Rap music has allowed the French immigrant youth the opportunity to voice their minds freely through their lyrics. One person, in particular, that the youth of France owe this gratitude of liberation to is the famous Afrika Bambaataa (Helenon 151). The challenges that they face in the ghettos of France are really not much different than the ones we do. They too face racial profiling and police brutality their death rate is “minuscule” by American level (Grabar). The quality of the housing apartments is atrocious. And their standard for education is poor. However, when the children return home from school instead of studying they hit the streets (Paris Burning). It’s also hard to obtain employment due to the color of their skin, but the
continuous use of illicit drugs can’t be helping the process. Coming out of the housing projects one must show high levels of resilience and if one doesn’t have those qualities, they may always be a victim. “To succeed one must be a warrior” (Paris Burning). A perfect example is French, Muslim rapper Medine. In his music video, he uses religious symbolisms as a way to represent his identity to the French people, and to let the rest of France know that he, and his people are ‘French too” (Giving Voice to France’s Poorest Youth, With Rhymes and Beats).
The Hip-Hop Nation, written by Touré, is a very interesting and engaging essay. The first thing I noticed was that the essay is written in the first person which I believe was done to engage the readers and establish a connection between the author and the readers. I feel that it served its purpose very well as I felt very involved throughout the entire essay. An essay written in the first person seems more personal and allows readers, like myself, to really relate to the content of the essay. I decided that I would try to incorporate that style of writing into my essay as well. Previously, I said that writing in the first person allows the reader to relate better with the essay being written, however, I was unable to really relate with this essay in the sense that I don’t really understand the author’s passion for hip-hop and the hip-hop way of life. Personally, I am more of a Soul and Rhythm-and-Blues (R&B) person, so I can’t say that I belong to the Nation in any way.
One of Williams main topics of concerns is the wrong messages that “public airwaves” are sending to their listeners and followers. Williams claims rap and other medias are representing and sending the wrong message about African American communities. She mentions that rap music once held a positive message but now rap music is bombarding the public with the use of profanity, violence, and obscenity throughout their lyrics and music
The HLMs are shown as rundown and largely unsafe areas, where the people are subject to the abuse of police. When the protagonists of the film travel to Paris, they are singled out and beaten by police for being out of place and again are subject to the oppression of French police. The scenes that feature violence between the French police and the North African immigrants also show the colonial style of policing that was still being employed in the 1990s. Police were dressed in riot gear and used force and weapons against the HLM youth. Going back to Frantz Fanon’s argument that violence leads to violence, it’s noticeable that the HLM youth have a desire to revolt and act violently after being oppressed and feeling stuck in the low-income, high-unemployment
Race, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits (“Merriam-Webster” 2016). “The concept of race, as a construct distinguishing one group of humans from another on the basis of shared biological appearances, emerges from a legacy of human-different making that traces across humanity” (Radano and Bohlman 2000: 10). In my opinion, it is inevitable for musicians to subconsciously incorporate their ideas of racial differences in music making. With the influence of the mass media, racial differences are communicated through music, which then modifies the pre-existing perceptions of racial identities of the audiences. First, I will
It was the first time I had ever been to a party. I had just graduated high school, and did not have nor ever did have any sort of interest in going to a party. One of my fellow classmates had invited me to her party on the night of graduation, and I decided why not? I was told growing up that I would never have contact with most of my classmates after graduation ever again, so I wanted to have one last fun moment with the graduating class of 2013. I arrived at my classmate’s house around nine, and immediately was overwhelmed by the makeshift dance floor in the backyard, the loud, unfamiliar music, and the disco lights. Growing up, I had never been introduced to rap music, so I did not enjoy it as much as my fellow classmates did. It did not take long for the party to get started. Boys and girls alike started to make their way to the makeshift dance floor, immediately dancing on one another. I was absolutely taken away as girls that I had known for four years bent over and began to press their backsides up against boys, grinding on the boys as if it were an everyday activity as degrading music blared out of the speakers, as if they were not aware of the actual lyrics of the song. I was not sure what made me feel sicker to my stomach: the way the girls moved their behinds in ways that I found impossible, which I later learned was called ‘twerking’, or the misogynistic rap music that my classmates danced to. I have not been to a party since then, and I do not think I ever will go to one again. It did not take me long to understand why my parents never let me listen to rap music before: it is this misogynistic, or a hatred towards women, type of music. Rap music clearly portrays women in several, negative ways, such as re...
1. What you are studying (which three works and the topic of your paper) Topic: I’m going to be writing my paper on Cultural Appropriation. I’m going to focus on cultural appropriation in music and hip hop. Then I’m going to use cultural appropriation in hair as a way of questioning whether cultural appropriation is actually cultural appreciation.
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.
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...
Rap is about giving voice to a black community otherwise underrepresented, if not silent, in the mass media. It has always been and remains … directly connected to the streets from which it came. (144)
...abuse towards women, the sexual objectification of women and the effect these lyrics have on our youth?s opinion of women make hip-hop the absolute embodiment of exploitation of women. The extreme abuse that women must endure as a result of hip-hop, in conjunction with the constant objectification and marginalization that women continue to experience in society today has had a very negative influence on an average adolescent?s perception of women. In a fashion that is metaphorically parallel to the exploitation of women in rap, the great French writer Francois-Marie Arouet, whose pseudonym is Voltaire, once stated, ?No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible? (Arouet). Hip-hop icons are instilled with the incomparable power to change lives for the better or the worse?for the sake of women everywhere, black or white, one can only pray that it is the former.
Hip hop culture is known for its negative reputation. It is often thought as an entrance way into gangs, illegal drug activity, and malicious behavior. In today’s culture it is important to lead kids toward a positive direction in life but the hip hop culture of today is not steering youth in that direction. This is because hip-hop has moved away from what it was supposed to be used for. This genre of music was supposed to be used to for personal expression and growth not to create negative images for the youth and encourage them to change their behaviors and beliefs. Hip hop was supposed to give hope to the youth. Give them a reason to pursue their dreams and give them a positive outlook on life. Are there artists who keep it “old school?” Yes there is, but it is never heard on mainstream radio. Hip hop culture has the potential to help the youth follow their dreams and become better people. It just needs to go back to its roots and bring those morals back up again.
>. Dixon, Travis L., TaKeshia Brooks. “Rap Music and Rap Audiences: Controversial Themes, Psychological Effects and Political Resistance.” Perspectives. 7 April 2009. .
The Effects of Hip-Hop Music on Today’s Youth Does hip-hop music effect today’s youth in a positive or negative way? The effects of hip-hop music have been disputable following the time when its rise into the social standard in the late twentieth century, but hip-hop music is not just one sided but can be both positive and negative in today’s youth. What is hip-hop about? Assuming that you address hip-hop fans, the term alludes to more than simply a musical type - it incorporates an entire society, including dance structures, graffiti symbolization, and fashion (Selke INT).
Hip-hop has become a mainstream culture in youth today. It is a classic of music that contains both rap and break dancing. Hip-hop culture, originally from African Americans in the United States, has influenced many young generations. For example, there are many famous hip-hop artists who are supported by new generations, such as Jay-z, Snoop Dogg, and Eminem. However, there are some controversy arguments about hip-hop culture has been influenced youth culture with reinforcing bad behaviors, such as academic performance in school and behavioral problem with drug use. Since hip-hop culture adopted the idea of subversion, an idea in popular culture, which defines as a counter-culture attempt to change the status quo. The attempt of subversion