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Transcendentalism in modern music

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Transcendentalism in modern music
Transcendentalism in modern music

Transcendentalism influenced the 19th century and emphasized on the value of the individual and intuition. It was an idea that people were at their best when they we self reliant and independent. Ralph Waldo Emerson was the movements most important figure along with his main follower Henry David Thoreau. These two people were the most influential people during this movement. Transcendentalism was all about being an individual and it still endures today in modern culture. It is particularly evident in modern music. Modern music expresses individuality and the idea of being something other than the majority. One artist that expresses individuality is Eminem, a rapper that is known for being different and a pure individual. In the song "Not Afraid" by rapper Eminem, the lyrics tell us how he is not afraid to be different and that he is not afraid to take a stand to be a better person. In the song he says "starting today, I'm breaking out of this cage." The cage is the social norm that keeps people from being individuals. By breaking out of this "cage" Eminem is being his own person and being an individual. In another one of Eminem's song he excepts that he's different from everyone. He embraces his individuality. In the song "Legacy" he says "Now I think the fact that I'm differently wired's awesome cause if I wasn't, I wouldn't be able to work words like this and connect lines like crosswords." His success was a result of his individuality. He says that he's differently wired and that's why he's so good at rapping. He is known as one of the best rappers of all time. This status wasn't achieved by being just like all the other rappers, he's different and his lyrics are different as well. Eminem worked extremely hard to become this great rapper and his song "Lose Your Self" certainly shows how important music was to him. In the song it says "You better lose yourself in the music, the moment-You own it, you better never

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