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Hip-Hop Culture In Kendrick Lamar's Funk Music As Genre

1097 Words5 Pages

Genre is used throughout music to define and categorize a “type” of music depending on its shared musical characteristics. However, genre is often translated into difficult and precarious judgements (Frow 13) that limit the music within the genre. Hip-hop has become an example of a genre that is seen in a way quite opposite to how it emerged. In Funk Music as Genre, Matthew Brown says that the traditional definitions of genre “are dubious in contemporary cultural criticism, where bounding expression and claiming purity are rightfully scrutinized” (486). In other words, Brown is saying that the general assumptions surrounding the hip-hop social identity do not adequately integrate the history of the diversity of black arts activity (Brown, 486). …show more content…

The cultural practices including; graffiti art, graffiti writing, DJs, breakdancing and a unique fashion sense, evolved around the struggling community and the racial inequalities that were present at the time. Today, Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly has become a defiant yet proud source of black culture in the face of those who don’t see hip-hop as anything more than a “race-baiter” or “thug” genre (Harris 2). The album successfully incorporates the struggles of oppression and racial injustice that caused hip-hop to emerge as a genre. This essay will work to analyze Kendrick Lamar’s cover artwork for To Pimp a Butterfly as well as his music video “Alright” in order to justify how, unlike the majority of hip-hop genre classifications today, Lamar genuinely fosters the afro-diasporic origins and institutionalized racism and oppression from which hip-hop became a

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This article focuses on the color-blind ideology that allows white people to participate in and appropriate hip-hop culture. Rodriquez notes that they do so by using the guise of inclusivity of all races to justify their participation in hip hop and to adapt characteristics of the culture without respecting Black identity. He uses his own interviews of several white audience members of hip hop concerts who identified as participants of hip hop culture. Rodriquez identifies two groups resulting from social collectivity to reinforce his argument: consciously collective white groups, who actively reinforce racial segregation and passively collective white groups, who unknowingly unite and reinforce systematic racism through their adherence to color-blind ideology. The participants of his research are part of the latter, who unconsciously reinforce systematic racism through treating cultural objects, namely aspects of hip hop culture, as shareable products and experiences.

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P.7 Title TBD From the context packed mellow bars of To Pimp a Butterfly and the Hip-Hop revolution, to the smooth beat of the Harlem Renaissance, music is an integral part of our society and artistic expression; and as anything important, comes under extreme scrutiny and criticism without fail. From mellow and opinionated talking points, to clinical and objective think tanks, music criticism is a polarizing, controversial, and at times utterly baffling genre. You can read about the validity of “bro country” as a serious art style, or the systemic racism and violence that black communities face every day. You can read about how it affects one on an emotional level, and how it affects one’s thinking and rational processes.

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By critically analyzing the arguments presented in the article, I will delve into the ways in which hip-hop perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misogyny towards black women, despite its potential as a platform for social change and self-expression. Boise, Sam de. “Music and Misogyny: A Content Analysis of Misogynistic, Antifeminist Forums: Popular Music.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, 19 Mar. 2021, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/popular-music/article/music-and-misogyny-a-content-analysis-of-misogynistic-antifeminist-forums/D7F059DC4AB84C939DD30C94209F5896 Summary: The article "Music and Misogyny: A Content Analysis of Misogynistic, Antifeminist Forums in Popular Music" by Sam de Boise, published on Cambridge Core, explore Through a content analysis of various musical forums, the author investigates how misogynistic and anti-feminist attitudes are expressed and perpetuated within the music industry.

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When people imagine hip hop, they think of DJs, street style, gold chains, and graffiti – images that project a style that matches the loudness of the music. In a well-argued essay, Krista Thompson questions the visual manifestations inspired by hip-hop through an analysis of Kehinde Wiley and Luis Gispert’s work to gain a better understanding of the relationship between light and sound with regard to African American culture and black urban youth. She defines the word “bling,” details the history of hip-hop, and discusses the history of surfacism and materialism to uncover what hip-hop represents, what bling reveals about the ways of seeing, and how visual production propagates Black commodity. After detailing the emergence of hip-hop, Thompson discusses the connection between materialism and surfacism, and she explains how materialism

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Young people and marginalized communities have historically used music, fashion, and style to express who they are, protest against injustice, and resist oppressive systems. Within these cultural movements, diverse gender identities are also celebrated by disrupting societal norms and promoting inclusivity. The multifaceted roles of music, fashion, and style serve as outlets for self-expression and can be leveraged to challenge the hegemonic standards of the ever-changing society. Different genres of music such as rap and hip-hop have paved the way for political progress, by advocating for change through an art medium. Numerous marginalized groups have found their voice in the hip-hop community due to the shared experiences within this avenue

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Hip Hop is seen as something inspiring, but most people see it as a way to speak out the truth about a problem. As in “Hip Hop planet” being able say the truth can sometimes worsen any situation because sometimes what we say can promote violence and whatever happens after is not in our control. The essay is about how hip hop has changed into speaking out the issues that need to be taken care of in order to maintain a proper society. McBride talked about how rappers use violent lyrics to degrade women and gays and because of this it shows how the music has evolved into something entirely different that no one would have ever expected to have changed. In James McBride's essay “Hip Hop Planet,” he argues that hip hop has a negative influence on American Culture despite people thinking of it as inspirational and how people live through different experiences in life despite of your race.

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Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterly album was a cultural phenomenon that gave Americans a look into the dark and ambiguous area of America known as the hood. This was the number 1 charting album of 2015 and gave the country an entirely different perspective on Kendrick Lamar and how he grew up. The album cover was a very controversial perspective into black America at the time that helped to visualize the direction that Lamar was headed when creating his album. Music listeners across the country were presented with this new and unique visual. The powerful imagery and symbolical content of this album cover depict a raw perspective into the presentation of African-Americans in the hood, their stance on power, and America in general.

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Hip-hop culture has been the topic of various academic, social, and political discourses. Rap music, in particular, has made its way to mainstream media which is evident in the numerous films and movies that centers on what was once a part of an underground culture. Scholars explain that the popularity of hip-hop in both music and films are partly due to its potential to disseminate information, address an issue, and promote social change. Tinson and McBride (2013), for example, note that hip-hop is a “…form of critical education at the intersection of, and inseparable from political engagement” (1). Scholars further note that hip-hop’s current state “…requires frequent accounting of its engagement with the social, political, and cultural climate

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In her essay “hip hop’s betrayal of black women,” Jennifer McLune implies that “(h)ip-hop owes its success to the ideology of women-hating” (193). She does not agree with Kevin Powell’s article that hip-hop does not mean to “offend” black women, but instead artists are only letting out their temper throughout their music. McLune feels infuriated that many artists in hip hop (including black men) rap about their community and downgrade their own women. In the hip-hop genre, sexism is mainly used, not only by black men but also by many other race hip-hop artists. Artists assume that women-hating in their rap songs will be accepted by women, but do not realize that it is affecting all women.

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Nowadays, everyone wears the identity with pride. The genre was a testament to triumphing over hardships, to having enough confidence in oneself not to let the world drag you down, and to rising above the struggle, even when things seem hopeless. Violence in rap did not begin as an affective agent that threatened to harm America 's youth; rather, it was the outcry of an already-existing problem from youth whose world views have been shaped by the inequalities and prejudice they have experienced. The relentless wave of heroic new rappers arriving on the scene formed the golden age of hip hop in the 1980s, a newfound voice which rose from the impoverished ghettos during the 1980s and inspiring a generation of black youth to fight the police brutality they faced on a daily basis.

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Hip Hop was the wildfire that started in the South Bronx and whose flames leapt up around the world crying out for change. James McBride’s Hip Hop Planet focuses on his personal interactions with the development of Hip Hop culture and his changing interpretations of the world wide movement. Many of his encounters and mentions in the text concern young black males and his writing follows an evolution in the representation of this specific social group. He initially portrays them as arrogant, poor, and uneducated but eventually develops their image to include the positive effects of their culture in an attempt to negate their historical misrepresentation.

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The block parties, graffiti art, rapping, disc jockeying and diverse forms of dancing built Hip Hop by the black youth. They expressed their feelings, thoughts, but most importantly the problems they had to face, which were related to their race, gender and social positions. The rights that were given to black people during and after the Civil Rights Movement left the following generations at a lack of how to continue the fight for black rights. Hip Hop gave them this platform and with the usage of black nationalism, Hip Hop can explore the challenges that confront American-Americans in the post-Civil Rights Movement era. In the 1990’s Hip Hop lived its prime, sub genres started to appear and famous groups, MCs led the whole community, providing a voice to a group of people trying to deliver their message.

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