HIP HOP INTRODUCTION:

For the past few decades, hip hop and rap have had an enormous influence on youth culture. It affects how they dress, talk, what products they purchase and helps shape their identites. Many of the early rap artists such as NWA and Public Enemy released tracks about rebellion and creating a nonconformist attitude and that ideology reflected in their music videos. Big baggy pants and shirts,backwards hats and bandanas were plastered all over rap videos and each particular item sent out a unique message to the impressionable youth. As well, the language they used in these videos gave us new meaning to old words and created a new type of lingo. This blog will give insight into the social impacts of hip-hop on youth culture.

HIP HOP AND ITS AFFECTS ON YOUTH CLOTHING

Hip hop and rap music have influenced youth culture in many ways but particularly in how they choose to dress. Since it’s inception over 35 years ago hip-hop has continued to thrive across North America and is now a $ 4 billion-a-year music industry. Rap, which prodominently now called hip hop, is a cultural force that has gained steam in its ability to produce results when paired with existing clothing and apparel lines as well is in creating its own. A perfect example of hip-hop’s ability to sell came in 1999 when Tommy Hilfiger reported a significant increase in annual sales after tailoring his line for “the hip-hop set.” Since then other major manufactures have decided to cross over to a more hip hop street type of look and enjoyed the same success. Currently, urban street apparel accounts for $2.2 billion in annual sales, which includes a celebrity-based designer list from the likes of 50 cents, G-Unit Brand and Sean “Puffy” Combs, Sean John line of apparel. More and more this trend towards “street” clothing is becoming popular and places like Macy’s now fill their racks with the likes of FUBU, Phat Farm, Mecca and ENYCE rather than the likes of Calvin Klein or Polo. There is no denying the influence hip hop has youth and how they choose to dress because they are simply mimicking what they see on T.V. And what they are seeing is a dominating “rap” culture. Ebony magazine reports that two out of every 10 records sold in America are hip-hop and that 80 percent of buyers are white. The impacts of hip-hop music don’t stop at it’s affects on clothing but is rather just the beginning.

HIP HOP & LANGUAGE

Hip hops affects can be not only been seen in the clothing we wear today but also in the language we use and its meaning. Words like “bling” things ending in “izzle” like “for shizzle” meaning, for sure, and “hur” instead of "here" are becoming a main stay in today’s youth speech. As well, hip hop has the ability to change the meanings of words. Though usually used as a hate word or as a means of insult the “hip hop” community has changed the word “nigger” from a derogatory term to one of endearment. In DMX’s song “My Niggers” he consistently uses the word to describe his friends or one’s that he is close with. “Just cause I love my niggers, I shed blood for my niggers. Let a nigger holla, "Where my niggers?" How DMX has chosen to use the word, like many other rappers, is as a word of endearment or friendship, that his “niggers” are friends, his crew, the one’s he rolls with. DMX is changing the meaning of that word, at least within that community, from a word of hate to a word of friendship. Hip hop can also negatively affect language; a perfect example is the explicit use of the word “bitch” and “hoe” when referring to women. The terms were never viewed in a positive light but hip hop has made them more derogatory, as if almost to say being a “bitch” is a good thing. Hip hop artists commonly refer to women in these terms and it affects the way the youth act towards and treat women. Women are often portrayed as objects in these songs. In Ja Rule’s song “Down Ass Bitch” he says “Every thug needs a lady, and every thug needs a down ass bitch, huh, feel me” Though every individual interprets the song on their own it’s easy to see that in Ja’s view that a “down ass bitch” is a good thing which could lead to youth thinking this is the way they should talk to women.

SOCIAL IMPACTS:

Probably the largest impact that hip-hop has had on youth culture lies in its ability to cross social and racial borders and bring people together. Music director and movie producer Mark Shimmel, put it this way in an interview with U.S Life and Culture when talking about the impact of hip-hop. “The sociological and cultural impact of rock and roll pales in comparison to what hip-hop has been able to accomplish. Hip-hop is the singular most important melding of black and white cultures that has ever existed in the United States,” Shimmel said. “Hip-hop is a story about music, but it is much more than that. Urban music, like Motown, worked for white audiences, but you did not see blacks and whites together at live concerts. Hip-hop changed that, because it was about fashion and language from the beginning, and -- most importantly -- captured a sense of urgency that teenagers in the suburbs and in the cities could relate to. When hip-hop artists wrote about the world they saw in the inner city, black and white teens recognized that the isolation of suburbia was not much different.” Hip-hop is a music that has transcended cultural and racial barriers and has given millions of people insight in how it’s like to live in these “ghettos”. By giving insight to the rest of the world we are better able to address issues in these communities as well as in our own communities and try to bring about change. Hip-hop brings not only white and black people together but it also reaches out to every minority. More and more artists from all different backgrounds are now exploring hip hop as a means of communication and to tell their “story” and its popularity will only continue to grow as artists from every ethic background continue to reach out to the world.

IDENTITY THROUGH DISCOURSE:

Hip-hop has allowed youth to create and shape their identity through discourse. Through the language and images used in their videos and songs, rappers influence everything about youth. Because language and discourse are such a large part of our everyday lives, how we choose to speak to others can affect what sub-culture or group we are associated with. Most commonly, rappers speak with slang and cut down words and syllables to form their own language. This language helps create and shape youth’s identities because if they choose to speak a certain way than they most also dress and act that way to fit into the social norms of that particular group. While many women and men are depicted as gangsters and thugs sporting guns and driving nice cars it gives youth the impression that for them to live that sort of lifestyle they too must live like that. This influences their purchases, how they approach and talk to others and thus shapes their identity.

CONCLUSION

Hip hop music has an enormous influence on the youth of today. Whether it be in the clothes they wear, the way they talk, or how they view other races and genders it's affects are profound. I am not trying to say whether rap music is a good or a bad thing but merely pointing out it's importance in today's youth culture so we can examine the trends and make our own decisions. Whether we like it or not, hip hop has changed society and it will continue to do so.