Sex, money, violence and drugs are only few of the words that are used when the genre of “Hip-Hop” is being described. Hip hop plays both a negative and positive role in our society. hip hop may also be the main perpetrator and play a significant role in the social conflict which is, “the teenage drug epidemic”. The well renowned genre of hip hop plays is infamous for idolizing celebrities that constantly speak on the use of drugs as if its a positive action. The way the media portrays these celebrities has a negative influence on the younger generation. To have a better understanding of the role that hip hop plays in the drug epidemic, one must first apprehend the origins and history behind the genre of Hip Hop and the its economic and commercial background. Hip hop usually has a negative connotation towards its name ( depending on the region) due to the way hip hop stands politically, socially, and economically and the way media groups portray and blame the genre for some of national conflicts.
The effects that Hip-Hop has on the mindset of people may vary depending on the region. Urban areas are always bound to be affected by Hip-Hop more than suburban communities due to the origins of Hip-Hop and where it originated from. Most of the media describe the genre of hip-hop with an antagonistic review and themed rebellious. This may be due to how the presence of derogatory remarks about race and the concepts of love for money is signified in Hip-Hop(SOURCE #2). It is extremely common for rappers to idolized drugs and money , since most of them come from urban areas of poverty, and use the genre of Hip-Hop to describe their environment.
Media and the general public judges Hip-Hop by the mainstream outlets that they are played on, which can sometimes lead to negative reviews. Urban radio is played for those primary areas that targets people of color living in urban areas. The radio is a multibillion-dollar industry controlled by a handful of large media so most playlists and the research on what is trending have made DJs have no say in what records get aired due to the pressure to attract in more listeners.
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Throughout the history of Hip-Hop, rappers have been characterized by conquest, rebellion, and blood.(Source #5) Rappers are usually blamed for and depicted as being “gangsters” and promoting violence.(source 5) But it is also understated that rappers who use foul language and regular depict violence and sexuality, are really only reflecting society and their environment. Graphic content of many songs, including rap, are said to target children, and have had congress to threaten to pass legislation to penalize the recording industry for those actions.
But they fear the power of rappers and that their music and messages are being embraced not only by young whites, but by youth around the world. Many rappers rap about poverty and their struggles in inner-city America while growing up. Once they achieve success, they talk about overcoming obstacles and rising to the top. This message can give hope to many youths across America who live in similar circumstances. For example, when a rapper raps about his challenged childhood or about succeeding despite living with a drug-addicted parent, a teenager in a similar situation may believe that he, too, can get through his struggles. Even with the positive benefits that rappers may have towards their communities, they still receive a negative connotation towards their name (source 1)
Social Media has given Hip-Hop at large platform to express and publish their art. Rappers nowadays use controversy and conflicts through social media outlets to promote their music, such as Kanye West.(Source 5) Social media has allowed hip-hop artists the ability to upload music online and for it to be shared with large audiences, rather than before, when they had to rely heavily on record labels, which agreed to sell an artist’s music, under certain conditions which usually gave the record label more money from each sale than the artist. In order to promote their music, hip-hop artists utilize social-networking sites and social media. Artists rely heavily on social networking sites as a medium to give their fans music, and to get quick feedback on it.
