Gangsta Rap Analysis

Rap is a genre in music that consists of rhyming or being poetic over a certain unique beat. The origin of rap is significantly different from any other form of music. The flow, change, subject of the music, and the instrumentals behind the rapping has all changed with time. Most people would underestimate the complexity of the music and the evolution it has undergone. The real roots of rap music began in the late 1980’s with the “Golden Age.” It was innovative and mostly based around the party scene. Gangsta Rap followed the Golden age and was very impactful on the young culture. After the Gangsta Rap era came the time in rap referred to as Crunk Rap which combined the country sound with the party lifestyle. Conscious

Music and society have always been closely related. For years now music has been apart of people’s everyday lives all around the world. Having so many different genres out there, it makes it easy to be appealing to so many different ethnic backgrounds. However, one type of genre in particular has seemed to grab the attention of a younger generation. Rap music has undoubtedly had its utmost impact on African American youth, since many of the performers themselves are African American. An overtly masculine culture dominates rap music and creates gender stereotypes that become abundantly popular to the youthful audience. Three constant themes that are found within the rap culture are encouragement of violence, the misogynistic representation of women, an extreme hatred of homophobia. Each theme plays a detrimental role in the process of defining black masculinity as well as shaping the values, morals, and beliefs that its younger audience adopts after tuning into this “gangster lifestyle”.

Is all rap music promoting and glorifying crime and degrading women? This is a question that is asked often and the general consensus is that, yes, it does. Is there any evidence however to back up these claims and are the rappers intending their music to be seen in a negative aggressive way. I don’t necessarily think that rap music does anything but give the musician an outlet for their talent and use topics like women and crime in their songs for commercialization and to create an image that rappers need in order to succeed in that genre. We will come to an overall conclusion at the end of this essay after we source different arguments on the topic.

Nelson George states that “Gangsta rap is direct by- product of crack explosion. Unless you grasp that connection nothing else that happened in the hip hop’s journey to national scapegoat will make sense. This is not a chicken-or-the-egg riddle —first came rocks, then gangsta rap” (136). To prove his point he examines the connection between drug culture of the inner city areas and the hip hop music. The money collected from illegal drug deals spent on recordings of gangsta rap music. George says “Suspicion of women, loyalty to the crew, adoption of a stone face in confronting the world, hatred of authority—all major themes of gangsta rap-owe their presence of lyrics and impact on audiences to the large number of African-American men incarcerated in the ‘90s” (138). I agree with his statement that gangsta rap is a directed by- product of crack explosion, because social and racial issues for instance drug dealing influencing the lyrics of music and this explosion of heroin and crack in communities gave birth to gangsta rap.

Rap music has become one of the most distinctive and controversial music genres of the past few decades. A major part of hip hop culture, rap, discusses the experiences and standards of living of people in different situations ranging from racial stereotyping to struggle for survival in poor, violent conditions. Rap music is a vocal protest for the people oppressed by these things. Most people know that rap is not only music to dance and party to, but a significant form of expression. It is a source of information that describes the rage of people facing growing oppression, declining opportunities for advancement, changing moods on the streets, and everyday survival. Its distinct sound, images, and attitude are notorious to people of all

Many believe that rap music has taken a complete 180 in the industry and has turned their lyrics of inspiration and positivity, to drugs and gang violence. Although several signs can point to this statement being true, rap music does not encourage teens to act violently. In fact, many artists/rappers spread positive messages across, giving solutions, and inspiration to the audience.

The study of hip hop music has been cited well throughout its growth over time. The purpose of this paper is intended to discuss hip hop culture and address cultural stereotypes associated with rap and hip-hop music, but also how its original lyrical intentions were forms of expression and art. It will begin by guiding the reader through how it originated, its influence with the African-Americans with its subculture and popularity in urban areas, its styles of evolving, the introduction of hip hop and rap to the public, the depiction it gave off with its criticisms from outsiders. An evaluation of hip hop artists songs by Sugar Hill and the Gang, Run DMC, Queen Latifah, and N.W.A. Including lyrics from the songs “Rappers Delight”, “King of Rock”, “Latifah’s Law”, and “Niggaz4Life”. In the conclusion it exposes how hip hop music is clearly for black Americans to express themselves freely and in fact did not cause violence.

The raw emotions and lyrics in early gangsta rap songs made it a very profitable form of rap (Quinn 4). While gangsta rap would eventually appeal to a larger audience, it purpose was to shock and tell a story like original African storytellers.

Within History, Rap has been considered the “CNN for black people”; what started as a way to express struggles in the ghettos of New York has transformed into one of the most popular genres of music in America. The popularity of rap has allowed many to have their voices heard, created new fashion trends, and even developed popular modern slang used by people throughout the world. The commercialization of rap has resulted in a significant following of the culture in America but also a large number of people who oppose the music. The culture of rap music has a substantial impact on popular culture in America, and by using an open mind and looking past the violence and language, people can better understand the meaning behind rap and the perception that follows it in America today.

Gangsta rap is a form of music that is enjoyed by everyone and there should be no stereotypes attached to it. It has been debated if Gangsta Rap harms Black Americans; it is a heavily criticized art form since its inception. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines “Gangsta rap: a form of hip-hop music that became the genre’s dominant style in the 1990s, a reflection and product of the often violent lifestyle of American inner cities afflicted with poverty and the dangers of drug use and drug dealing. The romanticization of the outlaw at the center of much of gangsta rap appealed to rebellious suburbanites as well as to those who had firsthand experience of the harsh realities of the ghetto. “

For many years, the youth have been known for singing along to their favorite song and taking that song as whole and using it as their motto for life. It may seem that sometimes these kids do not know what is being said in the music but this shows that they do know what the lyrics are saying. According to Franklin B. Krohn and Frances L. Suazo in their article “Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip-Hop and Rap Lyrics,” many teenagers and minority groups view rappers as their spokesmen because of their ability to speak in street language and bluntly express their frustration (Krohn, 1995). Unfortunately, hip hop lyrics usually tend to talk about drugs, sex and violence leading kids to think that everything they hear is okay and that is how they have to live their life. Yet, there are artists out there who take their lyricist skills to give positive lyrics and messages in their music, but these songs are not often played in the mainstream.

Whether you love it or hate it Rap music has come to be one of the most popular, yet arguable, music genres of the past decades. Today’s rap music has changed enormously since the 1970’s. Rap music was about having fun, being able to express what youth were feeling and a way to keep youth out of trouble. Rap songs usually use explicit and demeaning lyrics, which has huge influence on the youth of today. While rappers say that they’re plainly rapping about reality. They often use violence, the use of drugs and Guns as the main tool to tell the story of their lives and show how hard it is growing up in their neighbourhood. This surely does not set any good examples for the young men and women, listening to this trash and singing along with the

When you think Hip Hop what do you think? Do you automatically associate it with positive and uplifting words or more along the lines of degrading behavior? Most likely you think the latter of these two choices. The media depicts Hip Hop as such a negative thing when in reality it isn’t. It’s music constantly being blamed for violence and outrage within the community. Rappers themselves accused of being nothing more than ignorant “thugs” not only creating but supporting chaos when that is not the case. In Nasir Jones’ (a.k.a Nas) song “It ain’t hard to tell”, he uses a very selective word choice, tone and speaker to show there is more to a rapper than just the “thuggish or gangster” label they are given.

A second reason how rap music is the source of violence is that is leads youth to join in gangs and when you’re in a gangs your causing violence by killing innocent people for money and creating shootings in communities. Rap music is the one type of music that talks about life being in a gang and when young people listen to the lyrics from their favorite rapper they might think it well be cool if they do the same thing or maybe how it would feel to being a gang earning money by themselves, getting nice things from being in a gang just like their favorite rapper did. In a song called ‘My Hood” by Gucci Mane, there have been some kids wanting to from hoods because of the things he say. “First you get the money then you get the power,” this is

Though rap started out as a force for positive social change, popular subgenres of hip-hop such as "gangsta rap" have since eroded much of the art form's value to society. Impressionable young people are negatively affected by rappers' obsession with guns, drugs, sex, and material possessions. Since record companies do not seem to care about negative content as long as it sells albums, parents should assume a greater role in regulating their children's listening habits. Hip-Hop is the proclamation that young people are independent and intolerant of what they consider to be adult society, which they frequently view as hypocritical.