Western Pop Culture Hip Hop - Essay Example

Western Pop Culture – Hip Hop Introduction Communication is vital to all human beings coming from different backgrounds and different walks of life. Communication helps us to give expression to our feelings and emotions and thereby create connections on an interpersonal level. We use communication to connect to people through different media such as speech - both verbal and nonverbal, and through media – visual and audio visual. Research has proved that every individual needs to communicate their feelings and emotions in order to enjoy all around good health and development. Since every individual is unique, they choose to express their thoughts and ideas through different mediums such as social, political, cultural or organizational. Besides speech, there are other ways of communication which takes place through television, radio, newspapers and magazines and other media. The topic I have chosen to write about is on the Hip Hop Culture of music and how it has influenced our ways of thinking and communication. This research paper is going to investigate the culture and background of Hip- Hop music and assess its influence on the public in general especially in relation to the language that is used. This paper would also discuss how the Hip –Hop language has contributed to the existing language and the impact it has created globally. History of Hip- Hop culture Hip- pop became popular as a cultural movement way back in the 1970’s in New York City. This cult was started by the Black Americans and the Latino-Americans which became a rage within a very short period. Hip- pop’s inception took place in the Bronx, and this culture and lifestyle has spread widely across the globe. (Rosen Jody (2006) DJ Clive “Kool Herc” who was born in Jamaica was a greatly influential founder pioneer on the stage of Hip- hop music In the Bronx, “where Hip – hop was born.” (Lee Jennifer, 2008) The legendary Herc made a positive contribution to the culture of Hip- Hop by making use of his native Jamaican music in addition to their boasting and toasting traditions together with American sound beats and rhythm. At the turn-tables he created magic by “rapping” over the music which soon caught up with the youth of America. Herc made use of music from hard rock, funk and Latin percussion records which became the heart of Hip- hop music. All the announcements and other communication with the dancers were done in a well worked out rhymed and syncopated pattern which we now call “rapping”. The dancers we’re called break boys and break girls which meant “getting excited” and acting energetically”. (Kool Herc, 2002) or ‘B- boys and B- girls’ (Schloss, Joseph (2009) In the 1980’s the Hip- hop culture was further well defined when the Soulsonic Force and Afrika Bambaataa released “Planet Rock” an electro- funk track which created quite a stir on the Hip- hop dance scene. They went a step further by making use of electronic sounds, synthesizer technology, innovative drum machines as well as samples from “Kraftwerk”. Its influence was so great that soon music videos on Hip- hop made their appearance glorying urban neighborhoods. (Rose 1994, p. 192) Music which is also a means of communication saw Rap artists make use of parts of the human body such as the voice, mouth, lips and tongue to create their musical sounds to enhance their rapping style and make it unique. This style called “Beatboxing” or “Human Beatbox” used the technique of vocal percussion of singing or reciting about an issue currently affecting them. Language in Hip – hop The kind of language used in Hip- hop is basically English slang which is rhythmic in both rhyme and delivery over some music or instrumental accompaniment. The style of delivery is “rapping” which has its roots in the griots (folk poets) from Western Africa and was used regularly by the Jamaicans for toasting during festivals and other functions. Rap spread even beyond the pop culture through the street parties in the Bronx neighborhood in New York. MCs and DJs began making use of the language and style for promoting their projects, making the atmosphere lighthearted by rapping jabs and jokes to make the audience laugh while dancing. The language used by Herc was “slang” And these terms were adopted as part of the Hip- hop culture’s lexicon. This culture caught on like wild fire and so the DJs around the world were rapping to popular numbers such as “The Sugar Hill Gang”, “Kurtis Blow”, “The Breaks” and “Rapper’s Delight”. (Nile Rodgers, 2008) This sort of language and style was also used to raise community issues or problems within their neighborhood or city. They used this media to raise awareness and create a consciousness among the others so that they would show interest in solving the problem or issue. During the later part of the 1970’s, the Billboard magazine produced an article on the local phenomenon titled ‘B Beats bombarding Bronx,’ making the mention of Kool Herc as an influential figure. (Forman M; Neal M, 2004, Pg. 2) Many of the artists used the Hip- Hop language to make social statements. For example, the song “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five was an original Hip- pop song that was released by Sugar Hill Records in 1982. The song had a unique slow rhythm and beat with simple language used to bring out the suffering and frustrations experienced in the ghetto. Some of the lyrics in the song - “Broken glass everywhere, people pissin’ on the stairs, you know they just don’t care.” Soon other artists like Puff Daddy, Ice Cube, Check Yo Self, Snoop Dogg, Andre Nickatina and others made use of the original song’s synthesizer riffs and other samples in their Rap songs creating social awareness on different situations among the people. On the flip side of the coin, most people are of the opinion that Hip- hop has exploited the youth to a great extent by influencing them that it is alright to have a sexist attitude and use foul language which is not only offensive but extremely degrading. Women are also greatly exploited with Music videos showcasing scantily dressed women using fill the language have come in for a lot of criticism from the general public. E. Faye Williams, chairperson of the national Congress of black women stated that "We have allowed greedy corporate executives — especially those in the entertainment industry — to lead many of our young people to believe that it is OK to entertain themselves by destroying the culture of our people," (David Banner News, 2007) From a social point of view, every individual is responsible for what is taking place around them. The youth are easily carried away by the existing trend Hip-hop music and they believe that using curse words and degrading misogynist foul language is the ‘in’ thing and it is not wrong in any way. Channels go all out to popularize this cult even further and hence influence a wider audience who in turn pick up this language and try to make use of it in their day to day lives. The Application of Hip – hop Nation Language (HHNL) as an art Speaking a language is one thing but making use of a language in rhythmic patterns together with music is an art. Not every person is capable of using language as an art. Sociolinguists around the world are extremely interested in the ever changing dialect of the Hip- hop genre and try to analyze this creative fluid. Passing his valuable comments on the syntax of the language, scholar H. Samy Alim refers to ‘rapping’ as “the aesthetic placement of verbal rhymes over musical beats” and explains how they “devise innovative ways to slice the system with the syntax.” (Samy H. Alim, ed. 2001 a) It is possible to teach and use language as an art for helping students to give expression to their thoughts and ideas. Such skills of communication can be incorporated within the curriculum especially for cultural programs. Learning a language as an art makes students shed their inhibition and open up to so many other possibilities because language is functional. Most of its HHNLs distinctiveness comes from the innovation with the existing vocabulary which is rooted in the language of African Americans. The outcome is an amalgamation of music, speech and literature adapted according to the current socio- political circumstances prevailing at that time. According to Alim, the grammar of HHNL too belongs to the African American language (AAL) which uses a lot of slang in its speech. Hip-hop Artists also exploit certain features of regional pronunciation to give it a distinctive style. They also make use of the variant ‘be’ used before a noun to give the phrase a particular rhythm. For example – “Dr. Dre be the name…” (Samy H. Alim, ed. 2001 b) The ghetto Hip- hop is all about expressing their pain and tribulations of the days spent in the ghetto. Those days were hard and impossible and a lot of people who had lived there were looking for a way to express the suffering they experience in the ghetto and they found that outlet in rap music. A good example of this music is “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s – that’s kinda like going on now with the rap thang. It’s ghetto music. People talkin about they issues and crime and, you feel me? “Don’t push me cuz I’m close to the eeedge!” You feel me? He talkin about, “Man, I’m so fed up with you people in this society, man.” (cited partially in Alim 2000) The Hip – hop music culture essentially possesses for major elements as follows- DJ’ing (turn- table spinning), MC’ing (rapping- rhythmic delivery of words and music), Break-dancing (street-dancing), and Graffiti art (writing on walls, backdrops or on the body) Teachers could make good use of the pop culture in their teaching and make it all the more interesting by including music, art and dance to the text. Learning a genre that is totally alien is not only fun but very interesting. According to Michael Halliday (1925) who is a scholar of linguistics and a Chinese language professor ‘language is not a neutral carrier but part of constructing meaning.’ Sociolinguists always had great respect for the vernacular language of a place and that was not surprising that none of them took an interest in the language of the HHN enhanced we do not find authentic material about the Hip-hop culture until the latter part of the 1990’s. In a quest to make a study on the Hip-hop culture, Remes (1991) in his pioneering attempt put together a sociolinguistic study about the community of Hip – hop. In his study identified numerous linguistic features based on “Black – English” Remes (1991) In 1997, Geneva Smitherman, also a sociolinguist enumerated on the communicative practices of call and response used by the HHN. (Smitherman 1997) In the opinion of rap artists “one has to come from the streets, or understand the urban black street tradition, in order to properly interpret and perform rap music,” according to one ethnomusicologist” (Keyes 1991). Especially for the black Hip- of artist, street seems to be the locus and centrifugal point of their lives. In setting the standards of their linguistic research involving the language spoken by a black Americans, (Labov 1972, Hymes 1981), Baugh (1983:36) went straight “to the people” in a variety of social contexts where “black street speech breathes.” According to (Anderson 1999) the “code of the streets” do not much favor people who avoid “puttin their business out in the street.” (Spady, 1991: 407) speaks of America’s Hip- hop saturated streets stating that – “Changing. Those streets of yesteryear are no more. Now it is crack-filled and gang-banged. Loose and cracked. Yet most of our people walk straight through these streets night and day. Risking lives. But this is a risqué world… Many of the song titles are related to language- Some examples are – “New Rap Language” (Treacherous Three 1980), “Wordplay” (Bahamadia 1996), “Gangsta Vocabulary” (DJ Pooh 1997), “Project Talk” (Bobby Digital 1998), “Slang Editorial” (Cappadonna 1998), Real Talk 2000 (Three-X-Krazy 2000), “Ebonics” (Big L 2000), Country Grammar (Nelly 2000) in (Spady James, 2000) Theorist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857 – 1913) states that words are like signs or indications of what is being spoken of. According to him even texts in Pop culture could be used both verbally and visually as signs of communication. Another theorist Mikhail Bakhtin (1895 – 1975) states that words are dialogic in nature because they are interactive as they keep redefining themselves over and over again. Roland Barthes (1915 – 1980) another theorist argues that the text does not necessarily live in the author’s mind because each reader would have their own interpretation for it. In the same way Pop culture is interactive and has a different interpretation by the singer and the listener. Hip- Hop and American Society The influence of Hip- Hop on American society cannot be denied. The Hip- Hop genre used words in a rhythmic pattern which became popular among the youth which in turn greatly reduced gang violence that was very common in the inner city, by replacing it with dance and other activities of expression. ‘City teenagers, after years of gang violence, were looking for new ways to express themselves. (Chang, 2007, p. 61) "Instead of getting into trouble on the streets, teens now had a place to expend their pent-up energy." (Chang, 2007, p. 62) In fact, "Hip-hop saved a lot of lives." (Chang, 2007, p. 62) Earlier on, the genre of Hip- Hop was not based around drugs, violence or weapons and the focus of its lyrical content was centered primarily on the social issues which were a problem to them. American blacks used Hip – Hop to express the limitations of the Civil Rights Movement. However, in the 1990’s Hip- Hop incorporated crime and violence with rappers gloating about their misdeeds, drugs, weapons and other acts of violence as it took on a more commercial aspect. Critics feel that though it has taken on a wider demography, yet it has resulted in infusing crime and violence into the society through the genre called ‘Gangsta Rap.’ (Brendan Butler, ABC News) All through the history of Hip- hop, artists gave a lot of importance to the racial and cultural unity, but with the Gangsta Rap, it encouraged violence and hysteria, and hence the face of Hip- Hop had changed drastically. In 2000, Ted Koppel of the ABC News, conducted a three- night series that depicted Hip- Hop’s “Underground Culture.” He stated that Hip – Hop “has altered our language, changed our sense of fashion, infused the lives of White teenagers and young adults with Black sensibilities.” (Brendan Butler, ABC News) However, all Hip- Hop is not violence. Chuck’s group of Hip – Hop 4 Peace’ and artists like ‘The Roots’, Mos Def and De La Soul ridicule the language and violence used by the Gangsta Rappers. In addition to this, artist like Queen Latifah, Puff Daddy, Cool J, Y- Clef do a lot of charity by taking on some of the burden of the society and giving back a lot to their communities. They use clean language with a lot of positive messages to create awareness of peace and justice in the society. Tupac Shakur was also a social change activist, but tried to create a hard image for himself in front of the media and lost his life doing so. Conclusion Globally Hip- Hop has gone a long way as it has morphed into dozens of sub- genres, with artists from each country putting in their own regional flavor. Rap has become so popular that people, whose language is not English, pick up albums even though they do not understand the messages in them. It has influenced non- English speaking nations and many of them even memorize the words and sing even though they cannot understand its meaning. This is a good example to show how popular culture can be woven into the fabric of the humdrum of regular life. Nevertheless, in Hip –hop it is a male dominated world where women are looked upon as gold diggers and objects of sex. They’re just there to boost the male’s ego and help him to create are larger than life picture of himself which includes his criminality and masculinity. African-American females who rap are given no prominence what-so-ever and are used just like props for the males to jeer and taunt and make a laughing stock of them by blaming them to be a hindrance to the male success. The feelings and emotions of women are not given any priority and hence they suffer not only physically but psychologically. Initially, Hip- hop belonged to the culture of Black Americans, but now whites and even Asians have followed in its footsteps. A good example of this is Eminem who is white, has become a Rap icon. National Geographic recognizes hip hop as "the world's favorite youth culture" in which "just about every country on the planet seems to have developed its own local rap scene." (Nat Geo Music, 2009) So it can be said that Hip- hop is an authentic genre of music which is liked and appreciated by people all over the world. Hip-hop has become a global phenomenon that has moved beyond social, political and cultural barriers and has spread its influences over and beyond the music and entertainment industry. It has not only created a lasting impression on the youth of today but it has left its own identity in the minds and hearts of all those come in contact with it. It has revolutionized the music and entertainment industry as a whole by having its own style and linguistic appeal that attracts people from various cultural and religious backgrounds. In The language of Hip- hop is termed by Richardson Elaine (2006) as a “global ambassador of the English language and American culture” because of its global appeal and wide reach across nations whose language is not English. Most of the Hip-hop fans around the world listen for pleasure, but for most of the inner city youth it is a way of life. Hip-hop has influenced the world of sports in a big way by linking Athletic and Basketball stars such as Michael Jordon to its style and appeal. Beyond the music industry, the world of film, documentary and publishing have all benefited a great deal through their creations that have made use of the African-American culture of Hip –hop. In other words, Hip-hop is here to stay and is growing in strength, as it continues to widen its vocabulary by borrowing extensively from other regional languages around the world, thereby making itself more appealing and accepted than ever before. References Alim, H. Samy, ed. 2001a. Hip Hop Culture: Language, Literature, Literacy and the Lives of Black Youth. Special issue of The Black Arts Quarterly.  Committee on Black Performing Arts: Stanford University. Alim, H. Samy. 2001b. “I Be the Truth: Divergence, Recreolization, and the ‘New’ Equative Copula in African American Language.” Paper presented at NWAV 30, Raleigh, North Carolina, October. Barthes, R. (1957, tr. 1972 A. Lavers). Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang. Baugh, John. Black Street Speech: Its History, Structure, and Survival.  Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1983. Break it Down/ analyzing Self Identity…. www.didache.nts.edu/index.php?...&task=doc_view&gid=733&Itemid Brendan Butler, Media coverage on the Hip- Hop Culture – Ethics in Journalism, Miami University Department of English. Chang, Jeff (November-December 2007), "It's a Hip-hop World, Foreign Policy, (163): 58-65, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3994 Charles R. Berger in ‘Interpersonal Communication, An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1996, 602 pgs, Pg. No. 277 Congress Examines Hip – hop Language/ ABC News www.wjla.com/news/stories/0907/458317.html David Banner News www.new.music.yahoo.com/.../congress-examines-hip-hop-language--48895752 Do You Speak American? www.pbs.org/speak/words/sezwho/hiphop/reprint Forman M; Neal M “That’s the joint! The hip-hop studies reader”, Routledge, 2004. p.2 Hip –Hop (2009) National Geographic World Music. Nat Geo Music. National Geographic Society. Hip- hop www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hip_hop_culture Hip –Hop (2009) National Geographic World Music. Nat Geo Music. National Geographic Society. Hymes, Dell. “Foreword.” In Language in the U.S.A., ed. Charles A. Ferguson and Shirley B. Heath. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981.   Kool Herc, in Israel (director) The Freshest Kids. A History of the B- Boy, QD 3, 2002. Labov, William. Language in the Inner City: Studies in the Black English Vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972. Lee Jennifer, 2008, Tenants May Buy Birthplace of Hip- hop. The New York Times. (Retrieved on 10/3/ 2009) Michael B. Salwen, Don W. Stacks; An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Place of Publication: Mahwah, NJ. Publication Year: 1996. 602 pgs. Michael Halliday (1925) Systemic Functional Linguistics. Cambridge. Nile Rodgers, (2008) The Story of Rapper’s Delight. Rap Project.tv. (Retrieved on 12/ 10/ 2008. Remes, Pieter. “Rapping: A Sociolinguistic Study of Oral Tradition in Black Urban Richardson Elaine (2006) Hip – hop Literacies, Routledge, New York, London. Rose, Hip- Hop Music, 1994, p. 192 Rosen Jody (2006) A Rolling Shout – out- to- the –Hip – Hop History, The New York times, Pg. 32. (Retrieved on 10- 3- 2009) Schloss, Joseph (2009). "Foundation: B-boys, B-girls, And Hip-Hop Culture In New York". Oxford University Press. Pg. 125, 141, 153 Smitherman, Geneva. “'The Chain Remain the Same': Communicative Practices in the Hip-Hop Nation,” Journal of Black Studies (1997): September. Smitherman, Geneva.  Talkin and Testifyin: the Language of Black America. Houghton Mifflin; reissued, with revisions, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1977 (1986). Spady, James, and Joseph Eure.  Nation Conscious Rap: the Hip Hop Vision. New York/Philadelphia:  PC International Press/Black History Museum. 1991. Spady, James. “The Centrality of Black Language in the Discourse of Sonia Sanchez and Rap Artists.” In 360 Degreez of Sonia Sanchez: Hip Hop, Narrativity, Iquawe and Public Spaces of Being, ed. James Spady. Special issue of Bma: The Sonia Sanchez Literary Review, 6.1, Fall, 2000. Read More