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Rap music history
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Rap Music Since the late 1980's rap music has been called the Anti Christ in our culture, because of it's so-called influence in people's life. People swear up and down that the music is why people, specially the youth resort to violent crimes. I think by saying this they are trying to cover up the real truth by giving simple answers. Rap is defined as a style of popular music consisting of improvised rhymes performed to a rhythmic accompaniment. The first rap song was made in the late 70's, the songs were seven to eight minutes long and was mostly used in small clubs to dance to. It didn't really become popular until the early 80's. Over the years it has become mainstream music, everyone is listening to it. In the last four years rap made up 60% of music bought in stores in the United States. In 1989 a local group called N.W.A.(Niggaz Wit Attitudes) came from out of L.A. and changed rap, which was the start of Gangsta Rap. In their lyrics they talked about crime, street violence and killing. Once they were a huge hit, it caught on, and really that's when all this madness started. Everyone started rapping Gangsta style. More and more people started rapping about police brutality and killing people and with that crime rose to high levels. In my opinion it's not the artists or the record company's fault that crime rose. It's not their responsibility to look after every person who listens to their music. In all these years of rap though there are three people who took the most criticism from the public. Dr. Dre was one, after N.W.A. broke up he went on to do his own thing, and after he released "The Chronic" he became a star.
This article is titled “Rap music is harmful to African American communities” and is written by E. Faye Williams. Williams is a chairwoman of the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW). The national congress of black women is a non-profit organization dedicated to the educational, political, economic, and cultural development of African American women and their families. Williams’s article “Rap music is harmful to African American communities” makes her qualified and a credible source to be writing on this question: If rap music and other media is harming the African American community? In her article, she states her side of the argument of how rap music and media are indeed harming the African American community, using the context, and reasoning,
Music reflects the times. In the 60's and 70's, musicians preached peace and empathy towards the human race. In the 80's music was a form of rebellion. Today, music has manifested itself into many different forms, one being "hip hop" more commonly known as "rap". In the early 80's, rap was about break-dancing and graffiti. Now, as we approach the year 2000, hip hop has become the most listened-to form of music nation-wide and many rap artists have adopted the new title of "pop-artists", pop. meaning "popular culture". A hip hop single recently took the number 1 spot on the Billboard charts for most sales recorded. The problem here is the message many rappers are telling the world. From the beginning, rappers have flaunted their money with the expensive cars seen in their videos and the thick gold chains they wear in public, not to mention the numerous references made to wealth in their lyrics. However, many rappers are telling tales of violence and wealth as one. In fact, there are more than 10 hip hop songs actually entitled "Crime Pays". In the chart topping single, "Money, Power, Respect", Yonkers based rapper DMX raps "hit him up/ split him up/ shut him up/ then watch him come/ get him up…CLICK, step back like I did work", portraying a beating, then murder, the "CLICK" being the sound made by the trigger of a gun. The chorus then goes on to proclaim "Money, Power, Respect,...
“The Hip Hop Wars What We Talk About - And Why It Matters” by Tricia Rose explores what hip hop has done to society in recent years and what people think it has caused. Though it has become one of the most commercially successful genres in mainstream music Tricia Rose explains that the topics in hip hop music have narrowed. Commercial hip hop mainly consist of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and hoes. In the book she looks into the different points of views of people who think whether hip hop invokes violence or if it reflects life in a black ghetto and if it slows down advancement for African Americans in US. The author goes back and forth with the opinion of the mass on hip hop, she says people view hip hop as a music like heavy metal which people associate with violence but she refutes most of these points by showing the positives of hip hop.
Music is one of the most powerful and influential language which to many people in
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...
The most popular new music to emerge from the ‘80’s was rap music. It first developed in the mid ‘70’s in New York City, and soon in other urban areas, primarily amongst African-American teen-agers. It became very popular with the urban public that it soon began to spread throughout the United States and much of the world. It replaced rock music as the creative force in music of the ‘80’s and ‘90’s. However, as popular as it was then and it is now, the lyrics of many rap songs have caused controversy. Many believe and have charged that these lyrics promote racism and violence and show contempt for women.
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
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.
Rap has been around since 1973, when Kool DJ Herc introduced this new mash of jazz, soul, gospel, and reggae. This culture has been focused around African Americans, and since has served as a voice for the underrepresented, that is spreading violence, alcohol, and drugs. In this genre the most popular and successful boast about who has murdered more foes as breezily as other artists sing about love. Rap music tells stories of drugs, violence, and alcohol. The youth of America is constantly exposed to this kind of music, and our teenagers are being desensitized to the effects of these stories.
Many have found correlations between those that listen to rap music and those that live under the severe influence of drugs and alcohol, most at a young age. As a letter from Brown University states, “Subjects with greater exposure were 3 times more likely to have hit a teacher; more than 2.5 times as likely to have been arrested; twice as likely to have had multiple sexual partners, and more than 1.5 times as likely to have contracted a new STD, or used drugs and/or alcohol at follow-up”("New Research Explores Effects of Rap Music on Adolescents."). These statistics are staggering, but I was also curious as to how they came to be. Was this about the music at all, or merely just a societal accompaniment of those that rap music attracts? For me, personally, I always liked to listen to music to which I could relate to; hear my own world through the words of another. Maybe the controversial issues that are being dealt with in these songs are attractive to those that are living the words that are being spoken. Although this thought wasn’t all that comforting, it certainly made me feel better than just thinking that the music was what was instigating this negativity amongst
Rap is becoming more popular than ever, soon most of the world will have some type of knowledge of rap music. Rachel Sullivan from the University of Connecticut stated “White respondents in this survey had difficulty naming three rap artists, which indicated that they did not have a high level of commitment to the music.” This statement was produced in 2003, also seemed to be very one dimensional. Recently, rap music has been surging through the masses no matter the race. Furthermore, rap is becoming very prevalent especially in the youth of this era. Many trends, commercials, social media, etc. are revolving around rap music.
One of the main purposes of hip hop is to entertain people. Some artists paint themselves in being involved with guns, criminal violence, sex and the disrespect to women. Some hip hop music may be negative but this does not mean that all hip hop music is degenerate. When youth listen to hip hop they automatically vibe with it and it moves them. If you ask at least ten teens more than fifty percent of them will say that they listen to hip hop. You have individuals that might have had a bad life since they were young and hip hop has been their gateway to a new life. Hip hop music has been a way for young people to speak against negative aspects of life. Many artists use their musical talents to promote a positive image for our youth today. Such as J.Cole, Common, Chance The Rapper and more that use their talents to promote peace and anti-violence. These artists talk about police brutality, gun violence from police officers that's happening among young black youth. They have also raised money for their hometowns such as raising money to provide coats for the homeless. They also have honored black leaders who have try to make a change and leave a positive influence. Particularly in our youth because young people are the future and it is mainly made to get a message across to entertain the
Richardson, Jeanita W., Kim A. Scott. “Rap Music and Its Violent Progeny: America’s Culture of Violence in Context.” The Journal of Negro Education 71.3 (2002): 175 – 192.
anyone who I found for their definition of "hip-hop." I wasn't able to ask everyone on the floor, but I really didn't need to either. From the 15 or so people I asked, I got a similar answer, and each was that which I expected to hear. Some of my floormates thought that hip-hop was rap music, others said it was both rap and R&B, and only one person had a good idea of what it actually is. Hip-hop is a culture, and there is a common misconception that hip-hop refers solely to a genre of music.
We rely heavily on music to get us through a work out, cleaning, and we even rely on it when going through rough patches in our lives. One can say music is where we turn to too get in a certain mindset. For instance, boxers before a fight listens to music that will get them energized and pumped up. This doesn 't seem so bad, but unfortunately the most popular music today has the most negative effects on its audience. Specifically, Hip hop Music, today it is more provocative than ever and one can only assume it will only get worse from here. The lyrics to these harmful but catchy tunes are to blame for distorting the image of what success looks like in the mind of our youth. Not only are the lyrics poisonous but the music videos and graphics that go along with the songs are even more negatively influential. Furthermore, It is a combination of damaging lyrical messages and visual representations that are adversely contributing to the racial profiling of African Americans. The evolution of rap culture could be more dangerous than we realize. On the image to the left is 50 cent on a cover to his album. This is what is selling in today’s society. If this is not African Americans contributing to their own racial profile I don’t know what