Rap Music Research Paper

In 1980, rap not only showed people’s lives on streets but also displayed a strong ethnic and political realization, expressing an increase in the sense of racial militancy and telling stories about deeply ingrained prejudices against women, sex, and black-on-black brutality. Therefore, it intuitively showed things that happened in people’s lives, bringing somewhat negative influence on young

White suburban males find themselves drawn to hardcore rap as a sense of masculinity that they struggle to find on the streets. White

It is everywhere. Rap music is wide spread and made easily available on the go. It can be listened to on the radio of a train station, the internet, and on phones, permitting the youth to listen to it in various circumstances, either on their way to school or along with their friends. In today’s society, rap music has become such a fundamental part of lives that it is a very hard thing for the youth to imagine life without. Further down the line, most rap music highlights lyrics that carry along words in which violence and sexual desires are promoted in the youth, which has caused concern among most parents. Many people tend to believe that rap music creates a diverse culture that plans an essential role in communication that will help the

Music and Media satisfies the human world in many ways, it can vary from listening to music as it is or catching up on a tv episode that was missed. Although these two surround us in everyday lives, as mentioned previously, it comes with its downsides as well which corresponds to many topics to have in mind. The fact that music is widely popular and is used every day, one needs to take in mind as well the messages that are being expressed throughout the song. Relating to one of the most popular genres listened to, rap. Although it may be enjoyable at times, it consistently uses explicit content in the music that relates to wrong actions such as violence, crime, drugs, etc. In the article, Changing Images of Violence

A song on the radio starts off with a pleasant melody. Suddenly, another form of heavy-beat music enters. Numerous icons of guns, skulls, hoods, lighters, darkness, and graffiti art were demonstrated by typing in three simple letters into the Oxford English Dictionary word search bar: R-a-p. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of rap is accompanied with the synonyms “whack, strike, bash, bang, pound…” (Simpson). All with negative connotations, this reflects how rap affects our society today. Rap can be catchy, but it is harmful to our society for freedom of speech is being taken advantage of and, as a result, other political issues have arisen from them. Freedom of expression can extend a little bit too far.

For centuries, rap has been used as a tool of expression of art. Capitalism and its oppressive qualities have forced the oppressed class to use it as a way to vent their anger and seek justice or liberation. Rap is a form of hip-hop and can be used to express real life experiences or issue like violence, poverty and the social and institutional discrimination experienced in America. When referring to “rap” in this study, its specifically, discussing “political rap or gangster rap lyrics”. Notably, rap has been used throughout history to present day; we’ve seen it during social movement like the Civil rights movement and now for the Black lives matter movements. Artist like, Tupac Shakur, N.W.A. and Kendrick Lamar are among those

On that day, two of the school’s students went on a shooting spree, killing thirteen people and wounding more than twenty before taking their own lives, (Keeley, 91). This is proof that children and teens are susceptible to violent lyrics more than adults. Parents need to try their best to keep violence out of their kid’s life. If people work together and be friendlier with their lyrics, the world would be a better place. Not all raps are bad though, as long as it doesn’t have offensive or violent things in it Rap is a good genre of music. The things that tear rap apart is all the offense it has in it, otherwise it would sell way more and people wouldn’t try getting rid of it because of its

“Devil Music and Gangsta Rap: A Comparison of Sexual Violence in Blues and Rap Lyrics” by Edward G. Armstrong, he says rap is not the only genre known for celebrating the transformative power of violence, he says blues music does too, because both blues lyrics and rap dramaturgy are seen as insurrections of “subjugated sexualities” suggests that blues music, because of its suicidal pessimism and a great sense of nihilism, may have played a key role in the existence of gangsta rap and that both blues and rap music have similarities in terms of violent misogynist

Rap culture kicked off back in the 1970’s in Bronx, New York. For many years, the rap and hip hop culture have evolved into the mainstream approach to express wealth and economical statuses. Rappers have expressed themselves through verses and lyrical aspects. Rappers tend to praise drugs, money, sex, violence and a lifestyle that’s lavish. While glorifying a materialistic standard of living, artist provide such empowerment to fans that with money comes a level of comfort. Some songs can be linked to criminal activity, because one will react off of the artist lyrics. Which gives the impression that killing drugs money, sex, cars and corruption will make one look tough or bold. On the other hand if we dig deeper and listen to the verses of many songs, we will find that some artist relay a positive message, letting people know the hardships they’ve been through on the road to fame. In a way acknowledging that they aren’t alone, everyone has been through some kind of struggle before. Also, that anything is possible if you work hard for it. I guess it’s safe to say that depending on the artist personality and lifestyle determines the

The purpose of this study is to show that there is more to rap and hip hop lyrics than what most people take them for. It cannot be disputed that violence is a major theme in this genre of music, but the lyrics of artists who have been able to stay in the game for a long time show that overtime the subject of their song matter varies with their experiences and success. Two artists who are very well respected in the rap industry and who have been around for awhile, Nas and Jay-Z both show a wide variety of topics in their music and that with success their music went from violent tales to songs that are more fun, more positive and more concerned with material things. Using a

In addition, portrayals of violence in later songs are viewed in a more positive light as shown by their increased association with glamor,wealth, masculinity, personal prowess. (338)

From Eminem’s hardcore explicit lyrics, to Lil Kim’s outrageous outfits to the late Tupac Shakur’s “thug life” image, the rap subculture has been under a lot of speculation. Many rappers lyrics contain violent messages that parents fear are encouraging youth to become violent. The media has a field day covering protests against rappers, such as Eminem about their explicit lyrics towards gays, women and their promotion of violence. The main concern is how rap is influencing today, particularly towards the youth community, and the answer can be found in the media. There are a lot of articles, books, movies and documentaries written and produced each year with hip-hop being the main subject. This great plethora of media not only affects the

Rap music has been a commonly known genre of music since the nineteen seventies and became popular as “gangster rap.” It has been known to portray images through it’s lyrics and videos of things, such as: gangs, guns, violence, and sexism. Rap has also been commonly associated to be more popular amongst teenagers. Many people who are from the older generations are associated with believing that rap music has had a negative impact in the society we live in today, and has had negative impacts on adolescents today. This is due to the fact that some studies have shown that teenagers who tend to spend more time watching the music videos or listening to the lyrics of rap music referring to sex and violence are more likely to practice these behaviors depicted in real life. Also, another study done by DuRant et al in nineteen ninety-seven shows that rap videos have the highest percentage of violence shown, at twenty and four tenth percent (Impact of Music, Council on Communications and Media).

    “Rap's common designation as "CNN for black people" may result from the descendance of rappers from griots, respected African oral historians and praise-singers (Blanchard).” Since then it has evolved into something more violent and widely listened to among all races. Such vulgar actions and explicit lyrics are displayed in everyday modern rap. While critics believe that rap is a way of expression and doing so with excessive power, it can be done without violence. Due to the evolution of technology and the media, people are can download music directly from multiple music databases onto any device with internet access. This makes it easier for anyone, including youth, to download explicit content. Gang violence is also a common factor expressed in rap music. Gangs may differ for locations as well as family history in which case it is inherited. Artists typically take pride in being ambassadors for their home regions and the gangs that reside there. Many well known rappers including Gucci Mane, Bobby Shmurda, and Lil Boosie Badazz were either indicted or convicted for murder. Studies show that there is a correlation with criminals and rap music. Moreover, rap music promotes violence.

Rap and hip hop was originally created to foster creativity and artistic expression in impoverished Black communities in New York. DJ Kool Herc was the first individual to bring rap to the forefront in New York. Rap was a way that young black individuals, especially men, could come together in an inclusive and positive setting. Hip hop gave individuals a platform and a safe space to express what was going on in their community. Rap is deeply rooted in the Black community because of the historical context and importance it holds in the culture. Unfortunately, the genre of rap and hip hop has evolved over time and the original meaning has been demolished. Now the music is full of vulgar lyrics about sex, violence, and drugs. Sadly, the adoration of drugs in the genre is a common source for all of the issues mentioned above.