Jagdev Singh Black Music Essay 214164248.docx -...

Contemporary Black Urban Music
The Place of “ The Hood” in Rap
Jagdev Singh Kondal
214164248
Ron Westray
MUSI 2520- Section A
January 9 th / 2017

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Table of Contents
1) Introduction and Purpose…………………………………………………..……………...3
2) History…………………………………………………………………….……………….4
3) Thesis……………………………………………………………………………………...8
4) Definition………………………………………………………………………………….9
5) The Why? ........................................................................................................................... 10
6) Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….14

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As for the future of rap, are performers still able to authentically rap about the “hood”
when some of the conditions that created rap have changed?
The beauty of rap can be attributed to the exciting package of the beat, flow, rhyme,
delivery and the content which is encompassed in the lyrics. It creates a musical masterpiece
which fans and listeners can vibe too which also propelling an influx of artists who have entered
the genre to establish their own style and express their opinions. Rap is confused with hip hop by
most people, but one underlying fact is that rap is an ingredient of hip hop, one of the four
elements of hip hop as outlined by DJ Afrikaa Bambaataa. Rap music often is associated with
vulgar language addressing the topics of violence, sexuality, and the hood, commonly referred to
as gangsta rap. This music has created several successful artists and millionaires from Ice Cube,
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Tupac Shakur, Christopher Wallace, and more,
stemming from the 1990’s and 2000’s rap scene. Thus, the question becomes if the modern-day
rappers and performers can still rap about the “hood” in an authentic sense rather than carrying
on the tradition of its permanent place
in this musical genre when the
conditions in the past have changed.
To explore this, the origins of rap
need to be analyzed, in combination
with the evolving time periods in the
rap industry, as well as investigating
the effects of modern day lyrics
which has dynamically transformed
the industry. Views and opinions are

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subjective from each perspective, whether you are the audience, the rapper, the media, or an
historian to name a few examples. For example, Public Enemy leader Chuck D believe that
rapping about the hood has become revenue generating stream in which people can visit the
“hood” and the real people who represent the hood don’t need luxuries like a private jet, a
presumed shot at multimillionaire rappers. (1) Objectivity is hard to achieve when it comes to
addressing this question, but it must be pointed out regardless.
History

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The archetypes of rapping stem from the Griots of West Africa who were a group of
travelling poets and singers whose vocal style was like of modern-day rappers. (2) Even though
dubbed like the Jamaican tradition of toasting which composed of
impromptu poetry, boasting and sayings over music, these people
date back to the 14
th
century. (3) Skipping past several centuries to
the 1970’s, the cultural movement of hip hop revolutionized the
musical landscape
which was being
propelled by the
Blacks and Latinos
of the time. (3) The social and economic inequalities which existed between blacks and whites