Assignment Two Research Paper W: Peer Commentary

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Assignment Two Research Paper

Is Hip Hop it’s own culture?

Jesse HodgesUWRT 1104

WaldenOctober 22, 2015

Introduction/Background: It’s 1986, and Rappers Rev Run and DMC of Hip Hop act “Run DMC” are performing in

front of a sold out crowd at New York’s Famous Madison Square Garden. As a part of their

“Raising Hell Tour” the duo from Queens, New York would change the genre of music forever.Right before the performance of their hit song “My Adidas”, R ev Run asked everyone who waswearing adidas at that concert to take off their shoes and wave their Adidas in the air. With

Adidas Executive Angelo Anastasio in attendance for this special concert, Adidas took a leap offaith by making a bold move becoming the first major company to formally endorse a rap group.

With all of that being said, hip hop was a genre a music that was made for African Americans tofocus on the positives out of life rather than the negative aspects that can be so tempting to

engage in. Hip Hop saved many children from the mean streets of their local neighborhoods.Over the past 30 years, African American s were able to use this specific genre of music toexpress themselves in a way that was never thought of before. This form of music would be used

as a gateway for many African Americans to leave a current situation that was terrible and createa new situation that brought the best out of them. Hip Hop made the DJ, MC and mostimportantly, the people around them feel a sense of pride about their actions and culture as arace. This was the beginning of a culture, a new American culture.Hip Hop has always been a part of my life. My parents, specifically my dad, grew up in New

York City during the years that hip hop was being born as a genre of music. My dad grew up inthe South Bronx and as a teenager saw hip hop grow into this phenomenon that we know of ittoday. My dad’s best friend is a rapper known as Diamond D who was successful in the music

industry as a hip hop. With that being said, I was always around hip hop growing up in NewYork and formed this uncanny love for it with not much thought about the culture and way it was

being perceived by others. It’s almost like I didn’t have a choice but to love hip hop with the background I came from.

Review of Relevant Literature: Hip Hop rightfully has a culture in addition to being a genre of music. The culture aspect

isn’t touched upon as much as it being talked about as a genre of music but the culture is presentand it is real. New York was a war zone with gang influences and prominent drug use. Hip Hop

was just coming along as a genre of music. DJs would set up at local parks and DJ for manyhours in a day. This would be the birth of a new culture and revolution. (Price 2006). As it grew

as a new phenomenon, hip hop progressed over the years. As time went by, many artists startedto focus on many different things whether it was money, drugs or women. Hip Hop has

dramatically moved away from its original roots. (YouTube 2012). The language and diction haschanged drastically over the years with more profanity and the isogloss of the many differentareas that hip hop diffused to. As a culture, hip hop has its own language although it might not beas different than others. If we can consider things French and English why can't we have a blackconscious contribution? Ebonics or black speech have contributed to the progression of the hiphop culture. Orality and verbal dexterity are highly appreciated skills in black American culture

(Perry 2004). Rich Porter was a famous hustler in New York City in the late 1980's. Many of the

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rappers imitated this man and used his name in song lyrics such as Jay Z and Nas. Rich Porterwas the first gangster to have a real impact on hip hop as a culture because rappers were nowable to tell stories about that way of life and not be scrutinized for it because rapping was betterthan actually doing the illegal activity. (Rich Porter Story 2012)

Hip Hop has brought and blended many other cultures into its own culture. Hip Hop is aunifying factor and has unified many different parts of the world that you would have never

thought would be connected. European, Latin and American culture have come together tocontribute to the one culture they have in common…Hip Hop. The late 1990’s and early 2000’s

provided many rappers from the pacific of the united states. The west coast had a very large

black rapper population with an even bigger white audience most of the rappers some of whichmade it to mainstream hip hop started underground. Underground hip hop has gained anaudience that really recognizes true talent as opposed to mainstream artist. Underground hip hopare the roots of the genre and mainstream takes away from the true essence of hip hop. Someartist like “Too $hort” had a white following even when he was a small town underground rapper

rapping at local night clubs. (Harrison 2009). Although this part of the country had someCaucasian following of underground rap, the majority of the country didn’t gain the same

exposure. Instead, Mainstream hip hop was their focal point. Mainstream Hip Hop hasilluminated many of the white community to listen to artist who are getting exposure bycorporate America. Hip Hop music, no matter how widely accepted it is, gives a voice to thevoiceless. More than just a genre of music, hip hop gives the youth a voice that had prior beenmute (Kitwana 2005). Not just Caucasians across the united states have felt the wrath of hip hop but many countries across the globe has put some sort of twist on the genre of music. The worldhas heard the voices of hip hop and it is safe to say hip hop has influenced a majority of theworld. Hip Hop is a genre of music that is so flexible that many cultures can adapt to it. Hip Hop

has put its stamp on the world over the past 35 years in a very significant way (YouTube 2011).Hip Hop has come a long way from the streets of New York. Dispersing throughout the united

states and the globe, hip hop has changed throughout different hoods and communities. Hip Hopis a genre of music that can be conformed due to any circumstance that presents itself (Hodges2015).Entering The Conversation:

Growing up many kids enjoy watching their favorite rappers on television in their videos,award shows and talk shows. As they get older, some actually take interest in the genre of musicand decide that is what they want to pursue in life. The majority of the time it is in high schoolwhere most people say that they want to pursuit a music career after they graduate. I know this

because I went to Highschool with a few of them. It is very hard to make that a reality becauseonly a few small time local rappers get a big break and make it big time. Although the fame is

great, there is a very slim chance that you will make it mainstream and collect checks to live asustainable life on. My point is, pursuing a career in the hip hop industry directly out of highschool without consideration of any other type of alternative such as trade school, cosmetologyschool or direct employment is not worth passing up higher education if you haven’t thought itout for a reasonable amount of time and do not have a dying passion for the culture and genre ofmusic. Do not pursuit hip hop because it’s a fad right now.

Some people will argue that college is very important and is the only way to obtain adecent paying job in today's American society. College is a great thing to pursuit after high

school but, as people say, college isn’t for everyone. With that being said, alternatives have to besought out. Some people go to cosmetology school. Some go to trade school. And some people

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try and figure out what they can do to obtain an abundance of money easily. One of those ways isto try and become a big rap star. The problem with that is, it is really hard to get the rightexposure, it takes a lot of time so you need to be patient, and even if you do these things, there isno guarantee that you will make it big. Kids that are trying to become big time rappers nowadays

are doing it because it is a trending fashion rather than having a sending passion. Which means,Kids that do not have a musical state of mind are trying to manipulate this industry to benefit

their own well being. Artist such as Ice Cube and Dr. Dre who were recently depicted in themovie Straight Outta Compton, were artist who were lyrically and musically talented who loved

music at a young age before they knew it could make them millions of dollars. People like this,

Music Pursuits them, they don’t pursuit music. Many kids try to force something that isn’t there.If you love music, money shouldn’t be a deciding factor whether you continue to make it or notwhether you get a big break or not.

The alternative for this dilemma is to continue to further your education if you would like

while producing music at the same time. Two artist that I know, Vic Bank$ and D.O.P.E. arecurrent students at Eastern Carolina University and University of North Carolina at Charlotte

respectively. Both of these artist are student-musicians that are balancing trying to get theirdegree and pursuing their music careers. “It may be hard at times but I have my priorities in life.My education and music are both equally important to me so I had to do what I had to do” saysVic Bank$. Ambition is what’s going to get these type of people far in life because they are notfocused on one thing. They have goals in life and a career in hip hop is just one of them not theonly one. “I chose the stage name D.O.P.E. because it is a slang term for “cool” or “good”. When people say ‘oh man that’s dope” I get a feeling of yes that is me; because it is relating tosomething that is good. I Dare to Overachieve and Profit Everyday, and that is what D.O.P.E.

stands for.”A family member that I am close with dropped out of Stony Brook University to pursuit

his hip hop career. Although his parents didn’t agree with his decision they understood becausemusic has been a part of him since he was a child. He is very musically talented and knows howto play numerous instruments. He started a music group called Training Camp Frat Gang. Theyconsist of 4 rappers and 2 singers. All of the artist are trying to find themselves in their music because they live for this. They put their heart and soul in their music and they have a true passion for the music. They respect the hip hop culture and the artist who came before them.Again, I am okay with people who honestly love music and could not live without it.

People who dare to achieve greatness in life are the people who make it in life. Hip Hop

is a great outlet to succeed at a fast pace but it should be for the right reasons. The fame could beshort lived if you don’t play your cards right. There are many things that need to be put into the

culture of hip hop to revolutionize it each and everyday. Creative minds advance the culture ofhip hop and the genre of music. If you can not say that you have tried make a contribution to theadvancement of hip hop as a culture and genre of music, then in my eyes you were never a partof the culture of hip hop to begin with.

Conclusion: Hip Hop is a culture as well as a genre of music. Hip Hop has contributed to the lifestyle

that people choose to live and the way they interpret music. Hip Hop is a way a life and is veryinfluential on the youth. The Youth should see and use hip hop as a tool to express themselves

but not use it as a scapegoat or alternative to getting a higher education. Hip Hop is a great wayto contribute to the Black American culture but not everyone is cut out for that because only the

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strongest contributions will last in the culture. Our youth need to better prioritize their lives because it is very manageable to contribute to hip hop as well as pursuing a higher education.Hip Hop is something you do because you love it, not for the money. Next thing you know; ouryouth will start farming because it can bring them in 6+ figures. Will our youth ever understand

the importance of a college education?Works Cited Page

! Kitwana, B. (2005). Why white kids love hip-hop: Wankstas, wiggers, wannabes, and thenew reality of race in America. New York, New York: Basic Civitas Books.

! Perry, I. (2004). Prophets of the hood: Politics and poetics in hip hop. Durham, North

Carolina: Duke University Press.! Harrison, A. (2009). Hip hop underground: The integrity and ethics of racial identification.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Temple University Press.

! Price, E. (2006). Hip hop culture. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.! Hodges, J. (2015). Assignment one discourse observation: And Ya don't stop 30 years of

hip hop/ What is beef? 1, 8-8.! Resurrection: The Rich Porter Story [Motion picture on DVD]. (2012). United States.

! What Ever Happened to Hip Hop? (2012, December 15). Retrieved October 18, 2015.! How Hip Hop Changed the World. (2011, November 18). Retrieved October 18, 2015.

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