midst of greatdespair, Gaye, and other artist of his genre, did believe inthe possibility of change. "Ball of Confusion," debuting in1970, gave the Temptation's take on the societal illsplaguing their times. It explored the white migration to thesuburbs, urban riots, politicians, etc., as it expressed thesense of turmoil experienced during that time which seemedto all come together in a "Ball of Confusion." The lyricsstate that "the only person talking about love my brother isthe preacherthe only person interested in learning is theteacher"(Temptations). These lines express a theme of loveand education as the cure to society's problems. In a deepersense, it says that people should focus on solutions, notthe problems which create despair. In the spirit of thissolution-based songwriting, a strong, no-holds-barredmessage to youth about the importance of getting aneducation was given voice in October of 1966. James Brown's "Don't Be a Drop Out" is a story of a drop out who compareshimself to friends who continued their education. The songsays, "they kept on pushing when the going got tough, andnow they know that things don't seem so rough"(Brown). JamesBrown knew the importance of this first hand having noformal education. He implemented a program which encouragedkids to stay in school and gave scholarships for those thatwanted to go to college. Brown also worked to improve thequality of education in urban areas. He later releases twoanti-drug songs, "King Heroin" and "Public Enemy No. 1." Hehad realized the devastation that drugs brought to the blackcommunity and the songs were used as the tool to educateblacks about their danger. James had become a role model forblack youth not only through his music but through hiscommitment to the black community, thus serving as a shiningexample of the lessons of his music. Brown's message ofchange by improving currently existing systems wasconservative in comparison to some more radical artists.These...
