The influence of rap on American Society

For this blog I will not talk specifically about a rapper like Drake ort Lil Wayne, but instead I want to speak about how rap as a genre has shaped and changed American Society. For the purposes of this blog I will only concentrate on the influence rap has on American Society Post- 2000. I do this because I feel I have a better feeling on how society was changed during this time because I lived through it. I still think that Old School rap was very influential but, I believe that they really only shaped as relatively small niche of communities and select people groups mainly African Americans in the inner cities.  Nevertheless in the early 2000’s one could really see how rap started to fundamentally change American Society. For the most part at this time in rap’s history the reach of rap was far spread throughout America. One of the first things rap changed was the clothes people wore. At this time I was in the fifth grade and if you where to look at my embarrassing school pictures it was evident them then that even my clothing dresser was heavily influenced by rap. I would go to school in just a white t-shirt and very baggy jeans and on the back of the jeans I would have a flaming tiger on it. I would never be caught dead where that today. But, since that was the way the style went I was socially accepted. Even white people and nonblack people would where this clothing. This was surprising to me because as I mentioned before I thought rap was only geared to a certain group of individual people but, more and more upper class white people started to dress like rappers. This style of rap has also changed since I have lived in the west coast for some time now I have observed that the rappers over here will were tighter jeans and would not have designs going down there pants. I think this is a reason that joggers and women’s high wasted jeans have become a clothing norm in America. Even though I am a firm supporter of the freedom to speech it’s obvious that rap has had some negative effects on society as well. I believe that many people commit crimes after hearing rap or commit crimes while listening to rap is because many rap lyrics talk about crime a lot. If a person only listened to music that talked about stealing killing and raping the person will think it is not that bad that he commit a petty theft and this is more likely to commit another crime. I do not believe that all rap is to be blamed but, the people that make the music that influences these crimes should be at least a little less explicit about their criminal exploits.  For example in the song “U aint even Kno It” Rick Ross clearly admits to putting molly in a woman’s drink and “ Taking her back [To His House] and enjoying that, Which clearly sounds as though Rick Ross drugs girls. Still I feel that raps presence in American Society is more positive than negative. Dances like the “Stanky leg,” or “Hit the Quan,” are more than just a dance but, rather a way people can connect with people from different racial and economic backgrounds. This in turn breaks down social barriers and stereotypes allowing Americans the chance for further social progression as time advances.

For my third blog I thought about talking about some current news in the rap world. I would like to focus on Drake right now because as an artist he is probably on the top of his game and one of the most influential rappers in the industry right now. Just so you now a little about him Drake lived his young life in Toronto Canada. He was on “Degrassi” as Jimmy Brooks when he was 15 years old. When he was older he began releasing mixtapes. Even though he released numerous mixtapes he did not garner the public eye until he released his EP So Far Gone with hit singles like “Best I ever Had” and “Successful featuring Trey Songz.” Besides his Ep Drake also signed to Young Money in 2009 both of these events where essential in his rise to fame. Then Drake released his first album recorded in a Studio “Thank me Later” which had songs in it that where so overplayed by the radio but some of my favorites nonetheless like “Over” and “Thank me Now.” I believe Drakes Second Album Take Care really established him as a versatile talented artist songs like “The Ride” and “Motto.” Had such different sounds that it would almost be hard to tell that the same rapper made these songs. Through this album Drake also popularized the term YOLO (you only live once) which probably made people make so many irresponsible decisions. His latest album “Now Thing was the same,” also had a huge release though not as big as Take Care. In the beginning of this year Drake released a Mixtape “If you are reading this it’s too late,” which was one of his greatest works of art. Some of my friends believe this mixtape was greater than Take Care as a whole. Lastly Drake and Future Just released a joint mixtape called “What a time to be Alive.”  Since Future is also on the top of his game many people prayed that Future and Drake would make a collaboration album. I love the way they released the album also instead of just dropping an album they let rumor circulate. Some people including myself though that this mixtape was fake and that the collaboration never happened. They even set up fake countdown that tease eager rap heads. But when they finally dropped the mixtape everyone know the wait was most definitely worth it. In my personal opinion I believe every song on that mixtape was amazing and Drake really did outdo himself on this Mixtape. Before this year is over drake has promised us he next album “Views from the 6.” I feel this album will probably come out during October but he has kept the release date quite. One of the biggest reasons I like Drake as an artist is that he is able to adapt to changing times. If I was to listen to Drake’s first Mixtape “The Comeback Season 1,” I would probably think it was a completely different person because he has evolved into a whole new artist. I respect Drake also because he tries his hardest to stay out pf petty dram but, I f a person was to accuse him of something he is not too afraid to respond.