplified by money and the power of wealth. 50 Cent portrays possession of vast wealth such that he actually smells like the vault. He also indicates that the source of his money has its roots in selling drugs at the initial stages. He also glorifies the possession of money and indicates that with money come several women such that he can easily drop any woman at any given time he wants. As the singer puts it, money gives the owner ability to do unconventional things like write a check before the baby comes, he confesses that he will surely have a hard time utilizing the cash that he has gathered so far.
The singer, 50 Cent whose real name is Curtis James Jackson is a renowned American rapper who shot to fame in 2003 with the release of his album 'Get Rich or Die Tryin'. His rap career has been clouded by several feuds with fellow musicians within the industry and even within the record label G-Unit that helped propel him to fame. In the 1980s, he is said to have been involved deeply in drug selling as a teenager before he decided to abandon this trade for the music careers.
This song accurately displays in a thematic manner, what Gen Y means and values within this generation. This is a generation that is well characterized by adoring fame and leisure as well as posh lifestyle that can only be supported by a lot of cash as well as possessing the top of the lot extravagant cars like the Ferrari and the likes as mentioned in the song. These are qualities that are displayed in the lyrics of the song and they dominate the song.
The issue that matters most to Gen Y as portrayed in the song is not environment but gaining acceptance, love especially of different genders, access to money and generally success in life. The song paints a picture of a young man who has more money that he actually needs for daily necessities. With the money, he can use it to buy company of friends and even love as he exchanges women and surrounds himself with prostitutes for hire.
It is indicated that the wealth and lifestyle that he leads allows him easy acceptance among his peers as he is allowed to run New York. The singer also depicts a jealousy status that comes from the peers who are less fortunate and cannot make such amounts of cash like his and be successful in life like he is.
The values of Gen Y that are portrayed in the song have more to do with pursuit for fame and celebrity status at whatever cost rather than finding equality for all. To this generation, the pursuit of fame is so serious that it can be a matter of life and death as it is indicated in the song that if anyone comes in between him and his fame pursuit by "crossing the line" then he would shoot him dead. This is the zeal with which the Gen Y focuses on the egocentric values than the socially acceptable norms and standards.
The customs that are evident in the song have more to do with leisure than cultural activities or activities that help strengthen the society in general. The singer portrays an easy life full of niceties like playing and cruising in boats at the south of France, changing cars from the Benz, to the Ferrari and Jaguars, dressing in expensive jewelry and generally getting into activities that are directed toward satisfaction of the leisure needs of the individual. There is no emphasis on the need to take up responsibilities and live by them, there is no indication of need to settle down with a family and build a more responsible society for tomorrow, and these are the social challenges that the Gen Y have since they are predominantly known not to be in a hurry to take up responsibilities but rather shun them
You’re 76% through this paper. Sign up to read the full paper.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.