Over time, the youth of the world has been searching for identity and finding a place to fit in. They are drawn to pushing the envelope of safety for the thrill of acting risky. The youthful mind seems invincible and able to survive anything that comes their way. In the documentary film, Ghostride the Whip, director DJ Vlad brings his viewers into the world of the Hyphy Movement and the beginnings of ghostriding. Vlad pays tribute to the late Mac Dre, a rapper and leader of the movement in the San Francisco bay area.
Therefore rap came to be the main way of expressing social oppression in black communities. Rappers best represented lives that lacked love ,fewer opportunities, and disgust with law enforcement. Dyson argues his beliefs on rap and its representation “Representing history is within reach of those who seize the opportunity to speak for themselves, to represent their own interest at all cost. Therefore gangsta rap is always involved in controversial representation. Constant attacks on homosexuals and women show the battle between cultural differences in many of gangsta rappers.
It is considered by many critics as the very first gangsta rap song. The LA gangsta rap scene exploded afterward. A young drug dealer named Eric Wright saw the potential profits and fame of the hip hop lifestyle, so he began recording songs in his parents' garage. Wright, going by the name Eazy-E, befriended two local artists named Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. Along with locals DJ Yella and Arabian Prince, the group became N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitude).
West coast hip hops effect on music Purpose: Explain to audience how the influence of rap music more especially from the west coast has on music today Introduction: Many people enjoy music today; the artistic expression of sound has proven to have an effect on people. This is most true when it came to west coast hip hop which featured explicit lyrics of rebellious inner youth that gave voice to the ghettos of America. No previous form of rap or music came with such an attitude and controversy, artist like ice t and n.w.a spoke of the trials of living in tough neighborhoods, crime and social injustices.. West coast hip hop for one made music listeners politically conscience of social injustices such as flagrant abuse by the police, perpetuation of racial discrimination. Secondly they were pioneers of self promotion i.e. mix tapes and other means independent funding.
According to Wahl (1999), consumption and commerce interface with rebellion and expression in the case of hip hop in ways such as the hip hop group N.W.A (Niggaz With Attitude) rebelling against the LAPD for example in the content of their lyrics, which is how they express this feeling. The fans liked this because it was expressing similar feelings of theirs which increased their popularity. This was also a reason why N.W.A was an underground or alternative hip hop group because of their lyrical content not being aloud to play on radio stations which veered them away from mainstream hip hop and attracted a select audience of mainly teenagers and college students. Underground and alternative music can also be paralleled in other genres such as punk and indie rock. The term “selling out” plays a big role in the dichotomy of underground and mainstream music across all genres and I will explain more about this term further on in the essay.
This was a time when rap was ‘a genre dominated by African Americans’ (Eminem.net 2004), and as such it was quite provocative to see a ‘white’ boy performing within this category. Eminem’s music and lyrics background the film. Even more effective than this backing is a scene where he is actually writing lyrics thus supporting his role as central character, ‘8 Mile’ is a brave film that is culturally and intellectually rigorous and an aggressive film that is emotionally intense. The film is very much informed and guided by the experiences of Eminem and his early career as a rapper in blue-collar and no-collar Detroit. (Wikipedia 2014) As a result of Eminem’s actual ‘telling’ of his story (life), realism is characterized through gritty undertones and allusions to both physical and emotional battles (and battle ‘scars’).
Tupac Shakur Final Draft Tupac Shakur was one of the greatest rappers of all time. As good as he was a rapper, he was a well known poet even though many people considered him a thug. He wrote many poems that expressed how he was feeling and talked about other people’s lives. The poem “The Rose That Grew From Concrete’’ is one of my favorite poems from him. It inspired me to never give up on my dreams and no matter how hard it gets and no matter how many struggles you have to go through, at the end it’s all worth it.
Lillie Shipley The Effects of Rap Music on Developing Misogynistic and Violent Culture Over the past few decades, rap music has gone through a serious evolution from the back streets into the limelight and has emerged as one of the most prominent music genres of today. Rappers have come out of the woodwork to become well known staples in our culture, and high-society figures that people look up to. With this development, however, a new, negatively-charged "thug" culture has come with it. Recent redefinitions of what gangsters are, as well as the appearance of sexism and misogynistic lyrics of the music and within this new culture, show the possibility of a violent and criminal culture that has developed along with the 'rap game'. While the physical appearance of gangsters may have transitioned from the tailored suits of the 1940's to the to the expensive and flashy chains and sneakers of today's definition, the idea is the same: illegal activities, drugs, and a culture of immorality runs their lives.
“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”.
Why Rap Music Provokes Violence Arthur Baker once said, "I remember being told 'someone’s gonna make a fortune out of this rap thing' and thinking 'no way',". Arthur Baker was one of the first most widely-known hip-hop producers. Little did he know what negative effects rap music would have on today's youth. With violence and drug use rising, one must wonder, what could cause all of this. Though hip-hop is definitely not the only cause, it doesn't help (Monk).