Global Hip Hop Youth Culture Analysis

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”.

Youth has various definitions. It can be considered as a state of mind, a life stage, or a stage of development. Youth can also be considered as a creation of marketing and a demographic category. Youth cultures as well as subcultures based on the theory or theories applied refer to cultures that in most part comprise of young people as the members. Youth cultures are determined by ways of living and they revolve around peer groups that stress a definitive style of living as an external designation of affiliation and appearance. In this essay, I will analyse how globalisation, popular culture, and consumerism emerge as factors that influence the participation of young people in the hip-hop youth culture in Australia. I will also apply the human ecological theory in order to facilitate the understanding of factors that affect youth participation in the hip-hop culture.

The genre of hip-hop began in a time of economic uncertainty. According to the article, “Historical Phenomena, Hip- Hop Culture and Rap Music”, this particular genre of music is “heavily influenced by the economically and socially oppressed ghettos.” The art of Hip-Hop is very culturally driven. It is a way for the artists to express themselves freely, in a musical way. It is said that hip-hop is claimed to be, “...The act of speaking poetically and rhythmically over the beat,” (Ide). Based on the article, hip-hop was developed in an area that was run by a “capitalist economic system and racist government officials.”(Ide). This is an explanation of how some artists speak as though they are being attacked because of their ethnic background, and only that. It is something that is truly important and present in their lives. Some rap artists speak about the way they often feel racially discriminated by society.

This article focuses on how the Hip hop we know emerged from social economic, and political experiences of young blacks around the 1970’s. Kool Herc, Afrika, Bambaataa, Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five when a few people who have somewhat contributed to the creation of Hip hop. In their music, there were track which spoken the civil rights ideas and response to poverty, drugs, police brutality, and other thing they found unjust in society. Hip Hop artist became the voice for social critique for the civil rights movements of their generation. According to Todd Boyd, “the disconnect between the civil rights and Hip Hop generations has made civil rights seem largely irrelevant and has made Hip Hop the primary voice of contemporary black

Over the last four decades, hip hop culture has influenced the lives and identities of many youth throughout the world. Depending on their geographical location and socioeconomic backgrounds, youth have experienced this worldwide culture differently. One similarity amongst these selective groups of adolescents is the political freedom that has come with engaging in the hip hop scene. Hip hop allows Black youth in the United States, immigrant youth in France, and Afro-Cuban youth in Cuba to express criticism toward the racial marginalization that they face in order to gain the equality that society prohibits them from acquiring.

Hip-hop is a good influence in our communities. “As hip-hop has grown and gained world prominence, it has continued to have a strong social impact and has been a major stage for many to express themselves openly on various controversial social and political issues” (Jackson and Anderson 28). With the younger generation, this genre has effected those in the communities by inspiring the young to follow their dreams, and to not let others judge them. It also allows us as a community to join

May 16th, 2001 the United Nations Organizations was presented the HipHop Declaration of Peace. The document recognizes Hip-Hop as an international culture of peace and prosperity. This is also a set of principles which recommend all Hip-Hoppers in how to aid the peaceful character of Hip Hop Culture and to have peace worldwide. The main purpose behind of the Hip Hop Culture was to guide it towards freedom from violence and establishes advice and protection for the existence and development of the Hip Hop community. Additionally, this declaration is meant to show Hip Hop a positive situation which does not have anything in common with the negative reputation of Hip Hop as something that falls young people and encourages them to break the law.

It is wrong for people intending to paint hip hop as a bad culture that makes the youth engage in bad behaviors to ensure that they clearly draw the lines between behaviors and culture (Kelley 120). This will play a significant role in ensuring that the bad attitude that some people have toward hip hop is dealt with and is accepted as a form of culture that allow the youths to bring out the diversities that exist within their respective communities. Hip hop likes other music genre that are seen as expressing certain cultural values of specific communities, such as the soul music play an instrumental part in the expression of the cultural

Analysis of Hip-Hop and Youth Culture Throughout the last twenty-five years, a new form of expression has continued to evolve. Hip-Hop, once limited to urban music and dance has become a widespread form of communication exhibited and enjoyed by young people throughout the world. Hip-Hop is no longer limited to rap music and break dancing; today it represents a multi-billion dollar industry that influences everything from fashion to prime- time television programming, professional sports, mass media marketing and advertising. Today Hip-Hop is becoming a way of life, a culture that is intricately woven into every aspect of young people's daily lives.

In 1982, Fela Kuti, a famous Nigerian musician and activist stated, “When you’re king of African music you’re the king because music is the king of all professions” (Quoted in Music is the Weapon, 1982). This statement is held true as music, specifically rap, has been a staple in modern day pop culture since its beginning in the 1970’s in the South Bronx area of New York. Rap started as an underground movement started by many artists and DJs’. It started as a form of expressing oneself and discussing many social and political issues through music. But now in the 21st century, rap has changed dramatically to where the meaning of rap is almost entirely forgotten and squanders to a whole new low. Hip-hop/Rap of this generation now condones vulgar activities to a young audience which unknowingly causing much harm that the media and even parents have yet to discuss to a further extent. Rap music today is bad due to its negative influence on the youth of America.

One of the many good things MTV has done is serve as the voice of youth in today's society. Demographic groups such as young African Americans had been socially silenced prior to MTV's ability to market urban music. Thus, MTV's ability to bring the unheard minority's voice to an international level has helped to break down some of the cultural barriers that have stood in humanity's way for centuries. Rappers such as Ice T and Public (E)enemy raised eyebrows around the world with their lyrics protesting Government hippocracies and other social issues. In turn, these artists contributions help make rap/urban music an important and influential cultural movement, and also emerged the young African American voice into political issues. Such an accomplishment deserves worldly praise and appreciation (Rushkoff 161-165).

“When you’re king of African music you’re the king because music is the king of all professions” (Fela Kuti: Music is the Weapon). Rap music has been a staple in modern day music and pop culture since its beginning in the 1970’s in the South Bronx area of New York. Rap started as an underground movement started by many artists and DJ’s (or disc jockeys). It started as a form of expressing oneself and discussing many social and political issues through music. But now in the 21st century, rap has changed dramatically to where the meaning of rap is almost entirely forgotten and squanders to a whole new low. Hip-Hop/Rap of this generation now condones vulgar activities to a young audience which unknowingly causing much harm. Rap music today is

Using rap music produced by African Americans in the United States and rap music produced by the youth in Senegal as case studies, rap music at best, contributed no tangible positive effects on the public’s impression of the African American community in the United States. In contrast, rap music did revolutionize Senegal’s public awareness of its youth and helped demonstrate their essential role in Senegal. Socioeconomically, rap also did not improve the standing of African Americans. Likewise in Senegal, it did not bolster the socioeconomics of the youth.

Hip-hop is a cultural rap music. Writer like it so much he write about it and also think about how to make a some changes in it. Rap music has has a graffiti writing, break dance and deejaying. Graffiti writing is one piece of art on canvas. We can do hip-hop in park, graffiti in the backdrop and rap on the center of the stage. Hip-hop is form in so many variety of music. To learn hip-hop you have to understand their elements. Hip-hop influence black women. In U.S they have song for slave they find connection in rap music. In every rap music they have some message for slaves. African societies spoken work and oral culture were very high and they also use poetry in it. Oral cultural is use for entering. Their is a relationship between black womanhood hip-hop cultural, and the public sphere. Hip-hop culture is created on south Bronx. Hip-hop level has went up even then deejaying Rapper has make oral music in new form of art. Graffiti written in world War ll. Black and Latino writers also starting new things in life. Young people create new things to improve their cultural. No hope in rap music and hip-hop cultural. They also have a culture have their own style. In this world women’s hip-hop culture has lost not gone that means we can still bring them back. Now Nelson George goes to rapper women to related his albums. Women loves hip-hop cultural and rap music. There are six women who do a break-dancer, a

Rashad Shabazz discourses on the uneven gender geography within Hip Hop. Black men have been denied spaces within general society and have found solace within Rap/Hip Hop. With the exclusion of black men from economic and social opportunities and hegemonic masculinity, black men have dominated the Hip Hop genre. Through Hip Hop, black men have an open space to describe their forgotten hoods, lack of opportunities and violence that results from economic disadvantages. Due to black men dominating the new genre, masculinity and Hip Hop have been linked.