Has Hip-Hop made a positive impact on African-Americans or has it been harmful to the Black culture?

Question

What is it about hip-hop nowadays that make it dead? Why is it consider harmful and how come, if it is harmful, that Hip-Hop artists are not doing anything about it?

Answer 1

This is my opinion and it's strictly an opinion. Please forgive the spelling and grammar errors.

There are both sides to this issue. The hip hop that you hear on today's mainstream media has definitely been dumbed-down and subjected to where certain topics sell, and they're doing this for the purpose of selling because the people demand it.

I personally have stopped listening to today's hip hop, rap and r&b because the same old subjects and the same old images are used over and over. It's always about sex, violence, murdering, crime, beefing another rapper/singer or rapping about having possessions that they are only RENTING OR BORROWING FOR IMAGE PURPOSES. I mean those issues are important to talk about, but I don't think they are reasons to dance to or feel good about listening just because they look good, sound good or the music's good. If a rapper refers to women as bitches and/hoes, a female fan of that rapper will say to herself, "They ain't talkin about me." Well, what logical explanation is there to refute that woman from being in that category? There is none, but to her, she will still support that rapper. What sense does that make? No matter what, she and other "blind" women (and men) will still support his music and he will continue to deliver because that's what the people will listen to. To them positive or socially conscious music or entertainment doesn't keep it real, but these rappers and singers who rap about the things they (possibly) don't have, can't give or haven't been through are keeping it real. What sense does that make?

The answer is that it doesn't have to make sense because it SELLS, and over time, the more you listen or watch that kind of stuff, not only will you embrace those images but you will eventually become those images.

The blame also rest with the parents who are irresponsible to teach their children right and wrong and what's real and what's fake. Children are impressionable and what they see, over time they will become. If they don't get it from the mainstream media with BET, VH1 and MTV, they will get it from the streets if the parents don't step up and take back their children. This kind of "entertainment" can have a great affect on a little or big kid. Take a look at the webpages on blackplanet, myspace and others. You have women with pictures of their booties and you have men posing as though they are hard and thuggish.

Also, these rappers and some singers don't realize that eventually, a lot of people will say to themselves, "You know? I'm tired of listening to this and watching these kinds of videos." Some of them have no idea that they will never be as rich as the guys at the very top if they don't know how to manage and invest their money let alone rap about other things in from other perspectives. Energy drinks, shoes and clothing are great, BUT there are other things.

Lastly, hip hop lives underground. There's a rapper called NY OIL who made a song against mainstream rappers and is not so much as getting or looking rich as to getting the message out as to why embrace the images and lyrics as they are presented as if we are supposed to embrace our disgrace. If you want to check him out, his page is: www.myspace.com/NYOIL.

I sometimes think that the images of blacks in some of the mainstream networks of BET, MTV and VH1 are nothing more than the minstrel shows of the past redone. It's a shame that not enough people see it like that.

Answer 2

I Don't Think It's Influential. If A Kid Listens To It And Tries To Imitate The Lyrics, Then I Think That's Where The Parents Failed As Parents. You Know What I Mean!? If A Lyric Said Something Like. Smoke This And Shoot At This Or Shoot At That And Smoke This, And The Dumbass Kid Actually Does What The Lyric Says, That's Where The Parents Failed To Teach The Kid Right From Wrong Or If It's A Grown *** Person That Grown Person Just Isn't Mature Enough Or Doesn't Have That Mentality For Someone Their Age, Know What I Mean?? I've Been Listening To It Since Kriss Kross Came Out With "Jump, Since Naughty By Nature Came Out With "O.P.P" And I Haven't Shot Or Done Drugs. Hell, I Don't Smoke AT ALL!!!!! And People Blaming The Music Wether It's Rock, Rap, Country, Jazz, Whatever. Have They Ever Stopped To Think About The Way That Kid Was Brought Up?? The Way That Grown Person Lives?? The People They Kick It With??? C'mon, Why Does It Have To Be About The Music?? Why Do People Blame It On Hip-Hop!?!?? That Ain't Right!!

Answer 3

I LOVE HIP-HOP!! And it's NOT HARMFUL TOWARDS ANY CULTURE! Only weak minded people who stand for nothing will fall for anything they see on t.v. or read in the magazines. That's why when something in someone's life doesn't go very well at all, they turn and say it's the music artist fault when really it's there own. The music artist didn't put a gun to their heads and say do this so your life can come out crappy. I think IGNORANT parents and individuals who cannot take responsibility for their or their children's actions are looking for a "scape goat". Since they're not smart enough or too fragile to get a handle on their own problems, they look towards Rap, the BLACK COMMUNITY, and anything African American related to put the blame on. Who the heck said that 'ANYTHING RELATED TO THE BLACK CULTURE WAS A BAD THING"?

Answer 4

Some hip hop is positive, but then you got the hip hop that's degrading to women and to the black culture in general. The problem with hip hop is it's just turned stale, everybody doing the same sound and what not. I don't think hip hop is dead though I think it's going through a dry spell and someone go pull it together and put the positive back into hip hop.

Answer 5

I think that there are a lot of hip hop artists that have had great positive impacts on African-Americans and the US in general. Public Enemy, Mos Def, Wyclef, NAS just to name a few. Those artists bring positive messages to communities that are bound by negativity that has nothing to do with music.
Poor communities were plagued by economic issues, violence, and drugs long before the advent of hip-hop and it will likely continue. Artists like the ones I mentioned above can help to inspire downtrodden communities and put a focus on the roots of its problems so outsiders can gain an understanding.
Right now, main stream hip-hop is "dead" cause most of the artists know they can make it rich by copying others and having catchy hooks. Rock music has gone through the same thing. Still hip hop has brought black culture to all of the US. Just listen to that song "honky tonk badonkadonk". The culture is even influencing hicks!
If your looking for good rap, listen to underground hip hop artists, cause those are the ones who focus on the art and the people.

Answer 6

The hip hop culture perpetuates a stereotype of how black people are. A lot of racist use this to generalize the entire race.

Hip hop is the advertiser's dream, for a cut of the pie, they have these music execs to put the these rims, clothing and send out the message if you want to be cool, then you have to have these things.

It is hurting our pockets because many people fall into the trap. It in itself is deceitful, the hip hop industry makes it look like you are buying from black owned business but that is not at all the case. Big business is behind it.

I hope that it is dead. It has served no positive influence for our community.

Answer 7

I think hip-hop has a positive and negative impact on the community. For it's listeners, it is a form of catharsis. Hip hop also represents the American dream of how people who come from poorer urban backgrounds can be successful. However, emphasis is sometimes placed in street credability making it seem that the poorer the conditions, the stronger the validity of your music.

Hip hop also has negative affects on by standers, those who don't listen to hip hop. Because of it's lyrics, people think that what's bein said in the songs actually shape people's behavior. This can be true for any genre, however, the violence among minorities and in urban areas cannot solely be caused by musical lyrics.

That's what I think. Music is a form of catharsis. But the lyrics seems to be a represenation of the artist and his/her ethnic background.

Answer 8

rap, as opposed to hip hop, has made a definite impact on cultures across the board. you can see it in fashion, language and attitudes. real hip hop has always had a positive spin to it. uplifting in it's message. rap is based primarily on the negative and should not be confused with hip hop.

Answer 9

There has been both positive and negative in Hip-Hop. Da positive is that it gives a voice to young black people, tells of struggle and overcoming it. But da negative is all this *** shakin in da videos and talkin of blingin all da time. Talkin of da blingin is cool, but not on every song. As 4 da *** shakin, we as black women should have enough respect for ourselves 2 turn it down. Do a Jagged Edge video or something, its more classy.

Answer 10

Nursery rhymes for sophomores. Ask yourself: Why the plethora of "talent"? Because anyone can do it. Anything that denigrates others is abhorant, and a dishonoring of all the centuries of bleeding and humiliation generations have born. This is a self-induced debasement, no different than what blacks have endured from the outside prior.

Whining cowards picking on those who should be honored - females, adults, and families and marriage, and the law of the land ( which protects them as well).