Hip Hop

Ok...so I'm not even going to pretend to be an expert on this topic because I don't listen to much Hip Hop (mostly because I don't listen to the radio much).  But here goes.

Hip Hop to me, is an upbeat version of rap.  Hip Hop also (I think) gets played on both popish and rap stations as well as has its own stations because there are so many crossover artists.

Here are some artists I listened to but had never heard before:

Pleasure P

Snow

Penthouse Boyz

Jody Breeze

A-Game

Here's 5 videos I watched

1. A-Game, Go Head Shawty Video

http://www.hiphopmusicdotcom.com/a-game-go-head-shawty-video.html

2. Jody Breeze, Too Much

http://www.hiphopmusicdotcom.com/jody-breeze-too-much-video.html

3. Willy Northpole, Hood Dreamer

http://www.hiphopmusicdotcom.com/willy-northpole-hood-dreamer-video.html

4. Gorilla Zoe ft. Block Boys, Just Joog

http://www.hiphopmusicdotcom.com/gorilla-zoe-ft-block-boys-just-joog-video.html

5. Nyle, Let the Beat Build

http://www.hiphopmusicdotcom.com/nyle-let-the-beat-build-video.html

In general most hip hop music and music videos I encountered are created by Black artists (mostly male) and are very sexist.  Women in most of the videos are objects to look at or take advantage of and women are the people the men are singing about as objects they use and move on.  Also as a general observation, I noticed many of the artists use the N word and seem to be focusing their music towards either kids in bad neighborhoods (where many of them claim to come from) or their friends.

Hip Hop is used in the commercial world as well.  Campaigns like Boost Mobile that use well known Hip Hop artists to promote their cell phones.  Also Dodge uses Hip Hop to advertise their link with Syrius radio in their vehicles.

Some of the ways Hip Hop influences media and culture are things like the clothing style. Many Black (and even some white) men where clothes similar to those worn by artists in the music videos.  Some artists dress in baggy clothes with jewelry, and other were more fitting clothes with layers and hats.

Hip Hop has also influence film.  There have been films that center around Hip Hop and the Hip Hop culture that appeal more to the Black community (because this seems to be the target audience for Hip Hop).  There have also been movies about men rising above their circumstances to get out of the "ghetto".

Hip Hop is not a genre my parents grew up listening to either.  My parents listened to mostly pop and the top of the charts kind of music when growing up.  And even while I was growing up they listened to mostly 80s and early 90s music.