Dead Prez is a hip-hop duo from New York City, and its members are stic.man and M-1. They are known for their aggressive and confrontational style, and their lyrics focus on socialism, social justice and Pan-Africanism, which is an ideology that encourages unity of all Africans worldwide. Dead Prez is particularly critical of corporate-controlled media, and they especially despise commercialized and mainstream rap music. In “Hip-Hop” Dead Prez criticizes the music industry and the materialism of popular rap entertainers.
It’s bigger than hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip
It’s bigger than hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop, hip-hop
Grammar: Making Comparative Adjectives
Use comparative adjectives when you want to compare two people, places or things. Comparative adjectives describe the differences between nouns.
For most adjectives with one syllable, simply add r or er.
- old – older
- fast – faster
- late – later
- nice – nicer
- big – bigger
- If the adjective ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant, then double the final consonant.
If the adjective has two syllables AND ends with ~y, then omit ‘y’ and add ~ier.
- pretty – prettier
- happy – happier
- busy – busier
For most adjectives with two or more syllables, add ‘more‘ and do not add ~er.
- modern – more modern
- expensive – more expensive
- beautiful – more beautiful
Some adjectives are irregular and have special comparative forms. You must memorize these special irregular adjectives.
- good – better
- bad – worse
- far – farther
- has/have + more
Using Comparative Adjectives
If you want to compare two people, places or things, use the comparative adjective and than.
Subject + Verb + Comparative Adjective + Than + Noun
- East coast hip-hop is better than west coast hip-hop. I enjoy east coast hip-hop more than the west coast.
- Lil Wayne is older than Drake. Lil Wayne was born in 1982, and Drake was born in 1986.
- The Notorious B.I.G. was fatter than 2Pac. 2Pac was very athletic and fit, and the Notorious B.I.G. always wore size XL.
- Twista is faster than Snopp Dogg. It’s true. Snopp Dogg is a slow and chill rapper, but Twista is very fast!
- N.W.A. was more violent than De La Soul. N.W.A. often rapped about the violence of inner city life in Los Angeles. De La Soul did not rap about the violence of inner city life.
Writing Task
Below are 2Pac (left) and Biggie Smalls (right). Describe the artists using comparative adjectives. Write 3-5 sentences in the comments below!
