Meek Mill- Heaven and Hell

 

Hook]
Some niggas go to college, some niggas go to jail
Some make it into heaven, some make it into hell
Nobody want to lose, nobody want to fail
Nobody want to die, nobody want to kill
The things we do just to make it through
But nobody want to lose, nobody want to fail
Nobody want to die, we’re just tryna live our life

[Verse 1: Meek Mill]
Look, I got homies in the ground, skeleton and bones
And niggas doing life, they ain’t ever coming home
They said I wouldn’t make it or never see the throne
And my baby mama hate me cause she said I did her wrong
Cause I left to chase my dream, get it any means
I said that I’ll be back, she wasn’t listening to me
That back and forth arguing was getting in between
I said fuck them other niggas, I go get it with my team
If we all grind, we all shine, fuck a part time
I used to play the block early morning and dark time
Now it’s G5 flights, fuck a depart time
It was hard times, nigga now it’s our time
Just take a look at my life, rapping brought me back to life
Cause I was in them streets, my heart was cold as a pack of ice
Every night we strapping like we was in Iraq to fight
Cause niggas getting murdered for a block that do a stack a night
Woah, I got to make it home to my son
On them papers with a firm hold on his gun
Before I snitch they gotta burn a hole in my tongue
Give me a hundred years in a hole on the sun
In boiling water, in the world of no order
In the hood ain’t no loyalty, ain’t no world for your daughter
Ain’t no life for your brother, on the life of my mother
I’mma get the fam right, nigga you damn right

 

I choose my favorite songs depending on whats going on in life such as personal experiences.  In this new era Hip Hop Meek Mill is one of favorite rappers, mainly because I can relate to the things he raps about.  I grew up in Red Hook section of Brooklyn, NY in one of the toughest neighborhoods. I can relate to the lyrics because I chose to attend college.  I wanted something better for myself, but the majority of my friends I grew up with went to jail. Some of us make good decisions and some of us bad ones. Sometimes we do things because we feel we have no choice but to. This first line of the verse “Look, I got homies in the ground, skeleton and bones/And niggas doing life, they ain’t ever coming home” hit me hard because I lost a lot of friends to the gun or penitentiary. I use to witness first hand my friends not coming outside unless they had gun or being out all night in the streets trying to make money. I always say to myself that the world we live in is hell that’s why all these bad things be happening.

Occupation of Kuwait

“Over the years, the United States had aided the Iraqi Dictator when it served it purpose.”
Under Reagan and Bush administration the United States proved weapons and aid to Iraqi’s dictator Saddam Hussein in the war between Iran and Iraq. On August 2, 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait but the United Stated didn’t like that and moved to force the withdrawal of Iraq occupation. Bush was allowed permission from the Saudi king to put about half of million troops in Saudi Arabia. On January 17, 1991, the United States with the authorization from Congress led a massive air attack on Iraq forcing them to retreat from Kuwait. As a kid I remember all the news coverage about this incident. To me, it seem that George H. W. Bush had personal vendetta against Saddam Hussein which carried on with his son George W. Bush.

Cold War

“That land over there is yours and you will go back one day because your cause is right and God is on your side.”

 

These were the words from President Carter’s national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski to the Afghan fighters to rile them against Soviet Union communist government. This was a war of two world superpowers United States and USSR. The war called the Cold War because there was no fighting directly between the two superpowers. Instead they manipulated their allies and fought indirectly. For many years the Cold War had fostered economic, political, and military relationships around the entire world. The Cold War served as the defining component that bolster United States foreign policy.

 

Desegregation

“The laws have caught up with our conscience. What remains is to give life to the law.”

 

Even after the Supreme Court ended segregation in schools with Brown vs. Board of Education ruling there was still segregation in schools. Segregation was most evident in the school system The government had to use the military to enforce desegregation laws in schools. In 1984 the University of Texas only one black student belong to fraternity affiliated with the Interfraternity Council. Schools basically ignored the desegregation laws that were put in place. Things were so bad that the Supreme Court declared that segregated schools had the duty to eliminate racial discrimination and the courts required mandatory busing to integrate schools system that once had been segregated by law.

 

Scandal

“Some of the public disgust with politics and politicians stemmed from political scandals and revelations of past government misdeeds”

 

I like how Freeman spoke about the scandals that took place with political figures in this chapter. He reference when Wilbur Mills of the House of Representatives was stopped in a car by police and was in the presence of a stripper. Political scandals sometimes get took out of contex, so what if they cheat on their spouse or significant others. I know its a tool that political parties used against each other to discredit or get them put out of office. I feel that your personal life should not matter especially if your doing your job well.

War Tactics

” As the United States took over the bulk of combat in Vietnam, a strategy of conventional war and victory through attrition”

 

Vietnam was a pointless war for the United States, and alot of people opposed the war. We lost a bunch of american soldiers in war due to the military strategic tactics. U.S. military believed that thet could win the war by killing the opposition faster than they can be replaced. These tactics did not work for the most part. The U.S. relied on their advantage in firepower, instead of taking over specific territories they seeked out enemy forces an attcked them.

Same Pay

” The ERA was one of two strategies during the decade after World War II for improving the status of women”

 

Women rights has always been an issue they felt that they wasnt treated equally to men. the Equal Rights Amendment was proposed in 1923. This amendment declared equality of rights under the law on the account of gender, and was a nice attempt for women to gain equal rights. The support for the ERA  begin to die but some people who supported women economic rights pushed for something to be done. Congrees passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, which forbade pay differences between men and women doing identical jobs. The Equal Pay Act had little effect because back then women and men rarely had the same jobs or did the same type of work.

Debilitation of the Northeast

” A train trip in the mid -1970’s from New York to Washington would have a given a sense of their decay.”

 

In this quote Freeman was trying to give us a sense of how much theses cities decline, and it can be notice by traveling through these cities on  train. A lot of residents left New York between 1970 and 1980. The unemployment rate jump up to 12% and the crime rate increased because of the lack of jobs. 10 percent of New York population left due to the recession that took place during the 1970’s. Many whites migrated from the city to the surburb.  In Newark, NJ after World War 2 a lot of middle calss residents moved to the surburbs. For a city that was once known as a thriving indusrtial city, it was now known for having one abandoned factory after another. After the war Trenton, New Jersey began to decline too. Many of the forefront companies began to relocate, reduce their operations, or just shut down in all. Philadelphia suburbs flourished but the city suffered from the decline of manufacturing. Freeman is also giving you a sense of how the railroad system declined too.

Harland County, USA

Harland  County, USA is  documentary film that covers the Brookside Strike. Mining was the number one source of income in this little in Kentucky. In June 1972, the coal miners of Brookside began to strike against Duke Power Company and Union Mine Workers of America. The coal miners went on strike for safer working conditions, fair labor practices, and decent wages. Alot of coal miners were affected by the black lung disease. Violence was a big thing during the strike many of the Duke Power Company employees carried guns. Some of the protesters were even shot at. It was like if you you spoke up against or challenge the company you should fear for your life. Joseph Yablonski, an union representative who challenge Tony Boyle for the presidency of UMWA and lost was later found murdered along with his family in their home. The turning point though was when a young miner named Lawrence Jones was shot and killed during a scuffle.