Critical Essay - CLST201 Hip and Positive influence on Youth Culture PDF

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Hip Hop and Positive Influences on Youth Culture....

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[Last Name] 1 xxxxxxxxx CLST201 xxxxxxxxx Hip Hop and Positive Influence on Youth Culture.

Music is loved by people of all ages and backgrounds across the world. Different genres of music impact people in diverse ways and most people have a preferred genre of music that they listen to and have opinions about other genres of music. One genre of music that has a polarizing impact on many people is Hip Hop, also known as Rap music. Hip Hop and rap have an ever-increasing presence in mainstream that is often shadowed with negative connotations. Hip Hop often has a bad reputation for destroying the minds of youth. Violent and degrading lyrics are believed by some to be a negative influence on youth culture. However, “Hip Hop is considered one of the most important and influential popular cultures of our contemporary global society, and thus offers a crucial point of engagement for young people from most backgrounds” (qtd in Crooke et al. 2). Therefor it is important to understand the history and beginning of Hip Hop culture and how this popular genre of music can have a positive impact on youth culture. Hip Hop and Rap music can provide hope, serve as a form of expression and empowerment, decrease violence, and positively engage youth. In the late 1960s, Hip hop’s roots began in the decaying community of the South Bronx as a form of cultural expression by people of African and Latino decent. Hip hop was a cultural movement that included different elements of art. “The four fundamental elements: (a) emceeing (also known as rapping), (b) djing (or turntablism), (C) b-boying/b-girling (also called breakdancing), and (d) graffiti art” (Washington 99) More simplistically put, “hip Hop is a broad term that brings together cultural practices that gravitate around rap music including MCin’ or rapping” (Evans 325). This cultural movement was not only an innovative form of expression,

[Last Name] 2 but a way to unify people with similar backgrounds and oppressive experiences. Many people do not realize that the beginnings of Hip hop were formed as alternatives to violence. Afrika Bambaata, is one of the forefathers of Hip Hop, he “made deliberate efforts to confront, navigate and/or manage violence in their communities through the culture of Hip Hop” (Evans 329) “Instead of fighting with fists, hip-hop gave youth option of fighting with words, art, dance or the ability to produce good beats” (qtd in Evans 326). However, as hip hop has become a commercialized commodity, the “culture has frequently been stigmatized and associated with violence by academics, policy makers and the general public” (Evans 325). With Hip Hop’s popularity in mainstream, it is important to note the positive influences this musical genre can have on youth. As reference by Crooke, “Hip Hop culture specifically Hip Hop (Rap) music, have gained have also gained increasing attention in discourses of individual and social wellbeing” (2). These discussions are important to understanding the profound and evolving impact that Hip Hop can have on mental health and wellbeing. One form of discourse is using rap. Many people who perform rap or write rap music talk about their struggles and overcoming obstacles, providing hope for themselves and others. There is also increasing use of Rap/Hip Hop based therapies that shows a progressive understanding of utilizing various artistic mediums. Decarlo notes that group rap therapy is gaining traction. “Clinicians and researchers throughout the world are beginning to realize the innovative potential of this approach as prevention and intervention mechanism with adolescents in various settings” (Decarlo 12). Youth can use Hip Hop as an alternative form of expression and a way to express repressed emotions. Hip Hop based programs provide intrinsic opportunities for youth and are particularly valuable for those groups who are marginalized (Landson-Billings 409). Music is a universal language and for youth who feel like they do not have a voice. Rap music can be one way for adolescents

[Last Name] 3 to feel a part of something. Based on Harper and Hope’s research on rap music it “represents the lived experiences of a group of people who are often maligned, forgotten about, or vilified” (122). Due to its popular nature and ability to resonate with youth, Hip hop and rap are used in many classrooms and provides opportunities for students to access alternative forms of expression. Hip Hop and rap can also be utilized as an engagement tool within the school curriculum. Cooke noted that when hip hop is utilized educatively as a social agent in for change there are more opportunities for self-expression, positive life experiences, “social solidarity, and connectedness” (13). Providing connectedness is one foundational component to the attachment and regulation of developing adolescents. There are other noted benefits as well. “Specific benefits included self-expression and connection with others through narratives around pain, loss, marginalization, and inequity. This led to the ability to share and process experience of pain and suffering and the formulation of a community which provided social support and cohesion.” (Crooke, 13) “Hip Hop, is what many people consider the truth telling experience which allowed people to see themselves and their struggles represented in the music” (Harper and Hope 113). Hip hop provides hope. Hip hop and rap allow for expression, empowerment, and increased understanding of social justice. Rap music has spurred social awareness in many communities. For the first time many disenfranchised youths discover the power of a safe, creative medium such as Hip hop and use it to highlight emerging issues in their communities. “Hip Hop music can be a public, safe space for healing that gives marginalized people the chance to express their struggles” (Harper and Hope 122). When youth feel a part of movement there are numerous emotional and social gains. Not only do they benefit, but society as a whole benefit. “Ennis et. el. (2014) also reported both personal and social benefits. Personalized benefits included reduced

[Last Name] 4 shame and increased sense of pride, confidence, self-esteem, and school engagement” (qtd in Crooke 13). In addition to mental health benefits, engagement, and social awareness research has also shown that Rap music provides an opportunity to write and hear lyrics that speak out against discrimination, violence, micro- aggressions, and feelings of oppression. “Growing number of social, educational and therapeutic initiatives have been using Hip Hop as a tool to make a difference by giving at-risk preteens and teenagers a safe way to express themselves, while also helping them avoid violence” (qtd in Evans 327). Hip Hop provides an opportunity for youth to see their own struggles, not feel alone, and look up to numerous successful artists, to make positive changes in their own lives. “Many youth like rap for the way its lyrical expression represents the realities of their lives and struggles. Likewise some youth are attracted to the message promoted by rap” (Elligan 28). Evans notes how Hip Hop allows many youths to replace violence with music, and as such this medium of expression allows them to decrease their expression and channel their anger into a creative outlet (326). Hip-Hop “provides insight into the psyches of a community rarely humanized in our society” (qtd in Harper and Hope 123). Hip Hop and rap are much more than part of a culture and musical genre, they are artistic agents for change. Increasing popularity of the musical genre shows it is here to stay and as such, Hip Hop and rap provide a voice for the voiceless and continue a much-needed narrative for generations to come. This notion is echoed in Evan’s words, “storytelling helps to understand the transformation of cross-species inherent behaviours into culturally meaningful human practices while maintaining our evolutionary functions” (339).

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Works Cited Crooke, A., R. Comte, and C. Moreno Almeida. “Hip Hop As an Agent for Health and Wellbeing in Schools”. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, Vol. 20, no. 1, Feb. 2020, doi:10.15845/voices.v20i1.2870. DeCarlo, Alonzo. “The Rise and Call of Group Rap Therapy: A Critical Analysis from Its Creator.” Group Analysis, vol. 46, no. 2, June 2013, pp. 225–238, doi:10.1177/0533316413483086. Elligan, Don. “Rap Therapy: A Culturally Sensitive Approach to Psychotherapy With Young African American Men.” Journal of African American Men, vol. 5, no. 3, 2000, pp. 27–36. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41819404. Accessed 19 Feb. 2021. Evans Pim, Joám. (2018). Preventing Violence Through Hip Hop: an evolutionary perspective. Journal of Peace Education. 15. 1-20. 10.1080/17400201.2018.1535474. Harper, Kimberly, and Jackson Hope. “Dat’ Niggas Crazy: How Hip-Hop Negotiates Mental Health.” The Western Journal of Black Studies, vol. 42, no. 3 & 4, 2018, pp. 113–24. Landson-Billings, G. (2015). You gotta fight the power: The place of music in social justice education. In C. Benedict, P. Schimdt, G. Spruce, & P. Woodford (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of social justice in music education (pp. 406-419). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press Washington, A.R. (2018), Integrating Hip‐ Hop Culture and Rap Music into Social Justice Counseling with Black Males. Journal of Counseling & Development, 96: 97105. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12181

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