The Influence Of Hip Hop And Rap

When looking at the culture of hip hop, one must delve into the history of the South Bronx and the notorious gang wars that emerged from the suffering wasteland. In the early 70s, gang violence ruled the streets of the South Bronx. With tensions high due to the lack of help from the government, violence was a common release of pent up frustration and anger. Death encircled the area, but in a way it brought upon a necessary change. With the death of a member from the Ghetto Brothers, a crew who spoke against violence and urged the people to join forces, gangs such as Savage Skulls, and other highly organized, Latino and black gangs nearly went to war with each other in 1971. Due to the courageous decision of Ghetto Brother president Benjamin Mendez, bloodshed was averted when the leaders of all the gangs met at a Bronx youth Center and settled on a peace treaty. As a result, a door was opened for hip hop. With the ability to meet and converse with different people, the youth of the South Bronx began experimenting with different ways to entertain themselves. This led to eventual start of block parties which included people from all over being able to come out and create/enjoy music.

Contrary to common opinion, hip-hop is a holistic culture and does not refer to rap music alone. According to Ahmed (n.d), hip-hop is the overlying culture from which rap music has its roots. By definition, hip-hop as a culture includes other creative elements and cultural nuances such as breakdancing, turntablism/deejaying, beatboxing, and graffiti (Ahmed, n.d). Initially considered a fad encapsulating the playful tendencies of urban African American teens, hip-hop has evolved into a permanent fixture in America’s entertainment landscape. This paper examines some factors that continue to impact the evolvement of hip-hop.

Bringing the dilemma that Rap music is black music genre. If a student takes on this topic, must set a different demographic to allow more races to participate in survey to prevent a biased survey that was meant for African-American WCU students. Yet, in a sample survey I gave out, 1/3 of the students explain how Rap music is a music genre for everyone and is important. While the rest see the music as a black music genre that talks about money and women. But through the eyes of Rap fans and artists alike, Rap stood for Rhythm and Poetry. It craved a tapestry of exposing social issues that white America would never shed light on. According to rapper Mos Def in his 1999 manifesto, Fear Not of Man, he says “Me, you, everybody – we are hip-hop,” suggesting that hip-hop music no longer represents solely the voice of the black community, instead, hip-hop now represents all those who partake in or promote hip-hop culture whether male or female, rich or poor, black or white, American or foreign, and so on. (Mos Def, 1999)” This will ensure that if anyone to one this topic, remember “Hip-Hop/Rap music is

Many of the misconceptions that may have someone correlate Hip Hop music and any form of violence may be because of the image and coverage that Hip Hop music is given through thing such as news and social media. Arguably, one of the most momentous and memorable Hip Hop moments in recent memory are the murders of rappers Tupac Amaru Shakur and Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace.

Hip Hop has been around for generations, but over the years the meaning behind the music genre continues to change as old artists vanish and new artist step up and take the throne. In the reading Hip Hop’s Betrayal of Black Women by Jennifer McLune explains how women are betrayed in the music industry, and how from this the world perceives to see them afterwards. Mainly the idea behind all of this is that hip hop owes it’s success to the ideology of women hating. The purpose of this article is trying to convince people that hip hop is sexist and degrading. Which in some sense is true from an african american women of myself. After reading the article the author gives very good reasoning for why black women are betrayed that way.

Adams, T. M., & Fuller, D. B. (2006). The Words Have Changed but the Ideology Remains the

“Rap is the rock 'n' roll of the day. Rock 'n' roll was about attitude, rebellion, a big beat, sex and, sometimes, social comment. If that's what you're looking for now, you're going to find it here.” (Simpson). Hip-hop is considered to be today’s counterculture known for it’s explicit hip-hop music and the ‘thug life’ it portrays. Many people consider hip-hop music to be brutish and a decline in music. As for the people within the subculture, they are considered to be uneducated, ‘thugs’, or even ‘ghetto’ amongst many other impressions. Despite the widely held idea that hip-hop music represents sex, drugs, and violence, hip-hop music has many positive aspects and influences that outweigh the negative perception.

Hip hop and rap music have always been a magnet for controversy, both within the music and the actions of hip hop artists themselves. Although there is a wide variety of hip hop and rap music, it is important to note that despite this, the messages used have been identified as homogenous. Hip hop has also been a medium for messages, such as cultural, political, and social. This essay will focus on the scope of hip hop from its roots, cultural significance, reproduction of gender and racial constructs, misogynistic themes towards women and African American women in particular, claiming of power within academic literature in two songs, ‘Famous’ by Kanye West and ‘Back Home’ by Zeds Dead and Freddie Gibbs.

It has become common today to dismiss the effects gangsta rap has on society due to its popularity. Society is aware of the negative societal effects gangsta rap has, however, society continues to ignore the negative messages conveyed. Eric K. Watts argues through the media gangsta rap normalized the communication of oppression, violence, and misogyny; gangsta rap has become a commodity. Rappers assert their authority in the streets through violence and appearing superior to women and anyone else. Watts states owning “an attractive young woman builds a young man’s self-esteem.” By possessing a woman men appear strong to other men; gangsta rap music enforces this message. In addition, rap assists participative in an economic exchange where the

Although the essay seemed to jump around alot and have no central thesis, I was able to take away a few key points from the essay. A major topic in the essay was the black community’s relationship with rap and hip-hop. The essay claims that frustrations are felt when “black diasporic communities are taken out of control of their originators and producers” (5). Hip-hop and rap have been appropriated by the masses, and have lost sight of their origins in the black community. This appropriation draws from the commercialization of hip-hop and rap, and artists turning their music into simply a commercial good. Another point I think was interesting in the essay was how hip-hop constantly switches from seriousness to unseriousness. In rap and hip-hop artists can go from threatening to playful in one verse, the essay claims that this quality of the genre allows is to “push the boundaries of the political, in the process redefining the very structures of resistance” (15). This is why, the essay claims, rap and hip-hop are so influential in shaping opinions regarding resisting dominant

To condemn hip-hop music, a form of self-expression and art, as the root cause of violent acts committed within society is unacceptable. While some may view the profound topics of sexual assault, misogyny, and substance abuse discussed within the lyrics as distasteful, others may find what hip-hop music discusses to be comforting. As a society, the violent lyrics in songs written by hip-hop artists depict their reality, merely reflecting society’s current state as opposed to being the motive for crimes committed.

Originating as an outlet for African-American youth in low-income areas, hip-hop has become a behemoth of the music industry and an industry in and of itself. Since then, the genre has gone through too many changes and reinventions to count. Some of the biggest changes in the scene include rapping styles and methods of production. The big names in hip-hop also vary from decade to decade with artists constantly falling in and out of relevancy. With its humble beginnings in the Bronx during the 70’s, it’s hard to say if anyone around during its formation could have known how big it would be and how much it would change in 30-40 years time.

In Hip Hop Music the portrayal of women is not only negative, but it can also be extremely violent. An example of this can be seen in songs from popular artists such as 50 cent who raps in his song P.I.M.P I was born to break a bitch (cited in Rose 2008). This is furthered by Weitzer, R. and. Kubrin, C. (2009) who stated that many rappers take pride in inflicting violence against women. Attitudes like this are harmful due to the fact they are distributing negative and violent depictions of women to vast amounts of people. The normalisation of violence against women in hip hop could offer an explanation for why cases of domestic violence are so high. According to the UK Office for National statistics (2014) 7.1% of women had reported experiencing

Hip-hop has become an intricate part of American culture, such music can alter the minds of the listeners. Currently hip-hop instils improper beliefs that negatively influence American people. As reported by Susan Weber, a music therapist at MMB Music Inc., “if someone is rapping over and over again about killing cops, someone is more likely to kill cops because people are susceptible to suggestions” (Haynes, 2006). There is a tendency for violent gestures such as killing to be shown in rap. The advertisement of killing, makes the audience more prone to to thinking of killing. Hip-hop has become an engrained aspect of American culture. The violence shown in rapping (component of hip-hop) allow for audiences to be exposed to more aggressive ideas. Nelson George, author of Hip Hop America, mentions “now we know that rap music, and hip hop style as a whole, has utterly broken through from its ghetto roots to assert a lasting influence on American clothing, magazine publishing, television, language, sexuality, and social policy…” (George, 1998). Hip Hop America, is centered around hip-hop in America and the effects hip-hop places on American culture. Artist praising negativity allow for audiences to be severely impacted by hip-hop subculture. Hip-hop coming from a violent environment, uses violence to express. An artist having an audience, opens up the possibility of artists giving the wrong impression of the perception of right or wrong. The ethical corruption hip-hop can create, increases by the violence incorporated in the

To understand the complexity and influence of Kanye West, one must grasp the context of the music industry at his arrival. Hip hop has become one of the most popular forms of music of the 21st century. Unfortunately, rapping was not always considered this beloved genre of music like it is today. In the 80s and 90s, hip hop had an extremely ardent fan base because many critics considered the genre as “gangsta” or “hood” music. This criticism emerged, “with the mainstream success of gangsta rap, where drugs, violence, and misogyny became more prominent” (Holly). The song that can do the best job summarizing the atmosphere of the hip hop industry at the time is N.W.A’s famous ballad, “Fuck tha Police.” Thus, the followers of hip hop developed