ELA SOCIAL ACTIVISM

 #4

Response to Otherside by Mackelmore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvDQy53eldY&feature=related

 Otherside is a beautiful song, written by two very talented people, Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis.  Mackelmore is a rapper from Seattle and he raps about social issues. Ryan Lewis is a beats maker who normally works with Mackelmore.  This song talks about the abuse of drugs, which is such a social issue. The song talks about how someone else and something else can affect everyone, and how everything affects everything else. 

     I feel like this song is so personal and connected to Mackelmore, which makes the song so much better personally. The song made me believe him and it made me, along with a lot of other people, realize that doing drugs and pretending to be someone that you’re not isn't going to take you anywhere but down. I feel like the abuse of drugs is a really big social issue because so many people have been effected by drugs, and the age rate of people doing drugs seems to be getting lower and lower in the past few years.  Some kids as young as 12 have been known to be doing drugs. Now most 12 year olds are smoking weed. Smoking weed may not be as bad as snorting cocaine, but its still illegal, and its still horrible for kids. I don’t think that people really realize what affect drugs could have on their life until they’re stuck in a place that is too hard to get out of alone.

The song is the perfect mix between a PSA and a great song, over the past few years’ artists have been really connecting to social awareness and how to get their word out, and I believe that Mackelmore has done it in the best way. He made it so painfully personal that you were forced to pay attention and to really understand what was going with him, and what’s going on with people all over the world. Mackelmore also mentioned Little Wayne and other rappers who are “known” to smoke, or drink or do drugs, Mackelmore pretty much said, that it’s impossible to know if these rappers are telling the truth, or just finding ways to ruin the urban cultural society.

 

   I know that everyone has their own life styles, and I know that people might disagree with me, but I know that Mackelmore, and many other people agree with me. Drugs aren’t something to play around with, or something to say that you do, it may seem cool while you’re in the moment, but months or years down the line you aren’t going to be so cool and it wont matter to anyone else anymore.