Jazmine Reyes
November 19th 2015
Who Are You?
Ready Or Not by The Fugees
The recent assigned !lm, Killing us softly 4 about pernicious influence
of advertising towards men and women, influenced me to do this assignment
about a song titled Ready Or Not by The Fugees. The song is said to contain
a sample of “Boadicea” by Enya, and its chorus is based on “Ready or Not
Here I come (Can’t hide from love)” by the Delfonics. In my eyes the song is
about an African American male living in the ghetto talking the
struggles/di7culties about getting out of the hood/ghetto.
The Fugees, (Formerly known as the Tranzlator Crew) were an
American hip-hop/rap group who came to fame in the early 1990’s. They
based their music stylings on hip-hop, soul, and Caribbean- reggae elements.
They are individually known as Lauryn Hill, Pras Michel and Wyclef Jean.
Their music lyrics are known for having overly political messages. Therefore,
I thought it was !tting for this assignment.
“I want to play with pelicans from here to Baghdad. Gun blast,
think fast, I think I’m hit. My girl pinched my hips to see if I still
exist” or “Wyclef’s in a state of sleep. Thinking about the robbery
that I did last week”. Obviously representing the reality of a black male in
the ghetto dealing with a drive by shooting or any other related gang activity
like crime. Which only gives proof of how black men in the “hood” or
“ghetto” are viewed by society. (I.e. Thugs, gangsters, criminals and
hooligans). And how Males, especially African American males, who live in
low maintenance and high crime areas have a higher chance of dying or
being affected by a gang related activities because that is simply all they
know. Due to the fact that they have been surrounded by the streets their
entire existence. And of course the famous lyrics, “Ready or not, here I
come, you can’t hide. Gonna &nd you and make you want me”. In
translation means, no matter how hard you try to get out, the past will
always come and !nd you. And the ghetto/hood will end up consuming lives.
Either by illegal pro!t of money or sense of power. But to wrap it up, the
most powerful lyrics that make the message of the song very clear are “You
can’t run away. From these styles I got, oh baby…Cause I got a lot,…
And anywhere you go. My whole crew’s gonna know baby, hey baby.
