February 20, 2001
ENC 1102- Saba
Why Rap Music is Popular Among Teenagers
In terms of popularity, rap music has come a long way from when it first
started. Rap music is more than just a type of music, it has its own style and
attitude. You can see someone walking down the street and know if they like rap
just by the way they walk, talk, and dress. That is rap’s attitude and style. No one
will tell you that rap music isn’t popular, but what someone might ask is why?
Most adults think that rap music is all about murder, sex, and drugs. If you listen
to some of rap music’s contemporary lyrics, you might conclude that rap does deal
with these issues. However, if you take the time to really listen to the music, you
might be able to hear what rap artists are really trying to say. Then you will find
why rap has attracted so many fans around the world. Rap is about more than just
violence, sex, and drugs. The reason why rap’s popularity keeps growing is that it
deals with three issues that are important to teenagers: respect from others, coping
with life, and friendship. Rap is a form of expression. Like poetry, to fully
understand rap music, you have to “read between the lines.” Through rap music,
rap artists are able to express their thoughts and feelings about life.
We delude ourselves if we continue the pretense that rap is
simply the noisy funk of African-American thugs. The real
truth is that rap is poetry, some of it brilliant, some as lyrical
as the best of Wordsworth. Much of it is introspective, and
all of it records a slice of life in contemporary Black America
(Maxwell).
Most teenagers like rap music because of the lyrics. However, there are
some people that like rap because of the beat in a song. To make a rap song, you
need a disc jockey to provide the beat and a lyricist to rap. Some teenagers are
fascinated by the beat in a song; that is where hip-hop comes from. Rap and hiphop are the same except that hip-hop has a beat that allows you to dance to the
song. The majority of the people, however, listen to rap because they can relate to
the lyrics. Gabriel Rodriguez states “Even though some songs talk about killing
people and I don’t do that kind of stuff, there’s at least one line in every song that I
can relate to. For example, in Fat Joe’s song ‘John Blaze’, he raps about killing
people but he also states how through hard work, he rose from a life of poverty.”
“Sometimes I’m in my car listening to a [rap] song about something and it’s like
[the rap artist] put what I feel into words and made the song,” says Mark Linares.
One of the most important issues that rappers deal with in their songs is
having respect from other people. If you don’t have respect, people are going to
walk all over you throughout your whole life. Whether male or female, we don’t
want to be disrespected. Rap artists have earned their respect by being able to
succeed by means other than murder and robbery, despite growing up in a poor
and dangerous neighborhood. Rap artist Nelly states in a song he wrote for his
mother how he was able to make it to the top without resolving to violence or
drug-dealing:
Hey Ma how you doing it’s your son now
And I picked up the [microphone] and put the drugs down
Trying to do things that will make you proud
Instead of every time I called was to bail me out
Most rap artists come from the streets. Through rap, they are able to tell their
story. In spite of all the obstacles that this world put in front of them, they rose
above it and made it to the top. Teenagers want to do the same. Life is like an
obstacle course. You have to overcome the problems at hand but you also have to
anticipate what lies ahead. The Lox is a rap group who based their first album on
the term:
Money, power, respect
It’s the key to life
Money, power, respect
What you need in life
Jose Merino Sr. states “In this world, you always have to have respect from
everyone; your friends, family, co-workers, etc.”
Another important issue to teenagers is life. Life is the main topic of all rap
artists; rap songs are mostly biographical. Life is not easy; to have anything in this
world, you have to work for it. Unless you were brought into this world rich,
you’re going to have to work for the things you want. Rap artists talk about how
life was for them growing up in the ghettos of America. They talk about the
struggle that they endured day in and day out in order to rise above poverty. I
wasn’t born poor but I certainly wasn’t born rich. That’s the case for most
teenagers. We have come to realize that this world is not friendly and that we
have to put in the effort if we want to succeed. That is one reason why we like rap
music. We can relate to the lyrics because we too struggle day in and day out so
that we can have all the things we want to have. With school, parents, and peer
pressure on our shoulders, we deal with stress everyday and try out best to
overcome the hardships of this world. Tupac Shakur is a well-known and
controversial rap artist whose lyrics are offensive but he talks about the struggle
that people face everyday.
With all this extra stressin
The question I wonder is after death, after my last breath
When will I finally get to rest? Through this suppression
They punish the people that’s askin questions
And those that possess, steal from the ones without possessions
The message I stress: to make it stop study your lessons
Don’t settle for less-even the genius asks questions
Be grateful for blessings
Don’t ever change, keep your essence
The power is in the people and politics we address
Always do your best, don’t let the pressure make you panic
And when you get stranded
And things don’t go the way you planed it
Dreamin of riches, in a position of making a difference
Politicians and hipocrites, they don’t wanna listen
Tupac Shakur on “Me Against the World”
Lastly, the most important thing to teenagers in this world is having a
friend. I’m not talking about people you talk to and get along with; I’m talking
about people who will be there when you need someone. Even in the toughest
situations, a true friend will do whatever it takes to keep you from falling. This
world is full of people who convince you that they will be with every step of the
way, but when the road gets bumpy, they’re the first people to abandon you.
Almost every rap artist makes at least one song in which he talks about the value
of friendship. I think the reason they do that is because they have probably
encountered people who were their friends but money, greed, or envy changed
them. This is my main reason for listening to rap music. I can relate to them
because in my life, I’ve met a lot of people that were two-face. People that make
you believe they’re your friends but in the end, they stab you in the back. DMX
a.k.a. Earl Simmons is a rap artist who has made several songs about his friends
and when I hear these lyrics, I can relate to every word.
I’m gonna be the one behind just to keep you on your toes
I be your extra eyes and hold you down around you foes
I be your extra gun you need me let me know
For my dogs I be the first to cock it back and let it go
They do it for the dough me I do it for the love
You my nigga to the death so I treat you like my blood
If push come to shove and they try to send you back to the street
I give my last to put you back on your feet, feel me
DMX on “For My Dogs”
Rap music deals with issues that are relevant to teenagers. We don’t expect
adults to understand our music because we know that they have other things to
worry about. Rap music is popular among teenagers because it is music from our
generation. About twenty years ago when adults were in our shoes, the issues they
dealt with were the Vietnam War and other things that gave rise to music, which
were relevant to those issues. We don’t listen to that music because it is not
relevant to us. In the future, rap music probably won’t be popular with my kids
because new music will rise which will probably be relevant to that generation.
Works Cited
1. Linares, Mark. Personal Interview 12 February 2000
2. Maxwell, Bill “Rap music has taken a place in the house of poetry” St.
Petersburg Times. April 19, 2000
3. Merino, Jose Sr. Personal Interview 23 September 1999
4. Rodriguez, Gabriel. Personal Interview 15 February 2001
5. Shakur, Tupac “Me Against the World” Death Row Records. 1994
6. Simmons, Earl “It’s Dark and Hell is Hot” Def Jam Records. 1998