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How Does Rap Music Affect Pop Culture

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Girls, money, cars, and sex. This is what rap music seems like from afar, but when observed closely, the assortment of topics expand tremendously. Listeners can see beyond the surface and take away more than what is presented. Developed in the early 1970’s, hip hop music progressed rapidly from the underground of New York (Mize) and has grown into an influentially wide genre of music. Even though rap music has impacted pop culture, it is still viewed as negative because of its transition into an “inappropriate” style. With messages like sexism, rap music has its negative connotation but it is not all as bad as it may seem. Rap music has a positive influence of today’s youth. In today’s society, rap music is mostly positively received by the …show more content…

Supporters of rap can relate to messages expressed in hip­hop, such as relationships and heartbreak, violence and abuse, and financial instability. Along with the therapeutic effects, rap positively gives back to its younger audience. Rap music gives the youth of today role models to look up to and certain issues to relate to. “Many youth like rap for the way its lyrical expression represents the realities of their lives and struggles. Likewise some youth are attracted to the message promoted by rap” (Elligan 28). Individual and even group rappers such as A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Chance the Rapper, and Macklemore constantly address topics like sexism and racism, and discuss the need for positivity when dealing with today’s issues. Rap music is an useful way to freely express emotions and thoughts. Most that are not accustomed to rap may not see the various styles and genres of the music. “Political/Protest rap focuses on political issues, racism, sexism, equality, and ethnic identity. Positive rap promotes the values of education, responsibility, and ethnic pride” (Elligan 28). The many styles are ways rappers can express their feelings or desires in this world with their art. With the beats and melodic flows, rappers and listeners utilize these tools to create rhythmic escapes. This escape from reality is universally

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Fried states that the criticism of rap music has been directed primarily at its lyrical content, which is thought to have a negative influence on youth. She argues that, due to biased perspectives, rap music has been unfairly stigmatized, and that the discussion of the genre has been distorted. Fried's research revealed that the negative reactions to rap music lyrics were significantly greater than the negative reactions to pop lyrics with similar content. She concludes that the disproportionate criticism of rap music is due to the fact that the genre is not understood as well as other forms of popular music, and that this lack of understanding has resulted in a strong biased perception. Fried's essay provides an insightful look into the effects of bias and its role in the discussion of rap music lyrics.

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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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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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Rap, in many cases, has a negative impact on youth. However, it can also have many positive impacts. Some, but not all rap should be censored. This is because rap, which can be used to reach out to children, has both positive and negative impacts on youth today.

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Many people see the rap genre as a bad influence because of how it portrays gang violence, guns, and sexism by rap icons like the N.W.A. But, in fact it can positively influence people’s lives. Some rap artists and rap songs can be seen as very inspirational as their songs can have good messages that in turn can inspire people. For example, in 2Pac’s “Keep Ya Head Up,” he focuses mainly on African-American women who are left by their men, to raise their child, alone and struggling. In the first verse of the song, 2Pac raps, “I give a holla to my sisters on welfare, 2Pac cares if don’t nobody else care, and i know they like to beat you down a lot. But, please don’t cry, dry your eyes, never let up.

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Most people believe that “lyrics should appeal to us, not degrade us” (Glidden3). There is controversy surrounding “some artists accused of rapping sexually inflammatory lyrics” (Encyclopedia4). The actions of a few is causing people to put a bad label on rap in a whole. This bias opinion is becoming the cause of listeners to believe that rap lyrics “are setting a bad example for kids and teens” (Glidden2). I can understand where this may lead to critics to misapply such distaste to the rap form, but “there are rap artists who don’t use offensive language or portray women in a negative light” (Glidden1).

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The Rap Plague The world of hip-hop would invite you to believe that rap music provides a poetic way to communicate one’s life experiences through music. In some ways this could be true, but what do you hear that sounds very poetic to you? Every day, people all around the world are listening to music. Music has become a big part in today’s society.

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In Addition Today’s Rap Music is mostly about Money, Drugs, Women, violence and Sexual Conduct. The Music That You Listen Too Have An impact on you and your feelings and the way you act. There’s Some rap music that downgrades, women by calling them “tricks”and “ B’s” . And a that’s not right. That’s why some men call us out our name because they think it’s cool.

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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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¨If Hip Hop has the ability to corrupt minds, it also has the ability to uplift them.¨ Hip hop music, also called rap music, is a music genre developed in the United States by African Americans consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. Mainstream hip hop culture is also filled with misogyny and negative images of women. These artists are unaware that sexism has been forced onto them through the brainwashing from the media, which is controlled by a patriarchal society. Conversely, feminism is the belief that both genders should have equal power.

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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

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Today, the things we see and hear have a large impact on our values. Music is a very influential art form to all ages, especially rap music. With the right goal in mind, along with proper lyrics, rap music can be a good thing. A song that tells a story or brings motivation to its listeners rather than influence poor behavior. In its current form, rap music is doing very little good for its listeners and can have a negative impact on those who choose to listen.

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The birth of hip hop took place in the Bronx, New York , during a time of poverty , Initially when Hip Hop first came about no one would have imagined how vastly and quickly it grew nor would they have predicted the influence on society it has today. This particular enriched and animated, genre of music went from the local backwoods of the projects to a multi millionaire industry. If you ask most people today their definition of Hip Hop , generally they would say a cool rhyming scheme with a hook and a catchy tune, which is not too far off. But it is much deeper than that .Hip hop is a form of expression like a factory , if you may .

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On the 21st of April, I conducted a survey to observe the behaviors of William Carey Students when they listen to rap. Rap music has been considered the source of aggressive behavior in young adults. Through this survey, I will compare the mood and behavior students have when they are listening to rap. My purpose of this survey is to prove that Rap music does not encourage violence in listeners. This will also hush the critics that condemn Rap music, saying the music glorifies sex and guns.

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Rap music carries a very lengthy and popular reputation, some calling its lyrics violent, disrespectful of women and encouraging the use of illegal drugs. With all negative comes positive, rap music educates people from different perspectives and raises many social issues, it is also a channel for people to express freely about their view on political or social issues and by doing so,engaging youth to become concerned and aware of global issues. Making the youth aware of the world around them and the conditions they face in society, enabling individuals to discuss ways in which they can make a positive change within society. A few of the issues that rap has created awareness in are racial discrimination and the importance of mental health in the black community. Rap is the idea of the mind, body, and soul, it encourages both the artist and listeners who may be struggling with identical issues.

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