Essay: Custodians of Knowledge: Macbeth, Hip Hop Artists and Power

Custodians of Knowledge are people who hold knowledge of their art or culture. Some rappers rap about their past getting famous and how they or others have changed either how people treat them or how they treat others. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the hip hop artists Polo G, Tupac, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar are custodians of knowledge because all use their position and power to encourage their audiences to think about themselves and how power can change the way people think, live their lives, and how they treat others. Someone may hear about these two groups and not really expect how they have many similarities, they both show people going under change from gaining power and either abusing it or being afraid of someone taking it from them.
Two rappers very popular in the 1990s Tupac and Jay Z similarly to Macbeth both display people worried about revenge or a “snake in the grass” attacking, killing them or just someone doing something to take away their fame. With Macbeth now being crowned king after killing Duncan, he now has paranoia of someone seeking revenge out of greed of wanting to avenge him, Macbeth planned to kill Banquo because he was now the heir to the throne. Macbeth is now so worried that Banquo is trying to do the same thing he did to Duncan, but Macbeth is way too worried because he killed Banquo. This affected him mentally because he had began seeing a ghost of Banquo at a Dinner, he had a bit of a moment of clarity while he said to himself and Lady Macbeth, “But now I am cabin’d, cribb’d, confined, bound into saucy doubts and fears” (Shakespeare III iv.). Shakespeare is showing that Macbeth knows this power is changing him and how he is treating this experience he seemed to shrug it off later like it was no big deal but this paranoia is changing him as a person. This might make a person feel impacted because it is showing the down sides of having fame or power. When you are famous for some celebrities it is not all sunshines and rainbows it can be hard for some because there are people who are “snakes” and might stab you in the back trying to take you down from your place like how Macbeth might feel. In Jay Z’s “Kill Jay Z” the entire song is about killing Jay Z or taking him down from the spotlight and his power. Jay Z raps about someone changing once they gained money, “That fell in love with Jay Z you got people you love you sold drugs to you got high on life, that —- drugged you” (Kill Jay Z). Jay Z is saying that this person had made lots of money and now they are being like a different person with this new money and power. This is showing that money changes people whether it is to get the money or after they get the money. Tupac seems to rap about something similar in his song “Holla If Ya Hear Me” he says, “So we live like caged beasts waitin for the day to let the rage free still me, till they kill me I love it when they fear me”(Holla If Ya Hear Me), in this he seems to feel like since he had been famous he has felt like a caged beast or animal in a zoo and people are just watching him. He seems to feel held down and wants to hit back and wants people to fear him. People also fear payback and or being stabbed in the back by many people because they have this power. This seems to be a common fear among many celebrities but rappers specifically. Tupac describes his fear of this by rapping about his thoughts on this topic in this song “Changes” hes says, “Cause I always got to worry ’bout the paybacks some buck that I roughed up way back comin’ back after all these years”(Changes). Tupac is worried about being stabbed in the back. This worry also can push a person to a moment of clarity where they have a realization that they have changed, for example Macbeth noticing that he is beginning to become paranoid of others taking his fame. Jay Z has an entire song about this called “Moment of Clarity” in which he is thankful for being given this moment to see the truth, “Thank God for granting me this moment of clarity, this moment of honesty the world’ll feel my truths” (Moment of Clarity). Both Macbeth and Jay Z experience this moment of clarity, they are this might make the audience reflect on themselves and might make a reader or listener have a moment of clarity to maybe think how they have changed or how they would change. Macbeth and Rappers like Jay Z and Tupac both show how people change, how money and fame can be the root of evil and how power hungry many people are like Macbeth.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth there are many examples of both ego like Macbeth being over his head and absurd and more examples of someone being a “snake”. Being like a snake is very influential in both Macbeth and from popular rappers like Polo G and Kendrick Lamar. In Macbeth Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that, “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it” (Shakespeare I.i.). Lady Macbeth is literally telling Macbeth to be a snake by seeming good but actually having bad intentions and wanting to kill Duncan and others who might want to take this power away from him like Banquo. Polo G talks about this topic frequently in his hit song “Rapstar” like the others Polo G is afraid that people are going to be jealous of this power and influence. Polo G makes a scenario where someone is literally stabbing him in the back in an attempt to take him from his place of fame, “Stabbed me in my back with a clean smirk
Lookin’ so deep into your eyes, I can read your thoughts”(Rapstar). Here Polo G is describing what it would be like to go through something like even talking about looking into his eyes seeming to read their mind. He is trying to really connect with the audience and show the listeners what this paranoia is like and this might make someone feel some empathy for people like Polo G or even Macbeth. Another important topic these two artists and Shakespeare share is showing someone’s ego getting out of control by them thinking they are seemingly immortal. While Macbeth is worrying about someone going after him he talks himself into thinking he is very physically powerful now even though nothing has seemed to change other than his position. While talking to his murderers about killing Banquo he even says, “Against my near’st of life: and though I could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight” (Shakespeare III.i). Macbeth thinks that he can do anything now, but this happens to many people; they might get a small sense of power and feel like they rule the world. Again in Polo G’s “Rapstar” he talks about how he is chosen and he is special which could get to someone’s head fueling their ego. Polo G says “I’m the chosen one, seen my potential so they fear me lately” (Rapstar). He seems to think he is super special because he is “the chosen one” thinking that he can even instill fear in others. Kendrick Lamar’s ego in his song DNA is not nearly similar because he is not trying to instill fear he just does not want people copying him, he says “I’d rather die than to listen to you my DNA not for imitation your DNA an abomination” (DNA). Kendrick does not want people to be anything like him he is saying that he is above his audience it seems he is putting himself above others by saying “your DNA an abomination” which makes it seem like these people are not normal or they are not normal now after trying to imitate Lamar. These two artists and Shakespeare both depict that when people gain fame or power not only does their influence grow their ego will grow as well which can change them as a person. On top of this people also will begin to target you if you gain power. People might be past friends or new ones that will try to stab you in the back wanting power and fame from you.
These four artists and Macbeth are all great examples of Custodians of Knowledge because they all show in their music and in Macbeth that they are experts in how people change from gaining new power. The two different types of literacy are both different and similar seeing that plays are usually performed on stage and music is listened and not watched, but the two both use heavy amounts of figurative language and rhyme. They both influence their culture by showing their fans and readers what power does to a person. They make people question their environment and knowledge by showing that fame and power does not only bring good things. It can bring paranoia and fear in some and change how some treat others.