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Recommended: All about the history of rap
Popular in the united states, the rhythmic music known as rap can be traced back generations to it’s ethnic origins. Centuries before hip hop music existed, the Tribes of West Africa were delivering stories rhythmically, over drums and sparse instrumentation. Connections between tribal story telling virtuals and rap music have been acknowledged by many modern day "tribes", spoken word artists, mainstream news sources, and academics. In the 21st century, rappers rap about their lives and how the place they grew up in was very hard and that is why many people think like rap music so much, because there are many connections rapper can relate to. Many people do not like rap music because they say that it is too violent or the people that are involved are just very violent. Many people say this because most people who rap or listen to rap music, grew up in the “Ghetto”. The “Ghetto” is a place no one wants to be because it is very violent, hearing gunshots and people screaming and fighting because of the situation they are in. The people in the ghetto are in a bad situation because...
In Adam Bradley’s “Rap poetry 101” he shows us how rap is more than just songs being sung, it is poetry; it is something that has an empowering ability to make the familiar unfamiliar.In this chapter Bradley creates a new viewpoint too rap. Bradley shows us how rap and poetry has become a very similar piece of art that should be further appreciated. In the chapter poetry 101 Bradley describes how rap is a form of public art, and how rappers have become our greatest public poets. The importance of rap as poetry is shown throughout Bradley's book as well as the evidence behind the reasons rap is poetry.
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
Music, in some cases, can be a reflection of life experiences. Each genre has a different set of emotions and reactions felt by the listener. Rap music’s popularity has grown dramatically over the past decade. However, it has been the center of controversy regarding promoting violence in society. While some of its mainstream content can be rather explicit, rap lyrics altogether do not promote violence. Instead; they endorse positive messages, provide social commentary, and detail everyday life in urban cities.
In the last twenty years, a new form of music widely referred to as rap has gained national attention as it popularity surged with young adults and racial minorities. Through the development of rap since its inception, the perception of rap have gradually changed to a form of negativity as lyrics within rap glorifies negative aspects of society. Specifically, the sub-genre of gangsta rap was developed by rappers such as Notorious B.I.G and Ice Cube where it quickly gained influence as one of the main concepts associated with rap. Given its strong popularity with the younger population, many critics have argued that rap will influence the audience towards negative effects as it incorporates violent, sexual, and extravagant concepts in its lyrics.
Rap music is a platform for black artists to express themselves. Rap and hip hop are used as a tool to inspire and influence black Americans. The reality of living in the ghetto as a black American is explained through rap music. Rap music has changed black culture in America.
Music is one of the most powerful and influential language which to many people in
Hip-Hop/Rap is one of the biggest growing genres of today. From its early stages in the 1970’s to today’s pop culture, it has grown quite a lot. Unfortunately, it has developed a terrible reputation of drugs, violence, abuse, and gangs. When people associate Hip-Hop with things it is usually a negative image that comes to the person’s mind. Which is sad, Hip-Hop/Rap has a great artistic quality to them that gets so easily overlooked. There is true poetry and emotion behind these lyrics and beats, but not everyone is willing to sit down and listen to it. They quickly judge this music genre and the immediately dislike it without giving it a second thought. Rappers pour their emotions and their souls into their songs and it really speaks to people
“…. Rap has the powerful potential to address social, economic, and Political issues and act as a unifying voice for its audience.” –(Blanchard) Social Issues that rap has addressed in the past include racism, police brutality, gay rights, as well as the the struggles faced by those growing up in the inner cities. The lyrics and messages hidden in rap songs can have a major impact on what people view as socially acceptable as well as the morals of
Music has many different meanings and forms such as rock and roll, pop, R&B, rap and so many more. It can affect people in many ways such as a way for them to escape their harsh realities, having a positive impact on their behavior or used as a simple form of expressing one’s feelings. For many years, people describe rap music as “whack” or “devil music,” but those are all lies. Rap music has been a controversial topic for a long time on whether it should go or stay. There are rap songs whose lyrics openly promotes gang violence, violence against women, and so many more, but that is not entirely the truth. However, rappers in the rap music industry deal with a lot of stereotypes from society and backlash when there is not any real evidence of such violence. So rap music does not promote
“If rap music appears to be excessively violent when compared to country-western or popular rock, it is because rap stems from a culture that has been seeped in the fight against political, social, and economic oppression.” For many artists, rapping about violence, gangs, and drugs is just a way of reflecting on what some of the rappers live through every day. Many rap artists come from housing projects, areas of poverty, and ghettos in which violence is commonplace. Because of this, some people argue that lyrical violence in rap is not harming the youth, but yet it is an outcry of existing problems that many African-Americans living in slums and facing deep economic equalities carried on generation by generation face every
First, rap music began thousands of years ago in Africa but, it started in the mid 80’s in the united states and is still very popular today. Most people who listen to rap music enjoy hearing the poetic use of words to a beat. A lot of the older generation does not like rap music because of the profanity. Rap songs usually talk about drugs, poverty, sex, and fame. Many people are very stereotypical and think that only ghetto people listen to rap music, but that is not true. All kinds of different people listen to rap music no matter what their race is. Many of the younger generations have many different types of music they like.
“Though elements of social commentary had already been incorporated into the genre by artists such as Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five and the Public Enemy, the infamous gangsta rap subgenre was a product of the distressed and poverty-stricken neighborhoods of the inner-city Los Angeles” (Hip-Hop and Rap Music 6). Those are some examples of rappers who grew up on rap music and use it to become something of themselves. Some people would disagree with me because of the fact that rap music glorifies the life of violence, drugs, and disrespecting women which expose kids to use foul language and do what the rappers say in their songs. Sometimes that is the case but some tell the stories of their past experiences and other songs would actually encourage kids to not follow the lifestyle of violence but that means they would have to understand the message and act upon
In today’s culture where rap music has become increasingly popular, many teens aren’t realizing what they are listening to. A lot of teens would argue that the music they listen to has no effect on them, but they are wrong. Rap music, especially, has had a major impact on teenagers in today’s society. The lyrics of many rap songs encourage violent and aggressive thoughts in teenagers.
In many genres of music, the lyrics to songs paint vivid pictures of the writer’s views and experiences. From these sources, political and social issues are brought up in the music to reach a wide-range of audiences. A genre which expresses these issues in a grotesque fashion is rap. By some rap is viewed and reject for being “vulgar, profane, misogynist, racist, anti-Semitic, and juvenile” (Lusane) Rap could be seen as music with no meaning other than to promote violence. A Legend in the hip-hop and rap world, Tupac Shakur, however, used his rap and hip-hop music express subjects about violence and poverty in ghettos, police brutality, gang life, and others atrocities that affect him and lower-class Black Americans. (Tupac Shakur Biography)
Rap and reggae music were born from similar ethnic origins. African Americans and Afro-Jamaicans who are poor, a minority, experiences similar struggles, poverty, oppression, the desire for expression and a path to create enjoyment. Rap and reggae artists have been influential in the lives of our youth conveying both positive and negative messages. Many people believe that there are only negative connotations associated with these genres of music. There have been continuous debates as it relates to rap and reggae music which consistently have been the focus of headline