Celebrities have the ability to change the way people think in an instant. Currently in society, it is easy for an individual to get their opinions noticed. With the help of social media and instant news, celebrities can post something and the whole world can have access to it in the blink of an eye. Due to this quick form of communication, it is no wonder celebrities use their access to inform their audience not only about their personal life but also about issues that are affecting their communities, such as poverty and violence. Hip- Hop is the perfect platform for this. It is rare that you will find a teenager following politics. Therefore, through Hip-Hop culture, it is made possible for issues such as gun violence, drugs and high prison rates in cities to be noticed by the youth. One way in which Hip-Hop addresses these social issues is through lyrics of Hip-Hop songs. There are many artists who have songs that contain lyrics that both outwardly and subliminally state the issues that minority communities face. One such artist is J.Cole. In many of Cole’s songs, you can...
Over time, some rap artists might adapt the stated sexist and racial beliefs, and think that they become something better and consciously place themselves above their audience and pretend to be more superior than women Hip-Hop Culture + Politics). The following lyrics provide examples and show how misogynistic beliefs are represented in rap music. The presented excerpts are highly offensive and controversial, but they show the contemporary type of rap that has been and is still produced by well-known recording studios (Adams and Fuller 949).
In the words of rapper Busta Rhymes, “hip-hop reflects the truth, and the problem is that hip-hop exposes a lot of the negative truth that society tries to conceal. It’s a platform where we could offer information, but it’s also an escape” Hip-hop is a culture that emerged from the Bronx, New York, during the early 1970s. Hip-Hop was a result of African American and Latino youth redirecting their hardships brought by marginalization from society to creativity in the forms of MCing, DJing, aerosol art, and breakdancing. Hip-hop serves as a vehicle for empowerment while transcending borders, skin color, and age. However, the paper will focus on hip-hop from the Chican@-Latin@ population in the United States. In the face of oppression, the Chican@-Latin@ population utilized hip hop music as a means to voice the community’s various issues, desires, and in the process empower its people.
Hip-Hop became characterized by an aggressive tone marked by graphic descriptions of the harshness and diversity of inner-city life. Primarily a medium of popular entertainment, hip-hop also conveys the more serious voices of youth in the black community. Though the approaches of rappers became more varied in the latter half of the 1980s, message hip-hop remained a viable form for addressing the problems faced by the black community and means to solve those problems. The voices of "message" hip...
Hip hop has gone from just DJ-ing, graffiti, break dancing and just rapping to self-expression, mannerisms and demeanor. Hip-hop has made its way to mainstream tv such as Wild N Out, Love and Hip-hop, and Growing up Hip-hop. Hip-hop has influenced the lives of today’s youth, mostly African American youth. The influence that hip hop has on today’s youth can be both positive and negative. Unfortunately, it has more negatives because of the lyrics can be rather aggressive, the want for material gain, and encouraging misogynistic behaviors. Hip-hop has been positive, when a rapper such as T.I raps about a song it brings awareness to the community, it gets everyone talking and wanting to make a change. The Black Lives Movement going on he wrote a song called “We Will Not”. The meaning behind this song is to bring awareness, for police brutality and justice for African Americans. Hip-hop has become a platform for people to be able to
Ever since it became popular in the late eighties, hip-hop music has been a target of moral disapproval. Many critics have labeled the music as an offensive, vulgar, misogynist form of expression, which negatively influences its listeners, particularly children. Early in rap music's' development "concerned citizens" and various government officials held protests against the release of certain rap albums. Rap music's opponents demanded strict censorship. But hip-hop was increasingly attracting large audiences and its supporters were ready to fight the censors who they believed were taking away their constitutional right of freedom of speech, and the freedom of the urban black culture to express itself. What critics of rap music don't comprehend is that rap music is a part of our culture, which is impossible to ignore. Although it may be untraditional, it is a very eloquent form of expression that illustrates the conditions and feeling of a vibrant African -American young culture
Through an analysis of the history of hip-hop and mainstream rappers, this paper aims to critically discuss the commercialization of rap music and the implications its current popularity has on black American
Since start of its genre, hip hop music has been the reason behind masses of debates and disagreements. There are many who contend hip hop music to be a mere glorification of violence, and nothing more than bad influences on those who listen to it. However, there are others who oppose this opinion and consider hip hop music to be a voice for the unheard. The true impacts of hip hop music cannot be represented by taking this debate, and can rather be realized by the increasing variation of this form of music across the globe.
Hip Hop culture has come from a inner city expression of life to a multi-billion dollar business. At the beginning of the new millennium it was the top selling genre in the pop charts. It had influences not only on music, but on fashion, film, television, and print. In 2004 Hip Hop celebrated its 30th year anniversary. It wasn’t big for the fact that it was still kicking. It was big because the once Black/Brown inner city culture had grown into a multi-billion dollar global phenomenon (Reeves). Hip Hop culture has provided a platform for all walks of life to speak their mind. Over the past 36 years it has provided us with both entertainment and controversy alike and had a huge impact on our nation’s history. `
Hip hop has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, it is a great unifier of diverse populations. Although created by black youth on the streets, hip hop's influence has become well received by a number of different races in this country. A large number of the rap and hip hop audience is non-black. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Because it has become the fastest growing music genre in the U.S., companies and corporate giants have used its appeal to capitalize on it. Although critics of rap music and hip hop seem to be fixated on the messages of sex, violence, and harsh language, this genre offers a new paradigm of what can be (Lewis, 1998.) The potential of this art form to mend ethnic relations is substantial. Hip hop has challenged the system in ways that have unified individuals across a rich ethnic spectrum. This art form was once considered a fad has kept going strong for more than three decades. Generations consisting of Blacks, Whites, Latinos, and Asians have grown up immersed in hip-hop. Hip hop represents a realignment of America?s cultural aesthetics. Rap songs deliver a message, again and again, to keep it real. It has influenced young people of all races to search for excitement, artistic fulfillment, and a sense of identity by exploring the black underclass (Foreman, 2002). Though it is music, many people do not realize that it is much more than that. Hip hop is a form of art and culture, style, and language, and extension of commerce, and for many, a natural means of living. The purpose of this paper is to examine hip hop and its effect on American culture. Different aspects of hip hop will also be examined to shed some light that helps readers to what hip hop actually is. In order to see hip hop as a cultural influence we need to take a look at its history.
A main reason why the misogyny of rap music has been such a problem in this generation, is because as the years pass, each generation evolves and becomes more accepting of race, non-existent gender roles, and equality between men and women. These evolutions are prevalent in the everyday lives of black women, however, artists in the hip-hop genre clearly have never gotten that memo. Black women have found it hard enough to escape the social barrier between races and stereotypes, without rappers’ attempts to diminish their self-worth. Mike Klocke (2007), author of the article “Let’s take the rap for what we listen to,” has stated that hip-hop music found “objectionable” would be easier to ignore, and easier for black women to overcome, if the music wasn’t so anticipated and “in your face” (p.
Hip-hop is everywhere. The genre possesses a distinct function, operating as a perfectly accessible medium that simultaneously soundtracks a high school, middle-class house party and an authentic, bleak representation of inner city anguish. To most youth, rap is this generation’s interpretation of punk rock. Insubordinate. Aggressive. Crass. Yet, to many older individuals or parents, hip-hop is synonymous with ignorance. To them, hip-hop is the manifestation of musical illiteracy and immaturity of not particularly the African-American community, but youth culture as a whole. The disconnect mostly resides within the content and topics discussed within the music, and how said topics and content are presented. In the current climate, there seems to be no middle ground between teens and young adults
I believe that when we look at this question the main issue that one must confront is one of content and the use of that content. Any type of music whether it be rap, rock and roll, opera, country, or even Christian music is about expression. Expressing ones ideas and emotions though music is as old as music itself. Take for example the latest craze of Latin music. The vernacular of the people in which the music comes from is reflected in the music in the form of Spanish words and phrases throughout the songs. The history of the Latin culture can be seen in the rhythms and instruments played by performers as well as in the lyrics. In rock and roll music of today the rebellious words of the times can be heard in the lyrics of the music. In Christian music, the Word of God and of the scriptures can be heard in the lyrics of that type of music as well. The 'history' and beliefs of the church can be heard in the type of words that are heard. In ancient Indian verses and song warriors would chant before they went to war and to the gods. These chants and songs reflected the image of the culture and a small piece of each participant can be seen and heard in the music.
“To understand how any society functions you must understand the relationship between the men and women” (Angela Davis). Artist such as Tupac and J Cole use hip-hop as a form of expression to bring attention to the social issues within the African American community. Songs such as Keep Ya Head Up, Brenda’s Got A Baby, Crooked Smile, and Lost Ones communicates the social issues affecting the black community, during the 90’s as well as the current matters in today’s society. All of the songs touch on topics such as abortion, rape, drugs, and poverty. Within the African American community, it has not changed as it relates to how we act as a race when dealing with situations we encounter as African Americans.
“We teenagers are growing up in a society where the media has a great impact on our lives,”said a teenage author of an article on Teen Ink. Hip-Hop, is the most influential source of media that is affecting today’s teenagers. How is it affecting them? The Hip-Hop and Rap music industry rap about drugs, money, women, and cars causing them to want to experiment with new drugs, steal, sell drugs, have sex, vandalize, disobey the law and try to be someone they aren 't. Even though some teens from the ghetto look up to rappers that were once like them and became successful, hip-hop music still has a negative influence on teenagers because they want to model the rap artist lifestyle and listening to hip-hop music encourages teenagers to try drugs.
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .