Two Perspectives on Hip-Hop/Rap - Which Do You Agree With?

I don’t really listen to a whole lot of hip-hop or rap because I was sick of its hyper-masculinity front. It seemed to me that all the popular rappers had the same goals; get money, get women, get power, be violent. None of these things ever appealed to me, so I never really listened to much of the genre. I have noticed a slight shift, though. I have noticed recently that there are a lot of rappers who are pointing these types of things out and are calling out all the rappers who think that those things are good goals. This was the type of rap that I could relate to.

In our class discussions about the world of Hip Hop and its pushiness with hyper-masculinity, I was reminded of some videos I had recently seen. The first video is by a rapper named Hopsin. I stumbled across this video on YouTube and was a little shocked by the message in his song. The song is completely focused on people who think that smoking weed, getting drunk, and being promiscuous are “fun” and pointing out that they aren’t going anywhere in life with these behaviors. In the song, Hopsin blames rap music for exposing young people to this set of beliefs and blames parents for not being strict enough:

           

“Man I hate rap, but if the shoe fits wear it.

I’ve become a freak of nature all the kids stare at.

Who walk around bumping RAW with the shit blaring, saying fuck school and dropping out like a miscarriage.

I’m embarrassed, and I’m ashamed I’ve played a part in this devilish game making your common sense perish.

But I ain’t taking the full blame cause most of you chumps running around here ain’t never had strict parents.”

Another interesting part of the song is when Hopsin states, “Man, why do black people got to be the only ones who can’t evolve. Cause you in the streets acting like a Neanderthal.” This ties in with our discussion in class about how the culture of hip-hop and rap music has not done anything to help stereotypes of African Americans. These things are what are putting people in this “box” that they can’t seem to escape from.

 (skip to about 1:00 for the beginning of the music)

There was another side of the story, though. Another rapper, Mysonne, responded to Hopsin’s song and even included him in the video. In Mysonne’s song, the two seem to agree on most things, but Mysonne points out some things that he feels Hopsin didn’t think through all the way. Mysonne’s song states that sometimes when you live in lower class, poor neighborhoods you have to try and make something out of nothing. Sometimes selling drugs or stealing is the only way for some people to break out from the binds of poverty. Mysonne also touches on the topic of violence. As Hopsin said black people are acting like Neanderthals, Mysonne says that sometimes they’re men at war, stating that sometimes violence is the answer when you can’t ignore it. In Hopsin’s song, he states that a “real nigga” is one that doesn’t need to say it and brag about it, but Mysonne’s response is that if they don’t let people, then rappers will get the wrong impression of them and sometimes showing how far you’ve come will empower kids to know that anything is possible.

            Both rappers point out good things, but start to have some conflicting messages. I honestly disagree with some of Mysonne’s points, in regards to violence and bragging about power. Hopsin’s song is harsh, but it’s supposed to be a slap in the face. Who’s side do you agree with?