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Diamond Brown
Ms. McNeil
English 1102-215
11 April 2013
The Influence on Rap Music
How long has music been in existence? Where did it come? Who performed the first
song? These are questions that have been asked at one point in time? According to many biblical
texts, angels were “singing music” before the creation of Earth, life and mankind altogether.
Regardless of your religious affiliation, it is nearly impossible to date back the first creation of
music. We may never know how it began, but we can definitely use our history to describe and
analyze the way it has affected our society. As participants in an everyday life, we live a world
that relies heavily on the musical melodies and the collaborations of sounds. Whether it be
humming a lullaby to a young child or producing the background music for the sounds in a news
production. We are surrounded by music all of our lives. Music is also a therapeutic tool used by
many, especially slaves during the slavery times in America. It is also a way of expressing
feelings, beliefs and even political views. With such a powerful tool, societies today fear that it
has too much of an influence on its community and youth. Society would like to say that music
has a larger influence on a community rather than the other way around. I have read articles from
three authors that define a specific and impactful genre of music, Rap, and describe how
America and the South in particular have impacted the genre. Author Maurice L. Johnson II,
analyzes the historical origins of the Rap and Hip-Hop genre. Author Matt Miller from Emory
University, explores and describes the “Dirty South” in between years 1994 and 2007. In article
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“Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban Youth through Engaging Hip-Hop Culture”, both
authors Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade compare the relationship between
Rap music and the academic environment. Altogether, the authors share the history of Rap music
as well as the influence the Southern community has on it and vice. versa, whether it be positive
or negative.
Rap music is a genre branched off of the Hip-Hop genre. Johnson II states his view on the
genre that “the lyrical content in rap music ultimately shifts with the global and domestic
circumstances during a particular era, as Rap music has always been a reflection of American
society and its effect on African-Americans in urban communities” (9). Johnson narrows into the
academia and realizes that are very few papers that critically examine the cultural norms of HipHop, let alone narrower topic of Rap music (9). According to Jeffrey O.G. Ogbar in 1996, artists
like Jay-Z, Outkast, Nas, and Tupac Shakur shaped the lyrical content of Hip Hop artists for
years to come (Johnson II 11). MC’s mainly base their Rap content from the socioeconomic
conditions of their communities just as an artist in either New York or Los Angeles would. A
New York artist’s content will contain social issues such as Black Nationalist and socially
conscious themed-type of rap music and a Los Angeles artist’s might contain content that shifts
towards gang violence and culture (which submerged into a subgenre called Gangsta rap)
(Johnson II 11). Based off of Johnson’s opinion on the lyrical content, it is safe to say that events
in the everyday world inspire the work from Rap music.
The South in particular has undergone a multitude of social issue changes such as four
hundred years of slavery and the racial discrimination of Black Americans before the Civil
Rights era in the 70’s. Just as Johnson states in his article that rap contents evolves from the
social activities that happen in a community in a certain era, the South developed a Rap culture
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of its own. In Miller’s article the "Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the U.S. South, 1997–2007”, he
digs into the Southern rap community known as the “Dirty South” which focuses more on deep
Southern cultures in several Southern States (Miller). The rap duo, Goodie Mob, emerged with
the Dirty South concept in 1994 and other Southern producers in major cities in the South
(Miller). According to Miller, “this multidimensionality encompassed ideas of a racist,
oppressive, white South historically continuous with slavery; a 'down-home' black South marked
by distinctive speech and cultural practices; a sexually libidinous South; a rural, bucolic South; a
lawless, criminal South; and a sophisticated urban South” (Miller). In describing the Dirty South,
Miller describes a community that richly embraces their southern values and uses the idea of
"dirtiness" to imbue a form of southern authenticity in their raps (Miller). Both authors, Johnson
and Miller, emphasize that rap music is greatly influence from society altogether.
In today’s Rap community, Rappers underestimate the power influence their lyrical
message sends to the youth. Authors Ernest Morrell and Jeffrey M. R. Duncan-Andrade unite the
relationship between rap music and the youth’s academics in their article “Promoting Academic
Literacy with Urban Youth through Engaging Hip-Hop Culture”. They believe that Rap and HipHop can be used as a linking bridge between the streets and the world of academics (Morrell and
Duncan-Andrade 89). Seeming as though Rap music is a very influential genre, regardless of the
explicit content it normally produces, Rappers can be used to influence the mindset as they do
now. Though states in the South are generally known as rural, they are also becoming more
urban and industrialized, meaning the cities are producing an urban youth. Due to the positioning
of Hip-hop as a genre of poetry written in response to post- industrialism, the professionals
interviewed in the article believed that concept was something the students were able to relate to
(Morrell and Duncan-Andrade 91). The social issue many schools are facing today in the cities in
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the South and other places are the overwhelming teacher and student ratio. According to the
Digest of Education Statistic, it forecasts that during the next decade, “the number of ethnic
minority teachers will shrink to five percent, while the enrollment of ethnic minority children in
America’s schools will grow to 41 percent” (Morrell and Duncan-Andrade 88). Apparently,
teachers and school facilities face the greatest challenge for finding ways to forging meaningful
relationships with students that come from various backgrounds. Authors Johnson, Miller and
authors Morrell and Duncan-Andrade understand the important impact the rap community has on
the community and as the community has and impact on it.
Rap music is a popular genre of music enjoyed by people from all over. As the artist uses
his or her lyrical message and combines the rhythm of his or her preference, that artists shares his
or her experience with whoever will listen. All three authors understand the great power that rap
music has and impact it has on the youth and the community itself. We also have to remember
that rap music evolved from socioeconomic issues in Black America. Author Maurice L.
Johnson II carefully defines what Rap music is in his article. He lets the reader know that Rap
music isn’t just a collaboration of sounds but a genre of music that expresses its thoughts on a
particular issue. In Matt Miller’s article, he goes as far to say that Rap is also just another way to
express love for one’s community. He uses the Dirty South as an example in the Southern Rap
community. Together, both authors are aware that Rap music begins with Society, not the other
way around. From both text, it is understood that society has a larger influence on the Rap and
Hip-Hop culture. In Morrell and Duncan-Andrade’s article, it is understood that Rap music has a
large impact on the community and the youth in general. Using the Hip-Hop culture derived
from poetry, the professionals in the article believe that Rap music can improve the student’s
performance. With the South quickly growing and urbanizing, it is understood in Morrell and
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Duncan-Andrade’s article that Rap music is becoming a significantly large influence on the
youth especially in the South. The authors see the direction of influence differently but are
completely aware of how powerful the events in a community can impact something as simple as
music.
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Work Cited Page
Johnson II, Maurice, "A Historical Analysis: The Evolution of Commercial Rap Music" (2011).
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 3486. Web. 01 Apr. 2013
Miller, Matt. "Dirty Decade: Rap Music and the U.S. South, 1997–2007." Southern Spaces
(2008): n. pag. 10 June 2008. Web. 02 Apr. 2013
Morrell, Ernest, and Jeffery M.R. Duncan-Andrade. "Promoting Academic Literacy with Urban
Youth through Engaging Hip-Hop Culture." The English Journal 91.6 (2002): 88-92.
JSTOR.org. Web. 01 Apr. 2013