Does HIp Hop Content Affect Listenrs As Much As Some People Claim?
It's no secret that hip hop has been under fire for years and years now. It always boils down to the content and if the artists are sending the right messages to the listeners, mainly those young listeners who may be influenced by their music. However, I'm wondering if people are giving the content of the music more power than it really has.
I guess the best example I can give to support the theory that the hip hop doesn't have as much of a hold on listeners might believe (or want to believe) is one that pertains to Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, and Nas. Jay-Z and Nas both listened to and idolized Big Daddy Kane before they made their way into the rap the game. Big Daddy Kane spoke against selling drugs and many other illegal activities that both Nas and Jay-Z (along with many others) have all admitted to doing in their songs. How is it that Jay-Z and Nas could listen to and study Kane's lyrics, look up to him as so many do them, and yet still go against what he was saying? It is because they were speaking about real life experiences and subject matters that pertained to them, not what they heard in a song. So often, people want to claim that drug dealers and criminal activities are linked directly to hip hop, when, at least in my eyes, this isn't true at all. Jay-Z and Nas didn't come into the game not mentioning certain parts of their past just because Big Daddy Kane spoke against some of the stuf they were doing.
Some may argue that Nas and Jay-Z were a little bit older when they were listening to Big Daddy Kane than the audience that they have or that hip hop at that point still did not have the mainstream effect that it has now. If that is the case though, how do you account for the millions of listeners that have grown up on hip hop, heard the same songs and albums as everybody else, but still end up staying out of trouble? There is something deeper than rap lyrics that account for people's actions, but I will save all of that for a Hip Hop vs. America argument.
Of course, there are people who have lied and made up stories about their past to try to gain fame and recognition, but I would be willing to bet that most people out there in the streets aren't doing crimes because they heard it ona song. If hip hop did really have the impact people claim (only in terms of reinacting something they hear), then in reality there would be less people on the streets selling dope, killing people, etc. What most artists try to do is explain what they're past was and then persuade listeners to not go down that same road. They try to open people's eyes and try to have people learn from their actions. On Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z has a whole song by the name of "Regrets," letting listeners hear what he's been through, the negative feeling he has, hopefully straying them away from these outcomes. On Nas' I Am... (his second album), after he finally got out of the crack game and started to see a little money, he raps "I thought Jordans and a gold chain was livin' it up," telling those that don't know, there is more to life and wealth that just new tennis shoes and jewlery.
There are also those artists that may not have really had a criminal backgroud, but they still speak to listeners about what needs to be done so that we can improve our conditions. These would include artists and groups like Black Star, Common, etc. I don't even have to quote lyrics here because pick up the Black Star album and you'll know exactly what I mean. Pick up any Common album and you'll see what I mean (maybe with the exception of his first two albums because they weren't as "concious" as the rest of his albums are). These type of artists are all about direct upliftment and telling their audience directly what needs to be done.
Basically, those that criticize hip hop for having such a negative influence on the youth are basing that simply on the words they hear and not the deeper meaning of songs. Now of course rap, and any other genre of music, is not full saints and I don't want to come across as saying that every single thing about hip hop is positive (because all artists have come across as hypocritical in one way or another, which is fine because we as humans are), but there are much deeper meanings that those not familiar with the culture wouldn't understand. These artists with a certain history are more qualified then most to speak to the troubled youth because they know what they are going through, and if they can use their experiences to teach them, then that is a great thing. And then you also balance it out with artists that will just put it in you face and let you know what needs to be changed.
What are your thoughts? Do people have a point when they say that hip hop has played a major role in the way that youth act? Would we really be better off without hip hop? (I'll answer that one and say of course not.) Anyway, let me hear something. Why do you think people give hip hop such a bad rap (no pun intended)? As always, either leave a comment or hit me at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.
Peace.
I guess the best example I can give to support the theory that the hip hop doesn't have as much of a hold on listeners might believe (or want to believe) is one that pertains to Big Daddy Kane, Jay-Z, and Nas. Jay-Z and Nas both listened to and idolized Big Daddy Kane before they made their way into the rap the game. Big Daddy Kane spoke against selling drugs and many other illegal activities that both Nas and Jay-Z (along with many others) have all admitted to doing in their songs. How is it that Jay-Z and Nas could listen to and study Kane's lyrics, look up to him as so many do them, and yet still go against what he was saying? It is because they were speaking about real life experiences and subject matters that pertained to them, not what they heard in a song. So often, people want to claim that drug dealers and criminal activities are linked directly to hip hop, when, at least in my eyes, this isn't true at all. Jay-Z and Nas didn't come into the game not mentioning certain parts of their past just because Big Daddy Kane spoke against some of the stuf they were doing.
Some may argue that Nas and Jay-Z were a little bit older when they were listening to Big Daddy Kane than the audience that they have or that hip hop at that point still did not have the mainstream effect that it has now. If that is the case though, how do you account for the millions of listeners that have grown up on hip hop, heard the same songs and albums as everybody else, but still end up staying out of trouble? There is something deeper than rap lyrics that account for people's actions, but I will save all of that for a Hip Hop vs. America argument.
Of course, there are people who have lied and made up stories about their past to try to gain fame and recognition, but I would be willing to bet that most people out there in the streets aren't doing crimes because they heard it ona song. If hip hop did really have the impact people claim (only in terms of reinacting something they hear), then in reality there would be less people on the streets selling dope, killing people, etc. What most artists try to do is explain what they're past was and then persuade listeners to not go down that same road. They try to open people's eyes and try to have people learn from their actions. On Reasonable Doubt, Jay-Z has a whole song by the name of "Regrets," letting listeners hear what he's been through, the negative feeling he has, hopefully straying them away from these outcomes. On Nas' I Am... (his second album), after he finally got out of the crack game and started to see a little money, he raps "I thought Jordans and a gold chain was livin' it up," telling those that don't know, there is more to life and wealth that just new tennis shoes and jewlery.
There are also those artists that may not have really had a criminal backgroud, but they still speak to listeners about what needs to be done so that we can improve our conditions. These would include artists and groups like Black Star, Common, etc. I don't even have to quote lyrics here because pick up the Black Star album and you'll know exactly what I mean. Pick up any Common album and you'll see what I mean (maybe with the exception of his first two albums because they weren't as "concious" as the rest of his albums are). These type of artists are all about direct upliftment and telling their audience directly what needs to be done.
Basically, those that criticize hip hop for having such a negative influence on the youth are basing that simply on the words they hear and not the deeper meaning of songs. Now of course rap, and any other genre of music, is not full saints and I don't want to come across as saying that every single thing about hip hop is positive (because all artists have come across as hypocritical in one way or another, which is fine because we as humans are), but there are much deeper meanings that those not familiar with the culture wouldn't understand. These artists with a certain history are more qualified then most to speak to the troubled youth because they know what they are going through, and if they can use their experiences to teach them, then that is a great thing. And then you also balance it out with artists that will just put it in you face and let you know what needs to be changed.
What are your thoughts? Do people have a point when they say that hip hop has played a major role in the way that youth act? Would we really be better off without hip hop? (I'll answer that one and say of course not.) Anyway, let me hear something. Why do you think people give hip hop such a bad rap (no pun intended)? As always, either leave a comment or hit me at straightouttahiphop@gmail.com.
Peace.
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