This ideology makes it difficult for young African American to push away from rappers influences and compete in their beyond their identification. Above all rapping creates a retro division among us. Based on the rapper certain groups of people would not listen to his or her music. Hip hop is a roadblock to success, but it is a cry for black
Introduction to African American Studies’ Discussion Paper 8 Jenia Price April 09, 2013 Discussion Paper 8 Question: Defend or refute the following statement: “Rap music should not be supported by African American Studies specialists because too many songs degrade women and celebrate violence and other behaviors that have a negative impact on black communities. When you listen to today’s rap music it is something you would not want to play around your grandparents. Back in the late 70s rap was good music because rappers rapped about positive things in life. For example the song self-destruction by BDP, Stetsasonic, Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Doug Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D, Chuck D was made to stop the violence that was happening in the world between African Americans. Those were positive rappers who wanted to have an effect on people’s lives.
Although these two are the most prominent, they are not the most important. The most important is the sociological concept primary socialization, but is not displayed until later. First Racism is introduced in the opening scenes through the use of derogatory terms. The main character, Derek Vineyard, begins to refer to African Americans and other minorities as parasites and problems in the United States. In this same scene he also shows views of white supremacy because he states that minorities come to America only to exploit it as opposed to establishing themselves as “model citizens”.
526). She tries to explain how the black males in the community develop based on the actions of white men which impair each of the three men she discusses in some way. She brings up the character Jude and explains that Jude is the character that has a lot of conflict towards white people. This is the result of him not earning the job at the railroad that he wanted because the more favorable “white males’ that were thin and strong were chosen over him. He wanted that job to prove his manhood, (which he only wanted to do because of his inferior position outside of the community).
The band members are all poor and banter about the various ways they have been exploited by whites. One of the strongest points made is the suggestion that black people must do what they can to survive and not get into trouble. Ma Rainey is able to exploit the white men who exploit her by taking advantage of the fact that they cater to her as a successful artist: whether they like or not, she is called the Queen (or Mother) of the Blues for a reason. In this way, she is able to maintain some control over her career and success, unlike her instrumentalists. Levee was rejected by the white producer he depended on, then couldn’t keep his cool, and now he has fallen into the trap that has ensnared so many young black men to this day.
Rock ‘n’ Roll was a unifying force against segregationist policies for African Americans. In a quote from Ebony magazine, “Negroes don’t want to be Negroes anymore…We want to be Americans” (42). Many African-American teenagers indicated their resolve was at an all-time high in preparing for the careers they desired, as they believed job discrimination was coming to an end. As Altchuler notes, “Along with white supporters, of civil rights, blacks looked to entertainment, especially Rock ‘n’ Roll, as a weapon in the struggle against Jim Crow” (42). The 1950s, in large part due to Rock ‘n’ Roll lit a fire of rebellion in the white youth of America.
Back then, when I hear “Hip Hop”, I associated it with egoistic rappers and gang violence. It was my least favorite music genre because rap artists only rap about their shopping list and other meaningless topics. It came to the point where I asked, “What is Hip Hop?” I was so curious that I decided to use it as an English research topic. From that point on, my opinion on Hip Hop changed completely due to the fact that there’s more to it. As I researched on what Hip Hop is, I found out that it isn’t just a music genre, but a massive culture that originated within the Bronx during the 1970s.
Now the training of men is a difficult and intricate task.”(Dubois 1) I personally think that the contamination of most blacks today is from out dated teachings, some churches, politicians and most importantly, the entertainment business. The media influence blacks to glorify street life and poverty. If we had more rappers and media outlets talking about things with substance in the community like political issues, understanding our prominence and up lifting the culture, I think that people would start to be moved or shifted into the right directions. Dubois states “School houses do not teach themselves - piles of brick and mortar and machinery do not send out men. It is the trained, living human soul, cultivated and
Famous rappers such as Snoop Dog, 50 Cent, R. Kelly, and ECT… have almost planted these racial slurs into our minds through there “trashy rap”. Imus in morning was not only reprimanded for his comments but later let go, due to the uprising of the black community. Rappers, Movie Stars, Comedians and even Gangsters have been giving black woman and negative name calling them “items, hoes, and even bitches.” This is not even in the privacy of their home it is in public on movies and even cd’s. Earl believes that this is due to the fact that these black celebrities are giving an ok to everyone to degrade woman of their own race. He states that “The same
In my opinion I think Elvis was both an appropriator and transgressor. An appropriator in the sense that he took African American music to make himself famous. At the same time he was also a transgressor because he broke the norm and started performing rock ‘n’ roll which was looked badly upon. While breaking the norms he made African American music more acceptable to white people because they see a white man performing the