Gangsta's Paradise 
Title (Literal/Figurative)
Definition of paradise: A place that is filled with happiness and everything is perfect for anyone.
Explanation
Gangsta's paradise is the opposite meaning of the title.
In the song, the singer never mentioned anything about happiness or positivity, therefore, it is not a paradise.
The singer had been through many tough situations and it did not make his life any better or close to be a paradise. Even though he portrays himself as a gangsta in this line "I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street". He was being sarcastic about the life he was living in, it was a "paradise"
For example:
"I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left"
"I'm 23 now, will I live to see 24?"
These lines prove that he was suffering more than enjoying. It is very contradicting to use the word paradise to describe a depressing life.
Figurative 2
This is also an example of a paradox because gangsta is like members of violent criminals, and paradise is like a heaven, a place for good people. It is weird to put these two words together as they have the opposite meanings.
Word Banks (Connotation )
Chalk
Denotation: "A white soft earthy limestone formed from the skeletal remains of sea creature"
Connotation:
The symbolism of a dead body because when a person is murdered or committed suicide, the dead body will be lined in chalk
Artist: Coolio
Real name: Artis Leon Ivey Jr.
DOB: August 1, 1963
Pattern of imagery
Dark imagery: The words of choice are dark, negative and violence.
Symbols
Death, lined in chalk, pistol, croak, anger, die, blind, hurt
These are all symbolising death, and aggressive control of life
Setting
Place
Somewhere in America because it is his country in it and where he spent his life growing up in.
Atmosphere
This song gives chill to the audiences as it keep mentioning about death and gangsta. It is very dark in general because of the words of choice, it is mentioned in the pattern of imagery.
Figurative 1
It uses the literary device of irony in this title. It is a situational irony.
Rhyme Scheme
Punctuation
Example 1
It is an enjambent as there is no punctuation at the end of the lines.
Explanation
It is hard for the audiences to understand the main idea because there is no specific punctuation to emphasise it, except for rhetorical questions
Characters
Theme: Regret is the biggest lesson that a person can learn
What do you learn about the narrator of the poem?
I’ve learned that the narrator is really lonely and depressed. He described his life as nothing in the second line and even lost his mother because she thought he was crazy. He never wanted to be like a gangsta who lived on a street, scared people and etc but he had no other choices. “I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street” This shows that he really desired that normal life. The tone of his voice sounds sarcastic to me because he had acknowledged the problem like young kids admiring him. Most importantly, I think the narrator is trying to the audiences that pour their heart out to help someone instead of just talking about it. We will never understand unless we spend time and understand.
Literary Device
Character 2
Strangers/Fans
Example
" But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it Me be treated like a punk, you know that's unheard of You better watch how you talkin' and where you walkin' Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk"
Explanation
People judged him despite them knowing him. They judged him in a way that he couldn't accept it and wanted them to die for doing that.
Croak
Denotation: "A deep horse sound made by a frog or a cow"
Connotation: It means to die in this song.
Hood
Denotation: "Something that is used to cover the head with the opening for the face"
Connotation: The meaning of hood means family in this song.
Banger
Denotation: "Sausage"
Connotation: A gang of people who involved in violence act, it is like a gangsta.
Down
Denotation: "A direction that is going towards to the ground"
Connotation: The singer is saying that his friends will be there for him anytime
For example: death, lined in chalk, pistol, croak, anger, die, blind, hurt
By using these depressing words, he is describing how his life went and things he had done can’t be undone. He is meant to be a gangsta but not in a paradise.
Explanation
It shows that Coolio is not restricted with rhymes and that allows him to writer better. As for chorus, it flows better with rhyme scheme, so the audiences can memorise it easily.
Irregular
Some rhyme scheme is AABC, sometimes it does not have any. Only chorus has a consistent rhyme scheme, which is AABB.
Location
"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death"
It gives the audience a feeling of a dark and dirty valley, a place where punk, homeless and gangsta would hang out.
.
"Raised by the street"
Coolio lived in a busy street where he would spend his time with homeless and random people.
Example 2
An apostrophe at the end of a word like livin'
Explanation
It is showing that Coolio is speaking in a chill conversation instead of giving a speech. This also shows how he sounds like when he is talking.
Character 1
Mother
Example
"That even my momma thinks that my mind is gone"
Explanation
HIs mother was one of the most supportive people in his life, but now even she did not trust him and totally got disappointed at him.
Character 3
Friends
Example
"And my homies are down, so don't arouse my anger"
Explanation
His friends are always there for him if anyone tried to harm him or his feelings
Character 4
Society
Example
"They say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me"
Explanation
He knew they were different from him because they never been through things like he did. They didn't understand nor tried to help him, but only asked him to fix it
Annotation: "As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death"
- Reference to the 23rd Psalm in the Bible
Metaphor: "I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left" - He is lifeless and nothing will make it special or good
Hyperbole: "That even my momma thinks that my mind is gone" - It is impossible for the mind to be gone, it is an exaggeration to someone has lost their mind, not knowing what they are doing.
Metaphor: "Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk" - Lined in chalk is referring to death
Concrete imagery: "As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke" - Describing what happened after the pistol is shot, putting the reader in first person perspective
Ironic: "Fool, I'm the kinda G that little homies wanna be like" - He is not the best person to look up to, but youngsters want to be like him. He is calling them fool because it is dumb to follow someone like him.
Symbolism: "On my knees in the night, sayin' prayers in the street light" - He is kneeling down and pray to be safe under the streetlight, asking God for his safety.
Motif/repetition: "Keep spending most our lives, Livin' in a gangsta's paradise" (Chorus) - It is showing the importance how unhappy he is spending in this paradise hurting others and himself. They will never get to live otherwise because the society doesn't want to help him
Personification: "I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street" - Humans can’t be raised by the street, it is just another way of saying that he was born and taught in a way that street people would live.
Symbolism: "Too much television watching, got me chasing dreams"
- TV only shows the wonderful life and ignore the ugly reality, which symbolises unrealistic dream that he is chasing after watching TV.
Paradox: "I'm an educated fool" - An educated fool is contradicting. He is educated yet he is still so dumb by thinking about money
Symbol: "Got my ten" - Ten is the cod of a gun. In this case, gun symbolises power.
Symbol: "I'm 23 now, will I live to see 24?" - 24 means his future, he is not sure if he will be able to survive next year because he is living dangerously.
Rhetorical question: "Tell me why are we so blind to see. That the ones we hurt are you and me?" - He did not want an answer because he already knew it, he just wanted to tell people how dumb they were
Symbol: "Everybody's running, but half of them ain't lookin'" - It symbolises time, the time is moving so fast and half of the people did not even look back and enjoy it.
Rhetorical question: "If they can't understand it, how can they reach me?" - He is not asking for an answer, instead, he is telling the audiences that nobody can change him.
Rhyme: "Tell me why are we so blind to see, That the ones we hurt are you and me?"
Rhyme: "Everybody's running, but half of them ain't lookin' It's going on in the kitchen, but I don't know what's cookin'"
Background: His family divorced when he was at the age of 11. He had hard times in school as he was trying to fit in with others. He thought that joining a gang would make him cool and people would actually accept him. Unfortunately, he was still not accepted by the gang, and so he decided to bring weapons to school. It is an act for him to be scary and strong, like a gangsta. He then went to jail for stealing money for a few months when he was 17. After that, he went to university and gained little fame from rapping. Once again, he got into drug addiction and had to start from the bottom again.
Influence of the song
It is very obvious that this song is about his life when he was young. When he was abandoned by his parents and had to get discriminated by his friends for having no parents. In this song, Coolio mentions "I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street" It shows that he was never taught by his parents on how to live a life, instead he had to figure it out himself. His own decisions lead him to be a young gangsta when he was young. Therefore, he started to think he was a gangsta and living in a "paradise" The chorus of this song is a proof that he spent his life living like a gangsta. He also wanted to live like a normal life but nobody was there to guide him. "They say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me", this line shows that he was alone and nobody really cares enough to help him. Furthermore, Coolie talks about how he is so blind for hurting you and me in this line, "Tell me why are we so blind to see.That the ones we hurt are you and me?" While he was being a gangsta, he was actually hurting others and himself because he obviously did not like to hurt anyone yet he was too dumb to realise.
Facts: Rap started to become popular in the 1970s and was mostly used by the black and Hispanic community. That was probably why Coolio decided to use rap to portray his messages.
Proof 1: Personification
Coolio describes himself as a gangsta who is raised by the street. “I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the street” This proves that he is experiencing with poverty, that is why he can’t live a normal life because the things that he had done like killing people. He personified the street as his guardians ever since he was homeless.
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Proof 2: Hyberbole
Coolio is regretting with all the things that he had done. In this line “That even my momma thinks that my mind is gone” This is an exaggeration of showing disappointment. Mother symbolises love and care. If his mother is disappointed at him, he had already lost the whole world. This is why he was full of regrets.
Proof 3: Rhetorical Questions
Coolio is not happy at all nor optimistic with his situation. “They say I gotta learn, but nobody's here to teach me. If they can't understand it, how can they reach me?.I guess they can't, I guess they won't. I guess they front; that's why I know my life is out of luck, fool!” This shows that people who never experienced with poverty, making a bad decision or poor will never understand what his needs really are. This rhetorical question shows that he is giving up asking people for help because nobody understands him.