Rap and Hip Hop music is usually consumed by teens and young adults. It is thought to be a more urban genre due to its content, which often describes living in poverty, gang activity, violence, drug use, and often also refers to rising above these things and achieving financial power and respect. The energy and [...]
7. December 2009.
The Categorical Side of Hip Hop
7. December 2009.
Love Me or Hate Me, Still an Obsession? Race in Female Hip-Hop
I will be considering Lady Sovereign and Lil’ Mama’s overall presentation of race in hip-hop and rap music. This will be done by critiquing their style, musical lyrics, and comparing them to a theory of “discursive practices.” In the Storey text, Herman Gray mentions three discursive practices of contemporary television representations of Blackness. These three [...]
7. December 2009.
The Content Side of Hip-Hop
Rap music values masculinity and dominance. The masculinity expressed in and valued by rap music come from several sources. Antonia Randolph states that masculinity is, “shaped not only by dominant culture, but by the repression that characterizes society’s treatment of non-normative sexuality and gender.” The tendency of American culture to value heterosexuality and reject sensitive [...]
6. December 2009.
Where does Hip-Hop really come from?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3wHOacltP4&feature=PlayList&p=7026029B53934BF2&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=28[/youtube]
When you think of jazz and the blues, hip hop is not the immediate genre of music that comes to mind. But, these musical forms lay the foundation for popular hip hop music today. The blues and jazz are considered black musical forms, brought to America during the period of slavery. The music caught attention [...]
6. December 2009.
Negative Impact of Black Female “Video Hoes”
“Since their inception, music videos have evolved as a postmodern, commercially successful, and engaging variety of popular media. Through images and sound, music videos both construct culture, and are an ‘expression of culture’” (Williams, 2003). With this expression of culture, especially in the hip-hop genre, involves the women being used as sex symbols to bring [...]
6. December 2009.
Perceptions of Females in Music Videos
Women in today’s society have made a huge step up from what women went through years ago. Today women hold CEO positions, work in construction, have professions as firefighters and police officers; women have developed a great respect for themselves and have shown that they are more than bakers, cooks, cleaners, maids, chauffeurs, and etc. [...]
6. December 2009.
Will the Real Slim Shady Please Sit Down?
Just a few years ago, the world was introduced to the music sensation that was Eminem. Not only were people shocked to see a white man attempting to succeed in a genre of music that was generally reserved as a place for African-American success, but people were also appalled by the violent, anti-female content of [...]
6. December 2009.
…I’m Gonna Let You Finish, Kanye
Imma Let You Finish….
When considering popular rap artists of our time, it is hard not to consider the infamous but widely popular career of Kanye West. Although West could be considered to be one of the top music artists of our generation, his career has also been marked by controversy after controversy. Many would argue [...]
6. December 2009.
Female Empowerment, through Rap & Hip-Hop
The positive representations of females in the hip-hop genre are continually growing, as female hip-hop artists are continually breaking down the barriers between themselves and their male counterparts. In the late 1980s, consumers of popular hip-hop music were destined to see a rap world dominated by masculinity and presenting a conception of female suppression and [...]
6. December 2009.
Female Strength in Rap & Hip-Hop, A Closer Analysis
In Nataki H. Goodall’s (1994) article, “Depend on Myself: T.L.C. and the Evolution of Black Female Rap,” Goodall presents the Feminist perspective on the sexuality of rap stars in the media. In particular, Goodall examines how the female rap group, T.L.C., stood up for women’s rights and issues and sang about topics that other artists [...]
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