Editorial - Hip hop stereotype

Many people believe that rap or hip hop music is often a bad influence, I believe that if the words aren’t giving off the message they want, then they should just be listening to the music. Rap was originally just people talking and trying to entertain a crowd while music was playing, it wasn’t always giving off a message. Now rap songs usually contain a topic and it’s not always positive, therefore people dismiss it completely as music. Hip hop is a culture, just like any other music genre, and the fact that people dismiss it or hate it because of the words is ridiculous in my opinion because you were never meant to listen to the words. Just like when someone is playing the guitar and singing, if you don’t like what they are saying you can just listen to them play the guitar.
Rap is often stereotyped as new music, the music for teenagers or young adults. Rap has just as much as a history as any other music genre and I don’t understand why it has this stereotype. It began in the Bronx of New York in the 1970’s. Years before any of the stereotyped people who listen to it ever was born. A beat and a MC was all you needed back then. Nowadays MC’s are known as rappers, which most are stereotyped to give bad messages off in their music. But what these people who hate rap just don’t get is that you don’t need to listen to the words! Teenagers turn up the music and blast it for a reason; they are listening to the beat. Sure there plenty of kids who hear stuff in the music and think its cool so it influences them, but that would happen no matter what they listened to. Also, yes, I am ranting. Although I am ranting about the people who rant about rap. I’m tired of hearing stereotypes about kids doing drugs or having guns because “they heard it in a rap song.” Honestly, no one does that. If a kid is doing drugs, it’s his friends fault, not the music he listens to. Overall I can just say that it’s the music that makes the hip hop culture, not the sometimes negative lyrics or the rappers who have guns. They have guns because they are rich and don’t want to get stolen from. Any one of the people who rant about them would do the same in their shoes. Don’t stereotype hip hop culture.

Blog entry 2/25/10

I am going to interview my cousin Jesse, about hip hop and rap music.

Questions

1) What is going through your mind when your making music?

2) What all does it take to put together a song?

3) What are your views on newer hip hop and rap compared to what was made in the past?

4) What type of style do you like when it comes to rap?

5) Who is your favorite artist and why?

6) What are your views on autotune and why some artists use it so much?

7) Why do you think there are more male rappers than female?

8) How do you think rap was started?

9) Rap is commonly thought of as music for "hoodlums," why do you think this is?

10) Looking back over the years, how has rap progressed?