Essay: New Hip Hop Vs. Old Hip Hop

New Hip Hop vs. Old Hip Hop

“Hip hop has been named the most influential musical genre to emerge since 1960, beating the British invasion of the Rolling Stones and The Beatles, soul, punk, prog rock, heavy metal, disco and many more in a new study” (Von Radowitz and Webb).
Hip-hop music is the best base form of music to invoke change because songs can be written quickly by rappers to address their communities. Hip-hop started in the early 1970’s in minority-filled neighborhoods that were surrounded with poverty, crime, and drugs. Over time, hip-hop has been changed to express different messages. At its beginning the message was positive addressing the problems of poor neighborhoods and now the message is flashy and unclear. With this change

In “Changes” he raps about how his community needs change and he is the one to address the problem. Tupac’s lyrics go as follows, “We gotta make a change… / It 's time for us as a people to start makin ' some changes. / Let 's change the way we eat, let 's change the way we live / and let 's change the way we treat each other” (Shakur). In these lines he sets out what needs to happen in Harlem to make it a better place to live. Older rappers and rap groups like as N.W.A, Tupac, and Biggie are leaders that started change for their cities. Biggie Smalls was an iconic figure of this era as well. The song, “Sky’s the Limit” shows that he is trying to send the message that even though he came from a family of poverty, he did not let that bring his life down. “Take a better stand/Put money in my moms hand/Get my daughter this college plan, so she don 't need no man/Stay far from timid/Only make moves when ya heart 's in it/And live the phrase Sky 's The Limit” (Notorious B.I.G.). “Sky’s the Limit” gives the audience the hope that if you are born at the bottom, you do not necessarily have to end up in the same place. The biggest thing the Biggie Smalls is trying to say is that you can always have what you want, but it only matters if you be what you want. Biggie Smalls is drawing attention to

It made a dramatic shift from songs with topics such as people 's rights, riots, and the desire for social change, to songs about wealth, drugs, and the power that artists have today. In songs such as “Versace” “Blase” and “Bling Bling” artists Migos, Ty Dolla $ign, and Lil Wayne rap about their fantasy lifestyles that are in some respect, unattainable to the average person. In his song, “Versace”, Migos says “King of Versace, Medusa my wallet my car is Versace, tiger stripes on my Mazi I 'm dressing so nice, they can 't even copy you think I 'm Egyptian, this gold on my body”. By stating this, Migos makes it evident that he possesses expensive and luxurious items such as cars and jewelry and he is bragging about living a life that most individuals dream of. (Introduce this) Soerensen says that, “some [rap music is] definitely about violence, clothes, cars and women, but Kweli says that his music for instance is more used as a social activism tool” (Soerensen). In the 21st century we see more of Soerensen’s view and prior to 2001 social activism rap was more popular. In Ty Dolla $ign’s “Blase”, he states, “ I’m young and I’m rich,” and “ Need a benz like Blasé, Blasé, Blasé, Blasé Whiping Maserati” (Ty Dolla $ign). Similar to Migos, Ty Dolla $ign makes it clear that he is wealthy by bragging about his expensive cars. When Lil Wayne states “Bling bling, pinky ring worth about fifty Bling bling,