John Williams Prompt #2

 Without a doubt, the hip hop genre has evolved from one that solely influenced areas in which renowned rappers hailed from, to one in which a rapper's impact extends to neighborhoods all over the world. Hip hop impacts individuals of various ages, races, and genders all around the world. As a work of art, Hip hop is received and valued differently (Benjamin, 2010). The styles artists use in their art influences the audience diversely in terms of fashion and trends. Because of rappers' popularity, the genre's effect on mainstream culture has affected fashion, ideas, and trends that the general public follows. Hip hop artists utilize their music to communicate their thoughts, ideas, and feelings through songs. Someone will comprehend what the artist is talking about based on the artist's lyrics; since they have either done the same thing or are experiencing the same difficulty.

Hip hop began in suburban areas in the Bronx, New York, in the late 1960s, as a small, isolated culture in African American and Latino communities but soon grew popular. The culture is distinguished by its musical style and beliefs. Rapping, breakdancing, DJing, and graffiti are all forms of hip hop (Mukerji & Schudson, 1991). Of the four aspects of hip hop, rap has successfully taken center stage and been co-opted into the mainstream. Breakdancing, graffiti, and DJing have declined in popularity since their mainstream success in the twenty-first century, although they still exist as hip hop's underground subculture. Along with rap, breakdancing and DJing were prominent forms of music delivery, while graffiti was just a popular pastime in areas where hip hop was respected.

The first amendment guarantees freedom of speech, which is precisely what hip-hop artists are doing. Hip-hop music has had a beneficial and detrimental impact on our society. Hip hop has had an effect on police brutality and violence against youth. Hip hop has had a significant impact on our society because it speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves. Hip hop is countercultural; this is evident in how hip-hop artists dress. Hip hop musicians wore bright colors and baggy clothes in the twentieth century, but after the millennium, there was a significant change in how artists dressed as mainstream emerged. Today there are many distinct kinds of dress solely connected with hip hop. One of the most major beneficial effects of hip-hop music is that it gave a whole population a means to express themselves creatively to the rest of the world. It is because of this that popular culture became something of mass consumption. Different people listened to it to picture the feelings of their communities and what others were expressing. 

Popular culture has been defined as 'mass culture,' meaning it is made for mass consumption and has no boundaries (Storey, 2018). Hip hop has since spread over the world and is appreciated by many social groups among countries. Because of its widespread popularity, hip hop is now a popular culture in several other countries. Hip hop culture, for example, has been adopted by many youngsters in nations such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany as a means of expressing themselves and their life. Hip hop became popular in Africa in the mid-80s due to the American ascent of the culture, and there are many rappers that rhyme for pleasure or to convey challenges and struggles they may face (Storey, 2018). Hip hop has become one of the most important forums for discussions about race, racial inequalities, and the change of racial meanings as a genre of music and popular culture. Hip-hop voices give timely commentary on current racial occurrences, as well as critical views on historical and ongoing patterns of race-based injustice through music and fame. In terms of extending well-worn cycles, creating more nuanced understandings of current readings, and pointing toward new lines of inquiry, I believe the recent advent of ethnographic works on hip hop and race has enormous potential.
Hip-hop has a terrible reputation for gender and music - homophobic, sexist, male-dominated, and so on. According to the history of the genre, women have been participants and practitioners of hip-hop since its birth. In hip-hop, there has been a lot of sexism regarding how women are seen as musicians and how women are spoken about in general. It is not just hip-hop misogyny, though. It's merely a mirror of everyday sexism in society. Women's art has always expressed a wide range of experiences and perspectives. The current hip-hop industry, however, views women as sex objects. 

In recent years, there has been much discussion on whether or not white privilege exists in America. People tune in to the beats and rhymes of today's popular hip-hop tunes and hum along unconsciously. They don't know the rich history of the music they're listening to, mainly its darker side (Adorno & Horkheimer, 2020). Initially anchored in the black community, hip-hop has been appropriated and transformed into a white-dominated business of privilege and greed. Hip hop was a black culture thing; however, not anymore. Hip-hop has transformed into something it was never meant to be. Hip-hop was discovered in its purest form, via individual expression, and something that the black community could call their own in its early days (Benjamin, 2010). Years later, the world is left with current hip hop, a long-forgotten art form that has drifted far from its origins.

Hip-hop history is a fascinating subject that deserves to be explored further. Since its start in the 1970s, this cultural movement has seen significant development and evolution. What started as a local initiative in New York City to create a haven for African-American and Puerto Rican children has grown into a global phenomenon. Hip hop continues to be a prominent influence in culture throughout the world to this day.