The Artist Who I Am

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”.

Hip-hop, a predominantly African American genre with ever-increasing nationwide popularity, presents a valuable opportunity to examine how racial tension still exists and how by working in an overwhelmingly black genre, white rappers must justify their popularity and prove their ability in an industry that evolved out of serving and entertaining African American communities. By being the first white rapper to justify his popularity and prove his ability in the post Vanilla Ice era, Eminem has not only allowed himself to be successful, he has reopened the world of rap to other white artists.

McBride begins the essay by telling the readers of his nightmare. He once feared that his daughter would arrive home one day with a stereotyped rapper husband with “ mouthful of gold teeth, a do-rag on his head… and a thug attitude” (McBride 1). He came to realize that he in fact, hip-hop, a genre that he once didn’t believe was music, had become one of the most known genres in the world. The speaker first heard his first rap song at a college party in Harlem in 1980. The jazz lover he was, cringed at the rap music he claimed to be so poorly thought out and written. For the next 26 years of his life, he went out of his way to avoid hip-hop music all together, as if It was never there in the first place.

Violent lyrics, a bad-boy image, and a long criminal record are what attracted and connected millions of young adults to the now legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a man of contradictions; for example, his music degraded and also praised strong women. Tupac Shakur rapped about problems that inner-city black Americans could relate to, along with his legal and personal drama; you could not get away from Tupac in the 1990’s. From the womb to the day Tupac Shakur died he went through the struggles many self-proclaimed “gangsters” these days do as well; but using these problems he took the rap and hip-hop game to another level.

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.

The influence of rap on black urban youths has become a major part to the modern day music industry. Berry uses the article to show that through rap music, low income black youth are able to develop empowering values and ideologies, strengthen cultural interaction and establish positive identities. This is done by describing different components of urban black culture associated with rap which enhances the struggle for black significance in pop culture. His beliefs are supported by using rap artists and their music to show how significant it has grown to be a dominant form of expression but also a controversial issue for urban black youths. The thesis that rap music as cultural expression is

In today’s society, African Americans have faced vast amounts of stereotypes and hatred. In particular, the media portrays the rapper Kanye West as a ‘typical’ black African American who’s only good at rapping. Instead, Kanye is actually highly refined and can hold his own in many aspects, including politics as well as fashion. Kanye West is an American hip-hop recording artist, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and fashion designer from Chicago, Illinois. When Kanye was just 3, his parents Ray West and Donda west divorced.

Throughout his career rapper Kanye West, has been portrayed as many different things in the media based on his public appearance and the subject matter of his music. The message he relates in his music is ever changing and often showcases different ideals or stances on issues echoed among different parts of the African American community. Two such instances of this come from very different periods of Kanye’s career, and show two polar opposite opinions of how to deal with arguably the most important social issue in American history. This change in Kanye’s way of dealing with racism reflects two differing schools of thought in the African American community. Although early in Kanye’s career his music identified the racial inequality

As one of the world’s most successful musicians, Marshall Mathers is the target of intense controversy. Mathers, better known by his stage name Eminem, is often written off as violent, misogynistic, and homophobic. Activist groups have picketed his concerts, parents have condemned his songs, and countries like Canada and Australia have even tried to cancel his tours. However, regardless of the intense backlash, Mathers has revolutionized hip hop, transforming it into a mainstream form of music. Mathers’ story indicates that artists must ultimately work without fear of controversy.

As one of the world’s most successful musicians, Marshall Mathers’ is the target of intense controversy. Mathers, better known for his stage names Eminem or Slim Shady, is often labeled as violent, misogynistic, and homophobic. However, behind his hateful songs, is a hero that few people see. Mather’s story suggests that people are too quick to categorize others, and therefore misjudge them. While his songs are undoubtedly profane, Mather’s purpose behind them reveals his true nature, as well as that of the unlikely hero.

When examining figures that fall into the group of black vernacular intellectuals, one of the most recent and influential people that should be considered a part of this group is the late Tupac Shakur. The hip hop artist, who died at the young age of 25, left a far reaching impact that can be easily seen through both in his music he left behind, and his influence on prominent figures in today’s hip hop industry. Though his career would only last for five years, from when his first studio album was released in 1991, to his death in 1996, Tupac released a number of songs that contained very poignant messages particularly regarding the living conditions of African Americans in the U.S. and the often troubled relations between police and the African

When faced with the decision of which pop song really stood out to me during my youth and adolescent years, the song “Lose Yourself” by Eminem immediately came across my mind. From listening to this song during soccer game warm ups, to quietly being indulged in my own headphones while studying for high school exams, this song was like no other in my ITunes library. On top of its amazing use of musical elements, I especially love this song because of its connection to certain socio historical factors and the pure raw meaning behind its lyrics. Although the reaction to this song was quite mixed, and stirred a lot controversy, it was the most defining rap song of the early 2000s. While sitting at my seat pondering about this piece, it brought

This paper will open by first and foremost, explaining the different sociological meanings of the term power, so as the reader has an understanding of the arguments being made. This will allow anybody reading this paper to follow the arguments being made. Music can provide a means of resistance for challenging the power relations of racism, class and gender in a number of ways. The first way that this paper will approach this is the racial aspect and as a means of doing this, the main focus point will be Eminem and his break-through in to the Rap/ Hip-hop genre. This is relevant because he was the first white person to ever successfully break into this specific genre of predominantly Black artists. This will lead neatly onto the next element to answering the question of music providing a means of resistance for challenging power relations, It will move on to look at the class element of resisting and challenging power. This section will start off by continuing with regard to Eminem and how he used his “underclass” background as a means of connecting with his black counterparts, But still gaining acceptance from his peers and even forming a working relationship with an already massively established artist that aided him in his entrance to the hip-hop music industry and his credibility their after. Whilst still staying with subject matter of class, this

Tupac Shakur was obviously one of the most influential and greatest rappers of all time. Not only he was a rapper but he was an actor as well. He was loved by many across the nation not only for his talent and vocals but also for his message that was so widely spread. He was a very influential character in the black power movement because his music was extremely popular and he was a very prominent figure in the musical world, especially for young people. He made songs for the future not just for the present if that makes sense. We still listen to him today for a reason because it is meaningful music not some of the nonsense we hear today. Pac was born in 1971 in New york City. Although he represents him as a west coast rapper. His mother Afeni Shakur was a member of the Black Panther party. In this 10 page essay Im going to speak on his mother and what importance she had on him also on the whole country, and the black power movement. Also Tupac’s relations with Assata Shakur.

Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, is recognized for his work as a rap artist who is able to connect with his audience through humor and rhythmically dicey lyrics. Eminem’s “My Name Is” music video is able signify whiteness and rearticulate race with the use intertextual editing techniques that parody common representations of whiteness. Eminem is using his “My Name Is” video as an approach to solidify his style of rapping and thus create new political and cultural authenticities that entice questions of race representation in the 1990’s and beyond. (Kajikawa).