Rap Music As An Art Form - 1295 Words

I. Introduction â€Å"Rather than treat rap music as an art form whose primary purpose is to entertain, prosecutors have become adept at convincing judges and juries alike that the lyrics are either autobiographical confessions of illegal behavior or evidence of a defendant’s knowledge, motive, or identity with respect to the alleged crime† (Nielson and Kubrin 1). Recently, prosecutors have been using rap lyrics as evidence in a criminal case. Rap, a form of hip-hop, originated in the 1970’s in New York. It remained a â€Å"ghetto secret† until the 1979 song â€Å"Rapper’s Delight† spread its popularity throughout the world (Nielson and Kubrin 2). Later, in the late 1980’s to early 1990’s, rappers began targeting flaws and imbalances within the society, recognized as the â€Å"golden age† of rap by most scholars (Nielson and Kubrin 3). However, in the mid-1990’s, record companies that thought that sex and violence would be most p rofitable began pressuring rappers to sing about sex and violence, generally gangsta rap, with lyrics that lacked the foresight or political flaws that were characterized by the â€Å"golden age† (Nielson and Kubrin 3). According to Alexander Bey, rap types such as gangsta and hardcore are generally the one being used on a criminal case as a way to convince the judge and jury that the lyrics are confessions of what the accused did with the other bodies of evidence, as well as being used to locate potential criminals by performing further searches for signs of illegalShow MoreRelated A Violent Message in the Art of Popular Culture Essay1679 Words   |  7 PagesA â€Å"Violent† Message in the Art of Popular Culture Many people believe that present-day music cause division, tension, and sometimes violence. However, it is acknowledged as art in popular culture. Art in popular culture revolves around action movies, television sitcoms, and provocative song lyrics, which have themes centered on explicit sexuality. Art in popular culture is embodied in music, dance, photography, and other artwork that embraces the ills of the world and acknowledges thatRead MoreWith The Recent Election Being Highly Controversial And1378 Words   |  6 PagesStates continues to face social and political issues rap music and its artist have been a source to document the oppression that is still occurring within the country. Documenting racism and oppression by using politically charged lyrics is a method the rap community is particularly familiar. As time went on rap artists began to become more politically informed and began to shine through their lyrics to become sources to start a national dialogue. Rap artists like Tupac Shakur, Chuck D, Chance the RapperRead MoreEssay about Hip-Hop1452 Words   |  6 PagesHip-Hop When you hear the phase Hip-Hop what do you think of? Music, Dancing, Rapping? Well, its all of that and more hip-hop is a culture. According to Websters dictionary, culture is defined as the concepts, habits, skills, arts, instruments, institutions, etc. of a given people in a given period; civilization. One artist defined hip-hop as a set of expressions in vocalization, instrumentation, dancing and the visual arts. More specifically, hip hop is a combination of graffiti, breakdancingRead MorePolitics and Hip-Hop802 Words   |  4 PagesMusic is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the needRead MoreHip Hop Culture And Its Impact On The American Society895 Words   |  4 Pagesculture. The Hip-Hop culture is an artistic movement that people uses to express themselves by practicing social and artistic habits. Some of these habits include dancing, and the art of producing music. DJs and MCs are responsible for producing the music for this group which is defined as rap. MCs, DJs, and B-Boys form part of this culture, they identify themselves into their own society and try to make others understand the way they live. As any other culture, Hip-Hop also has specials factors andRead MoreRoots of Hip Hop968 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Ã‚   â€Å"The Roots and Stylistic Foundations of the Rap Music and Tradition†    Hip-Hop as well as many other artistic cultural forms we practice today can be related back to African culture and various traditions. Author of  The Roots and Stylistic Foundations of the Rap Music and Tradition,  Cheryl Keyes, discuss’ the spirit, style, tradition, emotions, culture and the delivery of music. Keyes says that many of these practices can be traced back to the West Afrikan Bardic Tradition in particular. WhenRead MoreAnalysis Of `` The Breakbeat Poets `` By Langston Hughes, Ralph Waldo Emerson1241 Words   |  5 Pagessynonym for poet, and Hip-Hop is their form of poetry is. Kevin Coval amusingly says that rap â€Å"dusted poetry off, took it out the closet, put Js on its feet, and told it to speak to the people, all the people,† and that hip-hop saved poetry from becoming â€Å"classical music,† meaning that rap prevented poetry from becoming an old, out-dated art form and renovated it for the next generation (20). Coval’s book, The B reakBeat Poets, says the creation of hip-hop music was by â€Å"latchkey kids in the crack eraRead MoreTrystan Gray. Miller. English 175. 1/11/2017 . Poetry Analysis.980 Words   |  4 Pagestext book in the poetry section because, even though people don t realize it, rap is poetry and can teach youth about things they may or may not have experienced. Founded in 1981, Run D.M.C. was and still is considered by many to be a popular rap group. Run D.M.C. is part of the original group of people who elevated rap music from an inner-city slums mixtape to a nation wide movement; this being the reason rap music is around and flourishing today all around the world. My poem and song is reachingRead MoreAnalysis Of Rhymes : The Poetics Of Hip Hop1098 Words   |  5 PagesAnalysis – Book of Rhymes â€Å"Rap is poetry† (xii). To any avid fan of the genre, it is a statement that seems obvious. The words could easily be the musings of a listener first introduced to the art form, not the focal point of an entire work of contemporary criticism. Yet in Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop, Adam Bradley’s primary focus is this very point, the recognition of traditional poetic elements within rap music. With the global cultural and economic phenomenon that hip hop has becomeRead MoreHip Hop : A Negative Phenomenon1617 Words   |  7 PagesThe instant response to this question is often that the commercialization of hip is a negative phenomenon. Many hip hop fans seem to hold this opinion because they believe that the quality of music from today’s rappers has drastically decreased. However, the difficulty arises in determining whether the ‘commercialization’ of hip hop should be considered a positive or negative phenomenon. There are strong advocates for both of these judgements with convincing points to support their beliefs. The