The Evolution Of Women 's Image

The Hip Hop music industry is infamous for being controversial. In the article Hip Hop’s Betrayal of Black Women there’s a debate on whether the exploitation and constant verbal slander of women should be acceptable just because it sales records. It presents the question that why is it that male poverty breeds sexism? Even though women may have lived in the same environment males still see women as the enemy in their music in an effort to sell records.

Even though, hip-hop is viewed as primarily of promoting negative message, however, it has reveled the pain behind the lyrics. “Hip hop music, had for over three and half decades, delivered a resounding message of freedom of expression, unity, peace, and protest against social injustices”. (Anderson & Jackson) As hip-hop continues to grow it has continued to remain a strong influential social impact. Hip-hop created a way for many individuals to express themselves on controversial issues seen throughout society.

Geoffrey Bennett’s article Hip Hop: A Roadblock or Pathway to Black Empowerment illustrates the influence hip hop and rap music has had on not only the music industry but mainstream culture, African Americans to be specific. Geoffrey Bennett, a senior English Major from Voorhees, New Jersey goes over many aspects of how hip hop came to be “the forefront of American attention.” He starts from its early history in the 1980s as an African American exclusive music genre to what is now a worldwide phenomenon. He reviews the affect it has had on the lifestyle of many people and the ways it’s changed the way people

Hip Hop was birthed in the neighborhood, where young people gathered in parks, on playgrounds, and neighborhood street corners, to verbalize poetry over spontaneous sounds and adopted melodies. Hip Hop was not just the music; it was also a way for the young to show their skills in break dancing, gymnastic dance style that was valued, and athleticism over choreographed fluidity. Hip hop was also fashion such as: hats, jackets, gold chains, and name-brand sneakers. Hip Hop was a form of graffiti, to a new way of expression that engaged spray paint on the subway walls as the canvas. In addition, today’s hip hop have changed as where the DJ was once is now the producer as the key music maker, and the park is now a studio.

“…the appropriation of hip-hop cultural forms suggest not that whites want a black identity: rather, they want characteristics of blackness.” (Perry 2002, 109). This is quote by Pamela Perry, a sociologist as University of California Santa Cruz, from her book Shades of White:White Kids and Racial Identities in High School. Pamela Perry is a sociologist from University of California, Santa Cruz, throughout her book she touches on the idea of white children developing a sort of identity crisis depending on their environment. This quote helps put the appropriation of African American culture in its simplest terms. In most cases people associate Hip Hop culture with African Americans. With that being said, many artist of different genres who attempt to have a more hip hop vibe, fall subject to appropriating African American Culture. Various artist have been appropriating culture in several different ways whether it’s through dance, sound, or even image.

The author was categorical on various issues related to Hip-Hop music and other genres such as Jazz and Rap. The major assertion was that Hip-Hop has grown and attracted attention of many black Americans and media. Maybe, this was the only way that they could have expressed their discontent and tribulations they were facing especially from a political perspective. The author asserts that Hip-Hop was mainly an avenue to show resistance and the call for deliverance of black Americans.

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.

Misogyny exists not only in Hip-Hop but also in American society as a whole. Objectified female bodies are everywhere: in advertising, on magazine covers, and television and movie screens. In Hip-Hop women are exploited and viewed as objects. In raps they are often called “bitches” and “hoes”, and place them in music videos half-naked furthering the

You’re standing in a crowd amongst thousands of fans at an Eminem concert, people from all over, shoulder to shoulder in a massive stadium, singing along every word of their favorite song for hours. People from all over are connected to each other through the power of music. When it comes to music, the life experiences, inspiration, and current events play a tremendously significant role. Hip hop is a form of art which can be expressed through rap songs, break-dancing, and graffiti art. The culture has become so popular that it has entered today’s fashion and modern language. Hip hop music is an extremely large part of today’s generation and a global genre, which influences the generation all over the world.

Charlotte Bunch once said “Sexual, racial, gender, violence, and other forms of discrimination and violence in a culture cannot be eliminated without changing culture.” Our society experiences all of these problems and I would like to focus on the gender perspective in the 21st century and how women have had more of an influence in music than people actually realize. Men have dominated the music industry and business but women have been the underlying reason as for why men and other females have been so successful in the music scene.

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

Hip-Hop has always been a really big thing for the African American culture. It’s the way a lot of young black men back in the day expressed issues going on in the world around them because they were different from the dominant culture in the United States as a whole. As, time progressed from when hip-hop was first introduced and over its timeline till now I’ve notice more women coming into the music industry as rappers. It wasn’t always that way but doors opened up with famous female vocals like Roxanne Shante who was one of the very first in the 1980’s. Then following closely behind was Salt n Peppa, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah.

Hip hop and rap as a musical genre is a very controversial subject for nearly everyone. Its influences are powerful, both positive and negative. There are many positive influences of hip hop, and a few examples are the breaking down of cultural barriers, the economic impact, and political awareness of pressing and urgent issues. Though there are many positive influences, there are many negative influences as well. Some of the more heated debates of the negative influences of hip hop are that it glorifies violence, and the fact that the music sexualizes women and degrades them as well. Attached to the negative outlook on hip hop, there are also many stereotypes assumed by society towards this type of culture

It has been 30 years since Hip-Hop was first “introduced” to the world. Whether it be fashion or politics, this musical genre/culture plays a huge role in everyday life and has generated billions of dollars across the globe. In this paper I will be discussing when, where, and how Hip-Hop was created, “old school Hip-Hop, “Hip-Hop’s Golden Age”, “Hardcore rap” “Gangsta rap”, “G-Funk”, 21st century Hip-Hop, and how Hip-Hop affects society.

Hip-Hop is a cultural movement that emerged from the dilapidated South Bronx, New York in the early 1970’s. The area’s mostly African American and Puerto Rican residents originated this uniquely American musical genre and culture that over the past four decades has developed into a global sensation impacting the formation of youth culture around the world. The South Bronx was a whirlpool of political, social, and economic upheaval in the years leading up to the inception of Hip-Hop. The early part of the 1970’s found many African American and Hispanic communities desperately seeking relief from the poverty, drug, and crime epidemics engulfing the gang dominated neighborhoods. Hip-Hop proved to be successful as both a creative outlet for