[b]The Social Significance of Rap & Hip-Hop Culture

In recent years, controversy surrounding rap music has been in the forefront of the American media. From the hype of the East Coast-West Coast rivalry that shadowed the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. to the demonization of modem music in the wake of school shootings in Littleton, Colorado, it seems that political and media groups have been quick to place blame on rap for a seeming trend in youth violence. however, though critics are quick to point out the violent lyrics of some rappers, they are missing the point of rap's message. Rap, like other forms of music, cannot be understood unless it is studied without the frame of its historical and social context. Today's rap music reflects its origin in the hip-hop culture of young, urban, working-class African-Americans, its roots in the African oral tradition, its function as the voice of an otherwise underrepresented group, and, as its popularity has grown, its commercialization and appropriation by the music industry.
Hip-hop music is generally considered to have been pioneered in New York's South Bronx in 1973 by Jamaican-born Kool DJ Herc. At a Halloween dance party thrown by his younger sister, Herc used an innovative turntable technique to stretch a song's drum break by playing the break portion of two identical records consecutively. The popularity of the extended break lent its name to "breakdancing"--a style specific to hip-hop culture, which was facilitated by extended drumbreaks played by DJs at New York dance parties. By the mid-1970s, New York's hip-hop scene was dominated by seminal turntablists DJ Grandmaster Flash, Afrika Bambaataa, and Herc. The rappers of Sugarhill Gang produced hip-hop's first commercially successful hit, "Rapper's Delight," in 1979'.
Violence in rap, and in other forms of self-expression, is the manifestation of a feeling of hopelessness and discontent in America's working class, especially working-class minority communities. By pointing to rap as the cause of violence, politicians attempt to erase from the consciousness of their constituents the history of oppression that has given birth to hip-hop culture.
In order to truly change the looming presence of violence in American society, as symptomized by violence in movies, television, and music, the remaining problems of poverty and prejudice in America's cities must be aggressively addressed. Ironically, many of the same politicians and groups who cry out against violence in rap music are also leading the attack on Welfare, Affirmative Action, funding for education, and proposals for universal health care. It is disparities in economic and political power, not hip-hop music, that create violence in American society. Cutting programs that provide social services to help alleviate the unequal opportunity to jobs, resources, and social mobility will only serve to aggravate problems. Voters must not allow themselves to be fooled into believing that censorship can safe-guard children from the ramifications of violence in American culture; they must not play into the problem by cutting programs that provide hope for escape from economic and political discrepancies that feed into the cycle of violence.
Instead, those who truly wish to put an end to the problems expressed by some rappers in their lyrics and lifestyles, must focus on providing services and opportunities that will combat the feeling of nihilism in many of America's communities today. Social services must be supported, expanded, and reorganized to more effectively administer programs for those who have been economically and politically disadvantaged. It is necessary to address the basic needs of the urban working class--affordable housing, health care, and food--before there can be any attempts to eliminate violence in America's cities.
Additionally, it is necessary that working-class adults are able to earn a living wage before they may begin to be expected to have hope for their future or the future of their children. Minimum wage, as it exists today, is not an adequate family wage, and, as a result, many parents have been forced to work several jobs, keeping them away from the home, in order to provide for their children and relatives. Finally, in order to prevent violence and crime before it begins, federal, state, and local funding should be diverted from law enforcement and prison systems into public education and youth programs. Youth cannot have hope unless they have access to a useful, relevant education that can provide them with the opportunity to choose the path of their futures. I believe that few youth, given sufficient resources, respect, and support, would choose violence. However, for many youth today, options are limited by a disparity of access to the resources that provide that choice.
For many youth the heroes and success stories of the inner-city are rappers. The popularity of rap and the spin-offs of hip-hop culture--fashion lines like FUBU and Tommy Hilfiger, movies such as Boyz N Da Hood and Friday, and television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and In the House--have had a major impact on American marketing trends. The appeal of hip-hop culture has pushed out of urban areas and into the suburbs. Hip-hop has had a tremendous influence on mainstream fashion, television, movies, advertising, and language.
Hoping to follow the success of rappers like LL Cool J, Will Smith, Sean "Puffy" Combs, and Wyclef, many youth see the music industry as one of their only opportunities to achieve the notoriety and money to escape the hopelessness of the inner-city. However, those who attempt to succeed in hip-hop music face a difficult challenge. In an industry controlled by mainly by upper-class white men, young, urban minority are often treated as commodities and not artists.

In conclusion, despite the blame placed on rap for the prominence of violence in American society, hip-hop music is a symptom of cultural violence, not the cause. In order to understand hip-hop, it is necessary to look at it as the product of a set of historical, political, and economic circumstances and to study the role it has served as voice for those subjugated by systematic political and economic oppression. If the issue of violence in rap music is to be effectively addressed, the root of the problem--disparity in resources and opportunities for urban minorities--must be aggressively dealt with. Rap music is a form of resistance to the systems of subjugation that have created class discrepancies in the United States. In order to put an end to violence, we must focus on alleviating the burden of the inner-city working class. In order to put an end to the cycle of nihilism present in the contemporary culture of inner-city minority youth, we must provide them with the resources and opportunities to view the future with hope.[/b]




https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/mediarace/socialsignificance.htm

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