Exploration 6 From Nate Belt

Kendrick Lamar

One artist who has had a large influence on my life is Kendrick Lamar. Kendrick was born in Compton, California back in 1987. His family struggled with finances causing kendrick to grow up on welfare and in section 8 housing. His father was in a gang which led to him having very little parental guidance. However he was able to escape his harsh reality through music. What got Lamar into music was when he witnessed his idols, Tupac and Dr. Dre, perform a music video together. This sparked his interest in the music industry and could be argued as a prime reason of what got him out of Compton. Kendrick is basically a younger (and better) version of Ice cube. They both struggled with poverty and were able to escape Compton through creating music. At age 16, Lamar created his first mixtape which allowed him to obtain a recording contract with Top Dawg Entertainment. This is what would begin his journey to the top of hip hop's best artists. 

One album that Kendrick is most know for is, good kid, m.A.A.d city. It was released by TDE and quickly after it became #2 on the US billboard 200. Later the album would eventually be certified platinum. This album contains hit songs such as: swimming pools, bitch don't kill my vibe, and m.A.A.d city. This album has a lot of influence behind it because it tells the story of his brother dying. He explains how his brother was a good kid, but since he grew up in Compton the city changed how his brother acted which led to him making bad choices. What is also super unique about this album is that at the end of each song, Kendrick puts a recording of his parents talking about their children growing up in Compton and then he also adds in additional recordings of himself talking about his brother's death and how it happened.

What personally got me attached to Kendrick was when I heard his song swimming pools for the first time. I remember back to when I was 13, my cousin played it for the first time on a car ride to florida and I asked him right there on the spot for the name of the song, we ended up listening to it several more times afterwards. It wasn't the meaning behind the song that got me attached, but more so the flow of it. The song had an amazing chorus and it was instantly stuck in my head. I have been a fan of Kendrick ever since. (429 words)

Exploration 6 - Tej Patel

I couldn’t think of a musical artist that has changed my life, but someone that is an artist in my eyes was Steve Jobs. He was an artist in the technology industry. The reason I chose him is because of the book written about him. I read the book called Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. The story behind Steve Jobs life was just amazing to read. He went through so much in life, but he NEVER gave up and because of that he was a well known figure around the world. This book motivated me a lot and is one of the forces to push me to never give up and keep going. Steve had a GPA of 2.65, which showed he didn’t like school and the way the teachers taught. The most surprising thing was that he was kicked out of his own company. Being kicked out of your own company can be hard to go through. Even though he was kicked out, He didn’t give up. He kept going and bought a animation studio which we all know it as Pixar. After about 10 years, He rejoined Apple as the CEO and helped bring back the company from the ground because it was failing. Another thing about Steve Jobs that grabbed my attention was how happy he was. Even though he had cancer, He never seemed down. Even In the bad times, he never lost faith or courage. There are many things that I took out of Steve Jobs life and those things are going to help me live a better life. His hardworking nature and never giving up was one of the pillars of his success. For me, Steve Jobs will always be an artist that has changed my life. And I do recommend everyone to read this wonderful book about Steve Jobs to learn from his life.

                                                               Book about Steve Jobs

Exploration 6 by Timmy O’Brien

An artist who has a had a big impact on my life is director/filmmaker Sergio Leone. I first saw his movies at a very young age, the first being A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Good the Bad and the Ugly (1966), both western movies starrring Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name. Even at a young age I was incredibly entertained by this movies, and are a huge part of the reason I am into film and filmmaking the way I am now. As I got older, I soon began to appreciate just how revolutionary these movies were, not only as westerns, but also as films in general.
Leone is best known for his use of wide camera angles, camera movement, slow scenes, minimal dialogue, and extreme closeups on character’s faces. At the time his movies came out, these kinds of filmmaking techniques were not typically seen in American cinema at the time of their release, so they were very new to the general audience. An aspect of his movies that are incredibly popular, and very special to myself personally, is the use of music by Italian composer Ennio Morricone. Much of the time, when there is no dialogue happening, Leone allows much of the music to do the talking. The music itself is iconic, especially the theme song to The Good the Bad and the Ugly, which is known by people who haven’t even seen the movie.
The characters in his movies are always incredibly distinct and memorable, even the background and supporting ones. Even without having dialgoue, many characters are memorable simply for their quirks or unique faces.
My personal favorite movie directed by Leone is Once Upon A Time in the West (1968), which I believe to be the pinnacle of everything great about the director that I mentioned before. It is another western movie, but it also manages to completley transcend the genre and be what I consider to be one of the greatest movies ever made. The cinematography is jaw dropping, the music is incredible, and the characters are very well fleshed out with incredibly unforgettable scenes of intensity and emotion. Each scene takes its time to create a good atmosphere, but the movie also manages to move a good pace while also being a slow burn. The movie tells its story through visuals, not by explaining things to its audience and treating the viewers like kids. The opening scene is a great example of his style, where three men are waiting at a train station for something or someone to show up. We don’t know exactly what it is, but as we watch it slowly unravels before our eyes without being directly told to us. The sounds are natural and there are many closeup shots, and there is very little dialogue. It builds up to a climax where we find out who they were waiting for, and ends in an explosive and exciting way. This scene itself could be its own short film.
I would compare Leone to another western director, John Ford. Both are greatly known for their use of wide landscape shots and heavy emphasis on characterization. The difference between the two is that Ford’s films are much more focused on heavy dialogue and tells their stories that way, while Leone does many through visuals and sparse dialogue. Both are compelling in their own way.
Leone has had a great impact on me as I enjoy writing stories and screenplays, and making films with my friends. I take many notes out of his book by making sure to take my time with characters and story while trying to create a good atmosphere, and don’t simply try to explain everything to my audience through endless exposition. If it were not for his movies, I do not think I’d appreciate cinema the same way I do now.

Example: https://youtu.be/8XkHsinz7oU Here is the climax to the opening scene I was discussing earlier. Note the minimal use of dialogue, the use of music, the wide angles, and the closeups on the character’s faces. They don’t say much but we quickly understand everyone’s personalities and sets the stage for the rest of the movie.

Word Count: 646

Screenshot from The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

Exploration six-Brandon Derr

When Tupac Shakur is mentioned it is not hard to conjure up thoughts of a thug or a gangster, but in all actuality Tupac was a man who wanted to help and inspire others like himself. Tupac was a pioneer in rap and quickly rose to the top after just a couple of years of making music and would eventually sign to a infamous recording studio called Death Row Records with other west coast rappers such as Dr. Dre and snoop dogg. Tupac was seen sort of as the head of the west coast rappers in the east vs west battle between the two coast, much like Biggie Smalls was seen as the head of the east. As someone who came from nothing Tupac encouraged his fans who had been dealt a bad hand in life to follow his example and make something of themselves through hard work because nobody is just going to hand them anything. Unfortunately Tupac would go on to be gunned down in a controversial hit and run that is still disputed to this day, he died at the age of 25 just a couple of years after making it big in music but enough time to leave his mark on countless people.
One of Tupac’s most powerful works of art actually comes in the form of a poem and not the genre he was most well known for, rap. The poem titled “The Rose That Grew From Concrete” uses a rose that grew from the crack in some concert as a metaphor for a human that has been more or less put off by society much like Tupac had been as a child. The poem stresses that the rose grows despite nature’s laws holding it back, and that it holds onto it’s dreams allowing it to push through the concrete and get fresh air. The finial line, and perhaps the most powerful of all, says “Long live that rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared” goes back to his message to his audience that they will have to work for what they get in life, and that nobody is going to just hand them what they want.

Word Count:331

Tupac Shakur

Exploration 6: Logan Siebert

Peace, Love and Positivity. Those are the words that musical rap artist, Logic, lives his life by. Logic, real name Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, sings about topics that others wouldn't normally dare to approach. For example, in April 2017, Logic released the song, 1-800-273-8255, and he spoke about suicide, thus the title being the number for the suicide prevention line. During the song, he belts words preaching that every life is important and no matter how bad things are going for you, you should never consider suicide, because your life matters and people love you. This song was a part of his album, Everybody, the song itself was number 31 for the year and peaked number 1. In August 2017, Logic performed his hit song alongside artists, Khalid and Alessia Cara, at the Video Music Awards. During the performance Logic brought up people whose lives were changed after they called the hotline. After the performance, the calls for the suicide hotline tripled that night. While I have never suffered from depression, Logic has impacted my life by influencing the change on how I view the world.

Pictured above is Logic during his performance at the VMAs
A person that I would contrast to Logic is the late rapper, XXXtentacion. Before being shot dead, XXX rapped about his depression and the negative things in his life. Outside of his music, XXX was accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend at the time. He was the opposite type of person compared to Logic in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ju6Q8Azcmg attached is the link to Logic's performance at the VMAs. After his performace, Logic gave a powerful speech on what the song means along with how much he cares deeply for everyone. Be warned, there is an abundance of explicit language in the video and song.
Final word count: 300(!!)

Exploration 6 Max Gute

Personally I have a very wide range of music that I listen to. If you look into my 
music library on my iTunes or Spotify or even SoundCloud you will find many 
EDM, rock, rap, country, and even metal music. I personally have a 
preference towards EDM and remixes of songs as well. It feels very motivating 
to work out and to drive to. My favorite artist has got to be Marshmello. He has 
some of my favorite songs that I listen to every day on my way to school. He 
also has music that can get me pumped up to go work out. He has so many 
songs for many different situations. The real pull in for me is that Marshmello 
pull inspiration for his music from his own personal life. He brings out all 
the emotions that he is feeling into his work. With this he can pull in a wide 
variety of people. He is DJ that hides his own face not because he wants 
to look cool but to show that it is more about his music rather than him. It 
is very similar to DJ Deadmau5 who also finds his face behind a mask to 
put more focus on his music rather than himself. I first song time I heard 
his music was when I was getting hyped up for a lacrosse game in my junior 
year of high school. I did not know the song so use the Shazam app on my 
phone to find the song. I found the song and immediately went to SoundCloud 
to find this Marshmello guy. I found him right away and started playing the 
song that heard in the locker room. I fell in love with his music and I started 
to listen to all of his songs as well as downloading my favorites. He has even 
managed to get me into making my own music for fun. I can not make songs 
like he does but I enjoy making simple mixes on my MacBook every now and 
then. If it wasn’t for Marshmello’s music, I would probably never would have 
found my new favorite hobby.

Here is the DJ Marshmello with his iconic helmet.

Word Count: 387

Alone (Music Video) - Marshmello: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZHF5UqnU4

My SoundCloud if you want to here any of my mixes: https://soundcloud.com/max-gutentag

Exploration 6 Cameron Snyder

Geroge Strait is an award winning artist known for his traditional country sound, and has been a country music icon since the 1980s.

George Strait is a country music legend, that mixes both traditional and contemporary country music. He was born in Texas, and raised on a cattle farm, which is where developed his country roots. George Strait has a wide audience from young to old. He has been around long enough to develop a big crowd of supporters. His music favors those who enjoy the old style country, the ‘pure’ country, compared to the country music nowadays. He has had many successes throughout his life, and shows that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. In 2014, he broke an indoor concert attendance record for North America on one of his tours. 104,000 packed AT&T Stadium in Texas, breaking the previous 87,500 record set by The Rolling Stones for 33 years. Even though he announced back in 2014 he will no longer tour regularly, he is still performing at the age of 62. He still manages to keep his concerts just as entertaining now as they were 20 years ago. He has also acted in several movies, his most popular one probably being Pure Country, in 1992.
Strait started his career by joining the band, the Ace in the Hole, and became their lead singer. From there, he became friends with someone who worked for MCA Records. He took Strait to the MCA Records, where they were impressed, and later signed him to a record deal. He did not forget about the Ace in the Hole, as they continued to play with Strait as his backup band.

George Strait can be compared with Alan Jackson. They are both two major country superstars, and have even worked together on some projects. They both sing the traditional old school country music. They each have plenty of hits, and for a good reason. Each of them alike have both spoke about and complained about the decline in traditional country music. They have the classic country sound, and have greatly expanded their number of fans because this kind of country music is slowly fading away.
He has subtly changed his music throughout his very long career. Many people say George Strait has not made a bad album. His most impactful album would probably have to be his first one, Strait Country. His first released song "Unwound" did very well, in addition to other singles from the album that reached the Top 10. His first album created a big start for him, and led to a very long career full of many awards and honors. If you are still a fan of classic country music, then George Strait is definitely the way to go.

Word Count: 441
Link to album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vdV9eeuhyw&list=PL6Y5M8LkZJG4JVeJertgZ5xrZALRnHnC9&index=1