Source for Paper B

'I Can' by Nas

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nas/ican.html

Argument: What are the consequences of goal-oriented children, who grew up in the ghetto, on their own success as individuals? Children (from the hood) who aspire to accomplish meaningful goals will be successful in whatever they pursue because they have learned to overcome different challenges.

Audience: Nas, the musician, speaks directly to his audience--young kids, who are growing up in impoverished environments.

Goal: Nas wants his audience to recognize the negative things that surround them, but he encourages them to rise above those issues to be successful in worthwhile pursuits. He wants them to know that they can do whatever they put their minds to if they work hard and avoid evil distractions.

How? Nas puts himself on the same level of the children. He uses stories from history and his own personal experience to relate his message. These stories are accurate and include a great deal of pathos. He describes the affect drugs had on a very talented girl. While this story is sad, he also uses a story to motivate his audience to succeed. This story talks of Africans who were extremely successful within the political and economical world. Nas' audience can emotionally relate and connect to non-fictional examples like these.

Effective? Although Nas and his audience might live in different circumstances, the stories and messages that are shared in this song allows the musician and his audience to build a relationship. Nas uses understanding of his audience to encourage them to be whatever it is that they want to be. Due to this relationship and understanding, Nas is able to effectively encourage children to aspire higher.