Rap is becoming an increasingly popular genre of music specially with today’s youth as it is somehow considered a part of the youth culture. Today, it is featured increasingly among popular advertisements, radio and even on television shows. Rap is genre wherein you can express challenges and experiences in life in a form of a story. Although that is sometimes the case, rude and inappropriate themes are also expressed in rap.
The question that I will be answering in this essay is How has the language in rap changed through the years? This essay will be analyzing how language used in rap has evolved since the late 1980’s by examining specific songs and how the language and meaning of these songs has changed. It shows how the language used in …show more content…
Old followers of hip hop may say that there are four main components of the genre: ‘rap, break dancing, graffiti and disc jockeying’ (Uzeki). The genre is seen as a part of youth culture because they have a special connection to it. This essay will be discussing rap and the evolution of the language used since the beginning of the movement during the 1970’s. Rap is a form of music that stemmed from the Hip Hop genre, also known as ‘rhyming’ or ‘MCing’. Since its beginnings in the late 1970’s, rap music has encountered its share of controversies and accomplishments and has played an important role in shaping today’s popular hip hop culture. Rap music is frequently played in the media, with most of the public having listened to some songs either on their own prerogative or just coming across with it through TV, radio and even the internet. Rap is becoming increasingly popular specially within the last 10 years. Today, not only pop songs are played repeatedly on radio shows but also rap music. Many people wonder why rap is very significant in today’s society. A simple answer to that is because it is a form of escape from the real world and it is a way of expressing one’s self, open and available to anyone regardless of race, gender or …show more content…
A lot of people wonder why rap music is so successful when it is always criticized and put in the limelight for the wrong things. The answer to that may not lie in the graphic videos or rich rappers; lavish lifestyles or fancy cars. The answer may lie in the language used in the music. Rap is occasionally referred to as a form of poetry (Smolcic) although there is a lot of argument behind it, it is a compelling point. A lot of people argue that rap is poetry because it ‘[uses] literary devices like assonance and alliteration’ (Mattix) but on the other hand experts disagree because it is a ‘skewed and sloppy take on written language’ (McWhorter). Rap songs aren’t only about drugs, gang life and violence- a lot of songs tackle actual issues faced by the world specifically the youth. Some examples are Public Enemy’s song ‘Fight the Power’ which tackles the corrupt government taking everything they can from the poor and N.W.A’s ‘F*** The Police’ which talks about police brutality towards African-Americans and standing up against unjust police. Rap is the ‘single most important event’ (Royal Society Open Science), a new way for people of all ages to express themselves however they want without the fear
The question that I will be answering in this essay is How has the language in rap changed through the years? This essay will be analyzing how language used in rap has evolved since the late 1980’s by examining specific songs and how the language and meaning of these songs has changed. It shows how the language used in …show more content…
Old followers of hip hop may say that there are four main components of the genre: ‘rap, break dancing, graffiti and disc jockeying’ (Uzeki). The genre is seen as a part of youth culture because they have a special connection to it. This essay will be discussing rap and the evolution of the language used since the beginning of the movement during the 1970’s. Rap is a form of music that stemmed from the Hip Hop genre, also known as ‘rhyming’ or ‘MCing’. Since its beginnings in the late 1970’s, rap music has encountered its share of controversies and accomplishments and has played an important role in shaping today’s popular hip hop culture. Rap music is frequently played in the media, with most of the public having listened to some songs either on their own prerogative or just coming across with it through TV, radio and even the internet. Rap is becoming increasingly popular specially within the last 10 years. Today, not only pop songs are played repeatedly on radio shows but also rap music. Many people wonder why rap is very significant in today’s society. A simple answer to that is because it is a form of escape from the real world and it is a way of expressing one’s self, open and available to anyone regardless of race, gender or …show more content…
A lot of people wonder why rap music is so successful when it is always criticized and put in the limelight for the wrong things. The answer to that may not lie in the graphic videos or rich rappers; lavish lifestyles or fancy cars. The answer may lie in the language used in the music. Rap is occasionally referred to as a form of poetry (Smolcic) although there is a lot of argument behind it, it is a compelling point. A lot of people argue that rap is poetry because it ‘[uses] literary devices like assonance and alliteration’ (Mattix) but on the other hand experts disagree because it is a ‘skewed and sloppy take on written language’ (McWhorter). Rap songs aren’t only about drugs, gang life and violence- a lot of songs tackle actual issues faced by the world specifically the youth. Some examples are Public Enemy’s song ‘Fight the Power’ which tackles the corrupt government taking everything they can from the poor and N.W.A’s ‘F*** The Police’ which talks about police brutality towards African-Americans and standing up against unjust police. Rap is the ‘single most important event’ (Royal Society Open Science), a new way for people of all ages to express themselves however they want without the fear