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Marissa Sanchez
Professor Fealy
English 1A
Essay # 3/ Evaluation
May 3, 2011
The Bad Rep on Rap
Last month I was in the horrible 3 O’clock traffic on the 91 freeway. The traffic was at a
standstill due to a big rig crash, I sat in the car with my boyfriend without anything to do, so I
decided to turn on Pandora which is an online radio. As I browsed through the various radio
stations a very catchy beat caught my ear. As I listened to the lyrics closely I was shocked to
what I was hearing. I asked my boyfriend what type of music I was listening to and he said,
“Rap”. Rap music has changed over time, altering its form around the early 1980s. Early rap
artists, such as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, crafted lyrics about inner-city life. Early
rappers were regarded as storytellers, disturbers of the peace, and cultural historians who were
testifying to the lived experiences of urban blacks during a period of political backlash, urban
neglect, and stigmatization as a criminal underclass. But throughout the years rap music has
evolved tremendously. Artist such as Too Short, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Bone Thugs and
Harmony, Tu-Pac among other artist have produced heavily negative music that condones
negative activities. This new rap does not follow the original merit that many original rappers
inspired to display. Along with the music there are the infamous music videos that can be
watched on popular television music shows such as MTV, VHI, BET, and as well as in the web.
Rap music has enjoyed tremendous popularity in the last two decades, becoming one of the
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most dominant forms of popular culture. As I continue to sit in traffic and listen to the rap song,
I wonder why anyone would want to listen to such appalling music.
Another reason why Rap is so terrible is due to the violence. Many rappers come from
urban parts of America and the ghetto and are part of gangs. Also rappers form feuds with
other rappers who claim opposing coasts. This is all true in the case of Tu-Pac Shakur and Biggie
Small who where rappers back in the 90’s. Tu-Pac claimed the west coast, whereas Biggie
Smalls claimed the east coast; their feud was displayed in their lyrics where they slandered each
other and what they claimed. According to Gwen Hunnicutt “Tu- Pac’s and Biggies feud had
gone too far for way too long, the frustration led to both of their deaths” (Hunnicutt 1). Their
death can essentially be associated with gang association because gang’s are based on one
group claiming a particular street or neighborhood. The opposite gang and the consequences of
them not agreeing with each other leads to homicide. According to Jeff Lead of the New York
Times, “Rappers exploit violence and sexism for profit” (Leeds 2).
Music videos are a significant part of Rap. Money plays a big role in music videos.
Rappers flaunt everything that they presume to have due to their success of their rapping
career, but in reality the mansions, expensive cars, money, and the beautiful women is not the
realty that they live in. The mansions and the cars are either borrowed or rented for the day.
The massive amount of money that they flash in the music videos does not exist and the
women are higher for the day to be eye candy for the audience. This false life that is displayed
in music videos is thought to be real by fans of rap especially those who admire to be like them.
They believe one day if they are rappers they will too have the cars, mansion, money and
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women because of the altered dream that rappers portray in their videos. Moreover, music
videos at times are very pornographic According to Kandel Leeds “The song Tip Dril by the
Rapper Nelly was released in 2004 which stirred up some controversy especially with the
women of Spelman College. They said that the video was degrading to women and were very
upset for how much air time the video was receiving. The main part of the video that they were
upset about was when Nelly swipes a credit card through the buttocks of a female stripper”
(Katel 2). Videos like Tip Dril can be easily accessed by anyone who wishes to watch them. Than
can even be reached by children by looking online in popular sites such as You Tube and Vevo.
A major problem with Rap music is the lyrics. Hidden behind catchy beats exist negative
lyrics that promote substance abuse. According to Hunnicutt, Gwen, and Kristy Humble Andrews
“Too often, however, rap music contains lyrics with negative messages that promote and
condone the illegal or high-risk use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs” (Hunnicutt 1). Young
rap fans listen to Rap artistic rap about smoking weed and using other forms of drugs;
therefore, kids who may not have guidance in their lives view substance use as something cool.
Songs that promote such activity include “The Weed Song” by Bone-Thugs and Harmony,
“Smoke Some Weed” by Ice-Cube, and “Pussy, Money, Weed” by Lil Wayne. The song names
speak for themselves the primary purpose of these songs is the use and approval of the use of
marijuana. Many young listeners admire and emulate rappers. They figure if someone famous
on television uses drugs it is okay for them to use as well. Moreover, the lyrics also include
profanity. Rap music carelessly uses the words ‘bitch,’ ‘ho,’ and the N-word in their raps. In the
popular song by Too Short “Gangsters and Strippers” he raps “From the weeds house straight
to the strip club I need get a bitch and get my dick sucked. All I fuck is gangsters and
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strippers….” Such appalling lyrics are heard by many fans and repeated too. Fans of rap will
notice that in every other rap line exist profanity and the N-word. Jeff Leeds explains in his
article “There is a consensus that there is something really wrong with black people using these
words with such glee, meanwhile supporting the billion-dollar industry that wallows in it”
(Leeds 1). As long as fans continue to buy rap albums rap artists will continue to fill their lyrics
with indecent words that offend women and blacks. According to Michel Marriot of the New
York Times writes in his article Rap’s Embrace of ‘Nigger’ Fires Bitter Debate “For the last
several years, rap artists have increasingly used "nigger" in their lyrics, repackaging it and selling
it not just to their own inner-city neighborhoods but to the largely white suburbs. In his song
"Straight Up Nigga," Ice-T raps , "I'm a nigga in America, and that much I flaunt," and indeed, a
large portion of his record sales are in white America” (Marriot 1). In rap music, a genre in
which millions of listeners adopt the artists' style and language, "nigger" is virtually
interchangeable with words like guy and man. The casual use of these words makes it okay to
use for anyone which is a wrong message to send to the listeners.
Throughout history, music has been used to express a range of emotions, as well as to
influence, educate, and inspire. But Rap music has taken the idea of expression too far to where
it is insulting. It no longer influences listeners in a positive way; it condones negative activity
and use of bad language. Rap music contains inappropriate, offensive, and violent lyrics as well
as pornographic music videos. Rap has slowly but surely has increased its fan base from black
inner city kids to the white suburbs. But why would anyone want to listen to this type of music.
Rap lyrics are creating a negative influence on young adults especially those who inspire to be a
Rapper one day.
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Work Cited
Hunnicutt, Gwen, and Kristy Humble Andrews. "Tragic Narratives in Popular Culture: Depictions
of Homicide in Rap Music." Sociological Forum 24.3 (2009): 611-630. Academic Search Premier.
EBSCO. Web. 3 May 2011.
Katel, Peter. "Debating Hip-Hop." CQ Researcher 15 June 2007: 529-52. Web. 3 May 2011.
LEEDS, JEFF. "Hearing Focuses on Language and Violence in Rap Music." New York Times, The
(NY) 26 Sep. 2007, Late Edition - Final, National Desk: 24. NewsBank. Web. 3 May. 2011.
Marriot, Michel. “Rap 's Embrace of 'Nigger' Fires Bitter Debate.” New York Times, The (NY) 13
May 2009, Americas Newspaper. Web. 1 May 2011.