Essays on Hip Hop

Hip Hop, which is a style of music featuring rap, originated 45 years ago, on August 11, 1973, at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in South Bronx. It was a simple back to school party thrown by a girl and her brother, Kool Herc, was the DJ...

If you consider yourself a fan of rap music, you have probably screamed the lyrics of A$AP or Kanye or Drake in your car, but have you ever realized exactly what you are saying when you do it? A large part of rap music’s appeal...

As stated in the dictionary, “Hip hop is a style of popular music of US black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing.” Now, although that may be true hip-hop is more than a musical genre. It is also a way of life...

In the mid to late 1980s the cultural shockwave known as hip hop with its roots of rap and “gangsta culture” flourished in the economic and social insanity that paralysed American cities and neighborhoods. The form of music was a cultural response from the neglected...

Hip hop was not always what it was like today, But people have always had mixed opinions about hip hop on whether it is good for the masses to listen to. Because of vulgar language in music referencing drugs, alcohol, sex, and gangs it is...

A subculture created in 1970’s South Bronx of New York, sparked a worldwide change in the perception of the Black individual. Created out of a need for self-expression, freedom and a longing for lack of restrictions that was not often found in a society created...

In the past few years, hip-hop as a genre has skyrocketed in popularity, even surpassing the popular reputation of rock. According to the end-of-year report published by Nielsen Music, “hip-hop represents 24. 5 percent of all music consumption in the US – the largest share...

The genre of rap and hip-hop music has been a fundamental part of American “black culture” for decades. Since coming to America on slave ships, black people have always had outlets of song and various forms of music through which to express the incessant burden...

Introduction Donald Glover’s (Childish Gambino) most impactful music visual to date is more than just what your typical rap music would entail. ‘This Is America’ is a music video that depicts and symbolizes guns, violence, and racial issues in America that especially affect the black...

In today’s modern Hip-Hop, it has become commodified and evolved into an inappropriate type of culture. Hip hop has more of a focus on negative messages rather than positive influence. Teenagers are receiving severe consequences for the negative actions they want to pursue since they...

Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly, works as a continuation of black poetic literary traditions and its uses to document the Black American experience. To Pimp a Butterfly, has pushed Lamar’s status as a leading voice in the new generation of hip...

In the book and the performance showed by Danny Hoch, he used unique ways of solo performance to show communications between different hierarchy people in New York City. Hoch describes 10 different characters who have their own characteristics with different ethics and backgrounds in order...

Introduction Rap music is loved by many people, including myself, and has become one of the most consumed genres of music among people according to several studies and professionals. While it is one of the most popular music genres, it also has substantial influence on...

For many of us, music forms an integral part of our lives. For instance, the type of the music we listen goes beyond entertainment to shaping our personalities. With several infectious grooves and stray lyrics, we can filter what we think, hear, see and understand...

Beginning centuries ago music has been a notable staple of cultural expression, and one of the most prominent forms of entertainment for people around the world. This being said, in our nation alone we have seen a countless amount of record labels come into play...

A 1999 mixtape entitled Falling on Your Arse recently surfaced online and it features DJ Eddie Too Tall (Eddie Tracy) and rapper Tommy No. 1, who is world famous actor Tom Hardy. The {Dark Knight} actor revealed in 2011 that he began rapping at the...

Rap has changed and evolved since its birth in the late 1970s. It is a very popular genre in music where the rapper recites words rhythmically over a prerecorded instrumental backing. It had a start in the United States of America but since then has...

Seattle is not considered as cosmopolitan as other large American cities like New York City or Los Angeles. Therefore, it is surprising that such a large portion of current hip-hop music and culture originates from Seattle. While I knew of artists out of Washington state...

Robert Bryson Hall is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and music producer better known by his stage name Logic. Coming from a broken family, he has had unfortunate experiences as a child. Growing up, he witnessed his brothers selling drugs, his father buying those drugs,...

Transcendence of the Inferiority Complex in Fear of a Black Planet Fanon declares in Black Skin, White Masks that his account of the psychological experience of black men addresses the circumstances of his particular historical period, as he says, “In no way is it up...

In the article, Beyoncé, Sex Terrorist: A Menace for Conservatives and Liberals Alike” by Noah Berlatsky, Noah covers the differences and similarities between conservative Bill O’Rielly and liberal Bell Hooks on what kind of example Beyoncé is setting with her actions. Throughout this article Noah...

The Puerto Rican and Jamaican voice were omitted from hip-hop culture due to the prevailing racial-cultural hierarchy. The commercialization process of the rap culture in music involves the extraction of popular cultural expression from its original social context and function. For example, the “Latinization” of...