Is rap the main problem of violence in specific communities, or is this scapegoating false? What is scapegoating first? Scapegoating is "a person who is blamed for something someone else has done." This is stated in the Cambridge Dictionary. Society puts the blame on rap music and culture for the harm and violence in communities, specifically in black and brown communities. Most people claim that rap is promoting violence and harm in black and brown communities. This is because of the destructive and harmful lyrics rappers spew in their songs. An example of this is rapper "YNW Melly," who states in the song "Murder on My Mind," "His face is on a T-shirt, and his family traumatized I didn't even mean to shoot him, he just caught me by surprise." Music relating this caused …show more content…
Department of Justice.com) states that "there is certainly a correlation. Black-on-black violence has escalated sharply since the late 1980s, when the popularity of gangsta rap was on the rise." Another example of this is when Medium.com states that even "Since many rappers back in the day were into gangs, there was a whole lot of violence in the rap game. However, many other songs show the beauty of rap and black and brown culture. For example, in "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac, he states, "Keep ya head up, ooh, child, things are gonna get easier." Although there is much violent rap music, there are also many uplifting songs that emphasize the pain and defacement the black and brown communities feel frequently. Another example of scapegoating toward the black community is that during the black lives matter protest, there was a rise in looting. It takes advantage of the actual reasoning behind the protest. This also caused a rise in people believing that the Black Lives Matter protest was not as peaceful as it was explained. This makes social media spread a reputation for people who genuinely care about the cause. This also makes the black community look and feel
Tupac Shakur (2pac) was known as one of those rappers that has made a difference in the black community during the 90’s. All his music talked about the reality of black lives and the struggle of being black not only for black men but also for black women. His songs gave hope to African Americans, and to help them see that black was/is beautiful. Even though Tupac has many hit songs and albums, Keep Ya Head Up has been one of the best songs that Tupac has ever recorded! “The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice the darker the flesh the deeper the roots”.
...ed the same fate as Tupac. What we can draw from hyper-masculinity and violence in Hip Hop is that its hyper-masculinity is a downfall for black males from across the global the characteristic of hyper-masculinity that “the belief that violence is manly” is immoral to the community to think that this way to carry yourself to be a man in the hears of your listeners we need music the uplift our people.
Portrayed as a thug to the media, Tupac Shakur was criticized for his crimes rather than his music. The media rather report on his cases and arrest chargers and failed to recognize his music when he spoke of poverty, justice, equality. Tupac’s music was aggressive and his messages spoke on acts of racism, sex, crime, and even death. Songs such as “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” and “Hail Mary” depicted images to the youth: it was okay to be tough, put women second, die, and get shot at by the police. Tupac’s music stood out for many reasons. Some say his music inspired other West Coast artist to change their approach when they created songs, and others say it changed the way his fans thought. Other West Coast rappers like Ice Cube and members of N.W.A, Ice T, Snoop Dogg, and Too Short followed in that trend. They rapped about police brutality and not getting along with political authority. This caused many youth in inner city communities to react the same way, thinking it was okay to defy authority and that although consequences would come of it black people could not be stopped. Although Tupac had many songs he expressed with violent words, he also had songs that uplifted many black and Hispanics of poor upbringings. For example, “Dear Mama” was a song written reflecting on how men should respect women because women gave them life and raised them to be strong, also because women
Is music powerful enough to incite antisocial and violent behavior? According Johnson, Jackson and Gatto’s study on the deleterious effects of exposure to rap music, subjects in the violent exposure conditions (rap music) expressed greater acceptance of violence. Subjects in the violent exposure condition also reported a higher probability that they would engage in violence (Johnson). Music plays an i...
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,...
Music can be reflection of our life experience. Each genre of music invokes different emotions and reactions in it's listeners. Rap has become a very popular genre in today's society. Is today “Gangster rap” and rappers exploiting society, introducing drugs and instigating violence? In the mid-1980s Gangster rap came to be portray images of violence, guns, gangs, drugs, and sexism. By the 1990s rap music became a major part of the industry and topped the charts. As people begin to operate different things; different music was engendered and that contributed to the variety of music that we have today. This is one of the many things that makes America different but is astringently under looked by everyone. There are many types of different raps
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...
Hip hop culture and its creation of rap music has been stereotypically deemed as mere violent depictions as portrayed by its black artists, and is prejudicially more criticized than white genres that also perpetuate violent language within its lyrics. They are subsequently blamed for the massive rates of homicides within the black community, as blackness is given a dangerous face and linked to criminality, as if innately part of a violent culture. However, violence must be defined through the physical utilization of certain words and actions, along with social manipulations of power and hierarchy to confirm one’s own identity (Hernandéz, Weinstein & Munoz-Laboy, 2012, pg. 595). Rap music was created in the 1970s and originated in the South
Boom, boom! Boom, boom! The kind of bass that drains batteries and the kind of lyrics that unload clips, these are the sounds that rap music produces. I chose this topic because I am extremely interested in rap music and I want to explore the violent aspect of the industry. I have never had a chance to look at the violent side of it and I plan to find answers to questions I have in my search. Tupac Shakur is one of my favorite artists and when he was shot and killed I really started to take notice of the violence. People were getting killed because of an image that was being set. What I really want to know, however, is why rappers feel compelled to graphically describe the violence.
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.
“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots”. This is the opening lyrics of one of the best songs ever written in the rap industry “Keep Ya Head Up”. It was written by who many people consider the best rapper in history, Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac is still considered one of the greatest and is still being played today by true Hip-Hop fans. People that do not know much of Tupac view him as a criminal. A criminal that got tatted “Thug Life” across his stomach and was the center of violence between the East Coast vs. West Coast rappers in the early 90’s. But the true Hip-Hop fans know the real Tupac Amaru Shakur. He didn’t promote violence like the rappers that are around now. Chief Keef, Fredo Santana, Lil Reese all promote Chicago’s war on drug trafficking, guns and murder. Tupac was different. He tried sending positive messages and did a phenomenal job with this song. In this song Tupac focuses on women’s rights which something unheard of in the rap industry. That is quite sad because up to this day, most rappers do not rap about women’s rights or try sending a positive message. That is why Tupac was different and he wanted the ideal women standing up for herself with this song.
McWhorter, John. “Rap Music Harms the Black Community.”Popular Culture. Ed. John Woodward. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 53-59.
what is the importance of the Punic wars? what is the punic wars you may ask . The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage from 264 BC to 146 BC. At the time, they were some of the largest wars that had ever taken place. First Punic War, also called First Carthaginian War first of three wars between the Roman Republic and the Carthaginian empire that resulted in the destruction of Carthage. The First Punic War was fought to gain complete control over the strategic islands of Corsica along with Sicily. The Second Punic War was fought between Carthage and Rome between 218 and 201 BCE. While the First Punic War had been fought largely over control of Sicily, the Second Punic war seen many confrontations in Spain,
Is today “Gangster rap” and rappers corrupting society, introducing drugs and provoking violence? In the mid-1980s Gangster rap came to be depicting images of violence, guns, gangs, drugs, and sexism. By the 1990s rap music became a major part of the industry and topped the charts. As people began to want different things; different music was created and that contributed to the variety of music that we have today. This is one of the many things that makes America different but is severely under looked by everyone. The way it effects your emotion can either get the blood pumping with a quick adrenaline boost or can cause severe depression. It can be a positive or negative mental change, physical, and psychological change.