Contemporary Urban Music: Controversial Messages in Hip Hop and Rap Lyrics
Contemporary Urban Music: controversial messages in hip-hip and rap lyrics
Though Franklin B. Krohn and Frances L. Suazo portray hip-hop and rap as a protest to racism, poverty, and glorifying the drug dealing and gangster lifestyle I completely disagree with their views. Hip-hop and rap is way of life for young black men and women. It’s a language for not only blacks but white people that truly understand the content of the lyrics. Krohn and Suazo wrote, “More recently, the term hip-hop describes a culture, superficially characterized by performers with droopy pants, hats to the back, lace less sneakers, hoods, and loud radios.” One can’t characterize a rapper by droopy pants and his hat to the back. Many rappers such as: Jay-Z, Kanye West, and LL Cool J wear suits on stage for their performances. When hip-hop began in the 70s it was known for break dancing and great lyrical content. There was political rap, spiritual rap, and a more positive feel for the ladies. Hip-hop began to change with the times in the mid to late 80s. This is when drugs began to run rampant in the black neighborhoods. These shifts in the black neighborhoods change black peoples point on views on many topics. According to Rose, T author of Black Nose, “Rap music is innovative uses of style and language, hilariously funny carnivalesgue and chitin-circuit-inspired dramatic skits, and ribald storytelling.” Rose is completely off base with his assessment of hip-hop and rap music. Nothing in rap is even close in design as the old 1920s chitin circuit. The design of hip-hop and rap is a sort of outreach or a way out of the ghetto for many young black people. Many of whom have made some terrible mistakes in life, but realize that society would never place them in corporate America, so they learn the skill of rapping. Rappers have often been accused of demeaning women and glorifying the gangster lifestyle. Hip-hop does not glorify the gangster life, it merely serves as a
Though Franklin B. Krohn and Frances L. Suazo portray hip-hop and rap as a protest to racism, poverty, and glorifying the drug dealing and gangster lifestyle I completely disagree with their views. Hip-hop and rap is way of life for young black men and women. It’s a language for not only blacks but white people that truly understand the content of the lyrics. Krohn and Suazo wrote, “More recently, the term hip-hop describes a culture, superficially characterized by performers with droopy pants, hats to the back, lace less sneakers, hoods, and loud radios.” One can’t characterize a rapper by droopy pants and his hat to the back. Many rappers such as: Jay-Z, Kanye West, and LL Cool J wear suits on stage for their performances. When hip-hop began in the 70s it was known for break dancing and great lyrical content. There was political rap, spiritual rap, and a more positive feel for the ladies. Hip-hop began to change with the times in the mid to late 80s. This is when drugs began to run rampant in the black neighborhoods. These shifts in the black neighborhoods change black peoples point on views on many topics. According to Rose, T author of Black Nose, “Rap music is innovative uses of style and language, hilariously funny carnivalesgue and chitin-circuit-inspired dramatic skits, and ribald storytelling.” Rose is completely off base with his assessment of hip-hop and rap music. Nothing in rap is even close in design as the old 1920s chitin circuit. The design of hip-hop and rap is a sort of outreach or a way out of the ghetto for many young black people. Many of whom have made some terrible mistakes in life, but realize that society would never place them in corporate America, so they learn the skill of rapping. Rappers have often been accused of demeaning women and glorifying the gangster lifestyle. Hip-hop does not glorify the gangster life, it merely serves as a
Cited: Krohn, Franklin and Suazo, Frances. “Contemporary urban music: controversial messages in hip-hop and rap lyrics.” 1995.