4 Myths About Hip-Hop From a Rap Nerd
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There’s more than meets the eye and this is why we should listen with our ears
Rap music is underappreciated. Rap artists sell millions of albums annually but the genre is still mocked regularly. I will always defend it and probably listen to hip-hop for the rest of my life.
Hip-hop was founded in the 1970s in the Bronx, New york. There were block parties held by an African-American group called “The Black Spades” where hip-hop found its original sound. Hip-hop gave a voice to the people who desperately needed one. It was a celebration of the African-American culture and still is.
Hip-hop is the genre of music and rap is the voice. I use the terms interchangeably, but this is the difference between hip-hop and rap. Emcees are the title that hip-hop gives to its artists.
1.“Every rap song is full of swearing”
There is a common misconception that rap music is full of profane language. While many rappers use swearing to get their points across, there are a lot who do not. Wu-tang Clan has many songs that don’t have swearing at all (and some that do). Coolio’s hit from the 90s “Gangsta’s Paradise” was unedited and didn’t contain any profanities.
One of the best rap groups of all time, “A Tribe Called Quest” released many songs that don’t have any curse words in them. Other artists such as Lauryn Hill, Run-DMC, and Rakim barely use profanities in their music. In 2013, Method Man challenged himself to write lyrics without curse words and hasn’t used profane language in his music since. The rappers I have mentioned are some of the greatest ever and they didn’t need to use swearing to get our attention.
2. “The treatment of women in the hip-hop community is terrible”
Another statement I hear a lot is that women are not treated well in the rap community. This is a controversial opinion and one usually based on the visuals that rappers use in their videos.
Many people see rap videos and assume the women who appear in them are being objectified. Keep in mind that rock-n-roll and country music also use women in their videos in this manner but naturally, this is ignored.
