Hip hop originated in the South Bronx of New York City in the 1970s but hip hop has greatly changed since its birth. Hip hop is now apart of the mainstream music scene but the artists still don't want the audiences to forget where it came from and the culture associated with it. People have many different problems in their lives and their reactions are all different. Some of them prefer to talk about these problems directly; some choose another way that is indirectly, such as music. Hip hop is a reaction for artists to show what happens in their lives, their childhood, where they live, etc. The rappers in the hip hop scene are predominately black and the lyrics they write show that. They all make sure to rep their hometown, their hood, and their culture. A good example showing this is B.O.B.'s "The Kids". It talks about how he grew up and how hip hop is associated with all the kids still in his hometown. He makes sure to mention that the kids are black and reps his race and identity. He mentions how the kids are held back due to race and because he broke out of the poverty, he needs to help them.
Another way that rappers rep their race and identity is to flat out say it. Chief Keef brags in most of his songs about being from the ghetto and how he is the definition of black culture. In his song "Love Sosa", the whole time is he bragging about how awesome he is and what he can do. He talks about his experiences in life in all of his songs. He talks about going to jail, bitches, guns, drugs, sex, etc. He ensures to audiences he is the culture of hip hop. He lives, breaths, and loves it.
Wiz Khalfia is yet another example of how artists in the hip hop genre rep their race. In a lot of his songs especially "Thuggin" and "Nothin' Like The Rest" he talks about his normal day. He talks about the money did not change his culture only improved it. He talks about smoking and drinking with n* all the time. He mentions that word many times in most of his songs which shows ho he deciders to rep his race.
On the flip side, a good example Eminem is a great example of a rapper that does not rep his race. He makes sure to rep his identity and associate it with where and how he grew up, but he does mention being white all that often. He prefers to stay away from that aspect of the hip hop culture. I find it particularly interesting that he is such a big name in hip hop and is white.
I do associate hip hop with black culture, which I know is not always true. Artists in the hip hop industry make sure to acknowledge their race and identity in a lot of their songs. It is apart of the hip hop culture and most rappers love to rep it.
All throughout hop hop you will find every artist, in one way or another, talking about where they're from or the hood they grew up in. It has become a way for artists to represent their location, gain respect for their hood, or a way to 'put their city on the map. It's almost an alpha male type of trait where these hip hop artists claim their territories and want it to be heard and respected in the world of hop hop. You probably know where a lot of artists are from just from listening to their songs doing no research whatsoever. For example Big Sean always says "D-Town" or mentions Detroit in his raps. Wiz Khalifa often represents Pittsburgh with songs like "black and yellow" which shows his love for his city and it's football team (Pittsburgh Steelers). He also claims his city with some of his early songs like "Pittsburgh sound". There are many song examples to name like young joc's "put on for my city", Kendrick Lamar and Doctor Dre's "The Recipe", or even NWA's "straight outta Compton".
But there are other ways artists represent their location and territory.
For example ASAP Rocky and his mob who came out into the game with this new Harlem World trend, with a 'trill' style and new fashion.Or even artists like Chief Keef who constantly rep their area (Chicago) and basically bases most of his music through experiences in his hood. He frequently mentions blocks or gangs he is affiliated with. Common terms used by him like "O Block" "GBE" and "OTF" represent these things.
Not only does location play an important role in hip hop artists, but the importance of culture and totem play a large factor as well.
Like mentioned earlier this year in class, west side rappers were more known to be rapping about a laid back, ghetto, and partying type lifestyle with funky beats and a more mellow tone. On the other hand, east coast rappers were more into harder drugs, fashion, glamour, and living the lavish mafia lifestyle. I feel that similar cultural lifestyles can still be seen in today's world of hip hop. If you compare the works of some of today's west coast rappers like Kendrick Lamar and schoolboy q, who are both out of Compton, to some of today's east coast rappers like ASAP Rocky, Jay Z, and French Montana, you can see the big differences. The Rappers out of the east mainly rap about materialistic things and can be seen in their videos wearing hella gold chains or a plentiful amount of diamonds. Songs like "Fashion Killa" or " Angels" by ASAP Rocky portray this 'trill' era that may be arising in the northeast which contain a lot of gold chains and specifically all gold teeth.
But on the west coast, Kendrick Lamar and Schoolboy a mainly rap about other topics not concerning anything materialistic. You'd never catch them wearing golds in their mouth. Songs like "The Recipe" Kendrick explains his love for Compton and California. He says he would never leave because of how good the weed is, how nice the women are there, and how immaculate the weather is all the time. He gives a more down to earth topic compared to some of the east coast rappers I just mentioned.
You could even throw the south in the mix of hip hop cultures. You could throw in Atlanta and northern parts of Florida into the 'dirty south' culture which could be represented by songs like "Southern Hospitality" by Ludacris, or Outkast's whole album Aquemini which basically gives off very southern style sound and culture.
Essentially, location and culture give artists their own identity and style in the world of hip hop. It shapes their rapping flow, beats,song content,lifestyle, and even fashion.
In hip-hop, race and identity are two very dominant factors. They are what make hip-hop what it is. This reality can be good and bad. Hip-hop is a predominantly African American genre and has given many individuals the opportunity to find their identity. With that said, the emergence of rappers with different racial backgrounds caused some commotion in the hip-hop world and caused certain songs to come to fruition. The rapper that is obviously the poster child for this is Eminem. Eminem, although white, came from the trailer parks of Detroit, Michigan's eight mile road. He had, so you can say, "street cred", but his skin was still white. So, when he began his hip-hop career, there was naturally critical feedback and opinions. He, like many rap artists, wrote songs about his struggles in trying to do what every other African American rapper was doing without being called out for it. In his song, "White America", he did just that.
In this song, Eminem spoke about the constant criticism he received for his profanity and overall stories. He said he could not understand why he got called out for his music when other rappers did not. He felt like he was being discriminated against and held up to a different standard simply because he was white. On the contrary, Dr. Dre, he said, was one of the only people who looked past his race and saw him as the great rapper that he was and still is. It is a shame that it was a risk to sign a white rapper, but it seems as if Dr. Dre, the person who did not limit one's abilities due to race, is reaping the benefits now.
Another controversial artist that fits perfectly into race and identity, is Macklemore. He is not only white, but has had many critics question whether or not his music was hip-hop. He has been lumped into the category of wannabe rappers and said to fit in more with popular music. Yes, his music is very popular and he may not have raps about how hard the hood life was, but when has hip-hop ever been limited to just those topics. Hip-hop's identity is speaking about issues that the artist feels they need to bring awareness to. That may be sex, drugs, or living in the hood. For Macklemore, it was LGBT rights. In his song, "Same Love", Macklemore raised awareness to the discrimination towards the gay community.
It was said by many critics that he was representing a community he was not a part of and they were right! He is not gay; who knew? With that said, he was not trying to write this song to say that struggling with the repercussions of being gay was part of his identity, but rather, he was trying to shine a light on a hot topic across America and the world. Although Macklemore did not receive as much criticism for his skin color, he did receive criticism for what he decided to rap about. My belief in hip-hop, and any genre for that matter, is if you feel like you have something to say, who is going to stop you? You do not have to be in the mess to talk about the mess. If we limit music through factors such as race and identity, we are limiting the amount of art that could be created.
I had no other way of contacting you guys, so I'm making a blog. Is anyone willing to switch conference times with me for an earlier day before Thursday. My conference is on Thursday at 5:20. It would really help me out alot so let me know.
