Chapter 1: “My Life” by the Game & Lil Wayne

At the end of the “My Life” music video there is a scene with Game and some of his homies in a cemetery after seeing many of their friends taken away from them through senseless acts of violence. This seemed like a space they frequented often to lay an ever increasing number of friends to rest. During the last scene, the camera pans across a few members of the crew and catches a glimpse of the sky with the above scripture in the clouds. Some may ask, How could a rapper like Game end his video with scripture from the Bible? He is a gangsta! He curses! He’s violent! Why would he call upon a verse of scripture addressing the crucifixion of Christ when many of his lyrics and personal choices seem ungodly? Is this a contradiction? Tricia Rose (1994) argued that Hip Hop deals with many complex social and cultural issues and at times can seem contradictory. She moves on to state that what seems contradictory are not necessarily signs of a lack of intellectual clarity. Rap music and rappers offer more than a single viewpoint, and trying to understand these “poly-vocal” conversations that take place in music and videos out of context makes things seem irrational. Rappers such as Game and Lil Wayne struggle to make meaning of their lives and navigate rough terrain when it comes to performing what they feel are authentic interpretations/representations of being Black males and rappers in a music industry that is driven by the ideals of authenticity and street credibility.