Author: Anima Anowar

Anima Anowar

ENG 1101

12/10/2018

Analysis Essay: Examining Lyrics

        On this bright early morning, I was rushing for my dear life. Summer is about to end, and classes are about to start. I remember this day so clearly, it was the morning of my first day of freshman year in college. I don’t think I even got sleep that night, because of how nervous I was. I also tried going to sleep early, but as soon as I opened my eyes, next thing you know I’m out the door. That was one of the fastest night, I’ve ever experienced. I was so nervous, nervous to even go take the subway. All my life, I’ve always walked to school, or my older brother would drive me wherever I had to go. Taking public transportation scared me, because of the fear of being lost. I remember the night before, to save the map and instructions to go from house to college. I got on the train, and sat all the way in the back. Where I know now are for the disabled. From my seat, I was still able to see where the train stopped at each stopped, and that’s all I really needed to get me going. I pulled out my headphones from my bag, and just hoped that some music would help me get through this train ride, without just staring into nothing. I put my headphones in, went to my downloaded playlist and put it on shuffle. The first song that happened to play was by Nicki Minaj, called “All Things Go.” Onika Tanya Maraj, known professionally as Nicki Minaj, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, actress, and model. I’ve heard the song “All Things Go” a couple of times before, but during this train ride it moved me. The lyrics spoke to me in a way no other song has. The song itself shows how a artist is just like any other person, and deal with real life issues. And that everyone has a backstory, no matter how successful you get. In this song she touches base on her abortion (she’s never really spoke about it, but she did through this song), family, and her past relationship.

        Nicki Minaj starts off by saying: [Verse 1] Yo, I had to reinvent, I put V in vent I put the heat in vents, man I been competin’ since. She repeats the word vent because she’s trying to convey how long she’s been hustling for, by “over exaggerating” since the invention of vents. Goes on by saying, I look beyond what people sayin’, and I see intent. Then I just sit back and decipher, what they really meant. Nicki says she looks into what people are saying to determine whether or not they’re really using her or trying to manipulate her. Then, like she said she sits back and tries to decode whether their intentions are genuine. Continues on by saying life is a movie, but there will never be a sequel. Similarly in movies, in real life we all have plot twists and have to deal with problems. Cherish these days, man do they go quick. Just yesterday, I swear it was ‘o-six. Ten years ago, that’s when you proposed. I looked down, “Yes, I suppose.” Don’t take the time you have for granted and to cherish those moments, because you won’t be able to go back in time. Nicki recalls when her ex boyfriend, proposed to her back in 2006 when she wasn’t as successful. She remembers this day like it was not too long ago. She says Yes, I suppose because during that time she wasn’t feeling confident with her decision to get married at the time. Follows up with the [hook], all things go (4x). I feel one minute, yeah, we got it then it’s gone. While we keep waiting for a moment to live for. So can’t nobody ever tell me that I’m wrong. Nicki is saying that nothing in this world lasts forever, she’s trying to take in everything one day at a time. In order to achieve all her goals and aspirations, and to live a happy life she has to pull through the tough situations she’s dealing with.

       In [Verse 2] she starts off by saying, I lost my little cousin to a senseless act of violence. His sister said, he wanted to stay with me, but I didn’t invite him. Why didn’t he ask, or am I just buggin’? Cause since I got fame, they don’t act the same. Even though they know, that I love ’em. In 2011, Nicholas Telemaque (Nicki’s cousin) was shot and killed in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Relatives thought the shooting must’ve been incidental. And that Nicholas was mistaken for someone else and killed for no reason. (Sulla-Heffinger, Anthony. “Rap Star Nicki Minaj’s Cousin Shot Dead in Brooklyn.” New York Post, New York Post, 5 July 2011, nypost.com/2011/07/05/rap-star-nicki-minajs-cousin-shot-dead-in-brooklyn/.) In this line, she goes on to say that she thought it was clear that she all loved her cousins equally. She’s asking herself why didn’t her cousin ask to stay with her. Nicki feels like she wasn’t clear enough to them. Going forward, Nicki wants to let them know that they are family, and it’s never a bad time to bother her.

        Final [Verse 3] she says let me make this clear I’m not difficult, I’m just ’bout my business. I’m not into fake industry parties, and fake agendas. Rock with people for how they make me feel not what they give me. Nicki does not come to industry parties to waste time. If it’s not regarding business or doesn’t help her improve her craft which is music, then don’t invite her. Next line, even the ones that hurt me the most, I still show forgiveness. Even though people in the past hurt Nicki, she wants to let them know that she’ll forgive but won’t ever forget. I love my mother more than life itself, and that’s a fact. I’d give it all, if somehow, I could just rekindle that. She never understands, why I’m so overprotective. The more I work, the more I feel like, somehow they’re neglected. Nicki always has held a strong stand about how important family is. She’s had a tough childhood growing up in Queens, New York. Her father was a drug addict, and was in serious trouble before with the feds. He even set her family’s home on fire, by attempting to kill her mother. Ever since then, that drove her to be successful, and that was the only way to change both their lives. (Editors, Biography.com. “Nicki Minaj.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 10 Sept. 2018, www.biography.com/people/nicki-minaj-579.) Nicki hasn’t been seen with her mother in public too much, because she is trying to protect her from being in headlines. But the more time Nicki puts into her music, the more family time she loses. My child with Aaron, would’ve been sixteen, any minute. So in some ways I feel like ‘Caiah, is the both of them. It’s like he’s ‘Caiah’s little angel, looking over him.When Nicki was 16 years old, she reveals that she had a abortion and let’s out the name of dead child’s father, who was Aron. Caiah is short for Micaiah Maraj, Nicki’s youngest brother. By the time this song came out, Micaiah turned 16. Nicki feels like Micaiah is the both of them, and that her dead child is living through him. Nicki finishes off the song with the last line gee, we did it, let’s leave this imprint. Just finished writing, this is the Pinkprint. Gee we did it means, she’s finally finished the first song, the song “All Things Go” is the first track on the album The Pinkprint. She literally meant by imprint, because her album cover is her actual thumbprint in pink. Nicki believes that, the album The Pinkprint will last in the music industry for years. The Pinkprint went double platinum, and in 2016, she won the Best Female Hip Hop Artist award at the BET Awards for the seventh consecutive time. It was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 58th Grammy Awards in 2016.

        This song “All Things Go” has to be one of my favorite tracks by Nicki Minaj. Some people think most of her other tracks that she puts out, really have no meaning or that it’s all related to drugs, money, and sex. This track really shows how much of a great songwriter she is, and how she came literally from nothing. Dealing with family issues as a young girl, to being nominated for the Grammys is a big win! She touched base on real life issues: relationship and family problems, violence that still goes on today, and more. Nicki Minaj’s story is an example, of not matter how tough you have it, you can always push through it. Which pushes me to work hard everyday, because it will all be worth it one day.

Editors, Biography.com. “Nicki Minaj.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 10 Sept. 2018, https://www.biography.com/people/nicki-minaj-579574

Sulla-Heffinger, Anthony. “Rap Star Nicki Minaj’s Cousin Shot Dead in Brooklyn.” New York Post, New York Post, 5 July 2011, nypost.com/2011/07/05/rap-star-nicki-minajs-cousin-shot-dead-in-brooklyn/.

Anima Anowar

Dr. Carrie Hall

English 1101

11/18/18

In the New York Times under society debate sections, one of the debates were on “Blue collar or White Jobs? What’s the way to go.” One of the replies were from someone named Lillian Nakayima. She had a very dishonoring view on blue collar jobs. You start by saying “Ever imagined why people toil hard to go to school?….Definitely it’s because you want to get that “white collar job.” Yes, a job that will earn you all the public respect and fascinate everyone on hearing what you do.” I highly disagree not everyone goes to school thinking they “want to get that white collar job.” Not everyone’s mindset is like that, school is not for everyone. People do not look at education the same, we have different views and we all process things differently. You go on by saying “blue collar jobs will always be a secondary option; I should not be misunderstood if I term them jobs for failures.” Blue collar jobs are not a secondary option, they’re there for a reason. That comfortable chair you’re sitting in right now, while doing your office work was probably handcrafted by one of them. Blue collar jobs are most definitely not for failures, just like you’re good at your job, they’re great at theirs. The same amount of effort and hard work is put into both jobs. My community thinks more highly of white collar than blue collar jobs. My community involves immigrants from all over the world, this includes; (South) Asia, The Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. But I think biases towards blue collar work came from, where one originated from and from their environment.

My parents came from Bangladesh to give me and my siblings a better life and education in America. My father’s home country Bangladesh, there was a OP-1 Visa Program where you got to get your visas by lottery. Luckily in 1991, my father got chosen from the lottery and got to fly out to America. Later my father found a job in New York, he dealt with ice cream machines at Tasti D-Lite. I spoke to my father, and he enjoyed his job very much. The smile it brought face when having ice cream, made him happy. But along with this job, he had to come in early to make sure the ice cream machines were up and running, also that he had enough stock of certain ingredients, make sure things that needed to be replaced were replaced. He showed people ice-cream is the best way to celebrate or commiserate. You also mention “And why should one even opt for a job that is not guaranteed? While a white collar job comes with a contract, a designed salary and allowances, blue collar workers work for a daily meal. Their earning depends on seasons since they earn daily.” You want to bring up guarantee right? My father has been working there since 1997, it’s 2018 and he’s still working there. He has all the guarantee he needs in this world. Don’t we all work for a daily meal?

My father left Bangladesh because he lived a very hard life there. Most of the jobs consisted of blue collared jobs, and it wasn’t enough to feed his family. My parents only got to finish their education up to high school. And the education system in Bangladesh wasn’t worth it at that time. The main reason my parents came to America was to get more opportunities and to pursue the American Dream. The American Dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work, not by chance. After eventually having me and my siblings their hopes and dream still till this day is that we become successful people, and that we don’t have to work as hard as them. And go through the struggles they went through. My community knows the struggle of leaving their home country to try and provide for their family. My parents did not come all the way to America so that their kids can work in the blue collar field and struggle the same way they did.

I think that the biases towards blue collar work came from our country and the community my parents or where they lived in. The blood, sweat, and tears put into blue collared jobs in my country was horrible. And some even resulted in deaths. My parents raised us so that way we learned from their struggles, and that blue collar work isn’t the way to go. If you become something in the white collar field, you’ll be living peacefully and won’t have so much to stress growing up. You’ll be making better money, and being able to do something that you want to do.

As times changed, people from my community were soon working in banks, and hospitals and etc. This set a example for others and showed that with a good education in America you can do anything, and that is why people from our community value white collar jobs so much. In my community, we value both but lead towards white collar because, blue collar reminds us where we came from but white collar shows us our future. Not everyone has the ability to recognize themselves unless they are given the opportunity. My father came here, and works hard every day, but still manages to stress himself out. Sometimes, it’s just not enough. Blue collar work didn’t allow you to move forward, it didn’t spark any type of hope that things will get better. To the people of our community it was more like, “I’m doing this job to provide for my family, and this way my kids will grow up to know how hard we worked and not have to do what we’re doing so they can live a better future.” To our community blue collar work felt like a liability they had to maintain.

College is not just a ticket to a “open” future, it’s a educational institution that targets and prepares you for the real world. Yes indeed, we do learn about a particular application but only towards the field we want to work in. Manual trades aren’t given little honor, or little value. To us blue collar jobs reminds us where we came from and pushes us to go beyond our capabilities. We don’t neglect it or bring people’s spirit down saying it’s “temporary.”

My community stresses working hard so much because of the environment they grew up in. Their opportunities were very limited, and had no choice but work hard where they came from and in the United States as well. To them blue collar work has always been the only choice. My community has definitely seen the different privileges between blue and white collar work. And this is why we lean towards white collared jobs. Next time don’t drag down a certain type of work, because of what you think. Everyone’s situation, capabilities, and opportunities are different.

Tumwebaze, Peterson. “Society Debate; Blue Collar or White Collar Jobs? What’s the Way to Go.” The New Times | Rwanda, 14 Jan. 2010, www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/93579.