Hip-hop culture developed during the seventies. Throughout its formation, the various elements were at some time or another, deemed unacceptable. Graffiti artists faced jail sentences, break dancing became illegal in some areas, and rap music has been severely criticized for various reasons. These elements were never analyzed in an oppositional manner until recently, however.
Hip-hop culture represented the claiming of urban communities by the residents. Writers decorated the empty walls of their communities in an attempt to personalize their surroundings. They also painted trains, which traveled to other communities, and in this sense they developed a living and moving art form. Break dancing claimed space simply because it utilized community …show more content…
Commercialization is normally associated with negative effects yet it has enlarged the rap audience greatly. As a result, commercialization has increased revenue for artists and labels. It has also resulted in increased funding for the production of rap, as well as, funding for independent labels that sign groups that may not get signed by major labels. Commercialization has taken hip-hop out of urban areas and placed it in the lap of suburban America. Suburban America has obviously eaten it alive. For example, seventy percent of gangsta rap is purchased by white suburban youth (Rose, 43). This presents another contradiction facing rap music. Gangsta rap discusses issues which are culture specific or that deal with a specific socialization. How are youth from the suburbs relating to these messages when they have probably never encountered a situation that the rappers discuss? Their fascination may be a result of MTV, BET and popular radio. The rap videos, which receive regular rotation on MTV, BET and the radio, are from the gangsta rap genre. A complete picture of hip-hop is never presented. This therefore limits exposure and explains stereotypes of rap as only violent and …show more content…
It seems as if rap as a whole is falling towards the black hole of popular culture. Not to say that popular culture is all bad but all you ever see in gangsta rap videos now is money, cars, women and the commodities that only “they” have. The rapper Jermaine Dupris had a song with the name of “Money Ain’t a Thang,” and just the name says it all. Throughout the video there is a car chase and they are throwing money out of the car singing “ Money Ain’t a Thang.” This is only touching on how money plays a role in the rap industry. Gangsta rap may have been in a lot of the headlines in recent years, but the field of rap as a whole remains diverse and not as dominated by the shoot- 'em-up mini-dramas of gangsta rap, as many would have you believe.
As with all kinds of music, the more popular it becomes, the more likely you are to find both good and bad sides. But the positive side of rap greatly outweighs the negative, and its positive messages seem to be spreading. The number of new rappers that grows everyday will bring about new forms of rap and constant changes on the “old school” versions of the music. With these new versions and variations comes new fans and renewed faith from old fans. Regardless of how many rap artists land in jail or end up dead, this music will live on. The fans will make sure of
Hip-hop culture represented the claiming of urban communities by the residents. Writers decorated the empty walls of their communities in an attempt to personalize their surroundings. They also painted trains, which traveled to other communities, and in this sense they developed a living and moving art form. Break dancing claimed space simply because it utilized community …show more content…
Commercialization is normally associated with negative effects yet it has enlarged the rap audience greatly. As a result, commercialization has increased revenue for artists and labels. It has also resulted in increased funding for the production of rap, as well as, funding for independent labels that sign groups that may not get signed by major labels. Commercialization has taken hip-hop out of urban areas and placed it in the lap of suburban America. Suburban America has obviously eaten it alive. For example, seventy percent of gangsta rap is purchased by white suburban youth (Rose, 43). This presents another contradiction facing rap music. Gangsta rap discusses issues which are culture specific or that deal with a specific socialization. How are youth from the suburbs relating to these messages when they have probably never encountered a situation that the rappers discuss? Their fascination may be a result of MTV, BET and popular radio. The rap videos, which receive regular rotation on MTV, BET and the radio, are from the gangsta rap genre. A complete picture of hip-hop is never presented. This therefore limits exposure and explains stereotypes of rap as only violent and …show more content…
It seems as if rap as a whole is falling towards the black hole of popular culture. Not to say that popular culture is all bad but all you ever see in gangsta rap videos now is money, cars, women and the commodities that only “they” have. The rapper Jermaine Dupris had a song with the name of “Money Ain’t a Thang,” and just the name says it all. Throughout the video there is a car chase and they are throwing money out of the car singing “ Money Ain’t a Thang.” This is only touching on how money plays a role in the rap industry. Gangsta rap may have been in a lot of the headlines in recent years, but the field of rap as a whole remains diverse and not as dominated by the shoot- 'em-up mini-dramas of gangsta rap, as many would have you believe.
As with all kinds of music, the more popular it becomes, the more likely you are to find both good and bad sides. But the positive side of rap greatly outweighs the negative, and its positive messages seem to be spreading. The number of new rappers that grows everyday will bring about new forms of rap and constant changes on the “old school” versions of the music. With these new versions and variations comes new fans and renewed faith from old fans. Regardless of how many rap artists land in jail or end up dead, this music will live on. The fans will make sure of