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Rap Music In American Culture

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From the Sugar Hill Gang to Kendrick Lamar, rap music has been a massive part of American Culture since the 1970s. It has become a global phenomenon in music that has defined nearly two generations of popular culture. But where did this unique form of rhyming, most commonly over a driving, beat come from? Who/whom created this art style? Why is it so popular after nearly 40 years? What exactly is rapping? According to dictonary.com “Rapping is spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics(“definition of rapping”). Rapping itself is a form of delivering poetry in time with a beat. Rapping is constructed into “bars” which is a grouping of four “beats”. Rap can be as simplistic as an “AABB” rhyme scheme, more commonly seen in the beginning of rap like in the song “Rapper 's Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang. As rap progressed through the years we see the addition of more advanced rhyming techniques like multi-syllable rhymes and even advanced storytelling like in Eminem’s “Lose yourself”. Where did rapping come from? Rapping can be easily traced back to East Africa from so called “Griots”. Griots were African bards that told oral stories in rhythm to a drum. During the Slave trade, enslaved Africans …show more content…

In the 2006, not a single rap album was in the top 10, for the first time in five years. The meteoric rise of Pop and the overall decline of lyrical quality was heavily seen as factors for this decline. Many say Soulja Boy’s song “Crank That” was the single event that destroyed the reputation of rap music for the decade. The lack of Sampling was also seen as a factor, sampling had begun to decline during this era and sampling was widely seen as a major part of rap music. The decline of Rap did not last that long, by 2009 rap had changed yet again. This time it became a medium for political and social commentary and a new wave of rap became

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In Ayanna Parris's essay, "Reaching Toward Hip Hop Homeland" Parris speaks about how she traveled to Tanzania and while she was on a ferry ride she witnessed two males rapping, American style but in their native language. He also explain how Tanzanian use their own culture to create American style raps. He narrate how Tanzanian speak in their native tongue and they speak about things they know but they dress like American rappers and they imitate the movements such as bobbing their heads. This imitation is similar to the imitation of rappers sampling other artist song. They like the song and want to add things to it to make it their own.

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392 Words | 2 Pages

“Beyond Beats and Rhymes” Summary This movie was a broad discussion about hip-hop music (or more specifically gangster rap) and what kind of social issues the music not only showcases but seems to promote. The producer of this film, Byron Hunt, interviewed people involved in all aspects of the hip-hop industry, including famous rappers, to try to get to the bottom of this. Some of the most prominent issues discussed in the film were the over-sexualization of women, gun violence, and anti- homophobic attitudes. Hunt would ask those involved in the industry about why they think these themes are so prevalent.

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751 Words | 4 Pages

All of these techniques are fundamental parts of hip-hop. As the years progressed, more elements contributed to hip-hop. Hip-hop formed as a result of the harsh and tiring conditions of the South Bronx. This new movement combatted “the violence...and the negativity that come out of gang cultures” (Swanson, 2010). This makes sense because the people living in the South Bronx had to live through such harsh conditions and needed a break from this stressful life.

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454 Words | 2 Pages

around the time where the late 70s were beginning to intermix with the early 80s. During that time it was considered the “party era”, when everyone in America wanted to always go out and party. Rap was created by a group called the Sugar Hill Gang, they were the first ever rap recording artists. They were the founding fathers of Rap today. They told stories and spoke about society as a whole.

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1882 Words | 8 Pages

Some of the main cores of Beat Street are the music, dancing, and graffiti art works – all of which are part of hip-hop culture. Scholars note that hip-hop as a movement originated in roots from African American traditions and are mainly used to express their culture as well as identity (Blanchard 24). Rap music, for example, comes from West Africa’s “nommo.” This idea refers to the power to deliver words to act upon objects and to bring it to life. The historical and traditional underpinning of rap, therefore, becomes representative of the rich and distinctive culture of African Americans.

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190 Words | 1 Pages

This essay discuss the effect of rap music on the American society and culture. Hip-hop was part of the American culture that became popular in the last three decades, rappers are now as famous as the rock and roll legends in the 1980s. Eminem was a successful charismatic rapper that influences youth Americans, Eminem was different from other rapper as he uses express his hate to the U.S president and politicians, some of his songs portrays a strong message on the George W.Bush. Therefore, this essay focuses on Eminem’s music on the American society, I chose three of the most influencing songs from Eminem and will be analysing his use of words and the message delivered through the song. The method I used for investigation are primary and

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718 Words | 3 Pages

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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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.

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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.

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1001 Words | 5 Pages

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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1173 Words | 5 Pages

Rap music has negative influences on teenagers and youth lives, as they are drawn to the lifestyle of drugs, sex, and violence, which is contained in the music lyrics and videos. Research has supported this, arguing that exposure for a long time to this music is likely to affect the overall mood, behavior, perceptions, and create fantasies among the youths (Miranda and Claes, 2004). This has had significant influences on their behaviors at school and at home. Parents are concerned, since they are unaware of the lyrics, as the teenagers prefer to download the songs and listen the music through the headphones. Research has proven that popular rap music effects explore the student schoolwork, social interactions, moods, and overall behavior.

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1219 Words | 5 Pages

It was created in the 1970s and continues through the present. There have been drastic changes since the commercial success for the Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rappers Delight” in 1979. The way rappers convey the message is completely different

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885 Words | 4 Pages

Do you believe rap music is the cause of violence and hostile behavior in teens? Yes, because it persuades them toward a real negative mindset and lifestyle. The influence it posses on teens is extremely huge plus very misleading. Its lyrics paint images of a life filled with drugs along with guns that teens believe in. As a result of rappers being so influential it makes others easily convinced.

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1008 Words | 5 Pages

Graffiti Breakdancing DJing Rap is when a person is MCing or rhyming, it is considered a form of poetry, and it focuses mainly on the flow, delivery and lyrical content that is being said by the MC. MCing is a form of expression that

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1461 Words | 6 Pages

Edwin Rahimi Research Paper From the underground streets of New York to the global stage, Hip Hop can be seen as one of the most influential genres of its time. As a style of music that ultimately originated from black street culture, much of its context can be pinpointed to the issues of political and social equality that are often kept in the dark. When Hip Hop emerged throughout the late 70s, new artists were experimenting with an advancement in technology and used various devices including turntables to create certain beats. As time went on, Hip Hop turned the page to more of a lyrical genre where artists ultimately began using words in their lyrics to convey a certain theme or message to the public eye.

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