Research

http://officialperiodic.blogspot.com/2012/07/old-school-hip-hop-mixtape-anti-drug.html

This blog explains how early hip hop was more sanitary and was against drug use. The focus of hip hop and rap in the 1970's was all about innocence and having fun. This shows how the hip hip culture has changed over time. This helps my blog because it gives me something to compare my topic too. 

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/07/did-hip-hop-fail/

"Did hip-hop fail?" is another view on the hip-hop culture. It compares old and new hip-hop exploiting that race is the reason why it changed. The blog states that caucasians were the reason why hip-hop artists started influencing drugs and violence in their music. I can use this in my blog as an argument that race did not influence the use of drugs in rap music.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/162618436.html?refer=y

The startribune states that hip-hop was born in an unfortunate time. A rapid growing hip-hop community forming in a drug era was why these negative influences go hand in hand with hip-hop music. This blog is another view on my topic. It gives a little more on the history and factual side of this dilemma. Knowing this is a great way to expand my knowledge on my topic.

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/researcher-cites-negative-influences-of-hip-hop-398214/

An educational site provides more of the truth than a blog does.

This article by Kathy SaeNgian shows how hip-hop promotes unhealthy lifestyles. The things i can acquire from this article are facts that I can use to support my claims on my topic.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/03/08/17634/

This article from the Daily Princeton is a complete different look on the subject. The author is explaining his view of hip-hop even tho he does not listen to the music. With strong points he argues how hip-hop is a negative influence. Getting information from different views can help understand the bigger picture.

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/55516

The University of BYU argues if hip-hop is actually a good or bad influence. This is important because it shows both sides of the argument. Knowing that hip-hop can have positive influences can help make a better argument that it causes more harm to society than well being. 

Research

Academic Sources

http://jbs.sagepub.com/content/28/1/3.abstract
“The Chain Remain the Same” Communicative Practices in the Hip Hop Nation
This source provides some of the many different ways hip hop communicates to its listeners. Mainly this article is warning the reader of the disruptions hip hop creates in a seemingly safe world. This article has been cited by many other articles, some that were written about what hip hop teaches its listeners and the misogyny in hip hop.

http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:nDl3r99RfHcJ:scholar.google.com/+hip+hop+violence&hl=en&as_sdt=0,44
How Hip-Hop Holds Blacks Back
This article conveys how hip hip has influenced a man's neighborhood and the black people that live in it. It shows how the party style hip hop of the 70s and the seemingly dark age of hip hop in the 80s molded his neighborhood when the 70s and 80s came along. He goes on to show with statistics and with his observation, how popular hip hop was but how it did nothing to better black culture.

http://uex.sagepub.com/content/41/6/585.short
We Can Relate

This article display how hip hop has helped in education with the use of lyrics to convey “humanities and social sciences”. This article is based only on the one aspect of hip hop but it wants to show the readers that the lyrics can be used as a learning tool. This article has been cited by many other articles that want to show how the hip hop culture to help the youth.

 

 

Blogs

 

http://www.hiphoplinguistics.com/articles/

This is an open blog where anybody can make articles about their view on hip hop. This blog talks about every aspect of hip hop including the urban hip hop to the teaching of hip hop. The whole basis of this article is to try conclude what “Hip-Hop” really is.

 

http://www.mysteryofhiphop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=4&Itemid=9

This blog is trying to show a man's view on hip-hop culture. This blog emphasizes how lyrics and the words of the artists show hip hop's true meanings. He, in one article, explains how people react trying to get into the hip hop business.

 

http://www.mysteryofhiphop.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=10

This blog is another man's view of the culture of hip hop. He explains how people who are in the hip hop business go there because that is how they want people to see them as. This blog more explains the pride people have when in the hip hop industry.

 

Research

Here is my research from other blogs and scholarly articles related to our blog. 

Blogs

http://underworld-rap.blogspot.com/ -- Underworld Rap

Underworld-Rap is the most unique blog I have seen on Blogspot thus far. It focuses strictly on sharing underground and horror-core rap with its readers, which I personally have never seen in a blog. It argues that underground rap is supreme to mainstream, and that talented artists should be heard even when very few people know about them. This is significant to our blog because we can learn what it takes to be unique and different in such a common field of discussion.

http://rapdungeon.blogspot.com/ - -Rap Dungeon

This is another blog that focuses more on underground hip-hop and does so in the standard blogging style similar to our blog. Just like Underworld-Rap’s blog, the author focuses on spreading underground music that he feels should be heard. If I had to pick something that I would take from this blog and add into ours, it would be the author’s dedication to posting so frequently, and his overall knowledge on underground hip-hop.  

http://str8mfhustla.blogspot.com/ -- Str8mfhustla

I chose this blog as an example of what not to do with our blog. Hip-hop already has such a negative connotation to it that it doesn’t need more of this cheap, dirty, “gangster” mentality that people are so quick to push. Just looking at the top of the blog makes me laugh because it honestly looks like one big joke. It focuses on promoting “gangsta rap” as the author calls it, and has been running since 2007 sharing music and ideas with its audience.

Academic Sources from Google Scholar

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/821822?uid=3739560&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21101254429377 – Promoting academic literacy with urban youth through engaging hip-hop culture

As we can tell by the title, the author tries to persuade the audience that hip-hip and its culture provides a positive result in promoting the literacy of the youth who listen. We constantly hear in mainstream media that hip-hop is a negative influence and they always berate the genre by saying only uneducated lower-income people listen to it, but this article twists that concept around and actually argues that it educates young people in their literacy. I like the change of pace because I am very tired of hearing how bad hip-hop is for young people, so this author did a great job in shedding some light on an unseen area.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2307/3587669/abstract - Becoming Black: Rap and Hip-hop, Race, Gender, and Identity

In this article, the author talks about the impact that hip-hop has in establishing identity in the black culture. He emphasizes the new style of writing that hip-hop created early in its time, and the many linguistic styles that rappers use to get their points across. The main thing I like about this article is that it completely strays away from the actual music, and focuses more on what hip-hop means to culture, and how people find their identities with their own music.  

http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/21/1/77.short - The Localization of rap music and hip hop culture

This article analyzes rap music and its culture reworked by young Turkish and Moroccan communities. It talks about the social aspect of hip-hop and how significant the area is where artists compose their songs. I personally have never heard of Turkish or Moroccan communities composing rap music, so it was interesting to see what goes on with hip-hop in other distant parts of the world. The main thing I took away from this is that even though hip-hop originated in America, it has spread so far and has become localized by so many cultures that it sounds different in each and every place of the world.  

Cudderisback

Here is a music Video from rapper and hip-hop artist Kid Cudi. He is said to be one of the greatest of this new age of music. In this video from one of his older songs known as "Cudder is back" We can see   how it takes place in his comfortable home. Cudi is just relaxing at home with some friends enjoying the night. The director made this video very easy to follow and there's not much that is complicated about it. The video is so laid back and has humor to it which makes it enjoyable. Its probably night time since the blinds are closed and the lights are all on and we can see the influence of drugs and alcohol in the first 10 seconds of the film.

As soon as the scene starts we can see a bottle of alcohol and a bunch of energy drinks. This can infer that they are going to drink that since it's what the camera focuses on first. Then there's a scene with Cudi hugging another man while holding a bag of weed. From this I can say that it was his drug dealer bringing him some marijuana. As we can see this video is has 2 million views, which means he has a strong fan base.

The influence of drugs and alcohol is easily seen in this video and it's all revolved around his music. With millions of fans its not hard to get at least one or two people to follow in your footsteps. Putting music videos on youtube is a great way to catch someones attention, but it's also a great way to propose bad habits to someone. I'm not degrading hip-hop artist because they smoke or drink and nothing near that, all i'm saying is that with the technology we have today it is easy to persuade people of bad habits.

Frontlines

Last week I talked about a platinum selling artist who makes his money by telling his audience how much he struggled to reach fame, and how sweet that fame was when he finally reached it. This week, I am focusing on two artists on the complete polar opposite side of the hip-hop spectrum. For those who are unfamiliar, Diabolic and Immortal Technique are two underground rappers who are entirely underrated and shunned due to mainstream radio rap and better marketing by other undeserving artists. Unlike mainstream rappers, they could only rely on their fans to spread their work in hopes that many of them will see their talent and boost their fame. Sure enough today, this video is sitting at over five million views, and continues to attract more people interested in the underground scene of hip-hop.

The video opens with the two artists walking into a dark tunnel with bright light shining behind them. As soon as they enter the tunnel, the lyrical madness begins and they enter a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Diabolic opens up the song and the two are now seen sitting around a table packing bullets into their shotguns. The video itself carries on simply by the two artists rapping directly to the camera with different scenery of urban city buildings in the background. Diabolic and Immortal Technique make one thing very clear by this video: If you have a great song, you don't need to have a mass budget music video to make you famous; you will get there if you deserve it.

The way the two artists speak to the camera makes it feel as though they are speaking directly to me, and the power they emphasize in each of their verses almost gives is devastatingly chilling. They succeed in this music video on the sheer fact that they have undeniable talent that shouldn't be covered up by a "mainstream" rap theme.

While this video was made in 2010, it reaches back all the way to the late nineties where music videos for hip-hop consisted of just the artist speaking to the camera with none of the women, drugs, alcohol, fancy cars, and expensive jewelry. Underground rap differs from all the other sub-genres in the sense that they still keep true to what really made hip-hop notorious in the first place. The lyrics and beat should be the only things that matter when it comes to hip-hop, and while music videos certainly try to portray the lyrics in a visual form, it is still important to use our own interpretation and imagination of what the artist is trying to portray.

One Love

“One Love” is a lyrical masterpiece by Nas. The song is a chain of letters Nas has written to imprisoned friends explaining what has happened in their neighborhood while they've been incarcerated. He brings his lyrical vision to life when he released the “One Love” music video, illustrating the slang riddled song in his eyes.

The music video uses color to separate the outside world and prison using all types of color in the outside scenes and black and white in prison scenes. The music goes on to the events that have happened including a cheating girlfriend, a traitorous friend, and a nefarious kid. The video alternates showing these events and how his friends in prison reacted after reading each occurrence showing a kind of regret for not being there. The kid, Rob, is the main character in this story. He is seen pointing his gun at a woman. The video then cuts to the ambulance giving the viewer an inkling that the woman was either injured or killed but this inkling turns into assurance when the next scene shows the kid thrown in the back of a policeman's car in handcuffs.

Many music videos and songs show a rapper's intention of embracing the gang and drug culture but in this music video it makes the viewer not want to be in these types of situations. This video was a way to show how bad reality sinks in when your in these situations or emotionally in them and in one scene it shows Nas's futile attempts at getting away from it. The videos end illustrates how bad behavior or even the surroundings a person is native to can ruin maybe even end their or another person's life.

ASAP MOB

Hip-Hop has come along way from where it started and heres a photo of some newer hip-hop artist. There a group of rappers from the streets of Harlem and along with there music they represent a clique or gang known as A.S.A.P. As you can see the picture there are drug, violence, and gang refrences.

This picture looks like a photo shoot for a magazine or blog and all the members of A.S.A.P are wearing white shirts that represent there "music group". What makes this picture cynical is that none of them are looking directly at the camera which makes them seem mysterious. Also the man to the left (ASAP Rocky) is wearing a ski mask to cover his face which can be him portraying that burglar up to no good type of look. The man all the way to the right is holding a bat and the man in the middle is drinking alcohol and smoking a blunt. All of these things contribute to the "thug" or "gangster" image.

The lighting is artificial which means they're out on the streets at night somewhere hidden. The man in the back is wearing black so he won't be noticed while the white shirts are the most eye catching piece in this photo. The image wants you to see "A.S.A.P. MOB" so that way you recognize what this picture is all about. The perspective of this photo is coming from the photographer, it makes you feel like your taking the picture. So as we can see the drugs, alcohol, and weapon in this picture portray that along with making music these hip-hop artist are surrounded by negative influences.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin'

It isn't uncommon to hear about money in hip-hop, but most artists don't go to such great lengths to show their struggle to the top. Curtis Jackson, more commonly known as "50 Cent", released a ground-breaking album entitled "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" that redefined the concept of becoming successful by any means necessary. The album went sextuple platinum and made 50 Cent into one of the best selling artists of hip-hop history.

Before I dive into an analysis, I will say that this post focuses more on the imagery and meaning of the album cover itself, not the message behind any songs or albums. Rest assured, I will have plenty to say in later blog posts.


Let's dive in. Here we have the notorious album cover that millions of people around the world have seen. The very first thing my eyes draw to is the bullet hole through a visible layer of glass which 50 Cent is standing behind. The cross necklace he is wearing is immediately emphasized, and we as the audience now see behind a tough exterior, a man of God trying to make his own success in the life he was given. It isn't a secret that 50 Cent has been shot nine times, and it is admirable that he found fame through his passion and still kept his faith through it all. The red background definitely wasn't chosen randomly, but moreover to allude to the blood, sweat, and tears 50 Cent poured into his work.

He wants to be clear that he isn't another "wanna-be gangster" trying to make a quick buck. He is an artist that wants to be on the very top, and sure enough he was placed there through his dedication. The album title can be seen as written in cursive, trying to add to a more classy atmosphere, while 50 Cent's name is in a completely different font style on his left. He is seen as shirtless, but is still wearing a type of fabric with a "50" pattern embedded on it. This is possibly to show that while he still considers himself a tough, rugged "gangster" at heart, he knows that he has hit the jackpot in his attempt to be successful.

Death Certificate by Ice Cube

As a member of NWA and as a solo artist, Ice Cube has a tendency to write music that conveyed some sort of message, something he wanted people to react to, controversial or not. Death Certificate, Ice Cube's second solo album, has a cover that gives the listener an inkling of what they were going to hear inside.

The album cover has mostly darker shades of color which, at first glance, make the eyes become drawn to the bright colors of the American flag covering the portrayed dead body of Uncle Sam. The feet of Uncle Sam are the largest figures in the photo, making their importance much greater. Ice Cube is standing behind the body seemingly leering at the viewer, making the onlooker believe he or she is being forced into looking at the body.

“A personification of the federal government or citizens of the US” is the first part of the dictionary.com definition of Uncle Sam. This makes me assume that people see Uncle Sam as the epitome of everything the United States stands for including “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as the Declaration of Independence tells us. His dead body in the photo conveys a message that Ice Cube believes that what the United States stands for has died off in his time. Uncle Sam is also not covered in a bag but by the American flag showing America's still belief in its constituted ideas.

Samantha's Introduction

Hello and welcome to our hip hop blog! My name is Samantha Hernandez and a lot like my partners on this blog, I can honestly say I have had a deep love for hip hop since I first heard it.

I can not pin point an exact date or even a year when I first started listening to hip hop, it has been a part of my life for a long as I can remember, and maybe even before. I would walk around my house as a child constantly doing what I saw in music videos and reciting raps. My favorite thing to do however was walk around free styling, yes, my secret passion is rapping. I would walk around asking for people to give me a topic and 3 minutes to have a quick verse ready. To this day I still do this constantly. But, to say that the music is the only factor of hip hop would not do it justice. I remember the first time I saw someone break dance, it was in the movie You Got Served. I was memorized and amazed that such beauty could come
from moving your body. From that day on I decided to devote my time to learning how to move like them, and I did. See, Hip Hop is a whole culture which is at least 30 years old now, a whole community of people who share a common interest. This can be true in any of the four elements of hip hop;
 Master of ceremonies or Mic controller (MC), Break Dancers (B-boy/B-girl) Graffiti Artist, or Disc Jockey (DJ).

But those were the good ol' days, the days when Hip Hop was about unity going into a warehouse and just making the crowd jump and feel inspired like they were a part of something beautiful. People often today say that ""Hip hop" "hip hop" "is dead"" -Nas. This may or may not be true, but our blogs sole purpose is to find out why? Why is it that so many young males and females are turning to negative influences that today's
hip hop makes seem desirable? Our main goal is to critically analyze the influence Hip Hop has on its listeners.

Introduction

Hello, my name is Denrick Bautista. I attend California State University, Northridge. I grew up in North Hills just a few miles from campus. I have been listening to hip hop music for as long as I can remember.

When listening to hip-hop music I cared for only one thing, lyrics. If a song had great lyrics I would keep the song playing but if the lyrics were a bunch of nonsense I moved on to the next one. Hip-hop music from the 80s and 90s is what I usually listen to because of its emphasis on lyricism. Because of my fascination with lyrics, my favorite album became Illmatic by Nas because it had both meaning and amazing lyrics in each and every song.

If hip-hop does have a contribution to the increase in bad behavior of its listeners I believe that only two things could have caused this, the lyrics in its music or the actions of its artists. In this blog I will be analyzing how hip-hop might have become a haven for bad behavior and how listeners have reacted to it.

 

Introduction

Hello my name is Agustin Cena I'm 18 years old and I attend Cal State University Northridge. I grew up in the suburbs of Palmdale, California where hip-hop has been one of the main influences of music in my life. I grew up listening to different styles of hip-hop with my neighbors, family, and friends. 

My perspective on hip-hop has changed over the years, where different sub-genres have branched off from the ideal 'Hip-Hop' persona. I currently like to listen to a little less main stream and see my self listening to a little bit more underground music on the daily. I feel that Hip-Hop consists of an entire culture and not just one genre of music.

I will try to make my post as least bias as I can regarding the topic of our project by uploading videos, pictures, and sound clips from reliable sources. I will also try to include some of my own experiences around hip hop festivals and concerts.

A Formal Hello!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome any new readers to the blog! My name is Daniel Rojas and  I am currently a freshman student at California State University at Northridge. I have had a personal passion for hip-hop music for as long as I can remember.

One of the most memorable, yet embarrassing, moments of my childhood was dancing to the "The Real Slim Shady" music video when it appeared nearly every single day after school on VH1. I was completely mesmerized by the song for the longest time, and the dynamic sound that it produced was like nothing I had ever heard before. The music video inspired me to find other sources of music that reached the same caliber of quality.

As I got older, my music interests expanded and I took a deeper look behind the mask of hip-hop. After all, the music itself was only a small fraction of what the entire genre truly represented. There is an entire community behind the genre and it is accompanied by a certain atmosphere that is unmatched by other music styles. To say that hip-hop is made up only of the music doesn't do the genre justice whatsoever. I plan to further discuss the deeper meaning and philosophy behind hip-hop later in this blog.

I will do my best to address the topic at hand honestly and critically. I have listened to the entire spectrum of hip-hop music from the early nineties to the current music playing in our radios this day. The development of the music style has interested me for a long time, and I am grateful that I finally have this opportunity to elaborate on the subject.

-Daniel Rojas