...Research Evaluation: The Behavior of African American People through Hip Hop Music Papi Jean Florida Memorial University Introduction The Growth of Hip Hop in America As hip hop continues to grow into a major aspect of the modern African American culture, the studies intend to distinguish the mass outlook of black people in America. It is incredible that this single genre of music has transformed into a vital communication mechanism for an entire race and may even become larger in future generations of African American people. The other races, in America, have gotten an idea of African Americans through the controversial rap music in which black people use to communicate with each other, and outsiders; the non-blacks. The study revolves mainly around the attitudes which have deemed as common in the black culture; rap music has always been open for interpretation which can lead to danger. The music has become so popular and influential to the youth that many crimes have been linked to the music which fuels an efficient form controversy in America. Do people receive the negative aspects of rap more than the positive aspects? If so, then why? Also, why are the positive approaches of hip hop not made commercial rather than the sex, drugs, and violence? There is belief that the music has a great influence on how the other races in America view the black culture. It is not certain whether rap music is more negative than positive, but it is obviously a notorious topic for many...
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...Black Women in the Media Media is defined as a form of mass communication through the use of radio, television, the Internet, music, film, and etc. Throughout history, American media has not only been used as a form of communication and entertainment, but it has also been utilized to spread stereotypes and hegemonic ideals reinforcing the racial hierarchy that has continued to survive even after the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century. According to Tilicia L. Mayo, Indiana University communications graduate, images in the media contain the ability to teach many different lessons. Mayo states, “Contemporary films and television shows deliver images that communicate ideologies such as class, standing and position in society” (vi). After the abolition of slavery, White America searched for means of social control through the media since they lacked the power of legal control. Black women, being of the lowest racial and gender classes in America, have repeatedly been stereotyped and victimized through the use of degrading images in contemporary media. The origins of these images can be found in the racist ideologies of the African slave woman created by White Euro-American slave owners. The images of black women in American media have directly affected how black women and other people in society define black womanhood. This influence directly shows how people utilize fictitious and stereotypical images from the media in trying to understand the stereotyped group and...
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...2013 How Women Are Portrayed in Music In today’s society, the genres of rap and R&B are one of the most popular forms of music. Conversely, the ideas and lyrics of many songs fall into these genres tend to be violent, offensive, vulgar and sexist. We can see that sexism in rap music is apparent through the negative portrayal of women found in both the lyrics and music videos. This is an important issue because rap is so popularized today that these negative depictions of women, especially African American women, is potentially giving its viewers the idea that it is acceptable to treat women in such demeaning ways. Most of the time, we do not comprehend the message that is being sent through songs we listen to. We as society need to become more conscious of the music we listen to. Over the years, rap and rap music videos have repetitively become more and more sexual and degrading towards women. Rap has been criticized various times for this reason. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are inadequate and lack accurate support. The most effective way for this continuous cycle to end is if the fight and protest comes from the women themselves. Men are the problem in the objectification of women but in order for it to stop, women need to step up and take control of the situation. Misogyny and degradation of women does exist in almost every genre of music, yet the Elmhorst 2 one genre that completely revolves around belittling women is rap. The topic of women being...
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...Hip-hop began as a form of African-American street culture in New York City during the 1970s (Watkins, 2001), but the art has expanded to become a multi-billion dollar industry (Atkinson & Halliday, 2003), mostly due to the success of rap music, the most widely publicized and marketed aspect. Media such as television and magazines are responsible for hip-hop’s global recognition today, allowing everyone from the United States to Germany and Korea to embrace the culture (Bennett, 1999). Hip-hop culture has made an enormous transition from its beginning stages to its current state. Early hip-hop reduced inner-city gang violence, as aspects such as the break dancing and rapping acted as positive outlets for at-risk youth, but the emergence of “gangsta” and commercial rap during the 1990s severely lessened the emphasis on non-violence (Watkins, 2001). Today, media associate hip-hop culture with drugs, sex, and violence (Yousman, 2003). This research paper will analyze advertisements in hip-hop magazines, with the aim of discovering how women are depicted. Specifically, this paper will examine how the majority of advertisements within three major hip-hop magazines in the United States depict women in a manner that both reinforces male dominance in American society and depicts women as sexual objects. This paper will also explain and demonstrate how the media images are functioning according to Professor George Gerbner’s cultivation theory. Several scholarly sources deal with...
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...Rap/Hip-Hop: The Effects on Today’s Youth Brenda L. Williams-Capers Columbia Southern University English Composition II Professor Dana Taylor December 11, 2011 Abstract Rap/Hip-Hop first became popular among African American and Latinos among youth in the streets of New York during the 1970’s. It was their way of expressing themselves in a friendly manner in the form of speech, fashion, and personal style. Rap/Hip-Hop music was a way for them to get their message out, by telling stories of their lifestyles. However, over the years Rap/Hip-Hop music has become much more popular for its explicit lyrics, reference of drugs, alcohol and sexual explicit videos. Many may ask “Could Rap/Hip-Hop music have a negative influence on today’s youth, because of its unhealthy messages”? This research paper will examine the effects of rap/hip-hop music on today’s youth and whether or not it has a negative influence. Brenda L. Williams-Capers Professor Dana Taylor English Composition II December 11, 2011 Over the year’s many researchers have conducted studies on the effects of rap/hip-hop on today’s youth. The results have been mixed; however there are indications that some forms of Rap/Hip-Hop music could have negative influence on today’s youth. This is due to the fact that youth start to adapt the negative aspects of the gangster rap, by displaying aggressive behaviors and committing crimes of violence. Rap gets a bad rap because some songs contain explicit lyrics...
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...Hip Hop: A Way of Thinking? Since the development of hip hop nearly three decades, it has become a ubiquitous form of music in the nation, influencing the youth with its edgy music and empathetic lyrics. First pioneered in the streets of New York as a response to the oppression of blacks during the civil rights movement, hip hop and its successful influence on its listeners, especially the black youth, was able to thrive due to its uncanny ability to adapt and respond to the problems that that era presents. From the socially and politically conscious hip hop (SPC hip hop) during the civil rights movements to the mainstream music we hear on the radio today, the difference in message projected by today’s modern, hyper-masculine hip hop onto society compared with that of SPC hip hop has become a controversial subject criticized by American media such as Byron Hurt’s movie “Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” and Tricia Rose’s article “There Are Bitches and Hoes.” With regards to the negatives that hip-hop music could have on society, the songs “Let Nas Down” by J. Cole, “Come Get Me” by Jay-Z and “Bitches Ain’t Shit” by YG each respectively complicate, exemplify and extend Hurt’s claims that hip hop artists solely produce generic, hyper masculine mainstream music for the production of records; glorify violence and negatively portray women as sexual objects in order to prove their man hood. When the song “Let Nas Down” by J. Cole is analyzed through a historical context and compared...
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...Portrayal of Women in Rap and Music Videos :: 4 Works Cited Length: 1724 words (4.9 double-spaced pages) Rating: Blue Price: $24.95 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Misogyny and degradation of women is present in almost every genre of music, yet the one genre that completely revolves around demeaning women is rap. Over the years rap and rap music videos have continually become more sexual and degrading towards women. Rap has been criticized numerous times for this reason, and that is because rap is one of the most popular genres of music for the younger generations. It is more than a genre of music, it is a complete industry filled with clothing and other merchandise. The reason this constant demeaning of women exists is because rap as a genre that rewards the objectification of women. The excuses used to justify the misogyny in rap are incomplete and lack accurate support. The most effective way for this continuous cycle ends, is if the fight and protest comes from the women themselves. Men are the problem in the objectification of women but in order for it to stop, women need to step up and take control of the situation. Women need to act sooner rather than later because in recent years the rap industry has become more and more sexual. Ra... ... middle of paper ... ...Society 113 (2000): 255-69. JSTOR. 29 November 2009 . McLune, Jennifer. "Hip-Hop's Betrayal of Black Women." Perspective on Contemporary Issues. 5th...
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...Imagine living in a Puritan society 330 years ago. Religious zeal and devotion are the basis of the community. Ministers and pastors promote male supremacy and women are looked down upon. The fundamental rule in society is to follow God’s law and obey His commandments. Harsh, remorseless punishment is inflicted on those who stray from God’s laws. Now compare the Puritan society to today’s society. The American culture is ruled by momentary yet popular trends. Colored skinny jeans, snap-backs, unnecessary fashion glasses and neon clothing can be seen almost anywhere on the street (Lutz). Also modern culture has astronomically altered social norms. Women used to be the ideal caretaker of innocence and purity, but now women dress in revealing clothing and are preyed on by the indecent society. Proper mannerisms have vanished and young people have become straightforward and sometimes even rude. Respect for elders and wisdom has dwindled (The Revolution in Manners and Morals). What is the cause of this cultural shift? In Boston during 1684, a group of strict Puritan religious leaders wrote a letter to the community addressing the issue of dancing. Men could dance together and women could dance together, which was viewed as a natural expression of joy. Also children could dance with their parents’ permission. However if a male and female danced together it was seen as an inexcusable sin before God (An Arrow Against Profane and Promiscuous Dancing). Puritan religious leaders warned...
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..."Critics of Hip Hop have much to deplore about the "gangsta" lifestyle. The ever-present young women who are portrayed as rappers' sexual playthings, draping themselves around star performers and shaking their booties and the incessant use of the N-word are what makes Hip-Hop. Anger over Hip Hop has been simmering for more than a decade, largely among African-Americans. Much of the concern has focused on its glorification of violence, sexual exploitation and crime." (Katel 529-52) Some popular songs in Hip Hop actually say to "screw the police" and promote things such as prostitution, stripping, drugs, cheating, and much more that is not healthy at all for impressionable youths to be listening to and...
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...often reflects a collection and pattern of personal experiences. Hip-hop or rap, an art form and culture nearly thirty years old originating from The Bronx, New York, has provided a forum for Black and Latino youth to express their respective cultures and speak on a number of issues. Today, Hip-hop is a global phenomenon that appeals to almost all ethnicities and is synthesizing a new culture that goes beyond race, education, and income. Hip-hop has been under continual metamorphosis since its 1970’s inner-city inception. Some of the original artists like Kurtis Blow chose to lament everyday life in the ghettos. Others, Sugar Hill Gang among them, took a more dance inspired approach to the music. But for both these and other artists from the early years of rap through the late 1980’s including KRS-One, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah and LL Cool J, fast beats and socially relevant lyrics were among the primary components of the music. By the 1990’s a new face of rap music emerged. It began with Ice T and later gained popularity with artists such as NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitude) whose first album shocked and titillated the rap world with their obscene lyrical content and unabashed “gangsta” style, since then dubbed by the media as “gangsta rap.” Despite the growing acceptance of Hip-hop within white America and the middle class, Hip-hop is, at times understandable, also under siege. Comments made on rap or Hip-hop by Bill O'Reilly, popular talk show host on the Fox News Channel...
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...Relation to Hip Hop Music and Poetry Poetry and music are important in the life of human beings. Poetry and hip hop music bring about emotions and feelings among the human beings. In this article, the theme of race come out clearly through the two articles. Hence, this paper will focus on the theme of race and its effect in relation to poetry and hip hop music as brought out by the author Audre Lordes and The JBHE Foundation article. Though there are similarities and differences by the two authors, the theme clearly stands out in both. The article, ‘Poetry is not a Luxury’ by Audre Lordes is analyzed together with the article "Can Hip-Hop Be the New Driving Force behind Increased Racial Integration?" by The JBHE Foundation to find a common theme that relates to both articles. The first essay talks about poetry and women while the second essay talks about hiphop. Poetry is something fundamental and important to the human (particularly female) condition as opposed to a recreation movement. It is the path of womanhood, and the feelings brought by poetry is so effectively ready to express an immediate connection to the aged society. This aged association is kind of antitoxin to the ills of present-day life, which incorporate an unfortunate concentrate on the benefit, direct power, and the institutional dehumanization. Is poetry a luxury? What does poetry relate to women? How does Hip hop music affect the increased racial integration? What if there was no poetry and hip hop...
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...Hip-hop culture developed during the seventies. Throughout its formation, the various elements were at some time or another, deemed unacceptable. Graffiti artists faced jail sentences, break dancing became illegal in some areas, and rap music has been severely criticized for various reasons. These elements were never analyzed in an oppositional manner until recently, however. Hip-hop culture represented the claiming of urban communities by the residents. Writers decorated the empty walls of their communities in an attempt to personalize their surroundings. They also painted trains, which traveled to other communities, and in this sense they developed a living and moving art form. Break dancing claimed space simply because it utilized community space for the performance of a culture specific dance form. Finally, DJing and MCing claimed public space because the main stage for performance was often local parks where they would throw parties for the community. ?The power was supplied by the city unknowingly as community members discovered ways in which they could tap into the city's power boxes at no expense to themselves? (Shomari, 45). Therefore, the development of hip-hop culture was inherently oppositional. Rap music now viewed as an area for political debate by many, did not begin with this in mind. Rap music was developed by DJs, who used two of the same records and looped the break beats of the record, which then allowed the beat to be extended infinitely. They also used...
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...addicts, and engage in violence. Music is apart of life, it brings people together and brings people apart, in a sense that they get so lost in a tone of a song that they mentally escape reality, thus bringing people apart in a way. Even though this is a fact not many people listen to the lyrics of the song they love so much. Adolescents, are usually those who do not think about the message about their favorite song. Teenagers in today’s generation would say that the music they hear does not effect them in any way shape or form. On the contrary it affects them without them without noticing with subliminal messages. Rap music in particular has the greatest impact on young people to this day....
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...Sociology Sexism, Racism and Stereotypes in the media of African Americans, Sex sales everything and any thing in our society. People want to be like the people in the Media, Stereotyping of African American in the media, newspapers, television, movies, magazines and music videos are where people get these images of what African American women and men look like, these are the vehicles used to alter and form their perceptions. The media has a powerful influence in the everyday thoughts and lives of Americans. The way they depicted what African American wears and who they are. I want to be sexy and pretty and want all the people to lust after me The American media, in particular, and Western media, more generally, are charged with glamorizing and perpetuating unrealistic ideals of feminine beauty. This is the state of mind the media wants to develop. But is any of this real? Why are women sex objects in the Media? Why is beautiful defined by hair and body structure and skin tone? Why are couples more loving when they are Caucasian and seen as angelic. But African women don’t look pure or innocent; they look like whores in the Media. Why is it that African American women attributes are made so they look like a sex toy? The Caucasian woman looks like the women a man takes home to mom. In the media several men are lusting for the African American women, but none are communicates marriage to her and yet Caucasian women are seem like they a pure and divine. They can love...
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...Hip Hop Culture and its effects on today’s society Ebony Lee COM/220 Research Writing 12/14/2011 Jessica Bryan Hip Hop music has influenced many things in American culture. According to a survey done in 2002-2011, many Americans believed that hip hop music promoted violence, demeaned women and condoned drug use. Although some people say that the lyrics in some hip hop music is violent and promote the wrong values, Hip hop “has positively affected” the way people think act and dress. In a recently taken survey, I found that many people think that rap or Hip Hop music lyrics promote violence. Do you think that Hip-Hop condones violence among its listeners? | [Writing suggestion: Unless in a quote or a title, avoid rhetorical questions in academic writing. A good idea is to provide answers, not questions] Yes | (3; 50%) | No | (3; 50%) | | | Do you think that the Hip-Hop culture demeans women? | Yes | (5; 83%) | No | (1; 17%) | | | Do you think that Hip-Hop culture condones drug use? | Yes | (6; 100%) | ...
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