One may infer what is hip hop? Hip Hop is defined as a cultural movement that began in the South Bronx of New York City in the late 1970s. There are a few notable people who had great influence on the emergence of hip hop. Old school deejays were the main driving force for this movement. Deejay Grandmaster Flash first introduced the technique that America knows today as hip hop. The notorious deejay African Bambaataa is also renowned for his instrumental part in the development of popular hip hop culture. He is one of three notable originators of break-beat deejaying He is acknowledged as the “Godfather” of universal hip hop culture, and the father of the electro funk sound. He incorporated the street gang “black spades” and the Zulu nation to make a music epic. Since its emergence, hip hop has strayed away from its original roots. From its lyrical content to music videos to its value, hip hop has been greatly distorted in America’s eyes.
From a personal perspective, hip hop has changed in both a good and negative light. Hip hop is viewed in a good light because it has created more venues for African Americans to succeed in the industry. It began to show the visibility of African Americans in mainstream popular culture. It allowed African Americans to share their story and testimony on everyday problems and struggles. Upon the demolition of slavery, I feel all African Americans had a story to tell. Finally, the blacks were free from bondage and able to find jobs and resources for their day to day survival. Thus, they needed a channel of communication to get their word out. Music became that mean of communication for some African Americans. Though hip hop has its strengths, it also has its weaknesses. Modern day hip hop has given old school hip hop a whole new meaning and outlook. What started out as disk jockeys creating beats and rhymes by looping breaks, small segments of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern on two turntables, sparked a worldwide controversy of whether hip hop is dead or not In the book “Is Hip Hop Dead? The Past, Present, and Future of America’s Most Wanted Music,” the author discusses the stereotypes of hip hop, the ideology of hip hop being dead, and the new heights it took the music industry once it emerged. In most cases, hip hop is referred to as a derogatory form of music with sexually explicit lyrics and provocative content The African American race is looked upon with disdain, because the African American males are a representation of their ethnic group. Thus, the music they produce will reflect the African American race as a whole. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known as the famous rapper Nas, supported this argument. In “Nas Writes Hip Hop Obituary,” Nas suggested that hip hop has lost its meaning as a result of the content and context of upcoming rappers today. Nas believed hip hop was better off in its origin city, New York City Once hip hop became a worldwide movement it lost considerable value. He stated that the South killed hip hop. Hip hop of the past focused more on creative rhymes and nice hooks, beats, but hip hop of today focuses more on money, cars, clothes, and other material possessions than skill. In a nutshell, Nas believes all rappers today have no individuality Rappers of today say and rap about the same thing almost as if they are commercialized. Notable rapper of the South Young Jeezy agreed with Nas’ point of view to a certain degree. He acknowledged that hip hop has changed from its old school ways, but it is not necessarily a bad change. Change is good. A new time and day brings about a new story and a new movement. He argued that most people who rap do not actually live what they talk about. He rebutted Nas by saying Nas has never lived the life he rapped about, but it is all in the ways of hip hop. Rappers are simply creating catchy phrases and lines to capture America’s interest. If so is this form of writing still sufficient enough?
In the book “Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America,” the author weighs the pros and cons of modern day hip hop. Hip Hop is said to be a confusing and noisy component of modern day culture Lyrics created today contain no value and are worthless. Because of this, hip hop continues to draw both positive and negative attention to itself. Hip Hop draws negative attention to itself because of the sexual exploitation of its women. African American women are referred to as inhumane beings in lyrics, and are placed in degrading situations in videos. That is a con of today’s contemporary music. Hip hop of yesterday did not disrespect women and belittle them sexually nor derogatorily. The pro of hip hop is that it has opened greater venues for African Americans around the globe. After the emergence of hip hop, African Americans were able to become successful in other aspects of life. Movies, art, and music are just a few of the many opportunities opened for African Americans This movement has led to an increase in hip hop’s audience. Old adults to young adults became intrigued by the phenomenon. Hip hop became an influential part in the young adults’ lives.
In the journal article “The Words Have Changed but the Ideology Remains the Same: Misogynistic Lyrics in Rap Music,” the African American youth are described as the poetry of hip hop. African American youth are overlooked by society because of their race and social status. Hip hop is merely a means of expressing the everyday struggles African American males and females experience in today’s society. Hip hop is a channel of communication that explains feelings, ideas, and emotions Though hip hop is stereotyped as bad, some still suggest that not all hip hop is bad hip hop.
In “The Hip Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture,” the author affirms that hip hop has increased issues amongst young teens today. High rates of suicide, gang affiliations, imprisonment, police brutality, and the generation gap has steadily increased because of hip hop Young adults are merely imitating the images and actions produced by music videos. Inspiring rappers have great impacts on young adults whether their content and context is uplifting or demoralizing.
In conclusion, hip hop has climbed great milestones that have never been crossed before. Hip hop has changed in the eyes of many. This change is seen in both a negative and positive light. Regardless of how good or bad the change, hip hop has changed. We have to accept change. Hip hop will never be the same.
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