Hip-Hop as Originally Distinctive of a Black American Sub-Culture - Essay Example

Some of its political elements include mockery of the worst aspect of slavery such as the dozens (slave auctions) and battling (putting someone else down through poetry). In hip hop, African Americans found a medium to express their message, similar to the jazz music of the earlier decades to vent their frustrations against widespread racial discrimination and their marginalization in American society which only lately has been rectified by laws.

In a sense, hip-hop music and its accompanying culture are closely related to another and unique newly-invented black American form of expression which slams poetry. Many people are not familiar with this new art form of spoken poetry but blacks were the first to popularize a more vibrant form of poetry reading, where it assumes the form of a performance act done on the stage and in full view of the public. Poets not only read out aloud their compositions but also act out their poem's messages in a convincing and entertaining manner.

Both hip hop and def poetry (as slam poetry is oftentimes alternatively called) share a common characteristic of free verse. It had a similar provenance from another black American musical art form which is reggae. Both forms of artistic expressions employ a rhythmic cadence that is pleasing to the ear and the mind; these forms exhibit creativity, originality, and imaginative composition. In a sense, both are also considered as performance arts (Aptowics, 2008, 213) in which the singer or poet, as the case may be, has to dress for the part and employ a variety of props such as an appropriate dress, composure, tone of voice, manner of delivery, posture and non-verbal body language such as hand gestures or facial expressions.

What I like most about hip hop and its culture is its ability to compose lyrics not constrained by meter, indentation, or format; this is why it is a favorite for those who want to write songs. Hip hop contributed to the birth of slam poetry, together with two other elements, which are the Harlem Renaissance and the so-called Beats movement. The thing I disliked about hip hop was when it evolved and developed into more complex forms. This sort of degenerated it from its innovative quality and cultural influence into gangster rap reflecting the violent lifestyle of inner-city youths with the use of profanities, depictions of drug culture, and shockingly confrontational it had led to not a few crimes as well.

It had caused controversy because some people got concerned and called for censorship or banning altogether. It is considered as a bad influence on youngsters towards a life of crime and violence. The two issues I would like to explore in this class is how hip hop spread to other parts of the world as a symbol of rebellion (sort of a counter-cultural revolution) and how it had in its influence contributed to the deterioration of inner-city life, to a certain extent, as it glorifies some of the worst things in life among poor people, not necessarily among the black population only.

Hip hop emphasizes opposition to almost anything with a lot of violence and its potential effects on producing some negative behaviors among the impressionable youth (Pinckney, 2007, p. 5).