ipl-logo

How Hip Hop Can Have A Positive Influence On Society

1018 Words5 Pages

Joshua Wiggins
Mrs. Baker
Honors English 12
23 March 2023
How Hip-hop Can Have a Positive Influence on Society
"I would say that hip-hop is the main and dominant subculture of youth today” (Preface to). Hip-hop has quickly become the main influencer of popular music and youth culture. Despite its popularity, the genre's polarizing lyrics and controversial themes make the music implausible to some. Hip-hop positively influences society through its lyrics, cultural impact, and voice to the younger generation. Hip-hop can have a positive influence on society through its lyrics. Lyrics that are used in a positive light, enacts change and inspires people to do good things. Lyrics are powerful. “Hip hop started with a political, anticapitalist …show more content…

He sees the genre as entertainment only. “Hip-hop music is music—its intention is to entertain. It is wishful thinking to claim that hip-hop and rap music have increased awareness of the problems that African Americans face and must endure” (McWhorter). The point McWhorter takes subjects hip-hop’s educational value to African Americans alone. McWhorter also believes that hip-hop has a negative influence on society. “The idea that hip-hop, because it makes the body feel good to move to it and it makes the soul feel good to hear out angry young black men, can be transmuted into changing the world is narcotic but nonsensical” (McWhorter). McWhorter’s use of the words, “narcotic,” and “nonsensical,” support a negative idea that hip-hop lacks educational value and actually is not a positive influence. Hip-hop does have negative aspects, but its positive ones make up for …show more content…

Leroy F. Moore, Jr., the founder of krip-Hop nation, uses his movement to support artists in hip-hop with disabilities. “In my research I found that the industry has always had trouble supporting and promoting musicians with disabilities” (Moore). With his new platform, Moore is able to promote disabled hip-hop artists as equal to the artists who are not disabled. This movement is an example of the positive change people can bring through music. With so much hip-hop music out, it is also important to distinguish the negative themes from the positive ones. Hip-hop’s themes are polarizing at times, but values such as monetary gain are a productive influence on society.“Some criticize the focus on money and power as overly materialistic. However, for black people who are often stigmatized, the focus on advancing through capitalism is ultimately a positive thing” (Yates). This theme of materialism is a common message in mainstream music today and can aim to motivate listeners by portraying a classic rags-to-riches

Show More
Related
939 Words | 4 Pages

McBride argues that hiphop has a negative influence on the current generation despite the focus on peace. McBride argues that hip hop has changed young and old people through the african american culture. McBride

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

They also argue that hip-hop motivates people to end the racial crises surrounding their society. Throughout “Hip-Hop and Shakespeare”, Akala argues that hip-hop is dignifying because it informs its listeners that everyone has the ability to become an intellectual person. In “Hip-Hop Planet”, McBride illustrated that hip-hop is moving because it persuades people to eliminate racial conflicts. Both authors help the reader to reflect hip-hop’s genuine purpose and meaning. Hip-hop is a positive impact because it publicizes the dilemmas a nation faces and inclines people to make a difference .

Read More
160 Words | 1 Pages

The article “Hip Hop Planet” by James McBride is about how hip hop is not his favorite type of music but, it needs to be heard. McBride shows us this by explaining that he avoided hip hop most of his life. In the article McBride says that he basically ignored “the most important cultural event in my lifetime.” James informs us that hip hop has influenced the world globally and that it has become a phenomenon. Furthermore, McBride made clear that he eventually realized that hip hop is much more than just music, it has a message.

Read More
996 Words | 4 Pages

In addition, many Hip Hop artists are bringing about mental health issues that were never truly addressed in the Black community like the high levels of poverty and deep depression. I know Black women suffer in some of the songs—however, that pain is not reflected by every artist. Once again, I have great appreciation for the article, however I would challenge Morgan to take another view of the genre and capture several of the positive aspects of hip hop as

Read More
876 Words | 4 Pages

While some may see it as a negative influence on society, others believe it is deemed scholarly due to its cultural and historical value. While each argument makes its own points on the manner, in the end, hip-hop is and will always be seen in the public eye due to its popularity. In time we shall see where hip-hop ends up in society. It may be like jazz where it will be seen in a negative manner for years and years but one day may emerge as scholarly. Or, it may never be proven as scholarly due to the negative impact it may have on black street culture.

Read More
1047 Words | 5 Pages

Following its birth, hip-hop promoted important social and political causes. Hip-Hop artists utilize their lyrics and videos to convey messages to their audiences. It has become common today to dismiss the impacts women have made on the hip-hop culture. Nevertheless, men have not only used hip-hop to promote important causes but also females. Since it's beginning Queen Latifah has used hip hop to promote issues important to females to an audiences who do not traditionally view females as significant leaders.

Read More
1186 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
622 Words | 3 Pages

In contemporary society, technology has influenced access and consumption of hip hop, changing its origins from social commentary to parasocial relationships, as seen through Tupac and Nicki. Combinations of unlimited access and contestant validation have perpetuated toxic parasocial relationships. Over the years hip hop has developed into a trans-global phenomenon, its messages of renaissance, social awareness and community engagement have transcended its days of locality in the Bronx, to a sustained voice for individuals. Emerging technologies have revolutionised the consumption of hip-hop for artists allowing them to produce high-quality music which has enabled hip-hop to expand on a macro level. Hip-hop has grown into a universal phenomenon with significant impacts on popular culture, art and fashion.

Read More
1882 Words | 8 Pages

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

Read More
502 Words | 3 Pages

The fact that a majority of hip-hop music addresses either violence, drugs or sex, black males are found at fault and loathed. Realistically, black males in hip-hop music only focus on crude topics because of the treatment they receive in this “white” world is crude. Essentially, the music artists’ produce are representations of the real world and byproducts of

Read More
176 Words | 1 Pages

Petchauer reveals the positive and negative constantly brought up in the discussion of hip-hop. Although some view hip-hop as nihilistic and destructive, others view hip-hop as prophetic, empowering, and full of educational potential. Three ways hip-hop has become relevant in the field of education. Centering rap lyrics in the school curriculum, hip-hop being more than

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
1006 Words | 5 Pages

The Impact of Hip-Hop Ever since its birth in the 1970s in West Bronx, Hip Hop has been known as “Gangsta” music and most commonly associated with black culture. Since its creation it has become a fast growing genre of music and has growing fame all over the world. The popularity of it has increased to all races, age and gender. However the growing popularity of hip hop has come with several controversies among scholars. Some scholars argue that the growing popularity of the genre is very helpful to low income families who can use this as their outlet into going to Universities, on the other side some believe associating the genre to black culture is bad for the culture as a whole and they should not be associated together.

Read More
1797 Words | 8 Pages

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.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

¨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.

Read More

More about How Hip Hop Can Have A Positive Influence On Society

Related Topics

Open Document