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Translation from lyric to Story

Now I done grew up 'round some people livin' their life in bottles
Granddaddy had the golden flask, backstroke every day in Chicago
Some people like the way it feels, some people wanna kill their sorrows
Some people wanna fit in with the popular, that was my problem
I was in a dark room, loud tunes, looking to make a vow soon
That I'ma get fucked up, fillin' up my cup, I see the crowd mood
Changin' by the minute and the record on repeat
Took a sip then another sip, then somebody said to me:..
July 29, 2012
Growing up Ive always been surrounded by people who drink, what
can also be known as alcoholics. Granddaddy had that golden flask, everywhere he
went that flask was by his side ready to be consumed. The granddaddy I knew
before grandma died was funny, sweet, and good and was replaced with a bitter,
heartbroken, and mean man who was mad at the world. Many times I am often on
the outside looking in and I still am. Why do people become addicted to the
consumption? A pool full of liquor is dangerous but why do I and many others
continue to dive in head first? Growing up in the violence streets of Compton I guess
I have already seen why. Ive seen people drink simply because they like the taste,
and others who drink to kill their sorrows. Like my Granddaddy and the girl that I
liked at the time, Sharene who couldnt handle death of her brother so she
consumed just to numb the pain. But how can I judge when I have also abused my
limit trying to fit in with the popular? Making promises to get fucked up with the
homies just so I wasnt left out all for the sake of a good time. I find myself not
even wanting to drink but when pressured on by my homies to continue, I cant find
it within me to stop because I dont want to be seen as weak or not part of the
crowd. I have this inner fear that if I dont partake that I am somehow missing out in
an experience, and that if I dont I wont be long and in that I would lose all
friendships. So how can I judge when I too have my own vices to dive in?

July 30, 2012

Today my conscious saved me. I was in a room full of loud tunes, and I had
just made the vow to get fucked up with my homies again, and even the crowd was
moving all with the help of alcohol so I too began to take the plunge. I had a red cup
and I was taking a sip and another sip, pressured on by my homies to get fucked up
to continue to make the dive into a pool full of alcohol. Until someone came up to
me and said why you are only taking sips, youre supposed to get a cup full of
alcohol and take it straight down, no sips. Then I proceeded to gulp down the full
cup of alcohol. My mind was murky and I raised my red cup ready to dive in head
first as well, until I heard a voice in the back of my head. Warning me that if I did I
would be history, so I stopped. But as soon as I did I felt my body going away and I

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passed out. The next morning I awoke to find myself in a white room there was a
syringe in my arm and beside me was a man in a white coat that read Dr.Low. I
saw that his mouth was moving and at first couldnt understand what it was he was
saying. Until my mind was full able to gather itself and I picked the last sentence
Mr. Lamar if you would have consumed anymore you would have got alcohol
poisoning and died. It wasnt worth it, was all I could think of. I couldnt fall into the
same cycle that Ive witnessed so many other people fall into growing up as a kid in
Compton. Trying to fit in the popular had nearly got me killed, and there was still so
much I knew that I wanted and needed to do, I just couldnt I refused to fall into
that same pattern. I want to instead be like my conscience which acted as a savior
for me that near fatal night, but to others. And I think I know just how I can do
that..

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Tiara Triplett
Writing 2 ACE
Jennifer Johnson
May 17, 2016
Genre Translations: From Song Lyric to Journal Entry
Translating from one genre to another requires an understanding of not only the different
devices that are used in genres but also an understanding of the new audience you are writing for.
For this project I chose to translate Kendrick Lamars song Swimming Pools into journal
entries. I chose to do this song because Kendrick talks about the dangers of alcohol and his
experiences of witnessing alcoholism, which I thought would be a good topic to address in a
journal entry. While although Kendrick in his song relates of alcoholism through similes,
metaphors, first person narrative here and there in a verse, I thought it would be interesting to try
and write as if Kendrick was writing in a journal entry for himself. In doing this translation I
found that I had to adopt first person narration, because I was essentially writing as Kendrick
Lamar. In my translation I found that I had to adopt first person narration, because I was
essentially writing as Kendrick Lamar. In my translation I was able to notice that I had to make a
shift in both language and audience. When writing a rap song your targeted audience is mainly
for anyone who wants to listen, youre writing in the hopes that other people will listen to the

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content that you have created, and sometimes in order for your audience to understand or
gravitate the meaning behind what you are trying to relate the use of literary techniques such as
similes, metaphors, and allusions are often used to bridge that gap. For example in the song
Swimming Pools Kendrick one verse states I was in a dark room, loud tunes looking to a
make a vow soon alluding to his excessive behavior of binge drinking while at parties. But in a
journal entry none of that is needed because you are writing for yourself as way to express
reflection, so you dont need to worry about who is going to read it or who the audience is
because you are having a conversation with yourself on paper. All of which in my translation I
had to understand so that I could properly address the new genre that I would be writing in and
properly transform the rap lyric into a journal entry.
Furthermore, in my translation from a lyric to journal entry I found that I also had to
adopt the convention of self-questioning a literary device that is found in journal entries. Because
in a journal entry you write about your perspective, you write how you feel, what you think, etc.
because journal entries are our thoughts and in our thoughts we do a lot of self-questioning;
which is something that I had to input in my translation to have it read as an journal entry. I also
had to be more detailed in order to make my translation more successful. In the song Kendrick
relays of his experiences and thoughts through metaphors and imagery that are vague in
description when it comes to interpreting exactly how Kendrick feels or what exactly he wants to
relay to his audience, because each listener can interpret his lyrics differently. For instance,
Kendricks constant reference to swimming pools throughout the song can be interpreted to
either referencing a glass of alcohol or an exaggeration of the effects of alcohol on the mind. All
of more reason why I had to be more clear, straightforward, and elaborate in writing my
translation so that there was an exact understanding of how Kendrick felt and what he

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experienced. To get a further clear understanding of what Kendricks perspective was I not only
had to make my tone informal but also include a first person narration. For this reason, in my
translation I began the journal entry as Growing up Ive always been surrounded by people
instead of Granddaddy had the golden flask, which is found in Kendricks verse to describe
how he has always been surrounded by people drinking. If I were to keep that in my translation
exactly how it is found in Kendricks verse the description would be too vague, and wouldnt
give a good explanation or insight into how and what Kendrick is feeling. Because one of the
conventions of writing a journal entry is to give a clear sense of the writer's personality and
explain their feelings and changing emotions. I also had to include alternative experiences to
why Kendrick felt the way that he does by adding experiences that I made up to justify
Kendricks feelings, so that his emotions could be made clearer.
. Another major change I had to make was when it came to formatting. I had to figure out
how to make a lengthy 4 minute song into a concise journal entry. I had to decide what parts I
wanted Kendrick to really go in deep about and relay his inner most feelings on. I also had to
incorporate the convention of writing the date on the top of the journal entry, as a way to make it
clear that the journal entry was in fact a journal as well as provide a sense of time and sequence.
Because that is typically what is found when writing a journal entry, which varies from the
formatting of a rap song. Because in a rap song the formatting usually includes an intro: a small
piece of time that is typically 4 bars but sometimes short or longer in length, a pre-hook: a simple
phrase that is repeated before the hook, hook:(aka) the chorus that carries the melody of the
entire song, verse: where the artist spits the most rhymes sometimes 16 bars or more and adds
contrast to the hook, and then finally outro: Where the artist includes 4 more last bars and then

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the music fades out. Given that the song was real lengthy I had to edit a lot of things out and
instead focus on just one key verse that overall highlighted the entire them of the song instead.
Moreover, the biggest challenge I faced in doing this translation was picking were I
wanted to begin the setting and exactly what experience I wanted to relay as Kendrick Lamar.
In his song, Kendrick relays many different experiences making it a challenge for me of where I
could possibly start. For instance, in one verse he discusses watching his granddaddy drink back
in Chicago, then in another verse he begins relating of a time he was pressured to drink more
until he was faded at club with his homies. Which was why at first I didnt really know what
particular setting I wanted to choose, because there was many possibilities of where I could
began and how. I then found it challenging just acting as if I was writing as Kendrick because I
wanted my interpretation of how Kendrick felt about alcoholism to be correct. Writing about
how someone else feels I would say was the hardest and most challenging part in writing this
translation. Because I dont truly know how Kendrick feels, I only have my interpretation of how
he must feel given the metaphors, allusion, imagery etc. that he uses in his song.
When reframing the rap songs message into journal entry form the article Navigating
Genres by Kerry Dirk served as a good guide to making that transition smooth. In the reading,
Dirk explains how each genre has its own characteristics and conventions that define them. I
took this into consideration when creating my journal entries. In a rap song, some conventions
include the use of imagery, verse, and incorporating a hook, to name a few. While in a journal
entry the conventions include providing a sense of time and sequence, adopting a first person
narration, and having clear sentences that focus in on the writers personality. Another reading
that I was able to apply that helped me overall in my translation was Laura Carrolls essay
Backpack vs. Briefcases. In the essay, a key component that Carroll discusses is the

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importance of rhetoric and the way we use language and images (Carroll 46). Carroll goes on
to further describe how we use everyday rhetoric in the example of how we change rhetoric
when asking our parents for money versus our friends. This skill of being able to effectively
change rhetoric was something that I really had to make use of in translating the rap song into
journal entry form, especially when I had to adopt the narrative of first person. Carroll goes on to
further highlight in her essay that when using rhetoric we also have to keep in mind the rhetoric
were are going to use given our audience. Being aware of my audience was also a component I
had to incorporate when writing my journal entries and reflections. I had to be more aware of
what rhetoric the journal entries use, because I knew that my audience would be expecting to
easily identify them. I was able to understand that in my piece I had to make sure that I was
using the right language of what journals should both sound and look like. With the help of both
these readings I was able to be mindful of the conventions that I need to incorporate in my work
as well as pay attention to audience, in the sense that theyre going to be looking for these
specific elements.
Translating a rap lyric into journal entries was a difficult task especially because I had to
write as Kendrick. I had to be mindful of different devices that make journal entries, journal
entries. As well as keep in my mind that audience are going to be looking for specific
conventions within my own translation. I must admit that I struggle in writing journal entries
because I had to create another scenario that fitted and correlated to what Kendrick expressed in
the theme of his song. But with the help of previous reading such as Birks Navigating Genres
and Carrolls Backpacks vs. Briefcases I was able to successfully translate Kendrick Lamars
song Swimming Pools, into journal entries. Successfully changing from the purpose of listening

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and being entertained to the purpose of providing the reader an inner-look into how Kendrick
feels.

Works Citied
Carroll, Laura. Backpacks vs Briefcases. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing
(2011):46-58. Web 4 June. 2016
Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres. Writing Spaces on Writings (2010):249-261. Web.17
May. 2016.