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You're kidding, right? Funky language? Syncopation? No. Hip-hop is a culture and it drives and thrives within the black community to the point that millions of inner city youth dream of getting a record deal while simultaneously wasting the most productive years of their lives in that pursuit. And those that don't actually seek record deals? Hip hop is still pervasive. A rap star hits on something big and next thing you know thousands of youth are dressed just like him/her...tatted up like him/her....gold teeth like him/her......most of which would never, ever lead to a productive job in the real world.
So while you're over there making excuses and disingenuously comparing it to country music, the rest of the world recognizes that hip hop has in fact had a detrimental effect on certain segments of American youth. You are so far out of touch with reality its embarrassing.
and every year millions of kids are trying to be on American Idol.
kids will always try to be stars because our country has replaced manufacturing with entertainment.
it's not the music, you guys just hate black kids.
before rap it was rock and roll and jazz.
How about addressing:
funding in schools
teacher pay/performance
failed war on drugs
long jail sentences for petty drug charges
lack of summer jobs
single parents and the destruction of the 2 parent household
The big picture that EVERYONE here is missing is that in the end hip hop is ENTERTAINMENT! Nothing more! Nothing less! It is UP TO THE PARENTS to teach their kids what is right and what is wrong, and to help them differentiate between what is real and what is not! I mean, for cryin' out loud I watched Looney Tunes as a kid, and watched the coyote get crushed, blown up, fall off cliffs and not die, and I learned at a very young age that it wasn't real! I also watched my fair share of violent shows, and was also taught at a young age to differentiate what was right, and what was wrong. In other words, stop letting the damn tv, radio, I-pod or whatever be the damn babysitter, and teach your kids! Yes I realize life often imitates art, in this case with hip hop being the culprit, but what are we proposing here? Should we ban it? Or should the responsibility be on the parents to educate their kids, and not rely on Hollywood or the music industry to influence them? Being a parent isn't easy, but as a parent you do need to pay attention, and filter what your kids watch, or listen to, or at least get them to know the difference of right from wrong!
I agree with this partially. I listen to hip hop but its just music to me-it doesn't influence the decisions I make. I think that it's important to understand that some of the kids that listen to hip hop are in an environments where the lyrics really illustrate their reality. Violence, sex, hustling, etc is what they see. The schools are often so bad that very few will make it to college and actually have the ability to graduate from college. They dont have parents that can model how to be successful doing XYZ, because the parents often aren't in the best position in the first place. I remember when Nia long said it best "in some black families we're taught how to survive, and what to do to survive but we aren't taught how to build wealth and what decisions and choices we need to make in order to become wealthy"--she was referring to the reality that some face when living in these types of environments. Survival by all means necessary often becomes a way of life-making money is important as well, but the "how" is different then what you observe in affluent or middle class families. Often when they look on tv and see those individuals that left the hood and made it big they see examples of athletes and music artists doing well. They see those two paths as legit "options". If your good at sports or lyrically talented and see most of those that grew up with make it big doing one of those paths, it starts feeling realistic.
On the other hand when the schools in the neighborhood are so bad that there aren't enough teachers to a classroom, when there aren't enough resources, and when many barely get to graduation let alone getting into a college-it's a lot more difficult to envision making it big or building a ton of wealth from education. Still some will attempt college anyway-some graduate but a lot barely make it through their first year. Not to say that in 2015 most don't know about college, but that it seems and feels more difficult when your education experiences were ones that were crappy to begin with. It takes a sort of mentality to see pass the collective(what everyone else is doing around you) and look at the big picture and be open to other modes and means of success, including education or getting a trade. Most people are products of their environments.
And often these parents are working a lot, or in difficult positions so they often aren't parenting the same as middle class parents. Sometimes the parents themselves need parenting classes themselves because they don't know better. Icould go on and on but the reality is that some of whats talked about in hip hop songs are about the reality of those living in those environments. They can relate. The music doesn't influence behavior that already exists... It reflects.
On the other hand the music and the money associated with it does glamourize the lifestyle since it isn't preaching the importance in getting out. Hip hop does contribute and often in some ways encourage what's already happening but it isn't the sole cause. So I disagree with Ben Carson- I mean I get what he's saying but it's easy to use music as a scapegoat when the reality is often complex and difficult to articulate especially to those that wouldnt understand in the first place.
Besides some of the biggest consumers of hip hop are middle and upper middle white kids. Obviously most of them are doing fine.
Last edited by Faith2187; 04-08-2015 at 10:25 AM..
I can understand where Carson is coming from. However, this is where I disagree. There was already a deterioration among the Black underclass long before hip-hop came around. Hip-hop only reflects and glorifies what has already been taking place for a long time.
and every year millions of kids are trying to be on American Idol.
kids will always try to be stars because our country has replaced manufacturing with entertainment.
it's not the music, you guys just hate black kids.
before rap it was rock and roll and jazz.
How about addressing:
funding in schools
teacher pay/performance
failed war on drugs
long jail sentences for petty drug charges
lack of summer jobs
single parents and the destruction of the 2 parent household
but no, just blame it on hip hop.
Thank you. So many people love to point to hip-hop as the downfall of the "Black community". There are many Black people out there doing quite well for themselves. More Blacks have college degrees now than ever before. There has been a rise in the Black middle class since the 1960s.
The Black underclass is where you see the lion's share of so many problems. Instead of looking at the "Black community" as the whole, it is better to ask what is taking place with the Black underclass. Furthermore, consider this. There are so many White youths listening to hip-hop. As a matter of fact, that is the largest consumer of such music. Whites are doing better compared to Blacks. If hip-hop was the issue, then Whites would also be doing far worse.
Consider this. There is a song by Curtis Mayfield called "Pusher Man". Basically, the song is about being a drug dealer. The "n" word is in that song. First part of that song. And this isn't hip-hop.
The lyrics in alot of rap songs are a reflection of what has already been taking place.
Whoever doesn't see the connection with today's black youth and the music they listen to is willfully ignorant. They think it's cool to act out what the lyrics in the songs say, like beatin some ho's, bustin some caps for being disrespected, slinging rock and stealin.
1) What segment of the Black youth population?
2) This acting out, being violent, it was already taking place before hip-hop even became popular. You speak as if this stuff wasn't taking place when hip-hop didn't exist. Prove to me that such behavior didn't exist before hip-hop.
Thank you. So many people love to point to hip-hop as the downfall of the "Black community". There are many Black people out there doing quite well for themselves. More Blacks have college degrees now than ever before. There has been a rise in the Black middle class since the 1960s.
The Black underclass is where you see the lion's share of so many problems. Instead of looking at the "Black community" as the whole, it is better to ask what is taking place with the Black underclass. Furthermore, consider this. There are so many White youths listening to hip-hop. As a matter of fact, that is the largest consumer of such music. Whites are doing better compared to Blacks. If hip-hop was the issue, then Whites would also be doing far worse.
Consider this. There is a song by Curtis Mayfield called "Pusher Man". Basically, the song is about being a drug dealer. The "n" word is in that song. First part of that song. And this isn't hip-hop.
The lyrics in alot of rap songs are a reflection of what has already been taking place.
You make a good point here, and there is a lot of truth to it. Back in the early 90s I owned a ton of hip hop and rap albums in addition to other genres of course. I'll take it a step further as a DJ in the Cleveland area back from 1996 to about 2008 I can tell you that in an actual club setting of young folks the majority of the music that was in my mix was hip-hop. I've worked in clubs with the majority of folks being white, clubs that were mixed, and clubs where the majority of the crowd was black. In the black clubs it was straight hip hop and rap. In the clubs that were a majority of whites it was a mix of hip hop, some house, some techno, some country, and some rock and 80s mixed in, but again the majority of the music that got the biggest response was hip hop. Obviously the white and mixed clubs were more into a lot of the mainstream stuff, but I could get away with dropping something a bit obscure into the mix from time to time. So basically, be it a black club or white club folks always wanted stuff like 50 cent, Lil Jon, Eminem, Ying Yang Twins, Gucci Mane...ect....ect... In fact, if I found a remix from an artist I made sure that I would play the remix as opposed to the original version, since the radio tended to play the original version out! Reggaeton also went over well in both black and white clubs! We're talkin Sean Paul, Daddy Yankee, Pit Bull, Elephant Man... stuff like that! It was the hip hop that got people's a**es shakin' in the club! More than anything else! So, yes white folks like it too!
Now, when I worked some of the smaller dives it was different. I hated them, because they weren't geared for the club, and so I had to play more rock, classic rock and country, all of which I like (except country) but my thought was, why have a DJ? They would be better served hiring a band, or having people feed the jukebox! The nights I had to work in those places I was bored to tears.
Sorry, didn't mean to go off track, but wanted to acknowledge your point, and from what I saw working in the club industry back in the day.
There are still people from both sides of the aisle that want to prohibit such music. I listen to Alice Cooper and the likes as well as hip hop and other genres that are considered defiling society. Of course, such attempts have failed to censor these genres thanks to 1A.
The right is guilty for forcing such censorship back in the 60s and 70s. It was then abandoned by them and later picked up from the left under the guise of "save the children" thanks to Tipper Gore. As of now that has evolved into political correctness as comedians (some who are liberal themselves) have denounced how sensitive college campuses have become.
It's the truth. The messages you listen to, you will become. The black hip hop community used to be clean and conscious. But ever since the early to mid 1990s it's like the devil took over and they talk about nothing but sex, drugs, hoes, and ice. All the young men in impoverished black communities listen to is hip hop and they incorporate those messages into their subconscious. There's no fathers so they look to these rappers propagating this irresponsible lifestyle as an image of success. The black girls grow up without a self esteem and let these men impregnate them. And the cycle continues.
Last edited by allenk893; 04-08-2015 at 12:17 PM..
If the black community had not for generations been systematically prevented from obtaining wealth and being robbed of the little they could scrape together perhaps they'd be in better shape today.
Functionally hip-hop is just poetry set to a beat. That's all.
From Jason Aldean: I’m chilling on a dirt road. Laid back swerving like I’m George JonesSmoke rolling out the window. Ice cold beer sitting in the console
That's a lyric. Show me how it has affected youth culture.
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