The topic of the true origins of Hip Hop is debated frequently between scholars, enthusiasts, and fans of the genre. Hip Hop and rap music has transformed most of the American culture. One of Hip Hop’s first pioneers, DJ Kool Herc used hip hop as a platform to bring his community together. Bronx, New York in the 70s was full of violence, drugs and the usual oppression by law enforcement and officials. In fact, DJ Kool Herc had a “no violence rule” at the parties he threw. DJ Kool Herc brought a new flavor of sounds and harmonized different beats to bring hip hop for the people. The movement created by DJ Kool Herc gave birth to different expressions of hip hop including breakdancing, MC’n , and even graffiti. These elements of hip hop changed the culture of violence and anger and gave a new generation a way to express and tell their own stories.  

Today, Hip Hop has changed completely from the days of DJ Kool Herc and other pioneers like Afrika Bambaata. The sound may be different, but the immense effect on popular culture remains. Cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta are cities where hip hop changed how the urban was received and represented. Growing up in NYC, rap music was our focus as young men and women. In the 200s rap music became different and vastly commercialized. It became less about the lyrical content and more about the visual aspect you can show through music videos. I remember every day at 6 pm I would watch BET’s hit show 106 and Park. They showed the top music videos by popular rap artists and singers. The lavish cars and expensive brands we saw our favorite rappers wearing, changed what our values were. Hip Hop showed young men and women a new world, and we adopted the slang they used changed up the way we express ourselves as men and women. Rap music on the big screen was imitated everywhere in NYC. We battle rapped against each other, we wore the fancy brands we saw 50 Cent or Jay Z wearing. We partied like the rappers did in their music videos and most of us lost interest in school hoping to one day make it big like them.  

The commercialization of Hip Hop had adverse effects on how we viewed gender as a society.  The lyrics and imagery shown in music videos gave society an idea of the “power” money gave someone. It is an interesting dynamic to explore because prior to this decade the misogyny in Hip Hop music was not a frequently discussed topic by the masses. Wendy Laybourn highlights the importance of examining, “masculinity–femininity and male–female relations” in rap music. As a young man you do not realize how degrading some of the lyrics were towards women and even the gay community. We just enjoyed listening to our heroes and subconsciously acted as they did.   

In conclusion, Hip Hop’s has affected popular culture and society positively and negatively. What started as a new form of expression has transformed into a movement throughout the world. Every culture has their form of rap or hip-hop music and it is evolving every day. As a fan of the genre, I hope people can shed their stereotypical ideas on rap music and look to the positives and culture shift rap music creates.  

“The Black man in America is the most copied on this planet, bar none”- Paul Mooney  

References   Chang, Jeff. Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005.  Laybourn, Wendy. (2017), Sociology of Hip Hop Music.