The image of hip hop - Essay Example

Born during the 70’s and still going strong after thirty years, Hip Hop is here to stay. Slowly and steadily, Hip Hop has gained acceptance and now is followed by the youngsters all over the world. However, the question is not of the staying power, but the morality of the Hip Hop. How does it affect the society as a whole? Hip Hop culture, in itself, is not good or bad. How the artist and the audience uses it, makes it good or bad.

The choice is our responsibility. Hip Hop is an example of good effort gone wrong. It started as a way of expression and ended up being a victim of consumerism. It eventually got identified with anti-social elements. The image was tarnished. This is Eminem singing about his life. And in the same song his friend tells him not to get violent but to try to understand the other’s explanation. You can imagine these lyrics in different scenario.

Imagine you are a man with an agonized, abused and traumatic childhood as was Eminem’s. The difference is, you are from a very educated, sophisticated, high society and wealthy family. What will you do? You will go to a psychoanalyst, sleep on his couch and say the same things that Eminem is saying through his songs. The difference is upbringing, the class and the background that you have. So the hip hop singers are using the physical, obscene and primal style of expression because they are brought up that way.

They are the victims of their environment. However, there are song lyrics that use the obscene language and words that talk about sex, killings, drugs and weapons. The videos of these kind of