UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

Introduction/Background

American culture is one lead by the majority population with small influences by
minority contributions. However, there is one component of this diverse culture that has an
exponentially increasing influence- hip hop. Derived from African oral storytelling, hip hop
erupted in the early 90s in the African-American community and slowly tip-toed its way into
mainstream culture, and is now on par with other music-based subcultures, such as pop. From its
roots, hip hop has expanded its frame of reference and influence internationally and has affected
our culture as Americans in a plethora in ways. However, its potential effect is controversial and
often debated as either detrimental or beneficial.

I found my way to hip hop early in life, beginning with listening to Biggie Smalls in the
car seat of my dads Volkswagen Jetta, bobbing my head and eating chicken nuggets. My dad
taught me the importance and value of hip hop at an early age, fueling my love for deep lyrical
content, hard base lines, and negative disposition toward most mainstream hip hop. Today,
although I enjoy many other genres such as alternative, pop, soft rock, and grunge, hip hop is
still my all-around favorite, so Im exposed to a particular bias, in favor of its effect on culture. I
tend to pride myself on the ability to be very open-minded, and hip hop as an entity is strictly for
the open-minded.

Although there are some negative consequences on both the American culture and the
counterculture hip hop derived from, the benefits produced from the assimilation of hip hop into
the mainstream American culture heavily outweigh the negatives. Some of the controversial
topics that revolve around hip hop include the possible appropriation of black culture, suggestive
lyrics effect on youth, and the glorification of disreputable activities, but what most people fail

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

to realize is that those who make music like that are generally fabricating, and those songs dont
account for even half of lyrics in hip hop.

Review of Relevant Literature

Although most artists in hip hop share the common goal of achieving and immeasurable
amount of success, for the most part they all come from similar beginnings. Poverty stricken,
discarded by society as useless, and faced with extreme adversity, those with true talent and
drive push their way to the top with blood, sweat, and tears and work hard to achieve their
successes. Veteran hip hop legend Sean Carter, better known by his stage name as Jay-Z, started
from the bottom, being an impoverished youth in one of the areas of Brooklyn hit hardest by the
crack-cocaine epidemic of the late 80s. Carter is now a multi-millionaire with stakes in very
lucrative stock companies, close friends with the president, and married to one of the most
influential figures in the world. In addition to his accomplishments, he has also become a
renowned philanthropist, giving back to the community and empowering kids who are just like
how he used to be. (Biography.com, Jay-Z article, Personal Life) This path has been followed by
tons of successful artists, including Kanye West, Common, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, and plenty
of others. These extremely influential individuals contribute positivity to American and youth
culture through their philanthropy, typically encouraging kids to avoid crime and the streets to
work on a craft and get an education to better their lives. Kendrick Lamar used the proceeds from
his song Keishas Song (Her Pain) on his debut album Section .80, a touching song about the
vicious cycle of prostitution, to create awareness toward the subject and even headlined a
concert, of which the proceeds went to various Womens groups (10 Great Moments in Hip Hop
Philanthropy #1).

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

Behind the glitz and glamour, behind the microphone, hip hop artists realize that their
purpose is not only to create the music they love, but to entertain their fans. With that said, many
artists are against some of their subject matter, citing sheer entertainment as their purpose for
creating it. Many who rap about dealing drugs, murder, misogyny, and other controversial topics
arent generally promoting it; in fact, many of them are speaking for the struggles people face in
the inner city. Many encourage their listeners to be themselves, one excellent example being the
great Kanye West. West, no matter what anyone has to say about him, is still going to be West
and he encourages others to do the same. Many of Wests crusades for individuality include the
reassessment of society:
Society has put up so many boundaries, so many limitations on whats right and
wrong that its almost impossible to get a pure thought out. Its like a little kid, a little boy,
looking at colors, and no one told him what colors are good, before somebody tells you you
shouldnt like pink because thats for girls, or youd instantly become a gay two-year-old. Why
would anyone pick blue over pink? Pink is obviously a better color. Everyones born confident,
and everythings taken away from you (Kanye West Quotes)
West describes his movement as the Creative Revolution and has stated that his aim is to
inspire creativity and confidence into todays youth. Wests angle is just one example of hip hop
culture attempting to benefit not only American culture but its youth as well (D. Millard, Noisey
Article)

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

Entering the Conversation

Many ongoing concerns facing hip hop coincide with youth culture, often involving ideas
such as misogyny, violence, drug abuse, and other discussions not quite suitable for those under
a certain age although the amount of hip hop containing these subject matters is overexaggerated. Children and young adults are very impressionable and, without proper guidance,
occasionally have a hard time deciphering between whats right and whats wrong. However, as
with certain television programs, parents should be there to reinforce their childrens moral
compass; not bar them from listening to hip hop but rather explain that most songs involving
potentially hazardous topics like drug dealing or violence is for entertainment; one major
proponent of this ideology is the late Tupac Shakur, who often expressed that a majority of his
violent rhymes were either describing the way he grew up in Los Angeles or merely
entertainment. With the right supervision and teaching, hip hop could actually affect youth in a
positive manner, by being able to decipher between whats entertainment and whats actually
worthy of looking up to (Boyd, T. Thug Life and the effect of Hip Hop on language).
Many also try to make the case that hip hop is detrimental to American culture, because
of its occasionally misunderstood structure. Many consider country or pop as a representative of
American culture, when in reality both genres have similar potential to be detrimental to the
American culture and image as some claim hip hop is. On the contrary, hip hop offers a medium
for certain groups of people within America. Hip hop connects those of any race, ethnicity, sex,
creed, and color. Hip hop is something that started out in the inner city where its fans were only
Black New Yorkers or only those of color to an international market appealing to everyone, quite
on par with the cohesive seen after the creation of rock and roll. Hip hop brings people together

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

and has actually been seen to reduce racial tensions in the past few decades. In hip hop today, the
artists creating the music are becoming more and more diverse, racially, sonically, in all aspects.
With Detroit artist Danny Brown making music with EDM artists from Germany, the rising
success of Swedish rapper Yung Lean, and hip hop producers sampling sounds from genres
ranging from smooth jazz to heavy metal to old blues to grunge, and a large influx of talent from
non-black rappers in a largely black community (If I aint in ya top ten, then youre a racistMac Miller), diversity within the genre is inviting and welcoming of other cultures in order to
develop and expand, a progressive precedent that should be modeled within regular society as
well.

Those who claim that hip hop serves no purpose and therefore should be ignored are just
completely ignorant. The sphere of influence that hip hop possesses is actually incredibly large
and has actually brought attention to many important events to a certain market. Take, for
example, after the murder of Mike Brown in Missouri, in which a white police officer shot and
killed an unarmed black teenager who expressed the fact that he didnt have a gun in his
possession, artist J. Cole released a song bringing attention to the matter as media coverage had
hardly began to scratch the surface. J. Cole appeals to a large section of not only hip hop fans but
Americans in general. Many other notable hip hop and R&B artists such as Kanye West, Erykah
Badu, and Common have taken to social media to express their outrage during the situation,
which caused uproar on twitter, only partially indicative of their potential power.

Life is about perception and perspective- many who claim that hip hop artists use their
large span of influences for negative purposes generally leave their attempts to spread positivity
and knowledge. Mac Miller is known for his racy lyrics typically involving sipping lean,

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

smoking marijuana, doing other drugs, and womanizing, but his campaign against self-harm and
suicide, heavily focused in the song Clarity on the Macadelic project, doesnt tend to get as
much coverage. Hip hop gets its ridiculously negative image primarily from the media, who
hardly recognizes its valiant efforts to promote peace and progression within popular culture,
devaluing and deprecating the genre- theres more news coverage about Kanyes rants and
tussles with photographers than him motivationally speaking at a college campus in Los Angeles
(Hilton, P. article).

Hip hop has garnished a reputation as a genre listened to only by thugs and gangsters and
criminals, thereby deepening its negative reputation. The law of association indicates that those
who listen to hip hop are then associated with those characters, when however this is far from the
truth. Many of hip hops core fans are suburbanites, with even the older generation taking part in
the enjoyment of the genre. For example, take Senator Justin Ross of Maryland, an avid hip hop
listener since its creation who encourages anyone he has a relationship with to listen to the genre
to expand their mind. Hes not a black teenager in the inner city, poverty stricken and crimeridden as hip hop fans are often portrayed- hes a middle aged white man with political influence
and a considerable amount of money. Unlike Senator Ross, some individuals actually refuse to
experiment with hip hop because they figure that the genre is only for black people, indicative of
a weak sense of self and confidence. Hip hop is universal to all except to the narrow-minded
(Martin, M. NPR article).

All in all, hip hop gets a bad rap (punny!) As most view it as barbaric and violent, most
have only scratched the surface of the complex and diverse genre. If the most of the opposition
of hip hop were to actually do an in-depth analysis of this misunderstood culture, it would be

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

open to much more interpretation. When hip hop is mentioned, most without any exposure to it
will most likely associate the words with rowdy when in all reality, its much more than that. Its
the voice of millions of Americans and even Internationals without the ability to speak up
themselves. It is extremely important to deconstruct that conception to bridge the gaps in
between cultures. Knowledge is power and ignorance is weakness, and with the correct
knowledge, we as a people can help destroy discrimination and stereotypes regarding the hip hop
culture and unfortunately, subsequently, black culture. Research in this specific topic is
beneficial to the future of American culture, as the country becomes more of melting pot as time
persists. Could the universal understanding of hip hop lead to the ratification of cultural
tensions? Are kids picking up the good or the bad aspects of hip hop, and does that have to do
with the context or with their personal lives involving their level of intelligence, teachings, and
parental discretions? Will the medias depiction of hip hop continue to deter people from
listening to the genre without having thorough knowledge of the genre, therefore encouraging
ignorance?

UWRT 1102Assignment Two IntroductionJulian Robinson

References
Retrieved from http://www.biography.com/people/jay-z-507696#synopsis
Boyd, T. (2007, February 7). 'Thug Life' and the Effect of Hip-Hop on Language : NPR.
Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7179289
Hilton, P. (2014, September 23). It's Back To SchoolWith Kanye West??! Read ALL About
His Speech At An LA College HERE! | PerezHilton.com. Retrieved from
http://perezhilton.com/2014-09-23-kanye-west-teaching-speech-la-trade-technicalcollege#.VEcGDfnF8tx
Kanye West Quotes (Author of Thank You and You're Welcome). (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/859800.Kanye_West
Martin, M. (n.d.). Writer: Blame White Consumers for Hip-Hop's Bad 'Rap' : NPR. Retrieved
from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14466380
Millard, D. (n.d.). The Revolutionary Politics of Kanye West | NOISEY. Retrieved from
http://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/blog/the-glorious-mess-of-kanye-west

News One Staff. (2011, December 22). 10 Great Moments in Hip-Hop Philanthropy | News
One. Retrieved from http://newsone.com/2000385/10-great-moments-in-hip-hopphilanthropy/