Hip-Hop and Rap

I thought that the film “Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes” was very eye opening. I am from the Milwaukee suburbs, I went to an almost all white school, and the majority of people my age definitely listened to music stations like 103.7 Kiss Fm, basically all hip-hop and rap music. Hearing that 70% of hip-hop listeners are white males came as a slight shock to me. I expected the percentage to be high, but I thought it would have been a little more balanced in comparison to the number of black male hip-hop listeners.

Personally, I really like hip-hop and rap types of music. At school dances, that is what we always listened to. When I would go to clubs in Milwaukee, that is exactly the kind of music that would be playing. I feel like hip-hop and rap is the music of the current generation. However, this definitely does not prove true for my mom’s generation. If we are driving in the car and I turn on hip-hop or rap she immediately changes it. She insists that she “can’t even understand what they are saying, so she is not listening to it.” In contrast, my dad doesn’t mind at all when I play music like that, in fact I think he thinks it is funny, because he often raps along and acts all thug, when in reality, he is a very Italian white guy. Most of all he just likes to give me a good laugh, but it is reassuring that he isn’t so harsh toward what I like to listen to.

When Fat Joe said, “Everybody wants to be hard,” I totally agree. Guys want to seem tough and powerful, not necessarily like a total hard-ass, but definitely cool. I don’t believe that this applies to females too, but I do have a girl friend that lived in Atlanta, Georgia for a few years, and she is white, but she acts pretty “ghetto.” And by ghetto I mean that she acts like she is a total thug, which is often expressed by her vocabulary. I think that living in Atlanta gave her this desire to act in such a manner, and she also wears clothes that are typically advertised toward black women, such as Apple Bottom, Ecko Red, and Baby Phat. By wearing these clothing brands, it is her way of acting ghetto. Back to guys wanting to be “hard,” I think that the tough front commands respect, and every guy wants to be respected, so that is what is so appealing about being “hard.” Giving off a rough and tough persona is like saying, “Don’t mess with me,” and shows a dominating nature.

I think that music made by black artists represents a different culture. Until you actually sit down and listen to the lyrics, or watch the music video, you may not totally understand what they are singing about. Yes, I understand that these lyrics may exaggerate at times or not represent a real life occurrence, but there are definitely rappers that rap about their life, such as Lil’ Wayne. I believe that music can be really eye opening to other cultures and that it gives people a feeling or sense of connection to other people. Music always has a deeper meaning, and it should be enjoyed and shared with others. Even though past generations may not view hip-hop and rap in the same light that my generation does, we can still embrace it.