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E-40

Date: May 31 2010

Grammar: Phrasal Verbs

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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The United States is a big country, and different musical styles develop in particular regions. The world learned about the San Francisco Bay Area’s unique style of hip hop when rapper E-40 released the hit song “Tell Me When To Go” in 2006.

His new album, Revenue Retrievin’, is divided into two discs, one called Day Shift and the other called Night Shift. Your shift is the time of day when you work, and the album shows the rapper standing outside of a store. It’s a modest theme for an album that has guest appearances by Too Short, Snoop Dogg, and Björk!

Ella is a big fan of E-40 and has recently been to San Francisco. Listen to her tell Devan about the hip hop scene there.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Ella

Devan

Ella: So I just got the new E-40 album. It’s pretty awesome. It comes in two parts, a day shift and a night shift, so we’ve got like 36 songs of awesomeness.

Devan: Wow. Do you have a loyalty to the East Coast rap or the West Coast rap? Like are you a left coast girl?

Ella: Being from Florida, I honestly like Southern rap a lot better. But West Coast seems to have a lot more party types of styles and then the East Coast rap seems to be more lyrical. I’m not judging one over the other, but West Coast music definitely makes you want to dance. That’s what E-40 does.

Devan: But even the San Francisco Bay Area, where E-40 is from, it seems like they even have their own unique thing going on there too.

Ella: It’s hyphy music. It’s like its own style that can’t be replicated anywhere else.

Devan: Say that again. It’s what?

Ella: Hyphy.

Devan: Hyphy music? What does that mean?

Ella: It’s just like thizzin’.

Devan: Thizzin’? Is this, like, the updated version of Snoop Dogg lingo, like fo’ shizzle?

Ella: No, it’s its own thing. Like when I was in Frisco, everyone has their thizz. I don’t even know how to explain it.

Devan: So you call San Francisco “Frisco,” you call it hyphy music and it’s thizzin’?

Ella: Yes! You’re catching on. I’m so proud of you. But my favorite song on the album is “Whip It Up.” It’s just so amazing. All the lyrics are catchy and it’s fun and he’s just got some really smart, funny lyrics.

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Discussion

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Since Ella is from Florida, her favorite kind of hip hop is Southern rap. But she also likes West Coast rap because it has fun lyrics about partying and beats you can dance to.

One of Ella’s favorite artists is E-40, who is part of a new kind of hip hop called hyphy. Hyphy is all about dancing very fast and energetically. It even has its own slang. When a hyphy show is going well and people are having fun, you can say it’s thizzin’. Devan has never heard of hyphy or thizzin’ before, but Ella assures her it’s a big deal in the Bay Area.

What’s your favorite kind of hip hop? Is there a regional kind of music where you live?

Comments

Marcelolic

Brazil

Humm This is not my favorate style of music but some musics are cool like and some names like Snoop Dog and Fifty Cent are interesting :)

Debby cruz

Brazil

I love hip hop and other kind of musics

kukuka

Ukraine

No, there is no special kinds of music here where I live, and I don't like hip hop either. Actually not that I dislike it but my attitude changed considerably after i had seen that movie …notorious big…or something…it's about the war between east and weast costs rappers. I reccommend that you see it as well, it makes people think – the kind of film I like most.

globeinlondon

Spain

hello

Cool English Teacher

Brazil

It doesn’t matter if it comes from the East or from the West, I like hip hop anyway:-)

Sweet Dreams

Saudi Arabia

For me, if you ask me about my opinion on Hip Hop music , I'd just say, fo'shizzle I love hip hop songs.

spacedragon

Brazil

cool

Dreamcather

Thailand

I really like this lesson because my favorite song is Hip-Hopbut I don't know too much about a different between West Coast or East Ccoast but all of rapper artist are awesome I try to rap is so difficult for me I wish one day I will good at it .

rosendo

Mexico

talking abt music , is a polemic topic bcs , there are a bunch of music in the world. for instance , hip-hop , rock , jazz , blues , electronic , so on …

wherever kinda music is a way of expression , in the other hand , it should be a link between countries like usa—iran ,, may be one day we'll see rapping Mahmud and obama.

saludos.

ciccleo

Brazil

I really like to dance, so that's my kind of hip hop music, but I don't have a favorite singer.

And about the regional songs… Well, there are 27 states in Brazil and you can find different kind of songs in each one like sertenejo, forró, axé, funk… and each kind has a different style depending on the city. But I really prefer rock music.

Ahshan

China

no ! i do not have preferred to a single hip hop music,cus i am a quiet person , i used to stay quietly,

as far as i get into the loop of juses, i am interesting in gospel music, such kinda music makes me feel peaceful,non-annoyed,i like it every much,they are my favorites!