Prevalence Of Sexism, Violence, And Drugs In Hip Hop Culture

Introduction

Hip-Hop is a genre, culture and movement that emerged in the 1970’s from South Bronx, New York. The South Bronx residents created this unique new form of representation in hopes to break from the poverty, drug, and crime epidemics engulfing their gang dominated neighborhoods. While the South Bronx was a war involving political, social, and economic upheaval in the years leading up to the inception of Hip-Hop, it developed into a global sensation. Further, this new form of lyrical self expression largely influenced the formation of youth culture around the world. Barbadian-American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the Human Beat Box once said, “Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change. ” Since its inception, hip hop culture has had an overwhelming influence on American culture and society from behavioral changes, fashion, stereotypes and public opinion. Although the upbringing of Hip Hop was centered around talent, peace and unity, hip hop culture has shifted into a socially acceptable platform that exposes and glorifies sexism, drugs and violence.

Sexism and misogyny

Hip Hop can be considered a vehicle for social commentary and influence of public opinion on different issues. Specifically, a common theme found in hip hop are stereotypical representations of women. Through degrading terminology and slang associated with negative labels, the portrayal of females in modern society continues to become objectified. According to Guillermo Rebollo‐Gil and Amanda Moras in their article, “Black Women and Black Men in Hip Hop Music: Misogyny, Violence and the Negotiation of (White‐Owned) Space” Rebollo‐Gil and Moras believe, “There is no doubt that Hip Hop sells. The genre, however, is in crisis”. When stating that hip hop is continuing making a profit, yet the genre itself is crumbling, Rebollo-Gil and Moras are suggesting modern artists value profit over their content. Moreover, artists and rappers often will disregard any offensive remarks as long as it sells. Unfortunately, this has been at women's expense as they are constantly referred to as, “bitches” “whores” and other objectifying terms. While just hearing these terms in songs seems harsh enough, its nothing compared to how males push their limits in the real world. Most rappers and artists are ignorant to the fact their words are replayed over and over again around the world. The more these phrases and words are repeated, the more familiar and normalized they become. As a result, hip hop culture has reinforced some of the sexist culture that many have been striving to fix.

Rebollo-Gil and Moras further state that, “As noted, rap has always been feminine. What it has not been is pro‐woman”. Correspondingly, all genres have the commonality of declaring their passion for love, sex and women. However, hip hop culture and rap all in itself provides a different scope of these topics involving a more sexist and ignorant approach. While rappers and artists claim they are just lusting over women, having constant sexist names and comments about women in a derogatory manner normalizes this behavior and allows for people to copy this behavior. American Studies scholar Tricia Rose comments on female stereotypes by stating how, “women in rap are divided into at least two categories: the kind to take home to mother‘ and the kind you meet at three o‘clock in the morning”. By placing these two stereotypes upon women, the intended audience for these songs become exposed to negative views of women. The harsh outcome of people believing in these stereotypes falls on women and their daily encounters with sexist individuals.

Drugs

While some rappers who were raised around drugs have successfully portrayed substance use in their music in hopes to spread awareness, others encourage and brag about their harmful addictions and experiences. Considering rap and hip hop emerged from gang members, pimps and drug dealers, it’s no wonder hip hop music irresponsibly promotes drug usage. However, as modern music evolves and younger crowds are beginning to tune in to hip hop, new perspectives need be considered. For instance, according to, “The Evolution of Hip Hop Culture” Jan Devos questions how seriously rappers take their responsibility. Davos goes on to explain how, “Snoop Dogg – and other successful gangsta rappers – can play a major role in trying to send a positive message to the youth, which would help them get rid of that sense of despair. But a fancy image often leads to being talked about in the media and to having great album sales, so when a rapper has to choose between setting an example for the youth or selling millions of albums, it is sad to see that nine times out of ten they will go with the platinum albums”. Exposing and glorifying drugs and addictions can often have a negative impact on the audience listening. The concept of depending on recreational drugs is one thing hip hop culture is at fault with, however constantly exposing it to their audience and encouraging such behavior does more harm than good.

Violence

The question whether Hip-Hop is a violence-promoting platform has been apart of the discussion since the genre’s inception. However, as “gangsta rap” has evolved into mainstream media this question becomes more and more prevalent. While it is clear gang affiliated violence has been a drastic part of the “gangster rap” genre, it is unclear why rappers continue to exaggerate it in their lyrics. According to Devos, “The way I see it, ‘boasting’ has always been a part of hip hop. Since the days of Run-DMC in the 1980s – when the group boasted about how cool they really were – rap fans learned to understand that ‘rapping’ and ‘boasting’ are closely Intertwined”. However, while simply bragging about violence appears harmless, the intended audience subconsciously becomes more familiar and comfortable with gangs and violence. In, “Violence in Hip-Hop Journalism: A Content Analysis of the Source, A Leading Hip-Hop Magazine” the research article found that The Source Magazine as well as other hip-hop entertainment venues are a potential source of mediated modeling for violent behaviors. Further, the article states that, “Additional exposure may contribute to reinforcing violence as a norm especially as young audiences are more likely to be interested in celebrity affairs and look to celebrities to learn how to act and how to achieve prestige”.

In conclusion we should not normalize these things and stop pushing the boundaries.