What Abilities Does Hip-hop Have? What would you do if I told you that hip-hop was the fastest growing music genre in the United States? What would you do if I told you that hip-hop was the fastest and largest growing music genre in the world? Well, they are both true (INTRO 2). With this new genre of music, there are trials that come with it, just like any new form of art.
Even though hip-hop is a new and the largest growing genre of music, people believe that the teachings of hip-hop are preaching unorthodox values, when in reality the art form is telling stories, teaching ideas, and ebating controversial issues in today’s society. “The thing about hip-hop is that it’s from the underground, ideas from the underbelly, from people who have mostly been locked out, who have not been recognized. ” (Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings).
This style of music was established in the 1970s that entailed of rhythmic music that was commonly accompanied with rap which is rhythmic speech (Background 1). Hip-hop is not just raping, it also consists of DJing, which is mixing songs together to create an even better song with different beats and rhythms, graffiti, which is painting ords and other body language that associates with the culture, and break dancing, which is a dance style that combines acrobatics with dance. This style of dance is highly energetic. When both graffiti and break dancing were combined is where gangs are started.
Graffiti is used to “tag” or to mark the territory of a group as well as the style of music they play or create (Background 2). Conculsion sentence This structure of music and art creates a broad platform for telling stories. As a result, hip-hop is the largest and most popular genre of music it has the most influence on younger enerations that listen to this music. Hip-hop has the competency to cover a lot of territory in a short amount of time compared to everyday speech which would not be able to sustain the beat hip-hop requires.
With this, the artist is able to harness a type of thinking that may lead to certain actions that could potentially be dangerous. An example of such is the NWA they talked about topics such as racism and police brutality and they mention a solution using violence. But there are some other artists who are able to tell a story as if you were standing there another example is The Game in the song “Like father, Like son”. This song is about what the artist was feeling when his son was being born.
The lyrics start out saying: She 8 centimeters, my lil’ man about to fall Scuffing my Air Forces, running through the hospital hall Deja vu, like I been here before I’m feeling reborn, like a Bed-Stuy brethren, my first born Dre, I’m about to have a bad boy, family in the lobby See my nigga Church, “What Up, ” shit I left the camcorder in the truck Running through the maternity ward, out of breath, sweating I swear to God every minute’s starting to feel like a second I seen Hell staring down the barrel of a Smith & Wesson
My son’s ultrasound the closest I ever been to Heaven Lord forgive me for my sins, I know it’s last minute Put the chronic in the air, a little hash in it Spread my wings, If only I could fly Why fight to live homie? , If we only living to die I hope you grow up to become that everything you can be That’s all I wanted for you young’n, like Father, like Son With this example you can see how when reading the rap it is written as a poem but when mixed with a beat it becomes hip- hop. Also, the characteristics of the beat reflect the emotions and perspective of the artist in what they are trying to convey to he audience.
This rap selection is a good example because it tells a story that is about someone’s real life. Another example of how hip-hop tells a story is in the Broadway musical Hamilton. In 2004, Lin-Manuel Miranda toyed with the idea of creating a musical about the historical figure Alexander Hamilton. After some research, he found that there was a musical created about Hamilton, but it was on Broadway in 1917. This sparked the idea for a project called “The Hamilton Mixtape” which was a collection of the early songs of the musical. (“Hamilton (Musical). ” Wikipedia. )
It tells the story of Alexander Hamilton in a way that is intriguing to teenagers and to other age groups using hip-hop and other forms of modern vernacular. The musical tells of Alexander Hamilton a poor young adult from the Caribbean, moving to and helping form what we know as the United States. A specific example that shows how Hamilton uses metrical speech to tell a story is in the Act I, chapter II, “My shot” page 26. I am not throwing away my I am not throwing away my shot Hey yo, I’m just like my country I’m young, scrappy and hungry And I’m not throwing away my shot I’m ‘a get a scholarship to King’s College I prob’ly shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish I gotta holler just to be heard With every word, I drop knowledge I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal Tryin’ to reach my goal my power of speech, unimpeachable Only nineteen but my mind is older These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder Every burden, every disadvantage I have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandish I walk these streets famished The plan is to fan this spark into a flame But damn, it’s getting dark, so let me spell out the name
I am the A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R we are meant to be Hamilton goes on to say how Britain continues to tax and control the United States. Mulligan, Laurens, Lafayette, and Hamilton are all individuals who have a part in the song “My Shot”. They talk about they are going to “rise up and take a shot” in taking control of their own country. These are all great examples of how hip-hop can tell a story, above all how hip-hop can also help comment on society. Not only is hip-hop is used to tell stories, it is also used to comment on society and what they are doing right or wrong.
Some of the topics that hip-hop brings awareness to in society are police brutality, gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse, money, global issues, and racism. An advantage of being the largest music genre is that it can reach more people and who may end up doing something about it. A good example of how some hip-hop comments on society is the song “Not Afraid” by Eminem. This song talks about how he needs to stand up and face his demands but yet be a good father at the same time because he does not want to be that kind of dad who leaves his child with a single mom.
Another example of how hip-hop comments on controversial topics in society is a song called “Same love” by Macklemore. When I was in the third grade I thought that I was gay, ‘Cause I could draw, my uncle was, and I kept my room straight. I told my mom, tears rushing down my face She’s like “Ben you’ve loved girls since before pre-k, trippin’. ” Yeah, I guess she had a point, didn’t she? Bunch of stereotypes all in my head. I remember doing the math like, “Yeah, I’m good at little league. ” A preconceived idea of what it all meant For those that liked the same sex Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision And you can be cured with some treatment and religion Man-made rewiring of a predisposition Playing God, aw nah here we go America the brave still fears what we don’t know And “God loves all his children” is somehow forgotten But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago I don’t know Here you can see how Macklemore thinks that he may be gay, only because of the stereotypes that society has set forth. Then when his mother explains that just because he may fit into the stereotype he loves girls and you don’t have to conform to ociety.
Hip-hop is a way for individuals who may not be brave enough to speak out about events happening in today’s society. An example of this is the song “The Schuyler Sisters” page 44. The three sisters Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy are in the middle of the idea of the Revolutions. You want a revolution? I wanna revelation. So listen to my declaration: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. ” And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’m ‘a compel him to include women in the sequel! In this song the Schuyler sisters are talking about how in the ext draft, they cannot skep over women’s rights.
This is relevant today because in this year’s elections, the topics of women’s rights is a hot topic. Not only can hip-hop be used to talk about society as a whole and what they are doing but it can be used to teach ideas. Not only can hip-hop comment on society it can also teach the idea such as of rising from the low levels of society and making your way to the top with passion and fire. Some other examples of how hip-hop teaches ideas is freedom of expression, it’s a way to show how creative and unique an individual is, and it hows the effects of hatred speech.
An example of how young individuals think that hip-hop can raise you from the lower levels of society and make you famous is because of social media. One of the most talked about example is Chief Keef. The gangs in Chicago’s have a muse of Chief Keef because he started in the lower levels of society and made his way all the way to Las Angeles in the music business (P. 102-3 Chicago Magazine). Hip-hop is one of the only places where you are free to express how you really feel without someone censoring what you say.
Although your music may not be played for the whole public to hear because of the language used in it, but this is one of the only free spaces you can express what you truly feel (http:// www. huffingtonpost. com/shelly-palmer/the-rap-on-freedom-ofspe_b_47070. html). In the musical, there is little to no dialogue which is a direct representation of musical theater. Hip-hop teaches ideas in the musical because it mixes historical facts with an upbeat tempo, which in return the audience will be more likely to remember the facts or the words that accompany the beat.
This musical is attractive to younger audiences because it mixes historical facts, that may not always be fun to learn, with a tempo that is “Ketchy”. An example from the musical Hamilton is in the song “Non-Stop” P. 142. A series of essays, anonymously published Defending the document to the public No one will read it I disagree And if it fails? Burr, that’s why we need it The constitution’s a mess So it needs amendments It’s full of contradictions So is independence We have to start somewhere No No way You’re making a mistake Good night Hey What are you waiting for? What do you stall for? hat? )
We won the war What was it all for? Do you support this constitution? Of course Then defend it And what if you’re backing the wrong horse? Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed For the notion of a nation we now get to build For once in your life, take a stand with pride I don’t understand how you stand to the side Hip hop artists are often renowned for using their songs to express how they truly feel, but often times hip hop is also used to address controversial topics. Along with the platform of teaching ideas, Lin-Manuel Maranda uses this as an opportunity to debate issues.
The most famous rap battle in the musical or the most quoted battle in the musical is the song “Cabinet battle #1”. Thomas. That was real nice declaration Welcome to the present, we’re running a real nation Would you like to join us, or stay mellow Doin’ whatever the hell it is you do in Montiello? If we assume the debts, the union gets A new line of credit. a financial diuretic How do you not get it? If we’re aggressive and competitive The union gets a boost. You’d rather give it a sedative? A civics lesson from a slaver.
Hey neighbor Your debts are paid cuz you don’t pay for labor “We plant seeds in the South. We create. ” Yeah, keep ranting We know who’s really doing the planting This song is a good example of how hip-hop can be used to debate issues because here the members have to listen to one another so they are able to get their points across and find a common ground for the national bank issue and how the states are going to deal with that. Even though hip-hop is used to tell stories, comment on society, teach ideas and debate issues, it can also be used to encourage unorthodoxies values.