Hip-Hop: the Voice of Black Youth

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HIP-HOP: The Voice of Black Youth Hip-hop music, also referred to as rap music, is now widely spread out all over the world and enjoyed by a large number of people. Because of its rhythmical and trendy style of the music, it is not only enjoyed as merely music to listen to, but also used as music to dance to. Today, there are a great number of Hip-hop artists regardless of gender, race, or age. However, when we look back on the beginnings of Hip-hop music, we can find the roots of Hip-hop culture – the culture was begun among African Americans. As many other musical genres such as Jazz, Gospel, and Blues were developed by African Americans, Hip-hop music is also a creation of their culture. Although the style and the characteristics of Hip-hop music that people have been making have varied over time, the essential purpose of the music remains the same: to send a message through music. African Americans developed their music as a product of their experiences of being under the harsh conditions of slavery in America. According to Megan Sullivan, the author of the article “African-American Music as Rebellion: From Slavesong to Hip-Hop”, white Americans treated African Americans unequally and separated them from white American’s society (21). Under the bleak condition of slavery, African American used music as a way to stay connected with their own African culture, while expressing the painful experiences that they had throughout history. They expressed their emotions and claims toward the racism they were receiving from white Americans into their music, and that has later on entirely spread among American culture. In Africa, drums were originally used as a tool of communication. During the early slave rebellion in America, they used drums in the same way they had been used in their own country: to communicate secretly in the presence of their owners.
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