Why Does Hip-Hop Receive Such a Bad Rap?

For some people, when hip-hop comes to mind, one immediately thinks about blinged-out rappers, women in skimpy clothing, and sexually expletive lyrics. On the other hand, others may associate hip-hop with fast paced beats, intricate dance steps or even Black pride. Hip-hop was born in the grimy streets of the Bronx New York in the 1970s and has taken the nation by storm since then. Although many ask, how did we go from N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude) to Souljah Boy? What happened to hip-hop music inspiring and uplifting others instead of criticizing? These questions have sparked many debates among the intellectuals in America; however, most of them fail to realize a very important detail. The word hip-hop and rap are used synonymously and because the words are used as such, it is shown in a negative light. In addition, it's seen in a negative light because of the commercialism, misogyny, and crude lyrics and as a result, hip-hop gets all the blame.

Many think that hip-hop is simply a genre of music; however, many fail to recognize that hip-hop is not just a type of music; it is also a culture. Hip-hop began as outdoor party music, but, more importantly, it was an outlet for impoverished youth living in New York City. In the hip-hop culture, there are four basic elements: deejaying, graffiti art, breaking or break dancing, and the most widely known element, emceeing. Emceeing involves someone that raps to "inspire people with well written, crisply-delivered, clear and concise lyrics," writes Irvin Painter, author of Creating Black Americans. While hip-hop was still growing in New York City, the element of emceeing was developing as well. Still keeping to its roots, rap music was born in the same birthplace as its predecessor; however, many attribute the spread of hip-hop culture to the growth of rap music. "Rap music is the most widely circulated aspect of hip-hop culture, in large part because music can easily be mechanically reproduced in studios and sold for profit," wrote Painter. The other elements, such as graffiti or break dancing is much more difficult to reproduce than emceeing/rapping.

Although many today know rap music as materialistic, shallow, or detrimental to adolescent development, rap music was not always seen as such. Rap music swept the nation by storm through the melodic beats and intricate style of "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979. However, because of its success, it showed the moneymaking ability of rap music. Hip-hop, along with the element emceeing (known as rapping in today's society), started out as an innocent art form. Once emceeing was seen as a profitable market, the corruption started. Although many attribute the spread of hip-hop culture to the growth of rap music it came at a steep price.

Rapper Ice Cube, whose lyrics talked about life in the hood, once said: "We call ourselves underground street reporters. We just tell it how we see it, nothing more, nothing less." However, in today's day and age, that prospect has completely changed. Rap in the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, used to talk about police brutality, violence, and how the "hood really is." However, today's rap music now follows a simple formula: material objects plus woman in skanky clothing plus lyrics that have no lyrical content means success in the "rap game." A current example of this would be Lil' Wayne's 2008 hit called "Lollipop." The song is lyrically crude; however, it was one of the most successful songs in 2008. It was also a part of his album that sold more than a million copies in a week (his album was also Grammy nominated). While singing about sexual relations, flashing his Hummer limousine with a cup of hard liquor in his right hand and an almost naked woman in his left hand, Lil' Wayne has been considered to be the king of the Rap game.

Final Thought: Hip-hop follows the concept of "one bad apple spoils the bunch" because rap is only one part of hip-hop. Rap involves emceeing and is therefore a part of the culture of hip-hop. "Often the terms "rap music," and "hip-hop, and "gangsta rap" are used synonymously, while closely related, each has a distinct meaning. Hip-hop refers to a cultural movement among African-American youth that has influenced styles of clothing, music and other forms of entertainment. Rap music has its roots in African tradition of speaking rhythmically to a beat generally supplied by background music. However, since people lack the knowledge that hip-hop and rap are separate, people use hip-hop and rap synonymously and society automatically assumes that hip-hop is "dead." I do not know about everyone else, but I am waiting for the day when I hear tracks like "Can I Kick It?" by A Tribe Called Quest or "I Used to Love Her" by Common. But until that day, hip-hop is waiting for someone to redeem its name.