Utkarsh Vaid
Tom Bischcoff
Youth Cultures 0817
Inquiry Paper
“Through its evolution from topics of social justice to offensiveness and vulgarity, how has hip-hop continued to play a role in the change of society?”
Hip-hop emerged in the 1970s as a powerful force for social change, with artists like Bambaataa using music as a way to avoid a life of crime and inspiring others to do the same. As hip-hop evolved, it branched into various styles, some focusing on social justice while others adopted more offensive and vulgar themes. Despite these changes, hip-hop has continued to play a significant role in shaping society, by addressing pressing social issues and challenging norms.
In its early years, hip-hop was a platform for marginalized voices, particularly African-Americans and other minorities in urban areas. Hip hop was often used as a medium for expressing frustration with societal issues, such as racism and poverty, and highlighting issues like systematic racism. As hip-hop gained popularity, it became an influential force for raising awareness about social and political issues, both within and outside the African-American community which was also mentioned by Haenfler.
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This shift led to concerns about the degradation of women in music videos and lyrics, as well as the promotion of violence and materialism. While this change may seem to undermine hip-hop's original role as a force for social change, it is essential to recognize the complexities and contradictions within the
As Can’t Stop Won't Stop continues to progress to the 1970’s, Jeff Chang addresses the developments, changes and increasing influence of hip-hop. Hip-hop’s influence and popularity seemingly spread globally overnight. Hip-hop culture took on new aspects and the motives for expressing the art continued to grow and change for artists. Throughout the chapters, Chang highlights the evolutions of hip-hop, hip-hop’s new audiences and the increase in drugs and violence in hip-hop during a rebellion ear. In the late 1970s, many citizens in the Bronx began to see a dramatic change in hip-
Before that Hip Hop was exclusively about dancing, creating unique beats and being poetic across beat alterations. Ever since Grandmaster Flash Hip Hop has changed consistently over the years creating different forms of Hip Hop giving everyone a chance to find out what they enjoy. One form of Hip Hop in today’s world is based around the racial inequalities brought to you by a rapper who displays their people’s daily struggles around the globe and more specifically in America. An artist who uses his voice in the hip hop industry to voice the effects of mass incarceration on African Americans/Minorities as well as many other social issues is Vic Mensa. He is the most crucial social activist you’ve probably never heard of.
The fact that a majority of hip-hop music addresses either violence, drugs or sex, black males are found at fault and loathed. Realistically, black males in hip-hop music only focus on crude topics because of the treatment they receive in this “white” world is crude. Essentially, the music artists’ produce are representations of the real world and byproducts of
Following its birth, hip-hop promoted important social and political causes. Hip-Hop artists utilize their lyrics and videos to convey messages to their audiences. It has become common today to dismiss the impacts women have made on the hip-hop culture. Nevertheless, men have not only used hip-hop to promote important causes but also females. Since it's beginning Queen Latifah has used hip hop to promote issues important to females to an audiences who do not traditionally view females as significant leaders.
The article “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride is about how hip hop is not his favorite type of music but, it needs to be heard. McBride shows us this by explaining that he avoided hip hop most of his life. In the article McBride says that he basically ignored “the most important cultural event in my lifetime.” James informs us that hip hop has influenced the world globally and that it has become a phenomenon. Furthermore, McBride made clear that he eventually realized that hip hop is much more than just music, it has a message.
This music that once made visible the inner culture of America’s greatest social problem, its legacy of slavery, has taken the dream deferred to a global scale” (McBride, 3). McBride reveals how hip-hop talks about a nation’s social issues and makes people aware of them. This demonstrates that hip-hop is powerful because it educates people on both past and current issues that their nation has faced. Finally, hip-hop is stimulating and commanding because even though it has evolved, it still urges people to put an end to racial
Hip Hop was the wildfire that started in the South Bronx and whose flames leapt up around the world crying out for change. James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet focuses on his personal interactions with the development of Hip Hop culture and his changing interpretations of the world wide movement. Many of his encounters and mentions in the text concern young black males and his writing follows an evolution in the representation of this specific social group. He initially portrays them as arrogant, poor, and uneducated but eventually develops their image to include the positive effects of their culture in an attempt to negate their historical misrepresentation.
In her essay “hip hop’s betrayal of black women,” Jennifer McLune implies that “(h)ip-hop owes its success to the ideology of women-hating” (193). She does not agree with Kevin Powell’s article that hip-hop does not mean to “offend” black women, but instead artists are only letting out their temper throughout their music. McLune feels infuriated that many artists in hip hop (including black men) rap about their community and downgrade their own women. In the hip-hop genre, sexism is mainly used, not only by black men but also by many other race hip-hop artists. Artists assume that women-hating in their rap songs will be accepted by women, but do not realize that it is affecting all women.
a. Throughout Tricia Rose’s work of the Hip Hop Wars, she goes back and forth between a couple different topics relating to the genre, such as the debate about hip hop causing violence, or reflecting a violent ghetto culture, along with if hip hop is sexist, or if people against the music or just anti-sex. She talks about how hip hop has made a positive impact on society as a whole, by giving people who may feel left out a voice and allowed those in working-class and poor communities a way to express their social and political beliefs. But she also describes the genre as a topic which has created tension among numerous different people, for promoting violence and other anti-feminist ideals. “Members of the hip hop generation are now facing
Hip Hop is seen as something inspiring, but most people see it as a way to speak out the truth about a problem. As in “Hip Hop planet” being able say the truth can sometimes worsen any situation because sometimes what we say can promote violence and whatever happens after is not in our control. The essay is about how hip hop has changed into speaking out the issues that need to be taken care of in order to maintain a proper society. McBride talked about how rappers use violent lyrics to degrade women and gays and because of this it shows how the music has evolved into something entirely different that no one would have ever expected to have changed. In James McBride's essay “Hip Hop Planet,” he argues that hip hop has a negative influence on American Culture despite people thinking of it as inspirational and how people live through different experiences in life despite of your race.
Hip-hop encourages and glorifies violence, high class living without working to get there, and promiscuity. Hip-hop culture isn’t considered scholarly because it drives people to attain a lifestyle of laziness, not working to attain goals, and demeaning the value of schoolwork. At this time hip-hop is viewed in a negative connotation while other genre of music, like jazz, are seen in a positive
The block parties, graffiti art, rapping, disc jockeying and diverse forms of dancing built Hip Hop by the black youth. They expressed their feelings, thoughts, but most importantly the problems they had to face, which were related to their race, gender and social positions. The rights that were given to black people during and after the Civil Rights Movement left the following generations at a lack of how to continue the fight for black rights. Hip Hop gave them this platform and with the usage of black nationalism, Hip Hop can explore the challenges that confront American-Americans in the post-Civil Rights Movement era. In the 1990’s Hip Hop lived its prime, sub genres started to appear and famous groups, MCs led the whole community, providing a voice to a group of people trying to deliver their message.
¨If Hip Hop has the ability to corrupt minds, it also has the ability to uplift them.¨ Hip hop music, also called rap music, is a music genre developed in the United States by African Americans consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. Mainstream hip hop culture is also filled with misogyny and negative images of women. These artists are unaware that sexism has been forced onto them through the brainwashing from the media, which is controlled by a patriarchal society. Conversely, feminism is the belief that both genders should have equal power.
Hip Hop/Rap Research Paper Hip hop/rap music is a genre that has had a profound impact on popular culture since its origins in the Bronx, New York City in the 1970s. According to The Kennedy Center, “It was the early 1970s and times were tougher than usual for the poorer parts of urban America. From a whole lot of nothing—and a whole lot of imagination—Hip Hop took form”(The Kennedy Center). It was a way for marginalized communities to express themselves and tell their stories through music. The Medium notes that, “Music often gives marginalized groups a voice when it feels like society will not listen to them”(The Medium).
Hip Hop began as a cultural and art movement in the Bronx in New York during the early 1970s, as an expression against the economic collapse. Beginning from the streets, the youth would turn to block parties for “recreation and self-expression” (Icon Collective, 2023), which became the groundwork for hip-hop. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there was an arise of segregated communities between middle-class whites with African-Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Caribbean immigrants. There was an industrial decline and a rapidly changing economy, causing such communities to be prominent in crime, gang violence, and poverty (Icon Collective, 2023).