Journal Analysis | Stereotypes In Hip Hop

Stereotypes in Hip Hop


In Hip-Hop the evolution of this culture has come very far thus far. There are so many different elements that make hip-hop what it is today it is more than just music, it is clothing, media, it has become a way of life for many. In this article the author describes the different stereotypes within the hip hop/rap community and how it the African American community and how other races and authorities perceive African Americans off lyrical content.


The article is well written and very detailed in the orientation of the information the writer is working to explain to the audience the stereotypes but there are some issues that arise in this article that I think somewhat derailed the message. The predictions of what will happen in the future to me can be confusing to the readers leading them to be confused with the facts within entire article. It is a long article that could have been broken down to have less information but it was a research article instead of 20 pages it could have easily been cut down to 10 pages by decreasing the information and using more summarizing. The foundation of the article provided many facts and citations within the article which would have better if there was in text explaining the citations beforehand. In this article there was specific research and studies done that were through they broke the study down to three different sections.


The authors explain how anti-blacks and other groups perceive the violence and drugs in the songs a reason to why the black community commits these crimes and breaks laws because the people who listen to the music become influenced by the story that is portrayed by the artist. The authors really understand that the music is not encouraging this behavior it is more less people describing what happens in their lives around them. All the main points in this are relevant and allow the reader to understand anti-blacks, blacks being blamed for economical issues. It allowed the audience would be able to see a perspective even if they had no current history or background on the hip hip/rap culture.


The author does include opinions but there is more facts, statistics, and general information in this article the author does include too many opinions outside of the section with the predictions because predictions are not an actual blueprint to what will happen.


This article is very important because the stereotypes are a major reason to why the stigma behind hip-hop and rap has the inability to move forward. When something is not understood and is taken for face value it may not always be what it seems. To provide people with awareness of a situation can provide a preventive measure and hip-hop will not be viewed as something that is a harmful entity. The authors in this article acknowledged the issues in the culture but also provided all the tools to show why these issues exist.


REFERENCES


Reyna, C., Brandt, M., & Viki, G. (2009). Blame It on Hip-Hop: Anti-Rap Attitudes as a Proxy for Prejudice. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 361-380.