Dismally, I do have to disagree with such minimal acclamations as there is not enough evidence to conclude that hip hop encourages violence and that the stories and rhymes in rap music are not the primary source to blame. Without further ado, I hereby agree with Tricia Rose’s statement that hip hop does not cause violence. Tricia Rose profoundly outlines the injustices, discriminations, and stereotypes that African Americans experienced. She conveys two main solutions which is includes the following: One solution is to take this matter into consideration and initially express these concerns to black youth and the legitimate violence they face in a form of social change. And the second…
Mary Louise Pratt is a famous Silver Professor, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Language Instructor at the prestigious New York University. She holds a B.A in Modern Languages from the University of Toronto; she attended the University of Illinois for her M.A in Linguistics and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Stanford University. Mary Louise Pratt introduced the idea of contact zones with the point of admiring the different aspects that exist within a society. By definition, the term contact zone exists when referring to the spaces that exist within the social sphere where people and individuals from different cultures meet. As different elements of the society and cultures meet, it enables them to clash, grapple with differences,…
The N-Bomb Raquel Cepeda’s “The N-Word Is Flourishing Among Generation Hip-Hop Latinos: Why Should We Care Now?” analyzes the contributions of the N-word and observes its effect in the Latino Hip-Hop culture as well as those who listen to it and the controversy it's attained and continues to cause from the perspective of various sources. This taboo term serves a different notion than that of what it used to 400 years ago. The N-word is now used as a term of solidarity, recognition, and even endearment (if used in the proper context) as Cepeda cites “...because every expression has the potential for ulterior meaning, depending on the circumstances of the person” (141). The N-Word symbolizes the hardships and struggles faced through the Transatlantic…
All in all, misogyny within rap music must be evaluated within the context of larger society, including patriarchy’s wide influence and the historical struggle for Black men to assert their masculinity in…
Cathleen Rountree author of “In Defense of Hip-Hop” issued her article of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 19,2007. She believes that hip-hop shouldn’t be the scapegoat and blame of the violent acts that goes on. Her rhetorical tools such as evidence makes her argument very effective. It is not just negative music, without credibility never judge a book by its cover.…
In chapter three of Prophets of the Hood, Imani Perry analyzes Hip Hop music by recognizing certain aspects of songs. Perry believes that the most critical feature of a song is its figurative language such as metaphors and similes, which make the song more interesting and create a feeling or expression related to the song. She emphasizes the importance of the lyrics of a song and its ability to tell a story. Perry details the four formats of the stories of Hip Hop songs: narrative, exhortation/proclamation, description, and battle. In addition, Perry focuses on the realism of Hip Hop because “it tells us something about the political, artistic, and philosophical ethos of the music” (Perry 86).…
In today’s society, most people would associate hip hop with misogyny and violence. Zebra Balay’s Huffington article, “What We Forget When We Talk about Hip-Hop's Women Problem” focuses on the double standards of misogyny found within hip hop culture as a way to suggest that music critics should analyze other musical genres and American society. Blay’s appropriate choice of words combined with the use of other authors’ articles throughout her article, builds her credibility and appeal to the readers emotions. However, her use of exemplification to establish the issue of misogyny within the music industry, creating an ineffective argument.…
The author portrays the grave truth of rappers and how they speak of women in their music. This feministic viewpoint states that rappers often refer to women in derogatory terms such as ‘ho’ or ‘bitch’ and it seems like women are satisfied with it. But, why? This is what Dr. Smith-Cooper is trying to figure out. Since this scenario is quite contradictory if thoroughly thought of.…
But as time went on, it has also perpetuated and contributed to the reestablishment of certain social issues in black spaces. With sexism and homophobia being perpetuated along with violence, it still raises the question of whether black spaces have improved or worsened as a result of hip-hop. Hip-hop has always been a form of resistance from ‘normative’ American culture, but it backfires when that same normative culture uses the implications of hip-hop to justify wrongdoing. American culture sees hip-hop as something that afflicts the black community with violence and causes occurrences such as “black on black” crime. That is exactly what happened with “Don’t Shoot”: its message was overshadowed by the existence of “blacks killing each other all the time” and the rappers who promote such violence in their music.…
Modern hip-hop has started to embody the earlier roots of hip-hop, transitioning into the politicized art form it once was. Due to the ongoing and continuous violence and systemic racism perpetrated against the black community, as well as increased access to media, the United States has become increasingly polarized, creating a black community that feels betrayed and dejected. Subsequently, hip-hop artists have turned to the microphones to take a stand. Jasari X, and Mick Jenkins, both exemplify the ongoing and systemic oppression perpetrated against black people by demonstrating the tremendous affect prejudice and discriminatory violence has on a group of people.…
All rappers degrade black women and the people who support these corrupt rappers hate black women also. Jennifer Mclune’s “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal of Black Women” creates this biased inference within its readers after reading the text. Mclune is a writer, activist, and librarian that lives in Washington D.C. Her article, “Hip-Hop’s Betrayal of Black Women,” first appeared in an online magazine called Z Magazine in 2006. The story discusses how rappers feel that they have a privilege over women and they rap about it in their music.…
Music has modernized cultures around the globe. Every generation goes through a trend of music that inspires appearance, behaviors and opinions. Music is an element that everyone can connect with, and as long it continues to progress, our society will as well. Hip Hop is one specific genre that has geared towards many debates regarding the direction that it is taking towards its listeners. This genre has found a way for other genres to satisfy its style and unpreventable appeal.…
Rap music and Deviant Behavior in Teens Rap music is based on “African tradition of speaking rhythmically to a beat that is generally supplied by background music.” In the 80s, a rapper by the name of Grandmaster Flash would rap about “deplorable conditions of the inner cities” in order to bring attention to them. Gangsta rap is based on Grandmaster Flash’s song The Message because it raps about the conditions of poor communities. Gangsta rap are usually about police brutality towards youth in inner cities, the violence that are committed in communities where the artists are from, drugs and alcohol abuse, educational inequality. Since the early 1990s Rap music pacifically gangsta rap have become popular with teens and young adults because rap music sings about world problems that these teens and young adults face, in addition to that, the rap music is also about glamour and being rich which the teens fantasy about.…
The results show that people who listen to Rap music had higher levels of aggression, misogynic views, reported substance abuse, and promoted the idea of unprotected sex. Although some listener’s moods were affected negatively, there was another study were Rap music was used as an outlet for African Americans. The lyrics to Rap music mirrored the daily life struggles African Americans face from systematic racism to defining street code.…
By the 1990's rap artists like, DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Curtis Blow and Biz Markie were no longer accepted in the rap music" (Toms, 2006, p1). Those rap artists were considered as roll models, because those rap artists relayed positive messages to their listeners (Toms, 2006, p1). "The majority of today's rap culture involves a lot of explicit material and negativities" (McGarrell). According to McGarrell, This new form of rap music glorifies big money, degrading of women, drugs, alcohol, and guns. Many rap artist lyrics are explicit and degrading to women, while rap artist might be expressing what they have seen or the everyday struggles in life.…