The Effect of Rap Music on the Culture

It has been said that rap music is degenerate. This statement in and of itself is an absolutist statement. There is nothing that is absolute in the entire world. Most arguments hinge on semantics. In this statement, the semantic argument would be that the word degenerate when applied to rap music (because it is often associated with black people) insinuates that rap is a black music and therefore blacks are also degenerate. However, this too is not the truth of the matter. Although there are instances in which rap music may seem to deteriorate morality, it ultimately is illegitimate to claim that rap music is black and that its listeners and artists are degenerates.

Admittedly, rap music is thought of as specifically black in origin. This is due in large part to the fact that African Americans in urban areas did have an influence on the creation of hip-hop and rap. Hip-hop music originally grew out of the 1920’s era of jazz which did originate in Harlem, which at the time was populated by primarily black people. In the mid 20's Earl Tucker ("Snake Hips") was a performer at the Cotton Club during the days of Duke Ellington. His style of dance is related to that of waving that you see young Hip Hop dancers still doing today. Other black musicians, such as Sammy

Davis Jr. and James Brown, would later influence the creation of hip hop through their style of dancing as well. Thus, because of its origins, it is commonly assumed that hip hop and rap are primarily black forms of music.

However, today rap and hip hop are both performed by and listened to by white people as well. By the 1970’s, well known white bands, such as Blondie, were performing in styles that emulated hip hop and rap. Today there are a multitude of white artists, such as Eminem, the Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, and House of Pain. Even more, it is estimated that approximately 70% of the sales of rap and hip hop are generated from white consumers. Thus, nearly four decades after the civil rights movement, it would be indeed racist to divide the genre of music based upon color lines. Clearly, artists and music lovers alike have broken down the black and white barrier.

It is also true that rap and hip hop have often been associated with crime and violence due to the areas that were generating new artists within the genre. Indeed, many hip hop artists have been associated with gangs and have been implicated in some crimes. 2Pac is perhaps the most notable rapper whose gang related death drew world wide attention. It is not uncommon for the hip hop artist, or rapper, to have a history of violence, poverty and gang connections.

However, it is evident that because of the locale of the origin of hip hop and rap, the artists were undeniably confined to an area of economic depression, which has led to the common misconception that the music leads to violence. Rap and hip hop evolved out of the need to provide rhythm and music in places where poverty inhibited the people to create music with instruments. According to Steve Haver, in his book, The evolution of rap music in the United States by Henry A. Rhodes:

“In 1959 Parks Commissioner Robert Moses began building an expressway

through the heart of the Bronx. As a result, the middle class Italian, German, Irish, and

Jewish neighborhoods disappeared overnight. In addition, businesses and factories

relocated and left this borough. These exiting middle classes and businesses were

replaced by poor black and Hispanic families. Accompanying these poor people were

crime, drug addiction, and unemployment. Thus it is because this music became to be seen as the sounds of urban areas that it also became associated with all the negative connotations associated with those areas, not because the music in and of itself is violent or degenerate.

Although, the lyrics of rap music are what cause many people to think of it as degenerate. “These lyrics are about murder, and its glorification. Real murder too, not just its imaginary variety-as if that would not itself be sick enough. Usually, black on black murder. " (Dewitt, 2005) Often, because theses artists, such as 50 cent, are raised in an area where violence is prominent, their music will reflect what their life experiences have been; the music and the story within and the story urban America is telling with rap music is sad indeed and a testament to the heart of many metropolitan areas.

On the other hand, there are many rap and hip hop artists that use their music to rise above the area that they had been confined to and empower other young people to do so also. In the 80’s and 90’s many musicians, including rap and hip hop, were using their lyrics to protest racially inspired violence. Moreover, the sense of community created through music and dance helped to bring together groups who may have been at war otherwise.

Furthermore, there are other types of rap music that do not carry the connotations of urban America. One of these is gospel rap or holy hip-hop. This music is centered on spreading the Christian Faith and the Word of God through Hip-hop. This movement has its own set of struggles as some see the connotations that are on hip-hop in general as applying a stain to the worship of God through rap music. However, as Reverend Bonner aptly puts it, the lyrics and what they express are what matters. “The same is true for the

Gospel, for it is the lyrical content of the music that makes a song a 'Gospel song'. As God is unlimited, so is the ability to musically present the Gospel.” (Bonner, 2005)

The word degenerate itself is defined as “having sunk to a condition below that which is normal to a type ; especially : having sunk to a lower and usually corrupt and vicious state,” as stated in the Merriam Webster Dictionary. While rap music may have some negative associations in some of its forms, it is also rising above this definition in other forms. The lyrics are the voices of the people it represents and in those lyrics, America is showing its true colors. Those sides of ourselves we do not wish to see or to admit exist.

It is up to us to change the way America views urban Americans, be they black, white, or

Latino, the music is only the window to the darkness and the lightness within.

References

Degenerate. (2009). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Retrieved April 23, 2009, from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/degenerate

Bonner, G. (August, 2005). Hip Hop under siege. Retrieved April 23, 2009, from

http://www.gospelflava.com/articles/editorial-hiphopexpose.html

Dewitt, L. (August, 2005). Rap Music and the Decline of a Culture. Retrieved April 23,

2009, from http://www.larrydewitt.net/Essays/Rap.htm

Haver, Steve). (1984). Hip Hop; the Illustrated History of Break Dancing, Rap Music and

Graffiti. St Martins Press: New York.