The Outspoken Kanye West

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

• over the top
• bad boy
• thug
• mainstream

• emerge
• laid into
• outspoken
• tore apart

• crisis

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

The hip hop music scene is ripe with troublesome images of guns, fights and violence against women. In 1999, Sean Combs (aka Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy) was involved in a shooting at a nightclub in New York. In 2000, Eminem was arrested for pistol-whipping a man outside of a Detroit nightclub.
Some critics say that Kanye West represents a new generation of hip hop artists. He’s smart, talented and involved with the world around him. Some people have likened him to Rakim and Run DMC for his involvement with the world around him and the political slant of his lyrics.
Listen as John tells me about Kanye West’s latest CD.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Dave

John

Dave:  John, this new artist, Kanye West, has kind of emerged onto the scene.

John:  His lastest album is really good. A really good popular song on it right now called Gold Digger.

Dave:  You know, I think I’ve heard it, on the radio?

John:  Yeah, it’s on the radio a ton.

Dave:  What’s the name of the album?

John:  You know, that’s a good question. I have it, I don’t even know the name of it.

Dave:  But you like it?

John:  Yeah, I like it a lot.

Dave:  Cool. He’s a, all I know about him was after the, ah, hurricane in New Orleans he really laid into the Bush administration about their response.

John:  Yeah, he’s fairly outspoken and, ah, he really tore apart our government, you know, and how, and how we responded to that whole crisis. A lot of people said he kind of went over the top.

Dave:  He’s from Chicago, isn’t he?

John:  Is he, really? I didn’t know.

Dave:  Yeah.

John:  Ah, I know he’s not, he doesn’t have that bad boy background where he’s from the ‘hood.

Dave:  Yeah.

John:  He’s always had a little bit of money and so people are saying it’s the new kind of, of artist, you know, rap artist.

Dave:  Yeah.

John:  He doesn’t have to be such a bad boy thug.

Dave:  I like that.

John:  Yeah, it’s a little bit different. But he’s been on everything, from the cover of Time Magazine to, you know, talk shows and…he’s a lot more mainstream, I think.

Dave:  He’s really taking off.

John:  Yeah.

 

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