Academic. Research

Academic research

POEMS

Phenomenal woman -Maya Angelo

The reason why I was influenced by this poem is because Angelo tried to explain that their is more to beauty than physical appearance. I believe that this poem gives  hope to large amount of woman who have insecurities about themselves, hence the reason why I created a song about African beauty called african Queen. I wanted a bring message across, that no matter what society thinks of you are still beautiful deeper than you can imagine. As a race coulored people have been exploited, trodden upon and abused, so I wanted to signify that African beauty is pure and it's a type of beauty that can't be defined with words. I also believe the hardship coulored females have been through over the centuries proves how strong and undefeatable we are. Through social media, religion and academics couloured people especially people of African heritage, have been precieved as something negtive. So within my song Africaan queen i wanted to promote black people as a sign of positvity, to bring hope and courage to my race.

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies. 

I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size   

But when I start to tell them, 

They think I’m telling lies. 

I say, 

It’s in the reach of my arms, 

The span of my hips,   

The stride of my step,   

The curl of my lips.   

I’m a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman,   

That’s me. 

 I walk into a room 

Just as cool as you please,   

And to a man, 

The fellows stand or 

Fall down on their knees.   

Then they swarm around me, 

A hive of honey bees.   

I say, 

It’s the fire in my eyes,   

And the flash of my teeth,   

The swing in my waist,   

And the joy in my feet.   

I’m a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That’s me. 

Men themselves have wondered   

What they see in me. 

They try so much 

But they can’t touch 

My inner mystery. 

When I try to show them,   

They say they still can’t see.   

I say, 

It’s in the arch of my back,   

The sun of my smile, 

The ride of my breasts, 

The grace of my style. 

I’m a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That’s me. 

Now you understand 

Just why my head’s not bowed.   

I don’t shout or jump about 

Or have to talk real loud.   

When you see me passing, 

It ought to make you proud. 

I say, 

It’s in the click of my heels,   

The bend of my hair,   

the palm of my hand,   

The need for my care.   

’Cause I’m a woman 

Phenomenally. 

Phenomenal woman, 

That’s me.

PRIMARY RESEARCH
Questions

What are the positive and negative things about my songs?

What should I include into my songs to make it more developed?

 What were the pros and cons of my performance?

How could I have improved my performance?

Videos 

In This interview Erykah Badu is talking about the music industry,  working with J Dilla, Creating  her Debut album Baduizm and how Her music has developed over the years. Erykah also gives her opinion about the music industry. This interview benefited me because I was able to understand the meaing of her music in a more clearer understanding.



In this interview Hill is talking about the creation of her Debut album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It also talks about the issues that she had to deal with within the music industry. Hill talks about her life situation that allowed her to create the album.

This video is explains the deeper meaning behind the album Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It talks about the true messages that was meant to be sent to society and the youth at the time.


Listening Diary 

India Arie is an African american Neo soul, soul artist, music produce who gained worldwide popularity in the 2000s. I was influenced by this song because of her guitar techniques, singing technique and lyrics.

"I'm not the average girl from your video  And I ain't built like a supermodel But I learned to love myself unconditionally" (Simpson, 2001).  In the lyrics she embraces people to love themselves no matter what anybody thinks of you because nobody is perfect. she tries to persuade people to believe that the imperfection of your body define your true beauty,  because it makes you unique, hence why her songwriting techniques influence me to create African queen.

Arie singing technique are simplistic as she doesn't include a lot of effort in her singing , which I find relaxing and unique. I wanted to include that in my songs.

I wanted my drums for my songs to be similar to this dum machine. The song has contrasted elements  from different genres to create one unique sound, and thats is what I wanted to do with my original songs.

 I was influenced by this song because of the plucking technique used within the song, as well as  the whole vibe of the song. I also wanted my songs to be acoustic so it sounds raw and unique.

I was influenced by this song because she used conscious lyrics to explain the message she was trying to give across. This was one of the song that inspired me to create my original song  African queen.

The reason I was inspired by this song is because of the lyrical content, I enjoy the way it is catchy and also tells a story the same time.