Rap Music Themes

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Tricia Rose analyzes themes discussed in American rap lyrics in her paper Voices from the Margins. Rap Music and Contemporary Black Cultural Production. Themes discussed draw attention to the marginalization of black Americans, gender and sex, and cultural views of raps context.

Rose speaks about black marginalization which is expressed in rap. Rap talks about the experiences of life as a black American normally expressing emotions conveying their reactions to oppression. The lyrics criticize the United States for the oppression which is expressed as racism, economic situation, and their drive to overcome the situation they are forced in. The voice of rap comes from everyday situations. Rose says “They rap about how to avoid gang pressures and still earn local respect, how to deal with the loss of several friends to gun fights and drug overdoses.”(2) Rap speaks about serious subjects that might be foreign to the listener, however, is a reflection of their situation.

The cultural view of rap’s context is seen with the return of the ghetto to public consciousness. Neighborhoods which were viewed …show more content…

Many criticize the involvement of sexist views in rap lyrics, however, doesn’t consider that to the widespread view of this sexism is still prevalent. It is even more common to see male-dominated sexism in the music industry because without the help of male figures women in the industry wouldn’t have the opportunities they could. Rose talks about sexism in rap which can take the standpoint from black male's perspective to protect themselves from rejection. This rejection on a cultural level could further impact its listeners in negative ways. The overarching theme is that culturally sexism is prevalent to all social groups as seen with the marketing slogan sex sells. This not only needs to be discussed to overcome problems of sexism but looked at in terms of what it’s real meaning

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