Hip Hop and Rap

Commercial hip-hop has worsened what singers in the past decades tried to establish. A new culture of music, attitude and dance. Today hip-hop culture is identified with cash, cars, violence, war, diamonds, racism, guns, sexual promiscuity, and drugs. By promoting illegal activities, is far away from delightful and peaceful lyrics. Hip-hop can be explored and used as a valuable tool in examining gender relations. Hip Hop was a movement and in the present is an obligatory tendency for most of teenagers. Hip-Hop has undergone changes that traditionalist would consider degenerating to our civilization. I like the beats, chorus, the honest way that portray reality of the conditions they were exposed to and the way it takes me to “the top of the charts”.

The culture associated with the music has drastically changed. Hip-hop represents race, ethnicity, class, gender, and generation. Hip-Hop culture has always been popular among young people, and the rappers don’t seem to be concerned about their music effects on kid’s behavior. Although created by black youth on the street, hip hop's influence has become worldwide. The issue is that Hip-hop is spreading everywhere, is all pervasive in the charts and fills the clubs and homes of people from all genders, ages and ethnics. Many other types of music can be a culture too, and each person feels if it is a culture to them or not.

As stated by Light, Alan, ed. The Vibe History of Hip Hop. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1999. "In the late 1970’s a new, popular form of urban youth culture emerged in the Bronx that changed the face of popular music and American culture." According to the Wikipedia, Hip Hop began in New York City predominantly among African Americans, arose during the 1970s when block parties became common, especially the Bronx. Rap continues to be popular among today's urban youth for the same reasons it was in the early days: it is still an accessible form of self expression.

Music deserves as much scrutiny and discussion by educational scholars as television, movies, or other media. The music industry plays a huge role in today’s society from many different angles. I am addicted to music. People that don't listen at home probably listen when driving or at a bar. With the actual technology, everybody can download music for free on the internet and update their mp3 players and iPods. Rap music has a major effect on the violence that teens involve themselves in today. The negative aspects of rap music is revealed through artists not setting good examples, the disrespectful, explicit and violent lyrics Rap music influences teenagers negatively by increasing violent attitudes and promoting sexual aggression against women. Talking about the ladies, Lauryn Hill blends all that is good about hip-hop, soul, reggae, and rock without the self-consciousness of other genre hoppers. She has the best voice in the world and she knows how to talk about freedom. She used to sing only hip-hop but not in an aggressive way, she says that "we must destroy in order to rebuild", and she sings about rebellion but in a reality form that brings progress for her listeners. Her last CD acoustic had this lyric:

"Yo, there's a war in the mind, over territory
For the dominion
Who will dominate the opinion
Skisms and isms, keepin' us in forms of religion
Conformin' our vision
To the world churches decision
Trapped in a section
Submitted to commiting election
Moral infection
Epedemic lies and deception
Insurrection
Of the highest possible order
Destortin' our tape recorders..."

She is an example that you can talk about real issues and still be triumphant in the public eye.

Popular music, for teens has always been controversial, but sex, violence, beatings, and suicide are considered extreme ideas. Entertainment corporations, record labels, producers and directors give the sensation that they think this is very normal. Today's teenagers would not read poetry and comprehend the message, but, they would listen to rap and be able to understand the idea that the artist is trying to express.

Now Hip Hop has become a symbol of corporate America, and it is unlikely Hip Hop will have the free expression and voice it used to have. All musicians have a right to say whatever they want in their music. Listening to famous artists who have become successful for singing about their struggles helps kids to deal with their problems, because this form of music was formed in this poverty stricken areas, the lyrics tend to be somewhat provocative and politically incorrect. Most of the rappers are distorting an interpretation of what actually happens on the streets, because they don't live there anymore and are full of money in their pockets. From films to magazines, to music, to fashion, the Hip-hop business has impression on all atmospheres of American mass culture.

What hip-hop culture has essentially done is make explicit the very crisis of identity that the black public at large faces. According to literary scholar Sharon Patricia Holland, “identity only becomes an issue when it is in crisis, when something assumed to be fixed, coherent and stable is displaced by the experience of doubt and uncertainty.” (See Sharon Patricia Holland, Raising the Dead: Readings of Death and (Black) Subjectivity [Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000], 137). The word “nigger” is one of the many popular words of hip hoppers. They use the word as a term of affection, contrary to the standard insulting meaning of the word. Post Civil Rights, post LA Riots, post MTV, the hip-hop generation has been less concerned with the sound of the term “nigger”.

In direct contrast to the public impression of hip hop, some authors have positive messages: “Hip hop is a cultural form that was originally created by African Americans and was once owned and controlled by them. More recently, however, the culture has been hijacked by white music executives who have transformed its message into a glorification of violence, crime, drug abuse, and misogyny. As a result, the white establishment in the music industry has perpetuated false and negative stereotypes of black people. This has proved damaging not only to the African American community, but the nation as a whole.” Nelson George, Hip Hop America. Nelson George has written a history of hip hop culture. He discusses its origins, the influences , the businesses that grew up around it. I read his book and I realized that are many Hip-Hop artist that put out a positive vibration in their music, the main problem is that those singers are currently absent from many major radio stations that predominantly play songs dominated by futile, pointless, senseless, insignificant, meaningless, and trivial lyrics. Not that there’s anything wrong with that sometimes. There are days and nights where you just want to dance. But this generation needs a bigger vision.

Hip hop culture is really amazing and people who listen to rap and hip hop in the radios today may hate it, but they don't understand the history that comes behind. Also, many individuals can confuse hip hop singers, which have political awareness, with bad rappers. The glorification of drug dealing, pimping, pot smoking and violence is common in gangster rap but many hip hop songs talk about love in an entertaining way. Many times many of these rappers like 2pac contradict themselves talking about killing each other in one lyric, and changes and better days in other. He would engage in a speech against women, and then protect them bravely. He was a tremendous inspiring and fantastic singer/men, even though controversial. Still 2Pac had profound and heavy letters; he used his feelings from his unstable childhood and life in the inner city. Today is hard to find a rap singer that talk about issues so well like he did. I'm not going to say that some youth won't listen to some rap music and get the wrong idea, but that also can happen with other types of music such as Heavy Metal.

From my experience I see that Hip Hop is huge in California and New York City, where was originated. East and West coast have introduced the most famous rappers from the past to today. Regularly new songs and artists are presented in the media, and there is plenty space for all the ex-amateurs. There is a big sphere for the talented ones. By listening to Hip Hop in the radios is realizable that there is a mixture of rhythmic sounds, since the technology these days has all kinds of devices, sometimes you can't differ a real voice from one created in studios or a instrument from a machine tool.

Society has always been able to move on and eventually accept different ways of expressing oneself, and hip-hop should be no different. Music has a very powerful influence on our emotions, moods, and behavior. If more artists concentrated on positive messages, since Hip-Hop is the main money maker in the music industry, the impact could be revolutionary. Regardless of how many rap artists land in jail or end up dead, this music will live on.