Hip-Hop

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the post-civil rights and black power groups, who witnessed so many radical social changes, provided the attitude and style that gave birth to Hip-Hop. The author points out that MCs (emcees), DJs (deejays), break dancing and graffiti art are considered to be the roots of the movement that empowered urban youths to use music, dance and other forms of artistic expression to describe life as they saw it. The paper stresses that, when listening to today's Hip-Hop and R&B, it is important to remember that many artists from the 1990s, who are still around, do not consider today's Hip-Hip as "tru Hip-Hop".

Table of Contents:
What is Hip-Hop?
Roots of Hip-Hop Culture
Creativity
Bling-Bling?
Wrapping It Up

From the Paper:

"Depending on who was the first to be commercialized, one thing that will always be argued is that once Hip-Hop was made into a commodity it needed to be mass-produced. From the top, Hip-Hop artists would sign onto independent labels only because the owners were willing to take a risk. No major record label wanted to sign an artist who could only reach a certain group or community and when signing an artist, companies want to make sure that the artist would be able to sell records to all of America and not just the inner city suburbs."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ayazi-Hashjin, S. "Rap and Hip-Hop: A Voice of a Generation." New York: Rosen Publishing Group.
• Ciardiello, S. "Meet Them in the Lab: Using Hip-Hop Music Therapy Groups with Adolescents in Residential Settings." In N. E. Sullivan, E. S. Mesbur, N. C. Lang, 2003.
• George, N. "Hip-Hop America." New York: Viking/Penguin Group, 1998.
• Goodman, D. and L. Mitchell (Eds.). "Social Work with Groups: Social Justice through Personal Community and Societal Change." New York: Haworth Press.
• Kitwana, B. "The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African-American Culture." New York: Basic Civitas Books.

More papers on Hip-Hop:

• Term Paper # 142354 : "Hip Hop Less Relevant to African Americans Today"
• Research Paper # 91985 : "Music, Culture and Hip Hop Dance"
• Comparison Essay # 70610 : "Hip Hop"
• Essay # 89328 : "The History of Hip Hop in the USA"

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