The Negative Effects Of Hip-Hop On African American Youth

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To begin, what is hip-hop? Well hip-hop is a subcultural movement that developed during the early 1970s by African American youths residing in the South Bronx in New York City. The first official usage and creation of the term “hip-hop” is unknown because there are many individuals who claim that they were the 1st to use and create the term. Some of these individuals include: Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang, Lovebug Starski, and DJ Hollywood. The genre is defined by many elements such as MCing (Rapping), DJing (Scratching), graffiti art, breakdancing, sampling, and beatboxing. Hip-hop gains inspiration from other music genres such as: soul, funk, and rhythm and blues. Hip-hop was and still is a way for the youth of …show more content…

This is heavily emphasized in the song’s lyrics when Brother D states: “Come on my people, people, can’t you see/What’s really goin' on?/Unemployment’s high, the housing’s bad And the schools are teaching wrong/ Cancer from the water, pollution in the air/ But you’re partying hard, like you just don’t care/ Wake up y'all, you know that ain’t right/ Cause that hurts everybody, black or white/ Winter’s cold, can’t get no heat/ Just move your body to the beat/ While it takes you on a disco ride/ Get high until you’re pacified/ Our youth actin' like the living dead/ Ain’t talkin' bout the body. Talkin' bout the head/ Space out y'all to the disco rhyme/ Movin' to the rhythm but you’re wastin' time/ Stop and think. Do you know what’s real?” Brother D continues by pleading to Americans (specifically the youth) to become involved and do something to improve their financial woes and current state of struggle. This is seen when at the end of the song Brother D thrillingly states: “We gotta agitate, …show more content…

Heron displayed a burning desire to change his society, his government, and his hardships that he was experiencing. Heron strongly believed that anyone had the power to change their lives; they just had to think positive and eventually act on those positive thoughts. Heron originally wrote this song so others could be encouraged to change their society, their government, and eventually conquer their hardships. In an interview Heron himself stated: “The revolution takes place in your mind. Once you change your mind and decide that there's something wrong that you want to effect that's when the revolution takes place. But first you have to look at things and decide what you can do. 'Something's wrong and I have to do something about it. I can effect this change.' Then you become a revolutionary person. It's not all about fighting. It's not all about going to war. It's about going to war with the problem and deciding you can affect that problem. When you want to make things better you're a revolutionary” (Songfacts,2016). Throughout the entire song Heron vocally expresses his opinions; however, his main points that he is trying to convey is best seen in the lyrics: “The revolution will not show you pictures of Nixon/ Blowing a bugle and

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