ipl-logo

Topics Of Social Justice: Offensiveness And Vulgarity

574 Words3 Pages

Utkarsh Vaid
Tom Bischcoff
Youth Cultures 0817

Inquiry Paper

“Through its evolution from topics of social justice to offensiveness and vulgarity, how has hip-hop continued to play a role in the change of society?”

Hip-hop emerged in the 1970s as a powerful force for social change, with artists like Bambaataa using music as a way to avoid a life of crime and inspiring others to do the same. As hip-hop evolved, it branched into various styles, some focusing on social justice while others adopted more offensive and vulgar themes. Despite these changes, hip-hop has continued to play a significant role in shaping society, by addressing pressing social issues and challenging norms.

In its early years, hip-hop was a platform for marginalized voices, particularly African-Americans and other minorities in urban areas. Hip hop was often used as a medium for expressing frustration with societal issues, such as racism and poverty, and highlighting issues like systematic racism. As hip-hop gained popularity, it became an influential force for raising awareness about social and political issues, both within and outside the African-American community which was also mentioned by Haenfler. …show more content…

This shift led to concerns about the degradation of women in music videos and lyrics, as well as the promotion of violence and materialism. While this change may seem to undermine hip-hop's original role as a force for social change, it is essential to recognize the complexities and contradictions within the

Show More
Related
697 Words | 3 Pages

As Can’t Stop Won't Stop continues to progress to the 1970’s, Jeff Chang addresses the developments, changes and increasing influence of hip-hop. Hip-hop’s influence and popularity seemingly spread globally overnight. Hip-hop culture took on new aspects and the motives for expressing the art continued to grow and change for artists. Throughout the chapters, Chang highlights the evolutions of hip-hop, hip-hop’s new audiences and the increase in drugs and violence in hip-hop during a rebellion ear. In the late 1970s, many citizens in the Bronx began to see a dramatic change in hip-

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

This music that once made visible the inner culture of America’s greatest social problem, its legacy of slavery, has taken the dream deferred to a global scale” (McBride, 3). McBride reveals how hip-hop talks about a nation’s social issues and makes people aware of them. This demonstrates that hip-hop is powerful because it educates people on both past and current issues that their nation has faced. Finally, hip-hop is stimulating and commanding because even though it has evolved, it still urges people to put an end to racial

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
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
1848 Words | 8 Pages

Vanderbilt University Hip Hop in the Feminist Context An Analysis of Salt-N-Pepa’s Blacks’ Magic Gigi Bruns MUSL 1670 Professor Chase 6 April 2023 During the Golden Era, many prominent rappers utilized their music to convey powerful messages about events related to the Black experience. Whether this was related to police brutality, unemployment, racism, or beef with rappers from different coasts, rappers used their music to discuss issues that were important to them. With this type of music and popularity, artists were able to use their platforms to amplify their message to the masses. However, a common denominator for many of these artists was that they were male.

Read More
2049 Words | 9 Pages

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

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
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
633 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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
946 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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 Topics Of Social Justice: Offensiveness And Vulgarity

Related Topics

Open Document