Hip Hop Controversy

1 Introduction
2 Hip Hop Today
3 Hip Hop Causes Violence

**Introduction**

Hip hop is a subculture and art movement developed in the South Bronx in New York City in the 1970s. It has now grown into a global youth and cultural phenomenon. Rap's ability to give voice to the oppressed make it a powerful force for sociopolitical change. The origins of American Rap were to raise political and social awareness.There is a genre of rap nationally as well as globally. Rap is infamous for its negative connotations expressed in the lyrics especially in gangster rap, hardcore hip hop and underground rap as well. Source

**Hip Hop Today**

Hip hop is a way for rappers to express themselves. The language of hip hop continues to be considered offensive. Rapper and producer, David Banner stated at a debate from Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degrading Images: "If by some stroke of the pen hip-hop was silenced, the issues would still be present in our communities...Drugs, violence, sexism, and the criminal element were around long before hip-hop existed." Source

Hip hop is relevant in advancing civil rights today. For the present and the future, hip hip is much more immediate and relevant. In *The New H.N.I.C: The Death of Civil Rights and the Reign of Hip Hop,* Todd Boyd shares his thoughts about how "hip hop is inherently political, the language is political. It uses language as a weapon, not a weapon to violate or not a weapon to offend, but a weapon that pushes the envelope that provokes people, [and] makes people think." The "change in the game" of hip hop was when the 20th century rolled into the 21st century ending with DMX's *And Then There Was X* in 1999 as the top hit and Jay-Z's *The Life and Times of S. Carter* which opened on the charts in the 2000s. Hip hop was thought to be meaningless noise and a passing fad, but is now a dominant generational voice throughout the world. It's music from the margins has grown to consume the mainstream. Hip hop is a social movement pushing for integration, but constantly asking at what cost. Source

**Hip Hop Causes Violence**

One of the top ten debates in hip hop is that it causes violence. The 1980s were the so-called golden age of hip hop. Violence was a highly criticism of hip hop for over a decade.The belief evolved that the rappers were criminals,representing their own violent acts in the form of rhyme. Many vocal public critics have begun to characterize violence, portraying lyrics in hip-hop and behavior has been used in the legal arena. Prosecutors have buttressed their cases with defendants' penned lyrics as evidence of their criminal mindedness. Similar to the belief of violent video games, there is violence throughout popular culture and some people get overly singled out compared to others. Social psychologist, Carrie B Fried said that "the perception of violence in rap music lyrics is affected by larger societal perceptions and stereotypes of African- Americans." Lyrics in rap music are judged more harshly than the same lyrics presented in country music. Identical lyrics seem more violent when featured in rap, perhaps because of the association of rap with stereotypes of African Americans. Critics of hip hop tend to intercept lyrics literally and as a direct reflection of the artist who performs them. For example. rappers are often perceived as thugs. They use "causal analysis," that hip hop creates violence to justify more police in black communities, more prisons to accommodate larger numbers of black and brown young people and more censorship of expression. Source