All in all Dyson's main points to his argument is understanding how rap came to be, the negative and positive images that gangsta rap portrays to the black community, and acknowledging that rap music shows true beliefs about growing up in bad black neighborhoods. Rap originated from the early '70s during the Rosetta stone of black culture. Jobs were being losses in the inner cities. Lack of social services in predominantly black rural areas opened up drugs and violence in black communities. Therefore rap came to be the main way of expressing social oppression in black communities.
The violent and often degrading lyrics of gangster rap have now become main-stream and is highly romanticized by young black and white youths, alike. To be able to analyze the death of Tupac Shakur, it is also important to address rap music and its influence on America’s culture. Hip Hop has become a multi-billion dollar industry that has come to dominate television, film and fashion, as well as radio. Many inner-city and urban residents are drawn to hip hop and are distrustful of many institutions, therefore, they look elsewhere for guidance and knowledge. This all too often comes in the form of rap idols and gangs.
The article also emphasizes that white people are not credible within rap music, because hip-hop shows the rap artist’s social struggle. One artist that does not try to imitate the African-American struggle is Eminem, who has gone through the same hardships as any other hip-hop artist. There is also a point that is brought up where hip-hop music’s majority is made up of white listeners and buyers. Attention to the white society is crucial, because it will always stand as the dominant culture. Hip-hop is best identified with the African-American culture.
Savan states “simply put, white teenagers could not, as much as they might wish to, become black. They could and did however, listen to the music, dress the dress… mirror the haircuts, adopt the rap vocabulary suitable for their daily lives, mimic the cadence of street speech, and admire from a safe distance the lives of prominent black rappers and athletes.”(200) In that quote Savan illustrates black life in the “hood”, where the black slang originates from and how the white teens mimic it. The word “hot” is used in other slang meanings not necessarily deriving from the “hood”. This term is also used in poker games and sporting events. For instance, if a pitcher is having an amazing game he might be referred to as a “hot pitcher”.
“Rap as an art form, began as personal narrative, telling the individual stories of urban lives ignored by the mainstream media.”(Rose, p.2-3). “It used to be a respectful, decent form of music, however, it has turned bad, into utter crap listened to by posers.”(“Rap”). When people are conversing and the word “rap” comes up, blacks and whites complain about the misogyny, materialism, drugs, and violence present in the lyrics and videos. There are many different forms of rap and they fall under two categories: the language of empowerment and the language of oppression. Conscious rap deals with empowerment and consists of “songs that are responsible, thought provoking, and/or inspirational toward positive change or a cry of protest against social injustice”.
Black people in America had still hope for the future. the black people in America stood up for their rights and fought for their freedom. They developed brotherhood and love, and didn’t lose hope. The thing which was really unacceptable for them was their failure to enjoy their basic rights, like other people, even though they lived in their country. the black people in America suffered from the police interference in their lives and were even imprisoned even though they were not guilty.
When hip hop, during this time period adopted this look, it fit into the notion that one was not cool unless one did time. Ice T and other famous rappers took notice and started performing shows that were globally seen and started the trend that is now considered to be a gangsta look. Since the majority of prisoners were young African American and the main musical influence was hip hop, it is no mystery as to why this became the fashion icon for that musical niche. Another origin suggested that sagging your pants in prison was a prisoner’s way of saying he was sexually available to another prisoner. By exposing your underwear or your ass
Let me be clear -- I'm on the front lines of any effort to get the men in hip-hop to rethink their pornographic uses of women's bodies and performance of lyrics that more often than not express, at best, a deep ambivalence about and fear of women (perfectly captured 14 years ago with the Bell Biv Devoe quip "never trust a big butt and a smile") and, at worst, outright hatred. But as we make demands of these artists, it's important that we understand the demands of the peculiar space they occupy within pop culture. Without doubt, the performance of black masculinity continues to be hip-hop's dominant creative force. Yet over the last decade or so sales figures have consistently shown that young white men are the primary consumers of the various performances of black masculinity and the pornographic images
Though hip-hop is definitely not the only cause, it doesn't help (Monk). With some minor changes in artists' lyrics and music videos, today's youth wouldn't be subjected to negative views of society, but rather the positive side of life (Monk). Hip-hop has a negative effect on today's youth and something must be done about it. I believe rap music is the major cause in provoking violence among teenagers. Teenagers spend between four to five hours a day listening to music and watching music videos (Nasso).
The word “nigga” is one of the most popular words of hip hop enthusiasts. Contrary to the traditional derogatory meaning of the word, hip hop enthusiasts use the word as a term of fondness. People can also hear a Caucasian, Oriental, or Latino hip hop enthusiasts saying, “TJ is my nigga,” which stands for “TJ is a good friend.” The language of the Hip Hop culture changes constantly. What might be a cool statement today might be “played out” (outdated) in a year. Young African Americans have adopted the style of dress of upper class Caucasians as a manifestation of their lack of power in American society.