Hip Hop never lost its fans

I just read the Wikipedia article: Hip hop. (2012, May 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:05, May 18, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hip_hop&oldid=493046759

I strongly liked this article because it gave an insight on the culture of hip-hop. I think this article explained everything that is needed to be known about hip-hop from how it got started to how it is now a global culture. In addition, I think this article shows the impact that hip-hop has had across the world and especially in the urban communities of the United States.

One sentence from this article that stands out for me is “The created in the United States, hip hop culture and music is now global in scope.” I think this is powerful because it touched many different areas across the world in a positive way. It raised awareness to the problems that were being faced in the urban community. It helped different ethnicities come together through music.

I am pretty sure this is accurate because the article From the Fringe: The Hip Hop Culture and Ethnic Relations, R.Reese, Popular Culture Review, volume XI, no.2, Summer 2000, from http://www.csupomona.edu/~rrreese/HIPHOP.HTML states, “Hip Hop has transcended beyond just music. It has become a lifestyle and/or a culture for people worldwide. Hip Hop is an attitude and hip hop is a language in which a kid from Detroit can relate to a kid in Hong Kong. Seventy-five percent of our audience is non-Black. Now you have kids in Beverly Hills who are sensitive to situations in Compton.”

Another sentence that I agree from the Wikipedia article was “gansta rap also played an important part in hip hop becoming a mainstream commodity.” This stood out to me because I noticed that during the late 1980’s and 1990’s most of the music in hip hop you started to notice the use of profanity in the lyrics and glorifying gang culture. In addition, most of the artists at the time had a hardcore image in their music. And this image seemed to be what help the artist sell their music to their audiences.

I double checked this fact through the article Hip Hop Planet; McBride, James, National Geographic Magazine, April 2007, from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/04/hip-hop-planet/mcbride-text and it stated “Today, alternative hip-hop artists continue to produce socially conscious songs, but most commercial rappers spout violent lyrics that debase women and gays. Beginning with so-called gangsta rap of the 90’s, popularized by still unsolved murders of rappers Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur, the genre has become dominated by rappers who brag about their lives of crime.” This statement makes me feel pretty sure that this is true.

What I learned from this article was that hip hop was created by dj Kool Herc. In addition I learned that hip hop comes in different forms which are Mcing, Djing, B-boying, and graffiti writing. Also I learned that hip hop is more the music, it's a culture that originated in the Bronx, New York. Next, I learned that hip hop evolved every decade and it became very popular as the years went by.

What I also learned from this article is that gangsta rap emerged in the 90s and it changed the music scene in a negative way. In the other hand I learned that it did make the artist a lot of money at the time because that was what selling at the time. Also I learned that hip hop is marketable but it has helped bring attention to things that are going on in urban areas.