Rap

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Rap

The ingenuity and authenticity imposed by the musical genre of Rap is indeed overwhelming. Exemplified as one of the most influential arrays of musical compositions throughout the globe, rap music forms an essential factor in defining society. Ever since its inception in the 1970s among members of the African American community, much of the behavior exemplified by the American society, specifically the youth illustrated delinquency and as such, depicted hip hop as a musical movement that spawned an unapologetic and aberrant generation. On the other hand, hip hop music has gained popularity as among the most uplifting and appropriate tools for young people to express their emotions. Nevertheless, based on the arguments stated, it is evident that rap music sensitizes and uplifts the youth and the American society in general.

Overview of Arguments

The argument stemming on both sides regarding the influence of rap music on the society is significant. With respect to the debate, the society views music as a common influence among the youth in the society especially relating to delinquency. This is due to the influence evident within the 1980s from the sub-genres of the genre such as Gangsta Rap and West Coast Hip Hop. These sub-genres exuded the violent lifestyles of the inner-city African-American youth. With the inception of personalities such as Ice-T and groups such as Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A), and as such gained lucrative attention from the youth especially on crime, misogyny and disrespecting the police. On the other hand, the art of rap in hip hoop music alleviates inner-city African American youths into non-delinquent behavior based on the use of the genre as an expression of their innermost thoughts.

Argument against Rap

From the rise of artists such as Too Short, Ice-T, Ice Cube and other African American artists in the 1980s, it seemed that rap music would be the epitome of the American society. Most of the themes exalted in the songs at this time depicted political militancy, hatred for women and crime. Indeed, the expressiveness of rap plunged the society into a hateful community that saw the police as enemies and women as sexual objects. In addition, with the onset of the late 1980s and 1990s, rap music illustrated segregation and violence exemplified by the enmity between the East Coast and the West Coast. In addition, contemporary hip hop glorifies invalid values such as materialism and profanity and thus, further adds to immorality within the society.

Argument for Rap

Indeed, the argument for rap stems around the expression of emotions based on the use of rap as a technique within the genre. Much of the sentiments echoed in rap music revolve around the intricacies facing most youth within the society. Notably, hip hop music describes itself as a channel of anger based on the manner, in which the American society rejects the plight of youth and explores conventional thoughts such as racism and segregation. Nevertheless, hip hop music gains popular use as a technique to disseminate such boundaries and equally define the youth as a separate and distinct society that strays away from the rigid structures society barricades. Supporting rap music, it is also evident that most music genres have imposed negative connotations from the society. For instance, genres such as Rock and Roll and Jazz gained popularity as advocates for delinquency and thus, proves that the change in music always encounters difficulties and hostilities from the society with respect to the status-quo.

Conclusion

The arguments regarding rap music stem around the social derivative. In summary, both arguments focus on the social impact of the genre and as such, provide conflicting opinions that describe the main facets of the genre. Nevertheless, it is evident that rap music, similar to all other genres, possesses positive and negative aspects and as such, it is up to the society to determine whether to demystify the negative features of the genre or exemplify the positive aspects of rap music.