Consider your essential question in the context of at least two outside sources you have identified that connect to your essential question. How do these ideas resonate with or challenge your own beliefs, experiences, or practices? Be sure to give concrete and specific examples. You may want to address: ways the sources answered parts of your Essential Question, what additional questions were raised, or how your essential understanding of your project was altered or confirmed by the readings you did. Make sure to cite your sources.

Two outside sources that I’ve identified include videos about the history of rap in its connection to jazz/blues and the history and background of trap music. These two videos challenged a lot about what I thought I knew about rap music. It had never occurred to me that before it became subgenres, rap was influenced by already existing genres. More importantly, seeing how these influences evolved over time made me notice different things in today’s art. It also made me think of trap music on a deeper level than before and gave me insight into the mental health issues often discussed in glorified ways. These sources, however, did answer part of my essential question, telling me that rap music essentially comes from a place of pain and expressing it in various coping mechanisms. This can be storytelling, alcohol or drug abuse, screaming, sadness, or resorting to expensive assets to fill voids. This was only furthered by watching Get On Up (the James Brown movie) where I recognized parts of his songs that are samples and seeing how his music was a coping mechanism for his pain and it became toxic for him.