1theartofculture

[1theartofculture]

When Will You Fucking Learn.

There’s a visible pattern within the Hip-Hop world. Whether it be by way of substance abuse or gang politics, when an artist of the community dies, his music skyrockets in views, his fanbase increases significantly, his name is made into a hashtag, and he is endorsed as a “Legend”. Despite its constant use, the artists who have been associated with the word “Legend” are not at all suitable for the title. This term is used to describe an individual, who, either in life or death, transformed a certain subject-area. The deaths of rappers such as Juice Wrld, Nipsey Hussle, 2Pac, and Mac Miller brought no change to the conditions which killed them. The normalization of the same ideas, concepts, and mentalities that killed our favorite rappers are still present in Hip-Hop. Selling drugs, burglary, and violence are commonly glorified by mainstream rappers as ways to “get rich quick”. This mentality not only kills our favorite musicians, but they’re also killing us, the Hip-Hop community. 

In its prime, Hip-Hop was recognized as a solution to gang-related violence, which reached an ultimate high during the 1970s. The Hip-Hop genre was an instrument used to cope with the misfortune related to being a minority in a predominantly white America. Common themes at the time revolved around black liberation, class struggles, feminism, and anti-racism. Contrary to modern “Hip-Hop”, artists of Golden Age were intent on bettering the lives of their listeners. Today, we see a lyrical routine of the same topics. Musicians would much rather focus on selling the image of a sex-addicted, substance abusing, murderous hoodlum. Do we even have to mention how unrealistic these stereotypes are? No one living in the ghettos is committing crimes for the fucking aesthetic. The exaggerations made in music videos and rap lyrics are not representative of the lifestyle choices of lower-income individuals.

2Pac and Nipsey Hussle, artists who have been considered legendary by many were both affiliated with notorious gangs (2Pac with the Mob Piru Bloods, and Nipsely Hussle with the Rollin 60’s), crews created for the protection and prosperity of its members. This association is what lead to their untimely and unfortunate deaths. The passing of these rappers has been memorialized, but as mentioned earlier, has made no lasting impact on modern rap culture. Gang related activity is still considered “cool”, and the consequences of this relationship are deadly. In the past decade, more than 1,635 teenagers have died due to gang politics. Our children our dying because of some half-assed marketing strategy. As the sub-genre of Rap becomes more hostile, the injuries accessorizing the conflicts among rival gangs increases exponentially.

 With the likability of the gangster lifestyle, rap culture only ever focuses on the promotion of crimes including homophobia, sexual misconduct, and addiction. “Gangster” rappers often defend themselves by claiming that they only adapt to this character for the sake of entertainment, like actors in a movie. Though this claim does explain the reasoning behind such an act, it doesn’t excuse the behavior. These personas reinforce unrealistic stereotypes of those in lower-income neighborhoods: uneducated, overly assertive, and ignorant. We aren’t taking drugs for the sake of taking drugs. We aren’t joining gangs for the sake of joining gangs. We aren’t committing crime for the sake of committing crime. We do it to fucking survive. To be portraying such immature, repetitive, and uninformed ideas make these rappers appear unbelievably naïve, socially ignorant, and in general, out of touch with reality.

Music in general shapes our belief system, feelings, attitudes, and morals toward fixed subjects. The more frequently we’re exposed to certain content, the more likely we are to indulge in this described lifestyle.  Rap music has been known to normalize the disrespect of women, problematic alcohol use, and argumentative personalities. As a result, those who perceive their favorite rappers as role models, begin to reenact their destructive behaviors. This can be observed in schools, where the suburban kids adapt a “blaccent” as a means to fit in, or at the mall, which has become an epicenter of street harassment. Through all aspects of life, the customs embraced by modern Hip-Hop artists are not just simple  marketing strategy, but fucking epedemic. 

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