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The effects of rap music on youth
Minorities and police brutality
The negative impact of hip hop music
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Growing up a young black male in Compton, California was an especially difficult task around 1970. During that time drugs were being sold at a record breaking high. Crimes committed and racism continuously took turns for the worse. It was not until the 1980’s that a group took rise to stardom. A voice that spoke for the ones in the ghetto. Four men from the streets of Compton’s slum formed a rap group which became known as “Niggaz Wit Attitudes” (N.W.A). They faced tremendous scrutiny, but never forgot where they came from. N.W.W. was a fearless group who revolutionized the rap culture forever. All four original members of N.W.A. grew up on the streets with little to no money. Becoming one of the iconic rap groups of all time changed that problem where money was concerned. Most people would not know how to handle the surplus of money or the fame and forget where they came from, but not N.W.A. They never …show more content…
N.W.A. was a fearless, almost to a fault, often times, causing quandaries with the law. One day the group was harassed outside the recording studio by police officers because of their skin color. The location of the studio was on the nicer side of Compton so law officials assumed the group of nefarious teenage delinquents had ill intentions. Ice Cube, no stranger to being harassed by law officials, decided he had had enough. Taking it upon himself, this lyrical prodigy decided to utilize his fame to speak up for other blacks who were also being harassed by the police and created the song “F*ck tha Police.” The song was so controversial the FBI sent a sternly worded letter to the group about the song. On tour one day in Detroit, Michigan the group was “strongly” advised not to play the song “F*ck tha Police” but as always N.W.A. did not comply and did what they felt. Disregarding the warning by the officials the song caused a riot and each member was arrested shortly
... song entitled “Formation”. The filming took place in Los Angeles, but features references to Hurricane Katrina, with Beyoncé on top of a police car in a flooded street and later cuts to a man holding a newspaper with Martin Luther King Jr.’s face on it with the title “The Truth”. Later a young hooded boy dances in front of a line of police officers with their hands up before the video cuts to a graffitied wall with the words “stop shooting us “ tagged on it, at the end of the video the police car sunk with her on top. Not only did this song, bring awareness to the 10th anniversary of hurricane Katrina it also brought awareness to police brutality, racism, and the “black lives matter movement”. I stand with Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, the people of New Orleans and the countless others who are pushing for a change in the way minorities and the lower class citizen are treated.
During the 80s a controversial group of rappers came together and changed the game of Hip Hop for generations to come. Niggas with Attitude, otherwise known as N.W.A, was comprised of the rappers; Ice Cube, MC Ren, Easy E, Yella, and Dr. Dre. Theses rappers spoke the truth about life in the streets; the hustling, the trapping, the sexual encounters, the gang life, and the most important, the racism. They shined a light on these issues in a violent, sexually explicit, yet intelligent and revolutionary way. The Facebook page, *N.W.A* creates an environment that connects people of all races, backgrounds, and ages; with the goal of immortalizing, and spreading the original message of the group.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
Born September 7, 1963, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright's early reputation on the streets of Compton, California, was a hustler eager to apply his street knowledge to his legitimate game. He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, but refused that to interrupt his success. In the late `80's he turned to rap music. Along with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and M.C. Ren established the most successful and controversial rap group in history. As N.W.A, they blasted police cruelty and challenged the establishment. They eventually took their message of inner-city struggle to millions of fans worldwide. As a soloist, Eazy's career was even more incredible. He launched Compton/Ruthless Records in 1987 and by 1988 had two hit acts-JJ. Fad and Michel'le. During the summer of the same year, N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton LP frightened the media into labeling the group "gangsters". This was a label the group wore and exploited with such force that by the time Eazy released his solo project Eazy-Duz-It that fall, the stage of musical funk and lyrical fight had long been set. "Boyz-N-The-Hood" , "We Want Eazy", "Eazy-Duz-It". His voice fueled a legion of hits. In the early `90's, he joined other West Coast rappers, including M.C. Hammer, Ice T, Tone-Loc, and Young MC, in a stop the violence campaign led by the single "We're All In The Same Gang". With N.W.A, Eazy broke down all the doors of mass exposure previously closed to rap music. Attempts to rock the young musician's foundation were generally useless. Arrests for performing N.W.A's biggest hit "F*** The Police", and other attempts at censorship only helped pave the way for his success. By the time the group had released its last album, Efil4zaggin, in 1991, they had sold more than six million records. As a businessman, Eazy had built a solid commodity with his Ruthless Records label. Some of his more famous signings were: Above The Law, Bone- Thugs-N-Harmony, and D.O.C. His ability to promote and market these acts was on the strength of his radio show, "Ruthless Radio Show". As an on-air personality, Eazy gave his audience tickets to his performances, talked to fans, and also became more famous with the young black Americans. Few really knew the man behind the scenes. His charitable nature benefited such organizations as Athletes and Entertainers For Kids, United Colors, and the Make A Wish Foundation.
As hip hop culture became prevalent in pop culture, so did black culture. Hip hop stems from black struggle. Their vernacular, songs, and spiritual ways were different from what whites were used to. Their different lifestyle of “living on the edge” was intriguing yet inaccessible for the whites living among them. Thus, this initiated America’s fascination with the culture. It became about what people assume and perceive about black people rather than what they actually are. In essence, an essential to cool is being on the outside, looking in. In the media and celebrities today,
George covers much familiar ground: how B-beats became hip hop; how technology changed popular music, which helped to create new technologies; how professional basketball was influenced by hip hop styles; how gangsta rap emerged out of the crack epidemic of the 1980s; how many elements of hip hop culture managed to celebrate, and/or condemn black-on-black violence; how that black-on-black violence was somewhat encouraged by white people scheming on black males to show their foolishness, which often created a huge mess; and finally, how hip hop used and continues to use its art to express black frustration and ambition to blacks while, at the same time, refering that frustration and ambition to millions of whites.
Dr. Dre (b. Andre Young, February 18, 1965) became involved in hip-hop during the early '80s, performing at house parties and clubs with the World Class Wreckin' Cru around South Central Los Angeles, and making a handful of recordings along the way. In 1986, he met Ice Cube, and the two rappers began writing songs for Ruthless Records, a label started by former drug pusher Eazy-E. Eazy tried to give one of the duo's songs, "Boyz N the Hood," to HBO, a group signed to Ruthless. When the group refused, Eazy formed N.W.A. -- an acronym for Niggaz With Attitude -- with Dre and Cube, releasing their first album in 1987. A year later, N.W.A. delivered Straight Outta Compton, a vicious hardcore record that became an underground hit with virtually no support from radio, the press or MTV. N.W.A. became notorious for their hardcore lyrics, especially those of "Fuck tha Police," which resulted in the FBI sending a warning letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority, suggesting that the group should watch their step.
Hip hop has become one of the most commercially promoted and financially successful forms of media in recent years. But as its profits have risen it has become a scapegoat for the many of the public criticisms of young black people. These topic have been discussed in Tricia Rose’s novel “The Hip Hop Wars What We Talk About - And Why It Matters”. The state of hip hop has fallen because the trinity of commercial hip hop has become main topic and caused a lot of controversy. This book is appealing to a person who want to know how hip hop has changed in the past decade and it points out many different attitudes toward hip hop in the Unites States.
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
Rap started in the mid-1970s in the South Bronx area of New York City. The birth of rap is, in many ways, like the birth of rock and roll. Both originated in the African American community and both were first recorded by small, independent record labels and marketed towards, mostly to a black audience. And in both cases, the new style soon attracted white musicians that began performing it. For rock and roll it was a white American from Mississippi, Elvis Presley. For rap it was a young white group from New York, the Beastie Boys. Their release “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)” (1986) was one of the first two rap records to reach the Billboard top-ten. Another early rap song to reach the top ten, “Walk This Way” (1986), was a collaboration of Run-DMC and Aerosmith. Soon after 1986, the use of samples was influenced in the music of both black and white performers, changing past thoughts of what make up a “valid” song.
For many, music is a cultural history that brings families together, allowing them to share a common interest. The birth of hip hop ignited a whole new world of music, which lead to vast amount of controversy in the music industry. Hip hop has always been recognized as the platform for the black American culture. Hip hop become a moment that changed the entire music industry, and as the culture progressed it become more mainstream. In today’s music society, it is evident that the white race has become greatly involved with hip hop and the lifestyle that entails this culture. Notorious artists such as the Beastie Boys and Vanilla Ice enabled artists such as Eminem, Miley Cyrus and Iggy Azalea to follow their dreams in the hip hop world. If one acknowledges all the aspect of the hip hop culture such as the type of dance or the graffiti art, does the color of his or her skin really matter? It is clear that these artists have tested this theory, and have results that are shocking. White artists are becoming more accepted and appreciated for their music and are being mentors for the hip hop community. As a result of the outbreak of hip hop out of the Bronx, all races were able to enjoy and love the culture of hip
Hip hop has multiple branches of style and is a culture of these. This essay will examine Hip Hop from the point of view of the following three popular music scholars, Johnson, Jeffries and Smitherman. It will delve deeper into their understanding of what hip hop is and its relation to the different people that identify with its message and contents. It will also identify the history of Hip hop and its transition into popular music. In particular this essay will focus on what hip hop represents in the black community and how it can be used as a social movement against inequalities faced by them. This will then open up the discussion for the how this has influenced society, and the impact it has had in terms of race issues which hip hop itself often represents through music.
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.
In (2) “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A (Ni**az Wit Attitudes) it reveals that life in Los Angeles streets are the savage realities in life for the group members
Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .