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Tyse Gorman

U of U

Literature Review

B3

Rap Music

Music is something that has been around for a very long time . It is used for a way of

communicating and expressing yourself in various ways. Its something that will always be there

to celebrate or something to pass time. Music comes with so many types of music genres, from

rock music to country, two completely different genres. Rap music was created in the 1970s by

a Jamaican immigrant. Rap music has proceeded to get bigger by the year, it is more of a

mainstream music to some. With rap music beginning with good lyricism and the nice sounding

beats and the message that the rap artist conveyed in a song. With any topic, everything has it's

different views, but at the same time it is all the same and its what come with the topic.

Rap music is kind of the same and kind of different in todays time. With rap music today

its about over-sexualizing and promoting negative things in society. In an article called Still

by Ayanah Moor, she explores the sexual exploitations and how females are treated and

portrayed poorly in the rap music videos, They serve as eye candy, designed to satisfy an

assumed male audience, inviting critiques of the culture as hyper-masculine and misogynist..

This quote talks about the women that act in a rapper's music video is to catch the attention for

the viewer, also it creates a negative attitude towards females because of the way that the female

may act or dressed.

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Behind every action that anyone makes there is a motive or a belief of some sort,

sometimes the motive or belief may be caused by a bad or good experience. Rappers clearly say

very disrespectful things. When I first met you, you was a hoe. I tried to reform you, bomb you,

warn you and teach you. But couldnt reach you, and youre still a hoe. Your father said you was

a hoe. And when you leave me, bitch youre gonna be a hoe.lyrics from Bobby Digital -

Domestic Violence. Rappers have said multiple rude things about females in rap songs. One

reason why they say or do the things they do is because of their surroundings and experiences

that they have had while growing up in a not so great place. In an article called Lovin' Momma

and Hatin' on Baby Mama: A Comparison of Misogynistic and Stereotypical Representations in

Songs about Rappers' Mothers and Baby Mamas By Tia C. M. Tyree talks about many different

topics about the usage of females in rap music and why they are portrayed badly. While music

is an influential force, it is a mere reflection of social relations and culture; therefore, the

misogyny is a cultural and not a musical value. Black men use rap as a vehicle to voice their

experiences and thoughts about their lived experience and relationships.. This quote talks about

the importance of a rapper's surroundings and personal experiences that they have had with

women and thats why they are portrayed badly.

In every music genre there is the bad and the good type of rappers or bands or whatever.

The point is that there is always bad and good in every situation and topic. The good side of rap

music is the kind of music that empowers or teaches the listener. In an article called the Rap and

Learn and a unique teaching method by Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison. The unique

teaching method is called Flocabulary,Flocabulary is a New York-based duo that creates raps

and SAT prep workbooks designed to improve vocabulary., the reason why its good is because
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the teaching method teaches by using good and clean language through lyrical complexed

vocabulary . It goes against all of the original and plain teaching ways. The average SAT

writing score for 11 th graders rose from 420 to 477 after a year of using Flocabulary., it also

benefited some 11th graders with their SAT scores.

Hip-hop is a culture that mainly focuses on rap. Rap is something that is expressed by an

individual of what he or she have may of gone through. In an article called Rap music

specifically can help bring people together or even yourself because of a rap artists words. In

Rap Music and the Empowerment of Todays Youth: Evidence in Everyday Music Listening,

Music Therapy, and Commercial Rap Music written by Raphael Travis Jr. focuses on the impact

of a rapper on the youth of today, also the empowerment through the words of a rap artist. Music

is something that you can put into your ears, cut out the surrounding world and listen, listen to all

of the different sounds, listen to the message, and listen to the rhythm of the beat. Music helps

you relate and give you a sense of security that others have gone through what you personally

went through. Rap music lyrics may also capture the emancipatory principles of social justice

and corresponding activism, along with empowering themes that can promote individual and

community health., this quote talks about the empowerment to the people or an individual and

helping them overall.

With music there is something to be learned, there is a artist that had a huge impact and

always is being compared to rappers today, his name was Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a crazy

person while growing up. He has been in numerous court cases. Hes been shot and even

stabbed, multiple times. Tupac Shakur was portrayed as a thug, but Shakur was also a sensitive

brother who was sometimes prone to tears.. He has made so many mistakes in life and portrayed
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as a gangster his whole life and through the media. Tupac Shakur died in 1996 by a drive-by

shooting. In a small article called Lessons to be taken by Tupac written by Nelson, Havelock,

and Billboard, the article talks about Tupac's life and the impact that he made in rap. The reason

why this is important and ties in with the good side of rap, is because you can learn from others

mistakes and Tupacs was not completely filled with mistakes, but he was capable of writing

vivid, introspective lyrics that made those private tensions public spectacle., because of the

trials he went through in life. So we are able to learn from others mistakes in life.

Rap industries have the power over a rap artist and is controlled by a record deal, some

artist go to an independent label to avoid control over them. Rap industries provide the money

for the music, the rapper, and the music videos that come along with the music. Music videos

in generally made to grab the attention of the viewer. In an article called Culture Industry

Laborers and Their Perspectives on Rap Music Video Production written by Mako Fitts, it talks

about the generic way that rap music videos are made, Commercial rap music videos rely on

formulaic video imagery that emphasizes rappers accumulated wealth and property (such as

houses, cars, jewelry, and women)., the reason why this is important is because the rap industry

is also behind the rapper and its not completely the rappers fault. Rap Industries have more

power than the rapper because the industry tells the rapper to make this or do that. This also

shows the false reality of oneself. It creates a way of thinking and it makes it a goal for someone

to be like the rapper and have a false sense of reality. Some examples of record labels that went

independent are Funk Volume, Visionary, Ruthless, and Aftermath. All of them did not want to

be controlled by a person and were free to do whatever they wanted.

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This music genre has only been around for maybe 40-45 years and it is something that

has changed over time. Not everything stays the same, change is inevitable. How everything

relates is that its all about rap music and the pros and cons and who runs the industries that

produce these rappers now that have a huge impact on the younger kids. With every topic there is

the bad and the good. These three topics are three different views that co-exist because one of

another. They all deal with some social or pop culture issue that occurs today in society, some

may see it as normalization or something that is wrong.

Rap music is always going to be apart of hip-hop culture, it is actually the biggest part of

hip-hop culture, its always going to a be a place where one can express themselves through

lyrics, graffiti, dancing, and some street art. Rap music can also be an learning experience and be

able to show you from whats right and wrong from rap artists lyrics. Rap music can be

despised by some and loved by others, but for one thing that is going to be certain in the many

years to come that it is always going to exist and be apart of the United States of America pop

culture, but other places all over the world as well.

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Work Cited

Ayanah Moor. Still.

Tia C. M. Tyree. Lovin' Momma and Hatin' on Baby Mama: A Comparison of

Misogynistic and Stereotypical Representations in Songs about Rappers' Mothers and

Baby Mamas. Pg 50-58.

Nelson, Havelock, Billboard. Lessons to be taken from 2Pac. 10/5/96, Vol. 108, Issue 40

Mako Fitts. "Drop It Like It's Hot": Culture Industry Laborers and Their Perspectives on

Rap Music Video Production. April 2008, Vol. 8 Issue 1, p211-235. 25p.

Raphael Travis Jr.Rap Music and the Empowerment of Todays Youth: Evidence in

Everyday Music Listening, Music Therapy, and Commercial Rap Music

Alex Rappaport and Blake Harrison. Rap and Learn. A new way of learning.
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