Focus On Rap Today And Social Movements

Focus on Rap today and Social Movements Writing Assignment

Sloan Nelick

Rap music has always been a conduit for political expression and culture, specifically messages regarding race, class, and place. But, the ways in which these political agendas are being performed in songs have greatly evolved today. These newly evolved ways in which rap artists today keep the political agenda relevant in hip hop songs are in an attempt to help reduce violence, police brutality, and racial injustices.

In the late 1980’s and 1990’s, the “New School” hardcore era emerged and many rap artists started including more politics in their rap lyrics to speak up about societal issues happening during that time. This was the beginning of hip hop as a social and

One song that demonstrates this political agenda recently is “Manifesto” by Tyler the Creator. The song addresses topics of racial discrimination and more specifically, the Black Lives Matter movement. In the introduction of the song, Tyler references the movement following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. The lyrics in the song describe how social media became a place where social activism lied, referencing the criticism Tyler received after keeping quiet on social media after the murder. He goes back into history and talks about various issues within the African American community to emphasize how long this discrimination has been going on. In the first verse of the song, Tyler describes the idea of how many people adopt their belief systems based on what authority figures tell them is right, rather than finding out what truly matters to themselves and their opinions when he says, “That ain’t your religion, you just followin’ your mammy. She followed your granny, she obeyed master. Did y’all even ask questions? It’s holes in them stories. Is it holes in your blessings? Yeah, I’m bold with the message. I know I ain’t got the answer.” This dates back to when European slave owners would force their slaves to convert to the religion of the owner, usually Christianity. Additionally, he addresses the experiences black men in America have with

Rap artists have been using their voices to bring awareness to these ongoing issues to their audiences. It is important to be critical of the society that we live in as well as people’s ideas because it allows us to keep on learning and thinking of new ideas as we continue to grow. There is always room for more ideas, interpretations, and assumptions within topics and it is important that we as critical thinkers offer new opinions to academic works that can get old. Hip hop is an important part of this conversation because hip hop is widely talked about through expression and opinions. By hearing about different artists' ideas through their lyrics, we can gain a deeper understanding of cultures and ethnic groups that are different than our own and continue to expand our mindset on the history as well as more recent events in hip