TOW #5 - Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster (written)

Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster is a song by the 90's rap group The Geto Boyz. Like many others of the time, The Geto Boyz worked in a genre called gangster rap. Songs within the genre often tackled two general topics: the definition of and the degree of being a gangster that the authors of the song have achieved, and modern politics. Both of these topics are heavily delved into throughout the text. The first topic is adressed at the very start of the song, with the lyrics "Damn it feels good to be a gangster." Spoken by Scarface. Right out of the gate, defining himself as a gangster, saying it as if everyone knew it to exude an air of confidence in his being  gangster. Shortly thereafter, he defines being a gangster as being a relaxed, non-confronttional, unbragging, philosophical person. All of these points are made with direct statements, delivered in a didactic tone so as to convince people that these things are the definition of a gangster without any real, direct proof. In a later verse, Scarface goes on to say that gangsters are decisive and "pull the trigger" without talking about it much, and that real gangsters don't run away from their problems. He uses the sme rhetorical devices from the first verse to this one. The last verse, spit by J. Prince, is one that adresses the topic of modern politics. At the time of release, George W. Bush was the president of the United States of America. J. Prince takes a negative stance towards Bush's presidency, and makes many accusations that are mainly supported by ethos. He calls Bush a gangster, something that one wouldn't want their president to be. He then accuses Bush of "Lettin' a big drug shipment through (and sending it) to the poor community so we can bust you know who." This accusation of purposefully letting drugs into the poor community on purpose in order to keep them down and catch drug dealers is a very strong statement, and is guaranteed to raise strong emotions of support in the audience, which was mostly intended to be consumers of gangster rap, who tended to be anti-Bush. This appeal to ethos in people who are already in support of J. Prince's ideas is guaranteed to get Prince's desired effect. Overall, Damn it Feels Good to be a Gangster is a successful rhetorical text in its goals to define a gangster and criticize George W. Bush, but mostly in its intended audience of gangster rap consumers. To anyone outside of that consumer base, the first point may be even more successful in that the audience is solely basing their opinion on what a gangster is on what Scarface is saying. The second point may be far less convincing, however, because of the baselessness of the claims made towards Bush's behavior.