Snoop Dogg and Politics
Choose an artist(Snoop Dogg), art movement, or artistic collective that directly engages/engaged with a political, cultural, or social issue. After conducting independent research on your chosen topic, in a 5-7 (1500-2100 words) page thesis-driven, argumentative essay, respond to the following prompt:
How/to what extent does your artistic subject(Snoop Dogg) create a thought-provoking response to an issue(political)?
Additional questions to consider as you construct your argument:
How does your artistic subject engage with the political? How does the artist bridge the personal and the political? How (if at all) does the artist make the issue universal? To what extent does the artist succeed in transcending stereotypes and assumptions? Does identity factor into the artwork? How? Finally, how do formal elements of the artwork contribute to its message?
Must use at least four sources. Please include a strong thesis statement that is focused on answering the prompt. Also include a conclusion that reiterates the argument but also talks about other activism that Snoop Dogg has done or if he has influenced other artists with his activism.
Here are five sources that I recommend for this essay:
1. Ashley Lasimone. (2017, October 19). Snoop Dogg’s New Song ‘Make America Crip Again’ Calls Out Donald Trump. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8006712/snoop-dogg-make-america-crip-again-donald-trump-song.
2. Diallo, D. (2007). Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Icons of hip hop: An encyclopedia of the movement, music, and culture, 2, 317-340.
3. Saputra, M. B. (2019). Hip-Hop and The Limits of Political Engagement in The Age of Obama. Cakrawala-Jurnal Humaniora, 19(1), 125-132.
4. Tal Pinchevsky. (2018, September 17). The Emerging Political Force That Is Snoop Dogg. Big Think. https://bigthink.com/trend-world/the-emerging-political-force-that-is-snoop-dogg
5. Wilson, N. (2018). Rap Music as a Positive Influence on Black Youth and American Politics.
