Pre-Reading Questions Week Eleven

Hip hop is perfect as it is able to really capture and project the lifestyles and dreams of the underclass ghettos of America. It is also able to vividly describe what how, what, and why these singers project themselves as they do.

Although initially it was primarily done to capture a lifestyle in a digestible medium for the masses, it evolved into a business.  Once executive realized how profitable gangster rap could be, they tok advantage of the system, and began pumping out the same music.

The majority of rappers are black.  They are sought after as they promote the message they are conveying.  The message being a struggle to survive and thrive in a society not really meant for them.  The consumer base however is predominately white.  Again, white people are almost preferred as the customer base.  The black rappers provide the whites with and insight.  The more gruesome the rapper, the deeper the insight.

Rap during the first decade of the century was predominately of violence and disrespect toward others.  The songs were mostly stories of tough upbringing, money, drugs, and murder.  It was just that however, a story, a simple escape for many white suburban kids to go to.  It was no different than a television show to let you mind wander to, to briefly walk a block in the shoes of these entertainers.

There are many rappers who are mainstream that do not embody the stereotypical gangster rapper.  Mostly because rappers who are tough and unfeeling are beginning to taper off, their act is stale and trite. Like a fad, it has come and gone.  Now rappers rap of vulnerabilities and hopes, dreams, failures  insecurities even.  It's all about what is popular, and thus the industry will provide.  Things are dragging out unusually long now because of the internet.  Free music and easy publishing and access to a fan base has allowed a much more free and directionless movement in which the industry can move.

Because rap at that point had evolved into something that was more about a superficial approach.  It was the music of clubs, rather than something you listened to by yourself in a room.  As he states, if it has a good beat, they'll dance.

Hip hop allows many people to see a life they are usually shielded from. It can actually bring people out of ignorance   Too much of it however can be damaging.

Women do have a bit of an objectified role, but there are woman rappers on the rise.
There are two sides of rapping, the presenters and the receivers.  The presenter can be behind his side and safely defend, but not until he steps into the listeners shoes could he see our side of it all.  It's all relative.   

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