Hip Hop And The Alternative Path Choice For Gang Violence

According to Wikipedia, Hip-hop music, also called rap music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted. It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching, breaking/dancing, and graffiti writing. Hip hop is also characterized by these other elements: sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing.

Hip-Hop developed as an urban underground movement during the 1970’s in South Bronx, New York and “when this subculture first surfaced, the terms hip-hop and rap music were used interchangeably” (Ralph). Since the beginning of the genres, majority of music enthusiasts felt more connected to rap, and it gained commercial popularity more rapidly. Hip-hop remained underground, and artists like J. Cole were hardly recognized by

In order to understand hip-hop dance, it is important to recognize hip-hop music and where it came from. Many scholars of rap music relate the founding of rap to African and African American oral and musical traditions, specifically African griots and storytellers. They link the rhythm of rap to the use of drums in Africa and to African American music in the United States, from slave songs and spirituals to jazz and R&B. Scholars have found very interesting connections between rap music and Black nationalist traditions (traditions historically practiced by black people that serve as part of their racial identity). Rap is similar to the “call and response of the black church, the joy and pain of the blues, the jive talk and slang of the hipsters and jazz musicians, the boasting of street talk, the sidesplitting humor of comedians, and the articulateness of black activists.” All of these African American oral traditions, including rap, can be traced back to West African oral traditions. In traditional African societies, the spoken word and oral culture included poetry, storytelling, and speaking to drumbeats. The links between rap music and African American oral and musical traditions demonstrate that hip-hop music represents more than just sound. It represents history. This aspect of it, in my opinion, makes this type of music very unique and makes it carry more value.

Hip-Hop and rap resurfaced in the Bronx, in the 70’s, around this time people in Bronx were going through, poverty, unemployment, increased crime, etc. Which caused them to have freedom of expression through rhyming; creating the meaning rap. Although the meaning of the word “Rap” original meant to strike or blow. Which in my opinion fits perfectly because they are striking mentally with words instead of physically. This genre is basically a form of

KRS One once said, "Rap is something you do, Hip-Hop is something you live." The difference between how Hip-Hop is portrayed (rap) and what the Hip-Hop movement is, is that Hip-Hop is a lifestyle but the Hip-Hop we see on television is a media creation. We have to look at hip-hop as a whole culture and rap as something that comes out of it. Although Hip-Hop was originated by a mostly Negro constituency, it has evolved since its creation into a "worldwide forum through which family, community, social and political grievances" (HHC) can be voiced through various art forms. Today, the Hip-Hop movement (if looked at as it's meant to be looked at) plays a very positive role throughout the political and social spectrums in America, and is

In the early 70’s Hip Hop was the most popular music for not just black but other races. I think that Hip Hop can Positive and negative. Old Hip Hop is inspirational and motivational it bring out a message that you can learn form. New generation Hip Hop has changed to a more negative inspiration to the community. New generation tries to focus on the bad thing that are going on around you. It bring a bad option to our race because other races think that all blacks act the same. Most new generation Hip Hop influences people to do drugs, alcohol, money, and sex. Real Hip Hop comes from your heart.

Hip-hop culture began to develop in the south Bronx area of New York City during the 1970s. It had a significant influence in the music industry. Hip-hop music generally includes rapping, but other elements such as sampling and beatboxing also play important roles. Rapping, as a key part in the hip-hop music, takes different forms, which including signifying, dozen, toast and jazz poetry. Initially, hip-hop music was a voice of people living in low-income areas, reflecting social, economic and political phenomenon in their life [1]. As time moves on, hip-hop music reached its “golden age”, where it became a mainstream music, featuring diversity, quality, innovation and influence [2]. Gangsta rap, one of the most significant innovations in

The hip hop or rap music is a style of popular music originated in the late 1970s in the South Bronx during a time characterized by political traditionalism and economic collapse. It started being played in gathering in public parks or individual homes. It was first used by the youngest members of the inner city black and Latino communities in New York. This kind of music, provided one of the few spaces where excluded minority youth could adopt and secure a public voice, and also a way in which members of these communities could express their worries and speak without restrictions.

Hip hop is a genre that is shared amongst multiple minority and non minority Cultures and races. The genre is embraced as one that can be charged with politics and an outlet of rage and opinions, and one that can be lighthearted and fun. ¨During the recent wave of revolutions across the Arab world and the protests against illegitimate presidents in African countries like Guinea and Djibouti, rap music has played a critical role in articulating citizen discontent over poverty, rising food prices, blackouts, unemployment, police repression and political corruption.”(Fernandez) Hip hop is the voice of the outvoted and the oppressed, it is also the voice of change. While most other genres can also be a voice of change, hip hop is one that has been developed and adapted to be a catalyst in socio political change. While it will not help integrate black and white culture properly, it voices the citizens unrest and discomfort in a powerful and moving way that can lead to a change it is a form of activism that is typically not violent and is easily accessible. “Hip Hop activism...[has the]ability to consistently and publicly critique the state and create platforms of resistance against conditions of oppression. In this sense, Hip Hop activism, informed by histories of cultural and political struggle, may be said to follow in the tradition of Civil Rights and Black Liberation protest movements. “(Tinson and McBride) Hip hop can help change the

Many people don’t know that hip-hop is deeper than just rapping. Hip-hop consists of many distinctive things. There are different dynamics within hip-hop, and they all create a vibrant and complex sound. For example, hip-hop includes the art of djing, emceeing, dance, and poetry. All of these aspects have made hip-hop what it currently is today. Hip-hop is at times frowned upon because of the misunderstanding of hip-hop culture. It has many misconceptions while people don’t see that it does have an actual history that has shaped America.

Hip hop has been and still is a huge influence on pop culture. It sets the theme, tone and even style for the younger generation and the pop culture side helps you know which artists are in right now and which are not. Hip hop dates back to the 1970s created in the South Bronx but it only really became popular in the 1990s. According to the article Hip Hop and the Aesthetics of Criminalization by Andrea Queeley in it states that “hip hop was meant to express the Black and Latino experiences of urban poverty” but ended up hurting those races because it soon turned into perpetuating racist stereotypes and racial discourse. Personally I feel that at one point in time there were messages of positivity or takeaways in general about life and that

The controversy of Hip-Hop and Rap being that it is “only about violence” or “uninfluential” is one that has been around since the eighties. But is it really all about violence, sex, drugs, or protest? Yes, there are rap groups that only rap about violence, sex, drugs, or protest, but that is a genre called “trap” music. When mentioning of the original artists in the trap music genre, rappers such as Waka Flocka Flame, Gucci Mane, Young Jeezy, and Lil’ Wayne come to mind which rap about sex, drugs, and violence. There are other genres that rap about enlightenment, good morals, and inspiration called “conscious rap.” Conscious hip hop or socially conscious hip-hop is a subgenre of hip hop that consists of political, religious, third-eye enlightenment, or philosophical relations. Most people only think there is one genre of rap and that is “trap” and that is the genre most people don’t realize even exist. With the rise of popularity of conscious rap hopefully people will have a second and better opinion of the upcoming genre.

Rap is a music genre, or better yet, a culture, otherwise known as hip hop, which emerged during the 1980’s in the South Bronx, New York City. Rap is a music genre that allows for self-expression by mostly African Americans. Common themes involve crime, violence and hardships that they face living in poverty-stricken communities. Lyrics often depict police brutality, racial injustice and flaws in the educational systems (Cepeda 44). The rap music industry has grown to become one of the largest, mos dominating mainstream industries in Western society, while its influence on American culture is monumental. The culture of rap music was born into an environment that was oppressive yet interestingly innovative. The music consists of complex combinations

Hip-Hop is often mistaken solely as a genre or style of music, but it is more than that, it is an entire cultural movement born out of the ghettos of america where underprivileged and impoverished youth created a culture that would take not only America but the entire world by storm. Many people think of Hip-Hop as a historical phenomena that was created through a capitalistic economic system and a very racist government that was trying its best to segregate and oppress the minorities (mainly Black and Latino youth) in our country. DJ Kool Herc, a pioneer of hip hop music and hip-hop culture, could not have said it better when he said “Hip-hop is the voice of this generation. Even if you didn’t grow up in the Bronx in the ’70s, hip-hop is there for you. It has become a powerful force. Hip-hop binds all of these people, all of these nationalities, all over the world together” (Chang, Intro). Hip-Hop and Rap music have deep roots dating back from as early as the 15th and 16th century but since this culture and genre of music has made its way into the mainstream in the mid 1980’s and early 1990’s this culture has greatly impacted American society and nearly every part of the world. Due to the increased popularity of hip hop in the american culture, the corporate music industry has commercialized and capitalized off of this gaining popularity, which has diluted the content of the music changing the whole initial intention behind the music and

There has always been a strong connection between hip hop music and pop music. It has brought a bountiful amount of collaborations and music that makes individuals want to dance and have a great time. Many times there is a negative connection between the musical styles. For example, there is also a lot of disdain between artists, many times about whether their respective genre is what they consider “real” music. Pop music has been defined as “a body of music which is distinguishable from popular jazz, rock and folk music.” Hip Hop music has been defined as “ a music genre that consists of stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.” The sheer number of similarities between hip