Rap as a language

Since its start in the music industry around nineteen eighty-eight rap music has always been under a lot of scrutiny for its lyrics and messages that it portrays. Rap music has a long history starting back to the days of slavery and has come a long way since then bridging gaps between all genres of music including jazz, blues, and basic drum beats. When hip hop first came about its message was simple. It was groups of black men who described the life they were living in the ghettos all over the world. They felt helpless and viewed the government in a very strong negative way based on the lack of help African American’s were given in the contexts of housing, education, and living. As rap music developed and more artists started bringing their own styles to the hip hop community more messages were being brought. Hip hop as a culture was formed on the political views of many black gang bangers who society cast aside and never thought would even be able to have political thoughts. In the mid nineties rap changed in a way that surprised many by having female artists come onto the scene. They were usually portrayed in a degrading manner by male artists in their lyrics and videos, but now women came forward and described themselves as sexual beings and how they have power over men based on their sexuality. Many critics have taken these stances that rap artists take and speculated over whether or not they convey a positive or negative message. Many view that the lyrics and videos provide children with the wrong idea and are the reason for sex at younger ages, and STD’s being at an all time high. Rap is not responsible for the actions of young adults and music has always been a scapegoat for parents since the days of Elvis, and KISS. Rap is like all other genres of music in the sense that it is a statement. During times of war artists criticized presidential actions and sang about peace. Rap is a declaration of life for black men and questions the politics involved in their lifestyles and for women it is a way to express themselves as powerful independent beings because of their sexuality.

Stereotypes are often placed into the minds of many people in the general public based on fixed images set in the minds of many MTV viewers. This has always been the case with generational music culture to fight for mor...

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...in the ghettos of the world. He claims that rap is a political stance and a language that is powerful in its ability to create movement and progress in the minds of its audience. This helps my argument because this is exactly what I want to argue. It gives crucial examples of how and why rap music can stand alone as its own well educated language.

Rose, Tricia. “Fear of a Black Planet”: Rap Music and Black Cultural Politics in the 1990’s. The Journal of Negro Education vol. 60 (1991) 276-290. Rose argues that hip hop music in the 1990’s when it really began to make a name for itself came out with bang that seemed to slap many unsuspecting people in the face with its crude lyrics and “I don’t care” mentality. She gives quotes and respect to many groups of that time such as NWA and Public Enemy who gave face to the up rise of gangster rap and gave a window into the lives that black men and women where actually living. This helps my argument because I mainly was going to quote lyrics from the 1990’s because that was when rap was most political. I am however going to quote some more recent rappers such as Eminem to show how that decade has still rolled over to today’s generation.