Rap Music Research Paper

‘Rapper’s Delight’ For the majority of all people, music plays a significant role in the shaping of one’s character. What one is listening to can reflect aspects of their identity such as race, religion, class, culture, and more. Because of how personal the music listening experience can be, there is so much about a person that can be learned, just knowing what they listen to. For my interview, I have chosen local rap artist Nati Denu to explain to me how music has shaped his identity. Being both a creator and a listener he offers a unique view on how music has shaped his identity and how others identities are shaped by music, most notably those who listen to rap music. In Nati’s own words, “I identify with rap by giving it priority in my …show more content…
Songs from when he was a teenager such as Lupe Fiasco’s “Dumb it Down” led him to really take a good luck at how people who share aspects of his identity, namely black people, can be looked down upon in aspects of society even as important as music. He realized after taking the time to understand the song that he could vent his own frustrations just like Lupe Fiasco does, in an eloquent and clever …show more content…
From the way he dresses, people he hangs out with, and his opinion on many social issues, rap and many would say hip-hop, has helped formed his identity. The way he dresses tends to mirror those in the rap industry that he looks up to. The people he hangs out with, for the most part, share a similar taste in music with him. And issues such as racism, violence, and oppression he understands more, through critically analyzing songs those he looks up to writes and his own experiences. For him, rap music can not only inform one of important issues but also inspire people to take action and face those issue head