Hip-Hop Music: The Effects Of Music On The Brain

Music has many effects on the brain. The brain’s ability to absorb and make sense of music is very complex. Regardless of musical style, when music is listened to the brain activates the regions that are involved with movement, memory, planning, and attention- which means that sound isn’t processed with ease. Music is more meaningful to it than any other sound due to it being organized, repetitive, and harmonious. Various types of music have diverse effects on the brain: classical music increases productivity, rap music exercises the brain, and heavy metal has a calming effect on its listeners. Classical music has been proven to vastly increase productivity. “Stroke patients in one small study showed improved visual attention while listening …show more content…
“In a paper written by Cambridge University professors Akeem Sule and Becky Inkster, they argue that hip-hop music can ‘positively transform [peoples’] lives and achieve a formidable sense of empowerment, street knowledge, resilience, and self healing.’”(Elias). This shows that hip-hop music can make people feel good about themselves, and activate the creative side of the brain. It also provides a sense of empowerment, which is a key character trait when looking for a job. “During a freestyle rap, the scans also detect major activity in the brain's language centers; Dr. Limb said that's because artists are aiming for a unique vocabulary to evoke meaning in their rhymes, rather than focusing on form or syntax”(Pearlman). Freestyle rapping uses different parts of the brain than it is used to, and forces it to use parts that are used less. Freestyling practices using vocabulary and rhythm. “The scientists also found that while freestyling, the musicians' usual executive control was bypassed, and motor control was directed by other mechanisms — which might be why rappers can come up with rhymes and deliver them on the fly”(Van Evra). With the motor control directed by other