Hip-Hop And Violence

The preceding genres of rap music are all closely related, but Hip Hop originated from Jamaican reggae music. There are other cultures who have adopted hip hop influence such as Latinos and Asians. Although rap music has been widely accepted by different cultures all over the world, their have not been many studies dedicated to researching if rap music increases violent behavior through the lyrical content of the songs. Out of all of the genres of rap music, Gangsta Rap has been noted by past researchers to promote violent self identification which in term promotes violence through lyrical content. Gangsta Rap became popular in the 1990s. In a study conducted by Herd (2009) that included 340 gangsta rap songs, it was found that violent references dramatically increased and those references were viewed as positive and linked to wealth, prowess, and glamour. In reference to Kubrin (2005), he found that “The St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture categorizes ‘gangsta rap as the most controversial kind of rap genre, because it received global attention for having violent depictions of urban ghetto life’ in America.” (Abrams 2000:198)

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New York City has now taken over the mainstream, but

Hip-Hop is the most dominant genre in the U.S. surpassing Rock, Country Music and R&B. Hip-Hop took music to a whole different dynamic, with its catchy beats and rhythmic music accompanied by rhyming. Unfortunately despite all the excellent elements that Hip-Hop has brought to the table, the Hip-Hop industry is known to promote a great deal of gun violence. This day in age rappers take pride in using their guns, bragging about the many guns they have, and have no problem telling the world that their not afraid to use it either. There has been many cases where famous rappers have lost their life due to gun violence. Rappers like Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, Bankroll Fresh, Big L, Jam Master Jay and the list goes on are all rappers who've been killed by the use of guns. A very famous rapper known as Snoop Dogg wanted to do something that Hip-Hop rarely does and that’s convey a meaningful message to stop gun violence. Snoop Dogg wrote a song called "No Guns Allowed" featuring Cori B and Drake, incorporating a theme where the use of guns should be prohibited because young lives are being taken away daily due to gun use. Not only did Snoop Dogg use his lyrics to get us to hear his message but he also used his music video to help visualize his message. Snoop Dogg uses Ethos, Logos, Kairos and other rhetorical strategies to persuade the audience that gun violence is a serious issue that needs to come to an end.

In fact, the police have even linked the rise of violence to music. In the article “Colorado Police Link Rise in Violence to Music” the journalist Dan Frosch talks about how the police believe that the rise in murder and shootings are contributed by the “gangsta” rap

Hip hop, to me, is the culture I grew up in by default. Starting at an early age, everything around me was hip hop, from the way my parents dressed (hightop fades and door knocker hoop earrings) to what they played on the radio. As I got older I didn’t return to hip hop until much later, and didn’t take it seriously as something I was interested in exploring until I was in high school.

Wholesale crime, Homicides, Deadly drugs, Guns, Violence, Disease, Really dangerous people roaming free, the overall urban demoralization and decay of social and institutional standards. This has been the Obamas hip-hop desecration of America where no one cannot hide the facts that in eight years our nation has been overrun by gangs, drug dealers, and the purveyors of vulgar sub-culture anti-law order

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

Hip-Hop Culture and race have had a complicated relationship in the past two decades. It has been commonly referred to as “black music” and a reflection of black culture. However, recent studies done by the Mediamark Research Inc. showed that 60% of rap music buyers are white. With the emergence of white, Latino, Asian, and other rappers with diverse backgrounds on the Hip Hop scene it is important recognize the changing color of the genre and the stereotype it holds as “black music”. Black culture has also been subject to appropriation because of the popularization of Hip-hop music. However, much of the discourse on the topic confuses cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation, and states that hip-hop music is strictly for African Americans or that it doesn’t belong to anyone at all. Hip-Hop is a black art form that transcends cultural boundaries and can be appreciated through the lenses of different cultures as long as those who enjoy it acknowledge its roots. The genre’s growing number of non-black rappers is not due to the appropriation of the genre by other cultures but as an expansion of it due to it’s growing popularity across the world.

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

Simple beat, simple rhyme scheme, strong message. "Vans don't cost G's, real niggaz wear these – Vans," says a member of The Pack in the music video aptly titled "Vans." You may be asking yourself, "So, what's the big deal?" The big, highly lucrative deal is the marriage between big name corporations and their partnership with hip-hop. It's nothing new: Run-DMC had "My adiddas", LL Cool J wore Kangol hats, and even Jay-Z incorporated drinking Cristal into his lyrics for a long period of time. With that being said, the new hip-hop generation of today faces many adversities from years and years of subliminal marketing within their own sub-culture. The effects of hyper-commercialism are evident in American

Yes all lives matter, however, a pattern of black men and women have been murdered by police brutality; therefore, we need to concentrate on preserving Black at this moment. At this very moment, in the United States, there have been destructive riots and peaceful protest from all races but mostly African Americans because we continue to witness our black men and women die from police brutality without justice being served. It is significant that whoever wins the presidential Election will take steps in assuring that all people especially black people are protected by the police and not murdered by them. It is important that this president take steps in assuring that the justice system will began to be just in cases such as the Treyvon Martin, Eric Garner and Sarah Bland. It is important the president ensures that officers are properly trained when it comes to dealing with those who are unarmed for the simple fact that there are other methods to arresting a person that is unarmed without killing them. It is prominent that the President search for other solutions that will decrease the amount of police brutality that is inflicted on African Americans on a day to day basis. Because quite frankly, we are disgusted and angry, and tired of seeing youth die for ridiculous reasons.

This music is based on a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is vocalized. Rap music is usually associated with black musicians (Andrews, 2014, p. 23). One of lyric’s topics when artists create is about an expression of societal ills or obscene topics which is scrutinized by police and in courtroom. The rap music is criminalized together with its producers - young black men that results in criminalizing black culture and recast them as criminals. Similarly, a lyric of song is used as evidence in order to prosecute their author (Workneh, 2015) that is seen as the controversial practice comparing to other music genres that are not criminalised. The political commentators on both sides of political spectrum criticize that rap music promotes opposite values of the conventional society such as social decay and disobedience of young people to the authority. The social authorities suggest that themes in hip hop songs promote drugs and violence within hidden context that has an influence on young people and that does affect their moral values. It also can invoke unwished rebellion to the state authority and undermine community cohesion. The police force often claims that the words of gangster rap songs can work as an inspiration to commit crime for people who are in the same or similar position as black people. These subcultures share certain aspects such as

Hip-Hop is an extensive and a broad conglomerate of various artistic forms that ultimately originated in the South Bronx and then quickly spread throughout the rest of New York City among African-Americans and other African-American youth mainly from the Caribbean and from Jamaica during the 1970’s. Over the course of decades and recent years, controversy surrounding Hip-Hop and rap music has been the vanguard of the media. From the over hype of the East and West Coast rivalry to the deaths of Tupac, Biggie, and even Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, it seems that political and broadcasting groups have been injudicious to place essentially the blame on rap and Hip-Hop music for a superficial trend in youth violence.

Hip Hop in the most popular genre of music between all African American communities, not just in America, but worldwide. Hip Hop has expanded itself into music, fashion, advertisement, movies, and it’s given many rappers, and those associated with the genre, the chance to influence their communities, societies and their culture in general, but commercial Hip Hop in the U.S. has branded Hip Hop in a negative way. (The Young and The Hip-Hop, Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem, 2012, Web, Oct. 27, 2014) This is all due to the negative imagery and negative lyrics like the term nigga, negative implications of Hip Hop include exploiting black adolescent girls, promoting unhealthy lifestyles, and implying that the open use of the word nigga is not harmful. Hip Hop has become a global phenomenon where it has evolved from a genre of music to a lifestyle for the African American community.

Throughout history, music has been used to express the feelings of people or groups whom may have no other outlet to express themselves. The best example of this occurrence would be the lower class of America’s use of rap music. Rap music started out as a fun variation of disco with the purpose to make people dance and enjoy themselves, but it later transformed into one of the best outlets to express the struggles of poverty in the United States. The genre gained popularity when the song “Rapper 's Delight” hit the charts in the early eighties; rap evolved into a plethora of different styles from there, Gangster Rap formed with NWA in the late eighties, and rap really hit it’s zenith in the mid nineties. Modern rap began in the early starts of the twentieth century. Because of the storytelling that rappers do in the music, it gained notice in the inner city where the demographic could relate. Many young teen in the inner city environment built dream to be famous rappers just like their own favorite artists . Rap connects to me by its style, its purpose, and its political incorrectness.