In the early 1970s, a new phenomenon developed in the Bronx of New York City, Hip-Hop. What started as a block party livened with percussive breaks of popular songs coming from the twisting turntables of DJ Kool Herc, grew into arguably the most impactful genre of music today. Hip Hop has transformed numerous times spanning from 1973 all the way to today, with different sub-genres growing in popularity throughout different time periods. Gangsta Rap was popularized in the 1980s when the infamous rap group NWA came to prevalence, beginning an age of controversy between rap music and its critics. While this trend carried on through the 1990s, Hip-Hop officially experienced its mainstream breakthrough within this decade. Hip-Hop has grown into the most exciting development in American pop music in more than a decade in the 1990s. Hip-Hop has carried its success all the way to 2017, growing every year in recognition, response, and respect. In just this past year, songs like “Panda”, “Broccoli”, “Bad and Boujee”, and “Black Beatles” have all occupied top five spots in the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Even though Hip-Hop has developed more into the mainstream, it still has not lost touch with its roots and those who founded it. Back in the controversial Gangsta Rap era, the African-American community reflected their violent experiences through song, expressing displeasure with politics, poverty, and welfare. Those same issues are still discussed today through lyrics in rap music, especially with the results of the recent election. While the African American community has used this medium of communication to voice their struggles for over 30 years, some still debate whether this is effective. African-Americans are thoroughly connected to Hip-Hop, using this form of music to express their struggles within society, which is effectively presented through different sub-genres, rap figures within the genre, and connections with other social communities.

There are countless variations of Hip-Hop when it comes to sub-genres, and each of these sub-genres have a different effect on its audience. Gangster rap is one sub-genre that has been around since the 1980’s; it has been accustomed to a lot of controversy within the United States. Some see this form of hip-hop as a negative influence on the African-American community, while others see it as a reflection of the social struggles of this community. Young Jeezy, a very popular rap artist in today’s generation, explains through one of his albums, “The Recession”, how rap artists today express their communities struggles through real life situations in song. However, “most Hip-Hop studies that specifically focus on Gangster Rap music are viciously judgmental, analytically imbalanced, and/or irresponsibly fueled by anger under the guise of sound empiricism,” (Payne). These studies don’t attempt to understand where these African-Americans are coming from or what they experience on a day to day basis. While these critics refuse to see Gangster rap for what it truly is: “music…peppered with tales of social and economic hardships,” (Payne). There are two vastly different interpretations of this sub-genre, and it is difficult to see this strong barrier being broken. One sliver of hope for the voice of gangster rap finally breaking out is with the help of other sub-genres. 

Another sub-genre of rap music, Political Rap (also known as Conscious Rap), contains the same type of goal for Hip-Hop when it comes to voicing struggles within their own community and taking social action, but this form takes a more passive and light approach. Two of the most prominent rappers in music today, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole, also happen to fall under this sub-genre. These two rappers have managed to take conscious rap into the mainstream with both artists’ latest albums “To Pimp a Butterfly” and “For Your Eyez Only” going platinum in sales. Having a mainstream platform makes reaching the target audience a lot easier. Kendrick Lamar, who has received 7 Grammy Awards, is the epitome of political rap and the consensus voice of the African-American community; he frequently discusses his opinions on various topics involving the oppression of the minority community. In one of his songs, “Hood Politics” on “To Pimp a Butterfly”, Kendrick Lamar raps: “From Compton to Congress, set trippin’ all around/ Ain't nothin' new, but a flu of new Demo-Crips and Re-Blood-licans/ Red state versus a blue state, which one you governin'?” (Lamar). In this line, Kendrick attacks the hypocrisy of government officials, arguing that they put a negative spin on street gangs when they do the same thing on a mass level — not only dividing people, but even distributing guns and drugs. Through those four lines in one simple song, Kendrick Lamar voices a popular opinion within his community, and by simply listening to those lyrics the audience hears much more than the stereotypical song about sex, money, and drugs. While Kendrick Lamar is a fantastic example of the positives within the rap industry, there are still downfalls when it comes to the influence on the African-American community.

While there are certain dependencies on Hip-Hop for the African-American community, there are still questions whether those dependencies are essential, or even beneficial. There’s no doubt that along with conscious rap, mainstream/degenerate kind of rap is right there in the spotlight. Artists within the industry, like Questlove (drummer for legendary band “The Roots”), see Hip-Hop receding from its origins and moving towards a more depraved attitude. “Hip-hop is inseparable from black America and black Americans,” (Questlove 1) and it will always produce some sort of influence on that community, whether that is “pull[ing] [them] up or…pull[ing] [them] down or…pull[ing] [them] apart,” (Questlove 1). As Hip-Hop becomes more mainstream, it also moves further away from its roots of fighting adversity and changing culture. “Contemporary hip-hop worries too much about the bottom line,” (Questlove 1) of talking about winning on their pop culture platform. And because people pick up on the ideas that pop culture gives, they stray from the original ideals that founded this revolutionary art form. Along with the popular concept of “winning” in song, there is a common theme of sex, money, and/or drugs throughout rap music. For example, the highest charting rap song right now, “Bad and Boujee” by Migos, perfectly falls in this “winning” realm. Offset raps in the song “my bitch is bad and boujee/ cookin’ up dope with an Uzi,” perfectly hitting on all three of those themes in a mere twelve words. Even though, these themes are very prominent in today’s music, they aren’t as influential as they are portrayed to be. Even though “you can hear about sex on a…rap album, but you can see the actions at the movie theater,” (Giovacchini 1). Hip-Hop should not be portrayed as a hindering of society, but the other way around. This ‘flaw’ associated with rap music is more about society’s problems as a whole. Those who create songs about sex and drugs live a life surrounded by these specific innuendos every day. This issue is very similar to the controversy with gangster rap; those rappers describe a certain violence within their lyrics because it is the life they know. “It is not moral to preach and advertise some of the topics discussed in the lyrics, yet they are all present in the world,” (Giovacchini 1). To assume that violent and sinful lyrics are the only negative influence to certain people is hypocritical. Yet, this certain issue does not entirely excuse the debauchery within Hip-Hop; it is a vicious cycle within society that is hard to break. Rap music still must take some of the blame, but not all of it. Regardless of the type of impact, it is still curious as to why rap music is so connected to the African-American community, even past their social issues.

It has already been discussed that African-Americans are so infatuated with Hip-Hop for several reasons like their issues within their community and the rise of social activism in the beginning. Arguably the largest reason that African-Americans consistently listen to and worship rap music is because it is “associated with [their] Blackness and those who listen to rap gain some form of gratification and/or understanding from it,” (Johnson 24). This creates a much more personal connection to rap music than imagined ever before. In a study with four black males around the age of 20, all of them “agreed that rap music is the dominant representation of the AA image,” (Johnson 27). Rather than directly affecting who they are, rap music actually “reinforce[s] their perceived notion of Blackness by what they observe,” (Johnson 33). This connects to how society shapes the art form of rap music, whatever this community hears will have some type of influence on how they perceive themselves, not who they actually are or how they truly behave. This “Blackness” that the African-American community wishes to retain is rooted in the “Blackness” that rap music was founded on, and this is kept with the sub-genres like conscious rap and gangster rap. African-American listeners don’t even necessarily need to live the life that is described in rap to have a strong connection, “‘blackness’ becomes the reflection of self and that those who practice ‘blackness’ will embody it,” (Johnson 27). Another reinforcement of this connection between “blackness” and rap music is found through role modeling. 

Much of what people choose to take part in today was influenced by someone that they looked up to. A child grows up to other people’s interests like watching their parents’ favorite sports teams at stadiums or listening to their parents’ favorite music as they ride along in the car. Reenacting what an important, older person does is natural at any age because “modeling is the oldest and most natural form of learning,” (Johnson 32). Much of how big of an impact Hip-Hop has is due to the figures that stand at the top. One of the biggest role models within rap music is about as impactful as he is unexpected, 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. Rap music is now the “music of choice for youth in the United States,” (Brookins 1). And having Barack Obama as an advocate of this genre of music is a large possible impact on the African-American youth of this country. Because of the recent popularization of rap music and its “hedonistic” mindset, Barack Obama is very valuable, he “gets us out of this negative reinforcement loop in multiple ways,” (Brookins 1). Many people look up to Barack Obama, even today despite the fact that he is no longer the President of The United States. His association with Hip-Hop reinforces African-Americans’ connection to this genre, especially with children. For young children, “this could be a first step toward developing a stronger sense of understanding and respect for one another in the classroom, allowing teachers to tie in the goals, objectives, and lessons of the classroom to potential ‘real world’ situations,” (Tyson). While we see positive role models in the industry of rap, there are also numerous role models that bring less productiveness. The rap trio, Migos, is arguably the most popular rap group today, yet their popularity does not translate into positive impact. Recently they went under fire for homophobic comments (Arceneaux) about a fellow artist in the rap industry. Not only does this group consistently rap about money, sex, and drugs, they also do not prove to be genuine people outside of the studio. In any community, there is always going to be a mix of good and bad leaders; however, it is not difficult to only listen to those who are authentic. Knowing who to follow and look up to is detrimental for an audience, especially a young one, which is why Barack Obama creates such a meaningful contribution to the Hip-Hop community. 

While the African-American community looks up to the former leader of the free world with reinsurance that Hip-Hop is imperative, other social classes are attempting to understand that heritage by listening as well. Because rap has been widely popularized since the 1990’s, it’s clear that a lot of people outside of the African-American community listen to it as well. These other communities will never have as close of a connection to Hip-Hop, but they receive the same message. “The argument is that white people believe that by listening to rap, they are getting closer to blackness,” (Flores 2) which helps reinforce what exactly African-Americans are trying to say in their songs. Essentially, this is the most important way for the African-American community to get their message across. By appealing to the rest of the United States, change will be brought in a much smoother, and effortless way. By globalizing Hip-Hop, “entirely new groups of people from a score of different backgrounds and cultures can take advantage of the genre to voice their own problems with the government, police oppression, marginalization, and numerous other societal issues,” (Flores 2). The only issue is if the message of sex, money, drugs is picked up by these other communities rather than the call for social action. It’s imperative for rappers like Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole to continue to popularize conscious rap so there can be a perfect blend of good and bad within the rap community. The true messages of Hip-Hop should be able to be broadcasted efficiently with the way the genre is trending right now, especially due to the recent political shift in the United States. All in all, this mainstream success of rap is extremely important for other communities to hear the African-American culture and their oppression throughout history up to today.

The African-American heritage is thoroughly connected to Hip-Hop’s roots; they use this to express their oppression with different sub-genres, rap figures within the genre, and connections with other social communities. The two main sub-genres, Gangster rap and Political rap both approach the same message in different fashions. On its surface, gangster rap is seen as a degenerative art, but it actually broadcasts the harsh everyday life of many African-Americans for the purpose of seeking change. Political rap directly attacks the biased ways of the higher social classes with carefully crafted lyrics. Rap is the biggest platform for African-Americans to express their displeasure with the government, society, and any other source of injustice. By using Hip-Hop there is always a call for justice in rotation, and listening to rap music implants a subliminal message in as many people’s minds as possible. This is an effective art form for that purpose, but more must be done. There is less equality in the United States more than ever. It’s time for other social classes to actually take social action and help out one another. As the world gets more modernized it will become easier to stream these messages across the United States and the globe. That’s why it’s very believable that this social change can be done, but only if action is taken by everyone. Everyone must listen to the struggles within the African-American community and bring justice. Hip-Hop is one of the first accesses to their heritage and also one of the easiest ways to understand their injustice. 
